by David Flint
If you’re operating a vehicle illegally and in the process of ripping up state land, it’s probably best if you don’t end up having to call 911 to come rescue you. That’s what happened to two guys out for a joy ride in the middle of the night last week. [private]According to DEC Region 4 Public Information Officer Rick Georgeson, Nicholas Hale of Latham and Nicholas Schillinger of Rensselaer were driving two 4WD pickup trucks illegally on the Taconic Crest Trail in Stephentown early Wednesday, March 21, when they both got stuck in the mud. About 2:15 am, lost and unable to get out of the woods, they decided to call 911 for help. State Police, Rensselaer County Sheriff’s deputies, the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department and DEC Forest Rangers all responded to the incident. The SVFD located the individuals and evacuated them.
According to Georgeson, the trucks caused significant damage to private forest land as well as to State forest land. But beyond that, “Significant public resources and staff time were expended to locate and remove these individuals from the State forest,” Georgeson said.
DEC Rangers issued tickets to both drivers for illegal use of a motorized vehicle on State forest land, causing damage to that land and failure to comply with posted signage. Each of these charges carries a $250 fine and/or up to 5 days in jail. Hale, because of three prior speeding convictions, was also charged with a vehicle and traffic law violation of operating a vehicle out of class, punishable with a $100 fine and/or up to 15 days in jail.
SVFD Assistant Chief Rik McClave noted later that Fire Chief Joseph Zwack had used his personal ATV, since the fire department does not own an ATV. “Glad to see that all the tickets were issued!” McClave said.
Georgeson said that friends of the hapless, alleged vandals were called to assist and used three 4WD Jeeps with winches to free the two stuck vehicles on Thursday afternoon. “We are continuing to investigate this incident and additional enforcement may be pending,” he added.
Colin Campbell, Trail Manager for the Taconic Hiking Club, said he was outraged that “yahoos” from Rensselaer and Latham would come out here to “mess up our back yards.” They apparently drove up Round Mountain Road, he said, and headed north on the Taconic Crest Trail, ripping up the trail for about a mile and a half. Where the Crest Trail veers off to the east, they continued north on an old jeep trail that runs along the west side of the Taconic Ridge. About a mile from there they got stuck in the mud.
Campbell said the THC has scheduled their End-To-End Challenge Hike on the Crest Trail May 12 and they may have to re-route around the damaged portion of the Trail. He noted that damage to the Trail from ATVs is a constant problem but damage from 4WD pickup trucks is exceptional.
Campbell views the Taconic Crest Trail as a hiker’s “jewel,” largely unrecognized locally but attracting more and more attention from afar. At the THC’s request, the DEC has placed Trail Registers at various access points. From these Campbell has found that in the summer time there are over a thousand people hiking somewhere on the Trail every month. The Crest Trail is acquiring quite a reputation among outdoors people from all over. The trail from Petersburgh Pass north to the Snow Hole is especially popular. While most hail from the Tri-City area, many come from Canada and from places such Poland, Bavaria and New Zealand. The THC does most of the trail maintenance on the Crest Trail, assisted to some extent by the Adirondack Mountain Club.
The tickets issued to the truckers last week are returnable to the Town of Stephentown Court on April 25 at 7 pm. Colin Campbell said he will be sure to be there because, “I will have a few remarks to make.”
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