Presidents’ Weekend is probably one of the last times you’d expect to see me out snowmobiling. But sometimes you get flushed out of the pocket and have to make a play that you weren’t planning on.
The upcoming weather this week flushed me out of my pocket. So, after work I took a run down to Speculator and back…
Down to Perkins Clearing
When I rolled out of the compound before 4PM, the Indian Lake village trails were studdery, but not a terribly awful ride. Icy turns and hills were the norm. C8/Sabael trails offered the only real hazards with a couple of chuckholes where the water was eating the base from underneath.
Indian Lake and Lewey Lake were a bit of a chore with minimal snow coverage on top of fairly rough ice. The wind had even blown some bald spots onto the ice. With no studs, I didn’t feel safe going much past 40 mph and the back end was fishtailing from time to time. The Campsites were…the usual “fun” ride through the washboard moguls.
2 Miles of Hell was snirty, but was actually a half-way decent ride…especially for a late Sunday afternoon.
Perkins Clearing was heavily attacked by weekend traffic. But I’d say that most of it was C+/B- riding with stretches of solid B conditions. I ventured down C4/C8 Big Brook trail section off the back side of Perkings Clearing for a half mile after it narrowed for the sake of a trail report. Unsurprisingly, it was rough so I turned tail back into Perkins Clearing.
Over to Speculator Tree Farm
I ran though the Pig Rock/Whittaker Lake trail into Speculator Tree Farm, which was decent riding. I did see a Lake Pleasant Piston Bully with a blown track off to the side of the trail. Wolf Hill Road was a pretty good ride up to intersection HM125.
S41C/Hatchery Brook was the star of Speculator this evening, offering the longest stretches of fine riding:
At the north end of S41C, I tried C4 down to Speculator for about a mile. It was fairly whooped with studders and moguls. The bumps were soft, so I could have made it down to Speculator without much pain if I had wanted to press the issue.
Back to Indian Lake
But I was satisfied with the riding I got in before dark, so I headed back home via the Southern Perkins Clearing bypass which was worn and bumpy. But the trail softness did allow for a half-way comfortable ride through. I did encounter this double-chuckhole, soon to become a crater:
The 2 Miles From Hell had become loaded with soft studders from the traffic that had passed through in between my runs through there.
After I got back to Indian Lake, I ran the usual victory lap with S85/Ski Hut trail, S86 between Sawmill Road and Lone Birch, S87/42nd and Broadway being the best riding:
After that, I rolled back into the compound by 7:30pm with 78 miles clicked off.
Bottom Line
Well, I followed the advise I’ve been giving everyone else: Just do it!
Usually, this is a snowmobile ride that I’d skip without even thinking about it. But considering what awaits us this week, I was happy to get the ride in. Traffic wasn’t very heavy Sunday evening. Saw maybe a couple dozen snowmobilers, most of whom where families and other considerate riders. 🙂
In general the people who got up here to snowmobile this weekend were glad they did.
Midweek Outlook
I’ll let you look at my forecast and use your morbid imagination… If it’s not raining hard Monday evening, I may sneak out for one more ride before I ride the pine for an indefinite period.
Is Winter Done?
Think I’ll have abundant time to address that later this week when I’m not riding. 😉
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.
