Hey, all,

My son and I just got back from Iron River yesterday, just wanted to give a quick report on trail conditions. First of all, it has been BONE DRY,so the fine silty dust fills the air, we couldn't even ride too close, it would blot out your vision, let alone choke the k-rap out of you. A 50 mile ride left us so dirty, even my underwear had dust in it !! Trails are in great shape, all washouts have been filled with fresh gravel, so a good rain would pack it down real nice. Actually got to witness the demise of the Open 26, a Forest Service guy was there with a 'dozer filling in the access trails and tearing down the signs, a sad thing to see. He stopped working to talk to us, a real nice guy, he actually apologized for having to seal the area off, we talked a bit, he explained the DNR was fed up with the weekend recklessness, too much partying, illegal off trail ripping, and unsafe practices ( no helmets, multiple riders climbing hills, racing in crowded areas) so they had no choice, no one would listen, and the liability was too great, so a rousing THANK YOU to the buttheads who ruined it for the rest of us.My son summed it up pretty good, he looked at me as the trail was being sealed off and said " Jeez, Dad, why is it every time we find a nice spot, some idiots get it closed for us?" I didn't have an answer for him,this is just a prime example of how important it is for ALL of us to be responsible. That one trip off trail, that one area ripped up, that loud pipe that ticked off one too many people, could be the last straw that motivates someone to get yet another area declared off limits to ATV travel.
On a positve note, while out riding, we did run into another father/son pair riding, both of us almost exactly the same age, he was from Illinois,near Chicago, 100% Italian, and the friendliest guy I ever met. It was his first time on this trail, we talked about where to go, they ended up riding with us back to Iron River, we stopped at the Other Place, cleaned up, had a couple beers while the boys played video games, it was like instant best friends. We went back to my camp, the boys went fishing while I grilled up some brats, and we sat around gabbing for another couple of hours, but they needed to get back to their trailer about 30 miles up the trail, so I filled their tanks and showed them the trail back, You meet some of the nicest people riding, that's one of the things I enjoy about the sport. So anyone heading to Iron River, bring a dust mask, or wait for rain, and don't be shy about saying hi to someone on the trail, there's a lot of great people out there !!!

 

glad to hear you had a good time. my son was looking forward to going up this summer and playing in the open 26.it was sad to hear that some inconsiderates wrecked it for us.

 

that sucks open 26 was the place to hang and climb. how about valhalla is that still open
it has been a couple years .

 

The Valhalla station, or the Pub-n-Grub, is still open, so you can stop and gas up or eat, the other trails are still open and in great shape. The weekends are getting busy, so I always try to plan my trip during the week, the trails are wide open,and a lot safer.

 

TJL450R it's been a long time sense we camped in Valhalla. The GOOD OLD DAYS.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img] And when the fenced off the sun bowl That sucked! And now open 26 [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img] [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]