Emerald Mountain - More Than A Gem (Part 2 of 3)

Hudson Trail on Emerald Mountain - October, 2025

​There’s running trails, and there’s running on Emerald Mountain. 

Yes, Emerald really is that special, for many different reasons.

First off, its history. The first known inhabitants were the Yampa (also Yamparika or Yampatika)  Band of the Ute People, for which Emerald Mountain and Steamboat Springs were summer hunting grounds. The Ute People call themselves Nuuchu, which means “the human” or “the Ute.” The Utes stewarded the land, the plants and the animals in the Rocky Mountains until they were forcibly relocated to reservations in Utah and Southern Colorado, where they aim to continue their traditions, language and ceremonies and ancestral heritage. 

After white settlers arrived, the mountain was known as Quarry Mountain and Onyx Mountain. The quarry itself, as I understand, was instrumental in Carl Howelsen’s staying in Steamboat long enough to hold the first Winter Carnival and to start what is now known as the Winter Sports Club. The Flying Norwegian was ready to move on, but James Crawford made sure that Howelsen, a stone mason by trade, had plenty of work using stone mined from the quarry. There are still buildings on Lincoln in which Howelsen’s work can be seen. At some point in the decades that followed, the mountain became known as Emerald and that is the name that stuck.

Fast-forward to the early 90’s. Gretchen Sehler, a ski instructor and avid mountain biker, had the vision of a network of recreational mountain bike trails on Emerald. As it turned out, Gretchen also had the gumption, persistence, know-how and relationship-building to make that vision a reality. That reality is truly a gift to all of us in the Yampa Valley.

It was Larry Johnson who first introduced the Sehlers to Lyman Orton, who owned much of the land on Emerald Mountain. An enthusiastic biker himself, he was supportive of the trails being built, and sold the land to the City - for the same amount he paid for it, $300,000.

Gretchen and her late husband Marc Sehler took trail building courses through the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) in order to have a solid understanding of how to build a good trail: sustainable and fun to ride. They would design, walk and meticulously flag each trail, following a formula which allows a ratio of grade to flat so that rainwater and meltoff can be absorbed or dispersed naturally, without the use of waterbars. Trails designed this way are built to last, as erosion created by rapidly moving runoff are minimized. As a runner, the bonus of trails built this way is that I’m never climbing or descending straight up or down for a long period of time - there is an undulation that creates a rhythm and relative ease to my effort. 

Gretchen also formed relationships with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and United States Forest Service (USFS), as well as with the City of Steamboat Springs and with Routt County Riders (RCR). The RCR worked closely with the City, who secured grant money needed for the trails project. Though several entities were involved, the glue was Gretchen. She realized the crucial role of relationships, and nurtured them to create win-win outcomes. Sometimes this required serious patience, for example waiting out a change in leadership to move forward, but Gretchen’s tenacity produced results that continue to benefit Routt County residents and visitors.

Gretchen and Marc held volunteer work days to actually build the trails they’d so carefully laid out. Some days, so many folks showed up to help that people were turned away because there were no more tools available. This was truly a community effort from beginning to end.

So maybe that is a part of what I feel when I’m up there trotting around. That sense of local engagement, caring and respect. Gretchen has even overheard kids speaking up to protect “their” trail to an unaware mountain biker: “hey, knock that off, I helped build this trail!” 

What pulls all these factors together and pushes the Emerald experience over the top are the trail monikers and iconic treasures that have popped up over time to mark them. Rather than arbitrarily assigning trail names, Gretchen says the trails earned them - there’s a story behind each name.

• MGM: Mica, Gretchen and Marc. Mica was a dear four-legged friend who spent many hours assisting Gretchen and Marc.
• Eye to Eye: originally a pirated trail, this was rebuilt to be more sustainable. The narrow trail switchbacks onto itself like a side-winder’s S-shaped curves. Passing someone going in the opposite direction, you are both eye to eye.
• Abby’s: Another four-legged family member of Gretchen and Marc’s. Abby always liked to go that way, though Gretchen was saying, “no, this way!” Abby was persistent, and that way became her trail.
• Hudson: Hudson cars were built in from 1909 until 1957. In 1919 Hudson broke the record for the fastest climb up Pike’s Peak. (Detroit Historical Society: Hudson Motors). Just off the trail called Hudson, you’ll find a corroded Hudson shell, probably driven up there and abandoned in the midst of some long-ago revelry. There’s a little car adorning one of the Hudson trail signs.
• Root Canal: this trail makes all the others seem butter-smooth - it is teeming with enough roots to make your teeth rattle. The trail sign has a pair of wind-up “chattering teeth” attached.
• Angry Grouse: grouse aren’t known for planning ahead. They tend to wait until you are right upon them before creating a dramatic getaway - so ridiculously unstrategic it is a wonder they are not extinct. However, they also have tempers. One evening Gretchen was minding her own trail business when a grouse flew at her ankles, pecking away, and wouldn’t ease up on its attack. Gretchen finally gave in and left. Now that was one angry grouse.
• No Mo’ Blues: originally this was another pirated trail, called Blues Bridges. Gretchen and Marc fixed it, and dubbed it No Mo’ Blues to indicate Blues Bridges was no more.
• Orton Trail: honoring Lyman Orton, without whose gift of land this project wouldn’t exist. Orton Trail treats you to a little golden meadow time, and a little time switchbacking through copses of trees. When I’m on my way down after a long run, Orton feels like home.
• Larry’s: honoring Larry Johnson. There is a red-hatted gnome that watches over the Larry’s trail sign, and the gnome is thought to be connected to John Kole, the late owner of One Stop Ski Shop. I’m hoping to learn the full story at some point.
• Wild Rose: so-named for the homestead that once sat on the lower west flank of Emerald.
• Blair Witch: a narrow trail through tight trees reminiscent of the 1999 Blockbuster film, The Blair Witch Project. There’s a spider web adorning the trail sign - perhaps a gift from the Blair Witch herself…
• Beall Trail: named for Ben Beall Senior, Routt County Commissioner from 1993-2000, who arranged the land swap to make that trail possible.
• Morning Gloria: named for Gloria Gossard who also donated a parcel of land to the Emerald trail system. 

*****
Every time I run, lope, walk and stumble around the trails of Emerald, the stories of the people who made this place possible are with me. There is a sense of awe whether I’m gazing at a jaw-dropping vista, deep in the evergreens, breathing in that sharp yet earthy scent, or running on a carpet of golden aspen leaves as the sun lights them up.


Sources
​A very special thanks to Gretchen Sehler, for her vision, her decades of trail work, and her willingness to share some of the stories with me.

Tread of Pioneers: Background on Ute People
City of Steamboat Springs: Indigenous Peoples of Yampa Valley Recognized
Steamboat Pilot: What’s in a Name?

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Angry Grouse

The Johnsie Gnome on Larry's

Eye to Eye