We have lost a lot of snow in the past week, but an early spring cold snap has stopped the bleeding. Although snow cover has been burnt down to 6 inches or less (with dirt spots) in many exposed roadsides, hillsides and fields, there is still 1-2+ feet of remnant snow pack in the shady deep woods.
Snow conditions will be very hard and crusty Tuesday and Wednesday, which will allow for ample boondocking opportunities. However, bumps will be frozen hard with little, if any, fresh snow available for traction and cooling. As temperatures rebound toward early April norms later in the week, the daytime mashed potatoes will return and the trail bumps will soften.
Diehard Snowmobiling Outlook:
The Indian Lake village trails are essentially shot in many places, especially near roadsides and exposed fields. I suspect that the Speculator village trails and C4/Melody Lodge trail are smoked in many places as well. If you wanted to badly enough, I’m sure you can pass through most of them. But it will be painful on your snowmobile.
Your best bet is to hit the die-hard hangouts. The safest way to find the snow is to park at the Mason Lake parking lot on Route 30 north of Speculator and work your way into Perkins Clearing from the north end, either via C4/North end of Perkins Clearing Road or S82/Old Indian Lake Road.
Moose River Plains can offer good die-hard riding, but you’ll need to hug a dirty snowbank for about a mile past the Brown’s Farm parking lot to make it to the trailhead. Not fun! Don’t expect to make it all the way to the Inlet end, as trail base will degenerate rapidly past the Big-T. Update 4/2/13: I got a report that the Limekiln Gate at the Inlet side has been closed. I do not know whether the gate at Cedar River Headquarters is closed as well.
Powley Road will hold ride-able snow, but the connector trails may be in bad shape. Speculator Tree Farm will hold limited riding opportunities due to the extensive plowing on Elm Lake Road and the the bottom of S41/Silver Hill trail most of the winter due to logging.
538/Newcomb trail should be a good spring ride, but there will be some bare and thin spots on the Newcomb side. Just don’t try to ride out from Indian Lake village to hit 538/Newcomb trail because Benton Road has lost most of its snow/ice cover and S84/Blue Mountain trail is reported to be in awful condition with washboard bumps and dirt spots. A better option would be to park where the Northville/Lake Placid trail crosses Route 28/30 near Lake Durant. Then you can work your way back behind the Ranger’s cabin to Lake Durant Campsites, then cross Route 28/30. Continue on the trail for about a mile, then turn left onto 538/Newcomb trail. Just keep in mind that large sections of C8B going over to Newcomb or Long Lake are likely shot.
Rainfall Sunday night into early Monday was well under one-inch, so the lakes have risen very little. Although most lakes still hold over a foot of ice, they must be considered “at-your-risk” riding in early April. Take extreme caution to avoid inlets and outlets, which will have thin ice or open water due to early spring runoff. The best call would be to avoid the lakes.
You can get trail reports from the diehards on the ilsnow.com bulletin board for valuable recon info.
