So I hit three stores yesterday all within 2-3 minutes of each other, then a drive-thru food place maybe another five minutes away.....I intentionally left my mask on the entire time instead of putting it on and off and on and off and on and off. It’s not unusual at all here in IL to see drivers (and passengers) wearing masks in cars.
In areas outside where you are 6’ and supposedly safe, I still usually wear a mask as everyone is not conscious of ALWAYS staying 6’ away......someone can enter your “safety zone” before you can walk or back away.
Regarding the lady on the trail, I think it would have been rude to ask, especially as a stranger in such an isolated area, why she was wearing a mask. Just my $.02.
As pointed out, maybe she had allergies. But she maybe had extensive dental work going on.....or simply wanted to keep mosquitos and flies out of her nose and mouth.
A more respectable conversation starter: “Yours is the first mask we’ve seen here on the trail today.....does it slow your pace down?”