Hiking along the Appalachian Trail – White Rocks – A blessed relief from the heat – Booster shots – Willard Scott – Evening statistics
I went with AD and RH on an out-and-back along the Appalachian Trail from Gathland. There were nine of us in all. PE, who had to leave early, went to White Rocks and back (about 7½ miles total); RH went with two others to the tower road before turning back (about 10 miles total), and AD and I with three others went to the Rocky Run shelter and back (about 11½ miles total, including the spur trail from the AT to the shelter). The section of the AT that runs through Maryland tends to be slighted by through-hikers. Quite a number of them elect to do a “four-state” hike that starts from Keys Gap in Virginia, goes 4 miles through West Virginia to the Potomac river bridge at Harpers Ferry, and continues 41 miles through the entirety of the trail in Maryland until reaching the Pennsylvania border. It is certainly a feasible day hike, but in practice it means that one is focusing so much effort on getting through it as to preclude taking much notice of one’s surroundings – and the area in Maryland, though not dramatic or conventionally spectacular, is well worth seeing, with verdant forest and with many fine views on both sides of the ridge.
White Rocks, which overlooks the eastern side of the ridge and surveys the Middletown Valley as well as Middletown itself, is one of these. It is of historical interest as well: George Washington, when he was a surveyor during his youth and was exploring the area around South Mountain, said that the valley was one of the most beautiful areas he had ever seen. I would not advance that claim for it, but it is certainly striking, with large square fields of corn or wheat interspersed with woodland and the little village of Middletown in the center of the area within view. For the ascent to White Rocks we diverged from the AT slightly, taking the Bear Spring Cabin trail to a spur trail that approaches White Rocks from below, ascending over 300 feet in slightly under ¼ mile. I have not used this route before, so it for me, at least, it had the pleasing effect of novelty. On the return we used the AT all the way; as I have frequently have had occasion to observe, steep and rocky inclines are easier to go up than to go down.
We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, not least because at long last the hot weather had “broken” earlier this week and we were able to hike without being oppressed by the torrid, humid atmosphere of the past few weeks. It seems counter-productive to yearn for more moderate temperatures, because the virus activity tends to increase as the temperature goes down. But there it is: this area has been baking for weeks on end, and one and all we rejoiced in the conditions that allowed us to venture out of doors without being drenched in perspiration within five minutes. Since we were in somewhat higher elevation than DC and its suburbs, the temperature was always under 80 degrees, even during mid-afternoon.
CB, one of the hikers who has been on several of these hikes, related afterwards while we were socializing together about his experience in obtaining a third vaccination shot. Initially the people administering the vaccine were reluctant to provide him with one. However, he had undergone chemotherapy (for a condition that is now, thankfully, in remission) during the interval between the first and second shots, and because there was a possibility of his being immuno-compromised, he obtained the booster shot that he requested.
I’m in two minds at this point about the boosters. I would not be able to get one until late November, eight months after my second shot, so there is plenty of time to weigh the pros and cons of the matter. The reports, at this date, are conflicting. Some indicate that the immunity conferred by the vaccine fades within a half-year or so; others say that the protection from a full vaccination is quite sufficient without a booster shot. The CDC data suggests that more than 99.9% of people who have been vaccinated have not had a so-called “break-through” case of the virus. My own guess – and it is only a guess – is that eventually the situation will subside into that resembling the current one with influenza: a yearly vaccination, the composition of which will vary each time depending on which variant or variants are the most prevalent.
Willard Scott died this morning. He is of course chiefly known for his role as weatherman on the Today show from 1980 to 2015, but he was a much-loved figure in the DC area long before that phase of his career. He and his colleague Ed Walker ran a local radio show called “The Joy Boys” from 1955 to 1974, in which they did various skits and satirized various personalities of the day – but it was satire of a kind that was much more common some decades ago than it is today, being characterized by a scrupulous avoidance of coarseness or malice, as well as by a delight in absurdities. In addition, he was the weatherman for WRC-TV, the NBC-owned television station that was licensed to Washington DC. I well remember the evenings of various holidays (Christmas in particular) when I, along with my brother and my parents, watched the evening’s news program for the sole purpose of seeing what sort of antics he would do once he completed the (somewhat perfunctory) weather report. Emerging from a manhole in groundhog costume on Groundhog Day and wearing only a barrel on April 15th (when income taxes are due) are examples. His humor was not to everyone’s taste; he was large, hearty, flamboyant, and loud; a few of his colleagues on the Today show felt that he was demeaning them by his continual clowning, although others were fanatically devoted to him. I suppose that he will not go down in the annals of film and television as one of the great comedians; but he had the ability, which so many of them lack, of projecting an aura of golden good-nature, a complete absence of mean-mindedness or rancor. We could use a few more media personalities like him during this troubled time.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 221,073,172; # of deaths worldwide: 4,574,383; # of cases U.S.: 40,765,303; # of deaths; U.S.: 665,858.