Is it possible to hike off-trail safely?

J

John S BaC

New member
Lyme's disease should not be a concern on any specific trail. Ticks that carry this are found everywhere. Just use an insect repellent. Lyme disease is very rare...don't sweat it.

Trespassing can be a big deal. If the property is posted....like with a "keep out", or "posted", or "do not enter" sign...then you could be shot. Its the same as "breaking and entering".
Its a crime of a fairly significant nature. Don't do it.
 
There are some trails and hiking roads around here that have no access points. Both ends dead-end into private property. Last Wednesday on Veterans Day I finally explored such a hiking road after knowing about it for 15 years. I had to hike cross-country or off-trail to get to it. I followed some faint animal trails about 70% of the time, but sometimes that did not work. The way I came back had some deep brush in some places.

The main thing I get worried about hiking off-trail is catching Lyme disease from ticks.

I could have avoided the off-trail hiking completely if I just followed the dirt road on to private property. The dirt road starts on public property then goes through private property then it turns public again. But the second public part is inaccessible.

How much of a deal is trespassing on private property to get at inaccessible public property? I didn't do it because there is a locked gate and someone wrote "Keep Out" on the gate with a black marker.

Looking at the map I see several more inaccessible trails and hiking roads that I would like to try, but I don't want to have to worry about getting Lyme disease by hiking off-trail or cross country.

Do you have any advice for me?
 
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