Ron Rybicki
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Now with the rain probably opening up some more mud holes we probably wont see to much work on the trails at this west end of Arietta. I guess we cant blame them so we will have to wait till it gets colder. You cant groom trails when their wet. The snow balls up in the drags and wont drop in the low spots.
RonOhio and Salibury just reported in via face book. Their trails are closed due to the rain and loss of snow in spots on their trails.
RonAfter reading Darin’s trip to the Powley Rd on Tuesday the 23rd I guess we wont see Arietta’s trails groomed any time soon. He went by S88 on the Powley Rd that gets you to Piseco. It looked horrible to him. I would assume that the rest of the west end of Piseco thru Sherriff Lake (C4) probably looks like this. To bad as these trails are a direct route from Morehouse to the Powley Rd so folks dont have to brave the 125 foot deep Piseco Lake.
Anybody out there want to complain by all means call the trail boss ( Hwy. Super/ Craig S.) on 518 548 7302. As always Arietta seems to be the last to do any thing on these trails even though both ends of this area are always groomed (as best they can) by Morehouse to the west and the Pleasant Rider to the east. Must be there is’nt that much snow in the middle even though the west end of Piseco always gets more snow due to its elevation.
I give up calling as I am labeled a trouble maker in town that just want to ride a decent trail not a polished one just a decent one but I did compliment the town for doing what they could on the east end of town around the Oxbow Inn.
RonJust got a report on face book from Ohio, Arietta, and the Pleasant Riders.
Morehouse– I know these guys have been trying hard to get the trails in shape and a big thanks to them. The trails should not be to bad though.
Ohio–groomed from Norway to Haskells and said it got better further north. I’m assuming this is towards the Hamilton county line. Hopefully.
Arietta–Trail Boss ( Craig S. ) said boys were out fixin mud holes and pulling drags to Oxbow and I hope to the out house (C4) Also groomed the Powley Rd. (C4) No mention of the Sheriff Lake end of town but Thank You Arietta ( Craig S.)
Pleasant Riders–They were out again fixin mud holes and pulling a drag to Spy Lake (C4) Still did not trust the ice on Spy with the T 1000 but sleds are running Oxbow and Spy Lakes. Saw 16 sleds at the Oxbow a few minutes ago. Woopy We might get a season yet thanks to these die hard volunteers. Lots of pictures on face book
As soon as we hear of sleds on Piseco and see a truck out there, we’ll give it a try.
A big thanks to all you guys out there.
Thanks again to all
Ron and Evergreen gangJust found out on face book that the Pleasant Riders attempted to groom a little on what the map sez is S84 but I think this is C4 from Oxbow Lake to NY RT 10 on Thursday. At least it should be a main corridor for funding. I will ask the Club.
Any way they said they plowed thru at least 14 mud holes just from Oxbow to Spy Lake. They drilled a couple of holes in the ice here and found 3″ of blue with 2 ” of water and 4″ of slush ice on this. They would not take the T1000 Tucker across it. There always was a small creek that runs into Spy on the south side crossing. Now its running pretty good down the middle of the trail.
They had to give up until we get more snow and cold temps to dry out some of the mud holes Cant blame the club here. Sleds are crossing Spy Lake which is probably OK for sleds. With sleds crossing Spy this must mean the club opened the gate on RT 10
To me this means that Arietta has not been out yet cause they always seemed to wait till the club goes out first then after people start to complain they will start. As of last Friday the 12th the BR 180 was not on the end of the Powley Rd. My friend is going up tomorrow and will let me know how good or bad it is.
Any body out there knows any thing different please add your 2 cents here.
Good to see 10 sleds in the Oxbow today on the live cams. Wish I could be one of them.
RonGot a report from a friend in Evergreen Park. 2 feet showing on the stick I built in his yard. I talked to him Sunday while it was snowing hard. Sez he will try Evergreen Lake next week, with the temps down near zero this week should be plenty of ice and with Morehouse working their trails, should be a decent ride to the Ohio Tavern. Dont know if Ohio is doing any thing on their trails so it could be bumpy. I know Arietta is not doing any thing yet, but with 2 feet on the ground they should be starting soon.
RonE-Emil
I believe the forester did get in there before the Law Suit and moved the trail out of the swamp but dont hold me to this. I dont know of any one who has tried it recently. I see tracks along Rt 10 but I also see tracks on the trail where it comes out on the Powley Rd. So some one is using it but cant tell you how good it is. I do know the town does not groom it at all but I heard they do cut it out.
I suggested to the forester a long time ago to widen it out enough for the town’s BR 180 to get thru and maybe more people might start using it. But like every thing, this town has to pay workers to groom and clean out trails. Dont expect them to work on trails in the off season.
If I did’nt walk the DEC in on the Sheriff Lake trail and the S88 trail off the Powley Rd to build by passes around mud holes we’d still be plowing thru them. I was called a trouble maker by some town folks for causing more work for the town to cut these by passes. There are probably a hand full of locals that actually ride snowmobiles in these towns up here and they might get out one or twice a season.
Now after the Law Suit and the DEC running scared to cut even a twig in the forest preserve so dont expect any work on snowmobile trails that might involve cutting a twig or two, let alone a tree. Even the forester cant get permission from Albany to re route a hiking trail up Echo Cliff out of severe washouts on this trail. Snowmobile safety is not part of the greenies vocabulary. They want our business’s to close and every one to leave the park so they can have a wilderness experience all to them selves..
I heard form one forester that Legal in Albany is pushing the Legislature to allow re routing of trails ( cutting of trees ) around dangerous situations. See where this goes. Now you got me going. I’m on a rant now.
PS I have seen folks drop their sleds at the Powley Rd and park in the sand pit and walk back and forth. Its a 1/4 mile walk one way.
Have a great week end.
RonE.Emil
You are absolutley right about some one not wanting that specific trail. Its the OHIO CLUB. They want the high snow corridor formula trail money but they do not want the work involved to keep it safe. They also should be working on C4C to Mosquito Hill but will not do it. Reason ? Here’e my opinion. They can not get into these trails with a nice heated cab machine in stead of using a Scandic snowmobile so they will not fix them until there is enough snow to cover all the rocks and the mud holes are frozen . With climate change frozen mud holes are a thing of the past. They want up wards of 2 feet or more on the ground. Is this not ironic as Morehouse can get to their end ( Mosquito Hill ) and do it every year and they work on it constantly.
I have been the only one to complain to the DEC and the club to do some thing so I guess you could call me a trouble maker. Stop complaining and do it your self as I was told by the past president of this club.
If we could get more people to complain the the DEC Forester ( Keith Rivers ) on 315 785 2610 and the current Ohio Club president ( Matt Kermizian on 315 790 2580 maybe these trails would be just a little safer than they are right now,
As far as that trail from Rt 8 south to Cod Pond that belongs to Stoney Creek Club. They never even cut it out one year and the director of Parks took a group it from Bennett Lake Lake trying to get to Stoney Creek. They pulled and pushed their sleds almost to Cod Pond and gave up. Again a corridor high snow formula trail that never got worked on. Needless to say the clubs trail milage and funding was threatened to be cut until it was fixed. The club fixed it.
PS You and I can complain all day but until more people take the time to go after the clubs and DEC that are getting paid with our registration money to maintain these trails nothing will happen or Until a disabled person riding these dangerous trails gets hurt and goes thru the Americans with Disability Act and a law suit is started nothing will happen. So stop complaining and go do it your self. Ha Ha
RonThanks Icicleal
If you want a plow for the drag machine go to your town clerk and have her apply for a grant from Parks and Rec. She or some one in town should know how to do it. I believe you first have to buy it or at least put a down pmt on it then apply for the grant. Arietta does it all the time. Call Craig Small over there. He’s the highway super. and should be able to help you. They put in for a grant to replace the bridge over Sheriff Lake out let and got it. Its on private land so the DEC was not involved I got a call from Parks about it and told them it definitely was needed.
RonIt the 50 years I’ve been riding around the Piseco Area, Ive been hit head on, luckly glancing blows 3 times by idiots going to fast when the trails are smooth. I lead our group and some times I look like an ostrich trying to stretch my neck to see around some of the tight curves especially when the snow is hanging on thick spruce trees. I go so slow on these trails and sometimes I have sleds backed up behind my gang. My wife who rides behind me got hit by a young kid who blamed her for not pulling over far enough one time. She was not hurt but he blew the whole side of his sled off when he caught her back of her sled. We had words and he left madder than hell. I will pull our gang over if I see them but on these twisting trails we ride I cant see back that far and have been encountered with nasty words when we do get to a pull off. If I’m with my nephew ( he’s 6,4, 200 plus ) I will throw them the bird and hope they stop long enough to tell them to slow down a bit that I cant see back that far and always pull off for faster riders.
Oh well–seems to be the way of the world today–every body is in a hurry to get no where
PS I own the land at the east end of Evergreen Lake and every spring I pick up a bag of beer cans and garbage there. If I’m in camp and can hear voices there I know they’re resting and go and ask them to be respectfull of my property. Sometime it works. But I can understand why property owners in some cases have had enough.
RonI just hope that this road (Fawn Lake Rd ) is not plowed and sanded for a long way. I know there are a couple of houses on it but I cant remember how far from our turn off. If there are houses here I dont think they are going to be happy with a thousand sleds going by at night. We will see. Hopefully not to long from now. Maybe by the end of this month and your right about the trails getting rough by Saturday night. This is why as week enders we head west thru Morehouse and ride this direction on Friday or early Saturday. They groom at least 2 to 3 time a day and their trail to the county line is always great. At the county line we usually take the Jones Rd into Ohio unless we see drag marks on the short trail to the Nobolsboro Bridge, then we can figure the Mad Tom trail to Haskell’s is good, or not that bad because I know Ohio only groom once on Wednesday.
On Saturday night we used to take the trail from Salisbury Club thru Stratford to the Powley Rd and knock our livers loose getting to Powley. Now we go to Salisbury first then to Ohio or we turn south at Salisbury and head to the Doldgville R & G Club and get back to Powley before its tore up. I have counted 150 sleds in the one hour it takes us to get down here, praying I dont get hit on the Powley Rd when its smooth.
PS My wife won a hundred bucks from the early bird Spectacular Drag Raffle. We support all the clubs who’s trails we ride.
RonThis is just what these tree huggers want. No snowmobiles, No year round residents. They want a total wilderness park, like Yellowstone or yosemite. Here’s another one for you. The dream for the 21st century by the Adirondack Council wants the state to buy and remove all the houses along the old Piseco Road in the town of Arietta and Mountain Home Road in the town of Morehouse and the wilderness boundary out to NYS RT 8. They only want people to visit the Adirondack Park. And they will not be happy till this happens.
RonWatching you guys hit that wall on the other side of Panther Mtn. stream and knew you guys could ride. We went around thru the trailer park. By now and after tomorrow’s rain, its over. Ohio and Salisbury Clubs closed their trails last night. The OxBow Inn is closing on Sunday, April 2. If you guys are familiar with this place, my wife and I are there almost every Friday Night for Dinner.
PS If your desperate for a ride there is always Perkins to go round and round or the Powley Rd to go back and forth 17 miles. From Perkins you might sneak down Big Brook trails and Fawn Lake trails and get to the BOw with out to much mud.
See you all on the trails next year.
RonMatt K and Ben announced on face book that they groomed C4C to Mosquito Hill from the Ohio end 2 days ago on Sunday. Great, Heard from a friend that it had been groomed a couple of weeks earlier. Thanks a bunch to these guys as this is a twisty, curvy rock strewn goat path. Unlike the trail to Jerseyfield Lk. Rd. (C4) which is a logging road and full of mud holes and a dangerous bridge over Mill Stream and the DEC has not fixed in 26 years and will not let the club even bridge the smaller mud holes.
I found out from a Supervising Forester in Region 5 ( Mike Mulligan ) that any one can build a small bridge using native trees (dead only), since the Law Suit with out DEC permission. Maybe we can get the club to do this. However I think the club wants to use a big BR 180 on this trail. I’m going to check with the local Forest Ranger ( Mike Thompson ) about this. He reports to Mike Mulligan.
RonRode thru Morehouse to Ohio and as usual they were sweet all the way into Ohio. Took S46 over the Nobolsboro bridge and up to C4B towards Ohio. These trails were great. Let about 10 antique artic cats go by here. They were heading for a party on Black Creek Lake that afternoon. They ranged from what I remember to be from the 60’s to maybe the early 70s. Real cool but we heard in Haskells that night that a couple had to be fixed on the trail. They were all carrying spare parts so I heard. Stopped at the Ohio Tavern just to grab a couple and then headed to Rockys on Hinkley staying on C4B. We jumped on the lake at the camp ground on the south side and plowed thru about 6 to 8 inches of slop all the way into Rockys. Every time we went over a Island sand bar or the shore at Rockys you had to plow thru at least 6 feet of water slush. I’m sure there was ice under us but did’nt look back and kept the hammer down till we slid up the bank on each end. This is the reason my wife will not put her sled on Hinkley any more but not so much the slush but that one year we took Hinkley and saw a running water hole just to the right of the main track on the north side before you went up the bank right behind Baileys gas station on Rt 365. This is where they main channel is as they drain the lake. She is done with this Lake.
All the trails around Ohio and Morehouse were great this past Saturday and probably should be OK for one more ride next week end. These trails are in the woods and not exposed to the sun. The club closed the trails around Poland and Cold Brood (open fields) as they did not get that much snow and the rain killed what they had. Over for now.
Ron
