Being a relatively new DNR member and only a third season dirt biker on the trails, I am perhaps treading on thin ice giving a brief description of my recent solo ride at the Geels South Trail ... it certainly won't be as good as the many stories by Woodsy and it doesn't have any pictures this time ... but hopefully it will interest many of you to give this 'special trail' a try sometime in the near future.
Thursday, 22apr04, began as one of those special spring days here in mid-Michigan. The deep blue sky was punctuated with billowy white clouds riding on gentle breezes. The bright sunshine made everything seem just perfect ... the temperature would rise into the mid-50s by late afternoon ... my bike was primed and ready for action ... perfect day for a ride. So, with the blessing of the wife, off I headed to the north from Midland in search of that extraordinary two wheeled experience.
For those of you who have not ridden the Geels Trails, I hope this essay will persuade you to make the trip at least once this year. These trails, whose main trailhead is located approximately 5 miles north of St. Helen, just off old M-76 at the Geels sign, are quite unusual with respect to all of the other trails I have experienced in lower Michigan. Namely, they represent a broad spectrum of topography, geology, surface composition, trail structure and visual perspective from the seat or a dirt bike. I recognize that's a lot of big words to describe a trail, so let me break it down a bit into smaller chunks.
The Geels South trail is basically a large, ATV accessible [~25 mile] loop bearing a couple of intra-trail connectors. It is connected to the trailhead parking lot by a seasonal road that is graded through a swampy area and is often in very poor shape and can be quite muddy ... right now it is freshly graded, muddy in spots, soft and bumpy, but only a couple of miles long. Unfortunately one has to ride through a quarter mile stretch of deep sand whoops to get to this connector road from the parking lot ... while this whoops section is the "bad news" so to speak, the "good news" is that whoops and deep sand are rarities on the actual trail. While the trail is essentially all cut to ATV width, my ride experience indicates that very few, if any, have been over the trail thus far ... only tracks visible on Thursday were three separate sets of bikes.
The reason this trail is so intriguing to me is the ever changing format of the environment through which it passes. The trail is never stable, it is ever twisting, turning, going up, going down, changing from sand, to gravel, to softball-sized rocks, to rocky loam, to mud, to stream crossings, to deep puddles ... all punctuated with conifer and hardwood stands where often the trail becomes much narrower, more root laden and perhaps, more interesting. Only then, when one begins to snake up a long continuous climb to emerge atop one of the many clear-cut hilltops does the size of this area really begin to impact your soul. Several of these climbs lead to vistas which present lakes in the distance, perhaps more than 5 miles away ... and on a bright, sunny day like the one I experienced ... these natural portraits nearly force one to stop, take off your helmet and sit for a spell to enjoy the perspective. Careful examination of the adjacent valley and next hill will enlighten your upcoming ride as the trail can be seen peeking in and out of the wooded areas leading to the next clear-cut area. The ride down from the hilltops can be exciting! This is one of the few trails that one can see reasonably far in advance of your path ... so getting up on the pegs and accelerating down a half-mile long, snaking trail that is permeated with stumps from ancient logging activity and often hard bermed in the sand or gravel-based turns is both relatively safe, and barring no oncoming traffic, expected of someone riding such a powerful steed as ours surely are. Nothing sounds better than the rumbling burble of my four stroke announcing its engine braking characteristics as I let off the throttle to slow my decent into the next stand of woods ... and not a soul around to enjoy it but me on this beautiful day!
While there are some major hills available for climbing and descending ... these are mostly located on the northern side of the South Geels Trail. The southerly portions of the trail are more 'woodsy' in character ... but because of the excellent trail markings available, even he couldn't get lost. All kidding aside, the CCC folks [and any others whom I fail to mention] who manage this area have gone beyond excellent in their attention to detail regarding signs, markings, trail maintenance, and deadfall clearance. My adventures indicated literally hundreds of trees that needed attention this spring ... the work is accomplished already. I found only two trees down across the whole trail where a minor deviation was necessary ... although, for those of you who really like to climb over logs and rubble ... there were many spots to demonstrate your skills if desired ... one of them was located in the middle of a swampy area where a tree had fallen across the trail in the middle of a stream crossing ... the bottom was muddy loam in this location, the water was at least 15 inches deep and the log was 12 inches in diameter and suspended about 5 inches above the surface of the water. Now I call that a "REAL" obstacle ... I took a minor, sideways sojourn, about 150 yards, down a two tracker beneath an adjacent power line to catch the trail on the other side of this mess ... but I'm sure that many of you would have lined up to give this a try if given half a chance! Being that I'm an "old newbie" at this sport ... I feel I can pass this without losing all of your respect. Despite a considerable number of puddles on the trail, most of them are gravel or sand bottomed which makes their traverse considerably less problematic for the solo rider ... this includes the one stream crossing encountered. The water is perhaps 12 inches deep and 50 yards across ... something I seldom attempt solo ... but, noting that the bottom is hard gravel, the water is absolutely clear, and you have a long straight lead-in and -out of the crossing ... I gunned it through with no problems ... besides, there really is no way around this barrier ... it appears to be the result of drainage control caused by a series of levees over which the trail passes as you literally ride with water on both sides for quite some distance in several areas of this portion of the swamp. Sound like any trail you've ridden on lately? You will encounter some whoops on the tops of these levees ... but the trees are high enough to permit standing on the pegs and gunning it ... in short order you're across the levee and back on the main trail.
I have ridden the Geels North Trail several times last year. It too is amazing in its variability. It has both sandy hill climbs through forested areas and some tight, twisty, swampy stuff as well. In fact, the southern portion of the North Trail is quite swampy in the spring and fall after rains. The trailhead leading out of the parking lot is essentially a large, muddy, deep water, stream crossing ... and that's the first 100 yards of the trail ... the seasonal road adjacent to this trail is currently closed as it is totally submerged. I rode over to the side as far as I could get safely, and could see the trail beyond this obstacle and there did not seem to be any tracks whatsoever going up the hill ... if one wants to try this trail out now, it might make more sense to catch the ORV Route which comes down from Roscommon and crosses old M-76 approximately 3 miles north of the Geels parking lot. This puts you on the North Geels Trail at higher elevation where it is likely possible to ride the northern portion of the trail which is very hilly and wooded trails ... only the southern portion ventures into the seriously swampy areas if my recollection isn't failing me.
The CCC handbook rates these Trails as 3 and 4 ... I suspect that the South is the 3, and the North is the 4, based on my past riding experiences. Both sides are ATV accessible and are rather different in character and make enjoyable rides for any day's adventure. Gas and food are available in St. Helen ... plenty of fishing opportunities too! The trailhead parking facility at Geels is in excellent condition ... the restroom is primed, painted, pumped and papered for your enjoyment! Throughout my entire ride I never saw another vehicle ... but I did meet one hunter in the woods ... heavily armed and camo'ed ... but really friendly! Not sure what he was hunting ... had a shotgun ... Turkeys, maybe? I saw hundreds of these birds virtually everywhere on the trails ... along with many deer, often in herds of 15 to 20 animals at a time.
If you're looking for some place different, consider Geels. These trails are especially great early in the spring and late in the fall when there are no leaves on the trees. Hope you enjoy this report as much as I did the ride.
terry nestrick :thumb:
Thursday, 22apr04, began as one of those special spring days here in mid-Michigan. The deep blue sky was punctuated with billowy white clouds riding on gentle breezes. The bright sunshine made everything seem just perfect ... the temperature would rise into the mid-50s by late afternoon ... my bike was primed and ready for action ... perfect day for a ride. So, with the blessing of the wife, off I headed to the north from Midland in search of that extraordinary two wheeled experience.
For those of you who have not ridden the Geels Trails, I hope this essay will persuade you to make the trip at least once this year. These trails, whose main trailhead is located approximately 5 miles north of St. Helen, just off old M-76 at the Geels sign, are quite unusual with respect to all of the other trails I have experienced in lower Michigan. Namely, they represent a broad spectrum of topography, geology, surface composition, trail structure and visual perspective from the seat or a dirt bike. I recognize that's a lot of big words to describe a trail, so let me break it down a bit into smaller chunks.
The Geels South trail is basically a large, ATV accessible [~25 mile] loop bearing a couple of intra-trail connectors. It is connected to the trailhead parking lot by a seasonal road that is graded through a swampy area and is often in very poor shape and can be quite muddy ... right now it is freshly graded, muddy in spots, soft and bumpy, but only a couple of miles long. Unfortunately one has to ride through a quarter mile stretch of deep sand whoops to get to this connector road from the parking lot ... while this whoops section is the "bad news" so to speak, the "good news" is that whoops and deep sand are rarities on the actual trail. While the trail is essentially all cut to ATV width, my ride experience indicates that very few, if any, have been over the trail thus far ... only tracks visible on Thursday were three separate sets of bikes.
The reason this trail is so intriguing to me is the ever changing format of the environment through which it passes. The trail is never stable, it is ever twisting, turning, going up, going down, changing from sand, to gravel, to softball-sized rocks, to rocky loam, to mud, to stream crossings, to deep puddles ... all punctuated with conifer and hardwood stands where often the trail becomes much narrower, more root laden and perhaps, more interesting. Only then, when one begins to snake up a long continuous climb to emerge atop one of the many clear-cut hilltops does the size of this area really begin to impact your soul. Several of these climbs lead to vistas which present lakes in the distance, perhaps more than 5 miles away ... and on a bright, sunny day like the one I experienced ... these natural portraits nearly force one to stop, take off your helmet and sit for a spell to enjoy the perspective. Careful examination of the adjacent valley and next hill will enlighten your upcoming ride as the trail can be seen peeking in and out of the wooded areas leading to the next clear-cut area. The ride down from the hilltops can be exciting! This is one of the few trails that one can see reasonably far in advance of your path ... so getting up on the pegs and accelerating down a half-mile long, snaking trail that is permeated with stumps from ancient logging activity and often hard bermed in the sand or gravel-based turns is both relatively safe, and barring no oncoming traffic, expected of someone riding such a powerful steed as ours surely are. Nothing sounds better than the rumbling burble of my four stroke announcing its engine braking characteristics as I let off the throttle to slow my decent into the next stand of woods ... and not a soul around to enjoy it but me on this beautiful day!
While there are some major hills available for climbing and descending ... these are mostly located on the northern side of the South Geels Trail. The southerly portions of the trail are more 'woodsy' in character ... but because of the excellent trail markings available, even he couldn't get lost. All kidding aside, the CCC folks [and any others whom I fail to mention] who manage this area have gone beyond excellent in their attention to detail regarding signs, markings, trail maintenance, and deadfall clearance. My adventures indicated literally hundreds of trees that needed attention this spring ... the work is accomplished already. I found only two trees down across the whole trail where a minor deviation was necessary ... although, for those of you who really like to climb over logs and rubble ... there were many spots to demonstrate your skills if desired ... one of them was located in the middle of a swampy area where a tree had fallen across the trail in the middle of a stream crossing ... the bottom was muddy loam in this location, the water was at least 15 inches deep and the log was 12 inches in diameter and suspended about 5 inches above the surface of the water. Now I call that a "REAL" obstacle ... I took a minor, sideways sojourn, about 150 yards, down a two tracker beneath an adjacent power line to catch the trail on the other side of this mess ... but I'm sure that many of you would have lined up to give this a try if given half a chance! Being that I'm an "old newbie" at this sport ... I feel I can pass this without losing all of your respect. Despite a considerable number of puddles on the trail, most of them are gravel or sand bottomed which makes their traverse considerably less problematic for the solo rider ... this includes the one stream crossing encountered. The water is perhaps 12 inches deep and 50 yards across ... something I seldom attempt solo ... but, noting that the bottom is hard gravel, the water is absolutely clear, and you have a long straight lead-in and -out of the crossing ... I gunned it through with no problems ... besides, there really is no way around this barrier ... it appears to be the result of drainage control caused by a series of levees over which the trail passes as you literally ride with water on both sides for quite some distance in several areas of this portion of the swamp. Sound like any trail you've ridden on lately? You will encounter some whoops on the tops of these levees ... but the trees are high enough to permit standing on the pegs and gunning it ... in short order you're across the levee and back on the main trail.
I have ridden the Geels North Trail several times last year. It too is amazing in its variability. It has both sandy hill climbs through forested areas and some tight, twisty, swampy stuff as well. In fact, the southern portion of the North Trail is quite swampy in the spring and fall after rains. The trailhead leading out of the parking lot is essentially a large, muddy, deep water, stream crossing ... and that's the first 100 yards of the trail ... the seasonal road adjacent to this trail is currently closed as it is totally submerged. I rode over to the side as far as I could get safely, and could see the trail beyond this obstacle and there did not seem to be any tracks whatsoever going up the hill ... if one wants to try this trail out now, it might make more sense to catch the ORV Route which comes down from Roscommon and crosses old M-76 approximately 3 miles north of the Geels parking lot. This puts you on the North Geels Trail at higher elevation where it is likely possible to ride the northern portion of the trail which is very hilly and wooded trails ... only the southern portion ventures into the seriously swampy areas if my recollection isn't failing me.
The CCC handbook rates these Trails as 3 and 4 ... I suspect that the South is the 3, and the North is the 4, based on my past riding experiences. Both sides are ATV accessible and are rather different in character and make enjoyable rides for any day's adventure. Gas and food are available in St. Helen ... plenty of fishing opportunities too! The trailhead parking facility at Geels is in excellent condition ... the restroom is primed, painted, pumped and papered for your enjoyment! Throughout my entire ride I never saw another vehicle ... but I did meet one hunter in the woods ... heavily armed and camo'ed ... but really friendly! Not sure what he was hunting ... had a shotgun ... Turkeys, maybe? I saw hundreds of these birds virtually everywhere on the trails ... along with many deer, often in herds of 15 to 20 animals at a time.
If you're looking for some place different, consider Geels. These trails are especially great early in the spring and late in the fall when there are no leaves on the trees. Hope you enjoy this report as much as I did the ride.
terry nestrick :thumb:
