Dedicated trail volunteers Norm Kuchar and Walt Hayes were recently honored with the North Country Trail Association ADK Affiliate Honor Award. For the past 12 years, these two members of the Schenectady Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club have taken more than 120 trips to scout and GPS routes for the eastern Adirondack section of the North Country National Scenic Trail. Norm and Walt have been critical partners to DEC planners and foresters as they’ve helped define the best route for this trail in the Adirondacks. Congratulations to Norm and Walt on this well-deserved honor!

When completed, the North Country National Scenic Trail will stretch approximately 4,700 miles from North Dakota to Vermont, with about 160 miles passing through the central Adirondacks from Black River Wild Forest to Crown Point State Historic Site.