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South Carolina governor hits a few bumps on the Appalachian Trail
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Hiking is great for clearing the head, just do it responsibly.
Flack continues to fly over South Carolina's governor taking a hike on the Appalachian Trail. The problem is that no one seems to have known exactly where Governor Mark Sanford has been the last several days -- or how to reach him. Although he is due back this Wednesday, as of this writing, his staff, other state leaders, and his family still maintain that they don't know where he is.
The Associate Press quoted Sanford's spokesman Joel Sawyer as saying, "He's just up there to clear his head after the legislative session." According to other reports, Sanford, a conservative Republican, recently lost a battle to reject $700 million of federal stimulus money coming to his state.
It did not help Sanford's reputation that last Sunday was not only Father's Day, but also Naked Hiking Day on the Appalachian Trail. Sanford's wife Jenny and their four sons are vacationing at their beach house on Sullivan Island, S.C. Her comment that he wanted "some time away from the kids" further ruffled the feathers of his critics.
The Appalachian Trail, which is approximately 2,178 miles long, goes from through 14 states as it makes its way from Georgia to Maine. It does not go through South Carolina. The original proposal for the trail was put forward in 1921, by Benton MacKaye. It was completed in 1937, and in 1968, was designated a national scenic trail.
According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, 3 to 4 million people hike a portion of the AT each year. The ATC also records the number of hikers who complete the entire trail each year. That includes those hikers who complete the trail in one year (thru-hikers) and those who have completed the trail over several years (section hikers). The ATC calls these hikers “2,000-milers" and their statistics show that since 1936, more than 10,000 have been so designated. The popularity of the tough trail continues to grow and between 2002-2008, an average of about 550 people per year has completed it.
I'm all for hiking the Appalachian Trail, and plan to hike a section of it, but I also recommend leaving contact info with trusted people back home. Find more tips for hiking safely in my previous examiner.com entry.
Happy trails, Backpack45
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