Trail Update-Northwoods (Minocqua, Lac du Flambeau, Tomahawk) 1-26-18

Attak man

New member
Trails are beautiful this morning...saw many that were freshly groomed. Yes it's going to be warm to day (low 40's)....however the forecast has changed, there is no longer rain in the forecast for tomorrow, and they've lowered the temps significantly. Saturday High of 28, Low of 10, and Sunday High of 18, Low of 5...the warmest day next week will be Tuesday High of 28...otherwise temps will be in the teens for highs and cooling into the single digits for Highs by the end of the week (and lows single digits below zero)....with a chance of light snow showers Saturday night, and another chance of light snow Wednesday....PERFECT SNOWMOBILING weather.

As I have mentioned many times before...trails in and around towns, and high traffic trails will be the ones that will take a hit with warmer weather , ...plan your routes away from those areas, and you will be fine....with the colder weather and our recent snow, the clubs have good snow to work with, so one warm day isn't going to kill it. I recommend you get out there and ride the next 7 to 10 days, or you will be missing out.

Too much negativity, and whining on this site lately...if you don't want to ride then don't (It's your equipment, and your choice, nobody is gonna force you)....I have been on these trails all week, and they are Very good to excellent just about everywhere I went....there are a few thin areas in the areas with heavy pine forests (which is usual), and I am seeing a bit more slush on the lakes with our heavy snow fall from earlier this week. (again normal) Some of the railrode grades have a bit of snirt mixed in at road crossings, but don't let that bother you, the trails whiten up nicely once you get away from road crossings.

Bottomline: It's nice out there, get out and ride....you can believe the keyboard warriors, looking at webcams, or trust somebody who's actually been out riding..the choice is yours.
 

scoobydoo

Member
Been up the last two weekends and had good trails. Gonna be up the next two weekends and my only complaint is im gonna be tired!
 

Swampy

Member
Way too warm yesterday!! Tried to groom at 2 am and it was just too wet. Couple groomers went out this morning around 7 am to do what they could. By that time the snow was rolling in the drag ok. Just trying to do what we can for the Pizza Feed at Twinn Bay today. Looks to cool down enough tonight. Groomers will be out in full force. We will have two shifts going out West of Tomahawk to try to get everything flat before the big freeze coming up. Looks like some snow for next week to freshen up what we lost. This warm weather might have helped out as far as getting the air out of the snow so we can pack it down and add to the base.

I heard a lot of people complaining about the trails not being groomed right after we got the last snow. We were out trying weather you know it or not.
Someone said there was snow on the tractor in Rhinelander. Yep, there was. Our driver had his own vehicles stuck in his driveway and worked all day trying to get out and ended up waiting until the next day to groom. Then when he was able to groom he couldn't make it up some hills so we had to go put the studs in the tracks. Just little things that people don't know about before they open their mouths and start badmouthing. We're doing what we can and if someone thinks they can do a better job you are welcome to come help and take all the phone calls and maintenance and scheduling and ... Sorry,
rant almost over. Hope everyone can smile and enjoy the rest of our wonderful winter here in WI.
 

Attak man

New member
Yep....heaviest sled traffic I have seen in 3 years in Tomahawk, warm weather, and heavy traffic take toll..especially in the high traffic areas, and rail road grades..the cooler wether should help...too warm again today
 

renten

New member
Way too warm yesterday!! Tried to groom at 2 am and it was just too wet. Couple groomers went out this morning around 7 am to do what they could. By that time the snow was rolling in the drag ok. Just trying to do what we can for the Pizza Feed at Twinn Bay today. Looks to cool down enough tonight. Groomers will be out in full force. We will have two shifts going out West of Tomahawk to try to get everything flat before the big freeze coming up. Looks like some snow for next week to freshen up what we lost. This warm weather might have helped out as far as getting the air out of the snow so we can pack it down and add to the base.

I heard a lot of people complaining about the trails not being groomed right after we got the last snow. We were out trying weather you know it or not.
Someone said there was snow on the tractor in Rhinelander. Yep, there was. Our driver had his own vehicles stuck in his driveway and worked all day trying to get out and ended up waiting until the next day to groom. Then when he was able to groom he couldn't make it up some hills so we had to go put the studs in the tracks. Just little things that people don't know about before they open their mouths and start badmouthing. We're doing what we can and if someone thinks they can do a better job you are welcome to come help and take all the phone calls and maintenance and scheduling and ... Sorry,
rant almost over. Hope everyone can smile and enjoy the rest of our wonderful winter here in WI.

Warm weather and extreme traffic. there is not much you can do about that. Trails will degrade after 10 sleds in those conditions. As long as you put forth the effort, that's all we can hope for. under most circumstances I would say that the rapid recovery of the trails , even under crappy conditions, requires daily grooming.
 

snobuilder

Well-known member
Yep....heaviest sled traffic I have seen in 3 years in Tomahawk, warm weather, and heavy traffic take toll..especially in the high traffic areas, and rail road grades..the cooler wether should help...too warm again today

Yes....it stayed above freezing 12+ hours longer than they predicted yesterday .
Would have loved to see better conditions for the MS ride out of Carter as well.
 
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