From: phil@tellabs.com (Phil Gagner)
Subject: east central UP trip report (long)
Organization: Tellabs, Lisle, IL
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 00:28:37 GMT

Disclaimer - I'm typing this trip report in from memory and don't
have a map in front of me. Some of the spellings of towns and sights
WILL be wrong!!

The four day New Years weekend provided the opportunity for the
second trip of the year. Our starting point is Gwinn Michigan and
plan a route through the east central UP. The trip starts like most -
leave Chicago in rain or fog and arrive with plenty of lake effect.
Gwinn greeted us with 6 to 8 inches. This was the least amount of
snow for the whole trip with all other locations measuring around 2
feet.

Thursday morning we headed for Chatum, a town 30 miles east of
Gwinn. The trail is old railroad grade - straight as an arrow with
the tree line 150 feet from the trail. Frequent stop signs and
bumpy trail kept us from top end for extended periods. The Village
Pub in Chatum will provide directions to Munising Falls at Eben Junction.
This is a fairly famous waterfall featured in many UP publications.
You can't sled to the falls as it's in a wilderness area. A 1/3 mile
hike is required.

From Chatum we continue east to trail 5 and then south for a few
miles to the Buckhorn Lodge. We fuel up here with premium at $1.49
a gallon. Ouch! The Buckhorn is a hot spot with no less than 100
sleds in the parking lot. We ate at the Buckhorn twice - good food.

From the Buckhorn it's back up trail 5 and then east until we hit
trail 10. Trail 10 goes southeast to Seney and is mainly plowed
road. We made good time here. Once in Seney, we needed to find a
spot for some New Years celebrating. Andy's Bar was a few hundred
feet from the Fox River Motel so we headed there. We had 65 cent
beers, live music and free food and champagne. Party favors were
passed out 10 minutes to midnight and then it was the old 10, 9,
8... We talked to a bunch of other sledders and had a great time.

Next morning we went back up trail 10 and then proceeded north to
Grand Marais. The main trails were REALLY beat so we started
riding "connecting trails". These were also beat but not as
bad. These connecting trails are marked as dotted lines on the map
but the trail itself is not marked - a compass is a must here.
Once in Grand Marais we checked into Alversons Motel and headed for
a local bar. We ordered a beer and saw a couple of sledders we met
at Andy's the night before. They tell us all of the great places to
see in Pictured Rocks and we waste no time in checking them out.

Pictured Rocks is definitely the highlight of the trip. Best
scenery I've seen in the UP including the Keweenaw Peninsula.
On advice from our friends at the bar, we went to the Log Slide
at dusk on Friday night. This is a 300 foot dune shaped like a huge
chute. The wind was blowing hard and it was snowing pretty
heavy. I started to walk down the dune from the top and started to
slide on some ice that was partially covered with snow. The dune
had an angle of 35 degrees and I could hear Lake Superior's heavy
surf crashing 300 feet below me. I spread my arms and legs to stop
the slide and then tried to crawl back up - NO WAY! My friend had 50
feet of nylon rope and that's what got me out of a rather nasty
situation.

Saturday morning we explored Pictured Rocks during the day. Au
Sable Falls is a cascading stream with frozen sheets of ice.
The Log Slide offers a scenic overlook that begs for a camera.
300 foot tall dunes stretch to the east and forest covered sandstone
cliffs dominate the west.
Hurricane River campground offers an opportunity to walk on the
beach and check out the frozen shores of Lake Superior up close.
When we weren't checking out the sights we were busting powder on
several logging roads in the park. 

We spent Saturday night at the Hiawatha Resort. If you like
seclusion, this place is for you. The nearest bar is the Buckhorn
up trail 5 about 15 miles north. Not bad but we didn't see ONE
groomed trail in over 340 miles of riding. I wasn't in the mode for
30 miles round trip over washboard.

Sunday morning we headed back for Gwinn. We had a nice surprise
waiting - groomed trail. Previous to this I thought the DNR was on
vacation too!!

We rode 411 miles over 4 days.

HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Without a doubt, Pictured Rocks provided some great scenery. I would
   recommend spending some time there and don't plan on screaming through
   in a blur - there's too much to see.
2. The east central UP as a whole is heavily forested. There are tons
   of logging roads and the map provided shows them with good accuracy.
   Bring a compass and it's a lot of fun. Without one you won't
   know up from down. It's usually cloudy because of the Lake. The clouds
   aren't all bad... it snowed heavy every day we were there.
3. The Buckhorn had some good food and if you want to see one of the
   new sleds, chances are it's parked outside.
4. The Sportsman's Bar in Grand Marais is also a great spot to
   eat. Service is a bit slow but it's understandable since it's
   always crowded.

LOWLIGHTS:
1. The trails were in terrible shape. I can understand that heavy traffic
   can rip a trail up pretty fast but I'm talking trails that were BEAT!!
   BEAT TO DEATH! BEAT TO A PULP! DAMNATION ALLEY! PURGATORY ROW!
   The DNR needs to take a hard look at their commitment to
   snowmobilers during the holiday season.
2. This here is personal preference. Most trails in the area are either
   railroad grade or wide seasonal roads. I like narrow, hairpin,
   winding, trails and there are very few to choose from.
3. Several locations on the map that have tha gas pump symbol
   do NOT have gas. The Bear Trap is one place where they can no longer
   sell fuel. Seems several of the bars/resorts have leaking fuel
   tanks and they no longer have fuel as a result.


Rating - 3 on a scale from 1 to 10 due to my fractured spine.
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