[Bêthberry]

I remain intrigued by Inziladun's question. It is very interesting to consider Aragorn's words at the Council of Elrond in terms of the history of plotting LotR. Consider for a moment some of these situations found in HoME (and possibly UT, although that I haven't that at hand at the moment).

In some of the earlier drafts of LotR, when Aragorn was still the hobbit Trotter, a town was mentioned on the Greenway which would have been within a day's march of Bree (give or take I think), called Andrath (earlier name, Amrath). It was supposed to run between the Barrow Downs and the south Downs. It is listed on Fontad's map of Middle earth (for which information I thank Estelyn, as my Fonstad also is not at hand) ; it was not named on the 1943 map, but Christopher Tolkien's note describes it.

Originally Posted by Christopher Tolkien, fn 7, "Of Hamilcar, Gandalf, and Saruman", HoME 7

With this cf. Unfinished Tales p. 348: "The Black Captain established a camp at Andrath, where the Greenway passed in a defile between the Barrow-Downs and the South Downs." On the First Map (p. 305) Andrath (very probably first written Amrath, p.298) is marked as a point beside the Greenway a little nearer to Bree than to Tharbad.

In the early draft according to HoMe 7, Gandalf reports the events with the Chief Rider.

Originally Posted by Gandalf, "Of Hamilcar, Gandalf, and Saruman", HoMe 7

. . . I believe the three Riders reported that Gandalf and "Baggins" had ridden East. Their chieftain was at Amrath, far down the Greenway in the south, and the news must have reached him late on Friday. I fancy the Chief Rider was sorely puzzled when the advance guard reported that Baggins and the Ring had been in Bree the very night when they thought they had caught him in Crickhollow!

One of Tolkien's narrative outlines, entitled "New Plot" presents the events thusly:

Originally Posted by Tolkien, "Of Hamilcar, Gandalf, and Saruman", HoMe 7

D E F G [four Black Riders] with poor Ham now ride to Greenway (does Harry see them? Probably not). At Amrath they meet the King (A) [that is, the chief Black Rider] and B C, on Wednesday 28th, leaving for the moment the Road deserted. The King [ie, Witch King] is angry at this. He is suspicious of a plot since Ham has no Ring. D E are sent back to Bree, arriving late on Thursday 29th . (Meanwhile, the hobbits have got to the Inn.) F G go back to the Shire.

This shows that Amrath was likely a day's march of Bree.

As CT makes clear, this section of LotR (concerning Ham Bolger) went through several narrative outlines and the Council of Elrond went through five versions, the fourth of which ends with Aragorn's speech, then incompletely developed.

While Ham Bolger and Andrath are excised from the fifth version, it is intriguing to imagine that Andrath still existed in Tolkien's mind and formed a backdrop to the revision of Aragorn's speech.

Originally Posted by Aragorn, Council of Elrond, LotR

'But my home, such as I have, is in the North. For here the heirs of Valandil have ever dwelt in long line unbroken from father unto son for many generations. Our days have darkened, and we have dwindled; but ever the Sword has passed to a new keeper. And this I will say to you, Boromir, ere I end. Lonely men are we, Rangers of the wild, hunters--but hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy; for they are found in many places, not in Mordor only. [my bolding]

Who or what Aragorn refers to in the subsequent paragraphs--the dark things [that] come from the houseless hills, or creep from sunless woods--he is elaborating on his initial statement that he hunted "servants of the Enemy."

Originally Posted by Legate

Yes, I know, but he "lives" there apparently all his life, and thus, also the enemies are there all the time when he lives (or at least for some time).

I'm inclined to interpret Aragorn's comment as the Instaneous present, meaning at the time Aragorn speaks, rather than the Timeless present. In fact, I might even say that Aragron's speech partakes of a performative declaration, which, according to Quirk and Greenbaum's A University Grammar of English, is expressed in the simple present Instaneous. But you don't have to take my word for it; I'm just the resident pedant here.