Even in crappy winters, Perkins Clearing is ole’ reliable. Not a big playground, but almost always gets the job done.
I met up with Kyle Prill and his son Wyatt at Mason Lake Parking lot just after 10:30am. Plan was to ride Perkins Clearing and maybe arc over to Speculator Tree Farm thru Pig Rock parking lot.
Had some unwelcomed light rain to start the afternoon. In places we gained elevation, it was cold enough for sleet and freezing rain to glaze our gear. Not ideal weather for riding, but wasn’t heavy enough to soak our gear completely. Mid to late afternoon, there was a period of wet snow which deposited a thin coating of white paint.
Instead of reporting on the ride as it happened, I’ll resort to bullet-point summary. Won’t be a smooth and pretty read, but it’ll be detailed.
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.
Perkins Clearing Summary
Mason Lake parking lot to north end of Perkins Clearing Road – Bumpy but more than enough snow to get through.
Perkins Clearing Road – Fast rips on the straights. Studder-ripples and a few small rollers on the turns. A few inside corners scuffed to dirt at north end. Southerly exposed hill near intersection with Mud Lake Road getting thin. Snow cover holding up well in between.
Old Military Road & Jessup River Road to the back – Residual rollers on corners. Studder-ripply, yet fast, on the straights.
C4/C8 Big Brook trail – Looked like a medieval torture chamber at the entrance. Sawtooth and washboard bumps.
Carpenter Hill Road – Residual studderbumps and a few rollers on the turns. Nice-n-fast riding through the straights.
Bypass trail connecting Big Brook trail to Carpenter Hill Road – Bumpy with a few shallow water crossings.
Mossy Vly – Mud opening off end of Carpenter Hill Road. First time through, we skated on ice over it. Second time over, ice was gone.
Mud Lake Road – Residual studderbumps on the corners. Fast-n-fun on the straights. A few small balding spots on east end.
Perkins Clearing southern bypass – Umm… No thanks! Sure that’s bald and skanky in large sections, based on the entrance.
LP9/Nichol Vly trail – Great conditions at both ends. Vast majority in between had thin spots, and more than several bald spots and shallow water crossings. A couple of sections getting skanky.
S41C to Pig Rock Parking lot – Bumpy and snirty to start with a couple of water bars. Become a quarter to halfway decent ride most of the way, until encountering numerous bald spots approaching Route 30.
Speculator Tree Farm Summary
S41C from Pig Rock Parking lot – Halfway decent ride up top. Got bumpy with bald spots, rocks, water bars and a frozen stream crossing. Borderline technical riding, not for the faint of heart.
Wolf Hill Road – Plenty of snow and decent riding for most of it. Down slope to landing on Elm Lake Road had large dirt swaths, rocks and water bars.
Elm Lake Road and Long Level Road – Plenty of snow, but moderate to heavy rollers.
Fly Creek Road – Snow cross moguls from end-to-end. All three of us stood up and surfed the bumps like Baywatch Zac Efron. Felt my quad muscles ache after that! Plenty of snow up top, some bald spots toward the bottom.
Unfortunately, Tree Farm wasn’t worth the fight to get over there. Looks like it hadn’t been groomed in a while.
Back to the truck
After a fast rip through Perkins Clearing Road, we thrashed laps on Mason Lake. Ice was hard and smooth with a good amount of snow on it.
To wrap up the ride, we ripped it back to Perkins Clearing-T, then did a counterclockwise loop. Before we got back to the truck, did another play session on Mason Lake.
Bottom line
With exceptions noted in the summary, Perkins Clearing was reasonably close to snowmobiling happy place. Speculator Tree Farm was a disappointment. Including some “off-grid” riding, I totaled 93 miles just before sunset. Kyle and Wyatt got closer to 100 miles, because they ran Mason Lake harder than I did. Just after starting his final lap on Mason Lake, Kyle smoked the belt on his sled and nursed it back to the truck before the belt blew apart.
In this dogshit winter, you gotta grab it whenever opportunity hits. Had a great time with Kyle and Wyatt. Seems like we’re establishing an annual tradition of meeting up for a ride in Perkins Clearing when good options dwindle in ilsnow land.
After not riding at all last week. I’ve gotten 4 rides in this week, taking my own advice of hitting it when we get it.
Weekend Outlook
I hate to say now or never in late February. But for many people, this weekend may be now or never. In the Speculator area, Perkins Clearing will be your safe bet. Although narrow woods trails will remain rideable – many of them will be in bad shape. Wet snow Thursday night into Friday morning won’t be enough to help much – but at least it’s not 40*F and rain. Strong cold arriving by Saturday will lock up what we have remaining through the weekend.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
