So I was up in Gwinn visiting dad over Xmas and decided to rent a sled on Dec 27th. After putting on 200 miles during the day (mqt-gwinn-ki-munising-pictured rocks-munising-christmas-marquette-heading to ki) I am heading south on 8 at about 10pm and rounding the two 90 degree turns near the 553/94 intersection...
I see flashing yellow lights through the trees up ahead, so I slow down to find a spot to pull off trail and let the groomer get by as that is a pretty tight section of trail. I wait a moment... and find myself thinking, "Groomer... Groooooomer?" in the tone of a popular 80's movie. It isn't moving - just sitting there, so I start easing up and start rounding the bend closest to the road...
You aren't going to believe what you are about to read - but I swear - I absolutely could not make this kinda stuff up...
Sitting on the middle of the trail, yellow lights and beacons flashing away... is a bonafide freakin hook-style TOW TRUCK. Next to it, hanging 3/4ths off the trail is a jacked-to-the-sky silver and black 4x4 - pointing north, having gotten on the trail from the roadway above, as if to continue on towards Crossroads. The part hanging off the trail is sunk down in nearly 2 feet of snow, which also happens to be a deep ditch, leaving the truck rolled in excess of 45 degrees and laying against the trees, likely scratched to ****. The tow truck is cabled to it, in effort to pull it out, and there are about 4 or 5 kids standing around.
Now - to make matters worse - parked on the trail, in front of the wrecker is ANOTHER jacked up 4x4 - this one pink and white, in a very 80's ish Miami Vice kinda way. It has a strap hooked from its front bumper to the front bumper of the wrecker. The trail is so tight through there that I have no way to get around, and even turning around with a longtrack renegade is less than a good idea.
So I am sitting there for 20 minutes, during which time the wrecker tries several times to pull the truck back up onto the trail... unsuccessfully. Instead, it only results in pulling the wrecker sideways across the trail, dangerously close to the same ditch that the truck is stuck in. This is of course resulting in some really beautiful gouges being carved into and across the trail by the dually rear wheels of the wrecker. Not that the stuck 4x4 didn't already rip the snot out of the trail in the process of getting stuck and trying to get out on its own.
Also during this time one of the guys walks up to me and asks if there is another way for me to get around - as it is in a sharp angled valley - the answer is obviously no. I then say to him, "you know that thing isn't even supposed to be on the trail, right?"
Get this... this is great...
He says back to me, "It's registered as an ORV though, so it's OK."
I inform him that it is a groomed and marked DNR snowmobile trail and that ORVs are not allowed on them in the winter. He just shrugs and walks back to the trucks. After several more minutes, the wrecker operator decides to scoot up and reposition the truck, during which time they give me juuuuust barely enough of a gap to get around them. As I scooted by, I saw a snapped tow strap on the ground in between the wrecker and the pink truck. I head out to Tailwinds and meet my dad there for a drink and some grub, and also call county dispatch. Not sure if they did anything though.
The next morning as I am heading north on 8 to return the sled, I go nice and easy as I come up to the spot in question, and though the groomer had gone through - it was still quite messed up through there. They did manage to get all 3 vehicles out of there however, and I could tell while I was going down the trail that they did actually keep driving on it, at least to the spot in Sands where it crosses the railroad tracks and runs along the road for about 100 yards. There was a pretty deep gouge on the right side of the trail that not even the groomer could take care of, was not there the night before, and was paralleled at times by another gouge to the left at truck-width.
I just shook my head all the way down the trail... marveling at how incredibly stupid some people can be.
Anyone else have any beautiful stories like this from the year? I swear I am not nearly creative enough to dream this kinda schtuff up. LOL
I see flashing yellow lights through the trees up ahead, so I slow down to find a spot to pull off trail and let the groomer get by as that is a pretty tight section of trail. I wait a moment... and find myself thinking, "Groomer... Groooooomer?" in the tone of a popular 80's movie. It isn't moving - just sitting there, so I start easing up and start rounding the bend closest to the road...
You aren't going to believe what you are about to read - but I swear - I absolutely could not make this kinda stuff up...
Sitting on the middle of the trail, yellow lights and beacons flashing away... is a bonafide freakin hook-style TOW TRUCK. Next to it, hanging 3/4ths off the trail is a jacked-to-the-sky silver and black 4x4 - pointing north, having gotten on the trail from the roadway above, as if to continue on towards Crossroads. The part hanging off the trail is sunk down in nearly 2 feet of snow, which also happens to be a deep ditch, leaving the truck rolled in excess of 45 degrees and laying against the trees, likely scratched to ****. The tow truck is cabled to it, in effort to pull it out, and there are about 4 or 5 kids standing around.
Now - to make matters worse - parked on the trail, in front of the wrecker is ANOTHER jacked up 4x4 - this one pink and white, in a very 80's ish Miami Vice kinda way. It has a strap hooked from its front bumper to the front bumper of the wrecker. The trail is so tight through there that I have no way to get around, and even turning around with a longtrack renegade is less than a good idea.
So I am sitting there for 20 minutes, during which time the wrecker tries several times to pull the truck back up onto the trail... unsuccessfully. Instead, it only results in pulling the wrecker sideways across the trail, dangerously close to the same ditch that the truck is stuck in. This is of course resulting in some really beautiful gouges being carved into and across the trail by the dually rear wheels of the wrecker. Not that the stuck 4x4 didn't already rip the snot out of the trail in the process of getting stuck and trying to get out on its own.
Also during this time one of the guys walks up to me and asks if there is another way for me to get around - as it is in a sharp angled valley - the answer is obviously no. I then say to him, "you know that thing isn't even supposed to be on the trail, right?"
Get this... this is great...
He says back to me, "It's registered as an ORV though, so it's OK."
I inform him that it is a groomed and marked DNR snowmobile trail and that ORVs are not allowed on them in the winter. He just shrugs and walks back to the trucks. After several more minutes, the wrecker operator decides to scoot up and reposition the truck, during which time they give me juuuuust barely enough of a gap to get around them. As I scooted by, I saw a snapped tow strap on the ground in between the wrecker and the pink truck. I head out to Tailwinds and meet my dad there for a drink and some grub, and also call county dispatch. Not sure if they did anything though.
The next morning as I am heading north on 8 to return the sled, I go nice and easy as I come up to the spot in question, and though the groomer had gone through - it was still quite messed up through there. They did manage to get all 3 vehicles out of there however, and I could tell while I was going down the trail that they did actually keep driving on it, at least to the spot in Sands where it crosses the railroad tracks and runs along the road for about 100 yards. There was a pretty deep gouge on the right side of the trail that not even the groomer could take care of, was not there the night before, and was paralleled at times by another gouge to the left at truck-width.
I just shook my head all the way down the trail... marveling at how incredibly stupid some people can be.
Anyone else have any beautiful stories like this from the year? I swear I am not nearly creative enough to dream this kinda schtuff up. LOL
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