Wednesday night’s damage was limited to a half-inch or less of rain and temperatures hovering around 32-33*F. Not enough to kill the riding, but certainly enough to soften the snow and get the water flowing under the narrow woods trails again. Or in the case of Bear Trap Swamp, onto the trail, as seen above.
Due to time constraints, Thursday’s ride would be a run to Newcomb Cafe for lunch. Any excuse to get out and ride one more time is a good one!
Heading out
C8 main artery heading out of Indian Lake was holding up pretty well at the onset of my ride.
Aside from a few lengthy sections of scuff/snirt and several places where water bars were trying to reopen, C8A/Old S84 was a good ride all the way through. I can’t bring myself to say this sucked.
Even the super twisty goat-path section from Rock Lake to HAMI600 intersection was enjoyable. Soft snow made steering easy and prevented the usual shoulder burn.
C8A/Old 538 Newcomb trail was a bucket of AWESOME up to the Essex County Line. YEAH!!!!!!!!!
This report is brought to you by Wilder Performance. your one-stop-shop for high-performance, premium parts for your Snowmobile and SxS. We are riders who are passionate about off-road sports and understand the importance of having the best performance parts to enhance your riding experience. Our frustration with the lack of quick access to these parts led us to start Wilder Performance.
We believe in doing things right the first time, which is why we offer only the highest quality products, hand-picked by our team. Our location in Mayfield, NY, gives us easy access to some of the best riding trails in the Northeast, allowing us to test and fine-tune our products to provide you with the best possible performance. At Wilder Performance, we’re committed to providing exceptional customer service and delivering your orders quickly and efficiently, so you can spend less time waiting and more time riding.
Enter Newcomb
C8A/Old 538 Newcomb trail was a soft ride up to Newcomb-T (ESSE50) intersection. Most of the low bumps and scuff were found near and climbing up/down Joseph Mountain. A pretty good ride throughout.
C8A to Newcomb proper was holding up. There were several scuff/snirty stretches and at least a few places where water bars were trying to reopen. Best riding was from Goodnow Flow Road into Newcomb proper. And the Newcomb gang did a great job of repairing the trail by the beaver pond.
Lunch!
Went extremely heavy on veggies again, with a side of beef chili topped with cheddar cheese. The picture doesn’t do full justice on how mountainous that salad was.
Couldn’t resist the urge to get a large oatmeal cookie and dunk it in my coffee for dessert. Wow, that was great!
The way back
Sun sneaked through the clouds a bit and pushed afternoon temperatures into 41-44*F range. Snow got ripe, but the trails got me back to Indian Lake with no issues.
Indian Lake Victory Lap
S87/42nd and Broadway was great!
Did a grip-it-n-rip-it, power-haulic ride across Adirondack Lake. Slush was shallow, but grabbed the track at times.
Rolled it over to One Stop to refuel for my next ride, whenever that might be. Hit S85/Ski Hut trail, which was holding up, for now. C8/S86 main drag was very wet and slushy in spots by mid-afternoon. The biggest offender was this splash down entering Bear Trap Swamp where the stream enters.
Ride map
Rolled it back to the compound after 68 miles. Not a bad lunch run! After snowmobiling 9 out of the past 11 days, I’ll give it rest until trails firm up and we get another deposit of white.
Click here for ride stats and 3D Flyover!
Weekend Outlook
Friday’s round of rain is likely to total 0.50 to 0.75 inch, bringing further hurt and pain.
Seasonal road snowmobile trails such as Moose River Plains, Perkins Clearing, Speculator Tree Farm, Powley Road and Newcomb trail will hold out the best. As for narrow woods trails, some will be better (or much worse) than others.
Lakes will be wet on top, with ice thickness half or less than what it should be mid-winter. And we no longer have the benefit of zero temperature cold to button up weak spots. Staying off the lakes this weekend will be the safest course of action.
ilsnow land isn’t SaveTheBase-istan. We ride when there is snow, don’t when there isn’t. Our trail system doesn’t close for typical thaw/rain events. The trails will go to spit whether we ride them or not. But do respect individual trail closings where you encounter them.
Ride somewhat more gingerly than usual to give the trails a chance to stay enjoyable for those following you. The groomers, more than likely, won’t be around to clean up throttle pile induced lumps and bumps.
At this time, ensemble modelology suggests that Sunday’s weather event should get ejected east-northeastward from the Delmarva region, instead of making a run toward Cape Cod. Not close enough to give us that much help.
One more thing!
A set of keys were found in the upper lot at Brown’s farm parking lot this week. If you’re missing a set of keys, send Edgar an email at edplowssnow@frontiernet.net and describe what’s included in the set.
That’s all I got for now!
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
Why is the town of Indian Lake so adamant about sanding and plowing every inch of snow off the road from the Moose River Plains parking lot to the trail? When deciding where to ride this area has become a last resort based on conditions just because of this dreadful section.
Why is the town of Indian Lake so adamant about sanding and plowing every inch of snow off the road from the Moose River Plains parking lot to the trail? When deciding where to ride this area has become a last resort based on conditions just because of this dreadful section.