From the basket of his balloon, Wil experiences Heber Valley in a way few ever will—surrounded by sweeping, 360-degree views of Mount Timpanogos and the Wasatch and Uinta mountain ranges. Up there, the world is peaceful, quiet, and expansive, broken only by the occasional burst of propane flame warming the air inside the balloon. It’s a perspective that never gets old.

Wil’s path to ballooning began long before he ever floated above Heber. In 1976, he took his first flight in a 1932 Pietenpol airplane, skinned in fabric and powered by a Ford Model A four-cylinder engine. With a takeoff speed barely over 20 miles per hour—slower than his 1963 Volkswagen Beetle—it was a fitting introduction to a lifetime in the air.

After serving honorably in the U.S. Air Force as a Technical Sergeant and aircraft mechanic, Wil moved into a wide range of hands-on work. He built custom cars, climbed poles to hook up live electrical and telephone lines, and eventually helped expand telephone interconnectivity across the South and Midwest during the telecom boom of the 1970s and ’80s. By 1984, he owned and operated three cellular phone companies, selling what were then massive, power-hungry car phones—often installed in luxury vehicles at a premium price.

It was during this era that a passing balloon changed everything. In 1988, Wil spotted a hot air balloon drifting overhead and chased it down in his pickup truck, thinking it would make a perfect advertising platform for his cell phone business. That curiosity led to his first balloon flight—and soon after, to FAA certification as a private balloon pilot. Ballooning quickly became more than marketing; it became a calling.

By the early 1990s, Wil had earned his commercial pilot’s license, ordered his first custom balloon, and began competing in balloon races across the Midwest. He won his first race in 1991 and went on to claim one of ballooning’s highest honors in 1999: first place at the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico. From 1996 to 2003, he never finished lower than eighth in that prestigious competition.

As balloon design evolved, so did Wil’s creativity. He embraced shaped balloons, eventually designing his own. His first, Keystone Willy, was custom-built in 2015, with Wil closely involved in its design and engineering. This hands-on experience led to other custom creations, including a soccer-ball balloon inspired by his time as a professional soccer goalie and by coaching and playing soccer with his sons.

Wil visited Heber City in 2017 to meet up with one of his pilots who was flying out of Park City, and decided to stay for a while. In 2018, he began offering balloon rides in the area and met his second wife (his first wife, Marilyn, passed away in 2015), Gwen, whose brother lives in Midway. In 2020, he began launching flights from the Heber Valley Airport.

“There’s no comparison,” Wil says of flying here. “The views, the air, the way of life, the sun cresting the mountains in the early morning.” He quickly learned the rhythms of Heber’s skies, watching local glider pilots and studying the wind, lift, and sink patterns unique to the area. The prime flying window runs from about 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. in late June through September, when conditions are calm, and the light is magical.

Today, Wil’s distinctive balloons—like Keystone Willy and The Pirate—are a familiar sight drifting gently above parks, open spaces, and designated landing zones throughout the valley. His flights are intentionally intimate, carrying a maximum of ten passengers, creating a personal, unforgettable experience. Over the years, his passengers have included athletes, musicians, actors, and even Utah legend and Heber Valley resident Karl Malone.

Wil shares Heber Valley’s skies respectfully with glider pilots, other balloonists, and motorized aircraft, and he’s been a supporter of local festivals and fundraisers along the way. Still competing at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, he brings world-class experience to every flight.

From above, Heber Valley looks timeless—its patchwork of fields, waterways, and mountains unfolding quietly below. Floating there, it’s easy to see why Wil Lapointe fell in love. It’s a view that might just make Peter Pan jealous.

balloons-above.com

Water shapes where people live, how communities grow, and what the future looks like. From pioneer irrigation ditches to modern reservoirs, each generation has had to answer the same difficult question: how do we grow responsibly in one of the driest states in the nation?

Drive through Heber Valley or around Jordanelle Reservoir and the transformation is impossible to miss. Projects such as Jordanelle Ridge, Mayflower Mountain Resort, Deer Valley East Village, and the Mirabel area promise thousands of new homes, hotels, businesses, and recreational amenities over the coming decade.

At the same time, Utah’s snowpack has reached historic lows. The 2026 water year began with alarming numbers. Snowpack across the state peaked weeks early and at roughly half of normal levels. Naturally, emotions run high when water and development are discussed together. If Utah hopes to build a sustainable future, the conversation must move beyond fear, slogans, and political talking points. Water policy deserves thoughtful analysis rooted in science, planning, economics, and long-term statewide strategy.

Learning to Integrate Water and Growth

For decades, land-use planning and water planning often operated separately. The result was reactive growth rather than coordinated growth.

The Utah Division of Water Resources has openly acknowledged this challenge through its “Integration of Water and Land Use Planning” initiative, which recognizes that development decisions and water decisions cannot be separated. State guidance now emphasizes that integrating the two from the beginning is far less expensive than retrofitting poorly planned growth later.

Recent legislation reflects this shift. HB 110 and SB 76¹ now require municipalities and counties across Utah to adopt integrated water-use and preservation elements into their general plans. Communities must evaluate how future development affects water supply, infrastructure, groundwater, conservation goals, and long-term resiliency.

This represents a major philosophical change. Rather than treating water as an afterthought, Utah is beginning to treat it as a foundational planning tool. That matters enormously for fast-growing counties like here in Wasatch County, where population projections continue rising. Growth itself is not inherently bad. The challenge is not whether growth happens. The challenge is whether growth happens intelligently.

A Misunderstood Water Rights Debate

Much of Utah’s water debate centers around one of the oldest western water laws: use it or lose it.

Under Utah Code Section 73-1-4², water rights can be forfeited after seven consecutive years of non-use. Historically, this doctrine prevented speculators from hoarding water they were not actively using. In the early West, when water was tied directly to agriculture, mining, and settlement, the policy made practical sense. But Utah in 2026 is not Utah in 1906.

Today, residents are encouraged to conserve water during drought years while some water-right holders worry that significantly reducing usage could weaken future claims or long-term allocations. Although modern reforms offer some protections through non-use applications and water banking, the broader system still reflects assumptions from another era.

This creates a contradiction. Citizens are asked to remove turf and limit outdoor watering while development continues expanding. Many residents understandably question whether, if Utah has enough water for resort developments, recreational facilities, new businesses, thousands of additional homes, and now data centers, there should also be enough water for farmers to irrigate crops, ranchers to care for livestock, and homeowners to responsibly maintain lawns, gardens, trees, and flower beds.

Conservation during legitimate drought years is wise stewardship, but fear-driven messaging that portrays ordinary residents as the primary problem can oversimplify a far more complex statewide issue. That tension has fueled growing skepticism toward drought campaigns, with some residents wondering whether conservation efforts are sometimes used less for stewardship and more to free water capacity for future growth.

Whether or not that perception is entirely accurate, public trust and transparency matter. Conservation remains essential in an arid state, but the system should reward conservation rather than discourage it. Until broader reforms are made to Utah’s “use it or lose it” structure, water-right holders should continue using their legally allocated water to protect long-standing rights while still practicing reasonable efficiency where possible.

One of the most important lessons emerging from Utah’s current water debate is that water cannot realistically be managed solely at the city or county level. Watersheds do not care about municipal borders. Snowmelt from the Wasatch Range feeds reservoirs, aquifers, rivers, farms, recreation systems, ecosystems, and downstream communities across enormous geographic areas. Decisions made in one county inevitably affect another.

That is why Utah increasingly needs statewide coordination rather than fragmented local battles. A city approving development may focus on economic opportunity and housing demand. Agricultural users may focus on irrigation reliability. Environmental groups may prioritize stream health or the health of the Great Salt Lake ecosystem. All are legitimate concerns. But without broader statewide integration, competing interests can easily work against one another. The Utah Division of Water Resources has already recognized this challenge through initiatives like the “Growing Water Smart” workshops³, which bring planners, water managers, and policymakers together to coordinate future development around water realities.

Treating water as a statewide issue rather than a collection of isolated local disputes may ultimately become Utah’s most important policy shift of the next decade.

Growth is Coming Either Way

One reality often missing from water debates is that growth is coming either way.

Wasatch County cannot simply freeze itself in time. Its proximity to Park City, Salt Lake City, outdoor recreation, and expanding resort economies makes continued development almost inevitable. Ignoring this reality does not stop growth. It simply reduces the opportunity to shape it responsibly. That is why zoning and infrastructure planning matter so deeply.

The question is not whether Utah can grow. The question is whether Utah chooses to grow wisely. Utah has already begun modernizing portions of its water system. Recent legislation protecting water banking, encouraging conservation, improving accountability, and funding Great Salt Lake preservation shows the state is capable of adapting. But more work remains ahead.

The “use it or lose it” doctrine deserves continued reform so both water use and conservation are fully incentivized rather than psychologically discouraged. Water-right holders should feel confident that wise stewardship strengthens—not threatens—their long-term standing. Public communication around drought also deserves nuance and honesty. Residents are capable of understanding that Utah can simultaneously face real drought challenges while planning for future growth. These realities are not mutually exclusive. Most importantly, Utah needs statewide conversations that rise above fear and polarization.

The future of the Wasatch Back will not be decided by a single development, a single reservoir level, or a single drought year. It will be shaped by decades of coordinated planning, transparent policymaking, technological innovation, and public engagement.

Water is not merely a county issue, a city issue, or a political issue. It is Utah’s issue.

Every resident—whether farmer, developer, homeowner, conservationist, skier, rancher, or business owner—has a stake in how the state manages its most precious resource. That means staying informed, engaging with local planning efforts, and thinking beyond neighborhood boundaries toward statewide solutions. Because ultimately, Utah’s water future will not depend on fear. It will depend on cooperation, transparency, innovation, and long-term vision.

WRITTEN BY
MARK AVERY & LORALIE PEARCE

Coins don’t only hold monetary value; they tell stories. They visually depict historical figures, events, and symbols, giving us a glimpse into the ruling monarch, religious and political climate, economic conditions, and cultural values of their era. The designs and inscriptions on coins are historical snapshots of our past, present, and hopes for the future.

Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Coin experts trained to identify and grade coins are called numismatists, and ancient coin experts are classical numismatists.

Numismatics can tell us much about societies long after their fall. Ancient Biblical coins include Greek and Judaean varieties, mostly bronze and silver. Then the Romans arrived, minting a massive quantity of bronze, silver, gold, and even lead coins and medallions.

Every Roman Caesar had his own collection of coins stamped with his image, with hundreds of depictions on the reverse, including gods, goddesses, angels, soldiers, standards, battle scenes, and monuments. Even their wives and children issued coins. When Rome began to fall to the Goths and Vandals in the 4th century AD, the Empire moved to Constantinople, later becoming the Byzantine Empire. Christian themes became popular on late Roman coins after the adoption of Christianity, starting with Constantine the Great (307-336 AD).

Today, authentic Greek, Roman, and Byzantine coins are abundant and fairly priced. Counterfeits exist, some dating back to the original coins. Medieval coinage, including those of Western kings and queens, Crusaders, and Eastern empires, are also attainable. The Chinese minted countless coins, often with a square hole and usually of bronze, some weighing nearly a pound and several inches in diameter. Modern world and U.S. coins offer collectors many options.

For centuries, coins featured rulers, gods, or sacred animals. However, in 1772, the American Congress opted to switch things up. With the introduction of the dollar, the design sparked debate. Congress chose Liberty instead of then-President George Washington, differing from Old World coinage. An eagle appeared on the reverse, a throwback to Roman antiquity. Over a century later, Washington’s image first appeared on the U.S. quarter in honor of his 200th birthday and later on nickels minted in 1866 and 1909-1910.

In the U.S., initiatives like the 50 State Quarters program and the American Women Quarters program help tell the nation’s stories for future generations. These programs have also inspired many younger collectors to explore numismatics.

In Utah, coin collecting started with settlers crossing the Mormon Trail. With the discovery of gold in the West, including Utah, local merchants demanded more coinage, leading governing leaders to mint gold and silver tokens. The most famous and highly collectable of these are the Mormon $20, $10, and $5 gold pieces. Smaller commerce tokens, often bronze or aluminum, were common in Utah. Cafes, mercantiles, cooperatives, and department stores issued them from the mid-1800s through the mid-1900s.

Today, collectors seek silver dollars, half dollars, and twenty-cent pieces minted at the Carson City Mint (1870-1893), which bear the distinctive “CC” mintmark. The Denver Mint started striking coins in 1906 and still produces U.S. circulation coins, mint sets, and commemoratives. New Orleans, a branch of the United States Mint, produced gold and silver coins between 1838 and 1861, and again from 1879 to 1909, marked by a distinctive “O” on the reverse.

In 2021, Mark Avery, a retired USAF officer-aviator, founded the Wasatch Coin & History Club. Mark and his family moved to Heber City in 2019 from Saint Charles, Missouri, the launch point for the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. Incidentally, this expedition was commemorated in 2000 with the Sacagawea or “golden” dollar, featuring the Shoshone guide. These coins have a copper core clad by manganese brass, giving them a golden color.

The Wasatch Coin & History Club aims to educate the public on significant leaders and events using coins and storytelling. Examples of presentations include “The Concept of Liberty Depicted on Coins,” “Coins and Places of the Ancient Frankincense Route,” “World War II Through Coins and Bills,” “Alexander the Great and His Legacy,” and “The Assassination of Julius Caesar with Coins.” The club awards young members collector coins at every meeting. Another goal is promoting numismatics—learning coin value, characteristics, grades, and history.

Utah coin collectors are served by Salt Lake City and Provo coin stores and online dealers. In the Wasatch Back, we welcome a new addition to coin collecting: Coinzio. Opened in September 2024, Coinzio features rare coins, including ancient, bullion, and jewelry.

Owners Chris Fazio, Sarah Foster, and Jay Tims bring extensive experience. Chris is a third-generation family coin business owner and a certified coin grader. After running a top-rated coin shop in Utah Valley, Chris and Sarah teamed up with Jay to bring Coinzio to Heber City—the first coin shop in the Wasatch Back. They found the perfect location, an older home remodeled into a business with added security features, giving Coinzio a vintage look—ideal for selling coins ranging from 3000 BC to 2024. Their prices are highly competitive, even underpricing Salt Lake City stores. Future plans include educational talks, and special displays highlighting ancient, classic, and modern coins, including the latest 3D high-relief coins.

Visit Coinzio: a coin, bullion, and jewelry store, at 841 South Main, Heber.

Join the thriving community of coin collectors and history enthusiasts. Wasatch Coin & History Club every last Tuesday from 6–7:30 PM at the Wasatch County Library.

Heber Valley Airport, established in 1947, was developed by local aviation enthusiasts who formed the Heber Valley Flying Service (HVFS). Russell McDonald served as chief flight instructor, head mechanic, and general manager. In 1949, Heber Valley Airport (HCR) secured funding from the Civil Aeronautics Authority (now the FAA) to pave and extend the runway. Once extended to 4,400’, the runway became suitable for both powered and unpowered aircraft. Soon, gliders, balloons, and small propeller-driven aircraft operated from HCR. Due to the end of GI Bill funding, flight training at HVFS ended in 1952, though gliders, balloons, and small private aircraft continued to take to the blue skies above Heber Valley.

In 1991, David Robinson opened Soar Utah, a gliding operation still launching unpowered airplanes and teaching glider pilots how to soar. With the 1984 airport master plan, the HCR runway lengthened to 6,900 feet, and airport services grew to accommodate both private and commercial propeller and jet aircraft. HCR’s gliding community grew as well, thanks to Soar Utah. Competing for airspace with the powered aircraft community, HCR air motorheads fly everything from bug-smashing Piper Cubs to powerful warbirds like the P-51 Mustang, Stearman biplane, and T-41 Trojan. Highly aerobatic planes, including the Red Bull-standard Extra 300, are also hangared at HCR. Nadeem Abu Haidar, owner of OK3 Air, is a former Navy fighter pilot and experienced aerobatic pilot who owns and flies an Extra 300. His red, white, and blue aircraft can often be seen performing loops, rolls, and more above Heber Valley. But we’ll address aerobatic flying from HCR in a future article—along with ballooning!

While David Robinson helped start and lead the soaring community at HCR through Soar Utah, many glider pilots and their aircraft form a dynamic and vibrant aviation community. Fun fact: “gliding” and “soaring” are often used interchangeably, though “soar-plane” sometimes refers to the lighter, more aerodynamic varieties of gliders. The Utah Soaring Association (USA) is integral to Utah’s glider training and club activities at several airports, including ours.

The path to an initial glider rating (FAA certificate) usually takes about three months with two weekly lessons. To solo a glider, trainees must be at least 14 years old, and to become an FAA-certificated Private Pilot, one must be at least 16. A medical certificate is not required, but glider pilots cannot have a medical condition that prevents the safe operation of a glider. Interested glider (soar-plane) pilots can join the USA for a small initiation fee and annual dues. Instructors provide one-on-one sessions, typically lasting about two hours, which include ground school, flights, and debriefing. The cost of training includes club membership, glider usage, and tow-plane services. Instructional flights usually range from $65 to $75.

The Utah Soaring Association hosts various events and competitions, including regional and national gliding competitions.

HCR has ideal soaring conditions—mostly clear skies and active thermals—and is a popular spot for gliding. The real charm of soaring in the Heber Valley is the pristine, majestic views and the great lift available from both thermals and ridges (mechanical lift created by prevailing winds rising off the windward side of mountain ridges).

Heber Valley glider pilots are a supportive and active group, with many opportunities for learning and competition. A few notable members of the glider community at HCR include:

John Ackerson, O.D.

Everyone’s favorite Heber City eye doctor of Ackerson Eyecare, and soaring enthusiast who loves to participate in and share the joy of the sport.

Dave Robinson

A glider and tow-plane pilot and a founder of Soar Utah at Heber Valley Airport. Dave conducts towing operations at Soar Utah in his Piper Pawnee, equipped with a retractable tow rope.

Paul Schneider

An experienced local glider pilot and instructor. Check out Paul’s excellent video, The Art of Soaring in Utah, on the Utah Soaring Association’s website.

Many other members and instructors are listed on the website. Besides posting all the information you need about gliding and how to get started in the sport, the site features fantastic pictures, video clips, and contact information for aspiring glider (soar-plane) pilots. Or, if you just want to experience the silent thrill of soaring, orientation rides are available.

To learn more visit:

skyvector.com/airport/HCR/Heber-Valley-Airport

utahsoaring.org

utahsoaring.org/heber-city-orientation

Fall may be the most glorious time of all for exploring Daniels and Strawberry. Autumn leaves of red, orange, and yellow cover all trails and fill the streams with floating masterpieces. The rich colors highlight tall green pines and white-barked Aspens dropping golden petals. This may be the best time of year for the longer mountain biking and hiking adventures from the summit down to Wallsburg and Strawberry Creek / Reservoir. Late summer temperatures are cooler up at Daniels Summit and Strawberry than down in the valley, making it the perfect time for hiking and biking. Many of us know that Dutch Canyon, WOW, and Bonanza Flats multi-use trails are amazing in their own right, but I want to share with you some of our less-known and certainly our less-crowded trails.

From Daniels Summit, expect a great pedal or hike from either side of US 40. Access points are easy to find, with parking more limited for non-four-wheel drive vehicles on the east side. West of the Summit, and north of the Snowmobile Center, a large, free parking lot accommodates vehicles hauling hikers, horseback riders, and bikers. What I like is the ability to “make your own path without getting too lost” — it’s a relatively easy uphill trek to Strawberry Ridge / Peak. If you can leave a car in Wallsburg before driving up to Daniels Summit Lodge parking, a whole new route down from Big Glade / Strawberry Ridge awaits you! It’s an enjoyable ride along the expansive forest service road on mountain bikes. For adventurous mountain bikers or hikers willing to do the two-car shuffle, a marvelous journey awaits, starting from the east side of Hwy 40 along excellent trails leading up and southeastward along a narrow forest road and then down to Strawberry Creek and Reservoir. Year-round bonus: these routes are also fun on skis or snowshoes in the winter. There are many trails to explore in the area. I’ve marked a few to get you started!

Finally, if hiking or mountain biking is not your thing, but horseback riding is, you can arrange horseback trail riding at Daniels Summit through the Lodge. Whatever trail-negotiating method you choose, there is something for everyone in the Daniels Summit / Strawberry wilderness area. So get out there and explore! And don’t forget your camera!

Strawberry Narrows Trail

Mountain Bike | E-Bike | Hike | Trail Running

A must-ride trail! This is a high-voltage scenic ride. To experience the whole thing as an out-and-back is 24 miles. I suggest starting at the eastern end, riding what you want, then turning back. The trail rolls up and down, for about 2,400 total elevation.

trailforks.com #804

Circle-Main Canyon

Mountain Bike | E-Bike | Hike | Trail Running | OHV | Horse | Snowmobile

A moderate and steady climb for most of the journey, you will gain 1,069 ft in total elevation. At 5 miles in each direction, you will clock a 10 mile trek out and back. The terrain is dirt/gravel road.

trailforks.com #046

Foreman Trail

Mountain Bike | E-Bike | Hike | Trail Running

A shorter option is a northward traverse from Daniels Summit parking area to the Boy Scout Camp slightly down-valley toward Heber Valley, then looping back southeast along US 40 and cutting south, up and through fields and trees back to the parking lot — about 4 miles round-trip.

trailforks.com #3090

Nadim was born in 1966 in Beirut, the primary business center and political-cultural capital of Lebanon. However, Lebanon in the 1970s became increasingly divided along religious, ethnic, and political lines — a spiderweb of intersecting interests and parties, most armed and dangerous. Tensions led to the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990); this civil war and invasion forced Nadim’s family to immigrate to the United States in 1982, where Nadim attended a boarding school in Connecticut. Nadim excelled as a student, athlete, and student pilot. He learned aerobatic flying and worked with the famous husband-wife aerobatic duo, the French Connection. Nadim earned a BA in 1988, then spent a winter skiing and working in Park City, Utah. While in Utah, he applied and was selected for the US Navy Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, FL. Nadim earned his commission as an Ensign in April 1990 and went to US Navy basic flight school and advanced jet training in Texas. With his Wings of Gold, Nadim was selected for F/A-18 Hornet fighter training at El Toro, CA, the US Marine Corp F-18 Replacement Air Group (RAG). His first fleet operational assignment in Hornets was aboard the USS Carl Vincon, where he completed two deployments in the Persian Gulf and South Indian Ocean. Returning to Lemoore Naval Air Station in 1996, he flew Hornets at Miramar, CA, and Fallon Naval Air Station, NV – completing Top Gun Class in April of 1997. His next assignment was training the fleet at the Strike Fighter Weapons School at NAS Lemoore, CA — his job was to fly with and evaluate the best fighter pilots in the US Navy. On a side note, the F-18 Hornet, and F/A-18 Super Hornet, are built by Boeing Defense in St Louis, MO. Boeing had purchased McDonald Douglas, the same manufacturer that built the two USAF aircraft this author flew in the US Air Force, the F-4 Phantom and the F-15 Eagle. One main difference between Naval and USAF fighters is that Nadim flew his aircraft from a moving aircraft carrier’s short deck, often at night in raging seas. No thanks, this writer was happy enough flying from long runways solidly planted on terra firma!

Nadim separated from the Navy in 1999 and moved back to Park City, Utah. An avid skier and pilot, he met and taught flying with Dave McCoy, owner of Wasatch Aero Service at Heber Valley Airport.

In 1989, the runway was lengthened to 6800’, allowing jet aircraft operations. Nadim bought Wasatch Aero Services from Dave McCoy and helped develop not only a first-class FAA-certified flight school but an aircraft fuel and maintenance service business as well. In 2003, Nadim along with Greg Peterson, another ex-USN fighter pilot, organized and put on the first Heber Valley Aerobatic Air Show and Aircraft Fly-In. Nadim renamed Wasatch Aero Service to OK3 Air in 2005. OK3 is a term used by USN fighter pilots — if your jet’s tail hook catches the #3 wire when landing on an aircraft carrier this usually results in an “OK” (both a grade from the air boss and a safe landing). OK3 Air caters to private and charter business aviation, fixed wing, and rotary aircraft, and both jets and turboprops. Additionally, OK3 serves smaller general aviation aircraft. OK3 is also the only Pilatus PC-12 turboprop service center in Utah. Nadim prides himself on treating his employees and customers with “top gun” service and support.

Travis Biggs is the Heber Valley Airport Manager, a demanding, multi-role responsibility he has excelled in full-time since 2021. Travis hails from the historic mountain gold mining area of Nevada County, California. Famous for rich gold strikes in the late 1800s and infamous for the ill-fated Donner pioneer expedition — many of whom perished in the terrible winter of 1846. Travis panned for gold in the Yuba River as a kid, graduated High School in 1995, and worked with his father as a general contractor in the area. He served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chile and then studied at Utah Valley University. While at UVU, Travis took an introductory flight course and fell in love with flying — switching from pre-med studies to aviation, to become a professional pilot. He earned his Private Pilot’s license at Provo Airport in 2000, before they built the control tower there. After terrorists hijacked airliners and attacked America on 9/11, Travis, unable to get a loan to continue the expensive Pro Pilot program, switched majors to Airport Management at UVU. To earn money, Travis traveled back and forth to Nevada City, where he worked in his Dad’s flooring business and obtained his Instrument pilot’s rating.

In 2008, with his BA in Airport Management, pilot’s ratings, and a background in construction/contracting, Travis met his mentor, Kevin Smith, the Truckee Tahoe Airport Manager. On Kevin’s advice, Travis began volunteering at Heber Valley Airport and entered a Masters of Public Administration program at BYU in 2014. He still commuted on weekends back to Nevada County to earn money in the flooring business. Travis got married back in California and now has four children. In 2016, he moved his family to Heber City and became the assistant airport manager for Dennis Godfrey at Heber Valley Airport. Travis earned his MPA in 2017 and took over as the part-time airport manager when Dennis left; Travis also served as a part-time Heber City manager. At the end of 2020, he accepted the offer to become the full-time airport manager at the fast-growing Heber Valley Airport, where Nadim AbuHaidar was helping run the Wasatch Aero Service and a very busy Part 141 pilot training/aircraft maintenance program and charter flying business, in addition to performing as an aerobatic pilot.

Heber Valley has become the busiest high-elevation airport in Utah. Which begs the question: Exactly what does an Airport Manager do? Travis has a multi-hatted position, ensuring that the airport safely handles everything from private jet charter services to hot air balloon operations. He represents the diverse interests of local and out-of-town pilots, Nadim’s FBO (OK3 Air), the Heber City Council, citizens, and myriad federal, state, and local government and non-government entities. From snow removal, runway and taxiway repair and lighting, airport fence building/maintenance, hangar construction, airport equipment maintenance, facility engineering, and airport emergency response, to name a few of his responsibilities. Travis is a very busy guy. His budget is always tight, so much so that he must recruit and train volunteers and part-time hourly employees to get the job done. Travis continually interacts with government entities, including the Federal Aviation Agency, the National Transportation Safety Board, and the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). Travis’ ongoing training involves university courses, American Association of Airport Executives certifications, and seminars/meetings with AAAE and AOPA research programs. He also works with the National Business Association of Airports on overall airport business management awareness. The finance world of running an airport is a nearly full-time job in and of itself — budgeting, grant applications, contracting, following federal and state financial regulations, etc. Legal considerations include working with state, city, county, and private attorneys representing various government and private interests pertaining to the airport and its operations. Wildlife management is one interest — keeping birds, animals, and pilots safe on airport property and the air above is an important responsibility; preparing and updating daily notices to Airmen, a federal requirement, is just one more duty in his “quiver of airport safety arrows.”

Wrapping things together, Travis is also the HVA Public Relations campaign manager. One issue is the Heber Valley public’s concern about future air operations in the valley. While HVA will not see commercial airline activity in the foreseeable future due to airspace and terrain safety limitations, we are experiencing growing private jet and general aviation operations. Another aspect of HVA PR activity is the annual hosting of airshows/fly-ins, winter and summer festivals (think Snow Fest, snow sculptures, smores, skijoring (horses towing skiers) and night balloon glows in winter and Taste of Heber foodie shows, art murals on hangars and hot air balloon rides in summer). One HVA tenant is the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), which fosters aerospace history education by rebuilding and maintaining aircraft from as far back as World War II. The CAF museum at HVA is a fantastic showplace of aviation history and ongoing CAF operations for youth and adults alike. Travis is also in the planning stage for an event he calls Plane Air, with student and adult art and writing competitions along the theme of All Things Aviation.

As for the eclectic and near-impossible job of being an airport manager, I leave you this humorous quote from an essay by Ben West, Airport Manager at Warrensburg, Missouri: “Airport Managers are always wrong…even when they are right! They are usually the last person to be consulted on decisions affecting the airport… but the first to get the blame when those decisions fail!” I also reference a funny Airport Manager Wanted, Job Description by James Smith, Deputy Airport Manager at Huntington Tri- State Airport in West Virginia: “Must have extensive background in aviation — must not be too old or too young but ‘old enough to know better and young enough to enjoy it.’ Must have engineering experience and practical know-how in all phases of building roads, runways, taxiways, hangars, fuel installations, electrical, gas-line, sewer and water systems, and all other utility systems…” The job description goes on to add all the intricate financial, legal, political, psychological, public relations, engineering, zoning and other understanding skills an airport manager must have or quickly learn to do the job satisfactorily.

Luckily for HVA, we have Travis Biggs and Nadim AbuHaidar working together to run a premier, growing airport and FBO that serves the entire Heber Valley and Park City.

Mount Timpanogos (or ‘Mt. Timp’ as some locals call her), is the second-highest mountain in Utah’s Wasatch Range. Timpanogos rises to an elevation of
11,752 ft (3,582 m) above sea level in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Nearly all of the exposed layered walls of the mountain are made up of limestone and dolomite; remnants of an ancient sea that once covered large swaths of Utah and Nevada. Older rock lies under the limestone. All were later thrust over 12,000’ above sea level — Mount Timpanogos itself is the tallest peak in the southern Wasatch Mountain Range, formed and shaped by basin and range “block” faulting. At its northern flank are embedded a series of caves that now make up Timpanogos Cave National Monument. The author highly encourages his readers to visit this magnificent Cave, and take a guided tour into the heart of the sacred mountain that thunders. The Cave is open from May through September, depending on snow conditions of course, since the Wasatch Mountains can receive up to 800 inches of snow a year.

In the midst of all the excitement of rediscovering Timpanogos Cave, that Fall, George Heber Hansen (1884-1951), Martin’s son, and Wayne Hansen (1903-1989), Martin’s grandson, were hunting on the other side of the canyon. Using binoculars to find deer, they saw yet another cave entrance between the other two caves. A few days later they brought the 74-year-old pioneer cave-finder, Martin Hansen, back to the entrance — Martin was the first to enter the cave, now called Middle Cave.

The Cave

Mount Timpanogos National Monument and all cave tours are managed by the National Park Service. A 1.6 mile paved trail leads to the cave entrance with an elevation gain of 1,092 feet. The three caves that make up the Timpanogas Cave system — Hansen Cave, Middle Cave, and Timpanogos Cave — are only viewable on guided tours when the monument is open. They are interconnected through tunnels which were blasted from the limestone in the 1930s by President Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration. Wear a jacket or sweater as cave temperatures hover around 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Some of the cave features include colorful speleothems and helictites (hollow, twisting and spiraled tubes of deposited calcite and aragonite which is the same mineral sea shells are made up of). These helictites and anthodites are found in Timpanogos than other caves worldwide. The Timpanogos speleotherms include: cave bacon, cave columns, flowstone, cave popcorn, cave drapery, stalactites and stalagmites. Having been in a lot of caves as a former geologist and spelunker (cave explorer), this covers a wide gambit of cave formations.

One enters Timpanogos Cave through a manmade entrance that is close to the entrance discovered by Martin Hansen. Walking down a tunnel, tours continue on to Middle Cave, before passing through another manmade tunnel to Timpanogos Cave. Finally, tours return to the surface through a manmade exit near the original entrance.

The cave system is embedded in Deseret Limestone, a Mississippian age limestone, as old as 340 million years, according to some geologists. The cave cavity resulted from a series of offset faults of the larger Wasatch fault. After this, acidic hydrothermal water action and uplift of the Wasatch Mountains, completed the cave system as we explore it today.

The Great Heart of Timpanogos is a large speliotherm formation with a few legends associated with it that involve two young lovers: Red Eagle and Utahna. Red Eagle plans to marry beautiful Utahna, but many braves have the same idea. Red Eagle decides he will say he’s a god in order to convince her. However, Red Eagle is killed by a bear (or warrior dressed as a bear) and Utahna, in despair, leaps from the precipice of Timpanogos. The real god of Timpanogos is touched and melds their bleeding hearts together, placing them in the cave for eternity.

For 100+ years the legend and stunning natural wonders of Mount Timpanogos have drawn people from all over the world. How grateful we are to our predecessors who sat around a fire and dedicated themselves to preserving the majesty of our mountain princess and her cave that thunders.

Cave Discovery

According to the Timpanogos Cave National Park website, the official discoverer of the first of three cave entrances into the mountain that thunders was Martin Hansen (1847-1934). Martin accidentally discovered what is now called Hansen Cave in October 1887. The story goes something like this: Martin was cutting timber when he came across some cougar footprints. Following the tracks, he discovered an opening — the entrance to the small cave that would eventually be named after him. He did not enter the cave that day, but he did come back to explore and, with others, created a rough trail straight up the mountainside. Unfortunately, within a few years of the incredible discovery, “souvenir hunters and miners had damaged the cave, selling much of their treasures to museums, universities, and commercial enterprises who made decorative objects from the cave deposits.”

Several years later, in 1913, a second cave, not far away, was found by two teen boys, James Gough and Frank Johnson. The teens were climbing up a dolomite slope and found a natural entrance to the larger Timpanogos Cave. Inside, they discovered amazing limestone formations; including the Great Heart of Timpanogos. Although, many people came out to explore the cave, interest in it died away, and the cave and its location faded into folklore. Thankfully, on August 14, 1921 an outdoor club from Payson, Utah came to investigate the rumors of a second cave. One of the club’s members, Vearl J. Manwill, rediscovered the opening to Timpanogos Cave. Manwill wrote, “[That very night] by the light of campfire, [we] discussed our find, and talked about ways and means to preserve its beauty for posterity instead of allowing it to be vandalized as Hansen’s Cave had been.”

Getting to the Cave

Take the Alpine Scenic Loop in American Fork Canyon up to the Timpanogos Cave National Monument Headquarters and parking area.

On the way home, consider completing the Alpine Loop, heading east to visit Cascade Springs then down into Soldier Hollow Golf Course for lunch. Alternatively, take the Alpine Loop south visiting and eating at Sundance Mountain Resort then exiting back to Heber Valley via Hwy 189 /
Provo Canyon.

Fun Facts

Uintah or Uinta? Early maps spelled the name as Uintah with an “h.” Major John Wesley Powell left off the “h” in his publications, deeming it unnecessary for pronunciation. Throughout the area both spellings are still used. For example: Uinta Basin and Uinta Mountains, but Uintah County and Uintah Lake.

The “Real” Legend of Timpanogos: At least twelve recorded versions of the Legend of Timpanogos exist today. Though the legends vary, most explain the curious outline of a woman that can be seen in the peaks of Mount Timpanogos or the origin of the Great Heart found in the Timpanogos Cave System.

The first print version of “The Legend of Timpanogos” was told by Eguene Lusk “Timp” Roberts in 1922 while gathered around a bonfire in Aspen Grove the night before an annual hike to the cave. This version was quickly accepted as an authentic Indian legend. However, the story would continue to take on a life of its own throughout the years; a compilation of Timpanogos legends was published in 1988 by Effie W. Adams, and The Timpanogos Storytelling Festival features three versions. The legend was used as the basis for an opera by Professor William F. Hanson that premiered in 1937, and was adapted into a ballet in 1994 by Jacqueline Colledge of the Utah Regional Ballet Company. The ballet, Legend of Timpanogos, was performed at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and is still occasionally presented by URBC.

Speed skiing around a hilly course at Soldier Hollow is a challenge for the best of us; now add a loaded rifle strapped to your back, an Olympic-caliber shooting range, and targets. Local Wasatch County biathletes and brothers, Phillip and Daniel Radu describe the experience, “In the Sprint biathlon event, we individually start through the opening gate at a specific time, usually 30 seconds between fellow biathletes, and compete against the clock and hit all our targets. We ski three laps around the course, two shooting events, one prone and one standing. The targets are 50 meters away, five of them, about golf ball size for the prone event and softball size for standing.” Phillip shares, “My legs are pushing those skinny skate skis as fast as I can safely go, and my heart is beating so loud coming into the shooting range. I slow down some as I approach the range to get my breathing in control, slam them [the skis] into a V to stop, rip the .22 caliber off my back, pause, aim, fire, and then sling it back over my shoulder and pump those skis back up the track toward the finish line.” It’s a grueling, demanding, yet thrilling adventure!

Oh yeah, training doesn’t stop when the snow melts. Donning nothing but a bicycle helmet for safety, serious biathletes trade in their winter skis for roller skis; imagine two “ski-boards” on wheels, strapped to your feet on a hinged binding. From the late spring to the late fall, until the tracks are covered enough to allow regular skiing, you will see these athletes buzzing around the paved trails at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. You may now have an outsider’s view of what a biathlete can accomplish. Biathlons are one of the oldest competitive sports on earth. According to Spartan myth, ancient gods, like Apollo, charged around a challenging course on spirited stallions, before and during the first Olympics, firing long arrows from giant bows slung over their shoulders.

Just as biathlons have changed over the centuries, so too have the courses and facilities used for the sport. Soldier Hollow is one of three Olympic Biathlon Nordic training centers in the United States, and is now undergoing a significant renovation and upgrade to ensure top biathletes have the best chance of reaching their peak performance goals, including, someday, standing on an Olympic podium accepting a bronze, silver or gold medal. Additionally, this year, the United States Biathlon Association voted to move its headquarters from Maine to Utah’s Soldier Hollow Nordic Center. Soldier Hollow was home to Nordic skiing and biathlon competitions during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and numerous other international Nordic events. You can get tickets to watch the International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup Biathlon competition at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center from March 8th-10th, 2024. Top biathletes from around the world racing and shooting on skis is an exciting event to witness. Select seats with catered services are reasonably priced and available online, while general admission is free for spectators.

Soldier Hollow’s major expansion and upgrade operation is being fueled by a Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation grant. Three goals drive this collective renovation effort:

1. Becoming a long-term gateway for year-round multi-use trail operations.
2. Creating space for large, international events, including the World Cup and, potentially, Olympic Nordic Events.
3. Developing world-class training, coaching, competition, conference, administrative, and aprés-ski areas for athletes and spectators.

A new 17,000-square-foot facility will incorporate a modern training gym, youth coaching area, Nordic equipment rentals and sales, a 200-person conference/awards/events room, and an apres-ski area with food, beverage, and music services. Construction efforts are underway for this facility at the race-track center, which will handle more competitive Nordic skiers and biathletes, spectators, recreational biathletes, and skiers, in addition to the Soldier Hollow ski patrol cadre, organizers, and administrators. General Manager, Luke Bodensteiner, a former Nordic Olympian, told us that the upgrade will serve all trainees, trainers, public skiers, and mountain bikers in the summer. The completion date is projected to be just in time to host the IBU World Cup in March. A very exciting decision by the World Olympic Committee to make Utah the sole location under consideration for the 2030 or 2034 Winter Olympics adds great value and excitement to this investment.

Programs will expand as well. Soldier Hollow Nordic Center currently hosts Youth Nordic and Biathlon, Post High School Elite Nordic and Biathlon Development, and Masters Skiing programs. They focus on about two dozen nationally ranked elite athletes and will host the National Cross-Country Ski Championships during the first week of January 2024. Their annual Schutesenski Festival, just held in October, draws athletes from the US Ski Team, US Biathlon Team, and the local area for a fun-filled event. US Olympic XC Skier and Gold Medalist, Jessie Diggens, joined the Festival this year. New courses at Soldier Hollow include a much expanded Nordic Ski Trail system, Biathlon Course, a Spring-Summer-Fall Mountain Bike trail system, and a paved roller-ski training course. Mountain Bike races held over the past few years will grow to include nationally ranked racing events. The public has an opportunity to use this amazing year-round trail system through an annual Soldier Hollow membership — perhaps the best deal in Utah for accessing a world-class multi-use trail system and apres-ski/bike facilities. On a daily basis, Soldier Hollow offers the public outstanding cross-country and speed skating ski trails for a small fee, including ski rentals and sales. They even offer introductory and advanced biathlon training experiences designed for participants 10 and older, including larger groups. Their Bronze, Silver, and Gold Olympian Biathlon Experiences are unique in the world and include a summer-only, on-foot Bronze group session for 8-10 people; Silver and Gold private sessions that offer a semi-competitive biathlon experience on skis or snowshoes, and on-foot in summer, with up to seven of your friends. Each session includes a safety briefing, instructional range orientation, and time for practice. As their brochure promises: “If you elect to stage a short competition, the biathlon course will raise heart rates, and give participants a sense of authentic biathlon competition. Participants are challenged to hit all five targets, and will come away with a new appreciation for Olympic Biathlon!” Session cost in 2022-2023 was $125.00 per person, and each training-competition experience lasts 75 minutes.

Phillip (17) and Daniel (19) Radu are some of Utah’s top up-and-coming biathletes who will benefit from the renovations. With ski instructors for parents, the boys have been skiing since the age of three. They began nordic skiing at Soldier Hollow when they were seven and biathlon at age 11. The brothers have attended Soldier Hollow Charter School and Park City Winter Sports School. Today, both athletes are focused on the national events that will qualify them for the World Biathlon Championships. The brothers share that they are excited about the upgrades and expanded training and competition opportunities at Soldier Hollow. “We did really well last season and look forward to training and competition starting in December for the 2023-2024 season!”

Soldier Hollow is also home to a fantastic public golf course with a gift/pro shop and restaurant, a winter tubing hill, the Nordic Yurt, and a famous Sheepdog Contest! The ski/mountain bike center rents Rossignol cross-country skis and E-Mountain bikes. In the future, with its renovation, expect even more year-round fun and sporting activities, adventures, and dining in Heber Valley’s Soldier Hollow Olympic Park. How will you ‘Shoot for the Stars?’

Soldier Hollow Nordic Center utaholympiclegacy.org

The beautiful Wasatch Back, Heber Valley, and west Uintah Range are home to a wide and growing collection of multi-use trails; many available for use in winter by Fat Tire Mountain Bikers (FT), Cross-Country (XC) and Back-Country (BC) skiers and boarders, and snowshoers. Hikers are not allowed to use the groomed trail system as they sink deep into the snow and may ruin the trails. There are groomed roads for winter hiking in most areas. Further, your dogs are welcome to join you as long as you pick up after their mess. Also, no motorized vehicles are allowed other than the machines that make and groom these trails. Let’s take a tour of our trails, starting to the West of the Heber Valley.

Wasatch Mountain State Park Trail System

Wasatch Mountain State Park (WMSP) hosts an amazing collection of rangers, guides, and volunteers to help safely access incredible terrain and geology, including ‘lost mines,’ gorgeous views, rugged roads, and numerous multi-use, all-season trails. Starting at the park headquarters, where folks can rent FT bikes and XC skis, a multi-use summer/winter trail system begins. For beginners, the winter golf course trails and Green all-season trails wind up Snake and Pine Canyons, and offer FT riders, XC and BC skiers the opportunity to practice and test their skills and equipment with little fear of a bad crash.

However, the Green trails are limited and quickly turn into Blue and Black all-season trails. Summer hikers and mountain bikers share the trails, as do winter FT riders, XC and BC skiers, split-boarders, and snowshoers. The longest and most popular trail is the WOW trail, which starts just above the SP Campground and climbs Pine Canyon to the bottom of Bonanza Flats. Most mountain bikers (summer) use a two-car relay system to start at the top and fly to the bottom — a few bent bikes and broken bones have occurred on this challenging path! In winter, the WOW trail is ungroomed, but a few hardcore FT bikers tackle it early before the snow gets too deep, and a few more BC Skiers and Split-Boarders climb the trail then negotiate the WOW and side trails down Pine Canyon in rather dense tree-covered terrain.

About two miles from WMSP HQ/Pond, driving or riding east along Pine Canyon/River Roads, then north up Dutch Hollow Road, is the WMSP Dutch Hollow multi-use, all-season trail system. This is my favorite trail system in the Park, with trail names like Prospector, Donkey Ridge, The Barrell, Boneyard, and 1000 Turns. In summer, the mountain biking here is phenomenal.

Last winter, some friends and I climbed to the top of Burnt Ridge. I was on BC skis while my friends climbed in snowshoes, holding their snowboards. We skied/rode a steep slope down to the parking lot. Pure fun and a great workout! Finally, there are a few trails groomed by residents for FT riders, and the snowshoeing and XC/BC skiing are fantastic back in Dutch Hollow. The longest trail, up Dutch Hollow Road, eventually leads to the intersection of two canyons and a few old silver mines.

Wasatch State Park to Park City and Deer Valley Connector Trail System (In Development)

The Dutch Canyon Trail System in Wasatch State Park will eventually connect via multi-use trails to Park City and Deer Valley. This system will likely utilize routes up Pine Canyon then through Bonanza Flats, and from Dutch Hollow along the foothills west of SR 40 then along the base of the new Mayflower-Deer Valley ski complex and Deer Crest Portal. This will be a non-winter mountain bike trail system, but in winter, a few sections will be accessible on skis and snowshoes, except where they cross ski resort downhill trails.

Mayflower/Deer Valley Resorts Trail System (In Development)

According to a new agreement, and plans in development for winter use, many of these trails will be ski lift-accessed for skiers with passes in winter. Any skier with safety straps or brakes and a pass could use these trails, including Telemarkers (TM) and BC skiers. Snowboarding will not be allowed on Mayflower and Deer Valley properties. In Summer, however, hikers and mountain bikers will have access as they do at Deer Valley Resort’s trail system, using lifts/gondolas to access them. Mayflower will add a lot of new multi-use trails and trail extensions. Some trails here may not require a ski lift pass to access, but which of these will be accessible by FT Mountain Bikers and XC Skiers/Snowshoers during the winter remains to be determined. Currently, the Mid Mountain and other multi-use trails, accessed from parking lots, including the Ontario Mine and Empire/Guardsman Pass Road parking lots, are open for XC/BC skiers and snowshoers without a ski lift pass. However, only a few are groomed in winter for FT Mountain Bikers.

Jordanelle/Coyote Ridge Multi-Use Trail System:  In winter, this is a groomed FT mountain bike, snowshoe, and XC/BC trail system best accessed from a small parking area and Cutthroat Trail Gate at the apex of the Heber City – Francis Road, Hwy 32, south of Jordanelle Reservoir. A multi-use trail around the Reservoir also begins at Rock Springs, SP. However, south of Hwy 32, in the Coyote Ridge or Jordanelle Ridge area, numerous groomed and well-maintained trails provide some of the best biking, snowshoeing, and XC/BC skiing near Heber City.

Big Pole Trail System

Only a few minutes by car or bike from downtown Heber City, the Big Pole trails cater to hikers and bikers in summer and XC/BC skiers and snowshoers in winter. The trails are maintained but not groomed in winter. To get there, take Center Street east from town to Little Pole Road, hang a left, and follow the road a few miles to the Big Pole Trailhead. Located in a private community, parking is limited. Here, as at Jordanelle/Coyote Ridge, an abundance of rugged Keatley Volcanic Epoch lava-mud-rock flows cover the hills — there are various trail options, from under three miles to a 10+ mile loop. All boast incredible views of the Wasatch and Mt. Timpanogos to the west, and once you get to the top of the trails, of the High Uintah Mountains to the east.

Soldier Hollow Trail System

Soldier Hollow also boasts a new, world-class, late Spring-Summer-Fall Mountain Bike trail system that, in many places, intersects their winter Nordic trails. This did not stop them from hosting several FT Mountain Bike races last season, and they are thinking about grooming at least one trail for permanent winter FT riding that steers clear of the Nordic ski tracks. Soldier Hollow has hosted several mountain bike races (in conjunction with NICA and UHSCL, and others) over the past few years and plans to offer several national-level mountain bike races in the future. Besides, with a Soldier Hollow year-round membership, the public can access all their trails all the time, rent E-Mountain bikes if needed, and enjoy this fantastic single-track paradise with its new apres-ski/bike facilities.

Soldier Hollow Trail System, New for 2024

As we’ve seen, the Wasatch Back-Heber Valley-western Uintah mountains offer many excellent multi-use trails, many of which cater to year-round sports. This winter, you might want to rent or buy a Fat Tire Mountain Bike, XC or BC skis, or snowshoes and navigate the trails in Dutch Canyon, Jordanelle/Coyote Ridge, Big Pole, or Soldier Hollow. Let’s, pray for snow and get ready to play outside!

VOLUNTEER OR DONATE TO OUR TRAILS IF YOU LOVE YOUR TRAILS

— please consider volunteering and becoming a member. Wasatch Trails Foundation: wasatchtrailsfoundation.org

Let us begin!

Repeated ear-splitting roars of venting lava and steam preceded fast-moving mud and lava flows, shaking the valley floor, heaving like wild-water rapids, expelled from a series of volcanoes. The east-west trending chain of volcanic vents stretched along a fault corridor between what is now Park City and Oakley. Now called the Keatley Complex, this sequence of volcanic eruptions was our area’s last major violent geologic event. Geologists estimate this cataclysmic period occurred approximately 30-40 million years ago when explosive volcanic eruptions dominated this area. As they cascaded south, the speeding lava flows gathered rocks, water, and dirt, burning up trees and occasionally burying them in steaming ponds to eventually become petrified wood. Evidence of these extensive lava-mud-rock flows can be explored today in the road cuts south of the Jordanelle Reservoir between US 40 and Francis. Though the volcanic cones are gone, victims of collapse and erosion, the underground volcanic intrusions include the “Park Premiere,” a source of Park City’s precious metals. Closer to Heber City, the Mayflower mines boasted rich silver-lead-zinc-gold veins and views that are hard to beat of the Wasatch Back, Heber Valley, and west Uinta Mountains. A hodge-podge of old mining and fire roads, hiking, and biking trails, remnants of narrow-gauge railroad beds, and newer ski trails crisscross the terrain east and west of Heber Valley.

Along with the massive lava flows, the Keatley volcanic sequence also heated underground aquifers in the Wasatch Mountains. Today, remnant deep, hot rock structures heat the water that once flowed through the lower levels of the Mayflower mine tunnels, and fills our thermal spring “hot pots” in Midway, including the world-famous Homestead Crater. The crater is not a volcanic cone but the result of a slow buildup of travertine rock layers, a form of limestone associated with thermal springs. Not nearly as warm as several other hot pots in Midway, or even when it was created thousands of years ago, the Homestead Crater spring within the travertine cone, accessed via a tunnel bored through it, is a comfortable 90-92 degrees. You can and may want to get scuba-certified in Homestead Crater!

Much later, around 17,000–32,000 years ago, a gradual decrease in global temperatures and massive snowfalls froze rivers and stacked layers of ice and snow in multiple faulted valleys in the Wasatch and Uintas, shaped by ongoing uplift and faulting. In the Wasatch, beautiful Mount Timpanogos marks the western skyline — our serene Princess holds a cirque below her, the final resting place of a once mighty glacier, and still held a permanent snowfield through the early 1900s. Some still call the cirque and winter snowfield “Timp glacier” — indeed, some years find the snow remaining through summer, and perhaps some glacial ice remains at its rocky core. To our East, the Uinta valleys were home to dozens of glaciers — the longest, called Blacks Fork glacier, snaked 22 miles from its cirque in the northern Uinta Mountains. In the south, larger but somewhat shorter ribbons of ice enjoyed greater snowpacks on more gently dipping sandstone and limestone slopes. While the Keatley volcanic complex and Heber-Francis highway offer views of stacked layers of lava, mudstone, and chunky Brescia flow, Mt. Timpanogos and the Uinta Range offer views of U-shaped carved glacial valleys, cirques, and glacial boulder outwashes called moraines.

Our modern Heber Valley/Francis Road development was made possible by the damming of the Provo River by the Core of Engineers beginning in 1987. One of three major dams and reservoirs along the Provo River, the Jordanelle covered Keetley, Hailstone, and Jordanelle. Since 1993, the reservoir and surrounding shores have become part of the Jordanelle State Park, used by campers, rock climbers, anglers, boaters, windsurfers, and other land and water sports enthusiasts. From Jordanelle Dam, the Provo River resumes its flow south and west through Heber Valley, veering toward Charleston and into Deer Creek Reservoir. Above the dam, behind Coyote Ridge, snow accumulates in winter and hosts fat tire, snowshoe, and cross-country ski trails. The volcanic lava-mud-rock flows that line the road are impressive and extend south to Red Ledges and the Big Pole trail system Southeast of Heber City.

Just to the west of the Jordanelle Dam, a significant fault line generated massive rock layer uplift and separation between igneous granitic rocks of the Park City formation and sedimentary beds of limestone, sandstone, quartzite, and conglomerate deposited by ancient seas and rivers. Look for tell-tale upside-down V-shaped rock formations thrust skyward across the Wasatch Back in this area. To the East, similar faulting helped shape the uplifted Uinta foothills. Further downstream along the Provo, both glacial till, from boulders to glacier-ground sands, igneous granitic-volcanic rocks, and shattered sedimentary rock layers are found in and along the river and foothills. Importantly, flyfishing is robust and productive in this section of the Provo River, and fly-casters in waders are seen nearly year-round here! Spilling into Deer Creek Reservoir, the Provo keeps nutrients flowing to feed a variety of wildlife and open waters for fishermen. Kite surfers, boaters pulling skiers, and wake surfers enjoy the summer waters. Deer Creek Dam is the earliest remaining such structure, built in 1941 across the upper, eastern end of Provo Canyon. The Heber Valley Railroad (HVRX), or “Heber Creeper,” began as a branch line of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad that connected Heber City to Provo, Utah. Now, she runs down Provo Canyon to Vivian Park, offering spectacular views of Mt. Timpanogos, Deer Creek Reservoir, Sundance Mountain Resort, and the Provo River Canyon.

As Heber Valley, Wasatch Back, and Uinta Range residents and visitors, we enjoy the best that Fire, Ice, Rock, and Man have created over the past thousands of years. And the landscape is still being shaped:  The Provo River meanders and changes course both naturally, and sometimes, with our help. Resorts take advantage of the glacial valleys and cirques that now provide ski and snowboard terrain for all abilities. Dams and reservoirs provide anglers and boaters with giant, rock-lined pools to play in. Water heated from below soothes our tired bodies after a long day on our feet, riding bikes, or plunging downhill on our skis and snowboards as we negotiate numerous and expanding trails above us. We enjoy creation at its best here and are thankful for it.

1 Geologic map of the Charleston Quadrangle, Wasatch County, Utah by Robert F. Biek and Mike Lowe, 2009

2 Geologic Map of the Heber City Quadrangle, Wasatch and Summit Counties, Utah – Download. Robert F. Biek, 2022

3 “Way We Were: The era of explosive volcanoes in Park City”, Jul 17, 2020, by Sherie C. Harding, PhD, Park City Museum

4 UTAH’S GLACIAL GEOLOGY, by Bob Biek, Grant Willis, and Buck Ehler, Utah Geologic Survey, Volume 42, Number 3. September 2010

5 Wikipedia, Heber Valley Railroad, August 2022.