Wednesday, 05May04, was another one of those special days we dirt-biking-Michiganders deserve in payment for our long, hard winters and the more than a smattering of gray, rainy days we regularly endure as a resident of this great State. Arising from a sound night’s sleep and looking out the window only to be presented with a perfectly clear, deep blue sky bearing not even a wisp of a cloud from horizon to horizon is more than an obvious sign … I could literally hear the woods calling … I’m thinking rapidly now: its been raining for the past few days, the temperature will peak in the low 60s today and my to-do list is up to date … time’s a wastin’!
With the wife’s blessing and a whole day to exploit, I opted to visit the West Higgins Trail and perhaps, do some exploring on the ORV-sticker-only sections of the intersecting North Missaukee Trail to the west, and the Beaver Creek Trail to the east. The West Higgins Trail has its trailhead parking facility located on the west side of highway US 127 at its intersection with Higgins Lake road. Since last year a new restroom facility has been installed and the parking area has been graveled and graded to eliminate most of the low spots which tended to puddle after rains. It is a large, clean, well maintained trailhead that today, at 12:30 PM, was empty but for me and my ride …
West Higgins, an approximately 40 mile loop with two intra-trail connectors, is another of the Michigan ORV trails that is spec’d at 50 inches for dual purpose usage by ATVs and motorcycles. While rated by the CCC as a riding difficulty grade of 2 [1 to 5 scale, with 1 being the easiest], it might seem that this is much too easy for most and perhaps not worth riding. Nothing could be further from the truth in my opinion! Like its nearby neighbor, Geels, the geography of West Higgins is extremely varied in composition … ranging from sandy, open flats to consecutive series of tall ridges separated by their confined valleys. Much of the trail penetrates heavy stands of tall conifer which tower majestically over the rider, perhaps helping us to better understand how small we really are in the grand scheme of things? The sounds of nature are abundant here … they are powerful medicine to the soul of the rider … especially when one must constantly weave in and out, over and around, and occasionally straight through the many hazards present on trails that are none too smooth. Whereas Geels presents more situations involving water, especially deep water and sticky mud, West Higgins is relatively free of serious, standing water on the trails. Therefore, after heavy rains or prolonged periods of precipitation, this trail is readily negotiable by nearly all who wish to ride. Despite being 50 inch trail, West Higgins is another of the Lower Peninsula trails that is best appreciated before the leaves arrive in spring and after they disappear in the fall. This peculiarity is related to the fact that much of the trail is literally punched through deeply wooded terrain … at its base, a width of 50 inches easily permits ATV passage … but at elevations above approximately 36 inches, the surrounding trees, bushes and vines begin to encroach considerably. These hazards can impact the motorcyclist in a dramatic fashion … more so at higher speed when it is tough to stay centered in the trail … and even more so yet after the leaves appear as they tend to thicken the overhang and increase its punching mass. While the topography of West Higgins is more consistent with respect to composition of the trail surface than Geels, it manages to change from hard pack, to sand, to gravel, to loam, to occasional slick mud puddles on a schedule way too regular to become boring. This trail system literally has hundreds of tight turns where my 32 inch bars easily fit between the adjacent, guarding trees as long as I could be in the center of the trail … unfortunately, many of these turns are also populated by protruding roots, deep sand, large rocks or sometimes all of these materials in combination … now the tree separation seems much smaller than it did on approach, and a nice pair of hand guards, like my new Fastway set, are good insurance.
Proceeding out of the parking area, the suggested running direction for the loop is clockwise although two-way traffic is both noted and permitted. The first segment of the major loop begins with passage through lightly wooded, flat to rolling land that is quite sandy in composition. The sand is deep in spots and severely whooped in several sections … that’s the bad news ... now for the good news … whoops are not a common feature of this trail. Mostly, West Higgins is comprised of hard packed mixtures of glacial till [clay, sand and gravel] laced with the occasional larger rock … often softball-sized, just laying there in the middle of the trail, waiting … as such, the composition favors sand and gravel in the more open territories and clay-based loams in the denser woods. Once one passes the intersection of the first intra-trail connector, the landscape begins to change dramatically. It becomes much more densely wooded … occasionally changing from conifer to hardwood stands. One of the interesting points for several of these encountered hardwood stands involves massive areas of both upright, and fallen, deadwood. The scenery [sans emergent leaves at this time] resembles something out of a zombie movie [picture the black & white version of: Night of the Living Dead] … even in the mid-afternoon sunshine, the deep shadows, deafening silence and eerie lighting can raise the hairs on the back of your neck … luckily for us, a generous dose of throttle twist greatly relieves such tension and returns the mind to tasks more germane. I am not sure about the cause of these deadwood stands … perhaps oaks killed by past Gypsy Moth infestations … but I am sure, when you ride through such an area you will be impressed by its specter.
Proceeding on a bit further, one soon reaches the intersection with the North Missaukee Trail. Today I spent an extra hour poking around on this MCCCT connector trail which, despite annotation to the contrary on the latest DNR map, requires only an ORV sticker to ride legally. This trail is not part of a loop and as such is much less traveled. It is, however, reasonably ATV accessible excepting a few of the deadfall areas encountered. While a vast majority of the West Higgins trail is completely cleared of deadfall blocking the trail [deepest gratitude to our CCC friends and others who provide this service] … such is not true of the North Missaukee between the parking facility near Moorestown and its intersection with the West Higgins. I encountered several areas of extreme deadfall … again verging on the eeriness previously described … where I found it necessary to break out the folding saw that I carry in my fanny pack when riding heavily wooded trails. After spending a few minutes sawing and hauling, I easily opened the trail in several spots sufficient to permit passage thereby eliminating the need for others to prospect alternate routes off the marked trail. After approximately 25 minutes actual riding time … remember, I’m a much better writer than rider … I finally lost the trail altogether in an area of dense deadfall combined with what appeared to be purposely felled trees … not sure what happened here, but it looked like the combination of a bomb blast and a clear cutting operation … oh well, being about halfway on my adventure and at least 25 miles from the trail head, I retraced my path back to the West Higgins loop and continued on in a clockwise direction. Both the outside, northern leg of the loop, and the northernmost intra-trail connector [also denoted as the MCCCT connector to the Beaver Creek Trail which leads to the Geels North Trail approximately 36 miles distant to the east] pass through what I believe is the primary reason to ride West Higgins … namely, “ridge country”! This section is permeated with both open and densely wooded areas … the trail has many steep climbs and descents … often the surface is deep sand with high-edged berms, and amazingly, is threaded with pesky, pine roots extending completely above the surface of the trail. Definitely worth the trouble to get here … it's up on the pegs, hard on throttle, hard on the rear break to slide the back, down on the seat, back on the throttle to the next turn … finally you crest what appears to be the ridge top only to immediately descend on a trail just as steep and treacherous down the back side. At several points the trail meanders along the top of a ridge which calls for a stop to rest and partake of the scenery … or in my case, to catch my breath. These ridge venues are unique and filled with wild life … from one spot, over a short break of only a few minutes I spotted turkeys, pheasants, a herd of several deer, a family of rabbits … all that with my hind end firmly planted on a tree stump and my feet propped up on a log drinking my water and eating a snack bar … this is truly one of the reasons I like dirt biking.
At the intersection with the Beaver Creek Trail I diverted and rode northeast a few miles to the area where the trail follows along US 127 … just short of the point where the trail passes over US 127 at Fletcher Road and a Secretary of State License is required … turned around and returned having spent approximately 30 minutes or so. Nothing unusual about this trail relative to the area described thus far … ATV accessible, sandy, a few whoops with several open areas along the freeway that are relatively straight and amenable to high speed runs.
The Beaver Creek Trail intersection is approximately 15 miles from the trail head via the remaining, external West Higgins trail loop. This portion of the ride takes one out of ridge country and returns to rolling hills and flatter terrain similar to the western, entry leg, only in reverse. There seem to be many more rocky sections on this eastern side of the trail as opposed to the west. With a total of 3.3 hours engine operating time, I pull into the trail head parking lot with a big smile, many new memories, a bit more saddle experience … and … as is typical for me, I still have the entire facility to myself! Spent most of the day here and never saw a single person … that’s Michigan before school lets out.
If you haven’t visited West Higgins lately … bring your trail tool to help clear deadfall, perhaps some extra gas [my CRF-450 used about 2.3 gallons out of 3.3 onboard for this route], you won’t need any serious navigational tools as the trail is superbly marked with “You Are Here” annotated maps at several points, and be rested and prepared for a great ride. Despite a CCC riding difficulty grade of 2, I would not recommend the northern portions of this trail, or its northerly intra-trail connector, for beginning riders … the often deep sand, twisting trails combined with steep ascents and descents, frequently gated by narrowly spaced trees, are perhaps not best suited for beginners as one can be more than 20+ miles from the trail head should an accident occur. Otherwise … this trail is one of my favorites … neither too hard nor too easy … just a good, long ride through our unique, Michigan countryside!
terry nestrick :thumb:
With the wife’s blessing and a whole day to exploit, I opted to visit the West Higgins Trail and perhaps, do some exploring on the ORV-sticker-only sections of the intersecting North Missaukee Trail to the west, and the Beaver Creek Trail to the east. The West Higgins Trail has its trailhead parking facility located on the west side of highway US 127 at its intersection with Higgins Lake road. Since last year a new restroom facility has been installed and the parking area has been graveled and graded to eliminate most of the low spots which tended to puddle after rains. It is a large, clean, well maintained trailhead that today, at 12:30 PM, was empty but for me and my ride …
West Higgins, an approximately 40 mile loop with two intra-trail connectors, is another of the Michigan ORV trails that is spec’d at 50 inches for dual purpose usage by ATVs and motorcycles. While rated by the CCC as a riding difficulty grade of 2 [1 to 5 scale, with 1 being the easiest], it might seem that this is much too easy for most and perhaps not worth riding. Nothing could be further from the truth in my opinion! Like its nearby neighbor, Geels, the geography of West Higgins is extremely varied in composition … ranging from sandy, open flats to consecutive series of tall ridges separated by their confined valleys. Much of the trail penetrates heavy stands of tall conifer which tower majestically over the rider, perhaps helping us to better understand how small we really are in the grand scheme of things? The sounds of nature are abundant here … they are powerful medicine to the soul of the rider … especially when one must constantly weave in and out, over and around, and occasionally straight through the many hazards present on trails that are none too smooth. Whereas Geels presents more situations involving water, especially deep water and sticky mud, West Higgins is relatively free of serious, standing water on the trails. Therefore, after heavy rains or prolonged periods of precipitation, this trail is readily negotiable by nearly all who wish to ride. Despite being 50 inch trail, West Higgins is another of the Lower Peninsula trails that is best appreciated before the leaves arrive in spring and after they disappear in the fall. This peculiarity is related to the fact that much of the trail is literally punched through deeply wooded terrain … at its base, a width of 50 inches easily permits ATV passage … but at elevations above approximately 36 inches, the surrounding trees, bushes and vines begin to encroach considerably. These hazards can impact the motorcyclist in a dramatic fashion … more so at higher speed when it is tough to stay centered in the trail … and even more so yet after the leaves appear as they tend to thicken the overhang and increase its punching mass. While the topography of West Higgins is more consistent with respect to composition of the trail surface than Geels, it manages to change from hard pack, to sand, to gravel, to loam, to occasional slick mud puddles on a schedule way too regular to become boring. This trail system literally has hundreds of tight turns where my 32 inch bars easily fit between the adjacent, guarding trees as long as I could be in the center of the trail … unfortunately, many of these turns are also populated by protruding roots, deep sand, large rocks or sometimes all of these materials in combination … now the tree separation seems much smaller than it did on approach, and a nice pair of hand guards, like my new Fastway set, are good insurance.
Proceeding out of the parking area, the suggested running direction for the loop is clockwise although two-way traffic is both noted and permitted. The first segment of the major loop begins with passage through lightly wooded, flat to rolling land that is quite sandy in composition. The sand is deep in spots and severely whooped in several sections … that’s the bad news ... now for the good news … whoops are not a common feature of this trail. Mostly, West Higgins is comprised of hard packed mixtures of glacial till [clay, sand and gravel] laced with the occasional larger rock … often softball-sized, just laying there in the middle of the trail, waiting … as such, the composition favors sand and gravel in the more open territories and clay-based loams in the denser woods. Once one passes the intersection of the first intra-trail connector, the landscape begins to change dramatically. It becomes much more densely wooded … occasionally changing from conifer to hardwood stands. One of the interesting points for several of these encountered hardwood stands involves massive areas of both upright, and fallen, deadwood. The scenery [sans emergent leaves at this time] resembles something out of a zombie movie [picture the black & white version of: Night of the Living Dead] … even in the mid-afternoon sunshine, the deep shadows, deafening silence and eerie lighting can raise the hairs on the back of your neck … luckily for us, a generous dose of throttle twist greatly relieves such tension and returns the mind to tasks more germane. I am not sure about the cause of these deadwood stands … perhaps oaks killed by past Gypsy Moth infestations … but I am sure, when you ride through such an area you will be impressed by its specter.
Proceeding on a bit further, one soon reaches the intersection with the North Missaukee Trail. Today I spent an extra hour poking around on this MCCCT connector trail which, despite annotation to the contrary on the latest DNR map, requires only an ORV sticker to ride legally. This trail is not part of a loop and as such is much less traveled. It is, however, reasonably ATV accessible excepting a few of the deadfall areas encountered. While a vast majority of the West Higgins trail is completely cleared of deadfall blocking the trail [deepest gratitude to our CCC friends and others who provide this service] … such is not true of the North Missaukee between the parking facility near Moorestown and its intersection with the West Higgins. I encountered several areas of extreme deadfall … again verging on the eeriness previously described … where I found it necessary to break out the folding saw that I carry in my fanny pack when riding heavily wooded trails. After spending a few minutes sawing and hauling, I easily opened the trail in several spots sufficient to permit passage thereby eliminating the need for others to prospect alternate routes off the marked trail. After approximately 25 minutes actual riding time … remember, I’m a much better writer than rider … I finally lost the trail altogether in an area of dense deadfall combined with what appeared to be purposely felled trees … not sure what happened here, but it looked like the combination of a bomb blast and a clear cutting operation … oh well, being about halfway on my adventure and at least 25 miles from the trail head, I retraced my path back to the West Higgins loop and continued on in a clockwise direction. Both the outside, northern leg of the loop, and the northernmost intra-trail connector [also denoted as the MCCCT connector to the Beaver Creek Trail which leads to the Geels North Trail approximately 36 miles distant to the east] pass through what I believe is the primary reason to ride West Higgins … namely, “ridge country”! This section is permeated with both open and densely wooded areas … the trail has many steep climbs and descents … often the surface is deep sand with high-edged berms, and amazingly, is threaded with pesky, pine roots extending completely above the surface of the trail. Definitely worth the trouble to get here … it's up on the pegs, hard on throttle, hard on the rear break to slide the back, down on the seat, back on the throttle to the next turn … finally you crest what appears to be the ridge top only to immediately descend on a trail just as steep and treacherous down the back side. At several points the trail meanders along the top of a ridge which calls for a stop to rest and partake of the scenery … or in my case, to catch my breath. These ridge venues are unique and filled with wild life … from one spot, over a short break of only a few minutes I spotted turkeys, pheasants, a herd of several deer, a family of rabbits … all that with my hind end firmly planted on a tree stump and my feet propped up on a log drinking my water and eating a snack bar … this is truly one of the reasons I like dirt biking.
At the intersection with the Beaver Creek Trail I diverted and rode northeast a few miles to the area where the trail follows along US 127 … just short of the point where the trail passes over US 127 at Fletcher Road and a Secretary of State License is required … turned around and returned having spent approximately 30 minutes or so. Nothing unusual about this trail relative to the area described thus far … ATV accessible, sandy, a few whoops with several open areas along the freeway that are relatively straight and amenable to high speed runs.
The Beaver Creek Trail intersection is approximately 15 miles from the trail head via the remaining, external West Higgins trail loop. This portion of the ride takes one out of ridge country and returns to rolling hills and flatter terrain similar to the western, entry leg, only in reverse. There seem to be many more rocky sections on this eastern side of the trail as opposed to the west. With a total of 3.3 hours engine operating time, I pull into the trail head parking lot with a big smile, many new memories, a bit more saddle experience … and … as is typical for me, I still have the entire facility to myself! Spent most of the day here and never saw a single person … that’s Michigan before school lets out.
If you haven’t visited West Higgins lately … bring your trail tool to help clear deadfall, perhaps some extra gas [my CRF-450 used about 2.3 gallons out of 3.3 onboard for this route], you won’t need any serious navigational tools as the trail is superbly marked with “You Are Here” annotated maps at several points, and be rested and prepared for a great ride. Despite a CCC riding difficulty grade of 2, I would not recommend the northern portions of this trail, or its northerly intra-trail connector, for beginning riders … the often deep sand, twisting trails combined with steep ascents and descents, frequently gated by narrowly spaced trees, are perhaps not best suited for beginners as one can be more than 20+ miles from the trail head should an accident occur. Otherwise … this trail is one of my favorites … neither too hard nor too easy … just a good, long ride through our unique, Michigan countryside!
terry nestrick :thumb:
