The Appalachian Trail in Swatara Gap – Beltway traffic – Phase 3 in Virginia – Update from Florida – Brett Crozier, scapegoat – Juneteenth and the Presidential rally – Evening statistics
I had to cut my planned hike short today. I had planned to cover the Appalachian Trail between the Cold Spring trailhead (which I had reached approaching from Rte. 325 earlier) and Swatara Gap. But when I went along the AT I eventually came to an area that has been flooded by a beaver dam. It covers about 200 yards of the trail, ranging (as far as I could judge from appearances) from ankle-deep to knee-deep, and it was very marshy as well, with coffee-colored water and silt underneath. I would have turned back even if I had brought water-shoes (which I had not); crossing it would have been a very disagreeable experience under any circumstances, and I could not be certain that the bog did not contain leeches. Even though I had to turn back before I had intended, I hiked an appreciable distance. All in all I covered 11 miles (including a side trail in Swatara Gap State Park to reach the AT), with 1500-1600 feet of elevation gain – not an especially strenuous hike but not negligible either. The weather forecasts were beautifully wrong; it did not rain at all while I was on the trail, and the shade from the dense foliage and the occasional breeze moderated the temperature; it never went above 80 degrees. It is a good deal more pleasant than the previous section that I covered (the planes from Lancaster Airport do not go over this section of the trail) and it featured Waterville Bridge, a historic bridge built by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. in 1890. The bridge is a graceful structure, of the type known as a lenticular truss bridge, so-called because the top and bottom chords of the truss are arched, forming the shape of a lens.
The drive back was more difficult than it had been on previous occasions. Although traffic on the Beltway was still lighter than it had been before the coronavirus made an impact, there were patches of gridlock here and there. I found it expedient to take the “hot lanes” after crossing the river and to use I-66 only as far as the first exit so that I could reach Fairfax by means of back roads instead of going by way of Rte. 123. Activity is getting back to normal levels and this is of course greatly to be desired, but we must expect to see the usual traffic issues return as more and more people start commuting to work.
Virginia is tentatively scheduled to enter Phase 3 of the easing of the lockdown restrictions. The state has had a continual decline in new cases for 16 days, followed by 3 days of daily case count with no change, so the data are encouraging. The date is now set at June 26th, but it may change if there is a new spike in cases. The new phase would allow child-care centers to re-open, remove the limits on the capacity of restaurants and non-essential retail (although tables in restaurants still have to be set sufficiently far apart to conform with the social distancing criteria), and entertainment venues would be allowed to admit audiences at 50% capacity, with a maximum of 1,000 people at any single event.
One of my cousins, who lives in the greater metro area of Palm Beach, tells me that I was mistaken in repeating the report that Florida’s bars and restaurants are closed. (One should be wary of believing the leading articles too readily, it appears.) Only some in certain areas (such as Jacksonville) have been asked to close, and this guideline appears to be very feebly enforced. My cousin, who is in the health care profession, is understandably concerned. About 82% of Palm Beach County’s ICU beds are now occupied. Nonetheless, except for Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties, the state is currently in the second phase of reopening. Bars and restaurants can operate at 50% capacity, and gyms, retail stores, museums, libraries and professional sports venues can operate at full capacity. Today Florida has seen an increase of nearly 4,000 new cases, bringing its total to nearly 90,000.
The Navy has decided not to re-instate Brett Crozier, who was relieved of his position after issuing a memo trying to alert authorities about the virus infecting the man on the ship under his command. And what was the reasoning behind this decision of Admiral Mike Gilray, the chief of naval operations, it may be asked? He said that Crozier did not do enough to stop the spread of the virus on the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt. That is to say, he faulted Crozier for the failures of the Navy itself, acting under the prompting of the President; and when in desperation Crozier issued a memo pleading for a more helpful response, he was found to be very much in the wrong for so doing, on account of the damage it inflicted upon President Trump’s reputation as Chief Executive. One must give our President credit for this much: he has shown uncommon acumen in selecting toadies and bootlickers for crucial positions, both in the military and in his cabinet.
Today is the anniversary of the end of the Civil War – “Juneteenth,” as it is called – at which point news of the Emancipation Proclamation was brought by Union soldiers to the last group of enslaved blacks in Galveston, TX. This year may have seen the most widespread celebrations in the country. But there were many protests as well, in wake of the demonstrations earlier set off by the death of George Floyd. Since the rally for President Trump in Tulsa takes place tomorrow, he has taken a pre-emptive move in case the protestors continue their activities: he has announced that they will not receive “gentle treatment” if they make any disturbance at his rally, and it is admitted on all sides that threats of this nature are among the few promises he may be relied upon to keep.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM — # of cases worldwide: 8,746,693; # of deaths worldwide: 461,788; # of cases U.S.: 2,296,058; # of deaths U.S.: 121,402. When I looked these figures up, I couldn’t believe them at first. The worldwide case count has expanded by over 175,000 in the course of a single day. Brazil’s case count now exceeds 1,000,000 – that is less of a surprise, admittedly. Over 5,000 people have died worldwide today on account of the virus, and Brazil accounts for nearly a quarter of the total. Many countries are reporting new spikes now, especially those from Latin America and the Mideast: Peru, Chile, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Colombia. Chile’s case rate is now over 1.2% of its population. India’s case count is the fourth highest in the world, but in light of their huge population the case count is less serious than it may appear; its case rate is still less than Australia’s or New Zealand’s. Africa, interestingly enough, is presenting the brightest picture so far: most of the nations on the continent have a case rate of well under 0.1%.