Grand Marais, Seney, Pine Stump, Munising
- Thread starter sledneck
- Start date
Check out alger sorva on FB for Munising trail report. Lots of rain t/storms and very high winds last night and today. Lots of tree branches currently on the trails. No snow to get into Grand Marais just bare pavement.
Madmachz
Member
Just got back from GM on Sunday. There was enough snow to get in and out of town, but that was before the rain. Last half mile carbides were scraping. I'd have to agree with UPBob on the bare pavement at this point. Once out of town trails were perfect and off trail south of 88 was awesome...
ridindirty800
Active member
Munising Area Report
TRAIL REPORT: 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, 3/7/17
HANGING ON!
Crazy warm weather with rain and extremely high winds have taken a toll on the snow and trails but they are still rideable.
GROOMING OPERATIONS: Grooming Operations currently on hold. Cold weather returning with snow forecast so we are watching closely. We are hoping to do a recovery run Wednesday and then hold off for more snow. This is the only way we will be able to hang on to the trails longer.
TRAIL CONDITIONS: One of our coordinators just ran the system on a sled. All trails are rideable with exception of trail 419 between Munising and Wetmore. Trail 8, most of Trail 7 North and Trail 422 to H-58 are the only groomeable trails until we get more snow. High winds may have downed trees so ride with caution.
Trail 8 - Fair, good base
Trail 7 South - Fair, good base toward the North half.
Trail 7 North - Fair, good base heading North. Some thin areas as you approach Christmas.
Trail 419W (Munising-Christmas) - Fair. Water holes and minor moguls. The first few miles out of Munising has minor moguls and wet spots. Watch for water holes on edges of trail here too. Fair Trail after that - Ride with Caution.
Trail 422 (Miners Castle) - Fair, minimal snow along H-58 for the connector.
Trail 419E (to Trail 8) - Fair. Dirty snow near wetmore with icy corners.
Trail 419 (Wetmore-Munising) - Poor. Very dirty with numerous bare areas - Non-groomable.
WEATHER: Currently 46 degrees, 30 mph SW Winds, Sunny
Wind advisory with 60 mph gusts.
Past 24 Hour Snowfall: 0" South, 0" North (approximate).
CAUTIONS, WARNINGS and UPDATES:
CAUTION! Trail 422 has a 3/4 mile section that will be shared with logging trucks. This is located between M-28 and H-58. Please ride with caution and give right of way. Currently there is very little snow in this stretch because of bulldozing.
CAUTION FOR TRAIL 419:
Standing and flowing water creating soft spots in wet areas of the hills closer to Munising. RIDE WITH CAUTION.
CAUTION FOR TRAIL419 (Munising Wetmore Connector) - Trail 419 connector is OPEN. Very little snow and very dirty. Please use caution when riding. It's a congested area with driveway crossings. PLEASE obey all stop signs and give right-of-way to vehicles.
IN TOWN TRAIL ETIQUETTE
Private Property owners allow us to use their land for trail connectors. PLEASE respect the allowed use by staying on the trail, ride safely and stop at all driveways. PLEASE give vehicles the right of way, especially when they are trying to turn off of the major roadways. Remember Cars have the right of way and you are responsible for any related vehicular accidents. These connectors need annual approval so PLEASE ride with respect and courtesy so we can keep them open year after year!
(photo: Trail 422 near Miner's Castle Road on 3/7/17)
Copyright © 2004-2017 S.O.R.V.A. of Alger County,
TRAIL REPORT: 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, 3/7/17
HANGING ON!
Crazy warm weather with rain and extremely high winds have taken a toll on the snow and trails but they are still rideable.
GROOMING OPERATIONS: Grooming Operations currently on hold. Cold weather returning with snow forecast so we are watching closely. We are hoping to do a recovery run Wednesday and then hold off for more snow. This is the only way we will be able to hang on to the trails longer.
TRAIL CONDITIONS: One of our coordinators just ran the system on a sled. All trails are rideable with exception of trail 419 between Munising and Wetmore. Trail 8, most of Trail 7 North and Trail 422 to H-58 are the only groomeable trails until we get more snow. High winds may have downed trees so ride with caution.
Trail 8 - Fair, good base
Trail 7 South - Fair, good base toward the North half.
Trail 7 North - Fair, good base heading North. Some thin areas as you approach Christmas.
Trail 419W (Munising-Christmas) - Fair. Water holes and minor moguls. The first few miles out of Munising has minor moguls and wet spots. Watch for water holes on edges of trail here too. Fair Trail after that - Ride with Caution.
Trail 422 (Miners Castle) - Fair, minimal snow along H-58 for the connector.
Trail 419E (to Trail 8) - Fair. Dirty snow near wetmore with icy corners.
Trail 419 (Wetmore-Munising) - Poor. Very dirty with numerous bare areas - Non-groomable.
WEATHER: Currently 46 degrees, 30 mph SW Winds, Sunny
Wind advisory with 60 mph gusts.
Past 24 Hour Snowfall: 0" South, 0" North (approximate).
CAUTIONS, WARNINGS and UPDATES:
CAUTION! Trail 422 has a 3/4 mile section that will be shared with logging trucks. This is located between M-28 and H-58. Please ride with caution and give right of way. Currently there is very little snow in this stretch because of bulldozing.
CAUTION FOR TRAIL 419:
Standing and flowing water creating soft spots in wet areas of the hills closer to Munising. RIDE WITH CAUTION.
CAUTION FOR TRAIL419 (Munising Wetmore Connector) - Trail 419 connector is OPEN. Very little snow and very dirty. Please use caution when riding. It's a congested area with driveway crossings. PLEASE obey all stop signs and give right-of-way to vehicles.
IN TOWN TRAIL ETIQUETTE
Private Property owners allow us to use their land for trail connectors. PLEASE respect the allowed use by staying on the trail, ride safely and stop at all driveways. PLEASE give vehicles the right of way, especially when they are trying to turn off of the major roadways. Remember Cars have the right of way and you are responsible for any related vehicular accidents. These connectors need annual approval so PLEASE ride with respect and courtesy so we can keep them open year after year!
(photo: Trail 422 near Miner's Castle Road on 3/7/17)
Copyright © 2004-2017 S.O.R.V.A. of Alger County,
A lot happened since Sunday and none of it was good.....
Wrkhardplayhard
New member
Was up this last weekend though trails where surprisingly very good there where weak spots that will now have opened up. Paradise, Newberry, and seney all report thunderstorms rolled through. Newberry (TASA) has put everything east and south as poor with opening water holes seney south is done Curtis is unrideable. That is not their fault the conditions are just not there we went over open Water across the trail on Sunday between Curtis and Seney. Paradise night rider's took a bit. They say they're getting snow and that paradise to pine stump is fair with some springs opening up. Off track was pretty good but this just hasn't been a friendly winter. If you go up expect good, bad, and ugly. Grand Marais was in really good shape except for right around town. The best of luck hope for a better winter next year. PS if any of the groomers from Newberry, grand Marais, paradise, seney, bay mills, or Chippewa Chasseurs see this thank you for the past weekend the trails on a whole were great.
Leaving Friday morning for Grand Marais, MI and should be on trail Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. I expect to see everything trail condition wise according to club Facebook reports. It will be single digits temps at night up there the next couple days to hopefully firm up the water holes with few lake effect showers to lubricate the trail. I will try to get a report out Friday night if time permits or for sure Saturday
Last weekend was crazy...not in a good way. As for the trailers, sugar snow started developing on 8, but it wasn't all bad....late afternoon on Friday and Saturday, it was very rideable, not all whooped up like normal. Lots of icy corners South of 8. H58 was busy and whooped up pretty good, but all in all id say an 8 out of 10. Groomers did all they could and it wasn't bad!
The worst of it was all the idiots on the trails....I saw two accidents....one head on (thank god it was at a bridge where speeds were down), and another was a woman trying to catch up to her group leaving a gas station. She pinned it and about 6 of us said that won't end well...she missed the first corner and she separated from her sled after hitting a snow bank. We thought the worst, but I think she came away with maybe bruised or a broken rib or two.
By 4PM Saturday, after several near misses besides the accidents, we had three sleds stop abruptly in front of us on 8, going from around 50mph down to 0 rather quickly. A chain reaction had the third person in their group *** pack the guy in front of him....all because the lead guy stopped for an oncoming group of 4 sleds to go by (maybe he was uncomfortable with the narrowness of 8 and the sleds coming our direction hauling ***). After seeing that, we turned and headed back calling it a weekend. There seemed to be a ton of inexperienced riders on the trails, along with a lot of rentals, and combine those with the "Ricky Racers", it didn't feel safe.
Anyone heading up, just know its getting crazy up there....be careful and ride extremely defensive.
Signed, a 40 year old very experienced rider with a wife and kids at home
The worst of it was all the idiots on the trails....I saw two accidents....one head on (thank god it was at a bridge where speeds were down), and another was a woman trying to catch up to her group leaving a gas station. She pinned it and about 6 of us said that won't end well...she missed the first corner and she separated from her sled after hitting a snow bank. We thought the worst, but I think she came away with maybe bruised or a broken rib or two.
By 4PM Saturday, after several near misses besides the accidents, we had three sleds stop abruptly in front of us on 8, going from around 50mph down to 0 rather quickly. A chain reaction had the third person in their group *** pack the guy in front of him....all because the lead guy stopped for an oncoming group of 4 sleds to go by (maybe he was uncomfortable with the narrowness of 8 and the sleds coming our direction hauling ***). After seeing that, we turned and headed back calling it a weekend. There seemed to be a ton of inexperienced riders on the trails, along with a lot of rentals, and combine those with the "Ricky Racers", it didn't feel safe.
Anyone heading up, just know its getting crazy up there....be careful and ride extremely defensive.
Signed, a 40 year old very experienced rider with a wife and kids at home
Wrkhardplayhard
New member
Last SATURDAY there were at least 300 sleds at the upper falls on trail 45 and pine stump had a hundred foot line for fueling up plus another 200 sitting while the bar was standing room only. We went to the wolf inn 5 miles south of wasn't quite as hecktic.
Will agree with wery7 be prepared to watch out for anything. Some people drive safe and some scary. Had never ever seen such traffic in my years of riding. Not even in the thumb. They got anywhere from 2 to 6 of Les yesterday. If people think this is their last chance to ride it will be a zoo.
If you did not know trail 8 south of Paradise has not been touched by a groomer in weeks the river mouth and Swamp opened up it is unsafe. The only way around it is road ditch riding on M 123 and then the scenic river road till you can meet 8 south again. You will then have 5 miles of whoops till you get closer to Raco, just sending a warning to anyone thinking of heading that way.
Will agree with wery7 be prepared to watch out for anything. Some people drive safe and some scary. Had never ever seen such traffic in my years of riding. Not even in the thumb. They got anywhere from 2 to 6 of Les yesterday. If people think this is their last chance to ride it will be a zoo.
If you did not know trail 8 south of Paradise has not been touched by a groomer in weeks the river mouth and Swamp opened up it is unsafe. The only way around it is road ditch riding on M 123 and then the scenic river road till you can meet 8 south again. You will then have 5 miles of whoops till you get closer to Raco, just sending a warning to anyone thinking of heading that way.
Thanks for the advice everybody, traffic will be HUGE. The Seney veterans ride is Saturday and that is probably 100 plus sleds all by itself.
Saturday morning update: got on the sleds Friday afternoon a little after 2pm and went down to Seney and back up to GM and got almost 100 miles by sundown. GM in town is very thin for snowcover but just out of town its good. Still a decent amount of snow for groomers to work with and trails are fine, it's just that dam wind making visibilty bad. One water hole east of GM on trail 8 but the club was working on getting it drained and hopefully froze. We made a 5 hour trip to get here and it's worth the trip if you ride from GM to Paradise to Seney area you will be able to put on some good end of season miles. We will see where todays adventure takes us.
Saturday morning update: got on the sleds Friday afternoon a little after 2pm and went down to Seney and back up to GM and got almost 100 miles by sundown. GM in town is very thin for snowcover but just out of town its good. Still a decent amount of snow for groomers to work with and trails are fine, it's just that dam wind making visibilty bad. One water hole east of GM on trail 8 but the club was working on getting it drained and hopefully froze. We made a 5 hour trip to get here and it's worth the trip if you ride from GM to Paradise to Seney area you will be able to put on some good end of season miles. We will see where todays adventure takes us.
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Just got back from Munising. We rode to grand Marais and Seney - conditions were pretty good on Saturday. Traffic actually wasn't that bad. By Sunday condtions were excellent. it was thin getting into Grand Marais on Sunday. The sun came out when we had lunch and poof - the thin stuff was gone in one hour. The sun is strong this time of year. the temp was only low 20's and it melted more than i thought it would. it was better getting into Seney from both the east and west. When we arrived friday night many were trailering out of wetmore. Saturday conditions were very good (we rode out0 and sunday become excellent. some of our party went west to Au Train and Lakenland. Conditions generally good west but not as good as the east. also a tree across the trail is dangerous. sorry i a not sure exactly where that was but hopefully it will be removed before you go. We didn't go any further east, but having watched the radar i would guess they did not get as much. i talked to a local from Curtis who had ridden out and said it was good getting across the lake - but be careful as there are ice haves.
Spot on bladeguy. GM is thin getting into town so we trailered to a trail head. We rode a little under 100 miles on Friday afternoon from GM to Seney and back up. We did the 160 miles plus loop from GM to Paradise to Newberry back to GM and there is plenty of snow in most areas. The burned out area north of Paradise is a lot of ice with not a lot of fluff on it so that may get interesting if sun comes out in strength. From Friday afternoon on until when we left Sunday morning there were off and on lake effect snow showers all day. A lot of good riding yet to be had in that GM, Seney, Newberry loops.
3/10-3/12... Stayed in Au Train. Wife and I rode 360 miles. First time up there so was not real familiar with the trails. We canceled our trip on Thursday but woke up Friday and seen there was fresh snow up there. We called the place we were staying(Norther Nights) and found out there was a fresh 2" of snow. Glad we made the trip. We drove up Friday morning and just stayed close to the cabin. We still put on 90 miles in 4 hrs. Saturday we rode trail 8 from Au Train to Grand Marais. We went up trail 422 and checked out the "castle" rock formation. Super windy along the lake and the trails were pretty bare of snow due to the wind. we put on close to 200 miles on Saturday. Sunday we woke up to a fresh 4" of snow and rode trail 8/7 and 417 towards Eben Junction. Put on the rest of the miles. Trails were all in good shape and we seen the groomers out on every trip. Probably a total of 10" of fresh snow while we were there. Hope that helps any one looking for info.
after much debate, we headed up Sunday AM. Got there around noon... was able to put in 225 miles by about 9pm. Monday we did another 300 miles. Trails were great! Snow thin around Munising in spots, but trails to the east are great. Getting in and out of towns is pretty awful... but doable. Our 300 miles was the Buckhorn to Grand Marais. Over to Paradise, checked out the falls, Newberry, Pine Stump and back to Wetmore. The falls gas station was out of Premium.