Mountain Trails

By mid-March, our team was ready to wind down winter grooming operations in Round Valley.  After a few weeks of sunshine and near 60-degree temps, spring was in the air, mud-season had arrived, and the gravel and asphalt trails were edging out the snow-covered trails.  If you’ve lived here long enough, you know that springtime in the Wasatch is never a sure thing.  Ol’ Man Winter returned with multiple storms and several spring powder days to close out March.    

When a weather window opened last Wednesday, ‘Roy (the City’s grooming cat) took an Uber XXL up to Bonanza Flat where at 8,500 feet, the vault toilets are buried up to the rooflines and the snowmobiles are still buzzing like mosquitos.  We spent the day re-establishing the double-track connector and Nordic track, buried under nearly three months of winter since we exited the premises in early January. 

The journey began at Empire Pass where the old “Church of Dirt” is now the synagogue of snow.  As we tenuously traversed the steep, south-facing hillside above the Guard Road, more often than not, the location of said double-track was purely a guess, as our 10-foot-tall markers were either buried, broken or folded over by the wrath of a big Wasatch winter.  My trusty co-pilot, Alec, kept an eye open for markers or any recognizable terrain features that would keep us on the righteous path, or any path for that matter. 

Repeatedly moving forward and then backwards, we put ‘Roy’s blade to work, carving out a bench to keep us upright and on semi-level ground.  In some of the steeper areas there was a little pucker factor, as the underlying sun-cooked snowpack was rotten and would sometimes settle beneath our tracks.  In between the sun and flat light, we were able to catch brief glimpses of the two remaining markers and shadow on the hillside ahead, insinuating something well below the surface.

After nearly three hours of a somewhat arduous journey, we made the final ascent down to the “Y” at the Pine Canyon Road crossing and navigated around one last obstacle- a beat-up old Subaru wagon parked squarely in our path.  We both breathed a sigh of relief that the hardest part was behind us.  All that was left now was to track-pack and re-establish the remaining 10 kilometers of trail, leveling numerous drifts along the way.  Piece of ice cream cake!

Island in the Sea

As I write this we’re in the midst of a nasty January thaw that’s now extended into February.  In our favorite public open space, Round Valley, the unseasonably warm weather, coupled with rain, has shrunken our tenuous base down to the asphalt and gravel in some areas, leaving pools fit for pond-skimming elsewhere. Our team has been vigilante about farming snow and patching the bare spots in an effort to keep everyone sliding and gliding but alas, mother nature is having her way with us.         

A few winters back I participated in one of the Summit Land Conservancy’s popular, “Moonshine Adventures”.  This reoccurring social gathering on skis included a full moon “tour” at conversation pace, up the Home Run ski run at Park City Mountain to the old angle station.  Once there, skins were peeled and warming beverages were poured before the ski back down, turns illuminated by headlamps. 

Gazing downward under the glow of moonlight, my attention was drawn to a large, dark, island surrounded by a sea of lights.  As I got my bearings, I came to realize that this expanse of black matter, seemingly void of light and life, was the Round Valley Open Space in its 2,200 acre, undeveloped and semi-wild glory.  Here, surrounded by residential neighborhoods, schools, historic ranch lands and State Routes 40 and 248, was a slice of precious real estate, somehow kept in its natural state. It was at that moment that it really hit home just how special Round Valley is.    

Round Valley consists of no less than five different conservation and agricultural easements, created to protect the area’s natural scenic, recreational, and visual open space values, and none of this happened accidentally.  Less than 30 years ago, mass development of the area seemed imminent, including a large golf community known as Valderone (ring a bell?), that included several-hundred homes and boutique hotels. These ranch lands, once bifurcated by barbed wire, now provide a refuge for wildlife and an amazing year-round recreational outlet for we domesticated animals. 

So, the next time you’re out skate skiing, fat biking or taking your best friend for a walk in Round Valley, consider what might have been, and how differently the landscape might look. We should all tip our hats to those individuals who had the foresight and fortitude to fend off the development of this high-desert, backyard, gem.  They were truly looking out for the best interest of our community, and they are all heroes in my book. 

This month we begin the Trail Origin Story of the Month series. Scroll down for the story of Rademan Ridge trail . . . a first in many ways. 

And the snow is starting to fall… Have a great one out there!