I definitely wanted another crack at our snow bounty on Friday before I run away and hide for the weekend.
Rain was on the way, so I was rolling it from the compound before 9am. Indian Lake Parks and Recreation was already grooming.
Always great to see this when heading out!
Fresh groomer marks continued onto C8 out toward Headquarters and S84 toward Blue Mountain Lake. Since I rode to Moose River Plains on Thursday, I figured that Newcomb & Long Lake would become Friday’s trek.
Heading out to Newcomb
S84 toward Blue Mountain Lake was among the nicest rides I’ve had on it in quite a while. Only a hint-o-roller from time to time. Turns out I didn’t give the groomer a big enough head start. But riding remained enjoyable, even after I overtook the groomer.
Indian Lake side of Newcomb trail/Old 538 badly needed a combover with the groomer. T’was 7 miles of lumps and bumps.
Essex County Line to Newcomb-T was freshly groomed for mint, near-perfect riding. Yeah!!!!!
Over to Long Lake
I don’t make it to Long Lake as often as I’d like to. Figured I’d sniff C7B whilst I was in the neighborhood. Turned out it was freshly groomed for one of the nicest rides I’ve had through that avenue. The only real bumps along the way were divots where streams cut under the trail in seemingly dozens of places.
Tarbell Hill Road was getting bare in places, but I was able to hump the snowbank to move along. Highway department has carved weep holes though the snowbank, something to watch out for.
Rolled it down to Long Lake and clamped the throttle across. Hit a couple of slush spots, but they didn’t bog me down much. There was enough “material” along the margins to make my way through Keller Bay Way, Kickerville Lane and Steinfeldt Lane to hit C7B on the other side.
C7B from Long Lake to Hamilton County 10A/Sabattis Circle Road has NEVER disappointed me. But this is one of the best runs ever with untracked fresh groom. SIMPLY… INCREDIBLE…
Snowbank trail on Sabattis Circle Road hadn’t enjoyed a fresh Friday morning groom. But the shelf was there. Didn’t bother running that because I wasn’t going to ride C7/Railroad, anyway.
If you want a report on the railroad tracks from Sabattis to Beaver River or Horseshoe Lake/Tupper Lake, there are other sources you can sift through. I don’t consider it a snowmobile trail.
Back to Long Lake
Retraced my steps and saw fresh groomer tracks that guided me through S86/Lake Eaton Loop. Very nice! The only blemishes were several small water bars where streams cut through.
After recrossing Long Lake to Tarbell Hill Road, I rolled into town via Jim Bird Road. C7B through the “beat down trail” was its usual brutality but was passable and white. There was enough snowbank to hump along the side of the road to get into Long Lake.
Ripped it across Jennings Park Pond over to Long Lake Diner. Lots of slush in places, but I blew through it. Always a fan of breakfast for lunch. And I felt like having a waffle today, which hit the spot nicely!
After lunch, I snaked my way over to S80 and scaled Mt. Sabattis for this amazing view. It’s a definite must do whilst in Long Lake.
Then I visited Town of Long Lake Director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Director Alex Roalsvig at her work office. She was very pleased that I came in with a live trail report! We shot the breeze for a while and had a great time. I can say that Alex is an enthusiatic and tireless worker for Town of Long Lake.
Back to Indian Lake!
Through early afternoon, I had only encountered a few spits of wet snow and drizzle. But it started to rain for keeps on my way home.
All trails that were groomed today held up nicely with nearly ZERO traffic. I should try riding in the rain more often! About the only way to keep throttle jackals at bay.
Only the Indian Lake side of Newcomb trail/Old 538 remained ungroomed at the time I rolled through. Still 7 miles of lumps and bumps.
Victory Loop was freshly groomed for cheap thrill riding. S87/42nd and Broadway and S86 to Long Birch shown here.
Gosh… Even Indian Lake main artery trails through C8 and S86 into town were freshly groomed and nearly untouched.
I ripped it across Adirondack Lake and nearly regretted that move. Almost got swamped in slush from the get-go and had to pin-it-to-win-it just to slog it across. Yes, you can get away with stupid once in a while but you don’t want to make a living at it.
Rolled back to the compound with a (mostly) easy-going 115 miles.
Weekend Outlook
Friday afternoon’s rain soaked through my gear, but only registered 0.14 inch in the rain bucket in Indian Lake as of 7pm. Piseco Mesonet was reporting nearly a half-inch of rain. With the deep snowpack we have, that is not a weekend killer.
I’ll never say rain is a good thing, but it squelched Friday’s typical Weekend Lite traffic. Those who come and ride this weekend may be pleasantly surprised how well the trails have held up, especially if they can be the first ones to hit it.
As for lakes, I’m hoping cold temperatures Saturday night and Sunday will tighten up the slush. It’s no fun getting stuck in a watery quagmire. Each rider will need to assess the risk vs. reward for him/herself.
Don’t over think it. Our short snowmobiling season is rocketing towards the end. After St. Patty’s Day, we live on borrowed time.
Get here and ride!
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
This report is brought to you by Pine’s Country Store. Their motto says it all: “A little bit of everything…” Conveniently located in downtown Indian Lake, NY at the corner of Routes 28 & 30 and proud home of the Pine’s Cam.
