Mrs ilsnow.com drove me down to the Lemon Tree this afternoon so I could ride the XP home after its pre-season maintenance.
The Speculator Village trails were a bit bony and worn from the weekend, but not too bad. LP3 from the village to Oak Mountain had some bumps as well.
C4/Melody Lodge was bony and icy in spots and had some decent “chatter” bumps, but certainly not as bad as I’ve seen it. I clipped a few rocks going through there.
Perkins Clearing Road was a nice ride aside from a few icy turns. It was getting late in the day, so I didn’t venture back to Mud Lake Road or Jessup River Road.
The mile of road shared by loggers and snowmobiles had adequate coverage, but was very slick. Obey the 15 MPH signs! The life you save could be your own.
S82C/Old Indian Lake Road to Mason Lake parking lot was rough, but not quite as bad as I was expecting it to be. 2 Miles from Hell to Lewey Lake actually wasn’t that bad. It actually bordered on pretty good up top. The lower part had the usual terrain bumps. Overall, the base was in decent shape.
Lewey Lake was a nice crossing. C’mon people, does it get much better than this?
Even if the riding isn’t great, the views make it worth coming out.
The campsites were fairly smooth; not much traffic through there yet.
Indian Lake was pretty smooth at the south end. There was a large pressure heave with slush near Watch Hill (the big hump near the west side of the lake). From Watch Hill all the way up to Sabael, the lake had many irregular fissure ridges which made for a very rough ride.
I think the ice has started to break up during the Christmas Eve thaw. Then the plates froze back together irregularly with the fluctuating lake level. It will take a solid 6-12+ inches of dense snow to cover that up. The 3-4 inches of powder on the lake now barely cushions the blows.
C8/Sabael trail back to Indian Lake village was horribly rough and bumpy with several shallow water hazards and a few big rocks poking through the base. The remainder of the village trails were rough, so I just high-tailed it back to the compound after filling up at the Route 30 One Stop for the next adventure. Spun off about 32 miles but felt like 92, lol!
Bottom line from this: Ride Speculator and Perkins Clearing OR trailer to Cedar River parking lot to hit Moose River Plains. Until the groomers come out around Indian Lake, it’s going to be a trail of tears if you want to do a ride like Speculator to Inlet/Old Forge via Indian Lake.
Rick Swift from D.R.A.G. at Speculator told me the Speculator trails and C4 past Melody Lodge to Perkins Clearing should be groomed this week.
If you are heading north from Speculator toward Indian Lake via S82C, this will show you what to look for:
Until we get more snow, you’ll have to play it especially smart and safe. But there is riding to be had. Maximize places like Perkins Clearing and Moose River Plains and minimize the “woods” trails.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
