Poto: Potawatomi

[Todd Scott]

Post trail conditions and problem reports for the trails at Pinckney SRA

[HappyHelmet]

I rode just the Crooked Lk loop between 11:30 and 1:30 PM today. It was mostly frozen when I started out. The areas in the sun thawed out pretty quickly, though, and I was walking the bike through some sections by noon. For the most part the trail looks to me as if it's been pretty dry lately. I found a few spots where the mud had been chewed up bad by tires, but the rest looked unscarred.

There's a huge tree down by waypoint #6 (near the entrance to the Silver Lake park). It's been there awhile.

Unless it freezes up again, I won't be riding there for a couple more weeks or so.

[Jason L.]

MUDDY in all the usual spots. Plenty of Pizza cutters out and about. Did a Monday am ride 7:00-10:00 am. Frozen but softened up before 9am. Hopefully the thaw happens soon. I hope the weeknd doesn't promote to much more damage! 60deg?????!!! ........

See ya'll at Waterford Raceway and Runway plaza.

[jajones]

POTO IS OPEN!

Avoid Gosling Loop until it gets a bit drier. Otherwise, 90% of the trail is solid and dry. Some greasy in shadowy areas and north facing slopes. Nut'in too bad though. Enjoy!

[Dirtdevil]

Ohhhhh YE HA!!! LET THE FUN BEGIN!!!

[?andyA]

POTO IS OPEN! ... Enjoy!

Just byoo-ful!!! I rode Poto for the first time last year (Poto Ride Re-cap). Now, I can plan on getting my annual dose of pain... woohoo!

Randy

[bill_m]

I rode the Potto Saturday morning (4/3) and am happy to report it is indeed in awesome shape. Totally dry and probably in better shape the in the middle of summer as there is just enough moisture in the soil to prevent the loose stuff. However, there are probably about half a dozen large trees down across the trail that you can't ride over. This made me think, would the DNR be open to a ladder going up & over one or two of the felled trees as opposed to the usual removal? Could we cut out a passage and have a ladder stunt as an option? Would the hikers and DNR hate this idea? Would it be considered ugly and un-natural?

I thought I would ask the question before they are removed.

[matt_mccluskey]

I was out there mid-afternoon on Sat (4/3). Except for the downed trees, the trail was great. A little slippery on the leaves, so pay attention.

[Ed]

I was out there on 4/3 as well, and even Gosling is not muddy. There were a couple of soft areas, but it was no longer muddy. At this point people riding over these areas will roll out all the pizza cuts, improving the trail.

[dew]

Rode Poto today (Fri 4/9). Conditions were excellent - hard packed and dry. Gosling Lake loop is in fine shape now, as well, except for one 15 foot section underwater in the swamp just past the 2nd dirt road crossing (where it is often bad). There are now 2-3 trees across the trail that require dismounting, but other than that it is excellent.

[matt_mccluskey]

Was out there on Saturday 4/10. All was well, except for the downed trees! Anyone with an idea of when they might be removed

Oh, and that day was also "Hike with a frickin' huge pack and your dog is off the leash too".

[RAchtenberg]

Hi - I would like to do the Poto trail (the 17 mile route) this saturday with my 13yo son. We are both novice to intermediate at best mountain bikers. Would this be to much to do for a couple of novices? How long should we expect it to take? Any information / hints would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Phresh]

You might want to repost your question in the general section...this section is for intended for trail conditions and updates. You will get many more responses in the general section...

My guess is the whole loop would take an intermediate rider about 3+ hours and they would probably do a fair amount of walking. The trail is not overly technical from an obstacle standpoint, but it is long and does have several killer hills. I consider myself a serious mountain-biker (3x per wk) and I did Poto for the first time a couple weeks back. I made it up every hill, but by the end of the 14 miles (we took a short cut near the end) I was wooped. Two days later when I went to ride Pontiac Lake my legs still had not recovered.

I would definitely seek some more qualified opinions before I decide. Ideally, there is someone out there who knows your capabilities in addition to the Poto trail. I would take their opinion over mine anyday...

Good luck.

[Mr.B]

I would suggest that if you want to ride the Poto go on Sat may 13th the Poto chapter of the MMBA is having another no drop ride to introduce people to the trail. ANd they have a BBQ afterwards. Its essentially a guided tour of the trail and they break up into all skill levels I went last weekend and Had a ball , MEt alot of nice people.
Oh yeah and I agree w/ Phresh you may want to post this in General or maybe ride announcements.
Brian.
PS ( he was'nt kidding about the hills ) the last one being the hardest. Maybe try Island lake or Murray lake trail at Brighton untill then

[Dirtdevil]

Having ridden the Poto a number of times, I would suggest riding another trail if you are in fact novice riders. Reason being is that the trail is not a ton of fun if you are not in good shape or intimidated by large rocky, rooty, sandy hills and a few sketchy downhills. There aren't any really good areas to "bail" if you plan on riding the entire 17 mile loop.

On the other hand, if you want to experience a little of what the Poto is all about, try riding the 5.1 mile Crooked Lake Loop your first time out. It is a taste of the Poto ( a few good climbs included) without the mileage. It's easier to walk 5 or less miles out of the woods than 10 or more.