On the Dickey Ridge Trail – The vaccines are underway – Evening statistics
The first hike of winter was completed under appropriate conditions. Minimal as the recent snowfall was here, the amount of snow was much greater to the west as one approached the Blue Ridge Mountains. The original hike (over Knob and Neighbor Mountains) had to be canceled because the area of Skyline Drive where we planned to start the hike was closed. Instead we went to the Dickey Ridge Trail, whose trailhead is located outside of Shenandoah National Park. Here again we had to modify our intentions. At first we expected to go from the trailhead to the end of the Dickey Ridge Trail where it meets the Appalachian Trail and then return – about 9 miles each way. The first few miles up to the Visitor Center were rather icy but well-trodden and it was not unduly difficult for those wearing micro-spikes. Going past the Visitor Center was something else again. No one had gone before us on the trail since the snowfall, and we had to go through snow reaching well over our ankles and encrusted with a plate of ice on the top. It was very fatiguing, and by the time we came to the overlook beyond the Visitor Center we decided to shorten the hike by going to the Snead Farm Trail to the fire road and returning via the fire road and picnic grounds to the Visitor Center, and from there back along the Dickey Ridge Trail to the trailhead – about 11½ miles in all, with a little over 2100 feet in elevation. It was rather cloudy but the views at the overlook were all the more striking for the patches of snow coating much of the valley below.
There is some pleasant news to report for a change. There has been a bit of a decrease in the number of new COVID cases for the last few days. It may be that the vaccines are already starting to have an effect. Distribution has been moving rapidly and, thankfully, people in the health care profession are getting priority access to it. Of course it’s a bit premature to declare victory at this point; we still have to get through the Christmas and New Year celebrations, which will lead to numerous social gatherings and subsequent infections. Also, the number of deaths has climbed upwards continually for the past several weeks. The American mortality rate is now 0.1% – about one in 1000. Not an overwhelming amount, but it is far from insignificant. Still, with the vaccines in place and distribution going as planned, the prospects for improvement by the spring are good.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 78,333,082; # of deaths worldwide: 1,722,483; # of cases U.S.: 18,671,852; # of deaths; U.S.: 330,474.
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