Statewide exploratory expedition to hike a portion of S.C.’s Enoree Passage, Tuesday
July 7, 2023
SC7 participants and military veterans with Project Evergreen to repair part of the 36-mile passage, Monday.
Representatives with the Laurens County Parks and Recreation Department, the Palmetto Trail, and a 12-man team of military veterans will join the SOUTH CAROLINA SEVEN (SC7) Expedition on a stretch of the famed Enoree Passage in Laurens County for a trail repair event Monday, July 10, followed by a hike and recognition of all participants on Tuesday, July 11.
The military veterans are part of Project Evergreen, an initiative of Global Eco Adventures (GEA) which has partnered with the S.C. National Heritage Corridor (National Park Service) for the fourth-annual SC7 Expedition across South Carolina from the mountains to the sea.
Col. Steve Vitali and Maj. Gen. Tom Mullikin, PhD, on the SC7 trail.
“Project Evergreen engages and provides former U.S. military special operators an opportunity to retrain and utilize their special skillsets – skills like SCUBA diving, remote wilderness distance-hiking, and land navigation – developed and honed during prior military experience,” says Dr. Tom Mullikin, SC7 leader and chairman of the S.C. Floodwater Commission. “We are bringing veterans into this fight and essentially waging war on a changing climate.”
Mullikin adds: “The expansion of Project Evergreen into SC7 is an enormous resource to South Carolina communities, and it will give veterans an opportunity to continue their passion for serving.”
Veterans and others have been making their way across the northwestern mountains and foothills of the S.C. backcountry since Saturday July 1 when they braved the whitewater rapids of the Chattooga River before navigating the backwoods, trails, and waterfalls of the Upstate then turning south toward Laurens and ultimately south-southeast toward the Midlands.
This coming Monday on the Enoree Passage (at Beaver Pond on Duncan Creek), Project Evergreen will conduct a workday event repairing and replacing broken or rotting deckboard and curbing along the passage’s boardwalk.
The location for the July 10 workday event is the dead-end of Rail Lane in Clinton, S.C., 29325. Parking is available at the end of the road.
“At the end of the trail on July 11 we will celebrate the work of these local veterans as well as those from Palmetto Trail team and Laurens County Parks and Recreation Department,” says Michelle McCollum, logistics officer with SC7 and president of the S.C. National Heritage Corridor.
The July 11 starting point for the designated four-mile-stretch of the 36-mile Enoree passage begins at the Brickhouse Road Trailhead located at 49 Brickhouse Road, Whitmire, S.C. 29178.
The month-long SC7 Expedition across South Carolina parallels much of the famed Palmetto Trail showcasing the state’s seven natural wonders and creating a greater awareness of S.C.’s sterling natural resources and how to protect them. Litter sweeps, river cleanups and other environmental cleanups, and trail repairs are taking place along the way.
The SC7 Expedition team
The seven designated wonders of South Carolina include Sassafras Mountain; the Jocassee Gorges; the Chattooga River; the Congaree National Forest; the Edisto River; the Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto Basin (universally referred to as the ACE Basin); and Bull Island-Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge: “Each one a unique geographical treasure,” Mullikin adds.
Duke Energy is the presenting sponsor for this year’s SC7 Expedition. Also partnering with SC7 is the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of South Carolina who are the named health and wellness sponsors for 2023. The S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism (SCPRT) is SC7’s Ecotourism sponsor.
– For more information about SC7, visit southcarolina7.com/.
