With the fresh inch of snow we got Monday night, I didn’t need to wait for the March sun to soften up the snowmobile trails.
Was able to roll it out of the compound by mid-morning and have at it.
Indian Lake trails were a winter postcard from the word, GO!
C8/Sabael trail was beautiful…
Dropped down to Indian Lake and just, WOW! Near-perfect riding on the big pond.
Indian Lake to Lewey Lake Campsites SUCKED BADLY. Probably don’t need to report on that anymore.
Lewey Lake was more white velvet.
C8/Two Miles of Hell had studderbumps throughout. Some rollers too. But it was holding together.
Perkins Clearing wasn’t groomed. Lumpy riding in places, but you could still honk through some of the the straights for a cheap thrill. The smoothest riding was Carpenter Hill Road, and the nifty bypass that runs over to the back end of Perkins Clearing by Big Brook trail.
Loggers are no longer plowing into the back end of Mud Lake Road. I used it to connect from LP9/Nichol Vly to Mossy Vly, but wished I hadn’t. More mud than snow.
Snowpack was HERO SNOW from morning into mid-day. I could ride the snowmobile almost anywhere I fit the skis in between the trees. Even had my 900 ACE Turbo-Tank in Backcountry Bastard Lite Mode for AMAZING “rabbit hole” riding to places that few others get to.
Amazing viewing Pillsbury Mountain to Snowy Mountain from this high bluff.
By mid-afternoon, snowpack had gotten soft under the strong March sun, so I became less daring off the beaten path. But I continued to rabbit hole into amazing places, including this meandering section of Miami River.
A lot of stops on this ride to soak it all in and reflect on how truly blessed I am to live here and have access to this. Especially to be riding this much snow on March 28th.
Felt no pain, no worry, no stress, no sorrow. Like God had stamped it here for me to enjoy. Can’t come close to fully describing that feeling…
Heading home
On the way out of Perkins Clearing, I rolled through S82C/Old Indian Lake Road which shockingly, I hadn’t ridden all winter.
Aside from several small bald spots and a few places where water was eating into the trail, it was an amazing ride.
The worst offender, by far, was this hash approaching Route 30.
After I rolled by Mason Lake, I ripped it down Perkins Clearing Road so I could slow steam it through S82C/Old Indian Lake Road again. Twice as nice, eh?
C8/2 Miles from Hell had become studder-choppy in places, but not altogether horrible.
By late afternoon, lakes had developed thin slush under the snow which made riding Indian Lake as smooth as butter. I tooled around on the lake for a while and hung out at Campsite 10 to soak in the scenery before heading back to town.
C8/Sabael trail was holding up nicely in the woods, but getting cooked in the open.
Encountered a tree fallen by a beaver. Just another example of why a folding hand saw is E.R.C. (every ride carry). I always use it at least once or twice every snowmobiling season.
Rolled it back to the compound with 82 miles for the day. Forget about Weekend Lite. It wasn’t even Midweek Lite traffic. Saw one other snowmobiler, a solo ice fisherman who started on Lewey Lake, then ended up on Indian Lake and a whole bunch of deer. Besides that, had it all to myself.
I could have rolled it for more miles. But I did that on Sunday. This ride was about winding down and reflecting on the great times I had this winter. The end IS coming soon. But this has been one of the great early spring finishes we’ve had in a long time.
For now, Town of Lake Pleasant’s groomers have been parked at the gates into Perkins Clearing to allow snowmobiling traffic and block out automobile traffic. Sooner, rather than later, those gates will be swung shut and locked to keep cars out – although you will be able to ride around the gate into Perkins Clearing a while longer as long as snow cover permits.
One more thing
NYS DEC has closed the gates to Moose River Plains to prevent automobile traffic from entering. There is room to ride snowmobiles around the gate, and snowmobiling remains permissible into Moose River Plains as long as snow conditions permit. Still enough snow on the Indian Lake side to enter at this time. Probably completely shot approaching Limekiln Road.
I’ve got a couple more cracks at it this week before Saturday’s death knell. Can’t let go of it yet.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
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