Sherman Gap/Shawl Gap hike – Exploring paths near Difficult Run – The lengthy process of trail creation – More convictions of various 1/6/2021 rioters – Seeming immunity of Donald Trump – COVID following the path of influenza – Transgender pronouns – Evening statistics
Yesterday I led the Wanderbirds up Sherman Gap, along the ridgeline of Massanutten, and go down Shawl Gap. It was the first truly strenuous hike I’ve done since the beginning of the year, and my lack of practice told: going up Sherman Gap felt more difficult than I had remembered. Still, I made up there in reasonable time. I had been anticipating the hike to be something of a washout, for the day was greatly overcast and rain was in the forecast. Happily, outside of brief showers, the rain held off until the mid-afternoon, after we had completed the hike and our customarily partying at the end of it, and the other hikers said that they enjoyed themselves. This hike was a carpool hike – that is, we drove to the trailhead instead of using a bus; the club will not be chartering a bus for the entire quarter, due to the low turnout on our bus trips since we resumed them in July.
Today’s hike was rather different: I went with WN to escort various representatives from the Park Service and the surveying company employed by them along the route on the east side of Difficult Run, which goes along the direction of the original Georgetown Pike Road and which, as it turns out, I had never before visited myself. I was aware, in a vague sort of way, that walking in that area was possible, since when going on the Difficult Run Trail in Great Falls National Park I would frequently see various people wandering about on the other bank of the stream. The path there is an unofficial trail, but it is obvious that some sort of trail maintenance has been done. It was easy to follow and there was little undergrowth. We examined potential sites for establishing a footbridge (even if only a temporary one) over Difficult Run to link this footpath with the network of trails in Great Falls and traced the route up to the point where Townston Road forms a T-intersection with Georgetown Pike. If such a link could be established, it would substantially reduce the gap on the Potomac Heritage Trail between Difficult Run and Scott’s Run. From Towlston, moreover, it may be possible to bypass Madeira, where obtaining an easement is less likely than in other areas.
One of the Park Service representatives cautioned us against expecting swift results, however willing the county, state, and federal agencies might be. Even if converting this unofficial trail into one that it is a recognized park trail were to be approved tomorrow, it might be as long as ten years before it actually came to pass. Studies would have to be done about environmental impact (on trees, Difficult Run and the little streams in its watershed, property boundaries, among other factors), cost estimates would have to be made, the appropriate funds would have to be allocated, and so on. All of which made me appreciate how the trails which we take for granted – including, of course, the Appalachian Trail itself – were conceived and brought into existence by people who sometimes never lived long enough to tread upon them themselves and whose efforts were devoted solely for the recreation of future generations.
Joseph Hackett of Sarasota, Florida; Roberto Minuta of Prosper, Texas; David Moerschel of Punta Gorda, Florida; and Edward Vallejo of Phoenix, Arizona, members of the Oath Keepers, were all convicted today of seditious conspiracy in the role they played during the riot of January 6, 2021. They have not yet been sentenced, but some amount of jail time is all but certain; the charge has a maximum penalty of twenty years. In addition, Richard “Bigo” Barnett, the man who obtained his 15 minutes of fame by proudly displaying his feet propped up on Nancy Pelosi’s desk during that same event, has been convicted of on all eight counts in his indictment, including felony charges of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding. He will be sentenced some time in May.
At an earlier juncture news such as this would have delighted me, but by now it is merely a source of irritation. Yes, these people participated in the attempt to overturn the results of a national election and have been duly convicted of it. Well and good; but why are no charges being brought against the chief perpetrator, i.e., Donald Trump? More than two years have elapsed since this treasonous assault he has orchestrated; not one, but two special investigating committees have certified that he is guilty; and yet no charges have been brought against him and, it appears, never will be. More than this, he has announced some time ago his intentions of running for President in the 2024 election and I should not be in the least surprised, even while being somewhat dismayed, if the Republican Party flocked to his leadership as eagerly as the Jews of the 17th century flocked to that of the false Messiah Sabbatai Zvi.
I have been predicting that COVID will eventually subside into a status not dissimilar to that of influenza, and that prediction now is on the verge of becoming true. The FDA has recommended that people receive an annual vaccine against the disease, just as we do now with flu; and we seem to be on the road to accepting COVID as a fact of life that has to be provided against and mitigated by periodic vaccines, just as this nation did with flu after the great epidemic of 1918.
In North Dakota one bill was proposed and rejected on Friday, which mandated people affiliated with schools or institutions receiving public funding having to pay a $1,500 fine for using gender pronouns other than those assigned at birth for themselves or others. Many in the state’s senate judiciary committee that voted down the bill noted that they agreed with the bill’s intention to limit transgender rights, but they felt that the bill was poorly written and difficult to enforce. My own feeling is that, while I have no wish to limit the rights of people of ambiguous sexuality, I object to such pronouns as a grammarian. Gender is an essential part of most Indo-European languages; this attempt to disguise the fact that people have a gender assigned to them at birth can only lead to mass confusion and obfuscation, all of the sake of suiting the tender sensibilities of a very small portion of the population at large, and at the expense of everyone else.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 673,478,488; # of deaths worldwide: 6,747,959; # of cases U.S.: 103,888,296; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,129,145.