On a crisp fall morning Monday,
Oct. 15, Eric White achieved
his 100th mile on Southwestern
Community College’s walking
trail. He is the first SCC student
to officially log 100 miles
on the trail, according to Chuck
Reece, SCC director of human
resources and facility management.
The college sponsors the 100
Miler award for SCC employees
and students who complete 53
laps (100 miles) of the walking
trail. While several faculty
and staff, including Reece,
have become 100 Milers, White
is the first student.
Eric
White, first student
to complete 100
miles on the SCC
Walking Trail |
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“It took me less than
two months,” said White,
who lives in Sylva. “I
started the week after school
started fall semester.”
White, a surveying technology
student, hits the trail around
6:45 in the morning.
“It gets me ready for
my first class- and for the
day,” said White, who
loves the foggy, early morning
mist of these October mornings.
“I can complete the
1.87 mile loop in 35 minutes,”
he said. “I’m
not as fast as Peter Messier-
my surveying instructor- he
can clip it in 30 minutes,
but then he’s got longer
legs.” Messier is also
a 100 Miler.
White, who says he is an “outdoor
nut” started walking
the trail for exercise.
“I like to be outside
and I like sports…but
I prefer non-competitive sports
like hiking, boating or bicycling.
I’m not a competitive
person and it wasn’t
my goal to walk the 100 miles
just to get a t-shirt and
recognition. My goal was for
exercise, to better myself.”
While he has friends like
Lee Herman who join him in
the afternoon, White said
he doesn’t have many
takers for his 6:45 a.m. jaunt.
“Early in the morning
I don’t see anyone on
the trail,” he said.
“But I did see a skunk
on the trail up by the water
tower. He was just 15 feet
away from me and when he saw
me he lifted his tail in a
defensive manner. So I talked
to him and told him not to
spray me because I had an
8 a.m. class and they wouldn’t
appreciate it. He just went
on his way and I went on mine.”
Some mornings a nearby neighbor’s
energetic black Labrador joins
him.
With four trailheads White
can vary his starting route.
One trail begins at the north
corner of the Balsam Center,
another above the library,
one at the water tower and
one on the road to the maintenance
yard. The trail is a 1.87
mile loop around campus, with
53 laps totaling 100 miles.
“You can see some beautiful
vistas, sights you wouldn’t
see on just a normal walk
or drive around the area,”
according to White, who said
the trail is very scenic,
especially now with the fall
colors.
The trail is marked and open
for community use.
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