Camp Chaos – KTM Mike’s place in Atlanta, MI

I hope Mike Stephenson [KTM Mike] doesn’t get too mad at me … but it seems that my son Tom and I were invited up there for a Father’s Day Ride this year, and while there, I managed to collect a few pictures I thought you folks might enjoy. The idea behind this post arises from YZMAN400’s query regarding places we have ridden this year … and seein’s how both Mike and I listed the Camp Chaos Trail System as one of our rides, I thought perhaps those of you who have yet to visit there personally should take a short virtual reality tour with me as your guide. All aboard … Mike, his wife Sheila, and their two sons, Mark and Mitch, inhabit one of the premier family riding sites on the planet!

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A shot of the Stephenson homestead … this is from the rear of the house … the point you reach after cruising up his driveway which must be more than mile in length! The boys, Mitch and Mark, are in charge of ground keeping … the place is manicured and picture perfect yet very inviting. It is located on the crest of a hill and therefore always seems to have a nice breeze blowing … despite the open fields in view, it is surrounded by wooded and hilly terrain with a spring-fed stream flowing rapidly through the nearby valley.

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This shot is from the side of the house looking out at the garage … Mike has a huge work area filled with a variety of motorcycles, ATVs and snowmobiles. Out back, sits a small tractor and the enclosed trailer used for hauling around machinery. Note how small my Jeep and bike trailer looks beside the garage … that’s Mike, my son Tom, and Mike’s friend, Joel trash talking about bikes … perhaps they were suffering a minor case of ‘Honda-envy’ due to all that orange nearby?

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A 10X optical telephoto shot from Mike’s front porch looking out onto the grass track … the gravel road to the left is a portion of the driveway leading up to the house. Without the telephoto, these riders are just dots on the horizon! The cyclists are Mike, Tom and Joel … that’s Mitch on the Quad. They are all busting along at a speedy pace … this is an area where one is expected to ride as fast as possible … at least that’s how it appeared to me.

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Another 10X telephoto shot of my son Tom riding up the outside straightaway … he is just about to crest one of the three jumps distributed across the grass track venue … in this case you have a good run at the soft sand hill and can get some decent air!

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The pack of riders approach … Mike in front on the KTM 300, Joel tight on his tail riding my CRF-450, and closely followed by Mitch on the Yamaha Blaster, Mark on his Yamaha TTR125 and finally, Tom on his CR-250. Although this photo lends no feel for action, believe me, these guys are hauling when they approach the relatively wide turn that is only 50 yards from Mike’s front porch!

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This is a 10X telephoto of Mark (leading), Mike (middle) and Mitch (rear, on the Quad) winding their way around the nearly 1 mile grass track course … the tall grass in the foreground lends a surrealistic feeling to the atmosphere … this was one of those ‘lucky’ photos you catch every now and then … what a memory for Mike and his boys! Can you imagine this right out your front door? I have to load up my bike and drive for 45 minutes before I reach the first legal area to ride … and that place is Gladwin.

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Tired of riding the 1 mile grass track? Then how about a tight, twisty, rock infested, hilly, sometimes muddy, woods trail? Here we see (L to R) Joel, Tom and Mike assessing the entrance to Mike’s play pen in the woods … down a very steep hill and the trail begins …

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Although not necessarily in actual order … here’s a section of the trail as it traverses the side of a small hill … this area is pristine and often virgin in character … you must have a sharp eye to see the trail in spots since it is that narrow! Despite several trail markers posted along the route, I managed to “pull a Woodsy” the first time I was out there alone … but not too worry, you can shout and someone can give you directions from the house … you’re never very far away, but from the seat of your bike, you’d never know it!

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More of the woods trail … it’s open here, but there are some spots where my 32 inch bars won’t fit between the trees adjoining the trailside.

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Yup … there’s a stream crossing … but to eliminate erosion problems, Mike has installed this neat bridge.

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Here comes Mitch motoring down the hillside opposite the bridge and successfully making the crossing a high speed.

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And finally, while not at Mike’s place … this is a closing picture from our Camp Chaos Father’s Day Ride Ritual held this year at Crapo Creek and Big Bear … here we see Mike busting around a wide corner somewhere on the Crapo Creek trail after a short break … we all had a great time and the riding together with the kids was a real blast.

terry nestrick :cool: