The first hike of spring – Unpopularity of Mike Pence – Evening statistics
Yesterday RS was unable to come to my place, and in truth I was not sorry for the opportunity to regroup a bit after three consecutive days of hiking. Today, however, I went with the Vigorous Hikers on a hike suitable for ushering in the spring season, going to Caledonia State Park and doing a circuit of 18 miles. I have been to Caledonia many times in the past, but this was the first time I was on the trails east of Rte. 233, and thus part of the hike was new to me. The remainder, which went along the Beaver and Rocky Knob Trails, I had done before, but going in the opposite direction, so in a sense that part of the hike was new to me as well. The weather could not have been better: it was cold when we began, but it warmed up rapidly, and the sky, in contrast to the somewhat clouded conditions at lower elevations, was perfectly clear. We came across a group of hikers going along the Beaver Trail and continuing around the reservoir; but outside of that, we encountered no one until we reached Quarry Gap. Even there, there were surprisingly few people on the AT. The shelter remains as elegant as ever. I felt completely energized by the end of the hike, not exhausted as I was last week on the group’s hike of comparable distance – though to be sure its elevation gain was greater, nearly 4000 feet as opposed to 2770. At one point some members of the group commented that we could have taken a clockwise route instead of a counterclockwise one, which would have allowed us to lunch alongside the beautiful Long Pine Run reservoir. Nonetheless I thought that our lunch spot at the Milesburn Cabin was thoroughly comfortable, situated amid rhododendron thickets, with a stream rippling nearby with the delightful sound of its plashing, and dotted with various wildflowers, including some large purple crocus that are blooming somewhat later here than done in the DC metro area.
It’s difficult to concentrate on the headlines after such a glorious experience, and indeed I do not see much of new development. The only item that caught my attention was a headline that said: “Nobody likes Mike Pence.” Is this really news? It has seemed fairly obvious to me for a long time. Pence’s consistent hedging of bets by refusing either to align himself with Trump openly or to criticize Trump has alienated both Trump supporters and Trump opponents. At all events, comments from people interviewed about his presidential ambitions ran along the lines of “it’s over, it’s retirement time” and “he’s only gonna get the vote from his family, and I’m not even sure if they like him.”
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 682,687,925; # of deaths worldwide: 6,820,990; # of cases U.S.: 105,986,345; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,151,851. There have been less than 1,000 deaths from COVID today worldwide, if the statistics are to be believed. The U.S. now ranks 59th among nations for COVID infections, but, alas, 15th for mortality rate.