The following info I copied directly from Fishweb....if you ride Trail 45 near Newberry this is one bump you want to be aware of....would have been marked in some way last year, but not any more. My son and I are heading to the yoop later this week and we'll be on Trail 45 among others, curious to see what this looks like in person.....
"WARNING Trail 45 from Newberry to Paradise just 12 to 15 miles southwest of the falls Brewery, there is an unmarked hole and thanks to our wonderful state and their brilliant idea to remove the trail signs my buddy amongst others went over the bars right there. When we came up on the hole there was plastic from other snowmobile's scattered everywhere, so I know he was not the only person to lose control in that spot. Its located just after the logging operation where it turns back to groomed trail. looks as if it may be a small river in the spring time. Thanks, Dave Dudansky "
"This is the 8th time I have heard this and I know the spot. Last Tue when up there filming I saw it at the last second and managed to stand and lean back just in time to bounce 8 feet in the air and just make a landing on the trail side. I was lucky, very lucky. DMG "
"My name is Steve Hinsberger, I would consider myself an experienced snowmobiler. I too like to ride fast when it is safe and would not put my life into danger by riding over my ability and respect all other snowmobilers on the trail. With this said, my friends and I went to Paradise this weekend for our first trip up north and had a bad experience with trail #45. All day there was no problem with the signs. Some turns would catch you off guard for a second but not a big deal. The signs that I feel need to be put back up wouold be the "Bridge Ahead" signs. My friends and I rode 192 miles on Friday 1-25-13 with out any problems. We had just stopped in Newberry to fill up with fuel. We got back onto trail #45 to head to Paradise. The trail was great, it was real smooth and we had no problem going 60-70mph when we were able to. As we got about 15 miles away from Newberry, I was still leading. The trail was flat/smooth and I had no idea there was a bridge or some sort of hole in the trail. Any snowmobiler that has been riding for a while knows that bridges get a big hole at the start of them and after them. If there was a sign warning of a bridge ahead, I would have slowed down due to knowing there could be a big bump in front of it. Instead I was traveling very comfortably at 60-70mph and had no idea that there was any type of bridge coming up. (im not sure if it was a bridge, there was no railings, but there was definitely a stream that went under the trail) At the last second I saw a caution sign emerge from behind a pine tree, the signs that are usually right at the start of a bridge. Right as I saw this, I saw the large hole that was across the entire trail at this sign. I had absolutely no warning this was coming up and was not able to see it until the last second. My sled hit the hole which launched my sled into the air. I got thrown off the back of it while my sled continued a complete backflip in the air. I hit the ground on my butt and slid for a long time. My sled landed on the back tunnel, bending it and derailing the track and bending the rails. It also made my left ski get pushed under my sled. Totaling my sled!!! This was the only time in my life where I thought I was going to die. If there was any type of warning of this bridge or dip in the trail, this would not have happened. It was a mistake for the State to remove these signs!!! WAY TO GO!"
And this one just today from the site too-
"After riding a several hundred miles this season I have found a few problems with the signing. First thing are spots where the trail Y's off. Twice, going 25-30mph I have come to a Y in the trail and with fresh snow and no sign I could not tell which way the trail went. Once on trail 9 I took the right and got instantly buried in very deep snow and could not get the sled out. I walked about 8 miles in sub zero temps and heavy snow and was lucky to find some help after a few hours. On trail 45 even knowing there was a bad ditch in the trail I still hit it at about 35mph going airborne about 6 foot up and 30 foot out before landing on the side of the trail. I know of several people who also ether wrecked or came very close at that same spot. There are also to many 90 degree turns where the road may go straight but the trail doesn't, with no signs. Bridge ahead, 90 degree turn ahead and maybe a dangerous dip ahead should be reconsidered before we start killing people to save a buck. That is just my opinion, DMG. "
