North Country Trail volunteer getting national recognition
Dave Adams has been retired for about 10 years, which has given him more time to pursue one of his passions: maintaining the parts of North Country Trail within Butler County.
Adams has put in “thousands of hours” as the trail maintenance coordinator and former president of the North Country Trail’s Butler County chapter, and is one of the chapter’s founding members. He will receive a Distinguished Service Award and a Presidential Citation at the annual North Country Trail Association celebration this week for all the hours he has donated.
Having been to several previous association celebrations, Adams has been recognized before for his work. Getting the presidential citation will be a new experience for him, which he wants to share with other volunteers.
“I don't keep track of my hours that much, so it was a surprise,” Adams said. “There are many unrecognized volunteers who maybe don't turn in their hours; I accept the award on their behalf.”
The North Country Trail is a 4,800-mile path across eight states and has several miles that span northern Butler County. Regional chapters across its length maintain different sections of the trail, and volunteers in the county chapter have worked to connect parts of the trail that are broken up by roads or private property.
According to Adams, keeping the trail clean and clear is a constant responsibility for each chapter.
“The last two years, we have been concentrating on replacing bridges in northern Butler County, which we did accomplish,” Adams said. “While we were doing that, some smaller bridges needed replacements, too.”
Jan Genaway, president of the county chapter, said Adams is always one of the first people to go to the trail when the chapter gets a report of an obstruction. She said he is the “go-to guy” to quickly remove debris on the trail.
“He has put in thousands of hours on the trail,” Genaway said. “His main focus is making sure the trail is clear and clearly marked for the hikers.”
To Adams, getting to head to the trail to cut up trees or grass is no bother, saying, “it's fun to get out and be outdoors and cut some stuff down.”
In addition to his regular trail work, Adams can be found walking trails around Butler County, especially near Moraine State Park.
“Moraine is probably the closest trail to me, and I always enjoy hiking there,” Adams said. “I like to go to Jennings there from the 528 bridge and even in the game lands; I especially like the trails up near Parker.”
Adams said he is looking forward to the celebration, which takes place from Wednesday to Sunday in Chestertown, N.Y., because in addition to the award presentations, organizers also host informational sessions and hikes of nearby trails.
“There are lots of local hikes and then workshops, informational sessions to learn about how to do this or that,” Adams said. “That's one of the main purposes is public education, educating the members. Also we do a lot of hikes at these functions. It attracts a lot of people.”
