Update 12/18/13: Saw groomer ribbon tracks on Ski Hut trail, Swamp trail and C8 out toward Headquarters after I got back home this evening.
The other trails: Little Canada, S84/Blue Mountain, S87/42nd and Broadway and Sabael trail were not groomed yet, but there’s always tomorrow.
Time to ring the church bells, we’re grooming here in Indian Village! Winter is here for real. 🙂
Ride Report 12/17/13: We got a fresh inch of snow today and it was C-O-L-D! After dinner I headed out to the SnoCade meeting. Why take the car when I can ride there? 🙂
So, the Formula S got the call again. When I entered the trail system through the Ski Hut trail, it was quickly apparent the groomers hadn’t been around town yet, at least not pulling the drags. All of the inner village trails were bumpy and rough. The good news is that the trails were packed solid into a hard base.
I hooked up with Crazy Cal, then went to the meeting at Byron Park. Nice and toasty in there compared to the freezer outside. After, we took a spin across Lake Adirondack, then hit S87/42nd and Broadway, which was a bit better than the other trails. We ventured on S84/Blue Mountain trail only out to “Million Dollar Bridge.” That wasn’t much good either, so we headed back to town.
Bear Trap Swamp was frozen over nicely, with just a few small wet spots near the east end. We didn’t venture onto the Sabael trail, but Cal had told me it was passable most of the way through until he got stuck in swampy quagmire just before the hill that leads to the open field by Route 30. Judging by what I saw around town, I’m certain that C8 out to Headquarters wouldn’t be any pleasure cruise and there are probably places that need repair before the groomer can pass through.
MIDWEEK OUTLOOK:
Until grooming commences on the village trails, your best play by far would be to hit Moose River Plains from the end of Cedar River Road thence continue into Inlet or Old Forge. There are solid reports of grooming all the way through the Plains. I’ll be on the lookout to see when the village trails are groomed so I can ring the church bells.
Snow cover is a foot-plus around Indian Lake, increasing to 18 inches to 2+ feet through Moose River Plains. The weather will start to take a turn for the worse on Friday, so taking a midweek voyage becomes that much more important to ensure the most fun. The arctic cold should return next week, but only time will tell what’s left after the weekend. Lake Adirondack is a small lake and I don’t have any qualms about riding that, but Indian Lake takes longer to build enough ice to “safely” ride it. Of course, all riding on lakes is at your own risk.
ABOUT SNOCADE:
February 14th-February 23rd. A week long snowmobile event full of fun activities for winter enthusiasts of all ages. SnoCade 2014 will kick off with the 29th annual Winter Festival. The schedule of activities includes demos, vendor sales, kids activities, music, and more. Crazy Cal and I are leading a tour from Indian Lake to Newcomb on Thursday, February 20th. You can head down to Speculator with Andy Meyers and the Indian Lake Snowarriors on Tuesday, February 18th. Or do both! Either way, we’ll have a ton of fun in ilsnow land. 🙂
SnoCade Vendor and Flea Market Day will be Saturday, February 22nd. There will be room for 18 vendors at the Indian Lake Central School Gymnasium. The cost for a 14 foot by 12 foot area is only $100. Electricity can be provided by request.
This is an excellent opportunity for any snowmobiling related business or dealer to show off their stuff with the tons of people expected in Indian Lake for SnoCade.
Contact me at darrin@ilsnow.com if you are interested.
Also, like SnoCade on Facebook to keep up with the latest.
Come to SnoCade and make tracks!
Darrin @ ilsnow.com
