The Lost Mountain hike – Lunch at a winery – Slight progress on the lawsuits against Trump – New Zealand unable to contain the virus – Declining cases and hospitalizations in the U.S. – Evening statistics
Today I went with LM and four others on a winery hike, doing 7½ miles that went over Lost Mountain in Sky Meadows State Park. We went on the loop that goes up and down the mountain in the counter-clockwise direction, the first time that I had done so. We all agreed that this is the preferable route: it provides a steep ascent first and a gradual downhill towards the end, and the descent provides a better angle for the views of the meadows below. (If one goes uphill in that direction one has to look continually over one’s shoulder to see the same views.) It was very warm today, and humid as well; it was pleasant in the shaded areas and occasionally breezes moderated the heat in the ones exposed to direct sun, but it was surprising how tired we were at the end of such a short hike.
The visit to the winery provided a welcome restorative. We went to the Blue Valley winery in the vicinity of Delaplane, purchased a few bottles, and lunched rather elaborately on various contributions from the group while sitting on the terrace, with its wide-ranging views of the valley and of the ridgeline of the Blue Ridge Mountains, along which the Appalachian Trail wends its way. Not many people were present, since it was a weekday and well past Labor Day. We thus had our choice of seats and we were able to find a table almost completely in the shade, where we sat and ate in comfort.
We had deplored, in the parking area of Sky Meadows just before departing for the winery, the manner in which the various lawsuits against Trump seem to have made no progress. But this very evening provided a tiny bit of encouragement. A judge has ruled that Trump can be deposed in the lawsuit brought against him by Summer Zervos, who has sued Trump for calling her allegations of his groping and harassment of her as “lies” and “a hoax.” If he can be maneuvered into courtrooms in which he is bound to make a public spectacle of himself, there is at least a chance that the members of the Trump faction less emotionally dependent on their idol than the majority will turn away from this strange false god in high places.
New Zealand has been forced to admit that it is impossible to contain the COVID virus within its borders, despite a rigorous lockdown policy. One should not exaggerate the extent of the virus there: in a country of over 5 million people, there have been only 27 deaths, while less than 0.1% of the population have been infected. But the country has been fairly slow to receive vaccinations, with only 40% of the population fully vaccinated, although 65% have received a single dose.
In the U.S. 56% of the population are fully vaccinated. Case rates and hospitalizations are going down. A week ago the daily average of new cases and new hospitalizations were 112,311 and 77,983 respectively; this week they are 86,801 and 64,217. The reductions are substantial, but, as the figures indicate, we have a long way to go. The following states have more than 60% of the population fully vaccinated: Vermont, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Maryland, New York, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Washington, Oregon, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Deaths have also been declining; today’s death toll was less than 500, while in the past it was close to 2,000.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 236,098,583; # of deaths worldwide: 4,821,206; # of cases U.S.: 44,640,564; # of deaths; U.S.: 721,317.