Trail 133 between Gay and Lac La Belle closed for good!

[radsrh]

This is something I was wishing I would not have to do but I have no other options left but to close part of trail 133 between gay and lac la belle. For years now I have been trying to combat people using the trail during the summer starting with placing no trespassing signs that did not work. Next was going through all of the work and expense of putting up gates, people just thought that was to slow them down I guess and they drive around them. Then John came out to look at things, btw thank you very much for taking the time to come out. We placed more signs on the trail including one at the trail head. Well some wonderful people knocked down the trail head sign with the post that said no wheeled vehicles. In the past I have had signs stolen from my land now somebody decided to vandalize the signs on MY land. They had the balls to bend down the signs on the south end of the property, throw spike strips into the woods, then drive through my land go to the north gate and clear the signs and spike strips on that end of the land. Now the kicker they did not keep going they turned around and drove back south through the land. I am dam near sure this is local people clearing the trial for someone else to use. They did not drive though the land just cleared the way for others to use. The land to the south of me has had the same thing happen over and over again, looking this weekend he had a stack of 8-12” logs stacked 6’ tall on the side of his gate and guess what? Some group of people had taken the time to tear down his wall and throw it randomly around clearing a path next to his gate to drive around. This weekend WE had to waste our mothers day loading the truck with logs and making our own walls on either side of my gates I know this is going to be useless if they had taken the time to tear down the neighbors walls, and after many headaches and wasted money and wasted time trying and trying to fix this problem and some group of people thinking it is there right to drive through my property I am hiring a contractor to dig out the road. Yes you read that right I think the only true way to stop who ever thinks they have the right to use the land that I paid for that I pay taxes on and that I have let the trail run through for the 7 years I have owned the land I am going to have a backhoe come in and dig out the road 5’ deep and 4’ wide across the whole road to keep traffic off the land, with a hole that big the trail will no longer be able to cross there. Sorry folks but I guess a mote around my castle is the only way to keep the bad people out, I was hoping that signs would work and then thought gates would work allowing me to open them to let snowmobiles through but now I am left with no choice.

 

[matti]

I'm sorry about your problems. That really sucks. I think you're making a very good decision.

 

[frnash]

… I guess a mote around my castle is the only way to keep the bad people out …

Too bad there are some folks that have absolutely no respect for private property!
But I don't think a mote will help much.

 

[eagle1]

What a bunch of idiots. Can't somebody put a motion camera here and catch the bad guys? I don't blame you one bit for closing it. Sad.

 

[anonomoose]

Clearly this is a neighborhood war game. No casual user, or occasional user would go to this extreme to simply go over anyone's property. You have gotten yourself into a war with a neighborhood person or group, no doubt who was there "before you bought it" and is bound to show you that this is everyone's right to cross it.

While spending several thousand to dig up the road might be something you feel necessary, ultimately it will likely only take this game to a higher level.

Nobody is going to tell you to stop "playing the game" but seems that unless you live there and can go out and police the property daily, this is a game you can't win.

Frankly, I own property in the U.P. and so long as people don't destroy it by crossing it, or create such a disturbance that you can't use it while you are up there...you actually win by ignoring it. Cause the more you fight it the more you create your own problems.

You can take it out on ALL others such as snowmobilers and hikers, snowshoer's and cross country skiers, but what does it get you?

Of course it is your right to fight this...but so is it your right to sue the government and take it to the Supreme Court. When it is all done, you will have spent a bunch of money and time and what will it get you?

Go ahead and put a mote around it, but for people (almost certainly neighbors) who see this as a challenge, you will need to put a cement wall around it with security cameras and pay someone to patrol it 24/7...and then you might still fail.

Take my advise and sell it, and buy somewhere that there is NO trails of any kind, and buy there. In the long run you will be much further ahead.

 

[yamahauler]

Why not stretch some 3-4 strands of barb wire fencing down each way 100 yds or so or to a point where is may be darn near impossible to cross?

I don't blame you for what you are doing....I can't figure out how some people are so rude and ignorant.

 

[rp7x]

mote

300 win mag

 

[mxz_chris]

Anonomoose is right. You will not stop anyone by digging out the road. It will become an obstacle to see if they can ride in and out of. Cameras and capture are the only thing that will work.
I know this because I was once a neighboorhood kid whose trails were "taken" from him. We tortured the developers who were building houses on that land, only until we were caught. Nothing they did would have stopped us, but the cops did. I only admit this to show you what you're dealing with. I was the A-hole in this situation, I know that now, but it is probably what you are dealing with.

 

[Professor PC]

dont want a pissin match but i thought that was closed awhile ago....plus....loggers are involved and we all know how loggers and greenies and someone that sold to a company get along...not to mention you are someone form somewhere else shutting off something all the locals have seen as their rights for 200 years....there is currently a huge battle over people from downstate or whereever buying UP land and then telling them what they can and cannot do....search huron bay mountain club to see if you can win this battle....just my opinion

http://www.mi.gov/som/0,1607,7-192-45414_45416-231473--,00.html

 

[radsrh]

Fist off it is my land, my land and michigan has a law called the castle law along with 37 other states in the U.S. this law gives you the right to defend your land against any person tresspassing on your land using up to deadly force. After spending years building a place for me and my family to go and enjoy and allow my kids to play freely and to walk along my road picking berries or playing without worries, I don't need to worry 24/7 about some a**hole flying through my land on an ATV injuring or killing my children doing nothing more then enjoying there future property. I am not going to run because some A**hole feels they can go where they want.

Next off I think I know who the person or persons are, there is a NEW got that new camp ground on gay/lac la belle road that is setting up shop as a ATV camp ground knowing there is no legle place to ride there, the stamp sands to the south are not legle to ride on and the snowmobile trail is just that a snowmobile trial. There is miles of trails that are being dammaged starting with the trail head just accross the steet from the camp ground where the trail head sign was taken down with the DNR sign saying no wheeled access allowed to a neighbor two 40's south of me with dammaged gates to my gates. Next off let me say that I was the first to own land there before that all the land in the plot was owned by G&D logging, Also I know the neighbor to the south of me and years ago it was him that suggested to me that we both gate our property to keep others off of the land because he is just as pissed as I am. So I am not going to RUN to keep others off of my land that I paid for and pay taxes on year after year. What I might just have to do is when I am there take my 9 out to the next person that feels they can dammage private property and use the castle law and defend my property against others like you that feel they can hike snowshoe snowmobile ATV where ever when ever they feel they want to and if the owner does not like it they can sell and move.

 

[gogebic_sledder]

Clearly this is a neighborhood war game. No casual user, or occasional user would go to this extreme to simply go over anyone's property. You have gotten yourself into a war with a neighborhood person or group, no doubt who was there "before you bought it" and is bound to show you that this is everyone's right to cross it.

While spending several thousand to dig up the road might be something you feel necessary, ultimately it will likely only take this game to a higher level.

Nobody is going to tell you to stop "playing the game" but seems that unless you live there and can go out and police the property daily, this is a game you can't win.

Frankly, I own property in the U.P. and so long as people don't destroy it by crossing it, or create such a disturbance that you can't use it while you are up there...you actually win by ignoring it. Cause the more you fight it the more you create your own problems.

You can take it out on ALL others such as snowmobilers and hikers, snowshoer's and cross country skiers, but what does it get you?

Of course it is your right to fight this...but so is it your right to sue the government and take it to the Supreme Court. When it is all done, you will have spent a bunch of money and time and what will it get you?

Go ahead and put a mote around it, but for people (almost certainly neighbors) who see this as a challenge, you will need to put a cement wall around it with security cameras and pay someone to patrol it 24/7...and then you might still fail.

Take my advise and sell it, and buy somewhere that there is NO trails of any kind, and buy there. In the long run you will be much further ahead.

You sound like you condone trespassing.

 

[ibendwire]

It is real sad that there are people out there like that. I certainly understand why you are closing your land completely. I sure hope you catch the people someday doing this.

 

[mxz_chris]

I don't think he condones it, just seeing it for what it is. It sucks, I've been on both sides of this, and as I said earlier, I know I was in the wrong years ago. This is a game to these people. Defend your land as far as you want to go, but remember, there are people who will shoot back. People with this much disregard for your rights probably will keep upping the ante until it gets ugly. I said it before, get them on film, and get the cops to take care of this.

 

[united]

I do not know why people insist on tresspassing. Ridiculous.

From the way the signs are bent down in the pics it looks like they were exiting the property there? Does not matter which way they were going but maybe try to find out (you probably already know) where they entered the property and check there for damage as well.

Didn't we have Skip and the MI-Trale on this before? I forgot what happened.

The moat may be the only answer.

 

[radsrh]

mxz chris;

Thank god it was the cops that got you and not the land owner, Michigan has the castle law and that law says that any person or persons setting foot on your land can be shot and killed by the land owner to defend his or her castle. Unlike other states the person or persons DO NOT need to be in your house and armed only be on your property and still do not need to be armed. This law goes as far as to say that you could be in your car in a public parking lot and if someone comes up to your car and you feel threatened by them you would have the right to shoot to kill. It was a program on Discover channel that I first learned of this law and it was started in Texas of all places and then adopted by 37 other states, and gives the land owner the right to own and enjoy there land or property with out fear of others taking that from them. So if you where a kid that was pissed and thought it was your right to use, take , or dammage the property of others first think if that company decided to tear up your land around your house, ride through your front yard 24/7 and walk in your front door to take a piss in your bathroom because 200 years ago your house was not there and they could walk there and take a piss. Second think if the owner that you decided you where going to use his land and break the law was there with a 300 mag and took your head off for what you where doing? I know you said what you did because you where a kid and being stupid at the time and I am proud of you to say that on here, I also as a kid did stupid things and thank god I am here today because things could have turned out different. I have in the past before I got this pissed have stopped people crossing the land and asked them to leave, and I can say of all of the people I have stopped there has not been one kid in the group, just stupid adults and all of them said the same thing........ sorry we are lost and just trying to get back home..... driving around gates to do that...... and I was stupid enough to beleave them and let them go. No longer will I let them go..... from now on they will get off the ATV and walk back HOME and the next call will be to the state police to come pick up and impound the ATV allowing the owner to get it back after getting and paying for there tresspassing ticket.

 

[mxz_chris]

I had a farmer shoot salt shot at us once. Could have been worse, but we never went back there again. Just an idea

 

[radsrh]

united;

I can follow the tracks all the way down to and around the neighbor to the south leading to the trail head on gay/ lac la belle road. It would seem like they exited there but I can follow the tracks to my north gate see that they stopped there dammaged the signs and moved the spike strips, then turned around and went back south and exited at that gate. It is clear as a bell to see two sets of tracks around the gate in the picture and only one set on the inside of the north gate and clear as a bell that they then turned around and drove back out the gate they came in. This is what is showing me that they did not do this to cross the land but only drove in to clear the way for others to use the land, and that is what is telling me in my gut that it would be the owner of the camp ground telling the people that stay there that they have the right to use the snowmobile trail and just drive around all of the gates because they are there to keep others out not you.

On a side note the first trip up this spring some dumb a** thought it was there right to take there 4 wheel drive on the very soft snowmobile trail sinking up to the frame of there truck rutting up and tearing up the trail all the way up to my north gate where they had no choice but to turn around and head out the way they came in so now my neighbors to the north have some wonderful ruts to fix, and the neighbor to my north spent a good part of last summer smoothing out and putting gravel on this road to make it nicer to get to his land and nicer for the trial groomers to keep it flat and not need to fill in all the holes with the first snows.

 

[frnash]

… Michigan has the castle law and that law says that any person or persons setting foot on your land can be shot and killed by the land owner to defend his or her castle.

You better be very sure of the law before you undertake such an act:
Click → Michigan Code of Criminal Procedure (excerpt) ACT 175 of 1927, Section 768.21c.

768.21c Use of deadly force by individual in own dwelling; "dwelling" defined.

Sec. 21c.

(1) In cases in which section 2 of the self-defense act does not apply, the common law of this state applies except that the duty to retreat before using deadly force is not required if an individual is in his or her own dwelling or within the curtilage¹ of that dwelling.
(2) As used in this section, "dwelling" means a structure or shelter that is used permanently or temporarily as a place of abode, including an appurtenant structure attached to that structure or shelter.

¹ Curtilage: The area, usually enclosed, encompassing the grounds and buildings immediately surrounding a home that is used in the daily activities of domestic life. A garage, barn, smokehouse, chicken house, and garden are curtilage if their locations are reasonably near to the home. The determination of what constitutes curtilage is important for purposes of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures of a person and of his or her home or property. Courts have construed the word home to include curtilage so that a person is protected against unlawful searches and seizures of his or her curtilage.

As defined here.

Thus Michigan's "Castle law" may apply to someone riding across your "front yard", but not necessarily if they're riding across your "back 40".

Q: Can you make a citizen's arrest of a trespasser?
​

 

[Sled Solutions]

Most snowmobilers aren't bad but they sure do get a bad name from a few bad apples.

You have done everything to keep it open but at this point I would agree....close it down.

From ALL snowmobilers WE ARE SORRY!! I certainly am boiling over now so I can imagine how you have felt.

Ron White says it best "You can't fix stupid".

 

[olsmann]

While I dont condone anyone trespassing on your property and Im sad it has come to the point of you shutting it down permantly, But I dont think I would shoot someone driving an ATV across your land and not expect to get in huge trouble! In fact my guess is you will be in jail and the tresspassers family will be the new owner of your land and everthing else they want to sue you for. Some old law on the books that you learned about on the discovery channel does not give you the right to kill someone. Trust me a judge/jury WILL throw you in jail! I'm sure this is frusterating as all **** for you but you're talking about handing out a million dollar punishment for a 50 cent crime. I would just get a few game cameras and bait them. Once you get pics drive to the camp and look for the offending quads