South Carolina Governor Disappears to Hike the AT, Detours to Argentina

Text by Christian Camerota

South Carolina governor and part-time adventurer Mark Sanford is embroiled in controversy as a result of his disappearance last Thursday.

The jet-setting public official, and possible 2012 presidential candidate, apparently needed a break after an intense legislative session last week. It turns out the destination of his miny vacay was an even tougher decision for Sanford, as he initially informed his staff he’d be hiking the Appalachian Trail and then subsequently took a short, 5000-mile detour to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Sanford’s had little to say about his jaunt south, other than that he took some time to drive along the coastline while he was there. As a few other papers have said, like South Carolina’s

The State,

 who initially reported the story, it would be tough to imagine Sanford spending his whole trip enjoying the waterfront since there’s only about two miles of it close to the city and it’s usually jam-packed with traffic.

But, who knows? Sanford’s an unconventional guy. For proof, look no farther than the fact that he chose Father’s Day weekend to go all Bobby-Fisher on his staff and family.

Further adding to the mystery of this tale of guile and deception is the fact that Sanford allegedly parked a car with a bunch of hiking equipment at the South Carolina airport, but then had another car in Atlanta upon his return. That’s just speculation, though. Maybe the man has cars with hiking equipment strategically placed at all the nation’s airports?

Hopefully, Sanford’s 2:00 p.m. press conference today will clear things up (or add to the intrigue with vague legalese and avoidance tactics). Check back for updates throughout the day.

UPDATES

Here’s a great timeline for the Sanford events:

tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com

Great live blogging of it going on here:

blogs.wsj.com

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