Temperature started at -1*F Tuesday morning at the ilsnow storm center under a bright sunny sky. I was feeling it for a big ride!
Going up north hasn’t failed me this winter, so I went to the well one more time. I trucked it up to Washington Street parking lot in Tupper Lake. There were at least 4 or 5 other trucks parked there with riders getting ready to roll out.
The way up
The Tupper Lake gang was doing their morning grooming run. Riding on C7 was great from the get-go!
Once I overtook the groomer, C7 had some bumps over to Floodwood, but still enjoyable enough riding. Passing through Lake Clear/Charlie’s Inn yielded good to excellent riding.
Then it was onto miles of great pole dancing on C7. Yeah!!!
Great riding continued for miles, then it got studder bumpy as I approached the C8/Meacham Lake trail exit ramp.
Turning east
I had been wanting to ride C8A toward Standish, because it always looks so smooth when I pass it by. Well, today was the day and I was treated to mile after mile of smiles through C8A/Wolf Pond Road.
Once C8A left Wolf Pond Road and narrowed, it became fair-to-mediocre riding with rollers and studder bumps into Lyon Mountain. The gem of this section was a half-mile scenic view trail that treated me to this amazing panoramic view on top of the bluff.
Once I got through Lyon Mountain, C8A became a pretty fun rip. After I encountered a groomer, it became miles and miles of magic white carpet to Dannemora. This trail got today’s gold star for incredible, amazing riding: WOW!!
C8A dead-ended in Dannemora, so I turned tail and ran back up the ribbon until I overtook the groomer prior to reaching Lyon Mountain. After topping off with gas at the Iron Ore Market (store not open yet, but 24-hour gas with credit card) I turned my skis northward, with the goal of riding to Ellenburg to try Jenn’s Smokin Hot for lunch, something on my bucket list.
Heading north
It did not look good at first! The first mile on S88A was fair-to-mediocre at best. It got really rough and nasty the next mile approaching Owlyout. I nearly gave up on it. But I crossed Route 374 for a look-see. It became a much better ride through the maple sap farm. Lots of tap lines through this avenue.
S88A northward from the tap lines was groomed well enough to pass through, but there were several water spots and borderline seedy stretches the drag had dredged up. By the time I connected with S88, it became a nice ride and hit encountered fresh grooming by Intersection 23.
Eventually I overtook the groomer and rolled through C8F. That was fair-to-mediocre riding with some water spots. It was an interesting combination of wooded trail, farm road and old apple orchard to Ellenburg.
I got to Jenn’s Smokin Hot mid-afternoon. By then it was cloudy and near 40*F. Hard to believe it felt like *WINTER* to start the day.
Anyway, the pork-n-brisket with sides did not disappoint. Great stuff!
Over to Malone
Rolled along S87 which was fairly bumpy and rough with a few big water spots to start. As I pressed through Chateauguay it got SLIGHTLY BETTER. There was plenty of snow through here, just needed grooming.
Once I hit C8C, the riding improved another notch to where the open field riding was pretty good. The wooded trail sections were fair-to-mediocre at best.
Some power infrastructure I saw along the way:
C8C from Burke to Malone was the best stretch along this avenue with some decent straight arrow stretches.
Turning south onto C7
At Malone, I began to get pelted with a mixture of rain, snow and some sleet. As I gained elevation, it became heavy wet snow all the way to Charlie’s Inn on C7.
Malone to Titus Mountain exit ramp was studdery with some roller bumps. Then it improved to occasional soft-studder enroute through Owls Head and Mountain View. At Sugarloaf, I rolled onto the nifty parallel trail for a nice stretch of flawless trail conditions.
Then it got bumpy around C8/Meacham Lake exit ramp before eventually smoothing out for a nice ride to back Charlie’s Inn. The final 4 mile stretch was a whoosh through the trees, with some new snow on top!
To the Ice Castle!
With mild weather expected at times through mid-February, there’s no telling how long they’ll keep the ice castle open at Saranac Lake. This might be my one shot to see it!
C7B was a nice run to Saranac Lake, but the trail got mealy and bumpy into the city. Once I passed the cemetery, I took a right onto a bare sidewalk (passing Pendragon Theater) and rolled until I saw the castle. It was pretty awesome!
Heading back to the truck
After the castle, I rolled C7B and C7 back to Tupper Lake. Once I got out of the city, it was good to great riding through Charlie’s Inn and Floodwood. The remaining miles had some studders and rollers, but still a fun enough run. Inner Tupper Lake trail was bumpy to Washington Street parking lot.
Rolled back onto the ilsnow mobile command center with 212 miles spun off for the ride.
What a day!! Had a lot of fun and discovered new things. Just trying to make the best out of a bad winter. I got all summer to sit home.
Wednesday?
I’ve got one more crack at it before we take a hit on Thursday. Indian Lake trails looked pretty good from the road Tuesday morning on my way out of town. Think I’m gonna bang out a local run from the compound on Wednesday.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Adirondack Lake Cabins. Stay here and ride the snowmobile trails from your cabin with direct access to Trail S86 and Adirondack Lake in the Town of Indian Lake!
