Good morning, it’s Monday.
I have a penchant for long-distance endurance undertakings – long hikes, long runs (if a fast shuffle could indeed be called a “run”), long bike rides. Inevitably, though, even though I enjoy these experiences, there comes a moment – or maybe a few of them – when things are very difficult and I think to myself, “Why do I do this again?”
And then I come to the end/finish line, and – if not right away, than at the very most a few days later – all I can think of is how disappointed I am that it’s over and what the next challenge might be.
Outdoor recreation has steadily grown in popularity (perhaps driven in part by the Covid years when there was pretty much nothing to do BUT be outside) and has hit record highs in recent years.
According to a survey by the Outdoor Industry Association, which specializes in outdoor research, advocacy, and sustainability, a record high 58.6 percent of Americans went outside to participate in a wide range of activities like camping, hiking, and fishing (these are considered “gateway” activities as they are relatively inexpensive and pretty easily accessible) in 2024.
It’s particularly encouraging to see that this increase in popularity was driven by Black and Latino Americans, which indicates that the outdoors gap is closing – although the percentage of people who are getting outside to recreate still does not mirror the overall population.
Hiking was the biggest winner, with 63 million people reporting that they had taken to the trails in 2024 – a growth of about 5 million participants over four years. This makes a lot of sense to me, as all you really need to go for a hike is sturdy shoes (preferably not tennis sneakers) and a backpack with a first aid kit, water and some snacks, assuming you’re not going to stay out for terribly long.
The longer and more technical your hike, the more gear you ostensibly need. And if you hike in a park, you might have to pay an entrance fee, or even – given the booming popularity of outdoor pursuits leading us to loving our parks basically to death – make a reservation. Even taking all this into consideration, hiking still has a pretty low bar for entry.
Not terribly long ago, hiking was something you only did if you were, say, going out hunting or trapping, or working in the logging industry, or surveying, or exploring. Depending on the terrain around your dwelling, hiking was also a means of transportation.
Hiking as a leisure activity didn’t become popular until the late 18th and early 19th centuries, starting with the rise of the Romantic movement, which, in short, was a “back to nature” phenomenon spurred in part by the advent of factories and mass production. The upper and middle classes (in other words, those who could afford to take time off) took up walking in the countryside to escape the pressures of urban life.
The first national park – Yellowstone – was created in 1872, followed a few years later (1915) by the establishment of the National Park Service. This corresponds with the rise of hiking as a recreational activity and the creation of organizations like the Sierra Club that promoted preservation and outdoor engagement for individuals from all walks of life.
The early 1900s saw the creation of long through hikes, like the Appalachian Trail, the West Coast Trail, and the Long Trail, just to name a few. Today, some people take their hiking very seriously, trying to bag peaks and break records and whatnot.
I’m as competitive as the next person, but to me that almost defeats the purpose of just getting out into nature and getting away from it all for a little while, with no agenda and nothing to accomplish (save for summiting, if you like that kind of thing, and also improving your mental and physical health).
Today, in case you hadn’t yet guessed, is National Take a Hike Day. If you decide to head out to observe it, be sure to dress warm. Today’s weather will be tame compared to what we saw yesterday, with cloudy to partly cloudy skies and no precipitation in the forecast, but temperatures will only peak in the high 30s.
In the headlines…
President Donald Trump urged lawmakers in his own party to vote to release files relating to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “because we have nothing to hide” – a sudden reversal after his campaign to tamp down G.O.P. dissent and halt the vote.
“It’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party, including our recent Victory on the Democrat ‘Shutdown,’” Trump wrote on social media.
In a last-ditch effort in recent days, Trump had reached out personally to try to sway Republican lawmakers backing the release, summoning one to a meeting in the White House Situation Room with his attorney general and F.B.I. director to discuss the matter.
Trump is feuding with Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a staunch ally, who said that the rift “has all come down to the Epstein files.”
Greene expressed support for Trump and his agenda yesterday after becoming one of the latest and most visible targets of his anger.
“I do support him and his administration, and I support them in delivering the campaign promises we made to the American people,” Greene told CNN’s “State of the Union”, adding: “His remarks, of course, have been hurtful.”
The Trump administration intensified its pressure campaign against Venezuela, placing an aircraft carrier in the Caribbean, designating a Venezuelan group as a foreign terrorist organization and striking another boat supposedly carrying drugs.
But Trump also said that his administration may hold talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as the U.S. military buildup near the South American country grows.
Speaking with reporters in Florida, Trump said a recent U.S. designation of a Venezuelan-linked cartel gives the government the authority to target Maduro’s assets or infrastructure. He added that while such actions are possible, no decision has been made.
Trump’s proposed $2,000 tariff dividend checks for American citizens are coming, he promised, but no date has been finalized yet.
Rep. Ro Khanna of California called again for Senator Chuck Schumer to step down as minority leader after a group of Democrats joined Republicans to end the government shutdown.
For Schumer’s growing list of haters, there are two realities that are going to both excite and frustrate: He’s not going anywhere as Senate Democratic Leader, and it’s increasingly unlikely he’ll be reelected in 2028.
The Pentagon is withdrawing hundreds of National Guard soldiers from Chicago and Portland, Ore., just weeks after Trump ordered them there over the strenuous objections of state and local leaders, according to two U.S. officials.
The incoming head of New York City’s premier business group said it would be “absolute suicide” for Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state legislature to enact Mayor-elect Zohran’s proposed corporate tax hikes.
Mamdani says he and Hochul are working out a plan for delivering universal childcare in New York City by 2027, fulfilling one of his major campaign promises.
Hochul opposes higher income taxes for rich New Yorkers, but notably hasn’t ruled out other ways of raising revenue.
Hochul is reportedly open to raising taxes on corporations in the Empire State to help fund Mamdani’s freebie-filled agenda for New York City.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Elise Stefanik ripped Hochul in a blistering new ad Friday that was essentially a montage of the Democratic incumbent’s lowlights as New York governor.
Hochul says that she likes a fight. That’s a good thing, because she’s in for several of them next year.
Conservationists are pressing Hochul to approve a ban on the harvesting of horseshoe crabs in state waters after she vetoed the same measure a year ago.
Supporters of the bill say that New York must protect the ancient crustaceans, whose populations are declining in some places because of overfishing, loss of habitat and climate change, which floods beaches and warms oceans.
Raj Doyle, a Democrat running to become the state’s financial watchdog, wants to take New York’s ever-increasing gas and electric bills out of the hands of industry-affiliated bureaucrats.
Teen pot use is exploding in New York after years of decline — just three years after the Empire State legalized marijuana in 2021, new statistics show.
Nearly one in five kids under 21 now report using cannabis, according to a New York Impact Report released last week by from Smart Approaches to Marijuana.
The state tax department has begun issuing significant penalties to numerous licensed hemp retailers whose stores were raided over the past few years by regulators and police agencies that seized millions of dollars in cannabinoid products.
Elected officials and administrators of a hospital in downtown Brooklyn are sounding the alarm that the hospital could be forced to shut down by the end of the year if Hochul doesn’t come to the rescue.
The Democratic Socialists of America held a “Tax the Rich” rally in Union Square yesterday as Democratic state lawmakers warm to the tax increases over worries they could face primaries and the wrath of liberals in next year’s elections.
DSA member and Brooklyn state Sen. Jibari Brisport said he twice tried to work with Hochul on passing universal childcare legislation, but was rebuffed. “Kathy Hochul, if you get a third strike, you’re out!” Brisport said to whoops and applause at the rally.
Mamdani said that he met with police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and hopes she will stay on to continue leading the NYPD when he takes office.
Now that Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, is on the cusp of overseeing a police force of more than 50,000 people, officers of every rank are deciding how to work with his administration.
As Mamdani prepares to take office this January, his transition team cochair, Lina Khan, is shedding light on how he could tackle “corporate lawbreakers.”
Hassaan Chaudhary, who identifies himself as newly appointed political director for Mamdani’s transition and inaugural committee on LinkedIn, spewed hatred against Jews and Israel and questioned gay rights in a series of social media posts from a decade ago.
With less than two months remaining in office, Mayor Eric Adams of New York landed in Israel to meet with business and political leaders and to discuss rising global antisemitism. Instead of assuaging Jews’ fears about Mamdani, he stoked them.
The City Council has passed legislation that will force Mamdani to follow through with the most contentious phase of the war on rats: replacing parking spots with large trash bins.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is looking to pass a bill that would require the NYPD to grant the city’s police watchdog agency direct access to all footage captured by body-worn cameras.
A City Council committee voted Friday to kill the “Ryder’s Law” bill that would ban horse-drawn carriages from operating in and around Central Park, casting doubt over the future of the long-running push to abolish the industry.
New York Jets cornerback Kris Boyd was shot and critically wounded in Midtown early yesterday morning and is now clinging to life at Bellevue Hospital, police and team officials said.
The 29-year-old NFL player was shot in the abdomen outside Sei Less on W. 38th St. near Seventh Ave. at about 2 a.m., according to law enforcement sources. Medics rushed him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition.
NYC Correction Department supervisors, guards and other staffers pocketed an eye-popping $363 million in overtime pay during the fiscal year ending June 30 – a 29% increase from the previous 12 months – as the agency dealt with a massive staffing shortage.
Mark Stewart, the recently retired NYPD deputy commissioner for community affairs, has been awarded a lucrative ¾ disability pension, following a similarly generous benefit bestowed on departed Chief of Department John Chell.
Canal Street in Chinatown is once again awash in a sea of illegal vendors hawking knock-off designer bags, electronics and jewelry less than a month after ICE dramatically cleared the area and made arrests.
When Ali Faqirzada was detained after a routine asylum hearing in New York, officials from Bard College and the Episcopal Diocese tapped their networks to help.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albany will defend the Justice Department in a federal lawsuit filed by Maurene Comey, a former assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York who was abruptly fired in July.
An announcement could come as early as next week about a nuclear reactor on Fort Drum, according to state Assemblyman Scott Gray.
Persons of interest have been identified in connection with the Twiller Street fire that killed five people in early October, the Albany Police Department announced on Friday.
Residents in Bethlehem who have been seeking to nullify government approvals for the Port of Albany’s 80-acre Beacon Island site on the Hudson River over environmental concerns are pushing forward despite their latest loss in court.
In 2026, the City of Saratoga Springs’ liability insurance is set to rise another 10%, bringing annual costs to nearly $2.4 million, according to the city’s Finance Department estimates.
One candidate’s failure to get election petition signatures on time and another candidate’s 11th-hour decision to join the race left the Village of Round Lake without the names of trustee candidates on its Election Day ballot.
Maple Avenue Middle School Principal Scott Singer resigned after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct to resolve a petit larceny case after a State Police probe into withdrawals from the account of a local school administrators’ union where he was treasurer.
The former Hoosick Falls police chief, who pleaded guilty to a charge of official misconduct in 2022, cutting short his tenure and sidelining his aspirations to run for Rensselaer County sheriff, could have his case dismissed and sealed by May 12.
Schenectady City Council members bungled their opportunity to override the mayor’s veto of the 2026 budget because of a procedural technicality, according to the city’s top lawyer, Maxine Barasch.
New York’s political community mourned the death of Sid Davidoff, a government relations veteran, lobbyist and beloved “tough guy” whose roots go back to when he was an administrative assistant to New York City Mayor John Lindsay.
Davidoff died at a hospital among family and friends in the Dominican Republic, in the town of Punta Cana where he owned a home and was battling an infection while recovering from shoulder surgery. He was 86.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
