When riding Sundays, I’m picking at the scraps left behind by the weekend warriors on their way out of town.
Saturday was a lazy day for me. And truth be told, I felt tired, worn out and didn’t feel like going snowmobile riding. But I needed to get outside to shake off the doldrums.
Heading out
Started this ride from “East Sabael” and rolled down Indian Lake, which was really nice riding.
The large ice heave from Norman’s Cove extending across the lake toward Sabael was there. A good Samaritan marked it with cones where the heave intersects the main drag. Here’s a pic I snapped on my evening return home, looking southward.
There was also another long ice heave near Watch Hill before riding into the south bay. In places, the heaves jut upward about a foot or two. Be a little extra careful and you should be OK. Not like it’s a complete minefield out there.
Campsites between Indian Lake and Lewey Lake wasn’t bad. That was probably the biggest surprise I encountered today. Lewey Lake was a nice crossing.
C8/Two Miles from Hell was old-school, vintage, hard-core Two Miles from Hell, horribly rough from bottom to top. The best thing I could say was that the water holes are FROZEN. At least I was able to utilize some Route 30 snowbank riding near the top.
Into Perkins Clearing
Thankfully, Perkins Clearing was compensation worth banging my way through Two Miles from Hell.
After turning right at the Perkins-T there were more bumps on the corners heading to the back side, but still worthwhile riding.
I pressed into C4/C8 Big Brook trail for a quarter mile-sniff. It was horribly bumpy and I had no motivation to keep going with it. On my way out, I encountered a group of half-dozen riders heading in. I truly felt sorry for those poor souls.
I doubled back to hit Carpenter Hill Road, which was it’s usual good ride. LP9/Nichol Vly trail had been groomed. Aside from the usual bony spots that sorely needed more snow, it was the best ride I’ve had through that avenue this winter. And it was nice to hit some spots off the main path along the way.
From there, I buzzed down Perkins Clearing Road and noticed the trail heading over to Pig Rock parking lot was opened and had been groomed. It was a decent ride most of the way, then I encountered icy plowed road and a nasty logging slash field just before the Route 30 crossing.
Into Speculator Tree Farm
From Pig Rock parking lot, the ride down into Speculator Tree Farm was pretty nice for the first few miles. Then it became ungroomed and bumpy, with a few rocky spots until it’s junction with Wolf Hill Road.
Wolf Hill Road was just fair riding to it’s junction with Hatchery Brook trail. Elm Lake Road was a rip down to Cave Hill Road.
Cave Hill Road was pretty good riding, but some thin corners. I peeled off toward C4/River Trail for a look. That was bumpy, but not quite as bad as I would have expected. Nevertheless, I was looking for easy today and turned back to the Tree Farm.
I stopped at Kunjamuk Cave and saw a really cool ice formation in the cave. It looked like Friday night’s–25*F weather simply froze the icy tap into place.
C4/S41D bypass around Old Route 30 was worn down with some rocks floating around, but was passable.
Fly Creek Road had some wavy bumps, but not bad. Long Level Road was pretty good. Elm Lake Road back up toward Hatchery Brook trail had some bumpy, worn down corners. I also embarked on a lot of “rabbit hole” riding and found some great views, like this:
The way home
I gave Hatchery Brook trail the ole’ college try. Started half-way decent at first, then it was beaten and brownish in the woods. But Hatchery Brook itself was looking nice!
At the top, I took a half-mile sniff on C4 toward Speculator. That was brownish, bumpy and beaten up from the weekend traffic.
C4/Perkins Clearing Southern Bypass trail? Brown, bumpy, and beaten up badly!
Once I got back into Perkins Clearing, it was a pretty fast rip back up to Mason Lake. A few bumps here and there, but felt like butter compared to enduring Hatchery Brook trail and Perkins Clearing Southern Bypass trail, back to back!
After my bare-knuckle street fight with Two Miles from Hell, I stopped on the shore of Lewey Lake to recuperate before making the final press to home base.
Finished the ride with 111 miles just before dark. I saw good, bad, and awful! Through it all, I was glad I went out. It did make me feel better.
Midweek Outlook
If all “goes well”, we won’t suffer significant damage through Wednesday. But a weather system riding well to our west looks like trouble for Thursday, with no truly cold air to work with.
It’s been tough sledding this winter for sure! I’ve been working the count and taking my cuts. On Sunday though, I swung at a pitch outside of the strike zone and tapped a base hit. Waiting for perfect will only leave my snowmobile in the garage. I’ve got all summer for that…
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Allen Van Hoff – Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. Voted Realtor of the Year 2016 by Southern Adirondacks Realtors Inc., Allen Van Hoff is best described as a warm and friendly, attentive full-time real estate professional with a passion for the area and people he serves.
