Marolt: Trail mix is nutrition for the soul – Aspen Daily News

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Local trails may not have particular personalities, but the people using them do and, so, define them. My hypoxic brain mulled this over as I was being chased up Airline Trail at Sky Mountain Park on my mountain bike. For being as smooth and flowy as they are, the trails there seem to attract lots of hardcore cyclists testing aerobic thresholds. It is free of roots and rocks. It invites cyclists to go heads down uphill. The views are fantastic, but what does that have to do with anything after slurping an energy gel?
I stopped to say hi to a friend near the bottom of the trail. He was riding with his young daughter. As I encouraged the young lady to take it easy on her dad, a guy on a cross bike sped past. I was ready to go, so I wished them a good ride and jumped on his wheel. 
We were moving along. The rider asked over his shoulder, “Are you on an e-bike?” I chuckled and thanked him for thinking I might be. At that point, he suggested I go ahead, so I did. But rather than letting me go, as I assumed he would, he jumped on my wheel. According to my sport watch, my heart rate was already redlining. What had I gotten into?
“I just needed some motivation”, he yelled forward. “This is a good pace!” I chuckled again, because I couldn’t draw enough air to speak and pedal at the same time. The rest of the climb, he talked and I short-answered him. His name was Ian from Basalt. He had already ridden to The Bells and was on this slight detour heading home. I was in over my head in this impromptu race. Pride kept me pushing. 
At the top, Ian readied to peel off for the Cozyline descent while I steered for Snowmass Village. The push and pull up the hill had resulted in trail camaraderie. We fist pumped and went our separate ways. This sort of thing would not happen on, say, Tom Blake Trail. Its rolling terrain and mix of users creates a different recreational climate.  
That’s what I mean about local trails attracting distinct personalities. Some uniqueness is due to specific uses dictated by ordinance or custom, but mostly it’s determined by the people who frequent them — be it on foot, bike or even horse. We are fortunate to have so many of both, trails and personalities. I get out as much as possible during our short summers to hike, bike and run segments of our trail system. I leave some feeling once-and-done, test most just occasionally and repeat a few favorites often. Seven Star is my go-to for mountain biking, Ditch Trail suits me perfectly for an invigorating run with my dog, and the place I go most enthusiastically for a day hike will remain undisclosed because it feels like my own destination dreamily away from daily routine. 
Our trail system is like an amusement park for serial wanderers and explorers on a time budget. Over here, we have Smuggler Road to the deck as a social gathering in motion. Over there, Ute Trail attracts hardcore athletes in training in equal measure with posers suffering unaccustomed levels of exhaustion to get a classic Instagram shot of a sweaty victory pose over the town of Aspen from the cliffs at the top. Sunny Side is the place for the endless summer crowd looking to extend the warm season on each end of the calendar. Government Trail is a town-to-town excursion worthy of coffee and muffin to begin with and toasting the day with a cold beer at the other end. For the types seeking a reason to be out long enough to require packing a hard salami and cheese trail lunch, but close enough to still honor a dinner reservation, there are Cathedral Lake and American Lake trails along with Lost Man Loop. For long-haulers seeking a “different kind of fun,” the 26-mile Four Pass Loop through the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area is completed in one long day more often than you might think. Weller and Linkins lake trails are just enough to stretch your legs on your way to Denver or reacclimate on your way back. The Rim trails are decent for fossil hunting. Hiking up the ski areas can induce ski dreams. I could go on, but so can you, too!
Fortunately, we are a trail-schizophrenia-friendly community. Some skies are blue and others are gray, it’s why I’m hiking tomorrow and biking today!
  
Roger Marolt knows that people on trails are generally more friendly than people in cars, even though they are the same people, just at different times. [email protected]
 
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