Wearing bright reflective vests, these goodwill trail ambassadors began patrolling the roughly 10-mile stretch in Niskayuna earlier this month as part of a first-in-the state two-month pilot program.

``It's just a general public outreach,'' said Wally Elton, project director of the statewide nonprofit group Parks and Trails New York, which will work with the municipality and the state Canal Corp. ``They are just providing information to folks, and plus the trail does need to be monitored for just general trail surface conditions.''

Gillian Scott, president of the Friends of the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail, said the 11 trail ambassadors include a retiree, Niskayuna mother and state engineer, hailing from Schenectady to southern Saratoga County.

``We're all big fans of the trail, think it's an amazing resource, and we want to get more people out and using more of the trail,'' Scott said, stressing the volunteers will not be doing any policing. ``The more people who are out there, the more resources that state and municipalities will invest in it.''

Schenectady resident Howard Halstead has been riding on the trail with his wife Melissa Engler since the early 1980s when they were dating.

``By being an observant trail user, you can help catch things before they are a problem,'' said Halstead. He like the other ambassadors will lend a help hand to trail goers when they are out enjoying the trail and there is no set schedule.

Niskayuna Supervisor Joseph Landry agrees especially considering the municipal highway department is responsible for upkeep of the roughly 10-mile stretch of the trail from Lyons Park to Aqueduct Road.

He said the ``heavily populated'' trail attracts everyone from hikers, people walking their pets and even inline skaters.

Niskayuna, Elton said, was chosen as a test ground of sorts for the program because of the willingness and enthusiasm of the volunteers in this suburb.

He said if all goes well, the program could be replicated to other communities along the trail. Over the winter, the Friends of the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail group will be recruiting more ambassadors, said Scott, who also works for the Times Union.

She said the group has also contacted the Colonie Parks Department and Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton's office to alert them about the program.

Elton said the trail ambassadors will mostly conduct bike patrols in search of people who may need help for anything from a flat tire to directions to get them back on track.Additionally, they will deal with any maintenance-related issues and keep watch over the trail's general condition.

L.L. Bean Co. chipped in about $300 to help pay for the reflective vests the ambassadors will don to make them visible to trail users, Elton added.