I seldom bother riding weekends. But this winter has already been cut short. And beggars shouldn’t be choosers.
Damion hadn’t done much riding this winter and was good with my recommendation to truck our sleds up to Tupper Lake and roll it north.
There weren’t many trucks in the Washington Street parking lot by the time we got there after 9am. I thought snowmobiling traffic would be light. Dang, would I end up being wrong. It got BUSY!!!
Riding started great on C7 enroute to Charlie’s Inn. It was dreamy!
By the time we got to Charlie’s Inn, it was snowing and blowing pretty good. I almost had a tree branch fall onto my lap, but we got there unscathed.
We met up with Sledneck Donnie and his small brigade of Yama-tank riders, who rode over from Lake Placid on C7B. They reported great riding from that direction.
After Charlie’s Inn
C7 northward to Malone was fast and mainly flat riding, nothing worse than slight studder-ripple. There were less pebbly sections than when I rode it earlier this week. Along the way, we saw packs of 6-12 snowmobiles all over the place.
After we parted ways from Sledneck Donnie’s gang, we got up to Malone and rolled onto C8C. Was thinking of doing a run out to Ellenburg and try lunch at Jenn’s Smokin’ Hot. Farm fields were really fun riding. But the wooded trail sections were just, meh… After 3 miles past Burke, we decided to turn around and head to Mo’s Pub and Grill. Here’s a windmill shot.
Beside some places pounded down to snirt around downtown Malone, it was a good ride to Mo’s. I went on the light side with lunch today.
That ended up being the right move because…
The way back
…rough trails on a stuffed-full stomach seldom ends well, lol!
C7 from Malone to Charlie’s Inn was beaten up and bumpy. T’was studderbumps and low rollers all the way, with more pebbly spots showing up. Saturday’s traffic had really done a number to it.
At a rest stop past Mountain View, Sledneck Donnie and his crew crossed paths with us. We shared stories of our respective rides and enjoyed some good laughs.
Past Charlie’s Inn, C7 had been groomed for a much better ride.
But we hadn’t given the groomer a long enough head start. So the final dozen miles into Tupper Lake after overtaking the groomer were studderbumpy, but not as bad C7 from Malone to Charlie’s Inn.
Rolled back to Washington Street parking lot just after dark with 150 miles for the ride. We felt beat up a bit by the time we got back to the truck, but it was a fun day. We’ve seen MUCH, MUCH, MUCH worse out of weekend riding.
Back home
Not sure I even want to hazard a guess on how bad the trails could be, especially the narrow woods trails. Saw a CONGA-LINE of trucks and trailers heading into Indian Lake this morning. I’m betting that Moose River Plains got smashed. Ouch… I think Advil sales may spike after Saturday.
Next week outlook
FINALLY! Legit Arctic cold snap will head down the pike as we cross into February. Honestly, it’s something we need almost as badly as snow.
EPS ensemble shows Polar Vortex (PV) dropping into eastern Canada with legitimate purple-hammer Arctic cold here by Friday. These are the type of set-ups in which daytime afternoon temperatures are sub-zero for ilsnow land.
Speaking of snow, opportunity for significant snowfall appears limited with most weather systems shunted well to our south as Arctic air-masses impose their might later next week.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Charlie Johns Store and Speculator Department Store. Two great stores, One Great Snow Town! Groceries, deli/hot foods, hardware, gifts and more. They have it all.
