September 26-27, 2022

My new trail name – Setting up a hiking route between two rivers – Retribution overtakes Fanone’s assailant – Evening statistics

Today I received my trail name.

There is nothing to prevent any hiker from selecting a trail name for himself or herself, but it carries more conviction if it is conferred by others.  The circumstances attending this one were as follows:  I was hiking with RS, trying to work out a route for the “Potomaquan,” i.e., a route from the Potomac to the Occoquan rivers that involves using the Potomac Heritage Trail as much as possible.  We started from the Bazil Newman park in Landsdown and ended at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Lucketts, a journey between 23 and 24 miles, with perhaps 1500 feet of elevation gain.  In the course of our wanderings I tended to step ahead of him on several occasions, especially along the numerous ups and downs of Balls Bluff Park, and at one point he dubbed me “Quicksilver.”  I would not have thought of such a name myself, but I confess that it pleases me and I adopt it with alacrity.

The first half of the hike was delightful, going on the PHT alongside Goose Creek and using various other paths that connected us to Morven Park with hardly any amount of road walking.  Alas, the second half was less enjoyable.  The Potomac Heritage Trail simply peters out after Morven Park, and we were reduced to road walking to go over a ridgeline back to Lucketts.  But it was a fine day and we enjoyed splendid views periodically when we summited various hills and saw expanses of rolling meadow land fringed with forest.  At one point we went through a grove of tall pines, and the effect of their straight trucks and their branches shading the walkway was vaguely reminiscent of a cathedral. 

We plan to continue our efforts throughout the week, in hopes of completing the distance between the two rivers in the course of four days.

The efforts of today have made me rather tired, so scanning the headlines, either for political developments or COVID-related articles, will have to wait until another day.

There is one exception,  I am happy to report that Kyle Young, the man who bludgeoned Officer Michael Fanone with a flagpole during the assault on the Capitol, has received seven years in prison, one of the longest sentences given to the rioters.  Fanone suffered a heart attack as he was “grabbed, beaten, tased, all while being called a traitor to my country,” to use his own words.  His career as an officer was brought to an end with this assault; his health has been broken and he may easily be forced to live as in invalid for the remainder of his days.

Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 621,168,378; # of deaths worldwide: 6,542,765; # of cases U.S.: 97,989,305; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,082,271.