If you climbed to the top of some popular Adirondack peak, you just might encounter a “summit steward,” an Adirondack Mountain Club representative who would tell you what you are looking at, answer any questions you may have and, above all, educate you about the rare and fragile alpine environment you are visiting. You would leave feeling good about the experience and appreciative of the asset, and eager to hike again. People around the state may soon have the same kind of opportunity — but much closer to sea level — with Canalway trail ambassadors, a pilot program that will begin on the Niskayuna bike-hike trail.
The “ambassadors” will be 11 volunteers from the Friends of the Mohawk Hudson Bike-Hike Trail. They will be out there at various times in orange vests with yellow stripes that say “Trail Ambassador” on the back, prepared to give directions, help fix a flat, point out flora and fauna, and talk about the Canalway trail.
It is fitting that the program should be tested on the Niskayuna trail, because when it was built in the mid-1970s, the brainchild of two local women interested in promoting recreation along the riverfront, such paths were rare. From it grew the greater Mohawk Hudson Bike-Hike Trail, which runs roughly 40 miles, from the Corning Preserve in Albany through Colonie and Niskayuna to Schenectady and beyond. The success of this regional trail system contributed to Gov. Pataki’s vision of a continuous Canalway path from Buffalo to Albany, nearly half of which has now been completed.
Not only should the ambassador program encourage greater use of the trail but create more advocates for it, which will in turn raise elected officials’ awareness of it. That makes it more likely the path will be kept in good repair; unpaved sections paved; detours like the one in Rotterdam Junction eliminated; and stupid mistakes like removing a former railroad bridge that carried the path over busy Nott Street in Schenectady avoided. As local officials prepare for the opening of the Golub headquarters on Nott Street, they should be looking to build a new, more modest bridge there.