With my XP on the disabled list for half of February, I missed out on some big rides. But our second winter has given me the opportunity for a high mileage ride and I decided to enlist Rich (GSX800) as my wing man.
Indian Lake Village trails and the Sabael trail were in sweet shape early this morning. Freshly groomed and nearly pure white! It was SAW-WHEAT! The groomers hadn’t hit Crow Hill to Route 30 One Stop yet, so that had some rollers. The only significant hazard I found was a washout on the Sabael trail: big enough not to surprise me, but small enough to easily cross with a little care. At the One Stop this morning, I talked to a guy who had ridden out to C8/Headquarters and out to Silver Run on Wednesday. He described it as “pretty good.”
Indian Lake didn’t have a drag strip, but had several uneven, winding “snakes” the length of the lake. There was just a hint of slush near the shores and there was TONS of powder. The campsites were the usual nut-banging, boob-bouncing washboard cheese grater we all know and love. But not that many sleds had ridden it yet, so the new snow cushioned the blows somewhat. Lewey Lake had TONS of powder on it.
2 Miles from Hell had been recently groomed and was the best I’d seen that trail in years. I couldn’t see any sign of that deep washout I had spotted the past two times I was on it before the storm.
Perkins Clearing Road was pretty good from top to bottom. There were some soft long wave, low amplitude rollers along the way. C4 down past Melody Lodge into Speculator had plenty of snow on it, but was ungroomed and very bumpy. LP3 was somewhat better. I ran the River Trail from the Burn Pit over to the Ballfield parking lot to meet Rich.
The River trail from the Burn Pit to the Ballfield in Speculator is officially open. However, past the Burn Pit enroute to the Tree Farm is still closed. You’ll see the sawhorse sign.
Then we crossed Lake Pleasant, again TONS of powder! Page Street had loose bumps. Sacandaga Lake, TONS of powder. Fish Mountain/Oxbow trail had soft bumps but had plenty of snow on it. Oxbow Lake, more POWDER!
C8 between Oxbow Lake and Piseco Lake was loaded with bumps, but was soft enough to permit a fairly comfortable ride. Piseco Lake was an absolute blast to cross. There was tons of powder, but it was starting to settle and I was able to ride the untouched stuff without smoking my belt. FUN!
Snowmobiling Ride Video:
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Piseco Lake to Evergreen Lake was a bump farm. The roughest part by far was the stretch between Piseco Lake and the former Piseco Lodge. Evergreen Lake had scads of powder on it. WOW! Watch out for the hole in the ice as you enter/leave the west end of Evergreen Lake. A few people broke through it before we got there.
C4A/C4 between Evergreen Lake and Route 8 in Morehouse was heaven on earth! 98% of that trail was flat as a board with abundant fresh powder on it. Simply incredible riding! Snow pack in the shady woods easily close to 3 FEET back there. I’d give up sex to have all trails like that. 🙂
After we crossed Route 8 by the Morehouse Post Office, C4 wasn’t quite heaven. But it was still mostly an excellent ride down to the County line. There were a couple of washouts along the way, but I forget where they were. We saw two OXEN on the farm next to Erb Road. I don’t see that everyday, that’s for sure!
S46A was freshly groomed through Nobleboro and up to HK126, although the riding wasn’t as good as it was through Morehouse. C4H from HK126 down to Haskells was pretty bumpy, but soft enough to keep my teeth from rattling. The roadside riding was lumpy and bumpy, but once we got past the parking lot, C4B was a really nice ride down to the Ohio Tavern where we stopped for lunch. It was busy in there and we arrived just after a group of Pleasant Riders, so we waited a bit for our food. But the time was good to chat and remember rides of yesteryear. Lots of laughs for sure! 🙂
After lunch, we pressed down C4B to C4G. In general, the trails were groomed and flat through there, but the trail base was getting noticeably thinner with some carbide clanking and bald spots. At HK34, we turned left onto C4 which was more good riding until we hit Hall Road, where we had to hug the snowbanks to keep the snow while vigorously scraping our left carbides. After we crossed Route 8, we met a couple of riders who read ilsnow.com and were attempting the same loop we were doing, but in reverse. They warned us not to go into Poland because we’d run out of snow. After giving them some directions, we pressed on.
C4 through Norway was good through the fields and seasonal roads, but was borderline painful near roads and especially the woods trails where rocks and skank were poking through. The lower elevation and strong southerly exposure is going to cook that really quick without a fresh infusion of white paint. Nevertheless, we made it to the Norway Store where I threw about 5 gallons in the tank.
Once we crossed another road, C4/Military Road had a lot of fast and flat stretches that made it a really fun ride. Most places had an adequate base while a few spots where sketchy. The snow pack deepened dramatically as we approached the Salisbury Ridge Runners Clubhouse.
From there, C4A was great riding on the seasonal roads and through the woods. The shelved snowbanks were loose and pretty fun to ride, far better than the cocoa brown roads we were riding besides! The stretches were we couldn’t completely off the road were somewhat seedy, as to be expected in early spring. Case Street down into Stratford looked like it hadn’t been groomed, but at least the hill going down into “downtown” Stratford wasn’t a mudslide.
C4A through Stratford was pretty decent, even through the narrow “rock gardens”. But the base were pretty thin and we were clipping carbide on the rocks. After we crossed the steel bridge, C8A was nice through the wider sections and pretty decent through the narrow parts, with snow pack increasing as we gained elevation.
Powley Road was pretty thin on the south end. But after we passed the snowbank, the base was solid. Two-thirds of Powley Road had some studders and rollers but was not a terrible ride. After we passed the junction with S88/Piseco Lodge trail, Powley Road became a fantastic ride up to Route 10.
Spy Lake trail had some serious bumps just after the Route 10 crossing, but that quickly vanished as we got into the woods. Overall, it was one of the nicest rides I’ve had on that trail from end to end. There were just a few spots scuffed down to snirt on the steep hill and maybe a water spot or two. On the way back home, the lakes were starting to get more of the classic “drag strips” with some fast riding. Fish Mountain/Oxbow trail was getting bumpy by late afternoon.
At Sacandaga Lake, Rich headed to his truck in Speculator while I headed for Perkins Clearing via Fawn Lake/Big Brook. Fawn Lake was a pretty decent ride, ranging from nearly smooth to small studders. Big Brook trail was more bumpy with rollers. So I stood up on the running boards and had some fun surfing the waves. Jessup River Road from HM116 to HM115 was fairly rough with rollers and studders. But after HM115 over to HM6, Jessup River Road was fantastic riding! More of the same along the Perkins Clearing Road which had been obviously groomed since I passed through in the morning.
2 Miles of Hell, by late afternoon was still in pretty good shape. But the lower half enroute to Lewey Lake was starting to get the studders back. Lewey Lake and Indian Lake had the nice drag strips and was a fabulous fast run back up toward home base. Sabael trail was starting to get bumped up a little when I rolled through before dark. The odometer clicked off nearly 180 miles by the time I put the XP to bed at the compound. That was a long distance ride I needed, the first really big ride I had since mid February when I rode all the way to Brantingham and back.
Weekend Snowmobiling Outlook:
Conditions will probably continue to improve as groomers make their big push to get the trails in shape for the weekend. I heard that Inlet groomed their side of Moose River Plains today. It’s not often we have conditions this good after St. Patrick’s Day. Nevertheless, we’re living on borrowed time. Come up this weekend and make the most of our second winter!
