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December 2023
News From the Trail

Trail Tracks

A Message from the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail President

December 2023 marks the passing of the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail’s visionary and founder, Janet Phillips. Without question, Janet was the heart and soul and driving force behind the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.

This transitional year has been particularly challenging without her at the helm as we continue to move all projects and goals forward. (adding more trail sections, improving existing sections, and repairing and managing what nature tries to reclaim as her own.)

I know I speak for many of the board members and TPT leadership when I say, there has not been a day that has gone by that she hasn’t popped into our thoughts, conversations, and into our desire to carry on her legacy.

A Demanding Year and Lots of Gratitude

I want to express my profound thanks for:

• The “army of volunteers” and dedicated TPT financial supporters… as an organization we grateful for every one of those unsung heroes… they are the lifeblood of TPT!

• All of the people this year who have walked and biked and enjoyed the trail (both new and long-time trail users) … and shared it with friends and family

• Our new friends and supporters we have met at events where TPT had a presence… all honoring, celebrating, and remembering Janet in meaningful and personal ways.

• And finally, I want to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to our board members and our new Executive Director and ED Assistant… Your tireless work, focus and unwavering dedication have allowed TPT to continue on the path of achieving Janet’s vision and have been invaluable in this time of transition. No easy task as you know…

I am proud to see how the entire TPT leadership team has now fully stepped into the many roles that Janet seemed to so easily and naturally embody over the course of this transitional year.

With unwavering hope and boundless gratitude, I wish everyone a joyous Holiday Season and look forward to remarkable 2024 together!

Mary Beth Roselli, President of the TPT Board

The TPT Board Got an Award? Wow!

The Tahoe-Pyramid Trail organization has been fortunate to gather an amazing and generous board of directors that tirelessly continue their efforts in support of the trail.

In recognition of their giving, the TPT Board of Directors has received the 2023 100% Giving Board Award from the Community Foundation of Northern Nevada.

Recognized as exemplary, because the TPT Board of Directors because every board member made generous financial contributions to our organization (in addition to their time, invaluable insight, vast experience, skill and knowledge that is a critical part of the success of the TPT organization and the ongoing trail work).

We thank you ALL, dear board members, from the bottom of our hearts for your commitment, trust, and unwavering belief in the value and importance of the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail!

Reflecting Back on 2023,
And Planning Ahead for 2024…

What a year! Janet’s passing, the relentless snows of 2023 and the subsequent trail damage, two new paid staff, new “connections” in our local communities, board members leaving and new ones stepping in to take their place, new events, new faces, and new challenges… and even some successful “resolutions” to some very long-term thorny issues regarding trail access (and so much more!).

Collectively, we are glad that the end of 2023 is upon us, it’s been a year for the record books… but 2024 is right around the corner, and there is a LOT that needs to be accomplished!

Here is some of what we can foresee for 2024:

• TPT Board member Bill von Phul always has a wish list for equipment and a long list of trail repairs that are needed. One area that is in desperate need of trail support is the section on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation. The canyon needs a lot more erosion / rock control and remediation, and the brush along the trail has aggressively encroached much more than anyone every predicted, all of which makes passage an iffy proposition.
  

• We are pushing eastward… not only to connect the last remaining isolated segments east of Sparks, but we are also in the process of creating a feasibility study to identify and best possible routes (for the TPT as well as all the entities and communities along the rive) as well as looking at a possible trail Fernley connection. All of which is a major undertaking!
  

• And how about an alternate route for mountain / gravel riders and our hikers and runners to get through Mayberry to Quilici on routes near or adjacent the Truckee River? It seems there is some hope for this… and as ever-more homes are being built throughout Verdi, which puts an increasing amount of traffic onto the current paved section that the TPT shares in that area, an alternate trail might not only be a safer alternative but also a “more enjoyable” section to ride!

Stay tuned to updates!

And it’s your donations
that make these projects
(and many more) a reality!

The $100 donations from our Century Circle donors helps us budget for these and other needs. But there are also many other ways to “donate” including “recurring giving”, direct deposit, endowment and legacy giving, and so much more. Learn all the ways you can donate here>

We thank everyone who has donated this year! And if you have not, there is still time!