If something’s great, I’ll hit it over and over again! That’s how I roll.
Was up to Route 421/Horseshoe Lake parking lot and ready to rip by 10am. Nobody else was parked there. I was set to go!
Temperature was already up to 20*F when I embarked on today’s snowmobiling. Felt downright balmy after this weekend.
Fun times started straightaway on C7A!
Peeled onto S88 for great riding until I encountered this large water crossing. Boot-high running water over large rocks. Nothing on the other side was worth trying to ford that, for me.
Turned tail back to C7A and rolled into freshly groomed 720, thence 717 via S88. All I could say was: WOW!
Electricity flowed through my shoulders. Had a huge gigawatt smile glowing inside my helmet. AWESOME!
718 over to Route 3 crossing? Come on! It was almost as though Childwold Snopackers had laid the white carpet for me,
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Over to Cranberry Lake
S88/S88A had a couple pebbly spots, but otherwise a good rip over to STLA25 intersection. From there, C8 toward Windfall was bumpy and tattered from the weekend.
I got over to STLA24 intersection to hit one of my favorite quick rips: S89 to Cranberry Lake. Although that would have benefited from a groomer come-over, it was a fun rip back and forth!
Heading north
I doubled back to STLA25 intersection and rolled 712. That was a really nice ride! After I took this pic, the trail evolved into a fun ride through the twisties.
From STLA29 intersection, C8 was a bit tattered from the weekend, but a fun rip up to STLA38 intersection. From there, I turned onto S81, which was a pretty good ride.
From STLA 37, I turned onto S80B which appeared to be recently opened and not groomed. It turned into a single tracked and bumpy goat path. But I stuck with it and the trail evolved into a pretty fun ride through the hardwoods. At this point, I was aimlessly exploring new ground. Eventually I got onto a plowed shared use road that had packed base, which dumped me onto Tooley Pond Road.
Went south on Tooley Pond Road for a bit until I encountered a steel grate bridge. I refuse to cross those if I don’t have to – because I can hear the grate trying to rip the carbides from my wear bars.
So, I turned and rolled Tooley Pond Road northward, which was scraped down to the road surface and thin on snow. Snowbank wasn’t shelved. Not the kind of riding I enjoy much.
Thankfully, 703 offered an escape hatch and was a nice ride over to C8D. Neat little camp along the way.
From there, C8D was a nice ride toward Rainbow Club. Then it got really thin and pebbly for stretches as I pressed northward.
From STLA61 intersection, I peeled onto S84A. There were thin and pebbly sections. But it was a really fun rip down toward Claire. Got down to this field with shallow snow and decided turn tail.
Back to the hills!
Got back to C8D and rolled it toward Trooper Shed. Once snow cover thickened, there was good riding for most of it.
Elected to take a loop through 702 (which wasn’t great), S86 over to Packard Club (fun), then C8 to Trooper Shed (pretty good).
The home stretch
After a short rest stop at Trooper Shed, figured I could make a run for the truck without needing to stop for gas. Rolling through Childwold Snopacker trails would be a great way to wrap up the ride.
I just ripped C8/S88A/S88 to the Route 3 crossing and repeated the awesome riding I had this morning, in reverse.
C7A from STLA2 back to Horseshoe Lake had been groomed for possibly the best ride I’ve ever had through there. 10 miles of THIS!
After I got back to Horseshoe Lake, I ripped back and forth to the railroad junction twice for a cheap thrill on my way out the door.
Bottom line
Monday’s gold star goes to Childwold Snopackers, for sure! But there was also enough good riding north of Route 3 to make it a fun day.
Rolled off the trailer by 10am. Rode 131 miles. Then back on the trailer by 3:30pm. Not a bad day at the office, eh? I’m blessed to have this within a one-hour truck ride from Indian Lake.
Ride map
Click here for today’s ride stats and 3D Flyover!
Indian Lake intel
Based on drive-by reconnaissance, all major arteries leading into/from Indian Lake were groomed Monday, including C8 out to Headquarters, C8A/Old S84 toward Blue Mountain Lake and C8/Sabael trail.
If you can sneak up here for a mid-weeker, I don’t think you’d miss work very much. With the warm-up looming, this will be the best snowmobiling we have for a while.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
