Story Trails is a new mobile app that reimagines how we interact with recreational trails, and expand the diversity of users that seek them out. The core of the project lies in the creation of ten unique sound walks: intimate journeys that use GPS and geographic data to link audio storytelling to physical attributes along a mapped route. Each selected path will feature writing from a local artist along with underscored music and sound design, all tailored to sync to the movement of an audience member as they travel along a trail. The effect of the app will be familiar to anyone who has walked across the city while listening to music: a song’s beat aligns with the rhythm of footsteps, a lyric’s words are perfectly manifest in a passing tableau. Since the narrative depends on the position of the user, stories can be experienced at whatever pace a person chooses: lingering to bask in an evocative image; stopping to snap a picture and tag a note for another traveler; or rushing ahead to hear the next piece of the story unfold. Ian Garrett will serve as creative tech partner to create this mobile app under the creative direction of Swim Pony Performing Arts and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.