Drew Anderson is shown on the top of Buffalo Mountain near Silverthorne, Colo., on March 17. The outdoors has become a great escape for people as the new coronavirus creates a wave of turbulent times. (Photo courtesy of Jack Hagan via The AP)

Jim Klug’s office phone rings off the hook with anxious anglers inquiring about the status of their upcoming fly-fishing trips.

It’s a stressful time for the co-owner of a fishing travel company as he postpones and re-books international and domestic expeditions due the coronavirus pandemic.

The best way for him to slip away from the stress — even if for a brief moment — is to follow a bit of his own advice: Go fish.

Whether it’s reeling in trout, hiking, snow activities (until the snow melts, of course) or any other endeavor, the call from the wild delivers a much-needed respite in these turbulent times.

Typically open — although national parks are increasingly limiting access and more shelter-at-home orders are being issued — the great outdoors provides a natural way to social distance.

Nizaruddin Alizada, 20, a member of the Afghanistan Snowboarding Federation, practices on the hillside known as Kohe Koregh, on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Jan. 24. While Afghanistan’s capital may seem an unlikely destination for snowboarders, a group of young Afghans is looking to put the city on the winter sports map and change perceptions about their war-weary nation. (AP file photo)

“They may close the borders. The may close the amusements and the sports stadiums and any places that lots and lots of people gather. But they’re not going to close the great outdoors and not going to close the rivers and streams,” said Klug, founder of Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures in Montana. “It’s something that always brings inner peace and calmness.”

In New England, where backwoods skiing and hiking to 4,000 feet

Those remote places? Not so remote right now. Many seasoned hikers are getting annoyed that their prized spots are getting overrun.

Then again, everyone has the same thought — get a breath of fresh air.

“It’s to get that sunlight, some vitamin D. I know it will make me feel better. I feel rested,”said Ryan Smith, the 37-year-old owner of a media company from Peabody, Massachusetts, on why he is still taking day hikes with his wife, Jennifer, along trails on the North Shore of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire.

Emily Davenport, who normally works as a wilderness guide for the Appalachian Mountain Club, has been canceling group hikes she leads until at least the end of April. She’s still hitting the trails in the White Mountains near her home in Conway, New Hampshire, for day hikes, either alone or with a friend. For the 30-year-old, it’s a chance to recharge and escape the cabin fever that so many people working from home are feeling.

“It’s a place that I feel safe. It’s familiar and you do get away,” Davenport said, adding that her day hikes of five to eight miles are critical for her mental and physical health. “You can kind of unplug and not look at the (computer) screen and look at the all the news that is anxiety-inducing.”

Skiers and snowboarders, meanwhile, are finding ways to hit the slopes with many ski resorts now closed in the wake of the new coronavirus.

Drew Anderson, a freelance videographer from Denver, was at his condo in Silverthorne, Colorado, with the intent of spending a week — maybe longer — getting in some turns on the slopes. But then resorts shut down.

Time for Plan B: Back-country skiing.

He’s been hiking to the top of Buffalo Mountain — about a three-hour trek — and then skiing down. Anderson and his wife have also been taking their 4-year-old son sledding and hiking.

“The vibe up here in the mountains seems pretty happy,” Anderson said. “Everyone seems to be in a good mood. We’re in the mountains and that makes everyone a little bit happier.”

In New England, the AMC’s Four Thousand Footer Committee is calling on hikers to avoid difficult trails and stay close to home. Most are heeding that advice, though one hiker descending Mount Washington last Sunday fell about 200 feet and had to be rescued.