Trail Conditions 3-19-09

[Snow VP]

Mother Nature giveth, Mother Nature taketh away.

Trails in this area have taken a major hit. The RR Grade is about done, and other trails are headed downhill very fast. One could go and sneak in a ride this weekend, but it would not be pretty. You would have to drop on castle rock road and head out from there. The woods trails should still be ridable, but you are going to be working with very sloppy stuff over the ice - is won't be pretty. There is still some snow off-trail too, but watch out for hazards.

We have not groomed all week, and our last grooming run will be tonight and just to bring the Brevort groomer into town for the summer.

Overall we have a good season, even though we didn't groom as many miles as one would expect, trails were still great all year. A few major equipment failures still gave us fits, especially through January - but again the groomer drivers held their own.

This summer will be busier then normal around here. The club still has some money left to grade trails, which we will do next fall with the big back blade we bought. The directors are also considering the purchase of a heavy duty brush cutter so we can widen the RR Grade back out along 10 or so miles of trail. And finally, the Iron Bridge is going to get some major attention. A full re decking and hopefully a paint job is budgeted, and will happen after it warms up, we are shooting for a May 15th bid opening.

Speaking of summer - the summer forum is back. Don't be afraid to drop by all summer and chit chat about whatever!

And, the last trail pictures of the season depict the traditionally bad area of the RR Grade outside of St. Ignace. As you can see, there are sections that are showing gravel. You probably could ride it if you wanted, as there is still up to a foot of material around that, but you would have bad areas here and there to contend with.

The forecast for next week is all in the mid 40s, so that is going to do it for Trail Conditions this season. Hope you all enjoyed riding in this area, and have found my condition reports to be both truthful, and helpful.

If we don't see all of you between now and then, keep you eyes pealed for groomers in the 4th of July, Car show and truck show parades, and possible fundraisers during car show. And as always, if you are thinking of joining a new or different club, and want to help out, don't forget about our annual brushing and signing next October. Also over this summer and fall we will be doing trail grading and major brushing projects if you have experience in a groomer/tractor and want to spend a day or 2 in a air conditioned cab helping out!

Have a good summer!

[Snow VP]

Here is a warm and fuzzy e-mail that I got a little while back. Bill said I could post it up to the board, so here it is.

When are we going to get people to understand, that we take care of the trails around here on a different level then some other clubs. Some of it is our natural trail base, some our preparation, some our grooming effort, and some our equipment. It all adds up to a cut above the rest!

Hi, this is Bill from Dayton.We were in the U.P the week of March 7 thru 14. We stopped in St. Ignace Sat. and Sun. to ride the ice bridge then go on up to Newberry.Mon. and Tues. were ok but rain came in Tues. afternoon the 10th. Overnight the trails flash froze. We went out on Wed. rode only 30 miles,very hard and solid ice, our sleds were overheating. We talked to one of the groomer operators on Thurs. morning. He stated they were out but could not do any good so we decided to go home early. I told Brenda (my girlfriend) since we have to go thru St. Ignace maybe we can stop and ride. While traveling on Route 123 from Trout Lake to I-75 I stopped 3 times and walked on the RR grade. To my surprise there was some material to work with. We then stopped at the Big Boy to use their computer to check out your trail report. Based and your report we decided to stay. We got checked in at the Driftwood and decided to turn early anticipating a big day on Fri. the 13th. We got started about 9:00AM on Fri. and all I can say is WOW! I don't know how you guys do it with the weather conditions you had. The trails were fantastic,kicking up snow dust all day. We saw 2 groomers on Fri. and 2 again on Sat .morning, you guys are on it!! We put on 202 miles on Fri. We were checking out on Sat. to go home knowing this was the last trip of the season. While packing Fri.night we decided to go for a breakfast ride to Cut River on Sat. morning then drive home only because the trails were so good. We logged another 72 miles Sat. morning. What a great way to end our season. We thought our last ride of the year was on hard ice and overheating sleds,then we stopped in St.Ignace WOW!!! Give a big thanks to the groomer crew and see ya next year! Bill

[ToddMeister]

Another satisfied customer, that what it is all about.

Have a great summer everyone!

I'm proud to be a member of this club, looking forward to making trail improvements for next season.

[famousguy]

I want to thank all you guys in ST Ignace for a great year. We made 4 trips to IGGY this year and all were great. The trails were always well groomed and taken care of. January trail side "potluck" and March trail side "potluck" were also great.

Last weekend was some great spring riding!!

I have one question..

Who keeps wrecking the railing on the iron bridge on the RR grade??

[famousguy]

Ok, so I guess I have more questions.

How do I join your club?

What is the cost?

[ToddMeister]

Here ya go:

http://www.straitsareasnowmobileclub.com/join.htm

Originally Posted by famousguy

Ok, so I guess I have more questions.

How do I join your club?

What is the cost?

[ToddMeister]

Oh we know who

Doesn't really matter anyways, that bridge is gonna be redone this summer.

Originally Posted by famousguy

I have one question..

Who keeps wrecking the railing on the iron bridge on the RR grade??

[famousguy]

Originally Posted by ToddMeister

Here ya go:

http://www.straitsareasnowmobileclub.com/join.htm

Ok, I just wrote the check and will mail it tomorrow!!

[famousguy]

Originally Posted by ToddMeister

Oh we know who

Doesn't really matter anyways, that bridge is gonna be redone this summer.

I don't know who it is, but it is funny that every trip it seems broke,fixed,broke,fixed,broke.........

[irishmanusa]

Thanks to EVERYONE involved in the Straits Club! I had a great time this year and owe it all to your hard work on the trails and dealing with the mechanical troubles. Proud to be a new member, and already counting down the days 'til next season....1, 2, 3, 4, oh 365, 364, 363, wait....that won't work either, okay - see ya next season!!!!!!

[highstandard4x4]

Great job with grooming this year I rode all over the eastern U.P, straits trails hands down were the best Thanks!!! SEE YA NEXT YEAR

[Snow VP]

Figures, 31d out, I call it all done and we get a surprise 2" last night.
Woods trails are probably ridable, however i would not push the RR Grade.
Very suspect spring riding out there today. I would not make a special trip just to ride around here. However I am sure a few more local people will be taking one last rip today.