Nelsonshack

I just got off of the phone with Jim Price, who is the Trails Coordinator for Mountainland Association of Governments.  He is in charge of the 17 mile enclosure that is planned for the Murdock Canal structure.  Here is what we learned from today’s conversation:

Me:  Is there a place to view the trail plans?

Jim:  So far, there isn’t a place to view the plans for the trail.  When they become available, they will be located at www.mountainland.org.

Me:  Will there be a dirt trail for running?

Jim:  The intent is for the trail to be paved, but there will be an unpaved trail beside of for horses and runners.

Me:  How can local runners help in this effort?

Jim:  They will be looking for input on the trail, but will announce this on their website.

At the end of our conversation, Jim asked me if I had any more questions, which made me feel that he was interested in my (a runner’s) perspective on this project.  I would suggest to local runners that you get involved in this process, when you can, so that we can get a decent dirt running trail in Utah County.  If I get any more information, I’ll post it, here.

Today, I called the Provo Parks and Recreation to see if they could point me in the direction of a good dirt trail for running.  The person that I spoke to on the phone told me that she didn’t know, but suggested the Provo River Trail.  Unfortunately, that trail doesn’t qualify for this quest, because it’s PAVED.  At my prodding, she asked someone else in the office, who suggested the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  Unfortunately, while the BST (as it’s referred to, locally) does qualify as a dirt trail, it is not ideal for casual running, because it is a little rugged and more for mountain biking (unless someone can correct me).

So the quest continues.  In my opinion, the Provo River Trail should have had a piece of single-track to run along side, but for reason (and I’m curious on this point), it didn’t.

I asked the woman that I spoke to what it takes for something like a dirt trail to be introduced to a city.  She informed me that first off, the land would have to be donated.  Secondly, the money has to be donated, because Provo doesn’t have a budget for this type of thing.  Bummer, Provo.  Seriously.  You guys have been a city since 1849 and you still don’t have a dirt trail?  I’ll bet you did, way back in the day, but for some reason, you’ve seen fit to pave over EVERYTHING.  If I’m wrong (and I’d be thrilled to be wrong), please point me in the area of a place where I can run for a minimum of one mile on reasonably runable surface (I’m not excluding the BST, but don’t want to constantly change elevation on the trail).

Salt Lake has Liberty Park, which has (and I guess this is ok) a wood-chipped course.  Could we not have something similar to that, running outside of one of the many parks in Provo?

Maybe I’ve missed the boat and Provo is the bastion of outdoor trail running.  But I haven’t seen it.

How I miss thee, Bidwell Park.