Despite temperatures above 32*F and some rain today, most of the trails have held up pretty well.
Good rides were reported in Perkins Clearing and Moose River Plains enroute to Old Forge and Inlet.
The Speculator area trails were getting thin in places, but still offering a good ride.
Around Indian Lake village, I saw some kids riding around, getting the jump on Christmas vacation. Yeah, I remember those days fondly.
WEEKEND OUTLOOK:
Temperatures will hold in the 30s Friday night and the rain won’t be excessively heavy. That should keep the trails holding together into Saturday. If you accept the fact that it will rain on Saturday and dress accordingly, you could spin off some surprisingly good mileage with the light traffic expected this weekend. Let me put it this way: Anything you ride on Saturday will be better than what you’ll see next week around here.
The real hurt will come later this weekend. Saturday night will bring heavy rain to ilsnow land, probably in excess of an inch, which will substantially ripen up the snow. The big warm push on Sunday will hurtle temperatures toward 50*F and send the snow melt into hyper drive. I’d expect many of the narrow woods trails to get washed out in places. The bleeding will begin to ease on Monday and whatever leftover snow we have will freeze brick hard by Tuesday.
Don’t ride the lakes, it ain’t worth it…..
NEXT WEEK:
I don’t think the lake-effect snow with the cold blast early next week will be substantial, so we’ll be playing a waiting game for the next good snow. There could be an opportunity for a meaningful snow shortly after Christmas but it’s WAY TOO EARLY to hang your hat on that. Any hope for decent riding next weekend is on a wing and a prayer.
Until then, have a Merry Christmas and use the time without snow to spend quality time with your loved ones.
Darrin @ ilsnow.com
