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“This forest has diversity beyond anything we could think of. Here we’ve got an elm tree, and people always think the American elm has just been devastated all over the country, but we have what’s called the black elm or water elm that’s related to it,” said Murphy. “It doesn’t get the Dutch elm disease, mostly because the beetle that carries the vector doesn’t really hang out down here.”

Murphy pointed out the wide root plate of the elm, explaining that it was not only indicative of an elm but of a high-water table, making the tree respond by growing a stronger root plate for stability during storms. He made other points about the sweet gum, which provides fruit for wildlife; the American sycamore – uncommon in the Lowcountry but extensive in the Northeast; and the wax myrtle, part of the understory beneath the taller oaks and pines.

“This forest is large enough to have a healthy understory because it’s not just the trees that live in here. It’s all the animals and the birds and microorganisms and arthropods,” Murphy said. “Everything that can live and make the soil healthy is here and the understory is just as important as the overstory.”

Throughout the forest along the trail were bushes, grasses, decaying leaves and fallen trees. The arborist said most of the time a forest does not need maintenance, particularly an old-growth forest. He pointed out a fallen pine a few feet into the woods.

“When you really think about it, trees are designed actually to fail. Their main goal in life is to grow, die, and become food for the trees that are around them. Hundreds of trees die in a forest for every handful that live,” Murphy said. “When you think about that, these are the plants that we build our houses under, that we drive under every single day, that we paid more for having them on our property. And then we get all upset when a limb falls. Well, this is what they’re supposed to do. … You have to realize that there’s a certain amount of risk that you have when a tree is there. It’s just the way they’re built: they’re built to fail.”

Sun City resident Georgia Ringo is looking forward to when the park is opened, which Nagid said might be in two or three years, depending upon completion of planning and the construction of minimal amenities such as an entryway, benches and a bathroom.

“I do all kinds of trails. I’m with Girls Who Hike South Carolina, and I think we have maybe 12,000 members statewide,” said