March Meltdown Madness! Tupper Lake to Malone

Crazy Cal blew off work Tuesday. We decided to hit the well one more time and roll out from Washington Street parking lot in Tupper Lake.

Seemed appropriate, since Cal got me hooked on C7 Pole dancing. Didn’t know whether we’d run out of rideable snow in Malone. But plenty of riding was to be had, regardless.

Temperature was already 50*F at 9:30am as we got ready for takeoff.

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C7 Tupper Lake to Lake Clear/Charlie’s Inn

C7 had soft ski chatter and numerous long-wave rollers. More than several rollers could have launched a rider into low orbit at speed. Thankfully, trail was soft enough to cushion the blows and permit a close-to-decent ride through the avenue. Bumps settled down through Lake Clear.

C7 Charlie’s Inn to Malone

Much smoother north of Charlie’s Inn. Then it was onto C7/Pole Dancing! Miles and miles of sun-splashed smiles. For the most part, riding ranged from smooth to slight/soft ski chatter through Sugarloaf/Mountain View. Some bumps here-and-there from Loon Lake to Meacham Lake exit ramp.

OHHHH YEAH!!!!!!

Bridge in Mountain View is CLOSED until further notice. Did the three-quarter mile painful roadside riding to hit C7 on the other side. At least the melting snowbank poured water onto the road for some cooling.

Mountain View toward Owls Head was lumpy and bumpy. Got better after we passed S78 exit ramp. North of Owls Head to Titus Mountain exit ramp was fast and fun!

Titus Mountain exit ramp to Teboville had soft mogul bumps and a bit of slush. North of Teboville we encountered areas of slush and even several puddles, but much of the trail base was holding up.

Before descending into Malone, we sunbathed on the bluff for a while, with the temperature near 60*F.

If it’s going to get THAT warm, you might as well smile and enjoy it! ESPECIALLY when you’re out riding.

I called the The Pines Tap and Table in Malone, just to make sure they were open before we tried to make the run for it.

Then, it was game on!

Through Malone Junction, we skated on swaths of wet ice and packed granulated snow. Fast-n-flat riding, even if a bit grubby.

Through Malone

Got really thin on snow. Trail sections near parking lots and roadsides were BALD.

Skank-a-thon in the woods.

Did make it to the other side and skated over sun-baked snow and wet ice to reach The Pines. Some of the patrons stared at us in disbelief for rolling in on snowmobiles. They thought it was OVER!

Lunch

Did something a bit different. Ordered cheeseburger sliders to start and the loaded grilled cheese sandwich and side of sweet potato fries to finish. Great stuff! I liked the pine tree branded into one of the buns.

Crazy Cal enjoyed shrimp tacos. Wished I had taken a picture, because they looked GOOOOOOD!

Heading back

With snow disappearing by the second, we beat feet out of Malone. Was happy to find the deep-n-white stuff again on C7 in the ‘Daks.

Took a dog leg onto C8A/Wolf Pond Road. Plenty of soft ski chatter, and bald spots were emerging past Dollhouse.

Sunbathed for a while at the overlook.

By late afternoon, some exposed causeways on C7/Pole line were showing slush and even a few puddles. But vast majority of trail base was holding. Onchiota through Rainbow Lake to Gabriels highway crossing was especially fantastic riding, almost surreal!

C7 from Lake Clear to Tupper Lake was a disco roller-rama at times. Some exposed causeways were showing slush, some puddles and even a few dirt spots.

Got back to the truck around 5:30pm with 148 miles. Temperature is expected to drop into teens Tuesday night. This will lock the remains in place for those who want to give it the ole college try from Tupper Lake this week before the lights go out.

Ride map

Click here for ride stats, larger map and 3D Flyover!

Bottom line

If this was my last launch from Tupper Lake this snowmobiling season, I bashed a homer in my last at bat! What a way to go out. Awesome spring ride with my life-long friend, who hates summer as much as I do. A lot of laughs over stuff that stays off the ride report. Hey, there’s just some things we keep between friends.

PRICELESS!

Have one more quarter in my pocket to play this week. Next time, it’ll be closer to home.

For the ilsnow nation,

Darrin