Early spring snows are usually a tricky beast. Thankfully, Indian Lake ended up with about six inches of snow/sleet mash to grease the skids again.
Didn’t make it out until after work. Indian Lake village trails were tracked up by late afternoon, but still in pretty decent shape; some slush here and there.
S84 out to Blue Mountain was getting ground down to dirt in the usual spots before I got up over the top. Overall, it was a somewhat lumpy ride. The smoothest section was along Rock Lake. There were a few spots where the water is eating away at the trail, but nothing insurmountable.
538/Newcomb trail was soft and lumpy, but still a half-way decent ride. There were occasional thin spots, but the shady nooks were still holding quite a bit of snow:
At the Newcomb-T, I hooked a left onto C7B toward Long Lake for giggles. For about a mile in, this was one of the smoothest stretches I rode on Saturday. But then it turned thin and bumpy with water hazards, so I turned around.
One back to town, I was able to find enough snow on Benton Road to make the connection to S87/42nd and Broadway, which was really nice. Adirondack Lake was turning into a slush pit, so I just pinned it-to-win it across.
S86/Little Canada was nice and flat! Only one or two other tracks on it all day. Snow was nice and deep toward the Lone Birch, but thinner near the Route 30 One Stop.
Section between Route 30 One Stop and Crow Hill Road was a fun slush pit in places. S85/Ski Hut trail was great!
C8/Sabael trail was really nice riding, but there were several water hazards opening back up. A lot of it looked like this:
Then I spun back to the compound with about 65 miles under my belt.
For Sunday…
Wish I could have gotten out Saturday morning before S84 & Newcomb trails got bumped up a bit. But then again, it was good to see people taking advantage of Old Man Winter’s parting gift. I spotted a dozen or more sleds in the time I was out. Even if you didn’t make it up on Saturday, it will be around for Sunday.
If you have already called it a winter, that’s fine too. But when I live here and we get a fresh blanket of snow, I’m going riding…as long at there is a base underneath it! Even April…
Despite Old Forge/Inlet closing their trails for the season at the end of April 1st, Moose River Plains should remain open through the weekend. Perkins Clearing is a good play call if you take it from the north end from Mason Lake parking lot.
Outlook
I think I’ve got one more ride in the tank this weekend before calling it quits myself. We could be in for a couple of significant rain events during the first week of April that will finally start the spring break up in earnest. So, grab it now…or forever hold your peace!
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Adirondacks Speculator Region Chamber of Commerce. Speculator has long been one of my favorite places to ride! There are lots of options, whether you want to ride around Speculator for the day, or launch a 250 mile mega-miler. Speculator is loaded with businesses eager to cater to snowmobilers. Look them up at the Speculator Chamber and grab a copy of their snowmobile trail map. Be sure to tell them that Darrin @ ilsnow.com sent you.
