I had the day off and saw fresh groomer tracks from the roadside yesterday, so I threw caution into the wind and embarked on a ride. The inner village trails were bony and snirty, but flat and entirely ride-able. C8 spur from the village to Adirondack Mountain Sports was bony with bare spots under the tall evergreens but there was enough base to get me through.
C8 from Adirondack Mountain Sports until Deer Valley parking lot was mainly flat, bony, scratchy in spots with enough base to make it though. There were a few small frozen water hazards, but they aren’t that bad if you don’t let them take you by surprise. Snow coverage improved past Deer Valley but there were some scratchy areas, especially where they logged near the Sprague Brook bridge earlier this winter. The track truck sections of trail were great riding with good snow coverage. The section along Cedar River to the Headquarters had some scratchy areas, but overall that was mainly flat as well with a few frozen water hazards.
Once I got to Headquarters, I buzzed down to the end of Cedar River Road. With the exception of some icy spots and some scratchy corners, that was an excellent ride. I pity the fool who has to ride the mile of road from Brown’s farm through, you’ll either cling to a rough frozen snowbank, or just ride mainly bare road, NOT FUN!
After I doubled back to Headquarters, I pressed onto the Plains. I encountered the Indian Lake Park and Rec groomer on his way back to town. Indeed, the Indian Lake side of Moose River Plains was much flatter than I’ve seen it all winter, but there were some leftover rollers on the long hill. With the exception of the hill top and the last half mile to Silver Run, there were scratchy areas to contend with. The S-turns were especially scratchy.
Past Silver Run to the Big-T was mainly flat, but I was scratching carbide fairly regularly through there. The flats leading up to the Big-T were their usual rush and had a more solid base. At this point, I had lost any interest in trying to make it all the way to Inlet because I know those final miles to the Limekiln gate get burnt to toast on that southerly exposure. So I headed down the Big-T dead-ender which was a pretty decent ride. After a few miles, I did some “exploration” and found a nice place to hang out and rest. On a whim, I decided to check my slides and was alarmed to see how much had been melted away. Then I saw that my air filter screen got punctured during one of my romps though the thickets. (By the way, who was the genius at BRP to have those things placed on the snowmobile’s EXTERIOR?)
So, with two strikes against me, I took it easy back to town. The overheat lamp kicked on under the tall pines before I got back to Adirondack Mountain Sports, so I stopped to let the engine cool off. I made it back to the compound with 75 miles. This was a bit of a pricey ride for me: Slides, Air Filter, and I discovered a missing track clip. At least my decision not to go for Inlet saved my carbides. Still better than a day at work though.
Ride Video:
[vsw id=”SP-uPKCsA38″ source=”youtube” width=”425″ height=”344″ autoplay=”no”]
Bottom Line:
Snow pack was about a foot of crust with an inch of fluff on top. Overall, I would rate the trail conditions as marginal to occasionally good around Indian Lake. Almost everything I rode was flat, but we need a good 6 inch dump of solid snow to really bring it back to life. If you are curious about the lakes, they have very little snow on them and I still recommend that you stay off.
Weekend Outlook:
We’ll get a bit of snow tonight, then perhaps some decent lake effect snows later Saturday Night into Sunday. That would provide fresh snow to keep the heat exchangers and slides cool. But that’s probably not going to keep the carbides from scratching the ground in spots, especially if you want to make it all the way out to Inlet from Moose River Plains.
If you’re smart about it, you can ride this weekend if you really need to scratch the itch. Or you can sit out this dance and save your coin for better conditions. I just report and let you decide. There’s still more winter ahead of us than behind us. 🙂
SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: We picked up an inch-and-a-half of snow Friday night. This will help with cooling the slides and heat exchangers, but you’ll still be clanking carbide.
