Although ilsnow land didn’t get the multiple feet or yards of snow that crushed the snow belts in western New York since Monday, winter has seized a hold here as well. Snow cover is 2-4 inches in the immediate Indian Lake and Speculator areas, probably 4-6 inches in Perkins Clearing.
Snow cover increases from 6 inches to a foot-plus through Moose River Plains enroute to Inlet and Old Forge.
As tempting as it may be to get over to the western ‘Dacks to get your first rip, please keep in mind snowmobiling is not permitted on State land until the close of hunting season at sundown, Sunday December 7th. Town of Webb/Inlet snowmobile trails will reopen December 8th, conditions permitting. Please respect the hunters and let them have their season before we have ours. Check out the map from DEC:
The late bow hunting season does not apply to Hamilton and northern Herkimer counties.
Temperatures will pierce into the 40s on Sunday and into the 50s on Monday, which will melt away the early taste of winter.
What about Perkins Clearing this winter?
As many have heard by now, Lyme Timber intends to log a large area in the northern section of Perkins Clearing this winter which would close the road off to snowmobiling from the north entrance of Perkins Clearing Road off Route 30 through the Big-T (HM6) down to just past the Jessup River Bridge, about 4.7 miles total. I have marked off the possible closure in purple:
S82C/Old Indian Lake Road could be used to bypass most of the plowed road, but this secondary trail would need improvements to handle the increased traffic flux. According to the Town of Lake Pleasant Highway Department, a work plan was submitted to DEC on October 20th, but there has been no word back from DEC as of mid November. This could set a big tug of war between Town of Lake Pleasant (which owns the road), DEC (which owns the recreational rights to the land) and Lyme Timber (which owns the land) come December.
The Town of Lake Pleasant has become very proactive for snowmobiling in recent years as demonstrated by the phenomenal riding conditions in Perkins Clearing. As bad as this sounds, I’m certain that we’ll still have the vital Indian Lake to Speculator connection in some form this winter.
I’ll do my best to keep you updated.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
