59 FALL 2020 ISSUE 01 / VOL . 02 SNOWGOER . COM
60 you ’ ll be taking off your skis and A-arms ” on stumps that stick 3 to 4 feet above the ground , Reed said .
Some local forest road running would follow , “ and then we ’ re going to shoot down and have lunch at the Bear Trap Inn ” between Melstrand and Shingleton , he said . “ Once we leave the Bear Trap , we ’ re going to run [ forest road ] H58 over and then we ’ re going to go up into the Pictured Rock National Lakeshore to Trail 422 and go up to Miner ’ s Castle just outside of Munising , where we ’ ll enjoy a beautiful view because we ’ re again going to be roughly 300 to 400 feet above the lake , and you ’ ve got a beautiful shot of Miner ’ s Castle ” a stunning rock formation along the lakeshore .
Running over into Munising would be a good option , he said , or drop south to Shingleton , where he ’ d suggest the group fuels up for the ride back to Seney – either directly back by trail or with another side adventure on the forest trails and into the Kingston Plains before a hearty meal at Andy ’ s Bar in Seney .
Day 2 : Munising & Marquette
Reed ’ s day two plans call for spinning 235 to 240 miles on the odometer , so he ’ d suggest a hearty breakfast before leaving Seney .
The start would look familiar – Trail 43 to 8 , coming in just south of the Bear Trap . “ We ’ re going to stop at the Tanglewood in Shingleton and have a hot chocolate . I ’ m hoping it ’ s about 5 degrees out , that way the sleds are going to run really nice and we ’ re going to have a great time ,” Reed said .
“ Then we ’ re going to boogie out of there and take Trail 8 into Munising and get fuel , and then take 8 and run that bad boy clear across over toward Chatham , and then we ’ re going to drop over into Gwinn and have lunch at Gwinn and pick up some more fuel . Today is pretty much going to be trail riding – we ’ re going to be able to see sights the whole way , because it ’ s beautiful all the way through there ,” Reed said , his voice brimming with excitement .
“ Once we get into Gwinn , we ’ re going to run north and go up into Sands Township and into the Crossroads where we ’ re probably going to have a quick stop for another hot chocolate , and then we ’ ll go up into Marquette and go around Marquette Mountain ,” Reed said , referring to a popular ski hill overlooking Lake Superior . Then he ’ d lead followers along the shoreline toward the festive-sounding town of Christmas .
“ From there , we ’ re going to run the trail back through Munising , pick up some more fuel , and then run back to Seney . Depending on what time it is , we might swing into the Bear Trap and have dinner , or we may just run back to Seney and have dinner there . If the trail conditions are like they should be , we ’ ll have a hell of a ride and it will be flat .”
The day will include a bit of everything for trail riding – from railroad grades to tight-and-twisty trails through swamps , through hardword forests and with plenty of Great Lake views , he said – and waterfall visits , if the riders so desire .