Update 3/10/18
Indian Lake Parks and Rec grooming C8 out to Headquarters and Moose River Plains and S84 out to Blue Mountain Lake. C8/Sabael trail is a lost cause for grooming through the swamp.
Snowarriors have groomed 538/Newcomb trail up to the Essex County Line turnaround.
Ride Report 3/8/18
Wednesday evening, I went to bed early because I was in a funk about not getting as much snow as expected.
Thursday was a brand new day with a total of 4 inches of fresh powder and it was looking like a winter postcard outside.
I just HAD to get on the saddle for a ride. Couldn’t pass up being first tracks on many of the trails around town, could I? 😉
And indeed, I was first tracks on the C8/Sabael trail. Here was one of the better sections:
There were some significant chuckholes along the way, but most of them can be sidestepped. But the final one-eighth-mile to Furnell’s Field was an absolute minefield of water/mud holes not easily side-stepped.
I did make it through. But Furnell’s Field was VERY BONY with just the 4 inches of new snow. Trail from Route 30 down to Indian Lake was very rocky at the bottom.
I got so preoccupied with dodging rocks and the new snow made it difficult to see where the shoreline ended and the ice began. I thought the frozen slush balls on the ice were more rocks covered under the snow. I realized too late and the back end sunk about 2 feet to the bottom.
No cell signal, so I walked back up to Route 30 and knocked on some doors. Nobody home. Walked back down to the lake, fired up my sled and ALMOST got it out of the hole, but couldn’t quite do it.
Thankfully, Jon Voorhees from Camp Driftwood saw my plight and came over to help out. At first, we both tugged on the front bumper and skis but couldn’t come close to getting it out.
So I took a deep breath and waded into the open water behind my sled about knee deep or slightly deeper. I lifted up on the back end of the sled, was almost able to put it up on the ice while Jon tugged the front. When I got out of the water, my boots like they weighted 40 pounds apiece with all the water in them. Fired up the sled and popped her back to the shoreline.
There.. You have my cautionary tale about going on the lakes. Wish I had taken a picture to show everybody.
Back home
With everything from knees down completely soaked, this ride needed to end. Once I got back to the compound, I decided to take Trail C8 for a little ways, just for a look-see. To my surprise, it was a pretty decent ride all the way out to Deer Valley. I even saw two snowmobilers coming into town who would end up at the Indian Lake Restaurant.
Some of it looked like this, and I didn’t spot many water holes:
I was kicking myself a little bit because I probably could have pressed on to hit Moose River Plains and get some miles into Inlet and Old Forge. But after my act of stupidity on the shores of Indian Lake, I did not want to compound it by pressing further into the wilderness with cold, wet feet, in case the snowmobile broke down.
After I got back home, I peeled off my bibs and boot liners to wring them out, then threw them in the dryer. My toes were a sick coloration of white and yellow, so I wrapped a heating pad around my feet and cranked it up until my toes turned a nice rosy color.
Back out there
Mrs ilsnow.com probably thought I was completely insane to head back out late afternoon after what happened to me earlier. But my gear was warm and dry…so I was ready to get back out!
Headed up S84 to Lake Durant which was bumpy and rough all the way through. There were some thin areas and water spots until I got over the top. After that, I had to watch for the several chuck holes that I knew were waiting for me.
Thankfully, being first tracks cushioned the bumps. 🙂
Newcomb trail was worth the trek. And I was first tracks until I encountered some tracks that came down from Newcomb. You can see me carving the new stuff here:
Aside from some dried water bars and one place the trail was eroded down to dirt from a washout, the trail was in pretty good shape with anywhere from 4-6 inches of fresh snow on it.
The “Indian Lake side” was somewhat bumpy in spots, especially the final 2 miles until the Essex County Line.
The Newcomb side up to the T-intersection was largely a fantastic ride, save for a few spots where the water was eating at the sides of the trail. Here was a sample of that awesomeness:
Took the right at the Newcomb-T and headed down C8B until the logging zone. There were some dried water bars and craters in the trail, but otherwise, mostly smooth riding through there. I clanked carbide several times on some of the usual thin spots. But there was at least 6 inches or more of fresh snow to make for a plush ride.
There was one particularly scary crater that could wreck a snowmobile if you whack it at speed. If someone hadn’t placed a traffic cone inside it, I’m not sure I would have spotted at night in time to stop, even as I was travelling slowly and cautiously. I snapped a picture of it on the return trip:
Back home
Once I got back into town, I ran through S87/42nd and Broadway…but did not hit Adirondack Lake. Didn’t want anything more to do with lakes after my boondoggle on the shores of Indian Lake earlier Thursday.
Aside from some thin spots and carbide clanking by the old landfill, it was a good run. Here I was tracking back through, after I had laid the first tracks in the new snow on 42nd and Broadway:
C8 and S86 heading back into Indian Lake village were well traveled with small hard studders. Trail was thin near Crow Hill Road.
Rolled back into the compound with 80 miles for the day.
Bottom line:
Mid-winter prime? Nope.
Ride-able? Yes, with caution and care.
Will the Indian Lake village trails be groomed for the weekend? Well, with the exception of the Sabael trail which needs open heart surgery to make that safe enough for a groomer to pass through, nearly everything else I rode around Indian Lake could be groomed in my opinion. But I can’t tell you whether or not that will happen. It’s always the Town Crew’s call whether they deem it safe enough to run their equipment on the trails.
I can tell you that Perkins Clearing should be in great shape entering the weekend. Parking at Browns Farm parking lot at the end of Cedar River Road and riding into Moose River Plains over to Inlet/Old Forge is probably a good strategy as well as that has been reported to be groomed and good riding this week.
LAKES? I would say stay OFF! Down in Lake Pleasant, I heard from reliable sources that Fish Mountain Trail has been closed by Pleasant Riders because there is open water where the trail dumps onto Oxbow Lake. Beside the obvious open water, the fresh snow does a great job of hiding weak ice along the shoreline and near outlets/inlets. The reward is not worth the risk, as I found out when I barely got away with doing something stupid…at the cost of filling my boots with ice water.
If you use your head and pick your battles, you can have another riding weekend here. That’s about all you can ask for now.
Time’s running out on winter…
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.
