Trail Report

AND THEN THERE WAS MUD. . . 

Wow!  The winter of ’22-’23 has been one for the record books, both in depth and duration. Park City Mountain stopped spinning their lifts on Monday of this week and our team completed its final groom in Round Valley just a day earlier. And now, thanks to unseasonably warm weather, we have transitioned from the biggest winter of our lifetimes to full-blown mud-season, seemingly overnight.  While we would all like nothing more than to shift directly from white, to brown pow, it’s going to be a few.  And don’t shoot the messenger but we’re looking at a rain/snow mix for the next several days.      

We hate to get preachy, but every spring as the temps rise, and the dirt reappears, we find ourselves trying to educate trail users and discourage muddy trail use.  So, please help us spread the word.  It’s a fairly straightforward concept, really.  ANY kind of soil displacement will lead to erosion and trail damage.  Low spots and ruts created by foot, paw or tire are ALL culprits. That said, we strongly encourage ALL trail users (yes, that means you too, hikers, runners and dog walkers) to turn around if it’s sticking to heels, wheels or paws.  And walking/running or riding around the muddy spots is never ok as it damages vegetation and widens the trail.  Let’s keep our singletrack “single”.           

This time of year, “variable” and “aspect-dependent” are the words of choice when describing lower elevation trail conditions.  On any given trail you can, and will go from south-facing and bone-dry, to north-facing and snow-covered or “snud”, a snow/mud mix, on all points in-between.  So, when you see a closure up at the trailhead and dry ground just on the other side of the closure, don’t assume that the rest of the trail, or the trail system as a whole, is also good to go. 

The Mountain Trails crew has no lack of work ahead this spring/summer and we’d much rather focus our efforts on new trail projects, than repairing unnecessary, user-created, trail damage.  That said, the onus of responsibility falls on YOU, the trail user to use good judgement out there.  Let’s do our part to protect this amazing resource that we all love. Patience grasshoppers.  Mud really is murder on our local trails.    

It’s good to have options…

If you’re a long-time local, you already know that there is no better time than spring, to venture down to the desert for some red rock trail adventures in Moab, Fruita or St. George/Hurricane. Just down the road in the beautiful Heber Valley, the Dutch Hollow and lower Riverview/Coyote trail systems are great early-season options – once they dry out. Visit Wasatch Trails Foundation for updates. Looking for some great, low-impact, trail options locally? We have well over 30 miles of wide, natural-surface and paved pathways in the greater Park City area.  And let’s not forget the 27-mile-long, Union Pacific Rail Trail- all of it in Summit County! 

Trail Condition Info…

While it will never be a perfect system, we’ll continue to do our best to keep you in the know on changing conditions.  As you may already know, we regularly post condition updates on our Facebook page, Instagram and website, but here are a few additional resources…

You can get a visual snapshot of current conditions by going to our website; https://mountaintrails.org clicking on the “Trails and Maps” dropdown, and then click “Interactive Map” followed by the “conditions” filter.    

For the Snyderville Basin Area trails go to:https://www.basinrecreation.org/trails-open…/trail-report/ then click on the Trail Conditions tab.      

What’s the big deal about muddy trail use?  Here are a few older, but still pertinent posts, that will shed some mud, and hopefully some light.  The first is spot on for Park City…

http://parkcitymountainbike.com/riding-wet-trails/

Happy Cinco de Mayo and happy Spring!    

Rick Fournier, Trails Manager

Long before cell phones, Google Earth and apps like Trailforks and AllTrails, topographic paper maps were the tool of choice for navigating trail systems.  Contour lines conveyed grade, elevation gain and loss, while serpentine, multi-colored, green, blue and black lines, represented new adventures of varying difficulty in the form of singletrack trails.  In those days, it was understood that getting “lost” was a distinct possibility and sometimes welcomed.          

Mountain Trails has been involved in the production of the Park City trail map since the original went to print in 1998.  Thanks to Dawn Bowling, (our beloved resource manager, who we lost to cancer in 2013), for being a packrat of best kind, and hanging onto at least one copy of each map over the years.  Now, carefully stored in a plastic tote labeled “Map Library”, they represent a physical, historical timeline of the growth and evolution of our trail system, from a handful of hand-built pirate trails, mine roads and mine grades, to the 500 mile, world-class, IMBA Gold Level trail system we have today.           

The original, “1998 Hiking & Biking Trail Map”, as it was titled, is a small and simple, yet purposeful production.  On the front you’ll find what looks to be a hand-drawn overview map showing a hodgepodge of mine roads and just a few dozen trails, including Park City hand-built classics like Gravedigger, Sweeny’s Switchbacks, the original Tour Des Suds (pre-Empire Pass), TG1 & 2, along with a lone Round Valley trail labeled; “Round Valley”.  You’ll also discover some long-forgotten gems like Jurassic, Bed Springs and my favorite, a trail named “Game Trail”.  On the back side are several color-coded elevation profiles and descriptions of various routes throughout the area.  This was a true adventure map, with no trail mileage or difficulty ratings and no topos to discern grade or elevation gain and loss.  Your only reference points were one of the many artist renderings- historical and non-historical landmarks including various mine buildings, the ”Old Car” in Round Valley, the “Water Tank” in Daly Canyon, along with the “Blue Dumpster” and “Junk Yard”.  

Two years later, at the turn of the century, our trail system was beginning to blossom.  The 2000 trail map mirrors this expansion, with miles of “purpose-built” trails like the newly completed- Spiro at Park City Mountain Resort, Lost Prospector high above the Rail Trail and Deer Valley Drive, and Rambler, Kari’s & High Side in Round Valley.  Also represented was an extensive lift-served system at Deer Valley with 45+ miles of trail along with sections of the Mid Mountain Trail, some complete and others still labeled “under construction”.  

Mountain Land Association of Governments or MAG, GIS coordinator, Andrew Woolly would produce those first few early cartographic efforts, before Trish Murphy Cone, also with MAG, would take the reins in 2003, beginning a 16-year run as designer/cartographer. There would be literally hundreds of miles of trail and thousands of acres of protected Open Space added to the map during that time.  Trish did a phenomenal job documenting that growth and understood the need for a detailed and accurate map.  Her passion for trails, wildlife, the open spaces that supported them and local history were obvious and always on display.  Her attention to detail and personal touches contributed in a big way to the map’s character and long-running success.  

I would literally have to write a novel to describe all the changes/additions that took place with the map over the next two decades, but here are a few of the major highlights to give you a sense of what was taking place:  

2005- includes the iconic Mid Mountain Trail in its entirety, a well-developed system in the Glenwild area, north of I-80, that included the Stealth trail, Cobblestone, 24-7 along with some early downhill, bike-only trails in the new, Bob’s Basin.  Rob’s, Collin’s & Ambush are complete, the Swaner Nature Preserve is highlighted, and several sponsored trail loops are identified, including the Glenwild Loop, Lost Prospector loop, the High Alpine Loop and the Town loop.  

2007- Flying Dog is complete at Glenwild along with new trail offerings at the Utah Olympic Park, including ????   conservation efforts were well under way and protected easements that enabled trail development would be highlighted and shown in the legend as “Protected Open Space”.

2009- the Old Town window of the map would be flipped to a “bottom up”, users’ perspective, in an effort to better represent the nearly 3,000 feet of vertical relief from Main Street to the Wasatch Crest.  

2011-  the now vast system would be broken down into six distinct, color-coded, trail area “windows”.  The map would also mirror wayfinding signage on the ground with newly added “Location Markers” in Round Valley, Glenwild, the Mid Mountain Trail and the Wasatch Crest.

2012/13-  Park City’s recent designation as “The World’s First IMBA Gold Level Ride Center” would be acknowledged on the cover along with new trail additions, Armstrong, Jenni’s and Pinecone Ridge 

2014- future ED, Lora Smith, would grace the cover, and the first “MTF Crew” photo would be added under the legend, the start of a new tradition

2017- MTF 25^th anniversary map with many historical trail photos and acknowledgment of individuals who played a role in creating the PC trail system.  Freemason is new.    

2020- Bonanza Flat first appears on the map and includes the Blood’s Lake trail  

2021- with the continued expansion of our trail system into areas like Clark Ranch, Skyridge and Bonanza Flat, we transition into a 2-map, format.  Charlie’s 9K is complete along with the Lake Lackawaxen trail. 

2022- weather and tear-resistant paper is used for the first time, improving the durability of the map           

The map covers have always been an integral piece of the MTF map production.  They represent different trails users, uses and experiences as well as our local trail culture.  And what better way to show off our trails!  Over the years the covers would also acknowledge and memorialize individuals who played a major role in the trajectory of our organization and trails in general, including previous Executive Directors, Carol Potter and Charlie Sturgis and Basin Rec trails planner, Senta Beyers.  One year, we even did a cover of our trail crew on the Pulp Friction work site.  More recently, in an effort to maintain that organic, home-grown feel for the map, we have held a yearly cover-photo contest.  The map “panels” would be used to promote our long-running summer trail running series, trail etiquette and to recognize a quickly growing list of Adopt-A-Trail sponsors. We have packed a lot into those 27×36” pieces of paper.  

In 2019, Trish would retire from the “little” map production she helped create, and in 2020, with big shoes to fill, we would welcome cartographer, Jay Hill, to the team.  Jay brought with him 14 years of GIS experience working for the Utah Geological Survey branch of the DNR.  With a fresh set of eyes and a passion for mapping and mountain biking, Jay would tap into the latest technology to visually enhance the map, along with a renewed focus on emphasizing the trails, themselves.    

For 2023, we’ll have new trail additions including Mother Urban, Cyn City, Sparky, Change Reaction and Ripple at Deer Valley.  The accuracy of our trail files will be improved, and the background and trail colors will be enhanced to improve the overall look of the map.                    

While the demand for paper maps may not be what it once was, they remain a viable tool for those of us who prefer a physical, hands-on, reference.  You’ll still find the MTF map in bike shops, at the Chamber, on garage and office walls, and in backpacks.  Like our trail system, the map has always been a work in progress.  Looking through these maps in detail over the past week has been an eye-opening reminder of how much effort has gone into their creation, and that of our trail system.  As the saying goes, “It takes a village”, and there have been many villagers involved in this ongoing legacy.  We owe them all a great debt of gratitude.    

Many moons ago, when we first dipped our toes into the winter recreational experiment, AKA,”Pilot Program”, that has evolved into the current Round Valley Winter Trails program, we really had no idea what we were building.  There were a lot of question marks in those early days with the biggest X-factor being that of the cold, white variety.  Would Round Valley hold enough snow to groom???  Climate change awareness and “Save Our Snow” forums at the time, added to the doubt.  

In those early years, we had one old, high-mileage, ex-resort snowmobile chained to the gate near Wyatt Earp on the Rail Trail, and a beat up, Yellowstone box drag parked beside it.  A short segment of the Rail Trail along with a trail around the tennis courts at Solamere, were the only things being groomed in town those days beyond the Nordic Center.  I was pretty green to Mountain Trails at the time and as part of my new, year-round role, our director, Carol Potter, along with some fine folks at the City, encouraged me to pursue winter trails, with the Round Valley open space being the low-hanging, snow-covered fruit.  

Soon we would buy our first new snowmobile, a cleaner and quieter, 4-stroke with electric start, no less, and the city would purchase a grooming drag from a company called Tidd Tech out of Winter Park Co.  The learning curve was a quick one, with a big winter, a lot of flailing, getting stuck, shoveling out, cursing, rinse, and repeat.  But we were off and running with several kilometers of groomed trail, utilizing the old Round Valley jeep roads, and soon, some newly built soft-surface trails.

The early success was taken to a new level in 2009/10, when the City purchased a brand spanking new Piston Bully 100 cat(la Pantera Roja) to replace their old cat.  I was given a quick, two-hour, crash-course on intricacies of cat-driving by the crusty old City parks manager, Dave Urban, and we were off to the winter rodeo… until I ran out of gas on day one, in the furthest reaches of the inner valley, and as far away from fuel supply as I could be.  Sigh… it seems that during my two-hour training sesh, I missed the chapter about the fuel gauge.

In 2010, local outdoor rec icon and super-hero, Charlie Sturgis was at the helm, and with his background operating the White Pine Nordic Center, we took the Round Valley grooming program to the next level.  We would “up our level of service” as Charlie liked to say.  Soon we were grooming 20Km of trail daily, and as one long-time local who flagged me down in the cat described it… “you are creating joy”.  Well, it doesn’t get much better than that!    

Mountain Trails would attempt to organize a Nordic race/fundraiser, beginning in 2011- the infamous Round Valley Round-Up. Year one brought white-out, blizzard conditions and near frost bite.  Years two and three offered unseasonably warm conditions, slurpy-like snow, and numerous water features to negotiate- pond skimming on skinny skis.  We decided the event was cursed and reluctantly pulled the plug.      

During the winters of 2016 & 17, our good friend, Alex Stoy, purveyor of joy, would join the grooming team of two. With his glass half-full enthusiasm, creative wit and offbeat sense of humor, Alex would take the simple concept of a grooming report to a whole new realm, one that we’re still trying to emulate.  Suddenly, a contingency of loyal followers were eagerly awaiting the latest caffeine-induced, early morning report, complete with great photos and “Stoyisms”.

About that same time, fat biking was starting to take off and Mountain Trails was one of the first orgs to groom singletrack for this new user group.  Early on, we were using our big, clunky, grooming snowmobile with an old, weighted-down spare Suburban tire in tow.  We still occasionally use that same tire, but we now have a stealth and light, yet powerful, singletrack snowmobile- Little Red, and multiple grooming implements for varying conditions.  

Throughout this wild ride, we have experienced some great snow years, and some dismal ones.  There have been wind events that would bury the trails in wave-like, 5-foot tall drifts, and many years that we were fighting all winter to hang on to a 2-inch base.  

We have seen some of the most stunningly beautiful sunrises and bluebird days, along with vertigo-inducing, flat-light days, where you felt like you were floating in the Land of Oz.  And numerous wildlife sightings including the resident elk herd, coyotes, golden eagles and moose are always a highlight of the early mornings.           

More recently, we’ve added “ski only” areas like Land Of Oz and Hanscom’s Hollow, along with many miles of year-round singletrack.  Through necessity, we have added winter staff, and additional equipment.  

One thing for certain, the world’s largest dog park, Round Valley, remains a unique and spectacular environment for winter recreation, wildlife viewing, human interaction and of course, the spreading of joy.  And none of this would be possible without the generous support of the local community.  As the faded old sign on the cat window says, we are literally “fueled by your donations”.      

So, circling back to the original question… will Round Valley hold snow?  16 years in, as we contend with nearly 3 feet of snow to kick off the new year, I think we can put that one to rest.  

Wishing you all a healthy and joyous New Year filled with many miles (and Km’s) of smiles.