Can you see the enthusiasm in our eyes?
Frozen Miners Falls
UNEXPECTED UPGRADE
We woke Saturday to a brutally cold morning:-19 degrees. That kind of cold makes you question your sanity for a few minutes, but nobody was backing out. So we layered up and headed outside to fire up the sleds. A little coaxing and a dependable jump pack eventually brought everything to life.
This year, two members of the group needed rentals, so Nick and
I headed to Munising Snowmobile Rentals to pick up a couple of Ski-Doo MXZ 600s. The crew there got us outfitted quickly and walked us through the safety briefing before sending us on our way. Our next stop was Renze Power Sports, where Chad needed help fixing a tail light issue. While the techs handled the repair, the rest of us wandered through the showroom admiring new sleds and accessories.
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With temperatures well below zero, Nick and I decided handlebar muffs sounded like a wise investment.
Because of the extreme cold, we planned only a short 90-mile loop south of Wetmore for the day. We headed west on Trail 8 before turning south on Trail 7 and eventually picking up Trail 41 toward Shingleton where a hot lunch was waiting at The Bear’ s Den.
Unfortunately, the day didn’ t go quite as planned. Somewhere along Trail 41, Chad developed a coolant leak from the heat exchanger. Less than 100 miles into our trip and we already had a disabled sled. We towed the machine to Shingleton and discussed options over lunch. The group eventually split up. Roger and Chad went to retrieve a truck and trailer while the remaining four of us made a quick loop over to Christmas before meeting back at the Airbnb in Wetmore.
But in true U. P. fashion, the story took another turn. While picking up the broken sled, Chad stopped across the street at Munising Motor Sports to browse the used inventory. He had already been considering an upgrade before the trip, and before long he was the proud owner of a used 2023 Arctic Cat Thundercat! If you’ ve ever seen one of those things run, you know they move in a hurry.
30 NOVEMBER 2026 | SNOWGOER. COM