Apr 11, 2015
What outdoors experts say about Eric Rudolph’s survival chances Miller, Amy POSTED: June 8, 2003 11:18 p.m. It doesn’t surprise Ila Hatter that Eric Rudolph, a seasoned outdoorsman, could have lived for five years on the abundant plant and animal life in the mountains of Western North Carolina. “There’s greater biodiversity here than anywhere else in the world,” said Hatter, a naturalist who teaches a course in wild edibles at the University of Tennessee’s Smoky Mountain Field School. “If he could survive anywhere on his own, it would be in these mountains.” There’s not only plenty of animals and plants to eat. If Rudolph got sick from something he ate, Hatter said, medicinal herbs and roots, such as yellowroot, could ease an upset stomach – if he knew where to find them. He could have brushed his teeth with bark from sweet birch, which tastes like wintergreen. Jim Morris, a former U.S. Army Ranger trained in wilderness survival, camped in the mountains for a year and a half on what he calls a vision quest. He set traps and snares to catch small animals and fish. He feasted on berries and acorns. And he made his own deer jerky. “It’s real possible Rudolph could have done it,” said Morris, 45, who’s part Shawnee Indian. “It’s easy to stay hid for quite some time, if you have the training. But he had a disadvantage I didn’t. I wasn’t worried about people finding me.” During the harsh winter months, Morris said Rudolph could have built a small shelter of leaves and dirt, called a debris hut, to keep him warm and...
Apr 11, 2015
*visit them online click here Vast N.C. woods offer wild foods, secret sites Trick to hiding is not risking smoke, trash By BO EMERSON The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Eric Robert Rudolph may have been the most successful “leave-no-trace” camper in history. Or perhaps he was just lucky. On Monday, FBI agents combed the woods near Murphy, N.C., where Rudolph was captured, to find any clues he might have left pointing to his hideouts. Agents closed a Forest Service road into the Nantahala National Forest, about 30 miles east of Murphy, on Saturday. On Monday, FBI agents drove up and down the winding mountain road looking for signs he had camped in the Fires Creek area. Until Rudolph was arrested Saturday in Murphy, federal agents had failed to find much of a trail. While some say he must have had help, authorities believe he spent most of his time living off the land. So how difficult is it to hide and survive in the woods? “I’ve lived out in the woods for a year and a half,” said Jim Morris, a sheriff’s deputy in nearby Maryville, Tenn., who, like Rudolph, was a former Army Ranger trained in wilderness survival techniques. Setting traps and snares, checking them at night, collecting acorns, greenbriars, cattails and blueberries, Morris found plenty to eat. He said one can even enjoy a bit of “luxury,” such as deer jerky. Morris, 45, who is part Shawnee Indian, was pursuing a vision quest of sorts during his woodland sojourn, he said. Rudolph would have had a harder time, because of the necessity of staying out of sight. But it...
Apr 11, 2015
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Apr 11, 2015
By Beth Teague Most people see an ugly yellow weed. Ila Hatter sees a delicious – and nutritious – gourmet meal. “Dandelions are probably one of the most nutritious veggies to come out of your garden,” says Hatter, a wildcrafter and interpretive naturalist who resides in Robbinsville, N.C. “They are an incredibly rich source of vitamins and minerals, and yet we throw them away all the time.” Those who attend a seminar or nature hike led by Hatter just might get to sample a dish or beverage prepared from dandelions or other natural ingredients – and most are surprised at how unexpectedly tasty these so-called weeds can be. “It’s fun for people to find out how good they taste,” she says. “Even picky teenagers will eat dandelion pizza sandwiches.” Dandelions are just one of many natural resources Hatter finds in the wilderness to utilize for food or medicinal purposes. When she’s not working for the U.S. Forest Service and the Great Smoky Mountain Natural History Association, Hatter spends her time traveling across the south, presenting seminars and interactive explorations of the great outdoors. Her mission: to tune people in to the many ways they can make Mother Nature’s pantry and medicine cabinet their own. She says her work is guided by a quote from writer Henry David Thoreau. “Thoreau wrote that the woods and fields are a table always spread,’” she says. “To me, that’s exactly what I do – that’s what I teach. What is Wildcrafting? Hatter says she is both a wildcrafter and an interpretive naturalist. Traditional wildcrafting – gathering native plants for use or sale –...
Apr 11, 2015
By Sam Venable, News-Sentinel columnist April 25, 2002 GATLINBURG – When Ila Hatter needs medicine or cooking ingredients, she doesn’t swing by the drugstore or supermarket. Often, a walk in the woods will fill the bill. Spicebush, bee balm, jewel weed, yellow root, wild ginger: The plants are indexed like a shopping list in her mind. Whatever the requirement, Mother Nature can provide. “The woods and fields are a table always spread,” says Hatter, an interpretive naturalist from Robbinsville, N.C. “I teach people that all these plants are like having friends in the forest.” Hatter is in East Tennessee this week for the 52nd Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage. She’s leading a series of “medicinal walks” in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, pointing out plants Native Americans and early settlers used to fill their bellies and treat their ailments. Hatter is a native of Texas, but is descended from Tennesseans. A former airline stewardess, she has lived all over the globe – from Spain to the Caribbean to South America. She has spent the past 30 years in the mountains of Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. Her knowledge of plants and home remedies was handed down from her mother and grandmother. Another of her mentors was Marie Mellinger, the legendary plant woman from Clayton, Ga., whose stories have been published in several volumes of “Foxfire.” Her tours this week will include visits to Metcalf Bottoms and the quiet walkway across from the Huskey Gap trailhead. “I go pretty slow because there’s so much to see and talk about,” she said. “Sometimes, it might take me two or three hours to...
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