In Aztec lore, Axolotl is the god of fire and lightning. Legend has it that he turned himself into a salamander to avoid being sacrificed. If you Google the word “axolotl,” you’ll find all kinds of articles on the Aztec god and the namesake salamander, originally found in several lakes underlying what is now Mexico City. Someday, if you Google that name again, the search engine just might point you to a mountain bike trail outside of Portland, Oregon.

Today is a day that I have been looking at for months and maybe years. Today is a day I knew would happen, but deep down, I wished it never would happen. After 20 years of having a business that builds outdoor recreation infrastructure, today is the last day we will have field staff employed to build trails. I don’t know what to feel. I don’t know where to look. Today is the day that Singletrack Trails exhales a final breath, and I inhale the first breath of the next steps of my life.