Cortlandt Manor Man Preps Breakneck Hikers as Trail Steward

About 700 people head to Breakneck Ridge on any given Saturday or Sunday during the summer. It’s Brett Schollman’s job to give them the confidence they need to scramble up the mountain successfully.

Schollman, a Cortlandt Manor resident, is one of two trail stewards tasked with welcoming folks and preparing them for the strenuous hike. He and Kali Bird of Beacon have been working weekends on the trail for the last month as part of a pilot program.

“We did it at the request of the New York State Parks, which has been having a challenge with Breakneck Ridge Trail,” Hank Osborn said, citing popularity. Osborn is the East Hudson program coordinator for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. “There’s so many people using it that the likelihood of people getting lost or hurt was pretty high.” 

When Schollman saw the non-profit was looking for stewards—criteria included ability to interact with the public, knowledge of the trail system, passion for the outdoors—he applied.

Schollman loves the outdoors. A snowboarding instructor who worked in Vermont last season, the 26-year-old injured his knee and is now recovering. He volunteers with the conference and helps maintains a few trails in the East Hudson Highlands. 

“The outdoors is like my reset button; if there’s anything bothering me I seek solitude in nature where I can relax and listen to the bugs and the birds and forget all of the silly issues that life throws at you,” he said, adding that too many people take the outdoors for granted. “We have more life more stressful than it needs to be, but being in nature you can clear your head and reconnect with your roots.” 

Before Bird and Schollman were stationed at the trailhead, authorities were responding to an average of one rescue per weekend. There haven’t been any since the program started, according to Osborn and Schollman. 

The goal is to make sure hikers have a good handle on navigation, and that they stay safe during the climb. Sometime that means alerting folks that their footwear is not practical, or they do not have enough water.

“If people are in high heels or flip-flops, the trail stewards would actually discourage hiking,” Osborn said, adding that there is plenty to do in surrounding Beacon and Cold Spring.“It’s totally fine if it’s their first hike, and it often is. They just need to know what to expect.”

Welcoming the hundreds of people who hop off the train at the Breakneck Ridge Metro-North Station comes naturally because the trail is special to Schollman. One of the first places he hiked, Breakneck laid the groundwork for future treks, like the one he made from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian Trail.

"I get to talk to so many people," he said. "...It's mainly people that love the outdoors and share the same interests I do."

The trail steward pilot program is slated to run through Labor Day. The conference hopes to reinstate it next year, from May to October.