Hiking in Shenandoah National Park – The runoff elections in Georgia – Chuck Stacey – Evening statistics
The weather for the hike today seemed unpromising as I drove from my house, being rather damp and foggy, even drizzling a bit at times. But the moment I went over the ridge along Rte. 211 to the parking area at Panorama, the mist lifted and the sun came through in patches. There was not a great deal of sunlight even in the morning and later on in the day the sky became more overcast, but there was no rain and the temperature never became very cold, even at the highest elevations. The hike that I went along with the other Vigorous Hikers went north on the Applachian Trail to Beahms Gap, then east on the Hull School Trail to the Thornton River Trail, and returning via the Thornton River Trail to the AT and going south to Panorama. Actually, this description is not quite accurate; on the first part of the hike there was a brief detour along a fire road to the Pass Mountain Hut, going from there back to the AT via the Pass Mountain Trail. I had never been on the fire road leading to the hut before, and it has been such a long time that I’ve had on the Thornton River Trail or the section of the Hull School Trail between the AT and Neighbor Mountain that these segments were almost like new trails as well. The hike was 16 miles long and over 3600 feet in elevation gain. The ascents were not especially steep, but they were continual over long distances. The Thornton River Trail, in addition, crossed the river four times, and three of the crossings were difficult. I had to step into the flowing water that came up well over my ankles, and the water was both swift and cold, and afterwards I had to pace the remainder of the hike with wet shoes and socks.
It all sounds rather miserable in the telling but it was quite enjoyable. The temperature was never cold enough to present any danger of frostbite and it was just cold enough to give an impetus to one’s movements. The mountain forests in winter offer visual spectacles unavailable in any other season, such as the rich bright green moss vividly displayed over the fallen tree trunks that they coated. Brief patches of mist drifted in and out as we moved along the paths, and the continually changing light provided another element of variety. At one point I saw a cardinal, and its brilliant scarlet plumage made a striking picture amid the bare branches where it was flying.
At such moments politics seems very far away, and indeed the most intensely political scene of the day occurred about 600 miles from this area. The runoff elections in Georgia took place today, pitting incumbent Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue against Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff respectively. Loeffler and Perdue have been undergoing difficulties, not least of which is the “support” provided by President Trump on their behalf. One would think that no man could simultaneously claim that our election process is invalid and then urge people to vote for the candidates that he favors, but Trump is evidently an advocate of Emerson’s dictum that “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” For that matter, Loeffler herself plans to throw her lot in with the other Republicans planning to object to the results of the national election tomorrow when the Electoral College votes are tallied. So if it turns out that she wins a majority of the votes in tonight’s runoff, she will be objecting to the process that secured her own re-election. To do her justice, such a result does not seem likely; the results at this point show both Democratic candidates leading by a fairly wide margin.
Chuck Stacey of Florida, who had vigorously criticized his employers at Donut Hole for forcing their employees to wear masks, is now singing quite a different tune after becoming infected with the virus. A video for his Facebook page shows him lying in a hospital bed with oxygen tubes as he makes an impassioned plea for sceptics with views similar to those he had endorsed until recently to wear masks in order to protect themselves and their families. It is about two minutes long and he is audibly gasping for air throughout most of it.
When the pandemic is over and people will be able to look back upon its social effects, the solicitude about mask-wearing will almost certainly provoke some amazement. Why have people objected so strenuously to a practice that takes little effort to perform and that was the most effective preventative by far when vaccines were still in the development stage?
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 86,804,427; # of deaths worldwide: 1,874,318; # of cases U.S.: 21,575,999; # of deaths; U.S.: 365,595.