Hey Rob, nice app, you do nice work, thx,

--Paul

So I went up and hiked this trail yesterday.  Thanks to Doug's great description, and a copy of his track, I was able to follow most of the trail.  It gets pretty iffy in the middle - lots of blowdown and the tread gets less discernible along with lots of rhodies.  It is obvious this trail has not seen real work in a long time - and no hikers for a long time either.  The tread is covered in moss, but most of the route does have intact tread.  It is actually pretty amazing.  A day or two of lopping/brushing and maybe a bit more flagging in a few spots would make this trail relatively easy.  What Doug did helped me a lot, but there are some sections that are still pretty vague.

I made it down to the creek where there are some HUGE trees - several of which have fallen.  Great place to eat lunch.

And after I drove this route, I see what Doug means about it not really being a shortcut - this is a LONG drive (93 miles from my house) - took just about 2 hours, maybe a shade longer.  And due to the roughness and brushiness of the trail, it isn't an easy 2+ mile hike.  I was pretty tired by the end of the day after pushing through rhodies and stepping over LOTS of downed logs.

Lastly, some interesting photos from the day. 

First, I think this might have been an old junction - it was just about at the halfway mark on the trail.  You can't really see much tread to the right (the trail heads to the left - you can see a flag).  But the tree to the right looks double blazed and it looks just like an old junction would look - and there is a bit of tread heading down to the right - it just doesn't go too far:

Next is a section marker cut into a tree - this was very close to a section line - kind of cool:

This tree looked like it might have had some sort of sign on it at some point

And lastly, the very sad state of Detroit Lake - is it always this low this time of year?  Do they drain it down really low to allow water to accumulate over the winter?  It looks like the water level is at least 50' below where it should be.  All those docks are sitting WAY high and dry.

Nice outing, Rob. Great to hear that trail is still followable. Long drive, but worth it. 

Re Detroit Lake, it's a little surprising that it's that low still, according to weather underground, the Detroit area has gotten 7.67 inches of rain since Oct 1st! Ya it was dry there, but I'd still think that much rain spread over the drainage would increase the reservoirs level atleast some. Snowmelt seems to be the key to keeping it full. I've no idea on the politics or drain downs that may be happening. 

In regards to Detroit Lake, yes, that is a typical level for this time of year. They drawdown the lake every fall in order to have room to "catch" a major rain event and prevent flooding downstream. They gradually fill it back up in the spring when they have a better idea of snowpack and spring weather so that it is full for recreation during the summer. Main mission of Detroit Lake is flood control and not recreation.

Pete:

Thanks for the info about Detroit Lake.  I'm just amazed at how far they draw it down.  They can capture a LOT of water....