PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The annual Delaware River Sojourn – canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic – is returning this summer.
But it will be held later than usual.
Kate Schmidt, with the Delaware River Basin Commission, said the paddling, camping and nature adventure is now set for August 6-13.
"This year, we're still in the midst of the pandemic," she explained. "We just wanted to give people a little bit more time to get vaccinated should they choose to be vaccinated. And, just to give a little bit more time to allow the pandemic to get further kind of under control."
"We know that there’s a risk that we might have lower participation," Schmidt continued. "We may be limiting capacity this year. We may be trying to keep our numbers at a certain level whereas in typical years we can see over 100 people a day.
"We may be a little bit more conservative than that this year, although that hasn’t been determined yet."
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She said the support groups working to put together the sojourn are still looking at ways to maintain social distancing and following other coronavirus precautions.
"When you're on the water, there's an ability to spread out,” Schmidt explained. "But the other parts of the trip that do see more crowded conditions are bus shuttling.
"At meals, we rent a big pavilion and we have everybody sitting underneath and having meals together. We may, obviously, limit that a little bit."
Schmidt said they're planning modifications on shuttling participants to locations along the river and spreading out for meals and campsites.
"Maybe limiting bus capacity, encouraging more people to drive themselves to put-ins and take-outs and kind of working it out that way," she said. "Those are the details that we still want to give close attention to moving forward."
Schmidt said the progress against COVID-19, the vaccinations and social distancing requirements — which still may be in effect in August — all will play a role in decisions on the number of people who will be admitted to the sojourn.
"I guess I would say that if you are definitely wanting to do the trip when we open registration, get your registrations in to be sure that you have a space," she said.
Schmidt said they expect to open the sign-up window sometime in late May or early June.
More information can be found at the group's Facebook page or their official website.