Freda loop?

[tomx]

Anyone know if it will be open this coming season?

[saber1]

i heard not this year from some previous posts

[Skylar]

Will not be open.

[euphoric1]

That is very unfortunate, hopefully it will reopen eventually but seeing what the flood did, I can only imagine what areas of the Freda loop look like.

[blown_apex]

trail 13 will be busy this year with 109 closed

[ICT Sledder]

Seems like talk has always been that the Freda loop is the lowest priority in the flood fix list, with some saying maybe never. Miss it. Miss 3 from Dollar to Linden more though. Far nicer way to go north out of H/H than blah 17.

For trail riders the Keweenaw is losing it's appeal with all the trails shut down. Skipped it last year. Will probably skip it again this year. Sucks.

[saber1]

yea very unfortunate been hitting the Eastern UP last couple years in Mid January trails and conditions have been pretty good.

[slimcake]

Seems like talk has always been that the Freda loop is the lowest priority in the flood fix list, with some saying maybe never. Miss it. Miss 3 from Dollar to Linden more though. Far nicer way to go north out of H/H than blah 17.

For trail riders the Keweenaw is losing it's appeal with all the trails shut down. Skipped it last year. Will probably skip it again this year. Sucks.

The worst thing is I was thinking the same thing... I get tired of the grade in a hurry...

[euphoric1]

The worst thing is I was thinking the same thing... I get tired of the grade in a hurry...

Agreed...straight lines get pretty lame after a while. I don't know if it is a priority thing with Freda loop, a large part of that trail was wet, I can only imagine the extent of damage, seeing what the water did to city roads up there. Doesn't mean im not hoping and praying we will have it back sooner than later, but also know it may be lost for good uuuugh!

[indy_500]

With the exception of the northern 1/3 of the Freda loop, I can say I have off trail ridden in the general area of the southern 2/3 of it and have crossed paths with the old trail many times and don’t notice any more downed trees or damage than usual... All of the logging roads are 100% accessible as far as I can tell and navigating even some of the nastiest creek bottoms in that area, even a spot we call Death Valley, is no different than it was before the storm. So this is just my 2 cents but I have a hard time believing the Freda loop is “a far ways off” of ever getting repaired and in good shape again... But in general that whole area is usually pretty wet. Obviously to get it going again it takes a lot of awesome volunteers and man hours, but this is just my general observation.

[Sandylake]

The trail from DB to LL is pretty sweet and scenic. And the Freda trail is nice because it doesn't get a ton of traffic.

Even though I don't ride trails like a lot of you do those trails are nice and hopefully get fixed.

[Skylar]

The biggest issue with the Freda loop, is the rail bed part of it, multiple washouts. Not little ones either. Now, once off the rail bed heading toward Toivola, there are a few washouts, one small one, and one large one. Also one bad spot where the beavers have done their thing.

[Skylar]

Here is a picture from 2019 of the larger washout not on the rail bed.




20190723_131626.jpg

[UP RIDER]

I have been on the Rail Bed section several times in the last couple of years, the Stanton locals keep the trail usable. They have done some temporary fix’s and keep the windfalls cleaned up. They also made an offer to the DNR to repair the washouts but the way the story goes they were turned down because there would have to be Engineering studies and such done before any repairs could be made.....

[Skylar]

I have been on the Rail Bed section several times in the last couple of years, the Stanton locals keep the trail usable. They have done some temporary fix’s and keep the windfalls cleaned up. They also made an offer to the DNR to repair the washouts but the way the story goes they were turned down because there would have to be Engineering studies and such done before any repairs could be made.....

Wonder who the jackwagon is who cut the timbers out on the bridge? Made the bridge impassable if on a sxs or atv.

[UP RIDER]

Yeah no kidding!
They had it patched up within a week when it happened though.

[HIGHLANDER]

Here is a picture from 2019 of the larger washout not on the rail bed.




20190723_131626.jpg

a few bails of hay, problem solved

[Skylar]

a few bails of hay, problem solved

Lol, really? What about the culvert that needs to be there?

[wirev]

I have been on the Rail Bed section several times in the last couple of years, the Stanton locals keep the trail usable. They have done some temporary fix’s and keep the windfalls cleaned up. They also made an offer to the DNR to repair the washouts but the way the story goes they were turned down because there would have to be Engineering studies and such done before any repairs could be made.....

That's right, get the government involved, that'll speed things up. I know, it only took them 3 years to get 3 acres of a National Veteran's Cemetery at Harshaw completed.

[ICT Sledder]

Lol, really? What about the culvert that needs to be there?

If that's the scale and type of damage scattered about the Freda loop, then it's pretty lame that it's not repaired yet. A pickup truck and a mini excavator can handle that.

I'm guessing the rail bed damage is much worse?

[Skylar]

If that's the scale and type of damage scattered about the Freda loop, then it's pretty lame that it's not repaired yet. A pickup truck and a mini excavator can handle that.

I'm guessing the rail bed damage is much worse?

Rail bed is much worse. Remember peeps, as much as the locals want to fix these issues themselves, their hands are tied.

[Administrator]

If that's the scale and type of damage scattered about the Freda loop, then it's pretty lame that it's not repaired yet. A pickup truck and a mini excavator can handle that.

I'm guessing the rail bed damage is much worse?

Don't forget your permits from the DEQ and DNR and an engineering study. Plus permission/cooperation from the land owner. Just the way things roll with the state of MI. You want to move a rock, you will have to jump through some government hoops first!

And I would LOVE to see you fix that properly with a pickup and mini.

[Hoosier]

Don't forget your permits from the DEQ and DNR and an engineering study. Plus permission/cooperation from the land owner. Just the way things roll with the state of MI. You want to move a rock, you will have to jump through some government hoops first!

And I would LOVE to see you fix that properly with a pickup and mini.

You forgot beer and duct tape. C'mon man!

[ICT Sledder]

Don't forget your permits from the DEQ and DNR and an engineering study. Plus permission/cooperation from the land owner. Just the way things roll with the state of MI. You want to move a rock, you will have to jump through some government hoops first!

And I would LOVE to see you fix that properly with a pickup and mini.

A 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck, dump trailer, and a mini excavator could fix that I would think, unless the picture is deceiving of true scale. It's a 3 foot deep by 8 foot wide trench on a 12 foot wide trail, not a highway bridge embankment. Used to be a commercial estimator/PM in a former life, and I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[slimcake]

Welp I will throw the first 500 bucks at ya if you go get it done.... Man I miss that trail...

[Skylar]

20190723_142155.jpg


Here is one on the rail bed. As you can see, it's going to take a little more than a mini excavator and hay bales. :-)

[Administrator]

A 3/4 ton or 1 ton truck, dump trailer, and a mini excavator could fix that I would think, unless the picture is deceiving of true scale. It's a 3 foot deep by 8 foot wide trench on a 12 foot wide trail, not a highway bridge embankment. Used to be a commercial estimator/PM in a former life, and I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

The key word was "properly". The DNR and DEQ will not let you just dump a culvert in and bring back to grade with the material on site. Once all the engineering is done, then the culvert(s) can be placed at the proper height and the entire river cut will have to be filled with larger rock and then capped with something like #2 gravel. The reason for this is to prevent it from being washed out entirely the next time the culverts get plugged or overwhelmed and the water flow tops the fill.

It could be done with a pickup, but I cannot even begin to imagine the number of trips one would have to take to haul all that fill material out!

Love the Holiday Inn Express part!

-John

[xsledder]

20190723_142155.jpg




Here is one on the rail bed. As you can see, it's going to take a little more than a mini excavator and hay bales. :-)

Yep, first you have to upright the Earth. (Why are all the pics sideways?)

[garageguy]

Tracker needs to give a refresher course.

[longtrack]

From what I saw the loop is repairable. The Trail running from the Junction to Redridge Dam is not. They stuck a pile of Money in that Trail raising it and it is
a shame to abandon it. There was nothing wrong with the Bridge.

Last year the washout by Silver Mountain could have been fixed faster than it took to put up the Road Closed Signs.

[euphoric1]

From what I saw the loop is repairable. The Trail running from the Junction to Redridge Dam is not. They stuck a pile of Money in that Trail raising it and it is
a shame to abandon it. There was nothing wrong with the Bridge.

Last year the washout by Silver Mountain could have been fixed faster than it took to put up the Road Closed Signs.

Have heard more than once on this site since the loop was closed due to washouts, which wouldn't have surprised me knowing how wet it was in areas even during the dead of winter, but then you see posts like this that say the damage is not that extensive, I also understand that trail repairs cost money and are more often done by volunteers also, could it possibly be a issue with the land owner? would really like to see this loop reopen once again some day, I believe its the 13 loop just south of there and the Freda loop were not only fun to navigate nd scenic but also a nice break from the straight line Bill Nichols trail. Hopefully it will return one day.

[ragsled]

From the MI DNR website about trail closures and in this case ATV:
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,...=&searchQuery=

BA (FREDA GRADE) ROUTE REMAINS CLOSED, REPAIRS PLANNED
Due to 2018 storm flood damage, the BA (Freda Grade) Route remains closed; however, funding to repair the trail has recently been approved. The trail repairs are planned for 2021. (updated 8/24/20)

[euphoric1]

From the MI DNR website about trail closures and in this case ATV:
https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,4570,...=&searchQuery=

BA (FREDA GRADE) ROUTE REMAINS CLOSED, REPAIRS PLANNED
Due to 2018 storm flood damage, the BA (Freda Grade) Route remains closed; however, funding to repair the trail has recently been approved. The trail repairs are planned for 2021. (updated 8/24/20)

Good News!