The plan was to wake up early and hit the trails at first light to get in as many miles as I could and get home before it turned dark.
Well, when it was -10*F at 6am, I changed my mind and embarked on my ride after 9am. Every degree counts when it’s this cold. 😉
I’ll tell you where I went, but a blow-by-blow trail report isn’t really necessary with so much prime mid-winter, mid-week snowmobile riding.
The morning run through Moose River Plains was amazing! About as good as I’ve seen it from end to end. Just a hint of snirt toward the Limeklin end.
Ole Barn to Gilbert Road into Inlet was snirty, but the best I’ve seen it in weeks.
Inlet to Eagle Bay was snirty, but well-manicured. Around Old Forge, almost everything I touched was good to great, besides some stretches of Trail 5 and Trail 1 once I got past its northern junction with Pipeline Trail.
BT – trail was a bit bumpy in places but certainly manageable. 10 Mile Road and C7B heading into Brantingham was a good ride. The several mile plowed section had enough fresh snow to get by.
By the time I got to the Pine Tree Inn, I had 90 miles under my belt and really wanted to eat a good meal and stay inside to warm up.
After “recharging”, I took C8A through Confusion Flats, Stony Lake Road and Mount Tom. Nearly all of that was AMAZING!
On the way back home, I dropped down to Thendara and headed to North Country Market for a gas stop and a nice warm coffee before I sucked it up and made the mad dash back to Indian Lake. On the way back through, I hit the Inlet loop trails, which were good to excellent riding.
After I banged out a Victory lap around Indian Lake, I rolled back into the compound after 7pm with 204 miles for the day.
With the brutal barely above zero temperatures, it wasn’t a day to stop and take lots of pictures. So I’ll share the couple I got:
If not for the bitter cold, I could have made a run at 300 miles today. It was that type of riding for sure. Could have started earlier and gone out well past Brantingham before making the turn home.
But I was pushing the envelope to hit 200+ miles on a windy and frigid day by myself. A couple of friends chickened out on this ride. I won’t reveal their identities, but only give them nicknames like “Cal” and “Damion.” 😉
C8/Sabael Trail Update
C8/Sabael trail HAS BEEN REOPENED!! (as of 2/1/19)
Indian Lake Parks and Rec will be installing snow fence next week to define the trail. Do not go all over the field and do not litter.
Otherwise, have fun!
Respect the property better than you would your own and we’ll get to keep this trail for winters to come.
Thanks….
Weekend Outlook
Just DO IT, bro…
Worry about next week’s weather, next week…
Fortunately, the first weather system to roll through here early next week doesn’t appear to have a sub-tropical connection. So that would probably mean much less rain that the dumping we got last week.
We’ll have to see how the details for the following weather systems later next week present themselves. Barring a thermonuclear meltdown, I think we’re going to survive this…
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
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