DECEMBER 24, 2022 Update
Total precipitation from the storm (rain plus melted snow and sleet) was 2+ inches. Snow pack at my place diminished from 13 inches to 10 inches, so there was at least a few inches of snow pack loss.
Temperatures dropped to ZERO Friday night to staunch the bleeding. But the narrow woods trails will be mess until further notice, with ground water pooling in low spots under the snow pack.
We only picked up a dusting of snow once the cold came back. The best play may be to wait until Monday to see whether we got grazed by lake-effect snow Sunday night. Then decide whether to hit Moose River Plains or Perkins Clearing.
Outlook for New Years is NO GOOD for cold or snow. We’re entering the third consecutive winter with moderately strong La Nina. Theme seems to be: hit it when you get it because tomorrow ain’t promised.
DECEMBER 22, 2022 Ride
My trailer repairs were done and I was able to pick it up on Wednesday. That was a VERY GOOD thing. Either I was going to truck it to Brown’s Farm to ride Moose River Plains….or stay home.
I saw enough mud around town on Sunday’s ride to know I wasn’t attempting the 17 miles of C8 to get out there!
Got to Brown’s Farm Thursday morning and shoved off before 9:30am. Town of Indian Lake groomers were making their way into Moose River Plains. The riding was pretty good before I overtook them before Cedar River Headquarters. Riding turned to soft studder-chatter into the Plains. Nothing was horribly bumpy though.
There were plenty of spots scuffed down to the ground.
Similar riding conditions persisted into the Inlet side until I encountered a groomer heading in. Past the Big-T intersection, trail base was thinner with more carbide scratching. The final 2 miles to Limekiln Road were snirty, and pebbly at times.
Ole Barn to Gilbert Road was pretty thin, but with enough material to make it through without my snowmobile totally hating me.
Pressing into Old Forge
Downtown Inlet into Eagle Bay was brown in stretches, but smooth enough for an enjoyable ride.
Trail 5 through Rondaxe Road was snirty with some cinders & ashes. But it was pretty fast and flat in places too.
In case you’re wondering about 4th Lake, here’s a shot by Daikers. No thanks!! Hard pass on that, bro…
Trail 9 was its usual stellar ride. I try to hit this every time I ride into Old Forge.
From there I rolled Trails 1 and 2 up to Big Moose. That stretch was pretty good, aside from some thin spots and a bit of carbide clank.
Stillwater Road had good snow cover on it. Ran that over to Trail 1, which needed snow to fill in some water divots but was easily passable.
Decided to take a look-see run toward Brantingham. The first quarter-mile of BT trail was rough, needed much more snow to fill in the terrain divots. It evolved into a half-way decent ride. Then I encountered this creek crossing about 2 miles in:
The creek wasn’t deep. But a poor soul tried to skip his way across it and landed on a rock, which cracked his snowmobile’s chain case. OUCH! At this point I wasn’t really feeling it for a Brantingham run, so I turned tail and headed back to Old Forge.
Trail 1 back down to its intersection with Trail 2 was my worst riding experience of the day. Lots of thin spots and rock nuggets. My carbides took a beating through that avenue.
After I split off via the Pipeline Trail, I looped around aimlessly for a bit. I can tell you that parts of Trail 8 were SWEET and that Trail 3 was pretty good. Also noticed that nobody had attempted to ride C7/Railroad tracks.
Ran through Trails 17 & 7 to hit Elise’s Lookout. That was pretty good riding most of the time. And the view doesn’t disappoint.
After that, I connected with Trail 6 down to Thendara, which was a nice ride. Dropped into North Country Market for a coffee and snack rest stop, then doubled back to Old Forge via Trails 6 & 7. Trail 7A needed more snow on the hill to replace the snow that gets spun off.
The ride home
Ran Trail 1 to North Street to make the run at Pete’s Peek. Trails 5 and 4 / 4A were groomed, but needed more snow in places. After the groomer turnaround, the remaining stretch to the view was nearly hardscrabble. But the juice was worth the squeeze.
The avenue back to Inlet was a tad beaten up from the day’s traffic, but still easily passable. Returning through Moose River Plains was a noticeably smoother ride to end the day for a nice rip back to the truck.
When I stopped at the Big-T around 3pm, several snowmobilers recognized me. I shot the breeze with a couple named Ray and Monique (really hope I remembered their names correctly) for a bit. And it started to snow – a couple hours ahead of schedule. That was a nice touch!
Ended the day with 136 miles, for a solid early season ride. To get ANY riding in December seems like gold now. Felt AWESOME to get the first 100+ miler under my belt before Christmas!
Weekend outlook
Well… There should be a 12-hour window for rain from later Thursday night into early Friday afternoon for the central Adirondacks. Although that rain will come down hard at times, front-end and back-end snow should mitigate the damage somewhat. And Friday night’s flash freeze should quickly staunch the bleeding.
Another hazard – strong winds will likely knock down trees. At least it won’t be a complete wipeout.
Basically, seasonal roads like Moose River Plains and Perkins Clearing would be best able to withstand the beating. Narrow woods trails would remain swampy until further notice.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Willam Strauss, Farmer’s Insurance Agent. What you don’t know can hurt you. Give Bill a holler at 518-693-6897 to discuss your insurance needs, including auto, home, renters, business and SNOWMOBILE insurance.
