In a normal year, you could try to find a hiking or biking buddy on social media. Aside from any concerns about stranger danger, it wouldn’t be complicated.

Now, thanks to COVID-19, everything is fraught.

In the meantime, you can connect with others virtually to see what kinds of adventures are possible. They don’t need to be local. These are some of my favorites:

View this post on Instagram

Repost from @felinefavia • I don't have any pictures of me working at the hospital, so me being on call is as close as it gets! Work has been difficult and confusing lately. Tensions run high because everyone wants to continue helping their patients but also wants to stay healthy themselves. Finding that balance is difficult! I wanted to share a bit about what pathologists are doing during this time. We are the ones running the covid tests, so you can imagine the lab is very busy! You may wonder why it's taking so long for people to get results. There are a number of factors that go into how fast results can get to the patients. The hospital lab has to have a machine that can run the test. If it doesn't, the hospital has to send it out to a lab that has the capability. Some labs have multiple machines that run the test, but the lab has to have enough people to run the machines 24/7. Also, each machine can only do so many tests a day and to run the tests, the machines need reagents, which can sometimes be hard to obtain. I hope this is somewhat helpful! #labmanagement #covid #pathology #pager #girlsboulder #residency #browngirlsclimb #melaninbasecamp #sportivapassion #itsadeuterday #deuterusa @lasportivana @deuter_usa @chalkcartel @organicclimbing . . . Albuquerque NM is on Pueblos land. . . . Tag #MelaninBaseCamp for a feature. Join the movement and #DiversifyOutdoors! Check out your favorite outdoor bloggers at MelaninBaseCamp.com and DiversifyOutdoors.com. [Image description is included]

A post shared by Melanin Base Camp (@melaninbasecamp) on

View this post on Instagram

I swear we’re both smiling 🤣 . What does responsible re-entry look like for you as parks begin re-opening? If they never closed where you are, what precautions have you been taking to #recreateresponsibly? Or, for those of us who live in population-dense areas where outdoor recreation and hiking are popular, maybe you’re struggling with where to go to avoid overcrowded trails or what to do when coming across people on trail. Share your hacks and questions via the link in our stories or in the comments! On the next episode of the Unlikely Hikers Podcast, supported by @REI, we will be talking about outdoor recreation during COVID-19 with Taldi Harrison of the Recreate Responsibly Coalition and Chip Jenkins, superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park. Bring all of your questions and join the conversation! Let’s be clear, with places re-opening and the holiday weekend, it can *feel* like we’re on the other side of COVID-19 , but we are still very much in this. I know things have been so difficult, but please don’t get lax now. And wherever you are, stay close to home! This is not the time for travel. Avoid recreating near high populations of Indigenous people, especially in the southwest where the Navajo are experiencing the third-highest COVID-19 infection rate in the country. Second, ALWAYS acknowledge the land you recreate on and it’s original stewards. Learn about those who have tended these lands we love so much and want to protect. . 📍this is Cowlitz, Atfalati, Chinook land. . 😷: @craftyfemme 👕: jennybruso.com/shop . #RecrearResponsablemente #unlikelyhikers #mybodytookmehere #fatandoutdoorsy

A post shared by Unlikely Hikers ™ (@unlikelyhikers) on

View this post on Instagram

Celebrating #BlackBirdersWeek Day 1: #BlackInNature ⠀ For those new followers, welcome! I'm Lauren the creator of Misadventures of an Outdoorsy Diva Blog (outdoorsydiva.com) and host of the Outdoorsy Diva Podcast. It's my passion to inspire black women to embrace nature and outdoor recreation and to break boundaries and dispel the myths of what they say black people do not do. ✊🏾🌲 #adventureisalifestyle #blacktravelers #wildlifepics #nationalparkpics #naturephotog #vacationdifferently #travelwriter #findyourpark #sunsetpics #blackwomenoutdoors #diversifyoutdoors #shesnotlost #diversityinadventure #melaninbasecamp #takingupspaceoutdoors #wanderluster #wecoloroutside #weouthere #outdoorwomen #waterfallchaser #unlikelyhikers #outdoorafro #blackgirlsoutdoors #natureviews #blackwomenoutdoors

A post shared by Lauren of OutdoorsyDiva.com (@outdoorsydiva) on

View this post on Instagram

Three #girltrek families joined me for a #fallfamilyhike today to explore the Powers Island Trail along the Chattahoochee River. We discussed the history of the river — the Creek Indians who named the river and who inhabited the area before being forcibly removed to reservations in the west, the industries that sprang up along the river, and animal life we might observe. We saw a beautiful blue heron and geese, wild mushrooms and bamboo trees and bird eggs.The kids enjoyed searching for the items on scavenger hunt cards. A wonderful day of exploration and exercise in nature for all! . . . . . #letthemexplore #intotheforest #kidswhoexplore #wildchildren #natureiscalling #nature #hiking #kidsinthecity #kidscuriosity #takeahike #naturetrek #hikewithkids #familyhike #familytime #family #trainupachild #optoutside #weoutchea #wander #explore #explorega #takingupspaceoutdoors #weareharriett #blackfamilies #blackandoutdoors #blackandoutdoorsy #blackpeopleoutdoors #AdventureSquad

A post shared by marionette audifferen (@mochamamatreks) on

View this post on Instagram

Our species has been going through an initiation for some time as climate chaos has shown. We’ve been in the liminal space of unknown for awhile now and COVID-19 is making it clearer and more undeniable. Who are we humbly apprenticing to apart from screens? Where is our humility coupled with our dignity? Social media teases us to forget many things — we can go into a techno-narcissist stupor forgetting our own humility in the place of things. COVID-19 is gifting us with humility. To who are we devoted to — if not the glowing screens? Where are our practices of reverence that bring us to our knees to the edge of visceral holiness? I Apprentice to: Swainson’s Thrush songs. Sticky cottonwood buds. Salmon’s spawning nest — redd. Rough Skinned Newt’s toxic slime. Smell of Willows. Softness of Alder catkins on my lips. Final lay of a doe — followed by her kill site by a cougar. Glints of Chthonic eyes in a moonlit vernal pools. After immigrating and being raised in the Silicon Valley where technology is God, it is clear that screens glow like foxfire — our bioluminescent fungi kin. As an Indigenous youth, I grew up in the heart of technology addiction with our eyes transfixed and hungry for connection. What we forget are the many wild eyes transfixed on us and hungry for connection with us — including in the Dream World. Parallel realities are valid forms of kinship. This is coupled with having to practice “spacious solidarity” where we are having to tend to human connections virtually now. We must not forget that in order to thrive in these times, our connections cannot remain humancentric — the majority of wisdomkeepers of resilience are more-than-human. So, who will you Apprentice to today? How will you tend your humility and dignity?

A post shared by Pınar | Yaku ⚡️they | them⚡️ (@queerquechua) on

But if you want local, check out the Facebook group Connecticut Hiking and Outdoor Adventures.