Hiking nearly 50 miles in three days – Trump menaces McConnell – Evening statistics
I have been out and about, despite the weather. On Friday I went with RS on the Fairfax Cross County Trail, starting from Lake Accotink and ending at Difficult Run. It was a long day, for we took a detour on account of the trail around the lake being closed for repairs; in the end I did about 29 miles. The rainclouds lowered towards the mid-afternoon, but there was no rainfall until well after 4:00, and even then it was only sprinkles. I was glad of this, for the last stream crossing along Difficult Run can indeed be difficult if the rocks on the crossing are wet, but we had had so much dry weather earlier that they proved to be quite easy to traverse.
Saturday I went with the Capital Hiking Club on the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, starting from Pine Grove Rd. and ending at Boiling Springs. The weather was wet – wetter, in fact, than the forecast led us to believe that it would be. It rained more or less continually from 11:00 onwards, tapering off only about 2:30, when we were approaching the bus. Boiling Springs is undergoing a rather unfortunate phase that I earnestly hope is only temporary. It seems to have fallen into disarray and is undergoing a state of repair. The historic tavern is closed for renovations; Children’s Pond has been drained, and the hot spring is currently not active. It is still a lovely place, with its array of 19th-century architecture, but it was something of a letdown that day from the memories I had of past visits there.
The forecast for today was ominous, and in preparation I had included a complete change of clothes after the hike I co-led for the Wanderbirds in Susquehanna State Park. But this precaution turned out to be unnecessary. it was a much easier hike than yesterday’s in every respect. The temperature was warmer than that of the day before; the rain was sporadic and for the most part consisted of mild drizzle; the fact that the hike involved less elevation gain made it possible for me to use one hiking pole only, leaving the other hand free to hold an umbrella whenever the rain became troublesome. And the Susquehanna River is undoubtedly one of the loveliest rivers in the country, even in these conditions; it had a silvery quality today that contrasted with the low clouds and the mild infusion of moisture in the air. At the Conowingo Dam, where the bus was parked, gulls and cormorants and terns were skimming over the river’s surface searching for fish as the water flowed through the gates of the dam. It turned out to be quite a lovely day, despite the gloomy forecasts of the meteorologists.
There is little news of interest, except for the fact the Trump has turned upon Mitch McConnell, declaring in a Truth Social post (Truth Social is Trump’s hastily-cobbled substitute social medium for Twitter, which continues to ban him) that McConnell must have a “death wish” – hinting at a forthcoming assassination. He included a racist slur on McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, for good measure.
But is this really news? Surely the fact that Trump has repaid the support of an erstwhile devotee with abuse and insults and death threats cannot come across as a novelty to anyone. His entire career is littered with cases of men and women who have rallied to his cause in the past and who received castigation and calumny as their reward once his relationship with them soured. It is a source of continual amazement to me that anyone would trust him for five minutes on end. But they do, despite all of the warnings his past behavior has provided, and it is difficult to feel sympathy for these victims of his. As the Chinese proverb has it, “He who falls into the same ditch twice deserves to break his neck.”
Today’s statistics as of 9:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 623,446,488; # of deaths worldwide: 6,550,572; # of cases U.S.: 98,254,626; # of deaths; U.S.: 1,084,892.