The GaiaGPS planned routes for Day 1-5 are in the image to the right. Day 1 is orange, Day 2 is blue, Day 3 is purple, Day 4 is red, and Day 5 is yellow. This trip occurred on June 4, 2020 thru June 8, 2020.
Day 1 – A gorgeous morning and day of sunshine with nice warm temperatures. Jim Jones, Riley Jones, Kyle Thede, and I met for lunch in Houghton Lake at MJ’s Eatery. After lunch, we made the short trip to Jim’s Aunt’s Residence to park our vehicles and trailers. Shortly after Noon, we departed with our ATV’s. We used Pine Road and worked our way west over to US-127 and the Higgins Lake Trailhead nearby. We used the 50″ trails traveling west and north with our destination being a campground west of Frederick named Whispering Pine Resort. These 50″ trails were stellar with many changes in elevation making the ride exciting. Also, some of the high elevation views made it even more spectacular. Once we arrived at the campground, we stayed in two of their cabins. We took the ATV’s into Frederick and ate dinner at the Frederick Inn. After dinner, we returned to the campground and had a nice campfire and then turned in for the evening. Total time = 5 hours 50 minutes. Moving time = 4 hours 21 minutes. Distance = 55.3 miles.
Day 2 – We had a nice breakfast prepared at the campground. The day started out nice and then it it turned chilly towards mid-day with some mild rain showers. We worked our way mostly north towards Indian River. We used the 50″ Kalkaska Trails, improvised on backroads until we entered the Tomahawk Trail & Indian River Route. Our second night was at the Totem Lodge in Indian River. We ate dinner at Vivio’s where they make delicious pizza! Total time = 7 hours 19 minutes. Moving time = 5 hours 5 minutes. Distance = 77.07 miles.
Day 3 – Another gorgeous morning and day of riding ahead. We left Totem Lodge at around 9am with our destination being Atlanta, MI. The trails were interesting providing some adventure. Various 50″ trails, some unimproved, paved, and backroads were used throughout the day. We had lunch at a nice park with our picnic food. We entered the Atlanta Trail system and worked our way to Atlanta River Cabins. After getting settle in, we drove into Atlanta and had dinner at Elk Crossing Cafe. After, we returned to the cabins, played some cornhole and pitched horseshoes and then turned in for the night. Total time = 7 hours 23 minutes. Moving time = 5 hours 26 minutes. Distance = 80.76 miles.
Day 4 – We departed around 10am in the morning and headed for Rose City. Again we ran across interesting 50″ trails, some unimproved, paved, and backroads. For lunch, we traveled out of the way to Lewiston, fueled up, and ate at the Iron Kettle Restaurant. We used some southbound backroads until we hooked up with some two tracks until we located the trail system. We worked our way to the Scenic Motel in Rose City. A carryout order was called in for No Limits Pizza. After, we turned in for the night. This portion of the trip was the only time we encountered ticks. Between the four of us, we dealt with about 4-6 of these little pests. This would be our last overnight of the trip. Total time = 8 hours 22 minutes. Moving time = 6 hours 9 minutes. Distance = 81.48 miles.
Day 5 – After fueling the ATV’s, we started to head for Jim’s Aunt’s place at Higgin’s Lake. This would turn out to be our funniest, most frustrating, and problem riddled day. We headed to St. Helen and found the St. Helen Sand Pit. After some riding around on the hills in this area, we located some water in the pit area. One spot was a little deeper than the rest and Kyle and I navigated away from the deeper water. Jim wanted to go through the water with his Honda Pioneer and unknowingly lined himself up perfectly with the deep water. In fairness to Jim, he asked Kyle and I if the water was ok to go through at that location. We of course said sure! Well, Jim went for it and his side-by-side got stuck and himself wet. We worked on that for the better part of a half hour winching Jim out while he was waste deep in water to do the hook ups. Unfortunately, Jim’s side-by-side ended up having consistent start-up reliability and shifting issues. Since there was concern about the reliability of Jim’s side-by-side, we all thought it best to skip lunch via the ATV’s and head to Jim’s Aunts to end the trip. We could just as easily trailer to a good belated lunch location in the early afternoon. We worked our way northwest on the St. Helen and Geels trail system. I stopped as he often does to read the map to help navigate the shortest route to the destination. This particular time, I made the mistake of stopping in a large puddle of water on the trail. I usual lead since for navigation purposes. With Jim’s side-by-side having shifting issues and not being able to get it out of gear, the logical thing was to keep going. I seem to remember the sound of an engine revving higher a few seconds before Jim and Riley passing. Afterwards, I was drenched from head to toe! I guess I was deserving of this since due to the advice given earlier causing Jim to get wet! As we continued on the trail, I continued to lead and help Jim cross traffic areas since he could not stop. After crossing Old M-76, we encountered heavy equipment doing some logging. At some point, I must have run over some metal that slashed my right front tire. This resulted in a right front flat about 20 miles away from the destination. I hopped into Jim’s side-by-side while Kyle and Riley stayed behind so I could get the vehicle and trailer. Upon returning with the trailer, we loaded the quads and returned to Jim’s Aunt to drop off Riley. We decided against having lunch and departed for home. This ended another successful ATV overland trip. Total time = 5 hours 59 minutes. Moving time = 4 hours 24 minutes. Distance = 59.08 miles.
Trip Summary: Total Time = 5 Days & 4 Nights. Moving Time = 25 hours 25 minutes. Distance = 353.69 miles.
