stung

Reporting from Washington — For weeks this fall, an ebullient President Trump traveled relentlessly to hold raise-the-rafters campaign rallies — sometimes three a day — in states where his presence was likely to help Republicans on the ballot.

But his mood apparently has changed as he has taken measure of the electoral backlash that voters delivered Nov. 6. With the certainty that the incoming Democratic House majority will go after his tax returns and investigate his actions, and the likelihood of additional indictments by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, Trump has retreated into a cocoon of bitterness and resentment, according to multiple administration sources.

Behind the scenes, they say, the president has lashed out at several aides, from junior press assistants to senior officials. “He’s furious,” said one administration official. “Most staffers are trying to avoid him.”

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, painted a picture of a brooding president “trying to decide who to blame” for Republicans’ election losses, even as he publicly and implausibly continues to claim victory.

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, who are close allies, “seem to be on their way out,” the official said, noting recent leaks on the subject. The official cautioned, however, that personnel decisions are never final until Trump himself tweets out the news — often just after the former reality TV star who’s famous for saying “You’re fired!” has directed Kelly to so inform the individual.

And, according to a source outside the White House who has spoken recently with the president, last week’s Wall Street Journal report confirming Trump’s central role during the 2016 campaign in quietly arranging payoffs for two women alleging affairs with him seemed to put him in an even worse mood.

Publicly, Trump has been increasingly absent in recent days — except on Twitter. He has canceled travel plans and dispatched Cabinet officials and aides to events in his place — including sending Vice President Mike Pence to Asia for the annual summits there in November that past presidents nearly always attended.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II was in Washington on Tuesday and met with Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, but not the president.

Also Tuesday, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis announced plans to travel on Wednesday near the U.S.-Mexico border to visit with troops Trump ordered there last month in what is ostensibly a mission to defend against a caravan of Central American migrants moving through Mexico and still hundreds of miles from the United States.

Trump had reportedly considered making that trip himself, but has decided against it. Nor has he spoken of the caravan since the midterm elections, after making it a central issue in his last weeks of campaigning.

Unusually early on Monday, the White House called a “lid” at 10:03 a.m. EST, informing reporters that the president would not have any scheduled activities or public appearances for the rest of the day. Although it was Veterans Day, Trump bucked tradition and opted not to make the two-mile trip to Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, as presidents since at least John F. Kennedy have done to mark the solemn holiday.

FULL COVERAGE: The latest on the Trump administration and the rest of Washington »

Trump’s only public appearance Tuesday was at a short White House ceremony marking the start of the Hindu holiday Diwali at which he made brief comments and left without responding to shouted questions.

He had just returned Sunday night from a two-day trip to France to attend ceremonies marking the centennial of the armistice that ended World War I. That trip was overshadowed, in part, by Trump’s decision not to attend a wreath-laying at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, the burial place for 2,289 soldiers 60 miles northeast of Paris, due to rain.

Kelly, a former Marine Corps general, and Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, did attend to honor the American service members interred there. Trump stayed in the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Paris, making no public appearances.

Other heads of state also managed to make it to World War I cemeteries in the area for tributes to their nations’ war dead on Saturday.

Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin were the only world leaders to skip a procession of world leaders to another commemoration, on Sunday, at the Arc de Triomphe. About 80 heads of state walked in unison — under umbrellas in the pouring rain — down Paris’ grand Champs-Elysees boulevard. Trump arrived later by motorcade, a decision aides claimed was made for security reasons.

Nicholas Burns, the former U.S. ambassador to NATO under George W. Bush, said the weekend events, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of a war in which 120,000 Americans were killed, were ripe for soaring words and symbolic gestures, which Trump failed to provide.

“Not only did he barely show up, he didn’t say anything that would help Americans understand the scale of the loss, or the importance of avoiding another great war,” Burns said. “He seemed physically and emotionally apart. It’s such a striking difference between the enthusiasm he showed during the campaign and then going to Paris and sulking in his hotel room.”

He added, “The country deserves more energy from the president.”

Trump took heavy flak on social media, especially for his no-show at the military cemetery.

“President @realDonaldTrump a no-show because of raindrops?” tweeted former Secretary of State John F. Kerry, a Navy veteran. “Those veterans the president didn’t bother to honor fought in the rain, in the mud, in the snow – & many died in trenches for the cause of freedom. Rain didn’t stop them & it shouldn’t have stopped an American president.”

Nicholas Soames, a member of Britain’s Parliament and grandson of Winston Churchill, tweeted, “They died with their face to the foe and that pathetic inadequate @realDonaldTrump couldn’t even defy the weather to pay his respects to The Fallen.”

Trump, clearly feeling on the defensive days later, tried to explain himself on Tuesday, in a tweet.

“By the way, when the helicopter couldn’t fly to the first cemetery in France because of almost zero visibility, I suggested driving,” he wrote. “Secret Service said NO, too far from airport & big Paris shutdown. Speech next day at American Cemetary [sic] in pouring rain! Little reported-Fake News!”

In that tweet, Trump falsely described the weather at the Sunday visit to another U.S. cemetery. Rather than “pouring rain,” photos showed him standing without a hat or an umbrella under overcast skies when he delivered remarks, though he did grasp an umbrella at one point while paying tribute at one soldier’s grave.

Just as Trump was returning to Washington on Sunday evening, Pence was heading to Asia in the president’s place, and at his first stop greeted Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Trump’s absence, experts said, is notable, and a glaring affront to many Asian leaders.

“It matters more in Asia than other regions because ‘face’ is so important,” said Matthew P. Goodman, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former White House coordinator for Asia-Pacific strategy during the Obama and George W. Bush administrations. “Your willingness to go out there is a sign you’re committed and not going is a sign you’re not.”

Putin is attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, looking to expand his country’s influence in Asia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and President Moon Jae-in of South Korea are also attending regional summits. And China’s President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang are simultaneously attending meetings across the region looking to broaden their country’s influence in the South China Sea and expand multilateral trade agreements.

Although Trump is set to meet with Xi at the Group of 20 summit of wealthy countries this month in Buenos Aires, his absence from the major Indo-Pacific meetings for a second straight year will “have some consequences for our position and our interests in the region,” Goodman continued. “Other countries are going to move ahead without us.”

What makes Trump’s perceived snub to the Asian powers more significant is that it comes on the heels of his brief European trip, which showcased his growing isolation from transatlantic allies. French President Emmanuel Macron rebuked Trump in a speech, stating that “nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism” as the U.S. president looked on sullenly.

Trump’s relations with Latin America, already strained, are little better after the White House last week announced that he was reneging for a second time on a commitment to visit Colombia. He had planned to go there later this month on his way back from the G-20 meetings.

In April, he’d sent Pence in his place to the Summit of the Americas in Peru, citing a need to remain in Washington to monitor the U.S. response to a chemical weapons attack in Syria. He’d planned to visit Bogota on the same trip.

This time around, there appeared to be no extenuating circumstances preventing a visit.

In a statement, the White House simply said, “President Trump’s schedule will not allow him to travel to Colombia later this month.”

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@EliStokols

Last year, I started teaching you, dear Wilder, what to do if you see an animal on the trail who could possibly hurt you. We’ve learned a lot together!

I explained the importance of observing a bear’s behavior to determine your best course of action. Same goes for coyotes. I also taught you that, if you actually see a mountain lion, you want to make so much noise they think, “‘What the hell is that?’” and leave.

We learned how you should not throw rocks at rattlesnakes to get them to move off trail, but it is sometimes OK to give them a little nudge with a long stick or hiking pole. (Read: sometimes.)

I hope, like me, you feel safer and more prepared should you encounter one of these critters in the woods. Now, I want to instruct you on the importance of dancing at the beach. Yes, it’s for your safety. It’s a specific type of boogie known as the “stingray shuffle.”

Stingrays live all over the world, including right here along the coastline of Southern California. Round stingrays, a sand-colored little cutie, are the most common of this cartilaginous fish group to be found around our beaches, and thus, the one you are most likely to step on.

That’s in part because they don’t want to be seen. Round rays are usually less than a foot long and often “cover themselves with mud or sand, leaving only the eyes and spiracles exposed,” according to the Aquarium of the Pacific, “an excellent camouflage technique.”

It’s less likely that you’ll see a bat ray in shallow water. If lucky, you might spot one of those swimming near a local pier.

Although data on the number of stings in L.A. County were not readily available, the experts I spoke to agreed that it’s common enough that you need to be prepared when you visit the beach. I’d usually end with “Let’s dive in!” to be cheeky, but that directly contradicts the advice below. Puns aside, here are five tips to avoid a painful stingray encounter at the beach.

1. Shuffle your feet as you enter the water

Rather than stepping into the ocean, you should shuffle your feet as you enter the water. This is the aforementioned “stingray shuffle,” where you kick up sand, hopefully causing enough of a commotion that it will prompt any rays in the area to swim into deeper water.

“Their first line of defense is to swim away,” said Sara Lesser, education supervisor at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. “That stinger is the last thing they want to use, and they are pretty fast swimmers. If they get spooked, the first thing they’re going to do is try to get away from whatever spooked them.”

A bat ray, a species commonly found along the coast line from Oregon to the Gulf of California.

(Aquarium of the Pacific)

2. Don’t touch rays in the wild

At the aquarium, you can touch rays in a controlled setting around trained staffers. Out in the open ocean, don’t touch any animal, even if you perceive it to be gentle. Rays are wild animals too, and even if you’re out snorkeling, just watch it go by.

“They don’t have any interest or want to interact with us,” Lesser told me. “Snorkeling with them is a great way to see them, but make sure, like with all animals, [you] give them their space and distance. You’re entering their home. Be a quiet observer of them and their habitat.”

3. Be aware of your continued risk of being stung

Stingrays can be found anywhere along the ocean bottom, but you should especially use caution when walking along a nice flat seabed on a calm day when the water is shallow and warm.

“If you kick up enough sand, and you’re around enough people, the stingrays are going to get away from you,” said Pono Barnes, a spokesperson for the ocean lifeguard division of the L.A. County Fire Department. “They’re not going to wait until you get a foot away to swim away. If you’re shuffling around, and relatively in the same spot while you’re enjoying the water, the stingrays are going to clear out and move down the beach where it’s calm.”

Barnes said you don’t have to constantly shuffle your feet, but if you’re the only person out on a sand bar, it’s good to shuffle as you move around. Another option: swim.

Barnes has never been stung and attributes that to swimming to travel through the ocean. “They’re going to stay on the bottom. They’re not going to come up to sting you,” he said.

4. If stung, don’t pee on it

“I would not recommend that, that would not alleviate your pain,” Barnes said.

Given the myth around peeing on a jellyfish’s sting to alleviate pain, I had to ask. Not only does urine not help remove venom from a ray’s barb, it also should not be used to treat a jellyfish sting. Truly, the more you know!

5. Seek actual medical aid

Generally, being stung by a small round ray will feel like you’ve stepped on a piece of glass. That sensation will go away momentarily, only to be replaced by a throbbing pain that will vary in intensity depending on how much venom you received from the ray’s barb.

“I’ve seen linebacker-sized guys that are completely inconsolable, can’t talk because they’re writhing in pain, and then I’ve seen little kids that are totally fine that got stung,” Barnes said. “It really depends on how much venom gets delivered at the time you got stung.”

You should head, hopefully pee-free, to the nearest lifeguard stand.

The lifeguards will assess your injury, make sure the barb isn’t still in your foot and then wash the wound out.

Then, they will place your foot inside a Mylar-type bag where they’ll add the hottest water you can stand to kill the venom.

“What that hot water does is, it essentially cooks off that venom and the protein in the venom, and once that breaks down, the pain goes away,” Barnes said.

(Fun fact: Every morning, lifeguards collect scalding hot water and keep it in insulated containers in case a beachgoer suffers a sting. They’re always prepared for this to happen!)

It can take a few hours for the pain to subside.

“It’ll feel like you’re getting better and that you can take your foot out of the water, and then as soon as you take your foot out of that hot water, you’ll feel that pain start to come back,” Barnes said. “Typically, it’s the end of your beach day.”

The lifeguards will take you to the end of the beach, where your driver will take you home. Lifeguards can even help your driver plan the route home to include the nearest coffee shop or convenience store where you could get a refill on hot water, depending on how far you’re going.

Most people don’t have any other issues once the venom is cooked off. Those who do develop an infection should go to an urgent care and inform the physician they were stung by a stingray, as there are specific antibiotics more effective for marine-related injuries.

I hope you don’t have to ever use this advice. If you do, may your pain be minimal and aid be rendered swiftly!

3 things to do

Volunteers work to restore habitat at a Friends of the L.A. River event.

(Friends of the L.A. River)

1. Clean up habitat down by the L.A. River
Volunteers are needed from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve for Friends of the L.A. River’s habitat restoration day and Earth Month celebration, postponed because of rain last month. Participants will restore native habitat in the reserve, yanking invasive plants and making seed balls. Local organizations, including the California Native Plant Society and San Fernando Valley Audubon Society, will teach volunteers about local flora and fauna. Learn more and register at folar.org.

2. Glean native plant knowledge in Glendale
Officials from Glendale’s Office of Sustainability will lead a 2.8-mile hike at 10 a.m. Saturday through the Catalina Verdugo Trail, where they will teach hikers about native plants such as laurel sumac, sycamores and sages along the path. This lightly moderate path meanders around the Glendale Sports Complex in the San Rafael Hills. It is lush, and as such, long shirts and pants are recommended. Guests should also bring water and sun protection. Register at laworks.com.

3. Meet new plants at the L.A. River
Herb Club L.A. will host a walk at 5 p.m. Sunday around the L.A. River, where guides will teach guests about native plants and their medicinal, ecological and cultural significance. Afterward, guests will be invited to imbibe kefir water while sketching plants and adding to their field guides. Art supplies will be provided, but guests are welcome to bring existing pieces to work on. Tickets range from $23.18 to $33.85, with participants encouraged to pay what they can. Register at eventbrite.com.

The must-read

(Marie Doazan / For The Times)

The Sierras offer ample opportunity to backpack to alpine lakes and high peaks, where you’ll have much of the trail to yourself. But it isn’t always doable to drive a few hours north for a backpacking trip. That’s why I put together this helpful guide on how to backpack in our own backyard! There are around 20 backpacking sites around L.A. County, and I chose the best ones to check out this summer. Everything on my list is open. The roads to reach them are paved, and the trails to reach each site are generally well-maintained. I am looking forward to revisiting several spots on my list, including Valley Forge, where the stars will be bright, and the frogs hopefully loud.

Happy adventuring,

P.S.

Good news! This past weekend, a volunteer at Project Monarch L.A. spotted the first butterfly chrysalis that the group has seen in its three years of restoring habitat for the at-risk winged wonder. Since 2023, the project’s volunteers have spent hundreds of hours planting milkweed and native pollinating plants and taken other steps to help Los Angeles State Historic Park near Chinatown be a place where monarchs can reproduce and thrive. In the coming days, the little green chrysalis will hopefully transform into an orange-and-black beauty!

For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.