Hikers

NEW BLOOMFIELD, Pa. -- Beside a country meadow in central Pennsylvania, next to an Amish buggy maker's shop, lies the modest grave of Molly Ann LaRue.She is buried beside her grandfather, beneath fresh daisies and a gray granite stone that tells when she lived -- Feb. 10, 1965-Sept. 13, 1990 -- and how: "A life shared with children, art and nature."Molly LaRue and her boyfriend, Geoffrey Hood, were murdered last year on the Appalachian Trail, about 70 miles from where she is now buried. As the trial for their alleged killer proceeds here, it has provided a bittersweet glimpse into the final days of the two young lovers -- and the close-knit community of hikers who shared their near-mystical affection for the path.

Christopher Tkacik, lost in the dark in a state park on Catoctin Mountain, had his dog, iPhone and a slowly draining battery. He could talk to the police trying to find him, but neither they nor the GPS on his smart phone could guide him out. So the 43-year-old attorney from Mount Airy turned on the device's flashlight and held it in the air. A trooper in a Maryland State Police helicopter, using night vision equipment, saw the "faint glow" from...

I rejoice with the friends and families of Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal as their ordeal ended in Evin Prison in Iran. As Mr. Bauer said at the Oman Airport, "Two years is too long in a prison. We sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in America and in Iran. " This reminded me of the plight of Ahmadi Muslims, hundreds of whom are behind bars under Pakistan's Anti-Ahmadiyya Ordinance XX issued in 1984. It imposes three years imprisonment for simple acts like calling places of worship mosques, performing the Muslim call to prayer, using the traditional Islamic greeting in public, or even publishing religious materials.

After a recent hike through Patapsco Valley State Park, Baltimore teacher Greg Schnitzlein's jaw dropped as he watched his two dogs emerge from the woods looking, as he says, like Chia Pets, every inch of their fur slathered in sproutlike seeds. Vanessa B. Beauchamp, a Towson University biology professor who happened to be in the parking lot, could hardly believe it. Those seed-covered dogs underscored the futility of the fight she has waged for years against an odd, sticky plant called wavyleaf basketgrass.

G - From the first tiny mention in Backpacker magazine about a decade ago, Larry Luxenberg's dream of creating a museum to spotlight the Appalachian Trail and its hikers has had as many ups and downs as the 2,178-mile footpath itself. Buildings were too expensive, too decrepit or too remote. Support from public officials, elusive in the best of times, came and went with the economy and elections. Still, Luxenberg soldiered on, putting one foot in front of the other, just as he did in 1980, when he completed his Georgia-to-Maine hike.

GREENBELT — NASA unveiled a new satellite-based system on Monday that space agency officials say should reduce the time needed to locate lost boaters and hikers to just seconds. "Our mission is to take the "search" out of search-and-rescue technology," said Dave Affens, the search and rescue mission manager at NASA, an agency sometimes criticized for not focusing enough on Earth-bound problems. "Our ultimate goal here is to save lives," Affens said. Designed and developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, DASS — the Distress Alerting Satellite System — will be able to locate emergency beacons carried by aircraft, boats and hikers almost instantaneously, officials said.

Along the Appalachian Trail -- Dave Odorisio unzipped his tent flap yesterday, peered out and stretched; a halo of gnats quickly formed around his tousled head. It was just another morning on Maryland's leg of the Appalachian Trail. But this particular morning, the 25-year-old hiker had an important decision to make: Namely, would he get dressed today? Hike Naked Day marks the summer solstice on the 2,000-plus mile trail and gives the boldest adventurers a chance to walk -- not to mention scale boulders and gain summits -- on the wild side.

KEENE, N.Y. - Five years ago, the Adirondack Mountains were the site of a different kind of peace conference: Canadian hiking group leaders met with American land managers. Things haven't been quite the same since. At the time, some felt Canadian hikers were getting a bad name. There had been three recent Canadian hiker or climber deaths here. Land managers were frustrated by Canadians arriving by charter buses, dropping off large hiking groups that invaded the trails and swarmed the summits of the 192,685-acre High Peaks Wilderness Area.

Carroll County firefighters rescued two hikers stuck on an ice-covered hillside in the McKeldin Area of Patapsco Valley State Park yesterday, said Sgt. Bill Rehkopf of the Sykesville Freedom District Fire Department. The two men in their mid-40s had been hiking on a trail that runs along the river. As they encountered icy conditions, the men worried that they would slip on the sloped ice and fall into the river, Rehkopf said. The men climbed up the steep hillside to the parking lot by grabbing onto trees.

NEW BLOOMFIELD, Pa. -- A jury yesterday convicted Paul David Crews, a sullen drifter on the run from Florida police, of murdering two young teachers as they camped on the Appalachian Trail.The jurors will be asked today to decide if Crews, 38, should be sentenced to death or to life imprisonment without parole.The murder of the couple last September at a trailside shelter had shaken hikers' sense of safety along the famous footpath and prompted an intensive hunt for the killer. Crews was caught nine days later walking from Maryland into Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

Fall in the Mid-Atlantic region offers a break from the summer humidity, a pause before the cold, gray winter, and lots of great scenery. It's a perfect opportunity to get outdoors for some exercise that doesn't feel like a chore. Whether it is a peaceful walk to watch birds take flight or a hair-raising zip-line ride among the tree tops, these five activities offer an opportunity to put some fresh air and foliage into your fitness routine. Hike Old Rag As the Ridge Trail on Shenandoah's Old Rag mountain rises more than 2,500 feet, a steep rock scramble near the top requires hikers to "climb, slide, shimmy and crawl" over the boulders, according to the National Park Service.

I rejoice with the friends and families of Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal as their ordeal ended in Evin Prison in Iran. As Mr. Bauer said at the Oman Airport, "Two years is too long in a prison. We sincerely hope for the freedom of other political prisoners and other unjustly imprisoned people in America and in Iran. " This reminded me of the plight of Ahmadi Muslims, hundreds of whom are behind bars under Pakistan's Anti-Ahmadiyya Ordinance XX issued in 1984. It imposes three years imprisonment for simple acts like calling places of worship mosques, performing the Muslim call to prayer, using the traditional Islamic greeting in public, or even publishing religious materials.

The recent letter by Anne Roberts ("Loch Raven needs rules, but not deer hunters" June 28) was mind boggling. Yes, of course, we need to abide by the rules in order to preserve our drinking water and for safety reasons. Regarding the survey of residential properties adjacent to Loch Raven that found half of the respondents had negative experiences with hunters and hunting, I have not had one negative experience with hunters through decades of hiking in numerous states. I am a hike leader for the Community College of Baltimore County and have had negative experiences with mountain bikers each time I have led a group of hikers as well as when I hike alone.

Adam Marton , an avid hiker and biker, writes: I am curious what expectation hunters have of trail users in recreational areas during hunting season. Last weekend I was in a pretty remote section of Prettyboy Reservoir, where I have seen crossbow hunters in the past. Are hunters expecting hikers to be wearing orange vests or otherwise identifying themselves as something not to shoot? Are there other precautions that hikers should take? In addition, it is not very crowded in the woods this time of year and I occasionally see people who I suspect are poachers, as I did a few weeks ago at PenMar Park.

GREENBELT — NASA unveiled a new satellite-based system on Monday that space agency officials say should reduce the time needed to locate lost boaters and hikers to just seconds. "Our mission is to take the "search" out of search-and-rescue technology," said Dave Affens, the search and rescue mission manager at NASA, an agency sometimes criticized for not focusing enough on Earth-bound problems. "Our ultimate goal here is to save lives," Affens said. Designed and developed at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, DASS — the Distress Alerting Satellite System — will be able to locate emergency beacons carried by aircraft, boats and hikers almost instantaneously, officials said.

G - From the first tiny mention in Backpacker magazine about a decade ago, Larry Luxenberg's dream of creating a museum to spotlight the Appalachian Trail and its hikers has had as many ups and downs as the 2,178-mile footpath itself. Buildings were too expensive, too decrepit or too remote. Support from public officials, elusive in the best of times, came and went with the economy and elections. Still, Luxenberg soldiered on, putting one foot in front of the other, just as he did in 1980, when he completed his Georgia-to-Maine hike.