DESTINATION ST. IGNACE

That was the theme of this weekend. The trail head didn’t seem that busy this weekend, Youth Pond Hockey had about 1/2 the motel rooms, yet town was busy with sleds the whole weekend. IN fact a couple people remarked that this was by far the busiest our trails have been on a Saturday this season. At dusk is looked like a conveyor belt of lights of sleds coming off of the island. It looked like there was a ton of destination riders coming here for the day, just to go over the the island for the experience. Hopefully they will experience what the rest of you already know and be back for fantastic trail riding.

Saturday war story: So a friend absolutely twisted a pair of couple arms to come ride in the area – they have never ridden in the Eastern UP. So much so in fact that they would only book their rooms for one night, and were going to go back downstate after a day and half of riding. Gaylord and West of Munising are the only places you can ride a sled in this state… ya right. So after hundreds of fantastic fun filled miles the first day, they cancelled their downstate return, and stayed for a long weekend. Theses people will be back as they have found out what a few others have… Straits Club can make a fantastic trail with 12″ of snow, and you will think you are in the big snow country if you are on-trail, except… the trails are smoother, less crowded, and a lot wider. We have several day-trip destinations to enjoy, if you like narrower, twistier trails, head East, super fast straights, go straight North, fun sweeping wide corners, head West. Naubinway, the Falls, Newberry, Rexton, the Soo, Cedarville, even Drummond Island are all good day-trip destinations from your home base, St. Ignace – “Why DRIVE, when you can RIDE!”

With all that Saturday traffic we did get a little choppy out there, it is all fixed up now, and will stay that way. (as long as the drivers plug in the block heaters) the tractors are running great and a normal to even heavy schedule for training. The weather bounced a little over teh weekend, and the cold temps returned today with 100+ schools closed. Last week was brutal cold temps, and although cold this week will not be so bad. A shot of snow on Tuesday, and then nice for the rest of the week. The coming weekend will be another epic great weekend on the Straits trail network.

Please visit our website for discussion on current events, the trail pictures, and weather.

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The trails were groomed on Saturday; trails are flat and some ice is present, especially on corners. We’ve had no new significant snow but plenty of cold! It’s sunny right now. Conditions are much the same as they were yesterday with low temperatures and wind. Please note there is a wind chill advisory today. Use caution, dress appropriately and drink plenty of water. We are forecast to get 1-3″ of snow on Tuesday, plus the bitter cold is supposed to go away for a day, with forecast temperatures in the low 20’s. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Just an FYI that there’s logging activity on the east loop of our wooded trail. The area is signed but watch for changing trails conditions where the trail has been plowed for vehicle traffic. The activity stretches about 1/2 to 1 mile.

Other grooming club news is the new drag we took delivery of in January. The State approved our purchase and this drag was custom-made for us by the experts at Dubie Welding & Fabrication in Gaylord. We’re glad to support local, Michigan business with this purchase. And since this drag will be paid for with State dollars it’s nice to know your trail permit money is coming back around.

If you’re interested in supporting local grooming efforts, visit www.justgroomit.org for details on joining the Indian River Snowmobile Grooming club with a membership donation. We have hats and t-shirts (short & long sleeve) for sale too. Even when we can’t groom we still have operational expenses like insurance, two-way radio communication subscriptions, and more. Thanks to member donations we’re putting up a groomer building ,where we now store and can work on the equipment. Your support makes all the difference! Thank you–

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