Trail Trekkers
He blazes through the trails- Gordon Long Park, through downtown, Frisco Trail to 6th Street, until he reaches his starting point again. He has his pack, his equipment; he’s prepared for anything he encounters. He’s a Trail Trekker.
The Trail Trekkers is a new program that was started to promote the trails of Fayetteville. Volunteers from the community aid in trail navigation and safety. There are currently eight trained and active volunteers and another informational training session February 25.
The duties of a Trail Trekker are to help with directions, maps and information about the trails, influence the obedience of trail rules and etiquette, help with trail maintenance or report problems, assist with first aid needs and minor bicycle repairs, and to cooperate with Fayetteville Police Department if necessary.
“The Trail Trekkers are educators, not enforcers,” said Tiffany Gaulke, Fayetteville Recreation Program Manager.
This program is not just any ordinary volunteering organization; the volunteers enjoy what they’re doing.
“I love to bike. The trails are just right for me. The routes take me beside a beautiful lake, alongside streams, through woods, through a business area, up and down hill. What could be better?” Trail Trekker volunteer, Thom Hapgood said. “Since the beginning of my Trekking on the 14th of January, I’ve put in close to one hundred miles on the trails.”
The program is expected to bloom when the weather starts to get warmer. That also brings the possibility for more volunteers.
“We want the community to see people with a friendly face helping out,” Gaulke said.
The volunteers are members of the communities in Fayetteville. Trail Trekkers are neighbors, family members, or friends that are helping out on the trails. They are expected to show respect for the trails and of other trail users.
“I’ve been out on days that I see one hundred people and days I’ve seen ten. I find the majority of others on the trail will greet me with a ‘hi’ or a nod of the head,” Hapgood said.
As awareness on the trails and encounters with the Trail Trekkers begin to grow, it is the organization’s goal that the trail users will feel safe and gain more knowledge about the trails.
“We hope for the program to continue to grow,” Brad Dutton, Fayetteville Recreation Programs Manager, said. “We want it to grow to trails that aren’t as used.”
The volunteers do not have a specific schedule, it is only required that they record their shift and number of hours online and document anything critical they encountered on the trails.
“We tried to make the program as volunteer friendly as possible,” Dutton said. “Anything is better than the past.”
This is an organization designed around the people lacking a flexible schedule. It could be an easy way for the citizens of Fayetteville to give back to their city.
“I believe volunteerism is the way to go,” Hapgood said. “With every one having shrinking budgets, so much more could get done with volunteer involvement. Folks should get their butts off the golf courses and lakes and help the community.”
Brad Dutton
Thom Hapgood
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