Overall Run Falls and Elkwallow – The heat continues – More travel plans canceled – More young people affected – President Trump’s volte face – Evening statistics
The ascent to Overall Run Falls is one of the more strenuous climbs in Shenandoah National Park, and today was perhaps not the best day to attempt it. The weather, though less hot than in the DC metro area, was humid and steamy, and the waterfall itself was all but dry. Once we came to the ridge the temperature was lower on account of the elevation we had gained, and the route to Elkwallow via the Tuscacora and Appalachian Trails was reasonably comfortable. The store at Elkwallow is open again and they are serving food for takeout as they did earlier, before the virus shut the park down. Even though we altered the route from the initial one (which would have taken us down via Beecher Ridge), we still ended up doing 17 miles, with over 3750 feet of elevation gain. The last couple of miles were difficult on account of the heat, which increased continually as we descended into lower elevations. As we say among ourselves jokingly, hikes like these are good for us, they build our characters. I will be glad, all the same, when the weather becomes cooler. Summer undoubtedly is the most difficult of hiking seasons.
We are getting a little relief from the unrelenting heat. It rained this evening and temperatures will be lower for the rest of the week, going to less than 90 on Friday. There was a great cloud of steam earlier when the rain first hit the pavement of the sidewalks and the asphalt roads.
The planned trip to New York to celebrate my aunt’s birthday had to be called off, or at the very least postponed. Virginia has now been added to the list of states for whose travelers New York is requiring a 14-day quarantine. I regret such a decision, but I can understand it. Today the U.S. saw more than 1,000 new deaths from the virus. Over half of these are in five states: Texas, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, and California. But the mid-Atlantic states are still seeing significant increases of new cases. Both Maryland and Virginia have nearly 1,000 new cases apiece. It is not surprising that New York wishes to discourage visitors from states that have not yet succeeded in flattening their curves. My dear aunt has been quite selfless in her response; she says that under the circumstances it is best that I do not travel to New York and that the most important concern at the moment is to maintain our health.
Indeed travel must not be undertaken lightly. Stories continue to be reported about the virus affecting people of all ages in increasing numbers. One mother in Florida, Moneta Hicks, lost her son and daughter, aged 20 and 23 respectively, within the space of 11 days. They had been homebound during the pandemic, since they both had underlying factors (asthma and obesity), but one day they decided to take a brief trip to Orlando, and that venture sealed their fate. As so often happens in reports of this nature, a salient feature is the speed with which the virus can wreak its havoc. The son, Byron, woke up a few days after his return struggling for air, was rushed to the hospital, and died on the same day. Mychaela, his sister, developed a fever and headache four days later, was also taken to the hospital, but died within a week of being admitted. They had spent weeks in virtual quarantine, but that single indulgence in travel proved to be fatal.
“They say she has become a saint, though it’s rather late in the day.” One aspect of Dostoyevsky that tends to be overlooked is his humor, even in his darkest novels. This remark is made by Mme. Hohlakov about Grushenka, the kept mistress of an old merchant who inspires Fyodor Karamazov and his son Dmitri to quarrel over who should possess her. We may be saying something similar about President Trump. Today he held a briefing in which he urged people to wear masks and to avoid crowding restaurants and bars, while pledging to do his utmost to promote vaccines for the coronavirus. The sentiments are all impeccable – but, like Grushenka’s aspirations towards virtue, rather late in the day. Well, we have to take what we can get.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 15,084,320; # of deaths worldwide: 618,477; # of cases U.S.: 4,028,313 # of deaths U.S.: 144,944. Two dismal milestones surpassed today: the global case count is now over 15 million and the U.S. case count is over 4 million. Again the global case count has increased by one million in a bare five days. The U.S. case count increased by one million in two weeks. It will continue to increase at this rate until the number of new cases per day is reduced.