Possible extension of the Loudoun Heights Trail – The increasing burden on the national medical system – Transition formally authorized at last – Evening statistics
I went with RS and two other members of the Potomac Heritage Trail Association to investigate the possibility of extending the Loudoun Heights down to the parking area close to the gas station on Rte. 340 – or, more accurately, reviving the old route that had been closed off. The Loudoun Heights Trail has undergone a considerably amount of modification in the past several years. Originally the trailhead was located at the back end of the parking area until the trail was closed several years ago to terminate at Split Rock. More recently, it was rerouted to split from the Appalachian Trail below the ridgeline and go along a lower elevation until reaching a telephone line, at which point it goes upward towards the ridge. What has motivated the most recent modification I do not know, but the closure of the original trailhead was due to the fact that the trail used switchbacks that passed through private property, and its owner was no longer willing to grant the easement. It should be possible, however, to set up switchbacks that will remain within the public boundary. We also explored going along the Potomac from the Harpers Ferry Adventure Center in order to bypass walking along Rte. 340, which is not at all pleasant. It turns out that setting up a trail there is quite feasible; indeed, it is clear the many people have walked along this way already and a trail has been created, more or less, by people’s footsteps; all that remains to be done is to clear out the undergrowth and to saw through the blowdowns and move them aside.
As will be seen, hiking and trail exploration remain my chief activities. There have not been many social gatherings since the advent of the COVID virus, and any in which I have participated have been on a small and reduced scale. My friends and relatives have been equally circumspect, but evidently this attitude of caution is not universal.
“Somehow the number of deaths hasn’t translated into an overall sense of responsibility that we should have toward each other.” The speaker of these words is Dr. Nailah Abdulbaaqee, a doctor with a primary care practice with offices in Atlanta and elsewhere. She is one of many medical professionals reacting to the numbers of people who willfully disregard safety and set up dinner parties with large numbers of guests, sleepovers, and maskless get-togethers. At this point many hospitals are at full capacity, and we have not even started the holidays yet. Thanksgiving promises to be a herald of horrors: it may be taken as a certainty that numerous families will disregard the warnings about large social gatherings and thereby accelerate the rate of infection.
Presumably matters will change once we get an administration that will encourage people to treat the virus seriously and not swamp them with foolish conspiracy theories. The General Services Administration has formally notified Biden that the transition process can begin and has placed resources at his disposal. It appears that Donald Trump is beginning to understand, however dimly, that his delaying tactics are not adding to his popularity. Trump’s perpetual claims of voter fraud, incidentally, obscure the fact that Biden won the popular vote by a 51%-to-47% margin, one of the largest in recent electoral history. At all events, Ellen Murphy, the GSA Administrator, sent the notification with Trump’s concurrence, so this authorization is a significant step forward.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 59,498,413; # of deaths worldwide: 1,401,539; # of cases U.S.: 12,773,601; # of deaths; U.S.: 263,659.