FARMINGTON — A High Peaks Alliance op-ed series that began with land, family and public access in western Maine has turned to something simpler in its third installment: what happens when strangers meet on a trail.

In “Togetherness on the Trails,” Kingfield resident Dan Rhodes reflects on the sense of openness people often experience outdoors, contrasting it with the tension and impatience of places such as airports. On a trail, he writes, encounters with others are usually welcome.

“The kinship we feel on trails is real,” Rhodes wrote, “maybe because there’s no separate agenda like there is at an airport.”

For the Farmington-based High Peaks Alliance, the point reaches beyond trail etiquette. Amanda Laliberte, the organization’s director of engagement, said trails are public spaces where conservation, access and community overlap, giving people a place to connect with the land and with each other while relying on volunteer work that often goes unnoticed.

The op-ed is part of a six-part High Peaks Alliance series focused on life, community and public access in Maine’s High Peaks region. The series began with Rhodes’ “Lessons of the Land and Access Today and Tomorrow,” which described his family’s decision to settle in western Maine and the role rivers, forests and mountains played in their sense of home.

In the newest piece, Rhodes shifts from the land itself to the way people behave when they share it. “You exchange smiles,” Rhodes wrote. “You engage in small talk. You share, and then you move on.”

Laliberte said that description matches what High Peaks Alliance sees on local trails. “On local trails, people consistently make eye contact, greet one another, and often exchange a few words,” she said.

She said those brief exchanges create a social atmosphere different from what people may experience in more routine public places.

“There is a level of openness and acknowledgment that you do not always see in everyday settings like sidewalks or stores,” Laliberte said. “Even brief interactions feel genuine, and that creates a welcoming atmosphere for everyone out there.”

Laliberte said that connection begins because people choose to be outdoors for a shared purpose. “Trails create that connection because people are choosing to be there,” she said. “We are in our happy place, doing something we enjoy, and that naturally lowers our guard.”

People may come outdoors for different reasons, including exercise, quiet or time in nature, but Laliberte said the shared setting still creates common ground.

“There is also an unspoken shared purpose,” she said. “We all came for the same reason, whether it is exercise, quiet, or time in nature. That shared experience makes it easier to connect, even in small ways.”

That idea ties the third op-ed to the broader theme of the series: public access is not guaranteed, and preserving it requires long-term work. High Peaks Alliance works with landowners and recreational users to keep land open for activities including hiking, biking, snowmobiling, fishing and hunting, with a focus on maintaining access and long-term protection.

“We see public access and conservation as deeply connected to community,” Laliberte said. “Our work is shaped by the people who live here and care about these places.”

She said community input helps guide the organization’s priorities. “Trails are not just recreational assets,” she said. “They are places where community happens and where people build relationships with the land and with each other.”

Among the Alliance’s larger efforts is the proposed conservation of Walrath Woods in Strong, a 120-acre property along the Sandy River. The plan would preserve 1.7 miles of riverfront and reopen a one-mile trail for public use, creating what would be the longest uninterrupted stretch of publicly accessible Sandy River in the area.

Laliberte said the welcoming trail experience Rhodes describes depends on less visible work, including brushing trails, improving drainage, building stone features, maintaining signs and helping people find their way.

“A welcoming trail experience depends on a lot of behind-the-scenes work,” she said.

Volunteers regularly clear brush with hand tools such as loppers, improve drainage and build features such as stone staircases that make steep areas safer and more sustainable, Laliberte said. Other work includes signage, mapping, brochures and outreach so people can find trails, navigate them safely and feel comfortable using them.

“Right now, we are looking for section volunteers to help monitor and care for specific trail segments over time, as well as volunteers who want to lead programs or help plan community events,” she said.

Laliberte said not all trail support requires heavy physical labor.

“You can lead or assist with programs, help organize events, contribute writing such as op-eds or blog posts, take photos or video, or support outreach and communications,” she said.

The impact of volunteer work can be seen across regional trails, including cleared paths, improved footing and stonework that makes steep sections safer and more sustainable, she said. Perham Stream Birding Trail is one example.

“Those are direct results of volunteer efforts,” Laliberte said.

Upcoming volunteer trail work days are scheduled for July 10, with a rain date of July 17; Aug. 21, with a rain date of Aug. 28; and Sept. 4, with a rain date of Sept. 18.

“These are great opportunities for people to get involved and see the impact of the work firsthand,” Laliberte said. “No experience is needed!”