January 6, 2015 – UPDATE: Checkout the following picture sent this evening by our groomer covering the southern portion of our system. A special thanks to our groomers for sending these pictures to us for up-the-minute trail reports. Be sure to let them know you appreciate their efforts. They are all VOLUNTEERS.

January 5, 2015

Condition: Fair – UPDATE: 7:20 p.m. Just heard from our President. He has been out today on Trail 35 headed toward Hobart when he had mechanical problems and could’t complete his run. He reports most of the trails have a light coating of snow. There is an ice base in some areas and dirt/gravel in others. We really need some packy snow as most of the snow we have received so far is light and fluffy and isn’t packing.

We started panning this morning with all three tractors. Groomers will be staying off the White Pine at this point.

We picked up a couple more inches yesterday so it is beginning to look like winter around here finally. If you are out there sledding be watching for the groomers.

January 4

Condition: Fair – Update 2:30 p.m.: Just received a call confirming that trail conditions have improved over yesterday on trails north of Hoxeyville. There are lots of sleds out today and they are doing a great job packing the trails. Snow is thinner south of Hoxeyville. White Pine trail is likely to be marginal with lots of drifts. Probably best to stay off of it at this point. Please respect the 4 inch minimum requested by the State Park folks before riding the White Pine. Not enough snow to groom yet.

We picked up 3.5 to 4 inches in the last 24 hours which has made a significant improvement in trail conditions. The coverage in the non-forest area is starting to accumulate as well. The snow guage in the Cadillac West area 2 miles north of the 33 Rd. staging area is showing 7 inches this morning. No word on grooming operations yet.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – —–

To better access the forest trails, you’ll want to use one of the Staging Areas below:

33 Rd Staging Area–S of M-55–approx.. 3 miles west of Cadillac on M-55 (watch for signs)

Caberfae Staging Area–approx.. 12 miles west of Cadillac on M-55 (watch for signs)

Boon Staging Area–park in plowed area south of Boon Grocery

Note: The porta-a-johns were removed from our staging areas today as our contracts on them expired 3-15-13.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

VIA CADILLAC WINTER PROMOTIONS
http://www.cadillacwinterpromotions.org/trailconditions.html

<>

All trails are improving with the exception of trail 102. You’re asked to avoid this trail until further notice as there is quite a bit of water back in this area. Our drivers will be installing a culvert on this trail hopefully on Wednesday but I’ll keep you posted on when you should ride this trail. If you’re looking to get to Silver City you can either take 8 west and head up trail 11 or go up 1 north through White Pine.

Lake effect snow in the forecast for Wednesday…a possibility of up to 11-inches of snow. We are currently in a very cold snap for the remainder of this week, through next weekend with more snow in the forecast almost every day. That’s the good news. We’ve also started to see a slowdown in traffic which will help the trails as well. We apologize to anyone who was disappointed in the trails this last week. Again, I can only tell you that we had a very wet fall followed by 90-inches of snow in November (a record) which insulated the ground and wouldn’t let it freeze. Then once December hit it warmed up and we actually saw rain one day. The same people who’ve been involved with the work on the trails are still at the helm for over 20 years and we’ve never dealt with these conditions before.Those conditions coupled with a high volumne of traffic have not helped the trails at all. Please have patience and know that we are working hard to get our trails back to the award winning condition we’ve offered in the past.

You can legally ride any county road that does not get plowed, but check with the Forest Service for a map to these roads. They have a waterproof one for $10.00. Call 906-932-1330 or go to www.fs.usda.gov/ottawa for more info.

The new snowmobile maps are out and available at most local businesses. Please remember that only money put into the wooden map money boxes with the photo of the groomers on it goes back to the trails – so please be aware of this and watch for this.

That’s all for now from Carolyn at the Hoop! We can’t wait to see you all back up again enjoying our beautiful area. Keep checking back for more updates as conditions change. For additional information about the Lake Gogebic area please visit the chamber website at www.LakeGogebicArea.com or call them at 1-888-464-3242 (888-GOGEBIC). Have a great day and a great ride.

<>

Lake Gogebic Area Chamber of Commerce –

<>