Trail Conditions: Fair
Snow Cover: Variable
Date of Report: January 4, 2018
Area Report:
The sustained cold temperatures have helped freeze down swamps and get a solid base, but now we just need more snow! Traffic over the holiday weekend has left some trails with thin spots and even some rocks sticking out so be alert. There is still some great riding to be had, the detailed club reports are below.
Namakagon Trail Groomers: As of Tuesday, 1/2/18, all trails are groomed with a 3-4 in. base. Trails are in fair to good condition! All swamps have been groomed at this point so we are over the hump as for freeze up! NTG would like all the sledders that went out and run down the swamps. Our Operators continue to do a Great job with the limited amount of snow! Hopefully with the few inches in the forecast the trails will get even better!
We do have a detour on trail 90 between Old Grade and Federal Rd. due to logging, Follow the signs.
We also have a trail closure of trail 70 and trail 73 due to trespass issues! Trail 70 East is closed at Randysek Rd. Randysek Rd. is a route north to Spruce St. East to the alley by the lumber yard. South will take you to the stations, café and stores of Cable. Trail 73 South is closed at Cty Hwy M. North will take you toward Drummond on trail 73. Please Stay on the Trails as marked and Respect Private Property! Ride safe and enjoy.
Drummond Snojacks: All trails are in the process of being groomed before the weekend. Trail conditions are good to fair in spots after heavy use over the holidays. There is a reroute of trail #4 north of Mason due to a change of land ownership. New signs are being placed closing off previous trail route over private property and directing traffic to use Brown Road to Roy Anderson Road then back on to trail heading east towards Sanborn. This adds approximately 1.5 miles of road route. Be alert for and observe these changes. The stick trail is now up on Lake Owen.
Here is a detailed report received last Sunday by one of our club members that travels our trails extensively. Trail 63 towards otter bay: Good shape but still some helmet slapped. I cut a few but there were many more. Trail 7 out to 31: Good base but heavy traffic causing large rocks to surface. It was much better on Christmas weekend. Needs snow. Trail 31: Good base. Trail 61: Good base, needs snow. Trail 6 to Flying Eagle: Needs snow. Road is covered with hard pack and ice. Sled runs hot because not enough loose snow for cooling. Trail 63 to Grand View: Good base, but needs more snow.
Barnes Barnestormers: All trails are in fair to good conditions, with the exception of Trail 31S which is in poor condition, use extreme caution, beaver dam wash out approximately 4 miles north of Seeley Fire Lane. All trails were groomed earlier this week with grooming operations continuing today, 1/3/18, lack of snow will be an issue for future grooming.
Bayfield County Snowmobile Alliance – Iron River Area: Iron River will be grooming both Thursday and Friday, 1/4/18 & 1/5/18, if conditions allow. Snow is starting to thin out south of Hwy 2 in Iron River and on Tri County Corridor towards Brule.
Use of Flag Rd (trail 3) is not recommended at this time due to logging operations. Detour as follows;
Trail 3 to junction of Battle Axe Rd/Flag Rd. Continue on Battle Axe Rd (beware of trucks hauling and poor route conditions) to trail 43. At Y intersection take trail 66 to trail 3 again and continue to Port Wing or stay on 43 to Herbster/Valhalla area.
Washburn Valhallers: Trail 13 South from Washburn to Tri-County Corridor was groomed on Tuesday, January 2nd and remains in good condition with only a couple bare spots. A few inches of fresh snow this morning (January 3) will help. A bit more snow predicted this week and we will regroom by the weekend. Trail 13 North from Washburn to Valhalla was also groomed on Tuesday, January 2nd. This trail is also in good condition with more snow north of town. The additional snow today and this week will allow us to re-groom later in the week, prior to the weekend. Happy New Year to all…..let it snow!!!!
WAINO- Northwest corner of the County: Trail 1 has been panned and groomed to south road in Orienta. We stopped there because of the lack of snow and the road had been plowed. In the meantime more snow has fallen and Jeff will hit the trail as soon as it warms up a bit.
Closures:
- Trail 1 near Port Wing: Due to a new round of heavy logging on private property, the portion of snowmobile 1 from highway 13 east of Port Wing to Touve RD. will be closed until further notice. At this time there is no viable reroute.
- Trail 63 in the Cable Area: Trail 63 just south of the intersection with Trail 70 south of the town of Cable is closed until further notice.
ReReoutes:
- Trail 13 outside Washburn, follow signs. Permanent reroute.
- Trail 4 east of Mason, follow signs. Seasonal reroute for now, includes road routes.
- Trail 70 south of Cable, follow signs. Seasonal reroute for now, includes road routes.
Logging Activity
- Trail 40 Southeast of Port Wing is currently being frozen down in preparation for a logging operation.
- Trail 1 between Cornucopia and Bayfield near Henkens Road has an active logging operation. They are logging off the trail and using the trail as a haul route so use caution.
- Trail 51 south of Cornucopia near Jodi road is being frozen down in preparation for a logging operation.