2/10/23 Update
An inch of rain and temperatures spiking into the lower 40s Thursday night has done it’s dirty work.
Seasonal roads such as Perkins Clearing, Tree Farm, Powley Road, Newcomb/Old 538 and into Moose River Plains offer your most reliable options. Lakes are a mess. Narrow woods trails are gonna be really sketchy in places.
Whether you come and ride this weekend depends on how little riding would be acceptable to you and the likelihood that riding options next weekend will become really skinny if my forecast at https://ilsnow.com/weather/ ends up being anything close to reality.
It’s a nasty s#itburger with a side order of onion rings, any way you look at it…
2/8/23 Ride Report
After Tuesday’s big-miler ride up north, I wanted to roll out a local ride from the compound.
Town of Indian Lake crew was out working the trails Wednesday, so I was feeling pretty good about it.
I took a recon roll through C8/Sabael trail. That was hit with a scandic groom, basically to pull and pack snow into frozen mudholes and make the trail more easily passable. It was a roller coaster ride and would get rough with just a bit of traffic. But at least it’s a serviceable pathway into town with only one meaningful unfrozen water hazard remaining. Make no mistake about it though, this trail sorely needs a dump of snow before groomers can smooth it out.
Rolled around Town and found most of the trails had been groomed today. S86 between One Stop and Lone Birch was by far the roughest trail on the Town loop. The better stuff looked like this, in between the scuffed and dirty corners.
On to Newcomb trail!
S84/Blue Mountain trail was groomed. Aside from some dirty swaths, it was actually an enjoyable ride through Rock Lake marsh!
After the marsh, S84 became more chattery with some roller bumps. The final half-mile to the Newcomb trail was fairly bumpy and got bony where snow usually lacks under the evergreens. Of course, there were some rock tops to dodge as well. This part of the trail usually sucks.
Newcomb trail/Old 538 was an awesome ride from bottom to top! Almost good enough in there to fool you in to believing it’s a good winter. Heck, even Joseph Mountain section was pretty good. Here’s a couple shots from along the way.
Peek into Long Lake trail
I took a scratch-and-sniff run over to C7B/Long Lake trail. Spur trail to Route 28N was groomed and pretty good riding. First half mile on C7B after the highway crossing was good with a fresh groom. But it didn’t take long for that trail to sour.
Unless there is a ton of snow, that trail is almost never a good ride. At least it had been groomed to make it manageable for those riders bent on doing the Newcomb to Long Lake (or Long Lake to Newcomb) thing. Wasn’t for me, so I turned tail back toward Newcomb.
Over to Newcomb
From the T-intersection, C8A over to Newcomb was a pretty good run, aside from really thin conditions for the first couple of miles and then again nearing Goodnow Flow Road. There were another couple of thin sections well past Goodnow Flow Road.
The main artery through Newcomb was thin and bony in places, but groomed for mostly smooth ride down to Lake Harris. From there, I zipped over to Overlook Park for a glimpse of the High Peaks. That stretch was lumpy but was good enough to get there.
Back to Indian Lake
Same way I came over, of course! I did stop at this beautiful spot on C8A, a place I don’t stop often enough.
I slow-steamed my way down Newcomb trail/Old 538, so I could bask in the awesome riding for additional time. I “rabbit holed” my way to an amazing High Peaks view through a logged clearing. Pictures couldn’t do it justice, so I didn’t bother. I’ll just have to come back to enjoy again!
First half of S84 back to town seemed even more tedious, after sailing the Old 538 magic carpet. At least the section from Rock Lake Marsh to Benton Road remained enjoyable.
Once I got back to Indian Lake, I was surprised that S87/42nd and Broadway had gotten bumped up as much as it did. I guess some snow-bros thrashed it crazy while I was up in Newcomb.
Adirondack Lake was INSANELY FAST & FUN! I ripped that back and forth several times. Even more addictive than crank.
Stopped for dinner at Indian Lake Restaurant for my standby: Gorgonzola burger with a side of sweet potato fries. Maybe one day I’ll try a different burger. But why mess with perfection?
Rolled it back to the compound with 94 miles. So glad I snuck in one more ride before I rot on the bench again.
Weekend Outlook
Most model-ology indicate 0.50″ to 0.75″ of rain and melted wintry mix for the central Adirondacks Thursday into Thursday night. That probably wouldn’t be enough to blow streams wide open and cause significant flooding. But temperatures rising into the 40s Thursday night will do its fair share of damage.
Seasonal roads will survive the best. But all those places on the narrow woods trails that always need more snow will get seedy.
People have been asking whether it’s worth riding this weekend. It’s not a completely easy answer.
If you’re waiting for perfect, you’re staying home. If you’re riding no matter what, you’re coming here. For the rest of us, it’s a matter of figuring out how little riding is actually worth it to make the trip. Seasonal roads will stay in play. Lakes will get messy. Narrow woods trails will take a beating.
The decision is further compounded by the real possibility that conditions could be EVEN WORSE by the following weekend.
Of course, the best answer would be: “You should have ridden before Thursday!”
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by The Oxbow Inn, where everyone is a local. Great pizza and a variety of wonderful appetizers, light fare and entrees. 91 octane ethanol free gasoline available for snowmobiles! #itsbetteratthebow
