Penticton's Hoodoo Adventures still hiking, biking and paddling through pandemic

“Lots of fresh air is the best medicine. Lots of vitamin D. That’s what’s supposed to be helping everybody,” said Lyndie Hill. “We’re so lucky because we’re outside. We’re a very safe activity.”

In a normal year, the front entrance at Hoodoo Adventures would be jammed with tourists, and youth involved in a summer camp. There would be bikes and kayaks everywhere.

But these are not normal times for the company, located on Ellis Street in Penticton.

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the tourism business, forcing operators to adjust, conform, and hope for better times in the future.

“We definitely have more procedures in place. We have a lot more things to think about, and a lot less staff available to process it all,” continued Lyndie, who, along with husband Mike, founded Hoodoo Adventures in 2007. “But I feel we’re doing the best that we can to be safe.”

Hoodoo Adventures offers bike, kayak, paddleboard and rock climbing gear rentals. They offer shuttle services through the South Okanagan and Similkameen, along with biking, hiking, climbing and kayak tours.

“We still have the climbing gym open, and we’re doing it by appointment only. People just have to call ahead, and we only let six people in at a time in the gym, which has worked really well. Our bike rentals and shuttles have been by far the busiest thing we’ve been doing. Those are available every day,” added Hill. “Our kids programs have been great. We’ve downsized, but they are running. We don’t do any shuttles with the kids. They are all outside.”

Hoodoo Adventures also runs events, but popular events such as Freakin’ Farmer have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

The bottom line of the business is taking a hit. So is the ability to bring in students for summer jobs.

“It's sad that we couldn’t bring all the staff back, but one of the really positive things is that I’ve been able to guide again. For years, I’ve been stuck behind a desk building the business. Now I’m on the water, and on the trail, so personally, I feel I’m lucky. Also, having that connection with clients again has been really important.

“It’s the whole reason this business existed because I love to do those things.”

COVID-19 has also forced Hoodoo Adventures into a different way of doing business.

“We definitely have had to think about every touchpoint. We have quite a big building and all of the garage doors are open so there’s a lot of air flow. We’ve put everything out front, and try to keep people outside as much as possible,” said Hill of Hoodoo’s COVID plan. “We ask everybody to sanitize their hands. All the bikes and rental equipment gets sanitized before and after. We ask everyone to wear masks in the vehicles. We have our staff wearing masks.

“We’ve been conscious of following every single rule we need to follow for the piece of mind of everybody.”

Hill, along with all tourism businesses, longs for the day when things do get back to normal.

“Oh so much,” she responded without hesitation. “Some things I’m okay with keeping, like washing your hands, and staying home when you're sick.

“It (normal) can’t come fast enough.”

For more information on Hoodoo Adventures, click here.