This December, our Someone 2 Know lost her two-year battle with cancer. Janet Phillips was the founder and president of the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail - 114 miles, running along the Truckee River is all access, free of charge - and more than 80% complete - thanks to Phillips's vision and hard work.
“Only her. Nobody else could have done it,” attests Chris Askin, friend of Janet and Vice President of the board for the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.
Janet Philips spent the last 20 years of her life devoted to the creation of this pathway for hikers, runners, walkers, and cyclists. "To expose people to the beauty of this region, and it starts with Lake Tahoe and it ends at Pyramid,” explains friend and trail donor, Phil Satre.
"And you know,” adds board member Cheryl Surface, “To make that dream a reality, even more mind boggling.”
20 years and countless hours of working across state and county lines. "Doing agreements between all the jurisdiction for access all along the river," explains Askin.
Dirt paths, paved roads and bridges - where there were none.
"No road bed, no nothing, no flat spot, just a steep slope," said Janet herself when she gave us a glimpse of the magnitude of the project in 2017. "This section here is a $580,000 piece of trail,” said Janet, standing on a newly opened, groomed path.
Phillips enlisted everyone she knew to help.
Chuckling, friend and Advisory Board volunteer Mark Kimbrough, remembers. "She thought it would take four to five years when she started this."
The memory gets another friend and Advisory Board volunteer, Kim Mazeres laughing, too. "I remember when she first came to us with the idea and she was talking to a number of he friends and she's like 'aw, we'll get this done in no time!’"
Reality proved a little more challenging, and Janet proved unflappable.
"Most years we get one to two miles built," Janet told us, years ago, “And we open it and have a celebration."
"I think of Janet now, in retrospect as a force of nature,” Satre shares, in remembrance.
A literal trail blazer -
"She was the executive director, she was the president of the board, she did everything," exudes Surface.
Kimbrough agrees. "I mean, never a day off and always on task."
David Hardie, an avid cyclist and donor says he misses his friend dearly. "She had a heart as big as Reno."
Even while battling the cancer that would take her life, Janet Phillips's goal remained crystal clear. "She left a succession plan in place, she had us all around a table,” explains Surface.
Askin is adamant about the effort. "We're gonna finish the remaining 19%.” Mazeres whole-heartedly agrees. "It will get done. It will get done!”
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The two sections of The Tahoe-Pyramid Trail yet to be completed are - Vista to Mustang and USA Parkway in Clark - to Wadsworth.
For maps of the trail, more details and ways to support the effort, click here: https://tahoepyramidtrail.org/
