It’s fun to try something different. Much of Warren County got 12-15 inches of snow from last Saturday’s snowstorm. Figured this would be my window to give it a whirl.
The last time I rode snowmobile around Warrensburg was at least 15 years ago when I cut over from Thurman Connection. I had never ridden north of Pack Forest on the North Warren trail system. Last time I rode South Warren was 2015.
With VERY heavy snowmobile traffic last weekend and 40*F warmth Monday afternoon down there, I wasn’t expecting pristine. But snowmobiling there operates in tight windows, especially the past several years. Ride it now or wait until next year to try it.
Tuesday’s plan was to park-n-ride from the Northern Warren Trailblazer’s Clubhouse in Chestertown, spin it down to Warrensburg thence roll it into South Warren.
Got to the clubhouse parking lot, ready to roll at 10am. Mine was the only truck in the lot. I was liking this scene already.
Heading out
First 6-7 miles of C8D along the power lines toward Warrensburg was bumpy and rough. Most of it had good snow coverage, although there were some water bars and bald spots. Pictures didn’t do the bumps much justice; they were steep in places.
S81D to the top of Ben Wood Mountain in Pack Forest was a near-decent ride and a big relief from C8D. View from the top was as good as I remembered it from years ago.
Once C8D left the powerlines, it became a bit skunky near a dirt road crossing, then improved into a decent at times ride into Warrensburg. There were some dirty sections and nice stuff too.
From there, I peeled onto S81A, winding behind Hackensack Mountain to make the run toward South Warren trails.
A groomer had carpet-bombed the bumps with a plow, flattening the trail and filling in water bars. It was the best riding I had experienced up to this point, prior to encountering large water/mud holes and streams after I crossed the street bridge over the Schroon River.
The largest one (NOT shown here) was a flowing stream, in which the groomer operator was attempting to screw together a board and pallet bridge.
At this point, South Warren would not be in the cards for this run. I could see Super 8 through the trees, but wasn’t going to get there.
On the way back, I almost DIDN’T make it through one of those swale holes!
Turning back
I rolled it back up to Warrensburg and tooled around Camp Echo Lake and then over to Rob’s Motorsports. Looks like the groomer had bladed that too. Some was pretty good riding, some was dirty and watery. Went to hit up Luck E Star Cafe for lunch, but they were closed.
Rolled the C8D bump-corridor back up to Chestertown. By the time I got back to the Clubhouse, I was ready to load my sled onto the trailer and head home.
But…
In the end, I wanted to salvage the ride and see what else was out there, since I didn’t make it into South Warren.
C8C was a decent ride over to Loon Lake, where I saw C & C Adirondack Snowmobile Tour’s fleet, hoping to spin it for another weekend.
S85 took me into Chestertown for this view.
C8D north of the Clubhouse and crossing Route 9 was passable, but had a large dirt swath.
C8C toward Stewarts had some of the best riding of the day, but not without hazards.
I ripped back and forth between North Warren Chamber and Landon Hill Road near Dynamite Hill several times for cheap thrills.
C8C pressing toward Brant Lake was pretty cool passing under Adirondack Northway and looking up at an relic sign.
But the fun ended when I saw this long stretch of dry road rash ahead. T’was time to hoof it back to the truck.
On the way back, I stopped at Crossroads Country Store to pick up a sandwich for a quick lunch. Whilst there, I saw a friend I hadn’t seen since autumn, purchasing ice fishing supplies. Nice surprise!
Rolled up C8B for about two and a half miles towards Pottersville for a sniff. The hill climb was pretty cool. Up top along the power lines was fairly bumpy – so it didn’t push it all the way.
Turned tail and rolled back to the truck with 70 miles.
Bottom line
It was far from being a great ride, trail conditions-wise. But it was fun to explore new ground and nearly forgotten old ground. If we ever get a decent winter, I’d love to give this another crack. The powerlines riding could be really fun. Connecting to South Warren from there to roll up Prospect Mountain would be the bomb! It could become a change-of-pace in my riding playbook.
One more thing
I’m hopeful the trails will hold up long enough for North Warren Trailblazers Poker Run this weekend. Another shot of snow would be great. Unfortunately, that’s PROBABLY not in the cards for Friday night into Saturday with the North American blocking pattern exerting its might and shunting the brunt of our “would be” snow event to our south.
Ride now, ride soon or ride next year!
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!
