13 WINTER 2020 ISSUE 02 / VOL . 01 SNOWGOER . COM

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TO NON-SNOWMOBILERS who don ’ t live near its borders , Michigan sometimes seems like a foreign land , and its Upper Peninsula in particular like a foreign planet . Tell a “ regular ” person in Minneapolis , Des Moines , Indianapolis or Chicago that you ’ re driving to Michigan ’ s U . P . for a trip , and you might as well tell them you ’ re trailering to Mars . “ Upper Michigan ? Really ?!” Those of us gleefully irregular people , however , know that the U . P . is … well … it actually is like a foreign land , where the forests are huge , much of the territory seems unsettled , a chunk of history is often hiding around the next corner and the people – the “ Yoopers ” – are down-home friendly . And , in the winter , there ’ s almost always a copious amount of snow that sticks to the ground longer than any other place in the Upper Midwest .

All of that makes visiting the U . P . to go snowmobiling a joyful experience . When the Upper Midwest has one of those winters where it ’ s particularly snow-starved , however , it transitions from being joyful to downright mandatory for many hardcore riders who are willing to trailer many hours to enjoy their favorite activity .

Twice during one recent March , we trailered well past midnight to reach one of the U . P .’ s crown jewels – the amazing Keweenaw Peninsula that juts up into Lake Superior like a shark ’ s fin