Free Republic

I have written before of the simple pleasures that just seem to happen when you live in East Tennessee. The fresh from the patch Scott Farms strawberries in May, and the wonders of the flowering displays on Roan Mountain in June are two. We took a hike this week on the AT traversing the highlands of the Roan pretty much following the Tennessee/ North Carolina border. Folks know it is the most beautiful section of the whole trail from Georgia to Maine, and they come from all over to take in the views . We also seek the solitude of...

On Tuesday, sources told News 4's Nigel Robertson that a state vehicle is missing and was tracked down, not to the Appalachian Trail, but to the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta. Sources told Robertson that a federal agent spotted Sanford in the airport boarding a plane. Robertson was told that the governor was not accompanied by security detail.

We’re not suggesting that the formerly missing Governor of South Carolina specifically ditched his family and security detail to go hiking on Naked Hiking Day. It’s just that one of the days he hit the trail also happened to be the aforementioned holiday. [Editor’s note: This paragraph was changed to make clear that the governor’s timing was a coincidence.] Until late yesterday, no one would say publicly where he was. Poof. He just disappeared. The story started to resemble a John Grisham novel. A southern conservative governor and very vocal critic of a popular liberal president eluded his security detail...

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has been hiking the Appalachian Trail, a spokesman said Monday, explaining a dayslong absence that perplexed fellow state leaders. Sanford hadn't been at work for several days and his office hadn't been in touch with him. Lawmakers and his wife said Monday they didn't know where he was, leading critics to question who was in charge of South Carolina. ... Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said Sanford left town on Thursday with plans to hike the Appalachian Trail. .. "He's just up there to kind of clear his head after the legislative session,"...

(edit)Knight, a production editor for Backpacking Light magazine, set a brush fire to attract the attention of firefighters, said Ryan Jordan, the magazine's chief executive officer who had helped in the search.(edit) Because of his visual impairment, Knight often hiked alone and would meet up with friends at scheduled stops to camp.The National Park Service's small search for Knight expanded greatly on Friday to include more than 100 people combing a 385-square-mile area throughout the night.That area was whittled down to 20 square miles that were the focus of Saturday's search by about 130 emergency workers, hikers, trackers, canine and...

A Giles County man paroled from prison after serving 14 years for killing two hikers on the Appalachian Trail in 1981 now is suspected of shooting two campers just off the trail in Giles on Tuesday. Randall Lee Smith, 54, was in a Roanoke hospital yesterday after crashing a pickup truck in Giles, Sgt. Michael Conroy of the Virginia State Police said.

BLAIRSVILLE, Ga.: Authorities found the body of a missing hiker Monday, hours after a judge denied bond to the man accused of kidnapping her in the mountains of northern Georgia. Investigators were also examining whether the death and the disappearance of two elderly hikers in October in North Carolina were related.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), charged with crimes against humanity, could go to trial before the Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) as early as next month, Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi says in an interview to be aired on Sunday. "Roughly, I think October," Allawi said in the ABC interview, a transcript of which was given to AFP. He went on to say that Saddam supporters similarly charged would also be on trial when the IST convenes. "Maybe he will appear in November or December, but definitely in October the whole issue will start," he...