Greetings and welcome!
Here is some more storm Damage Info and ATV trail stuff.
There is a “Oconto County “one stop shop” storm recovery resource event at the Mountain Community Center Today Tue and Wednesday from noon till 6pm.” Information and agencies will be available including the American Red Cross, Oconto County Department of Public Health, Christian Food Pantry, and many more resources for crisis counseling, economic support and development, and animal assistance.” Link
All Oconto County ATV trails are closed because of the storm damage.
There is some talk that the Oconto Co trails may stay closed for the rest of the season and they hope to get the trails done in time for snowmobile season. There was something like 450 square miles of storm damage, and that is a lot of down and twisted trees. Right now the priority is on roads and helping people and animals, so the ATV trails, while important, are not the top priority. They ARE working on it.
You can ride north of the Carter Casino into Forest County, and northern Marinette Co on the Dun-Good Trails. There is nothing on the Iron Snowshoe Trails website about trail closures so you can ride those too. Dusty Trails is closed.
Here is a picture from the Forest Co ATV Association of someone who couldn’t take a hint. (Facebook Link) They took down the trail closed sign, cut the snow fence, and forced the gate open. How stupid.
This gate was about 1/2 mile south of the Carter Casino. The people didn’t get far. There was a mass of twisted trees just a little ways up. Was it entitled ATV riders? ATV haters trying to close the trail? Who knows? The ATV community around there and the Sheriff’s Dept would love some info on who did it.
Here are more storm damage stories that I found this week.
Antigo Times- Storm closes C-NNF campgrounds, rec sites (Link)
Washington Post- Here’s how two derechos slammed Wisconsin, ravaging an area five times bigger than Washington, D.C., with 100 mph winds (Link)
Weather.com- Wisconsin Macroburst Downed So Many Trees the Damage Can Be Seen From Space (Link)
WBAY TV2 out of Green Bay- Mountain residents cleaning up extensive storm damage (Link)
When I was in Crooked Lake this week the place was pretty wrecked. Almost every yard had at least one tree down, and there were several that would have blocked the road on Hwy W. From what the locals said Hwy W from Crooked Lake to Mountain was really wrecked with trees down everywhere. Power has been restored to most people. My memory is fuzzy but I think I heard that something like 400,000 people lost power from this storm, some for 5 days or more. Hats off to the line crews that restored so much damage so fast.
Marinette Co ATV/UTV Road Trail Closures-
There has been considerable discussion about Marinette County closing the county road trails for 30 days and possibly permanently due to misbehavior. No one wants to see that. There is a meeting today with stakeholders and the county that should shed some light on the subject. There have also been some people working on an effort to print up flyers to give out at trail stops to educate riders.
From what I have seen and heard there are a couple of main issues.
- Riding on roads not authorized for ATVs- County roads that allow ATVs are well marked. There is a process where the sheriff’s Dept evaluates safety issues and submits the road for approval. Once approved the road needs to be posted with signs before it can open. Riding on roads that are not open is the subject of a lot of the complaints. I heard that opening the section between McCaslin Mountain Campground and Chickadee Lane was put on hold because people are riding it anyway, and the same goes for a stretch of Parkway Rd by Homestead Lake Rd. I also see a lot of people violate on HWY C between Rustic and Jungle Jims.
- Riding the county roads at night- This is a no-no for safety reasons and another source of complaints.
- Kids on ATVs on the roads- There are a variety of rules that apply here- Helmets, safety course certificates, adult supervision. I am not going to post the rule book, but this is another source of issues.
Whatever the case there should be more information coming after the conference. I will update as I get it. This is a big deal. It took a lot to get those county roads opened to the wheelers and it is important to riders, businesses, tourism in general, and people with weekend places up here that they stay open. Those road trails are some critical links in our trail system, and no one wants them closed.
Now onto the regular stuff..
We finally are going to see a break in the hot n humid summer weather this week. Today we are expecting a high of about 75 with moderate humidity. The sun will still be hot but at least it isn’t in the upper 80s with dreadful humidity. I am not looking forward to this month’s electric bill.
Our Sunday rains hit the Peshtigo River watershed with a moderate amount of rain. The Pesh is running at about 400cfs, about a +3″. That is a great level for tubing and a fun level for rafting. I consider anything about 300 the fun zone, and we are well into it. The Menominee River is doing the typical summer up and down as the dam opens and closes. Levels there are between 1,000-2,000cfs, still a good ride. Call Kosirs for both lazy river tubing and whitewater rafting.
Events this weekend include the Lakewood Arts & Crafts Festival and the Wabeno Area Music and Arts Festival. I am sure that there are more, but that is what I know about this morning.
I am out of time for today. have a good week and thank you for visiting!
RJB