Bill Leslie: A frustrating Lake Johnson walk during the COVID-19 pandemic

That was my reaction to a recent walk around Lake Johnson in Raleigh with my wife Cindy. The trail is fairly wide around the lake but not wide enough to accommodate four people abreast and maintain a safe social distance of six feet.

Time and time again we encountered two people walking or running side-by-side refusing to budge on the trail. They would not move over and slip into single file. Why is that so hard?

Cindy and I were forced to veer off the trail into the woods numerous times.

It seems like common sense to me during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you’re walking two abreast and you encounter two people doing the same in the opposite direction, each pair should fall back into single file formation. That is the easy, smart, safe and courteous thing to do.

Twice on the trail we passed a talkative woman holding the largest coffee cup I’ve ever seen. She was oblivious to us and both times marched down the middle of the path like she owned the park.

Other walkers were very considerate and made sure there was plenty of distance between them and us.

One woman helped us navigate some aggressive Canada geese protecting their goslings along the trail. The geese were certainly not maintaining any sort of social distance!

Overall, it was a nice walk. I just wish some folks would show a little more respect for others during this health crisis.

As Cindy put it, "We don’t know who has the virus and we are trying to protect ourselves, our children, grandchildren and my 90-year old mother. We want to enjoy nature just like everyone else but we are also trying to be considerate.”

What are your stories about exercising and struggling to stay safe? bleslie@wral.com is my email address. I would love to hear from you.