Carson City's Muscle Powered begins work on Odyssey Trail along west side of Prison Hill
This February, ground was broken for the Odyssey Trail, one of several new projects slated for Prison Hill in Carson City.
The trail, on Prison Hill’s west side, is aimed to make access up to the top of this range less strenuous and safer while improving connectivity between Koontz Street trailhead, Rocky Ridge, Dead Truck Canyon, North Loop and 5th Street trailhead. Paul Sinnott spearheads trail work on Prison Hill, often seen daily walking its hillsides.
Sinnott has long-standing expertise in trail building, rock work, and upkeep with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association and Muscle Powered, as well as a long personal connection to Carson City and Prison Hill after living here for several decades.
"We'll be building three short retaining walls and one switchback turn initially on the project," he says. This first phase, which is aimed to be completed before this summer, will offer a much more gradual, pleasant, safe ascent from the Koontz trailhead to the backbone north-south trail on the ridge. The current steep trail up the sandy ravine that connects to the ridge from Koontz will be abandoned. Odyssey's further extension will provide a new gradual trail segment sweeping back toward Silver Saddle Ranch and turning around west again to reach the Rocky Ridge overlook above Carson City.
Sinnott emphasizes the value teamwork has in these and all trail projects. "There’s a dedicated group of volunteers that makes the project happen, and without them nothing would would move forward!"
If all goes off without a hitch, Odyssey Trail will be completed by 2024.
— This story was used with permission of Muscle Powered. Go here for updates to this and other Muscle Powered trail activities and events. Muscle Powered is a Carson City based nonprofit organization that promotes walking and biking for transportation or recreation as well as creating a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly infrastructure by maintaining and developing trails and resources.