We ended up taking yesterday off to get some chores done and take a sleigh ride in Eagle River. It felt great to get back on the sleds this morning and head north. Luckily we had an easier morning than 2 days ago when we had the fire! The major difference this morning over a few days ago was the temperature. It was -14 (with OUT) the wind chill! We rode 6 East to 1 North and stopped at the Gogebic Lodge. They had a breakfast buffet in there that looked pretty good, but we had already eaten. After warming up a bit we headed up the lake. That was one cold ride! When we got to Hoop N Holler my hands were ice so we stopped for a few minutes until I could feel them again 🙂 Then we cut over to Bergland and gassed up. We took trail 8 West out of town to trail 102 North. 102 was by far the best trail we rode this week. If you like to rack up the miles on your sled and avoid the bars, this is the trail for you! Make sure your sled is in good shape and your tank is full, because if you break down on this trail, there isn’t much out there!
This trail is like riding on a 4 lane highway that winds through the woods with tons and tons of snow! We hooked up with trail 11 and took that into Wakefield. It was in good shape on the road, but once we got into the woods, there were some wet spots and rocks. After passing the ski hills we got on trail 2 East back to Wakefield. Along the way, we passed the groomer and shortly after that we found a wallet in the middle of the trail. Money, credit cards and id’s were laying all over the place. We picked up what we could find and stopped at the gas station. By complete chance we talked to the attendant about finding the wallet and she said the guy that lost it was in there and left his number. We got the number and left him a voice mail. He ended up getting his wallet back the next day. After heading out of town we stopped at Bingos to grab a pizza. As always they had great hospitality there and took great care of us. We left there and headed for home. Once again, when we got near the state line, the WI trails were VERY beat up. That’s just a product of the traffic volume this time of year. Hopefully next week they’ll be able to clean up the Wisconsin trails and get them back into shape.
Overall Trail Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Distance: 153
Previous: 135
Season Total: 288
Today was our first ride of the 2009-2010 season. As you can see from the prior year blog posts, we got a late start this year (mostly due to how the holidays fell). We had an eventful morning which is somewhat expected for the first ride of the season. After spending last night starting up all the sleds, changing plugs, filling the oil tanks, checking the chain case oil, etc we thought we were good to go. WRONG! About 2 miles from the cabin my cousin stopped to tell me there was a problem with the sled he was riding. He has sleds of his own and knew something didn’t feel right. While walking back to talk to him, I saw flames through the vents in the hood! I started yelling FIRE, FIRE, FIRE and told him to shut it down! We popped the hood and started throwing snow on the flames. It ended up being a small fire and went out quickly, but that will get your heart racing quickly! The only damage was our pull rope was burned a little, so we cut off the burned part and then tied a new knot. The fire was started by the brake disk, it got cherry red hot. We think the pads were rubbing on the disk and not releasing which created a ton of heat and ignited something. After we got that all taken care of we took that machine back to the cabin and swapped it for another.
We finally got on the trail with some solid machines and headed out. Trail 6E into Presque Isle was fairly choppy and I’d rate it a 7 (typical for this time of year). We gassed up and went north on trail 1 to Michigan. Through the woods it got a little better, but still a lot of rocks and branches in the typical locations. After we hit trail 2 into Marenisco things improved dramatically. This trail was a 9.5! We hooked back up with trail 1 and rode that all the way to Fishtales Pub N Grub for lunch. Trail 1 was in fantastic shape the entire ride. While eating lunch, we noticed some VERY large ice heaves that were in the first 200-300 yards from shore. If you are riding on the western shore of lake Gogebic, USE CAUTION! If you hit one of those, it won’t be pretty for you or your machine! After lunch we headed into Bergland for gas and then continued around the lake on trail 13 south.
Normally trail 13 is pretty beat up from all the traffic, but today it was unusually good! Plenty of snow and the groomers have done a fantastic job keeping the trail up.
We got on trail 2 again and took that East to Rogers Bar. We stopped in there and had a pizza and a couple drinks and then headed for home. On the way back home trail 2 was pretty rutted up and that only took 2 hours to happen. We took trail 1 back to Presque Isle and then trail 6 West out of P.I. The worst trails we saw all day were on the Wisconsin side. Once you crossed that state line, there was no comparison. If you are close enough to make it to Michigan, I highly recommend making the trip up there. The trail passes went up another $10 this year ($35 per machine) but it’s well worth it and you’ll probably save that in wear and tear on your machine from the bumps in WI.
Overall Trail Rating: 8 out of 10
Distance: 135
Previous: 0
Season Total: 135
We took the day off yesterday to chase down a broken sled and get it repaired. This morning we were fully recharged and ready for a much longer ride. We headed out of Land O Lakes on trail 3 North to Watersmeet. The trail was in great shape, but there was a HUGE slush spot near one of the bridges. Part of a creek got backed up and flooded most of the trail. Be sure to use caution in this area! After arriving in Watersmeet, we hooked up on trail 2 West and ran that to trail 13 North. Trail 2 was in excellent shape and trail 13 was in pretty good shape. 13 tends to get a lot of traffic and because it twists and turns through the woods, it gets beat down pretty good. We hooked up with trail 100 and went to the bottom of Lake Gogebic. After running the lake to Bergland, we got gas. Then we hopped on trail 8 West to trail 1 North. Trail 1 is one of my favorite trails in the north woods! In the summer time, it’s a road, but they close it off in winter for snowmobiling.
We arrived in White Pine and on our way out of town the trail started to get choppy. Later on we heard the groomer was broke, which would explain why it was so choppy. We rolled into Silver City and stopped at Foothills for lunch. Once inside we ran into some other club members as they were getting ready to leave. We sat down, got some food and then more club members arrived. My buddy Adam had never been to this area before, so we took him to Lake of the Clouds. If you are ever in the area, be sure to stop by and check it out! After riding up the hill, we headed back down and took trail 11 South. Then we jumped on trail 102 South. Both of these trails were in fantastic shape!
We arrived in Bergland and gassed up one last time. On the way back we took the same route and all of the trails were still in excellent shape as when we rode up.
Overall Trail Rating: 9 out of 10
Distance: 192
Previous: 1,203
Season Total: 1,395
I always enjoy days like today. I got the chance to help 3 new riders enjoy the sport. We didn’t ride very far, but it was a relaxing fun day for all of us. We started off in Land O Lakes and headed up trail 3 to Big Mamma’s restaurant in Watersmeet, MI. After a great breakfast, we hit the trail and headed North to trail 2 West. Both of these trails were in great shape (as usual for the Watersmeet club).
We arrived at Rogers bar and enjoyed a short break. Sue is always fun to talk to and makes the time fly by. We got on the sleds again and took local trail 13 south across the Cisco Chain of Lakes. There were a few challenging spots when we crossed the portages, other than that we couldn’t have asked for better conditions.
We made a stop at Black Oak and got some food. Black Oak is a great place to stop if you are in the area, you won’t leave hungry! After stopping at Black Oak we took trail 6 East back into Land O Lakes. This trail tends to get icy in the corners, so keep an eye out for that!
Overall Trail Rating: 9 out of 10
Distance: 48
Previous: 1,155
Season Total: 1,203
Today was the first day of our club trip. We headed North out of Land O Lakes WI up trail 3 to Watersmeet, MI.
The trail was in perfect condition, we couldn’t ask for anything better! We got on trail 2 East and then got back on 3 North. After we hit trail 107 we took that to Kenton. This trail was beat up a little bit, but still probably a 7. We arrived in Kenton and grabbed some food at U.P. Chucks. After lunch we took trail 8 West to Bergland and stopped at the Polaris dealer. One of the club members had some work done and then we got back on trail 8 East to trail 13 North. We arrived in Rockland and got food at Henrys Never Inn. Trail 13 was in great shape (it can get pretty beat sometimes). We left there and hooked up with trail 3 South.
After getting gas in Bruce Crossing we made our way towards Watersmeet. Trail 3 was in great shape also. For the entire day, we might have hit 15 miles of bumps, other than that the trails were unreal!
Overall Trail Rating: 10 out of 10
Distance: 174
Previous: 981
Season Total: 1,155
After our short ride yesterday, Dan and Kristen decided to go a little further today. We got breakfast at skyview and then took trail 1 North to Marenisco. We made a stop at Bam Bams and then got gas. Trail 6 East was in great shape again and so was trail 1! You can’t ask for any better trails than we’ve got right now! The temps have been cold and we’ve been getting snow every couple days. If you are thinking about coming up, the mid week riding is unreal!
Overall Trail Rating: 10 out of 10
Distance: 43
Previous: 938
Season Total: 981
We set our alarm for 6:30am and were on the sleds by 7. After arriving at the only gas station in town, we realized they didn’t open until 9am! Unfortunately we had already locked our room and left the keys inside. It had to be around 0 degrees and it was extremely windy. Luckily we were able to wait in the foyer of another building next door to stay warm. At 8am the Tamarack restaurant opened, so we went there to get some breakfast. As luck would have it, the gas station owner came to this same restaurant each morning to get some coffee. He was a nice guy and opened the gas station 30 minutes early for us. This all worked in our favor, but we just didn’t know it yet. While we were waiting for the gas station to open, the groomer was headed towards us. By the time we got gas and headed out of town, the groomer had the entire trail in perfect condition! We cruised up Brockway Mountain without hitting a single bump!
After heading West on trail 3 from Brockway Mountain, we rode the first 40 miles of trails without seeing another sled!
Even after we saw some other sleds, the trails were in excellent shape. We stopped in Lake Linden for breakfast and then headed for home. The entire way home, I think we might have hit 2 bumps. Unfortunately when we left Rockland on trail 13 we came across an accident. The guy was pretty shook up (he hit a tree) but he seemed like he would be ok. After helping them get back to Henry’s Never Inn, we headed for Bergland. Trail 13 was in great shape the whole way to Bergland. After getting on lake Gogebic we rode to the Lake Gogebic Lodge and then rode into Marenisco to get gas. We then headed south on Trail 1 into Presque Isle and then trail 6 West to Winchester. This was by far my best ride to Copper Harbor ever. One of the best things was I got to do it with my Dad!
Overall Trail Rating: 10 out of 10
Distance: 188
Previous: 688
Season Total: 876
Today was the start of a much longer ride. We left around 10am for Copper Harbor and both agreed to take our time getting up there since we had a room for the night. After pulling out of the yard, one of the sleds had some fouled plugs, so we changed those and were on our way. Trail 6 East into Presque Isle was in great shape and so was trail 1 North to Marenisco. (I’ll bet there were maybe 5 or 6 sleds on these trails before us since they were last groomed) After getting gas at the Marenisco mini mart, we made our way up trail 1 to Fishtales pub n grub. If you are ever in the Lake Gogebic area, this is a must stop! They have Walleye and Eggs for breakfast. Yea, I know it might sound a little odd to some people, but once you have it, you’ll be “hooked”! After our great breakfast we rode Lake Gogebic into Bergland and hooked up with trail 13 North towards Rockland.
The first half of trail 13 from Bergland to Rockland was in excellent shape! Then we switched to another trail system on the second 1/2 and it got very bumpy. This section is pretty narrow and tends to get rutted up pretty quick and it definitely was today! Once we passed Rockland and got on trail 3 North, things got a lot better! From this point on, we rode nothing less than “9” to “10” rated trails! We stopped at Parkview in Twin Lakes for a drink and then gassed up at the BP. Then we cruised in to Houghton!
After making our way across the bridge we continued on trail 3 towards Copper Harbor. Along the way we decided to take another route up through Eagle River (Michigan) then over through Eagle Harbor. We stopped at the Eagle Harbor Inn for a drink and then finished our route into Copper Harbor. We arrived at the Mariner around 8pm and checked in. After unloading our stuff in the room, we hit the restaurant for some great food and fun.
Overall Trail Rating: 9 out of 10
Distance: 195
Previous: 493
Season Total: 688
We headed out of Winchester around noon and made our way towards Bergland. It ended up snowing another 2-4 inches yesterday, so that helped to fill in the holes created by the thaw on Saturday. Trail 6 East was in better shape and trail 1 North was in great shape. We got gas in Marenisco and then headed for the Lake Gogebic Lodge. A few days ago the lake was very slushy, so we were reluctant to ride the lake, but it was in fair condition. The main problem was hitting the ice chunks that were slush and then refroze. After arriving in Bergland we hung out for a bit and then jumped back on the lake. This time we rode to Fishtales and got off there. The lake had decent snow close to shore most of the way to Fishtales, once you got South of there, it was pretty bare.
Overall Trail Rating: 9 out of 10
Distance: 101
Previous: 392
Season Total: 493
We made a trip to Bergland today. Trail 6 East was pretty beat up as well as trail 1 North out of Marenisco.
The closer we got to Bergland, the better trail 1 got. Unfortunately the temperature got up to 40 degrees and melted the trails down pretty hard.
We stopped in to Hoop N Holler for some food and a drink. Then we headed back down trail 1 to Marenisco. We decided not to run Lake Gogebic on the way back because it was a soupy mess.
They are calling for more snow tonight, hopefully we will get some!
Overall Trail Rating: 6 out of 10
Distance: 109
Previous: 283
Season Total: 392