January 27 Update: Total of 3 and a half inches of snow at the ilsnow storm center in Indian Lake, and 6 inches in Piseco.
I have to admit that Long Lake is somewhat underutilized in my playbook. Was in the mood for a woodsy ride and this fit the bill nicely.
Leaving Indian Lake
Groomers had the main arteries flattened out pretty good Tuesday morning, but I could tell the trails were churned to dirt in places over the weekend from the heavy traffic. I was clanking rock tops every once in a while:
Aside from the heavy bumps near Million Dollar Bridge, S84/Blue Mountain trail benefited nicely from the fresh groom. The water bars and mud holes have been mainly filled in. Pretty enjoyable ride up to Rock Lake marsh if not snirty in places. After that, it was very thin and I was occasionally clanking rock tops. But at least it wasn’t too bumpy.
Was glad to reach the prize on 538/Newcomb trail:
After I crossed the County Line, there were some bumps and it got thin in spots. But at least the water bars over Joseph Mountain have been filled in.
On to Long Lake
At the Newcomb-T, I hung a left a beat my way a bit to cross Route 28N. Then I saw some niceness to start C7B with a recent groom:
Much of the way was not nearly this nice. But C7B was a serviceable pathway to Long Lake. It was icy in spots near the frozen over water bars. Bumps were spaced far enough to permit a mostly enjoyable ride. The straight and wide sections were good riding for sure! The trail did thin out and become choppy & snirty in places the final couple of miles to Tarbell Road.
None of the roads in town had been shelved for riding. But Tarbell Road had enough residual snow on it to get by. Long Lake had plenty of tracks going to the other side, but I just wasn’t feeling it with the frozen water holes and slush ruts all over the place. So, I just kept running the road then ran the “beat-down trail” into town:
After playing around in Jennings Pond for a few minutes, I ran the Route 30 Bridge and C7B along Rice Road and Kickerville Road until it became a trail again. Just enough residual snow to slither through that avenue.
That 14 mile stretch of C7B up to Sabattis Circle Road? SWEET! There were some thin spots, but lots of great stuff like this:
Noted that Sabattis Circle Road was shelved for snowmobile traffic – so a little intel for you there. Then I turned back to head home as it had started to snow pretty hard.
Heading back
On the way home, it appeared some throttle jockeys had left their piles from Newcomb down to Indian Lake. But there was no denting the freshly covered 538/Newcomb trail as I drew closer to Indian Lake:
Banged out the victory loop. 42nd and Broadway was pretty good. Adirondack Lake slush seemed to have settled down and tightened up – at least along the drag strip. S86/Little Canada was a great rip between Sawmill Road and Lone Birch. And S85/Ski Hut trail was the best and fastest I’ve seen it this season.
All in all, it was a decent 113 mile ride for the afternoon and early evening with some nice stretches thrown in.
As we continue to get new snow Tuesday into Wednesday morning, groomers should have some fresh meat to work with – which is good because the snow on the trail has become “tired” in the narrow woods trails and even some spots on the seasonal roads. Setting up for another snowmobiling weekend here!
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.
