Sunshine ride, Indian Lake to Inlet

-17*F early Monday morning at Indian Lake was certainly a cold start!

I was more than happy to let the temperature rebound above zero before embarking on Monday’s ride. Took advantage of that time to get some work done.

Started my ride around noon. Couldn’t wait to soak in the March sun on snowmobile!

Allowing groomers a head start to work on the weekend bumps is always a good idea.

Saw a fresh groom upon leaving the compound.

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Heading out from Indian Lake

Although C8 to Cedar River Headquarters had been groomed, there were residual studder bumps and occasional rollers, especially through the Forest preserve section.

Passing Deer Valley parking lot and onward, majority of riding was half-way decent. Not great, but not bad enough to give up on it.

About a couple miles from Headquarters, I encountered a quarter-mile stretch of humpback moguls. After that: GOOD RIDING the rest of the way.

Moose River Plains

4 mile stretch from Headquarters to end of Cedar River Road was MINT! Great way to pad happy fun miles.

Cedar River Headquarters to Limekiln end was groomed. Leftover ski chatter and roller bumps here-and-there. Inlet side had a few flat stretches, especially around Big-T.

Big-T deadender had very few bumps, but was FROZEN TIGHT! Not enough traffic to churn up loose frozen granular snow.

Inlet

Many Inlet loop trails were their usual immaculate riding.

Perfect day for a stop at Luppi’s Lookout!

Also a great day for 7th Lake crossing! A little icy in spots, but mostly good.

8th Lake Campsite was lumpy and bumpy in places. S81B/Bug Lake trail was goomed for enjoyable passage.

From Hami 120 intersection, Uncas Road had great snow coverage! Enough snow to have rollers. I eventually caught up to a tandem team of Inlet Barnstormer groomers about to turn into S81C from Hami 121 intersection.

C8/Browns Tract Road to Raquette Lake past Hami 121 intersection was still haggard from the weekend. Decided to turn tail and double my pleasure through S81B/Bug Lake trail and back to Inlet.

Limekiln Road snowbank trail to Route 28 hadn’t been groomed, but was still intact. Got me to Reds Market for a quick bite to eat and a break from the cold.

Return to Indian Lake

Moose River Plains and C8 from Cedar River Headquarters to Indian Lake had degraded somewhat from the day’s traffic. Final few miles through the Forest preserve section felt LONG.

C8/S86 main drag into Indian Lake was tattered into studder bumps and occasional rollers. Got back into town during the last embers of daylight by 6pm.

Hit up S85/Ski Hut trail and S86a to tack on a couple of happy fun miles before calling it a ride.

Returned to the compound with 130 sun splashed miles.

Ride map

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

Bottom line

Groomers were repairing trails from heavy weekend use, with varying degrees of success.

Not a great ride, but a GREAT DAY for a ride! The pictures in my report show the best of it.

Drive for 5000

I’m seeking MISSION ACCOMPLISHED by the end of this week!

Is it OVER after this week?

Depends on who you are & what March does for ilsnow land.

For some people, last weekend was their final stand. Some others will continue riding through spring conditions.

I’m not banishing my snowmobile to off-season storage. Ensemble modelology is showing a return of cross-Polar flow into North America during March 12-17 time frame.

I’ve seen our snowmobile trails get baked to icy glass, only to have a big mid-March snow bring them back to life. The way this winter has rolled for ilsnow land, I’M ALMOST EXPECTING IT.

For the ilsnow nation,

Darrin