Running club hosts trails seminar

BYRAM - The Salt Shakers Running club hosted a trails seminar and demonstration, facilitated by volunteers from the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, Saturday, March 28.
Close to three dozen people attended the two-hour event, held at Salt Gastropub, home base for the running club that can access parts of the 150-mile long Highlands Trail from the restaurant’s parking lot.
Don Tripp, NY-NJ TC West Jersey Trail chair, Glenn Oleksak, Highlands Trail chair and Adam Rosenberg, Highlands Trail supervisor led the discussion.
“We’re about the outdoors,” said Tripp. “We want to promote hiking and want it to be safe and fun,” he said.
The Trail Conference hosts’ seminars not only to inform the public about area trails but to also recruit members and to encourage members to become trail maintainers said Oleksak.
“Maintainers are the ones who keep trails open,” he said.
Rob Davidson, founder and president of Salt Shakers, is passionate about getting the word out about the Highlands Trail in New Jersey, which begins in northern Passaic County and ends in Riegelsville at the Delaware River. He offered his group as volunteers to help maintain a newly constructed section of the trail that runs through Byram Township and was recently moved off the road into the woods.
A handful of Salt Shakers were on hand Saturday including Kris Perry Tedesco and her husband, Drew. The Byram couple spends most of their time running and hiking in the area and feel it is important to help out.
“We want to adopt a trail,” said Kris.
Go to http://www.nynjtc.org for more information about the Highlands Trail or the NY-NJ Trail Conference.