Ron Rybicki
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Just in from Pleasant Riders–Oxbow Lake opened up at the east end (Sacandaga Lake end) for about 6 feet. You will have to give it the gun to slide up on the hard ice if your heading to the Oxbow Inn. This is where My wife and I found our selves a few years ago only it was about 8 feet to hard ice and where Mike O sunk his sled, got soaked and had to get help to get his sled out. We took the snow fence down and went along the shore to hard ice. We probably caused some heart aches for the club and were sorry but to go back via the Fawn Lake trail which was worse in one fly was not going to happen. The bridge here was floating. We pushed it to the limit for a ride and should have put the sleds away sooner. Now we are older and smarter.
Also Piseco Lake at the east end where Fall Stream and Mill Creek cuts into the lake is open for about 50 feet. This is right where the trail dumps onto the lake.
I have a feeling there are going to be some wet rescues this week end up there.
The club did get out this week on the Spy Lake trail and video’d it. Couple of small bad spots but not to bad. I wonder it they crossed Spy Lake towards RT 10. If its safe.The Ohio Club just posted that the trail (C4) from Jerseyfield Lake Rd to Ohio is now under water in one spot. No bridge evidently. We can thank the DEC for this. They will not let the club build bridges on state land. So do not go this way. Salisbury did send out a groomer to Norway but Ohio stopped grooming for the season last week. Cant blame them for not wanting to wreck their equipment trying to groom dirt and rocks. I saw 12 sleds in the yard at the Ohio Tavern this past Sunday on their web cam. Got to be locals or desperate riders.
Its going to be 51 degrees in Albany next Monday and I think it will be in the high 40’s in these southern towns. With the sparse snow I think its over down here.
RonOhio Trail by the Poland School and Play Ground is now closed due to idiots that cant stay within the flags and tapes. I swear it looks like these vandals do this on purpose.
Now the only way to get to the military rd or the Alamo from the Ohio Tavern is to ride the bare Hall Rd for 2 miles towards Rt 8 . That is if you want to ride un groomed trails as the club is all through for the season grooming anything. This was just posted on face book. They only got 6 inches and the trails are pretty much shot but if you dont care about your sled go ahead and ride them.
Salisbury said its very boney down there also but there trails are still open and not to ride on the trail at the end of the lower track as it was under water and the ice may not be thick enough for a sled. To get into the club go out on Curtiss Rd and ride the last 100 feet on the edge of the road. Some of the mud holes thru Stratford might not be frozen solid so you may get into some of that black muck. They only got 6 inches also.
News from the Oxbow Inn is she has very little gas in her tank and she is not going to put any more in for this season. You had better get gas else where or carry it. I think she see’s the end is near. I hope not. Any way we stayed home this week end cause of this little bit of snow may not have helped the trails that much from what I saw after the thaw.
RonAs of this morning Salisbury, Stratford and Ohio trails are still closed according to whats on face book. The pictures of the lower race track at the Salisbury Club looks more like a lake than a race track.
Chad of Stratford was going out yesterday to assess the damage and will report back.
My friends stayed off Piseco and Evergreen as Darrin warned….. They did take a ride from Evergreen to the morehouse fire co. on the upper morehouse trail ( C4 ) thru Sheriff Lake trail and said it was not that bad but came onto some kids that were stuck on a ice jam over a bridge about 1 mile west of junction C4 and C4A (43). They got thru it OK and helped the kids go back towards the Powley Rd.
I know the bridge over a small fly just before you get to the Jones Rd has to be under water. on this trail.
As Darrin said its shot for now and if it rains as predicted tomorrow as predicted, its only going to get worse. Hope that little bit of snow coming this Friday helps. I dont think the lakes will be safe from a lot of over run from the cricks dumping in them. At least from looking at Panther Mtn. stream dumping into Evergreen. It flooded out the whole east end of the lake. I would’nt go out on it.
RonI had all the oil settings and gas usage settings checked out by a Skidoo computer and was told all was within their proper dimentions. What blew my piston was the heat dried out the rubber intake manifold mounts and they cracked allowing the engine to lean out on that right side.
I to ride with other e-techs (that why I bought one) . They seem to run with the same temp indications on their gauge as I do and get the the same gas and oil mileage as I do.
The mech that put me back together thought that the one time I over heated (light came on) may have started the failure. Dont know but I’m due for a new sled once the price gets back to some what normal. I got 3K on this 2016.
I’m looking at that 600 EFI Skidoo now makes. Same basic e tech engine but NO power valves to have to clean each year from riding 10mph on the trails around here. My friend have one and loves it. Like him I dont need speed any more at my age.
RonTrails Closed
The Ohio Club just posed on face Book their trails are now closed due to lack of snow in some of the fields. Snow further north did absorb the rain OK but they closed all of their trails.
Stratford Club suggest that you run their Poker Run this Saturday by car and please support the club by doing so. Their trails are closed due to trees down and probably many wash outs. I know I talked to riders last week end at the Bow who came from Caroga via lower Arietta and Avery’s and said they were horrible. Avery’s north were better. They asked how to get back another way. I sent them down the Powley Rd and at the iron post bridge go left towards Pleasant Lake to stop and follow the signs at the inter sections.
I know the snow was so soft the trails got torn up just by the volume of sleds. Sounds like icicleal and Wayner got their trails back in shape but where do you go once you get to the end of their system (Nobolsboro) going south.
It does’nt sound like the trails around Spectacular are in any better shape either.
I wonder how the lake would be after the rain ? ?
RonSnowmobile Deaths
From my weekly Ranger report this one happened on top of Prospect Mountain in Lake George. (No Details) This brings the death count to I think 5 or 6 this season. Hate to be the bearer of this kind of news but usually its speed and or alcohol involved. SLOW DOWN OUT THERE AND LIVE LONGER.
Two guys went into Long Lake at the south end. They were both rescued and warmed up by the Long Lake Fire Company. This sounds like the same location where my friend went in about 5 years ago and was in the water for about an hour before the Long Lake Fire Company air boat got him out.
Rangers were alerted to a abandon sled crashed into a tree in the Moose River Plains. The owner appeared with a recovery team only to be issued two tickets for leaving the scene of a accident and no registration.
Another accident near Oak Mountain in Spectacular. Rangers and ECo responded. Rider was OK.
Rangers, Sheriffs, Troopers and ECOs are all out there this year watching and looking for violations.
RonThats great but I dont trust these e- tec engines. They run so lean that they run hot and it seems most of the time. I found that I need a minimum of 1 to 2 inches to keep my heat in the safe range. I’m running 2 ice scrapers on mine. When I first got it I took a ride on Evergreen (Had about 1 inch loose snow) and down the trail towards Morehouse. Next thing I know my high temp light went on so I stopped and put snow on the heat exchanger. This might have been the start of my downward spiral to causing the rubber intake manifold mounts to develop cracks and lean the engine out more to where I ate a piston on Piseco. Cost me $1700 to get going again.
With this rain coming and no snow for cooling and the temp for Friday nite to be almost in the single digits I might be done for this week end. I might just get out my 1970 Skidoo with boogie wheels and a fan to take a ride.
Ron
PS If you did,nt make the bon fire and fire works at the Ox Bow you missed a great time. Tons of people. Been going there since 1973 when I first came to the Piseco area. Wife and I have dinner there almost evry Friday nite.500ss
I saw where you rode on Sunday and was wondering if you had enough lube and cooling. We left camp for home Sunday about 9AM (Superbowl Party) It was about 12 degrees and my 1/4 mile drive way was froze solid. I chipped out the scratchers as a precaution but I only had a short distance to the car. How did you make out
RonSLUSH
And plenty of it on the lakes
Friday rode to the Salisbury Club from west of Piseco thru Sheriff Lake area on C4 and S88 to the Powley Rd. Best I ever seen Sheriff Lake trails. Powley Rd was great all the way to the end. Arietta Town Hi way Super let the big BR180 go all the way to the end, Thanks a bunch Craig Small. C8A to Stratford was a little bumpy on way down and beat on the way back. Real thin on C4 into down town but passable. The new section of C4A from the end of Ukraine Rd (old ski tow) to the next Rd was very bad due to what snow they got stayed in the spruce trees and did not hit the ground. The club did try but all they did was slide the drag over big rocks and humps till it was snirt but passable. Rest of way into the club was great but on the way back all trails were bumpy due to a lot of traffic
Saturday rode to the Bon Fire and Fire works at the Ox Bow Inn back thru Sheriff Lake, Powley Rd to RT 10 (C4) over Spy Lake to the Bow. Spy was all deep slush and you’d better have a lot of power to get across the short end. C4 over the hill from Rt 10 was beat on the corners and steep hills. I’m not sure if Peasant Riders can even get it back into shape with out some snow. Heard a guy blew a belt out in the middle of Spy and had to change it while his friends watched from shore. I guess you only need one guy to change a belt. The Bow was a mob scene. 5 deep at the bar and over a 100 sleds in the yard. Christy (owner) ran out of food at about 6:30 and dont know if she had enough to open on Sunday. We were lucky and got her small delicious Greek Pizza just before. Heard it was like this since 11 AM when the first wave hit. Also heard that Piseco Lake was deep slush from one end, 5 miles to the other end. My niece was watching the sleds on the lake from the hill at the Irondequoit Inn. They sound like motor boats plowing thru the slush. Several people asked me how to get around Piseco rather than try it after dark. When this freezes this week and it will, the lakes will be a real hazzard to run.
Now with rain predicted for this Thursday it may turn out to be a real treat to try to run these trails again. I sure hope we are not done for the season.
RonWe rode the same way this past Saturday and found the trails all the way to the Alamo in Newport great but a little chewed up on the way back to Piseco. I’ve seen it worse where you could knock your liver loose. Once you get into Morehouse you will find the trails quite a bit better.
Sunday the trails around the Oxbow were great -just groomed. Lunch at the Bow and back down Piseco and home.
Ps Ranger and Sheriff on Piseco Lake checking for registrations. One of our riders had tried to register but with a back log in stickers had had only his paper copy. Lucky one of the Sheriff boys had the same problem. One deputy asked my wife for her insurance card which I carry for both of us. He accepted the fact that we were insured.
Pete– As of Sunday on the way home on Rt 10 it did’nt looked open yet either. I know it was cut out but no tracks on it.
RonA ambitious loop for you guys would be from Indian Lake south thru Perkins Clearing to Oxbow for gas, lunch or dinner. Ox Bow motel right there but call ahead for reservations. If you can’t get into the motel you will have to back track into Spectacular about 20 minutes of lakes for a motel. From here go west over Piseco Lake, thru Morehouse trail system (Excellent trails ) into the Ohio Club system (good trails but a lot of traffic on week ends) You then can go north and cross Hinkley Reservoir (Lot of sleds crossing OK). Now your into Penn Mountain system (also good trails ( but beat on week ends). Still going north you got options to go into Trackside Trail Blazer trails towards Old Forge or head north west closer towards where you want to go. Or reverse your trip. Watch your gas. (from Oxbow only gas is at the Ohio Tavern-35 miles or gas at Hinkley crossing on RT 365
We rode from Piseco this past Saturday thru More House into Ohio and on the the Alamo Inn @ Newport. (Excellent all the way going but a little chewed up coming back) but I’ve seen it worse.
PS I would’nt spend the money for a Old Forge permit just to get thru. You can ride to Big Moose Lake around and head to Raquette Lake then to Indian LakeHate to be the bearer of bad news but maybe I can get thru to some who want to listen. SLOW DOWN JUST A LITTLE.
Saw on my weekly Ranger Report this past Thursday a guy hit a tree in Perkins breaking his femur going to fast to negotiate a curve. Had to get rescued and transported to Nathan Littaure in Gloversville. Plus the one who hit something on Mason Lake early in this season and had to get air lifted to Albany Med.
Heard that one of the deaths was a guy plowing into the side of a truck on one of the roads up in Tug Hill some where. Also I heard that the death count for snowmobile accidents so far this year is up to 4 or 5. Not good news for us old timers just getting into our 2022 season.
Ron.Hey Icicleal
My friends took Morehouse to the Ohio Hotel Friday via the Mad Tom trail. (S46A) Morehouse was great. Mad Tom (S46A) was OK passable but could use some grooming. The Ohio boys are only grooming the roads around town not much on the trails yet. They were lucky to get into the Hotel as by 1PM you had just enough room to stand.
They decided to take the trail to Mosquito Hill via buck point camp.( Herk. 17) Rough all the way but there was an attempt to groom from buck point to the Hill (C4C) from Hill thru Moremouse to Evergreen was great. You guys in Morehouse are wearing out the snow but good for us. To bad Arietta wont spend the money that we give them to do what you guys do.
RonPiseco to Evergreen
Town only groomed on Friday the 21st but it was holding up better than expected on Saturday the next day. Not much traffic yet. Heard from friends that Sherriff Lake to Powley Rd was OK but had to dodge a few rocks. Also heard in the OX Bow on Friday that the trail from Ox Bow to Powley RD was getting beat on the hills. Lot of traffic and need more white stuff. All in All not bad for the amount we got. Going back up this week end to beat them up some more.
RonSaturday PM We Rode to the out house via the Piseco Air port ( for the amount of snow the trail was good ) then Fawn Lake trail to Sacandaga Lake ( trail was also good ) and to Ox Bow ( like you said Ox Bow trail was beat due to lack of white stuff and probably a 1000 sleds on it Saturday ) for dinner. The short trail to Piseco Lake ( which was good for the amount of traffic it gets ) Like Indian and Louwy, Piseco had its slush spots, but nothing to worry about.
Ron
