If You Live In White Lake Michigan And Own A Snowmobile See Schoen Insurance For Your Insurance and Head To ISHPEMING
ISHPEMING — When you've got dramatic ice caves for scenery, trail-side stops boasting heaping plates of gooey ribs and patient guides who like nothing more than showing off the beauty of their Upper Peninsula homeland, even a reluctant snowmobiler can become a quick convert in the state's self-proclaimed "snowmobile capital."
Warming up
I wouldn't call a 70-mile snowmobile outing a beginner's spin down a trail, but 35 miles was the distance from our rental site in Ishpeming to the "home of the almost famous ribs" at the Up North Lodge in Gwinn. And if anything would get me on a snowmobile, it would be a culinary adventure. So, our small group slipped into borrowed snowmobile suits on a sub-zero day, said a prayer of thanks for the heated handlebars and followed our three guides from Meyer Enterprise on Trail 8 from Ishpeming toward food.
There are 2,700 miles of snowmobile trails in the U.P., 500 of them in Marquette County. Trails are well-marked, but there are advantages to guides. Beyond the fact that they travel ahead of you on the trail, warning oncoming traffic to slow down for the novice riders behind, they also can share some of the ride's fascinating history once the lunch spot is reached.
The initial stretch of trail is especially interesting. Here, Trail 8 winds past old rock quarries, remnants of days when iron ore was king. Trail 8 runs parallel to a new multipurpose Iron Ore Heritage Trail. This pathway, still under development, uses signage to tell the story of the region's mining history, including the role of area mines in the Civil War effort when raw ore was shipped by rail to Marquette for cannons and cannon balls. Fences surround caved-in grounds from old mine sites.
After a short jaunt through Negaunee, you enter pure wilderness as the trail crosses bridges over rivers and winds through ever-changing forests, including deep pines heavy with snow. We never spotted a moose, even though our guides often happen upon them during off-trail rides. But that may have been a good thing: As I learned the hard way, in snowmobiling, you often go in the direction in which you look. You don't want to figure that out when near the edge of an embankment high over "No Name Creek."
No rescue efforts were needed at Up North Lodge, where hooks hold helmets and heavy coats, and a half rack of ribs take up a plate and a half. A log cabin with soaring ceilings and massive windows, the restaurant is known for its friendly, homey feel, where chili samples and conversation flow.
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