Mountain Trails Foundation

We build, maintain and protect Park City, Utah's trails

Lora Anthony, Executive Director

PEOPLE OF THE TRAILS

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Heritage Meets the Dirt

Purple flowers alongside trails – reminder of a friend who loved both. RIP Cyndi.

Last Saturday was National Trails Day. The MTF crew and I met with 54 eager, gloved and sunscreened volunteers. Each with a tool in hand, we walked to the work site, chatting along the way. At 53, I was by far an elder in the group so naturally fell into conversation with others of the older guard. Among those were a few of my favorites and some of the original pirate trail builders. Nick Calas, Dennis McCormick, Craig Williams and Greg Libecci told stories of the ol’ days of mountain bike racing and trail building, before MTF was even a twinkle in Jan Wilking’s eye.

Stories about trail legends Rich Perrier, as in Perrier’s Pass, Cyndi Schwandt honored by CynCity, John Gunthier as in John’s Trail and Sam Wolfe of, you guessed it, Sam’s Trail, were recounted among others. Laughter resounded and a few hushed moments ticked by as we walked on silently remembering those who’ve already passed.

Who knows how embellished the stories have become over the decades – or what has already been lost. The way I figure, the stories that survive are only growing better with age – like the people telling them. These are the stories that add rich color to the fabric of our local culture. They are the oral traditions of the Trail Tribe.

That day, as I dug along, listening to the youthful banter of high school mountain bike kids, I pondered the importance and impacts of the old guard. The wisdom they harbor and the perspective they lend. They were/are the men and women who planted the seeds that became Park City’s trail culture. These trail pioneers left, and continue to leave, an impact on our trails, our hearts and our heritage. 

Thirty years from now, I hope trail users of the future will look back upon the work being done today by MTF’s trail crew and volunteers and hold for them a heart-felt appreciation – and a few good stories!

Thanks to everybody who shows up in support of trails. 

See you out there,

Lora Smith, Executive Director

EVERY RAINDROP IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FLOOD

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Spring is here. It’s a time for growth and reckoning. While our state, the second driest in the Union, is temporarily grappling with the watery consequences of natural hydrologic processes, we here at Mountain Trails are contending with a different sort of flood.

Around the first of the year, we blew past budget projections for winter grooming. Now it’s May (what!?) and, as we’ve just barely put the grooming equipment away, I had a chance to run final numbers on our hard costs for this past season. As QuickBooks spun, processing the winter grooming expense report, I braced with squinted eyes and clenched jaw. Then, pulling up my big girl pants, I drew a ragged breath, forced an eye open and saw numbers I never, in 10 years at MTF, imagined I’d see. We are about $80,000 over budget for winter grooming. Gulp.

Every cloud has a silver lining and ours is this: like the water that is filling Utah’s reservoirs and aquifers, MTF has had a flood of support this season. Wonderfully generous donors filled our reservoir, and because of this, Mountain Trails is in the fortunate financial position to cover the excess. It won’t be comfortable, but it is doable.

So, on behalf of the many thousands of people who enjoyed Park City’s groomed trails this past season, I offer the most sincere thanks to the 531 people who donated since winter began last November. THANKS to each of you for being a raindrop in the flood of support that keeps MTF’s hard-working crew paid, machinery running, and our world class trails in tip top shape. We couldn’t do what we do, year round, without support from people like you.

Raindrops Gather Here

Poopetrators Beware! New on-site DNA testing could result in $10,000 fine.

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APRIL FOOLS, 2023.

Dog waste has long been a steamy topic in Park City’s trails community. The Mountain Trails crew removes hundreds of pounds of hound poo from Round Valley every week. And that’s just counting the stuff that makes it into waste bins. All those other bagged and unbagged deposits, left behind at trailheads, slowly rot into the earth or get smeared into the snow by our grooming equipment. Not only do they present a substantial environmental health concern and make our crew’s waste removal job just that much more disgusting, but each one is a little bag of disrespect to the animals who call Round Valley home. I mean seriously, how would you like it if somebody popped a squat in your living room?

That’s why we here at MTF are happy to announce that, as the Utah town with the highest concentration of dog waste offenders, Park City has received federal funding to hunt down poopetrators. New technology developed by the Federal Bureau of Animal Waste (FBAW) uses DNA technology to test feces left on trails and match it with canine suspects. In cooperation with local veterinarians, FBAW agents match DNA data to veterinary records to discover offending dog owners.

FBAW spokesperson, Doris D. Zoltan, says, “Waste left on trails in plastic baggies is a special hazard under EPA guidelines and our agents will be laser-focused on prosecuting irresponsible dog owners who bag and drop.”

Once matched, samples and names of offenders are submitted to Summit County Justice Courts for poo-secution. Fines can run up to $10,000 per occurrence and there is no maximum fine. So, if a pet is implicated in multiple offenses, offenders may be required to draw second mortgages on Park City McMansions in order to pay fines. Under this program, Summit County Justice Courts expects to make millions.

For more detailed information, go to www.MountainTrails.org  – and while you’re there, donate to support the MTF Trails Crew. It has been a heck of a winter and they could use some love!

Oh and HAPPY APRIL FOOLS!   

What One Looks for One Will Find

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A few weeks ago, my executive assistant, Ian (who, for the record, is one of the nicest, most level-headed guys around), uttered something shocking. As the words, “There have been times I headed out to the trails with a bad attitude” spilled from his mouth, I resisted the urge to plug my ears and babble to keep those words from burning my soul. How could the guy our team marvels at for being genetically wired for niceness and, further, a key employee at Mountain Trails, be susceptible to negativity on the trails? Thankfully, he redeemed the conversation, continuing with a more true-to-character, self-aware reflection, “and when I set out with a negative attitude, negative is exactly what I find.” You may have heard the term, confirmation bias? 

This exchange sketched two indelible truths upon my mind: first, Ian too is human, and second, what one looks for one will find. When focused on dog waste, ruts up the Nordic track or inconsiderate people, guess what materializes. Seeking friendly gestures, well-behaved dog owners and smiling faces, which if we’re being honest, represent 99% of the experiences had by tens of thousands of trail users every year, it’s easy to conjure – and spread – a great trail experience. Seek and ye shall find.  

Since that conversation with Ian, I’ve had several reflective moments, replaying his words, pondering the truth of it all, and admittedly, maybe once or twice, noting the twinge of my own poor attitude. 

Fortunately, attitude is the easiest thing to change – well, that is as compared to say, my inefficient V2 skate technique, or a road bike flat. With attitude, one simply applies a tiny bit of self-awareness and viola! the path to contentment appears. So, fellow trail users, if you’re persistently encountering negativity out on the trails – or life in general – maybe take Ian’s cue and check that internal dialogue. . . 

But beware, confirmation bias is a powerful psychological tendency and it travels on a two way path! 

See you out there,

Lora Smith, Executive Director

Everywhere I Go I See Trail Supporters

Confirmation bias: the tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with one’s existing beliefs. This biased approach to decision making is largely unintentional and often results in ignoring inconsistent information.  Existing beliefs can include one’s expectations in a given situation and predictions about a particular outcome. People are especially likely to process information to support their own beliefs when the issue is highly important or self-relevant. (Casad, B. J. (2022, October 6) Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/confirmation-bias) 

‘Tis the season for generosity

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It’s January 2nd and here I sit, watching the snow fall for how many days now I cannot say, for I have lost count. Yes, Mother Nature has been mighty generous with the drought-busting powder this week. And I guess that makes a lot of sense, after all, ‘tis the season for generosity.

Generosity is the backbone of the nonprofit sector. Those who give to causes they care about are those who ensure those causes will go forth. Every December, as my inbox fills with year-end donations, I’m stunned to stillness. It never gets old, and it is never any less humbling than it was 10 year ago when I first started this journey at MTF. The collective generosity of hundreds of wonderful human beings means Mountain Trails Foundation stands on financially secure ground as we head into 2023. A year with an ambitious to-do list that includes:

  • Forming a dedicated trail maintenance crew to provide next-level care for our trails;
  • Launching a Trails Resource Page, including trailhead live-cams, conditions reports, interactive map, options for public transit to trails, suggested routes and more; 
  • Building Seldom Seen, a sustainable, bike-only-downhill-flow alternative to Spiro, making Spiro a hike-friendly zone with up-only travel for bikes;
  • Creating an old-school, hand-built trail dedicated to volunteer help/dig days;  
  • Building an extension of e-MTB friendly Sparky’s Trail at Clark Ranch;
  • Connecting the Park City Heights/Solamere/WoodChip trail system (no more streets!);
  • Completing the Bonanza Loop Trail, and hopefully the WOW-Bonanza Loop, in Bonanza Flat;
  • Round Valley signage and wayfinding overhaul;
  • Dispersing trail use on the Wasatch Back through funding provided by the Park City Mountain/Vail Resorts EpicPromise Community Partnership;
  • Resurrecting the Mountain Madness all-things-trails-and-open-space event after three years of Covid silence;

As the year rolls on, other projects could jump up to the priority list, funding is always the limiting factor, but for now, we’re grateful to have the financial support for this ambitious list.

To the community that loves trails – and gives to trails – we here at MTF thank you and send best wishes for a healthy, adventure-filled New Year!

See you out there,

Lora Smith, Executive Director

What We Did With Your Generosity in 2022

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Winter has arrived early (or is it just on time?) this year and what a fun season to be an outdoor enthusiast! We’re changing gears – in my case, away go the mountain bike and running shorts, and out come the quiver of skinny skis and winter trail runners. Is anyone else feeling exceptionally optimistic about this winter? Yes, I do believe so. 

The collective enthusiasm around freshly groomed winter trails is palpable.  As fat bikers, Nordic skiers, trail runners, snowshoers and their respective four-legged friends hit the trails this month, all bubbling with excitement for the crisp air and squeaky snow,  I offer deep gratitude to those who contributed financially to MTF in 2022. Here’s a semi-complete (for the sake of readability) list of the bang you got for your buck: 

  1. Spring maintenance and blow-down removal on about 200 miles of trail. 
  2. Big Easy trail – done
  3. Cyn City trail – done
  4. Change Reaction trail – done
  5. Bonanza Loop trail – progress continues
  6. Sparky trail – done
  7. Mother Urban trail – done
  8. Milky Way trail at SkyRidge – done
  9. Lynx trail – done
  10. Winter grooming of about 50km of Nordic track and 25 miles of singletrack at Round Valley, Bonanza Flat and Clark Ranch. 

As we launch into 2023, with 10 new projects on our docket (more on that next month!), we hope you’ll continue investing in trails. . . ‘nough said. . . 

See you out there! 

Be Cool – Invest In Trails Today!