It might be impossible to say who was more surprised -- the trespassing ATV operator speeding on The Montour Trail or the trail volunteer driving a dump truck loaded with stone. But my money would be on the quad rider who was driving much too fast in a place where he didn't belong.

"It was almost a head-on collision," Montour Trail Council President Mark Imgrund recalled this week.

"Frank Ludwin, who was driving the truck, said he was going about 10 to 15 miles an hour. He said the guy on the quad was doing at least 30 and wasn't wearing a helmet. They were coming around a bend and there wasn't much time to react except to stamp on their brakes."

Imgrund said the incident occurred in 2004 when the council was working on the trail in the eastern part of Peters Township in Washington County. The quad operator didn't hang around after he got his vehicle stopped. "He turned tail and fled," Imgrund said.

With the exception of electric wheelchairs, the Montour Trail and other rail-trails are for non-motorized use only. That rule seems to be lost on some ATV operators and dirt bikers.

Imgrund, 51, of Peters, a retired software development executive, said he has raised his hand to stop quad riders and dirt bikers that he and some trail companions have encountered on the trail. One ATV operator stopped, apologized and said he wouldn't trespass again. Other quad riders weren't willing to acknowledge their trespassing.

And the dirt bikers?

"They slowed down a little, but they didn't stop," he said. "They just zipped around us. They knew they weren't supposed to be there."

ATV and dirt bike operators are a problem on most rail-trails because they might not know any better or, more likely, don't care, especially if they were trespassing on the old railroad rights-of-way before they were converted to non-motorized, multipurpose trails. In any event, it is illegal for them to be on rail-trails.

Dennis Sims, who edits the bimonthly newsletter of The Montour Trail Council, wrote in the current edition that there have been recent reports of trail users encountering ATVs on the trail, especially in Washington County.

"Some of these ATV operators made threatening actions to the trail users" that were "so strong that some users will not return."

What to do with trail trespassers?

If possible, talk to them. If not, use a camera or a cell phone to photograph them. Get a good description of the operator(s) and the vehicle(s) and where you saw them -- near or between what miles posts and/or landmarks.

"Do not hesitate to call the local authorities using 911," Sims wrote.

"We realize the chance of apprehension at that given moment is very low, but if we continue to make reports and build evidence, we hope the police will then be able to take applicable action."

Sims also wrote that some ATV operators might be violating the law by not having their vehicles registered with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

For more information on The Montour Trail, go to www.montourtrail.org, e-mail info@montourtrail.org or call 412-257-3011.

In addition to digging holes for a gate and sign posts and installing signs for Montour Trail Parking areas and stop signs at various locations yesterday, 20 FedEx Ground volunteers from the finance and accounting department in Moon worked with Montour Trail leaders to paint an 80-foot-long bridge and trim the grass at 28 sites along the first 9 miles of the trail.

Erin Truxal of FedEx Ground said it's part of the company's Days of Caring, a project started by Heidi Bartholomew, vice president and controller. The group will help Tuesday with a Fun in the Sun Luau at Children's Hospital and donate their time Aug. 15 at a creative arts camp in Wexford for the Woodlands Foundation.