Woke up to a few inches of heavy wet snow Thursday morning around 8am and that was certainly enough to spring me loose for a ride.
So after my morning chores, I headed out about 10am or so, with plans to ride up to Newcomb because I hadn’t been that way in a while.
S84 out toward Lake Durant ranged from fairly smooth to some studders, maybe a low roller or two. Certainly a decent ride after the warmth we’ve had this week. I encountered numerous low hanging trees and dismounted my horse several times to clean fallen debris off the trail.
Took the turn onto 538/Newcomb trail and just past the Rock River Bridge was a large diameter fallen tree that a fellow rider had told me about while I was heading out. There was no way to ride around it and my little folding saw wasn’t about to cut through it. I did report this information to the proper authorities and believe this tree has been cleared.
So I aborted Operation Newcomb and decided to run over to Blue Mountain Lake. That was a really nice ride! Alas, a couple of cross country skiers had made the first tracks on the Old Stage Trail, but I made due:
As I pressed toward Blue Mountain Lake, there was noticeably more new snow, about 6-7 inches worth. It made the ride along Old Stage trail feel like a cloud!
After I chatted with Lenny at Blue Mountain Rest, I made my way back to town, with an eye on making a Speculator run. Whilst running back through S84, I had found a newly fallen tree on trail. As I was removing the debris, I heard a large cracking sound just off the trail and saw a large tree falling in my direction. Thankfully, a cluster of trees stopped the falling tree. But you should have seen me run down the trail to escape the potential calamity!
Got back to Indian Lake and was sure to bang out the victory loop. S86/Little Canada was flat and untracked. So I was sure to thrash that thrice! Looked like 8 or 9 sleds rode it by the time I got through with it!
Then I made the run through C8/Sabael trail, where I encountered a large fallen tree about a mile past Pashley Road. At that point, I got the hint and high-tailed it back to Indian Lake Restaurant for lunch. Very quiet in there and I ate well in a short time:
After lunch, I decided to stop at Pine’s Country Store and upgrade my portable tree-cutting apparatus:
Mission Speculator: Aborted!
The large fallen tree on C8/Sabael trail had been removed with pretty smooth sailing along that avenue, save for a few choppy thin spots and a several spots where water is eating away at the trail base from underneath.
Dropped onto Indian Lake and promptly rode into the teeth of a Tikrit dust storm on the lake. The miles of wind fetch created nearly non-stop blowing snow which was blinding with near zero visibility at times. After about a half mile of that, I turned tail to head back to town. I ran closer to the shoreline so I could find my way off the lake. Got a little closer to Squaw Brook than I would have liked, but I did manage to see that well enough to give it sufficient clearance.
When I got back into town, I found a small tree that had fallen onto the Crow Hill shelf. I promptly yanked that off the trail and sank in nearly thigh deep.
Ridin’ local
With it being mid-afternoon, I just swirled around the victory loop several times and attempted to hit some places off the grid that I hadn’t been to this winter. Well, the snow pack was knee-deep or deeper off-trail and very soft. So I managed to run my “oh-my-goodness-I’m-royally-stuck” drill in which I got in deep enough to take about a half-hour to extricate myself. At least there was a nearby house I could have walked to in order to get help if I had gotten in over my head.
And after my third pass through S87/42nd and Broadway, I found a freshly fallen tree, which made today’s hand-saw purchase pay for itself:
Made it back to the compound by early evening with 68 miles for the day, entirely within the friendly confines of Indian Lake. Bought entirely local at Pine’s Country Store, Indian Lake Restaurant and at Stewarts’ Shops to refuel for the next trip. And I got to be a good citizen by removing debris off the trail – I probably dismounted the horse at least a dozen times.
Weekend Outlook
Once the groomers can work their magic through the trails, I think we’ll be setting up good for the weekend with winter cold large and in charge. A good pulse of lake-effect snow either Friday afternoon or evening would be a nice bonus before the weekend.
I had ripped across Adirondack Lake several times and didn’t encounter any significant slush. Didn’t encounter any slush on Indian Lake either, but I’m sure there are some pockets of slush out there, especially at the south bay. Just use your head if you decide to run the lakes – especially with the blowing snow out there.
Also, be on the lookout for places where water is starting to eat away at the trail from underneath. You’ll most likely find them on S85/Ski Hut trail, C8/Sabael Trail and S84 out to Blue Mountain Lake when you’re riding around Indian Lake:
Looks like we may encounter another big warm-up next week, which would play along with our up-and-down winter. We’ll just have to roll the dice and see what we end up with.
Get up here and ride, because we’re never promised tomorrow – not with the weather, or life in general. 😉
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Steet Ponte Auto Group. Many of the vehicles here in Indian Lake are bought from the Steet Ponte. Co-owner Joe Steet is a huge fan and booster of ilsnow.com. If you’re looking for a new truck, give Steet Ponte a good look.
