The fresh 3 inches of snow last night into Friday morning got me on to the dance floor again.
I set off to C8/Sabael trail, which was in pretty nice shape aside from some corner scuff, icy turns and some snirt. Dropped down to Indian Lake, thought about making a run to Speculator. But I decided to turn tail and head back up to Indian Lake.
Upon my return to Indian Lake, I found C8/Bear Trap Swamp freshly groomed. I tracked out to the junction with S84 and found this calling me:
S84/Blue Mountain trail was sweet music nearly all the way through. I stopped and talked to several people along the way, including someone who had asked me about trail conditions last night. He was glad to have followed my advise. Anyway, it got a bit crowded on S84. This is where the trail gets really narrow past Rock Lake:
In total, I probably encountered a dozen-and-a-half riders on S84/Blue Mountain trail. By the end of it, the corners were getting scuffed from the traffic.
538/Newcomb trail was a nice cushy ride up to the County line gate. Newcomb side wasn’t quite as good, got more chatter bumps and corner scuffs as I got closer to the Newcomb T.
Took a left onto C8B to make a run to Long Lake. Up to the Route 28N road crossing, it was somewhat snirty with corner scuff…but pretty smooth. Different story once I crossed the road though: it was rough with endless rollers and studder bumps. There had been a ton of sleds on it. If I was planning on doing the complete loop to Long Lake, Raquette Lake, Inlet, Moose River Plains, I probably would have muscled it out.
But since I got to a late start and didn’t want to do the big loop, I just turned around after a couple of miles. Didn’t feel like riding 13 miles of bumps times 2 on the return trip, especially when I knew the good stuff I had traveled to get to this point.
So I doubled back to 538/Newcomb trail. Hardly anyone had ridden the fresh groom tracks on S84 to Lake Durant, so I did! Behind the Ranger Station was really nice. Crossed the highway to hit the Old Stage trail. So glad I did! That was a beautiful run through the woods and nobody had ridden it yet after the groom. The thin spots and rocks under the tall pines near Blue Mountain Rest are almost gone.
The short trail from Blue Mountain Rest to the 24 hour gas pumps in Blue Mountain was groomed but still needs some more snow to bury some terrain bumps. It’s a fairly new trail, so it still needs some “seasoning”.
After some trolling around Blue Mountain, I headed back to Indian Lake. S84 had taken a decent pounding from the traffic with corner scuff in places I hadn’t seen it earlier in the afternoon. Overall, it was still a pretty nice ride back to town.
Then I did the victory lap of S87/42nd and Broadway, Lake Adirondack and S86A/Little Canada before I hit Marty’s Chili Nights for dinner. It was getting dark, windy and the temperature was falling by the minute. So I was happy to get warm and get something to eat.
After dinner, I double dipped S86A, Lake Adirondack and S87 back to the compound. Always a great way to finish off a ride:
75 miles, great riding and meeting people on the trail on a leisurely Friday afternoon. It’s all a part of the magic of living here.
Weekend Outlook:
Rule 1: Dress for survival. It’s going to be really cold!
Are you going to find some corner scuff, snirt and icy turns on the main arteries? Yes. But the overall trail base is solid enough to support good riding. Almost everything I rode today was quality riding. Conditions will change by the minute with weekend traffic, so get here early for best results.
I heard Moose River Plains was great today from one end to the other. And a couple of people told me the part from Cedar River Headquarters to Silver Run was the best they’ve ever seen it.
For those wondering about snow pack, it ranges from 6-12 inches in the exposed spots around town to 12-18+ inches in the shady deep woods. Perhaps not worthy enough for Mulleyvillains, but it will do for us.
Check out trail conditions all weekend at the ilsnow.com bulletin board.
Ladies and gentlemen of the ilsnow jury, I rest my case…
Darrin
