That two inches of snow Indian Lake got Wednesday night was enough to make it look somewhat like winter again first thing Thursday. Indian Lake Parks and Rec were out grooming the trails and did head out C8 toward Cedar River Headquarters.
We chose to make the run down toward Speculator way. C8/Sabael trail had been groomed, but there were some stubborn leftover low bumps throughout and the swamp was a bit of a mess in spots.
Dropped down onto Indian Lake. The north end had a half-way decent amount of fresh snow for lube and cooling. The middle and south end were quite threadbare in regards to snow. But thankfully, our track spin was able to break up the thin crust and dig into the shallow slush at times to provide the needed material for cooling and lube. If it had been a truly cold morning, I’m not sure we would have been able to skate by without overheating.
The Campsites were brutally rough. Lewey Lake was a good crossing. C8/Two Miles of Hell was a decent ride, but there were spots at the bottom where groundwater is eating away at the trail base.
S82C/Old Indian Lake Road had chatterbumps and the trail surface was fairly tight through the cowpath – which made the sled run a bit warm through there.
Perkins Clearing Road was a nice ride. Saw the groomer coming out of S41C/Pig Rock Trail, so we hooked left and started riding ribbon which continued all the way down Wolf Hill Road into Speculator Tree Farm for mile after mile of smiles:
Elm Lake Road and Long Level Road were also freshly groomed Thursday morning. We encountered a couple of riders who started at the steel bridge in Wells who told us that Old Route 30 and Fly Creek Road were bumpy and rough, to the point that 15-20mph was considered “fast”.
Well, that didn’t sound like fun, so we ripped back through the Upper Speculator Tree Farm. Looked like S41/Silver Hill Trail had been groomed although we didn’t turn in that way.
LP41C/Hatchery Brook trail hadn’t been groomed, but was a pretty good ride. The cowpath section passing the marsh was thin and bony.
C4 down to Speculator was nearly the best I’ve witnessed it this winter, although Melody Lodge down to Oak Mountain was a snirt path.
The main route though Speculator Village was bumpy, but serviceable. After ripping across Lake Pleasant, we hit LP1/Page Street which was recently groomed for a good enough ride through that avenue.
Sacandaga Lake was a fun, slushy rip across. C4/Fish Mountain-Oxbow Trail was freshly groomed for a good ride thru the cemetery. The cowpath section to Oxbow Lake was thin in places with some bumps – along with places where ground water was eating away at the base. There was also a large puddle that made for a fun splash thru.
Oxbow Lake was a nearly effortless rip across with just enough loose slush/water to keep the heat exchangers and slides content.
Of course, lunch at the Oxbow Inn was excellent. I opted for the steak salad special, which did leave room for pecan pie w/ ice cream:
After lunch
Had thought about making the run to Powley Road. But after talking to several riders who told us that it wasn’t the best they’ve seen it, Cal wanted to go back and hit Fawn Lake trail. I was a bit apprehensive about trying that, but Cal was absolutely on the money: C4/Fawn Lake trail was freshly groomed:
It was a very fun ride, with the soft snow causing the sleds to push thru corners. So we were sure to ride conservatively through there.
C4/8 – Big Brook Trail hadn’t been groomed yet, but was nice ride all the way back up to the back side of Perkins Clearing.
The bypass and Carpenter Hill Road was hands down the best riding I’ve seen through there this season. And this view from the bypass never gets old:
By mid-afternoon, the trails were turning into mashed potatoes from the strong March sun and temperatures pushing 40*F.
LP9/Nichol Vly trail held this always spectacular view:
On the way back home, the cowpath sections of S82C/Old Indian Lake trail were bony with stretches of bare dirt showing. But the bumps were fairly soft from the warmth. C8/Two Miles from Hell remained a decent ride, although the lower end was showing noticeably more dirt than it did in the morning.
We stopped on Indian Lake to sunbathe for a bit:
C8/Sabael trail had really taken a pounding by Thursday afternoon, with the trail starting to fall to pieces in the swamp. It was still quite passable, but you could lose a ski in a water hole if you’re not careful.
Inner village trails had dirty corners and brown snow throughout. Bear Trap Swamp was starting to get baked bare, with large puddles for fun splash downs. Crow Hill Road shelf is still there – for now…
After we took a rip around the victory lap and abused S86/Little Canada for a bit, we refueled at Stewart’s and decided to take a run up to Newcomb.
Well, S84 heading up the hill out of town was very skanky. After we got over the top, the trail was bumpy and rough. At least the trail was soft enough not to completely pulverize us. At that point, Cal had enough and we decided to sunbathe at Rock Lake Marsh for a bit. Since I had run up to Newcomb on Wednesday I was perfectly fine with not banging S84 any further either.
We doubled back to town and ripped Adirondack Lake and S86/Little Canada to watch the sunset from Lone Birch:
After Cal and I parted ways, I decided to rip S85/Ski Hut trail for a cheap thrill. With rapidly falling temperatures at sunset, that trail became hard in a hurry and the skis were darting – so I took it easy through there.
After another slashdown through Bear Trap Swamp, I rolled back into the compound with 120+ miles on the day. If this turns out to be my last “real ride” of the season, I did it right. But I always hope for at least one more! 😉
I didn’t stop to take any pictures of the cowpaths beaten down to dirt in spots, but based on the s#it stain on Trail C8 by Mountain Fitness Gym, I can tell you the arteries into Indian Lake will continue degrade day-by-day from here-on-out, even though it’s not nearly THAT bad in the woods yet:
I heard from some other riders that Moose River Plains had low rollers on the Indian Lake side, studders on the Inlet side and was turning brown the final 2 miles toward Limekiln Gate – pretty standard fare for late season riding out there… I’m pretty sure the Big-T and Red River-T deadenders would be nice riding through.
Bottom line
Well, if you patiently waited all snowmobiling season until conditions were perfect to bother riding: CONGRATULATIONS on letting Winter 2019-20 pass by! IT’S OVER for you.
For the rest who want to ride at least one more time, you’ll be able to do it this weekend and make the connections into town for gas and food. After that? I think we’re punching our one-way ticket into die-hard season with no anomalous cold in sight for next week.
We’re at that time of year when the snowpack partially melts and refreezes almost daily when it’s not snowing. So, when you start in the morning, drop those scratchers if you got ’em! I don’t think the bit of snow we’ll get on Friday will help much.
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.
