Both the DEC website and path signage mark the trail as currently closed. (Photo provided — Diane Chase)

I’m a rule follower until I’m not. I’m referencing road sign rules, closure signs, and trespassing posts. I’ve made myself sound like a rebel, but most of us are the same way. We may break a rule because we get complacent, such as speeding on a familiar road. (My children more often accuse me of going slower than the speed limit, which can be just as dangerous. I apologize to those drivers behind me.)

We know the circumstances of our actions and understand the consequences. There are also people making a deliberate decision to break the rules and ignore postings. Is there just a different range for rule-breaking, like the doctor’s sliding scale for pain?

I’m not a risk-taker, so my rule-breaking is limited. Is someone more adventurous more apt to gamble with a higher stake?

What is the person skiing on the roped-off ski slope thinking? Is it a simple matter that the warning is for “those other people,” people with less experience? Is it a feeling of immortality or the thrill of getting away with something? I have no answers.

The entrances to the Adirondack Rail Trail have closed signs, but I’ve seen people biking on it. Is it used out of habit, convenience, or just thinking rules don’t pertain to them? It may be a bit of everything. It seems like a benign action, using this closed trail. Perhaps it is. I’m not suggesting riding/walking on the closed Adirondack Rail Trail is the gateway to a life of crime. (A decidedly different town slogan.)

I recently saw a parent and two children riding on the trail. Ironically I passed them right as they approached the “trail closed” sign. I’ve witnessed other people using the path, but this struck me differently. It appeared to be a deliberate act of ignoring the rules. (To give them the benefit of the doubt, there may not have been a sign where this family entered the trail, or perhaps they received special trail use permission.)

It made me think of various ways of parenting. We can be the parents who tell our children that rules/signs don’t matter. We can also be the parent who lets children know that some rules don’t make sense, but there is a process to change them. We can also admit we are wrong rather than crossing the street and passing by a second closed trail sign. It’s just an idea.