Hiking in the ACLT – The Wanderbirds begins its restoration – The hospital situation begins to moderate but is still stressed – A music radio station that provides its own interruptions – Evening statistics
I went with AD and others to hike in the American Chestnut Land Trust, whose nearly rock-free paths felt very good to the feet after going over the stony trail between Keys Gap and Loudoun Heights. It was somewhat warmer today than yesterday, and although the park is well-shaded, our hike included one section that passed under electric cables and was completely exposed. But we were in luck: a steady breeze was blowing when we passed upon it, and at no time did we become uncomfortably hot. The views of Parker Creek were beautiful, its gray-green waters reflecting the sunlight under a canopy of oak and hickory trees, one of the few old growth forests in the state. Despite the pleasant weather, we saw surprisingly few hikers besides ourselves: only a handful on the portion of the Parker Creek Loop that descends from the parking area to the creek in about ½ mile and hardly anyone on the Prince Frederick to Bay Trail.
AD told us that the Wanderbirds will be starting to conduct official hikes soon, starting on the following weekend. These will be trailhead hikes, each hike conducted by two leaders and with a maximum number of hikers capped at a figure from 10 to 25, depending on the leaders’ preference. Hikers will be confined to club members. It is now over a year and a half since the club has sponsored hikes, so it is gratifying to know that club activities will be re-activated even to this limited degree. Hikes will take place both on Saturdays and Sundays, but hikers will be requested to select only one hike per weekend in order to provide an opportunity for as many club members as possible to participate in club hikes. Perhaps, as the pandemic recedes, we will able to resume bus hikes again, but at present it is idle to speculate as to when that might occur.
The number of hospitalizations is going down, but the virus is too prevalent to declare it merely endemic. Nearly 56% of the total US population, or about 65% of those ages 12 and up who are eligible, are fully vaccinated. But fifteen states have not yet fully vaccinated more than half of their residents: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming. Four states are currently using more than 40% of their hospital ICU beds for COVID patients: Idaho, Wyoming, West Virginia, and Georgia.
“Music like this raises the spirit.” Such were the words I heard on the radio, spoken over the music actually being played at the time, and eventually extinguishing it. WETA, the music station in question, appears to have hit upon a foolproof method of depressing the spirits after they have been raised, by breaking off the pieces being aired in order to give their announcers the opportunity to sprout bromides such as these.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 235,683,841; # of deaths worldwide: 4,815,130; # of cases U.S.: 44,515,364; # of deaths; U.S.: 719,925.