55 FALL 2020 ISSUE 01 / VOL . 02 SNOWGOER . COM
56 of Greenland and Mass City and then Rockland , an old mining town where he ’ d pick up Trail 13 and ride toward the settlement of Victoria – host of some century-old , hand-hewn log cabins and near the Victoria Dam and Reservoir . It feeds the amazing Victoria Hydroelectric Generating Station where , Krupp said , water is fed into the powerplant by a 16-foot diameter tube that carries the water downhill and forces it through the powerplant ’ s two turbines .
“ It ’ s not a real big powerplant , but the amount of pressure that that amount of water traveling downhill in that 16-foot tube creates , it generates a lot of electricity ,” Krupp said . “ It provides a lot of the power for the western U . P .” Locals like Krupp can lead visiting snowmobiles right up to an overlook 100 feet above the powerplant .
Once back on Trail 13 , Krupp would take visitors through what he called some “ wild country – there ’ s an area about 20 miles long where there ’ s nothing out there but just scenery ” south of Ontonagon . A zip north on Trail 12 and then Trail 1 takes riders to Silver City – a great place for food and fuel along the shores of Lake Superior before making the run up to the amazing Lake of the Clouds Overlook , with its towering cliffs and endless views . The super-wide Trail 11 leads around the edge of the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park , and then the twisting Trail 102 lead to the Bergland area on the north edge Lake Gogebic .
At that point , depending on the desires of his group , Krupp said he ’ d either go around the lake on twisting , wooded trails and through Watersmeet , or maybe on the more direct route east on the rail trail to Bruce Crossing . Either could include a side venture to the super-long and breathtaking Bond Falls before heading back up to Twin Lakes with about 175 to 200 miles on the odometer .
On either day , Krupp said off-trail riding could be added , but he suggested going with a local who knows where riders can and can ’ t legally go .
Sleds cue up to cross the 500-foot long Portage Lake Lift Bridge that has its own level for snowmobile traffic , now that the railroad doesn ’ t cross here anymore .
Michigan ’ s Upper Peninsula is known for its wide trials that weave through the trees .
THE CENTER : Don Reed
The fever for snowmobiling in Michigan ’ s U . P . was the result of a family affliction for Don Reed of Seney .
“ I started riding in about 1965 or ’ 66 ,” Reed said . “ My dad used to race snowmobiles and that was kind of our way of life . The old man raced and we kind of rode around the yard and we expanded from there .”
Reed moved away and had a 20-year career in the Air Force , as did his wife , but while he was away his parents built the Fox River Motel in Seney . After the Air Force and a couple of years working in South Dakota , his parents announced plans to sell the motel , “ and we decided , hey , let ’ s go home to the U . P . and buy the motel . It was great !”
He immediately got re-immersed in snowmobiling on all levels , from riding to club membership to grooming oversight to promotion and charity rides .
“ The U . P . is special because once you get on the trail , you don ’ t have to stop every