After getting home from the Skillet concert at 1am Thursday morning and with the trails being frozen ice/hard pack, I wasn’t thinking of going out on the snowmobile today. But the coastal-nor’ester nudged up just enough to kiss Indian Lake in the cheek with a fresh inch-and-a-half of snow and I just had to get out there.
Didn’t get going until 1pm, which bought time for the groomers to work their magic. All of the Indian Lake village trails were groomed and in great riding shape.
I was already happy by this point:
Indian Lake snowmobiling 2/9/17
I decided to set sail for Speculator. C8/Sabael trail was being groomed when I went through. Indian Lake was smooth and incredibly fast with 1-2 inches of fresh snow on it. The surface underneath was frozen hard pack and patchy glare ice.
Campsites were an absolutely brutal nut-mashing ordeal. Thank goodness that stretch is short. Lewey Lake was another fast crossing along with its iconic view of Snowy Mountain:
2 Miles from Hell was freshly groomed and a nice ride from bottom to top, with just one significant washout hazard that can be easily navigated with care. Whenever the 2 Miles from Hell is in good shape, you just know everything else will be gold!
I did the counterclockwise loop of Perkins Clearing, hitting north end of Perkins Clearing Road, Old Military Road, Carpenter Hill Road and LP9/Nichol Vly Road. All of that was AWESOME! I was the first tracks on LP9 after a fresh groom. Talk about rollin’ out the white carpet, riding this was an out of body experience:
The south end of Perkins Clearing Road down to Route 30 was somewhat of a roller-rama but the Lake Pleasant groomer was working to iron out the bumps.
Opted to take the recently re-opened S41C/Hatchery Brook trail to make my attack on the Speculator Tree Farm. Overall, that was a pretty nice ride down with just a few water spots. Some of it was a bit rutty where it had been plowed for logging. The next pass with the groomer will probably make that a splendid ride. Looks like they had about 2 inches of new snow in Speculator.
Then I connected with S41/Silver Hill trail which hadn’t been groomed yet, but was nice running with the fresh pow-pow:
C4/Cave Hill trail was pretty good down to Old Route 30. My original plan was to take LP4A back up to Speculator then perhaps make a run toward Oxbow to add a few miles to the afternoon ride.
But my find of the day was a freshly groomed C4B/Gilmantown trail down to Wells:
There were several water hazards and lots of sticks and branches down from the ice storm, but the trail was an enjoyable pathway if taken with a bit of care. I was able to remove much of the larger debris from the trail, but probably could have spent the better part of the afternoon to clean it up completely. Hopefully, a few more Good Samaritans will pick up sticks on their way through.
Not everyone likes the C4B trail, but I must say that it’s a fun and technical-riding change of pace. I don’t have much use for the tight woods sections because I ride tight woods trails all of the time. But those power lines are a blast to ride and you get some scenic views, especially if you are traveling southward into Wells. Pay attention! If you go off the side of the power lines trail, you’ve punched your one-way ticket down a 30 foot plunge.
I passed the Algonquin Snowblazers groomer just as it was getting back into Wells. Looked like there was close to 3 inches of fresh snow down there. Then I zipped across the field then turned left to run S42 along Route 30 back to Speculator. For the most part, that was in very good shape, save for a couple of Route 30 culvert hazards.
Old Route 30 had been recently groomed and was a fun rip back up to the highway. LP4A was in half-way decent shape back up to Speculator, but needs a pass with the groomer to bring it up to par with everything else I rode today. I was able to finish off and remove a fallen tree with my folding hand-saw to remove the most significant obstacle on that trail.
I crossed Lake Pleasant which has a few frozen ruts but otherwise, smooth. LP1/Page Street trail was groomed and a nice ride. Sacandaga Lake was a rougher crossing than any of the other lakes I had hit today.
Fawn Lake trail and Big Brook trail were groomed into nearly-mint condition for a great ride all the way back up into Perkins Clearing.
On the way back up Perkins Clearing, I found a gruesome snowmobile wreck site near the north end of Perkins Clearing Road where it looked like someone had failed to negotiate a turn. Nobody was there, so I kept going. Then I saw a whole bunch of people and emergency personnel parked at the north end by Route 30. Since the situation was well under control by the emergency personnel, I passed though without rubbernecking. I gotta say the whole scene made my stomach turn.
The rest of the trip back home was uneventful. Two Miles from Hell was showing some studder from the day’s traffic. Got back to the compound just before evening with 110 miles for an afternoon’s worth of riding.
Bottom line
I’ll say that the mixed precipitation event and brief thaw early Wednesday didn’t do much harm. We had a quick freeze up and got blessed with snow to freshen things back up nicely. The low mid-week traffic allowed the trails to cure back up without rutting. AND…another dose of fresh snow is expected Friday night, just in time for the weekend!
LAKES, LAKES, LAKES! With reports of sleds falling through the ice in various places, people have been asking me about whether the lake ice is “safe” in my neck of the woods. All I can say is that you need to use your own best judgement as to whether you ride lakes or not. I will comment on the riding conditions of lakes that I chose to ride on, but that does not guarantee their safety by any means. Riding lakes is always at your own risk!
You can chose to live vicariously through my trail reports and let winter pass you by…or you can just load up your sled and you know…truck it up here and have some fun. 😉
Unless you wait until Saturday afternoon to try it, I promise you won’t be sorry.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Pilot Knob Marina in Lake George. Just get off Northway I-87 Exit 20, then follow NY Route 149 East until you hit the junction of NY Route 149 and Bay Road. Pilot Knob Marina features a wide selection of new and pre-owned Arctic Cat snowmobiles & ATVs. If you see Nick Barber, tell him that Darrin @ ilsnow.com sent ya!
