Hunting Island, South Carolina gives life to non-typical work environment for our ACE Southeast branch. The island’s semi-tropical climate is home to cabbage palmetto, live oaks draped in Spanish moss and towering slash pines, which paint a different picture for the corps members whose office usually take the form of the Appalachian Mountains and deciduous forests.
This past August, a Southeast crew led by ACE Crew Leader, Nicole MacNamee was in charge of the rehabilitation of the Diamondback Rattlesnake trail at Hunting Island State Park over the course of two project weeks. This trail, which is 2.3 miles, connects the southern end Nature Center to the northern end Park Office. However, the trail has been out of commission in the aftermath of hurricane Matthew. The hurricane brought down trees and debris leaving the trail almost indistinguishable. Flooding and the lack of regular cyclical maintenance have caused the trail to become overgrown with vegetation as well.
The ACE crew brushed back vegetation and grubbed out roots where necessary with a combination of chainsaws, brush cutters and hand tools to open up the corridor to 6 feet wide and 8 feet high. Much of the tread surface, comprised of sand, has been covered by a thick layer of duff made of pine needles and oak leaves. The tread was re-exposed by raking off the duff layer using a combination of leaf blowers, McCleods, and hand rakes.
To avoid the heat of the day, the crew started work at 6:30 am but were fortunate to camp on the beach for a post-work reprieve. This state park is very popular, bringing in upwards of a million visitors each year to hike its trails and witness the areas’ wildlife and beaches. ACE is proud to be a part of rehabilitating this trail to allow visitors to hike along its ancient sand dunes and semi-tropical maritime forest once more.
https://southcarolinaparks.com/hunting-island