1/26/20 – 8AM UPDATE: Well… Ended up with 4 inches of wet cement mix at the ilsnow storm center in Indian Lake! Always nice to get the unexpected bounce every now and again. ?
1/24/20 Report
When I woke up this morning, I wasn’t sure whether I’d bother riding. But by 11:30am, I was about to launch from the compound and decided to at least get a ride into Perkins Clearing, if nothing else.
C8/thru Bear Trap Swamp was nearly bare, but there was enough wet slime to slither though. Made the run up to Route 30 One Stop to top off with gas before the trip. Some of the riding was half-way decent, other parts needed more snow badly.
Headed down C8/Sabael trail. Groomers had done a nice job packing it down to make it passable. But there were large icy stretches and water bars through the swamps.
Some looked like this:
And some looked like this:
As a whole, the trail needs more snow badly!
Indian Lake was a nice run all the way down. I encountered some frozen slush patches. But there was nothing that spooked me. The campsites were pretty decent because there hasn’t been much traffic. Lewey Lake was a nice crossing as well.
2 Miles from Hell was groomed but was still somewhat of a bump-and-grind down toward Perkins Clearing with thin areas and some water hazards.
Into Perkins Clearing
Since the north end of Perkins Clearing is closed due to logging this winter, I had to run down through Mason Lake Parking lot and make the run into Perkins Clearing via S82C/Old Indian Lake Road which was pretty brutal for stretches with thin areas and some water bars. You can see how the trail is chewed down to the ground in places:
But there was a prize on the other side: Perkins Clearing!
Central and southern Perkins Clearing Road were good riding, but did have some thin spots on exposed hill sections and turns. Mud Lake Road was pretty good riding overall, but had it’s fair share of thin spots and a few rocks to kick around.
After Mossy Vly, Carpenter Hill Road was somewhat bumpy. But the worst parts were washed out culverts from the Halloween storm with one seen here:
I did make it as far at the Carpenter Hill Road by-pass toward Big Brook trail but was in no mood to try bucking my way through that path, so I turned tail and headed back.
LP9/Nichol Vly trail was passable, but had plenty of thin spots and rough water bars. I don’t plan on riding that again until we get significantly more snow for the groomers to fill everything in.
NOTE: Be very careful when riding near the road edges, especially near culverts and ditches because the Halloween Storm has altered the topography in places due to extreme flooding erosion. You can get into trouble pretty quickly if you’re not on the lookout for potential hazards the first time you ride through.
On to Speculator Tree Farm
After I got past the south end of Perkins Clearing Road, I saw fresh groomer tracks into LP41C/Hatchery Brook trail. At first, that was really nice. But then I hit some surprisingly large thin areas, right on thru the marsh.
It got even worse after that for while with the trail chewed down to the ground in places. But I did make it to Wolf Hill Road and followed the fresh groomer tracks for a pretty nice ride.
As I descended down the hill toward Elm Lake Road, the southerly exposures were getting cooked down to dirt in places, but I was able to slither through. S41D through Elm Lake Road and Long Level Road was great riding. Continuing on S41D down Fly Creek Road was good riding, with just a few light bumps.
Down into Wells
Ran Old Route 30 down to the steel bridge, which was fast and mainly flat. For giggles, I decided to check out the condition of S42 along the side Route 30. To my pleasant surprise, it was in pretty decent shape having been recently groomed. Aside from some bare/snirty spots and a couple of hazardous water bars, it was an enjoyable ride down into the gorge!
Once I passed the junction of Route 8 & 30, I pressed on. The riding remained pretty decent for the most part, except some bare spots and one bit of creative ditch banging I had to perform. Next thing I knew, I was down into Wells!
Made my way down to Lake Algonquin to rip back and forth, but found too much slush for my liking and stayed off:
I doubled back into Wells to try lunch at the Over Rock Cafe and struck gold with their cheesburger wrap and homemade chips. All I can say is WOW!
Back up to Speculator
I didn’t want to mess with C4B/Gilmantown trail to complete the loop because that trail needs a ton of snow to make it work…something we do not have at the moment.
Figured if S42 got me down, it would get me back up. And it did, but not sure how much longer it will last in the valley with the nearby pavement cooking it.
From Old Route 30, I ran C4/Cave Hill Road which was the “bumpiest” road I encountered in the Tree Farm, but still pretty good riding.
C4 into the River Trail was brutal, stand-up and ride the cheese grater riding with spots chewed down to dirt.
Then I spotted this “gem” on the River Trail:
Yeah, if I was feeling cheeky, I might have side-skirted that mess by doing a little grip-n-rip it on the river side. But I determined any reward would not be worth the risk, so I turned tail and took C4 into Speculator Village.
It was bumpy, bump, bumpy in the village! I had thought about taking the new leg of the Business Access Trail in attempt to make it over to Lake Pleasant to do some fast rips. But I didn’t want that badly enough to ride over this:
The picture doesn’t do justice as to how bad that looked from my snowmobile!
Run back to Indian Lake
As evening approached, I decided to make the run back home. LP3/C4 back up to the south end of Perkins Clearing was an absolutely dreadful snirty and dirty bump-and-run up the hill. There is NO WAY I’m riding that trail again until we get substantially more snow!
Once I got to Perkins Clearing Road, I ran it up the gut to make my way home. Don’t know whether 2 Miles from Hell was groomed again today, but it didn’t seem as bad as I thought I should have been – but then again, maybe I was comparing it to the hellish LP3/C4 experience rattling around fresh in my noggin!
Once I got back into Indian Lake, I banged out the customary victory loop. Some of it was pretty decent and many places sorely need more snow. But the groomers had it pretty flat. The gold star goes to S86/Little Canada from Sawmill Road to Lone Birch and Adirondack Lake.
Got back to the compound with 112 miles under my belt for Friday, and I absolutely earned them!
Bottom line
- Was it a great ride? Nope!
- Was it even a good ride? Don’t think I can say that…
- Did I have fun? Oh yeah! Better than anything I’ll do this summer!
If you decide not to come up and ride this weekend, I’m not going to judge you harshly. I banged my way though a lot of s#it today that I wouldn’t bother with if I knew it was going to snow before next week.
Just know that if you desperately need to spin some miles off this weekend, it’s possible. The playbook is quite simple:
- Maximize seasonal roads
- Minimize narrow woods connector trails
If you’re willing to assume the risk, you could hit the lakes as well. But do know the ice is not anywhere near as thick as it should be for mid-winter.
As for the weekend weather, it won’t help us. But temperatures peaking in the middle 30s isn’t going to wipe out the seasonal roads either.
So…use my ride report, check other trusted sources and make your decision. That’s all you can do with our current state of affairs.
As for me, I’m more than fine with going back to work this weekend after three consecutive ride days. I’ve had my fill of what’s out there now.
For the ilsnow nation, good luck!
Darrin
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