ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Like so many other business owners, Jennifer Pharr Davis had to close her store when the first wave of COVID-19 restrictions hit this spring. Once she was able to reopen, pent-up demand sent customers to her in droves.
Now, Davis thinks she’ll be able to recoup her losses.
The key is her line of work. Davis, a former Appalachian Trail speed record holder and a world-renowned backpacker, owns Blue Ridge Hiking Company, a small backpacking outfitter and guide service.
“People are coming in with their families and going, ‘We’re stir-crazy, there’s no school. We’ve got to do something that, like, gets energy out and gets us out of our house’,” she said. “We’ve outfitted several families, full-on families, with new gear.”
Davis lost an entire season of guiding this spring and she hasn’t been able to conduct the large group hikes she normally organizes. The demand for small group hikes has been strong enough she thinks she’ll be able to make up the lost ground as long as something unforeseen doesn’t happen.
Outfitters all over western North Carolina report similar trends. Davidson River Outfitters owner Kevin Howell said in the 26 years his store near Brevard has been open, he has never seen so many customers.
“People are either laid off of work, or they’re working from home, they have more free time,” he said. “No ball games to go to, they’re trying to stay away from crowds, so what better place than on a stream or in the woods?”
The outdoors are big business in North Carolina. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, in a normal year, consumers spend $28 billion on outdoor recreation. That spending supports some 260,000 jobs, which pay a total of $8.3 billion in wages and salaries. It also generates about $1.3 billion in state and local tax revenue.
Howell and Davis both said they expect the outdoors to remain in high demand long after the pandemic is over. Howell said some people will stop fly fishing after a while but others who picked it up will stay with it. Davis said she suspects a lot of gym goers will supplement their workouts with additional outdoors work.
If you want to take up fly fishing, Howell said to choose your rod and reel based on the kind of fish you want to catch. He said you should limit your impact to the land as much as possible by sticking to established trails and fishing spots and carrying all of your trash back out with you.
If you want to take up hiking, Davis said to start by walking through local neighborhoods and parks. She said any walk in a natural setting can be considered a hike. Once you’ve built up your skills, state and national parks offer a variety of trails.
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