Dropstone Outfitting LLC Covid-19 Policy

Before Your Trip

• Keep up the good work! Practice thorough personal hygiene and social distancing to keep yourself healthy. 

• You will be required to complete a short health screening and return it to us 7 days before your trip. We will again do a screening upon your arrival to determine your level of COVID risk. Any person displaying signs of illness, including a temperature of 100 F or over, will be unable to join us on the trip. Please be respectful of others, and if you are feeling unwell, do not participate in the trip. 

• You will need to bring your own personal hand sanitizer, cloth face mask, soap, and towel (for hand washing and personal use). Unfortunately, biodegradable soap is not sufficient.  Please bring the liquid or bar soap you have been using from home.  

• Pack your gear in a trash bag/s. We will be packing your personal items in duffels we provide. Daily disinfecting of the outside of the duffle bags will be part of our procedure and we don’t want your gear getting damaged by our disinfecting alcohol solution.  

• We will be gathering the evening before the trip for an orientation.  We will still provide dinner; however, all meals will be plated. If you do not wish to stay in a hotel the night before the trip, we can recommend several campgrounds.

Our Pre-Trip Practices: 

• We will thoroughly disinfect any group gear (cookware, water filtration systems, tables, duffle bags, chairs, rented tents/sleeping bags/pads) between trips.

• We will disinfect the entire van. 

• We will bring additional hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes into the backcountry.

• We will monitor our health regularly. Any staff member displaying signs of illness will be removed from daily operation. We will follow the current public health protocol to determine the next step if a staff member tests positive for Covid-19.

• We will be using additional safety measures while food shopping and meal prepping including frequent disinfecting, hand washing, and the use of cloth masks. 

On the trip: 

• Everyone is required to wear a cloth mask in the van. Please hand sanitize before and after van ride. 

• Each backcountry camp will have two hand washing stations. One at the latrine and one near the kitchen. All participants will wash hands when leaving camp, coming back to camp, after using the restroom and before cooking or preparing any meals.

• We will also have a hand washing station at lunch for you to use. 

• Only staff is allowed in the kitchen area and food boxes. We will plate, package, pour and serve all food. You may only handle your own food. 

• At the beginning of each day, you will be given a brown paper lunch bag with your lunch (you will dictate to us what you would like in your lunch). At the end of each day, we will burn these bags. Anything that you do not eat that day must be thrown away.
• We will make an alcohol solution fresh daily to spray down all duffle bags before packing them together. Duffle bags will be provided. 

• All dishes will be soaked for 30 seconds in bleach solution before drying.

• All shared surfaces will be disinfected at the end of every day (tools, tables, other gear).

• Spouts of group water jugs will be disinfected regularly.

• NO sharing of personal food, water bottles or utensils.

• We will adhere to social distancing standards on the trail and in camp. 

Responding to Illness or COVID-19 Symptoms in the Field & Evacuation

• Everyone must disclose any illness or COVID-19 symptoms prior to starting a trip or during a trip. 

• Anyone exhibiting signs of any illness while on the trip should alert staff and immediately self-quarantine in their tent while symptoms are monitored and the person can be evacuated.

• Self-Isolate the member exhibiting symptoms of fever, cough and trouble breathing and begin making plans to evacuate. Staff will notify the county dispatcher and the Forest Service. 

• Affected individuals should wear a mask at the onset of symptoms and anyone coming into close contact. We will carry a limited supply of N-95 masks for evacuation. 

• When it is safe to do so, we will evacuate the patient. First priority is hiking out. If that cannot be done, arrange for a horseback ride out. Last resort is air evacuation.

Thank you for your help in keeping us all healthy and able to enjoy the mountains this summer!  If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected] or call (406) 289-0863.