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Trail Report – : Western UP, Michigan – March 6, 2018

Reporter:Western U.P. Snowmobile Report
Trail Conditions: Fair
Snow Cover: 5-24
Date of Report: March 6, 2018
Area Report:

Western U.P. Trail Report – Western U.P. Bureau – 03/06

Date of Report: March 6, 2018

Area Report:
Temps for the next few days will be in the 20’s for highs and in the teens for our lows. We have snow showers in the forecast. Grooming will be ongoing weather permitting. Use caution on corners they may be icy. Make sure you ride on your side of the trail, we want everyone to be safe.

PLEASE STAY ON TRAILS. WE HAVE BEEN GETTING COMPLAINTS THAT SOME HAVE NOT BEEN STAYING ON TRAILS, RIDING ON UNMARKED TRAILS CAN LOSE EASEMENT FOR OUR TRAIL SYSTEM SO PLEASE STAY ON TRAILS!!!!!!

THE GOGEBIC RANGE TRAIL AUTHORITY REPORTS:

Trail 2 from Hurley to Ramsay US-2 Crossing:
Overall rating: FAIR
Last groomed 3/2. From the Iron Belle Train Trestle (east of the transfer station horseshoe loop) and east to Bessemer the trail has on and off thin spots. Water has pooled and made a slushy (night time icy) center strip. Around Walmart, we are working to cover an approximate 50′ long bare spot that is about 2-3′ wide. Lots of snow was drug over it last night and will continue tonight.

Trail 2 from Ramsay Crossing to Wakefield:
Overall rating: POOR.
Last groomed 3/2. Conditions are good from Ramsay Crossing US HWY 2 intersection all the way to Indianhead. From Indianhead to Wakefield the trail is poor with very thin snow in spots. There is a 1/2 mile stretch as you come into Wakefield that is down to dirt.

Trail 2 from Wakefield to Marenisco:
Overall Rating: FAIR.
Groomed 3/2. Lots of snow on the trail. As you near Marenisco there are some on/off thin spots. Nothing bare.

Trail 8 from Bingo’s to Tula Crossing:
Overall Rating: FAIR.
Last groomed 3/2. Trail has lots of snow on it. We have some big rollers we need a few more passes to cut down but the trail is flat, wide and corners are smooth! Trail 8 on GRTA system is on Old Michigan 28, a wide seasonal county road that is not plowed and makes a fun trail to ride. It does see the most traffic as it is the fastest way to Lake Gogebic/Keweenaw Peninsula so usually by the end of the day it is the first to get bumpy. We do hit it daily though to keep on top of it when weather allows.

Trail 160 from Walmart to Montreal River (WI):
Overall Rating: FAIR
Last Groomed 2/27. Lots of snow. We recommend doing an “Out and Back” as the Wisconsin Trail 3 / 2 we are told is hit or miss. As you depart the Montreal River Gorge the snow diminishes (with the elevation decline) but there is plenty of snow to make your way into Wisconsin. The Driftwood Bar on County Highway A has excellent burgers!! There are many scenic overlooks on this trail that riders should be on the lookout for! Bald Mountain / Powers Road Lake Superior Northern Overlook, Bald Mountain Southern viewing overlook, The Montreal River Gorge & Superior Falls are all spectacular. Be safe in these areas! This trail is an incredible ride and we are so happy to see riders out on it! Please remember to stay on the trail in the farm fields! So much work and money has been put into this trail we cannot risk losing it. The last half mile from high-line to Lake road is plowed for logging, ride cautiously.

11S (Wakefield, MI to Winchester, WI):
Overall Rating: FAIR
Last groomed 2/26. The first 2 miles of the trail as it heads south towards Wisconsin from Trail 2 is plowed due to logging. Please yield to all commercial truck traffic. Trail is in great shape and is groomed from the Vilas County Wisconsin Line to Trail 2 completely, regularly. There are still a few thin areas and areas that need more brushing but the trail is fantastic. Please enjoy this reopened trail responsibly, thousands of 100% volunteer hours were logged to open this! Keep speeds slow as you travel the southern half of it, once you cross the bridge within 2 miles there are some rough spots. They are snow covered, but we need more snow to fill in the uneven trail until we can repair it next summer.

LAKE GOGEBIC AREA GROOMER REPORT

Monday, March 5, 2018
Groomers were out over the weekend and they will be out again tonight. Current weather forecasts are across the board as John Dee’s forecast is calling for 2-6 inches of snow over the next 2 days, but local weather is showing about an inch or so. The riders that we had in-house over the weekend indicated that trails “were not TOO bad” and conditions are better than the temps are showing. Trails are deteriorating as you get into Bergland, and we do need an influx of new snow. 10 days of freezing and thawing have made for thin and icy trails, and groomers are filling bare spots with their “stockpiles”. If we don’t get the forecasted snow – you may want to trailer in or out. We are fortunate that our Groomers are resourceful and knowledgeable as they are keeping our trails in the best “late season” condition that they can so that we can enjoy for as long as we can! We’ll update you later this week.
Here’s what we got:
Trail 13 South – very good shape with very few bare spots.
Trail 1 S: groomed last night – good condition. Little to no bare spots.
1 North – snow covered; fair to good.
Trails in town – not good
East Shore Road is bare – not good travel.
8 East is bare in several spots; travel past Ewen is completely bare.

U.P. THUNDER RIDERS OF WATERSMEET GROOMERS REPORT:

Groomer Report
Groomers ran the whole trail system Friday March 2 and will not be running again until we get more snow. Our trail conditions range from very good to poor call it “end of the season conditions” Everything is rideable and the trails are open until March 31 we just don’t have enough snow to keep grooming at this time.

Trail 2 east of Watersmeet – to trail 107 – Fair/good – snirty/dirty as you leave watersmeet
Trail 3 north of trail 2 to bond falls – fair – roadside section right as you turn off trail 2 is bare, the rest of the trail has icy areas and icy/dirty corners
Trail 3 north of Bond falls – good – icy corners
Trail 3 south of Watersmeet to WI – good -this trail gets tons of traffic and it gets rough between groomings use caution over the bridges
Trail 2 west of Watersmeet – good – holding up much better than you’d think, there is a wet area about 20miles west of Watersmeet where water is on the trail there are signs so please use caution
Trail 13 south of trail 2 – good – icy/dirty corners

PLEASE STAY ON MARKED TRAILS. RIDING ON UNMARKED TRAILS CAN RESULT IN THE CLUB LOSING EASEMENT OF THAT TRAIL AND YOU POSSIBLE GETTING A TICKET…..