Got off to a later start on Wednesday, rolling out of the compound at 11am.
Figured the time I had would be best spent doing recon work into Moose River Plains and seeing what happens after that.
From Indian Lake, C8/out to Headquarters was near constant studder-ripple to studder-bumpy. There was a degree of improvement for the final mile-and-a-half to Headquarters. Moderately busy traffic chewed up the trail in places.
Moose River Plains!
Thankfully, MRP was worth the cover charge of riding C8 the 17 miles to get out there.
Conditions from Headquarters to Silver Run ranged mostly from nearly smooth to studder-ripple. There were some thin spots and a few rolling moguls along the way. Overall, it was a decent ride.
Silver Run through Big-T was fun riding, nearly flat. It was a rip through the flats, reminding of my early days of snowmobiling when Big-T flats became my first snowmobiling cheap thrill (other than lakes).
Big-T through Red River-T was pretty smooth, but thin in the corners. The final couple of miles toward Limeklin Road were quite snirty, thin and pebbly. Carbide clank through there.
Next? Onto Raquette Lake/Long Lake!
I saw a bunch of sleds rolling through Moose River Plains. At that point, I didn’t want to bother riding into Old Forge beehive. Nor did I feel like returning through C8 back to Indian Lake.
Since I was familiar with Long Lake’s trail conditions from Tuesday’s ride, I decided on looping it through Raquette Lake and Long Lake.
Connector trail from Moose River Plains into Inlet loop trails was thin, pebbly and brown – but was groomed enough for a tolerable ride.
Inlet loop trails over to 7th Lake were groomed nearly board flat, but very thin and pebbly. That needs more snow badly.
7th Lake was an uneventful ride, but much of the snow had been blown off. Campsite between 7th Lake and 8th Lake was pretty good. 8th Lake was a fun blast; I did encounter a small degree of slush toward the east side.
S81C connector trail was about what I expected – beaten up, bumpy and brown. A mile-and-a-quarter of junk.
C8/Brown’s Tract Road was a fun rip! For the heavy traffic this trail gets, it’s one of the most reliable good rides in Adirondack snowmobiling.
Was thinking about a lunch stop at Raquette Lake Tap Room, but saw 18 snowmobiles and several cars parked there and moved on. Didn’t fit my M.O. of hitting a quiet place to eat.
Raquette Lake was one of the nicest crossings I’ve had on it. Well tracked, great visibility and some Christmas trees to help point the way.
S80 coming off Raquette Lake to North Point Road got my brown s#it star rating of the day. T’was wire to wire tall, jagged bumps. Thank goodness that was only a half-mile!
S80/North Point Road had a good, shelved snowbank to facilitate snowmobile riding into Long Lake.
Forked Lake was a solid, fun rip from the west. About half-way through, where Raquette River dumps in, there were large expanses of open water off both sides of the snowmobiling drag strip. There was VERY QUESTIONABLE black ice on the main pathway. Gave the throttle a healthy squeeze to skate over that, spotting a couple small holes of open water along the way. After that butt-clenching moment, remainder of the crossing was uneventful.
Forked Lake Campsite Road was groomed for a good ride to North Point Road. And you simply do not ride past Buttermilk Falls without stopping your sled and walking down there. It’s one of my favorite snowmobiling experiences.
S80 was brown and beaten up coming off North Point Road into Long Lake. But the groomer had rolled through, with passable riding along the power lines. Snow conditions were really thin in spots.
Dumped onto Long Lake at Long View Lodge and ripped it up to Jennings Pond. Scooted up S80 to Mt. Sabattis for the scenic view. Wish I had taken a picture! Then it was down to Stewarts for a quick fuel stop.
Rolled it down to Jennings Pond, crossed the highway at Adirondack Hotel and rolled C7B to Jim Bird Road. The woods sections were beaten up, brown and even rocky in places. But I gladly accepted my “prize” on the right, rather than take my chances on the left.
Before I leave Long Lake, let me tell you about their snowmobiling webpage. It has good maps and regularly updated trail conditions, informing when the trails have been most recently groomed. It’s another good thing to have in your recon toolbox.
Heading to Newcomb then Blue Mountain Lake
Tarbell Hill Road had good snow coverage near the banks. C7B to Route 28N/Newcomb had been groomed, which took the edge off Tuesday’s bumps. Not perfect, needs more snow to fill divots, but a more enjoyable ride.
Newcomb/Old 538 was groomed for terrific riding to Essex County Line, aside from some scuff spots on Joseph Mountain.
Grooming extended into C8A approaching Newcomb, But I did not ride into that avenue.
Indian Lake side of Newcomb/Old 538 was 7 miles of bumps. Thankfully, the snow was soft enough cushion the blows somewhat. Hopefully, the groomer will roll through it soon.
S84 over to Lake Durant was very nice riding, indeed!
Ripped through small snow dunes crossing Lake Durant, then rolled Durant Road and crossed Route 28/30 highway to ride Old Stage trail into Blue Mountain Lake. That was still holding up pretty good from Tuesday’s groom.
Visited with Lenny Baglieri at Blue Mountain Rest for a while. I can tell you he’s got two rooms available for this weekend. Give Lenny a holler at (518) 338-2606 for more information. Snowmobile trail goes right to his door. Chef Darrell’s Mountain Diner is across the street. Nearby Corner Store has 24-hour credit card gas pumps. Ready access to Newcomb trail. Sounds like a win to me!
Back to Indian Lake
From the Newcomb trail, S84 was trying its hardest to remain a serviceable pathway into ilsnow Capital City. As of Wednesday evening, it was still holding up reasonably well.
S87/42nd and Broadway, Adirondack Lake and S86 from Lone Birch to One Stop were fun rips. I rolled that back and forth on my way to the compound. Main drag of C8/S86 into town was near continual studder-ripple, indicative of the moderately heavy (for a weekday) snowmobiling traffic.
Bottom line
If you only accept perfect snowmobiling conditions, those are in mighty scarce supply…
If anything will do, we have plenty of that! It’s not chocolates and roses out there. But there’s enough good for me to keep spinning the track. Did 124 miles Wednesday. And I’m going out there again Thursday AND Friday!
Time’s running out. No matter how good or bad the conditions are March 1st, it’s all a distant memory by April 1st. Then we continue to roll through spring and into su– su– summ– summer! Can scarely bring myself to say that dirty S-word. Ugh….
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.
