Upper Peninsula Adventure Trail (UPAT - 1250 miles)

[Klay]

Originally Posted by Cannonshot

I'm glad you were able to ride along for a couple of days! Now you have to take some time to ride the rest of it. There is a lot of great stuff on this track over that way. Watch out for the wolves over there though as they seem to like the same trails we do.

We're in the planning stages for that route next spring already.

[TheGreatKahn]

This is just what I've been lusting after! I'd be in for this ride.

[smr238]

Thanks I can usually get 90 miles

[Cannonshot]

The go-around runs through Manistique. The primary route follows the Highwater Truck Trail.


There is a lot of sand on this section. If it is wet, it is a much easier ride. If it is dry and sugary, it can be a struggle for some.


It is best to just ride it as fast as you can to stay up on top of the sand.


It gets a little trickier after the riders ahead of you leave ruts pulling you all over though.




Sometimes you can be surprised by a water hole or two.


As always, keep an eye out for log trucks. Sometimes all you seem to see is a big cloud of dust with a bumper.




There can be logs in the water holes that someone put in for traction or stabilization. Something else to watch for.

[Yooper_Bob]

Don't believe any of this....there's no good riding in 'da UP!!!







BTW....how come I didn't get an invite to tag along on the scouting trips?

[Cannonshot]

Originally Posted by Yooper_Bob

Don't believe any of this....there's no good riding in 'da UP!!!







BTW....how come I didn't get an invite to tag along on the scouting trips?

Us retirees often have scheduling conflicts with those still working during the week.

[scarysharkface]

Originally Posted by Cannonshot

I put in a short go-around for this section as there is some sand that some may want to avoid.

That's some deep sand!

[John Smallberries]

I live in SE Michigan and this ride looks fantastic. I have a 1200GS and am still a "noob" - so here is my plan: Do the BMW/Rawhyde Adventure camp in California next summer - they give the UP a try.

I need to get much more comfortable riding in that deep, sugary sand and on any single-track sections with my big pig. Today - I'd probably snap off a leg!

I echo several of the other posters - I'd like to hear how a big GS fares on these trails.

My alternative is my Honda CRF230 - but I'd like to have my son ride that.

[Cannonshot]

Originally Posted by John Smallberries

I live in SE Michigan and this ride looks fantastic. I have a 1200GS and am still a "noob" - so here is my plan: Do the BMW/Rawhyde Adventure camp in California next summer - they give the UP a try.

I need to get much more comfortable riding in that deep, sugary sand and on any single-track sections with my big pig. Today - I'd probably snap off a leg!

I echo several of the other posters - I'd like to hear how a big GS fares on these trails.

My alternative is my Honda CRF230 - but I'd like to have my son ride that.

Hope you get a chance to ride the UP next season.

I don't think I would try to ride the deep sand or the single track on that big of a bike though. It likely won't clear either of the single track trails I have on the route and it sure wouldn't work well with the rocks on one of the single track trails. The climbs would be a problem too. Some of the go-arounds still provide a rugged experience, but they are much more manageable for a big bike than the primary route.

Hopefully someone will report back with their impressions after they rode it on a big bike.

[Cannonshot]

Gas stop at Gulliver. Lunch available.










As you roll through this area, you are in limestone country. There are some big quarrying operations here and port to load big ships full of limestone.


Why the big ships full of limestone you ask?

"Calcite and dolomite, when heated and in some cases slurried or combined with salt, are used in making many everyday products such as paper, glass, paint and varnish, soap and detergents, textiles, refractories, baking powder, and pharmaceuticals, including milk of magnesia and bicarbonate of soda. Finely ground, they are used to control coal mine dust, to collect sulfur dioxide from power plant exhaust, to sweeten soils, and as ingredients in fertilizer and stock feeds, to name a few. Limestone is used extensively in Michigan to refine beet sugar. When burned in a kiln to drive off gases, calcite and dolomite form burnt lime. Among the uses for burnt lime, in addition to steel making, are water and sewage treatment, acid waste neutralization, and road base stabilization. Crushed calcite and dolomite are used in concrete, road construction, building materials, and as a filler in asphalt."

http://www.geo.msu.edu/geogmich/limestone-mining.html

The corners are sporty . . . but pay attention.


Mis one corner . . .


OK, two . . .













A little road work to Rexton.


Engadine, an old sawmill town, got its name when a guy from Switzerland painted the name on the railroad depot hoping to attract more immigrants.


Rexton Store

[WOXOF]

That for this RR. Really enjoy the GDR report. Now I have something to look for to when I visit my cousin in MI

by the way, what saddle bags does Klay have on his bike ?

[Klay]

Originally Posted by WOXOF

by the way, what saddle bags does Klay have on his bike ?

Ortlieb.

[WOXOF]

Thanks Klay
Do you like them?

[Klay]

Originally Posted by WOXOF

Thanks Klay
Do you like them?

They're excellent, and have lasted many years.

[WOXOF]

Thanks