Had another quarter in my pocket for ride this week.
I can sit on the couch ALL #summersucks 2026!
Trucked it to Washington Street parking lot in Tupper Lake Thursday morning and got rolling just before 10am.
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Starting off
Different approach to begin this ride. Tooled around town on Junction pass trail and took a stroll on the lake. I had never ridden on Tupper Lake before, other than sitting at shore.
Tupper Lake to Charlies Inn
C7 alternated between large rolling bumps and firm ski chatter. Found the best way to minimize jarring was to putz along at 35 MPH and roll with the punches.
Big improvement through Lake Clear as large bumps gradually disappeared. A foreshadowing of MILES OF SMILES ahead.
Charlies Inn to Lake Placid
Other than enhanced studder bumps through fenced-in causeways (especially Lake Colby), C7B was a pretty good ride into Metro Saranac Lake.
Saranac Lake to Lake Placid was STUNNING! Nearly all of it was board flat. I slow-steamed through that avenue to enjoy it as long as I could. Other riders did too.
Best part? Got to do it all over again on the return trip!
North from Charlies Inn
C7 between Charlies Inn to pole line had stretches of long wave rollers, but wasn’t bad.
Next was C7/pole dancing! Other than moderate divots near many of the poles, it was good to excellent riding between Gabriels and Loon Lake.
Encountered some bumps north of Loon Lake through C8/Meacham Lake exit ramp. Eventually C7 settled back into pretty good pole dancing.
C8A/Wolf Pond Road was a beautiful ride to Clinton County line. Past Dollhouse I encountered some wet/icy turns and even several spots getting baked to dirt.
From county line, C8A toward Lyon Mountain was decent riding for the short stretch I was on it. Easily made it to the scenic overlook.
Doubled back and rolled Wolf Pond Road to Sugarloaf. SWEET!
C7 from Sugarloaf to Mountain View was a fun mashed potato slide! But the usual spots on that stretch have worn THIN.
Slithering over the road through Mountain View was a bit painful. But it had to be done to hit Trailside Bar and Restaurant for lunch.
C7/Mountain View to Owls Head was mashed potato lumps-n-bumps.
Lunch!
Chicken and veggie soup and triple patty smash burger with all the toppings. Then banana cream cheesecake for dessert. I eat “good for me food” nearly 90 percent of the time. On the trail, I eat for FUN.
My server told me she brings in desserts from home weekly. A lot of great options, but I had to choose one. Maybe I could have ordered TWO because the oreo cheesecake was calling me too!
Back to Tupper Lake
Already had a great day! Only remaining order of business was to enjoy pole dancing back to Charlies Inn. I knew what was waiting for me after that!
C7 after Lake Clear to Tupper Lake on the return trip late afternoon was rough as a corn cob. Miles of stand-up bump-surfing, rodeo bull riding back to the truck.
Got back to Washington Street parking lot about 5pm with 159 miles for the ride.
Another great spring ride up north!
Ride map
Click here for ride stats, larger map and 3D Flyover
Weekend Outlook
FOR NOW, snowmobile trails in heart of Adirondacks are OPEN AND RIDEABLE with spring conditions. Some trails are nearly smooth. Others are bumpy and rough. Assume that most, if not all, grooming is suspended.
Indian Lake, NY got a slight coating of snow and sleet Thursday night. Webcams show a thicker covering of new snow in the southern flank of ilsnow land. Temperature will be mired in the 30s much of Friday and Friday night, slowing the meltdown. But temperature shooting to 50*F or higher Saturday afternoon will quickly turn snow conditions worse.
Definitely hit it SOONER rather than later.
As with all thaws, seasonal road snowmobile trails will survive the best.
Longer range
Ensemble modelology shows strong signaling for winter temperatures to return later next week.
I’ve seen our trails baked to glass only to see a big mid-March snow bring us back to life.
As long as we don’t get gully washing rain to blow the trails out, there is a chance to get back in the game here in ilsnow land.
For the ilsnow nation,
Darrin
