Spring is here! I’m not very excited about that. But it is what it is. Snow pack is still upwards of 1-2 feet in the woods, but the exposed areas are burnt thin.
The snowmobile riding conditions around here in Indian Lake can be best described as MARGINAL. You can do it, but you’ll endure some degree of sled abuse, especially on the heavily traveled main arteries and near roads and parking lots.
The best riding around Indian Lake will be Moose River Plains and 538/Newcomb trail.
From the Speculator end, I heard that Speculator village, C4/Melody Lodge, Tree Farm, Perkins Clearing, Big Brook and Fawn Lake trails were all groomed over the course of this week. Trails near the village have ice and dirt spots while the outlying areas like Perkins Clearing and Tree Farm still held “good” riding.
Due to lack of fresh snow and terrain issues, 2 Miles from Hell and S82C/Old Indian Lake Road have not been groomed. So, making the connection from Speculator to Indian Lake may include 6 miles of Hell…actually 12 miles if you account for the round trip.
Lakes are a patchwork of crusty hard snow and glare ice with ruts.
I snapped some pictures of S86 near Crow Hill Road in Indian Lake to show you that conditions have worsened in the past week since my last report on Tuesday:
As you can see, it ain’t pretty getting into the village. When the Crow Hill Shelf is almost gone and people are going around the dirt mound to avoid the skank on the main trail into the village, it’s nearly “Game Over” for all but the die-hards.
I talked to a guy who made it to Indian Lake from Piseco this afternoon. He told me the lakes were pretty good if not a bit slippery, but the woods trails were thin with dirt showing. Just a last minute bit of actual recon for you.
Weekend Outlook:
Temperatures on Saturday will rise above 32*F, which will be somewhat of a good thing to break up the crust a bit for cooling and lube. A mixture of rain and wet snow will add some moisture as well.
Saturday night into Sunday will be much colder and freeze everything back into a brick. If we get lucky, maybe an inch or two worth of snow showers to make it look white again.
If you have any designs on riding one more time, do it this weekend. A strong thaw by the middle of next week will probably render the local village trails in Indian Lake and Speculator virtually shot. Unless we get a dump of snow, there’s no way to keep it going this time of year…unless you’re a diehard willing to hunt and peck for the ride-able stuff.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
