I took advantage of Wednesday afternoon’s warmth to grease the rear suspension skid and install new carbides. It’s a more pleasant task at 40*F, rather than 20*F or colder for sure!
Wanted to spin track one more time this week but didn’t want to bash the new carbides. Since my snowmobile was already on the ilsnow wagon after Tuesday’s ride, I pressed the easy button and trucked it to Mason Lake parking lot around noon for a ride into Perkins Clearing.
Didn’t take long for me to reap the benefits of that decision. Perkins Clearing Road into Old Military Road & Jessup River Road from the Perkins-T intersection ranged from nearly smooth on the straights to soft stutter-bumps and low rollers on some turns.
Much of the riding looked like this, yeah!!
There was a bit of frozen hash near where Miami River had previously overflowed her banks. But it was no problem to pass through.
Rolled it to the back of Perkins Clearing, where I saw a closure sign leading into C4/C8 Big Brook trail. Wasn’t planning on bucking my way through there, anyway. But at least it’s intel for you.
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Around the horn!
Carpenter Hill Road was a bit bumpy on the turns, but nice overall. The worst hash I rolled over today was entering Mossy Vly from the west. Easily passable, for now…
Mud Lake Road has become my favorite Perkins Clearing addiction. Aside from several thin spots emerging on the east end, it was a bucket of AWESOME!
Caught a glimpse of southern Perkins Clearing bypass trail. As ratty as this looks, I’m sure it’s getting skunked in sections further in. Nope, wasn’t going to turn my skis in there for a look.
Perkins Clearing Road got mealy on the southerly exposures by mid-afternoon but the base was holding solid. Anyway, that was a fun rip!
For about a half-mile in from Perkins Clearing Road, LP9/Nichol Vly trail was the sweetest singing trail today! But thin/bare spots began to emerge, then I turned tail after about a mile in.
Certainly rideable, but I wasn’t going to bowl over skank today. Just because I could do it, doesn’t mean I should have, or even want to.
Back to the truck!
Doubled back to Mud Lake Road so I could have a good back-and-forth rip through that avenue on my way out the door. Perkins Clearing Road was holding up well for the most part, but a few dirty corners had emerged near Mason Lake. Certainly not enough to stop the good times.
Rolled it back to the truck by 3pm after 58 miles of Perkins Clearing bliss, combined with some rabbit-holing. Overall, trail base was holding up well. Aside from a couple of clanks on LP9/Nichol Vly trail and a small stream crossing on a rabbit-hole expedition, the new carbides didn’t touch rock or pebble.
Just a gorgeous day for a ride! Afternoon temperatures well into the 40s did its dirty work, but the sun felt amazing.
Probably didn’t need scratchers deployed by mid-afternoon once the snowpack softened up, but these tunnel-mounted, carbide-tipped scratchers filled the skid cage with more than enough slops to keep the slides and heat-exchangers happy. They just WORK! (and you can roll in reverse with them)
Snowpack on today’s Perkins Clearing ride was upwards of 12-18 inches, especially going toward the back. Southerly exposures and places attacked by water from beneath held less than a foot of snow.
Ride map
Sorry, no tracking map today! Did a good share of “off-grid riding” and looking at camps. Although I just pass through, I don’t want to bring unwanted attention to anybody’s camp. Besides, today’s ride covered a small territory. Hard to get lost in Perkins Clearing, even if you venture off-grid.
I love the idea of having a camp, much better than actually having a camp. But they do give me ideas as to how I may construct a small camp-like home to retire to, down the road. It’d have running water, electricity from the grid, an indoor water closet/shower and a furnace, for sure. But I would like a woodstove for occasional ambience or emergency heat.
Will Perkins Clearing hold up this weekend?
Of course it will! I rode into Perkins Clearing April 8th last year with far worse trail conditions.
Perkins Clearing holds onto rideable snow better than the vast majority of public snowmobile trail systems in New York State.
Other stuff
Can’t really say local Indian Lake snowmobile trails were completely shot when I saw a fresh groom on S86 across Route 30 from One Stop this morning.
I witnessed people snowmobiling on Indian Lake/Lewey Lake and riding into Perkins Clearing via C8/2 Miles from Hell. But I did count at least a dozen water/mud crossings on 2 Miles from Hell near the northern end, leaving Lewey Lake.
Unfortunately, aside from Perkins Clearing and Powley Road, most snowmobile trails west of Speculator Village are either closed or unsuitable for snowmobile riding.
At any rate, this was probably my last stroll until we freeze the weekend leftovers and dump a bunch of white on them. Unless I get desperate enough to truck it to Perkins Clearing without much new snow.
Weekend Outlook
If you made the choice not to ride last weekend, I’m certainly not encouraging you to come up this weekend. Save-the-base, save-the-sled, save-$$-for-a-better-weekend or save-the-whales, whatever you want to call it.
Snowmobile riding will be available this weekend in ilsnow land, but the playground is shrinking. And weather will be damp and depressing. Seasonal road snowmobile trails such as Perkins Clearing, Powley Road, Moose River Plains (from Indian Lake side) Speculator Tree Farm and C8A/Old 538 Newcomb trail are the best bets. Keep in mind that any required plowed road riding to reach a trail would be painful at best.
Next week
Monday will mark the opening salvo of long-awaited pattern change with building west coast North America ridge driving a wedge into the Polar Vortex. Long range modelology has been telegraphing this for a while.
Meanwhile, strong shortwave energy may generate a significant snow opportunity for us Monday night into Tuesday. Of course, how much we get will depend on “demons in the details” for an event that’s still more than a few days away.
It hasn’t been a winter for me to stack up high-mile rides from the compound. Definitely have to be opportunistic and pick-n-choosey to spin the track. But I live in a place that has snowmobile riding snow, even when most of New York State doesn’t. Even today’s short ride was better than my best day in summer.
More often than not, snowmobiling remains on my menu.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
Glad your getting some riding in while most areas are fair/poor/closed. Looks like a change in weather after Monday so conditions should start to turn around.