b'TRAILS REPORTBy Matt Tetreault, VAST Trails AdministratorIn my last article, I wrote that I hadThe task at hand on this fine fall day sausage and 4th of July on my mindwas a trail project along corridor trail and commented that summer is a14. The 400-acre parcel that the trail difficult time to be thinking aboutcrosses was logged last winter and snowmobiling. As I sit here just a fewneeded an overhaul where the skidder short months later, banging awaytraveled along the trail. The logger again on the keyboard, I can heardid an excellent job and created a bit crisp, dead leaves hitting the groundof a more direct route through the as a cool breeze releases them fromparcel that used much of the existing their perch. Those leaves are also verytrail, but also strayed off from it in colorful right now, which is a signgenerous of them. One of thesome locations. One of the main of only one thingthe tree hasvolunteers out there helping doesntadvantages to the new skid trails stopped making chlorophyll!even snowmobile and never has. Hewas a more direct crossing of a small I am fortunate to get out in the fieldjust likes the camaraderie and beingstream that runs through the property. for project review in the fall months;out in the woods. A couple of theAfter some excavation to remove however, I am not always able toothers used to snowmobile but haverocks the size of refrigerators from the get out in the field in the capacity Inot done so much, if at all, in recenttrail, it was time for the volunteers would like, as volunteer labor on ayears, yet continue to give back to theto get to work on other tasks. A clubs trail project. I was fortunateclub and snowmobiling.small bridge over a stream on the this season to be invited to helpproperty at the old crossing location my local club on a trail project on a gorgeous September day. It was while mindlessly spreading hay that I started thinking about highlighting my experience out on the trail in this article for Snowmobile Vermont magazine.I look at things from a unique perspective sometimes, and I can truly say I looked at things on this day in the woods far differently than most would.The club I belong to is a small club that maintains and grooms 47 miles of trail in the Central Vermont area. Although the membership numbers are small, the club maintains some integral links of trail system that connect Central Vermont to the Northeast Kingdom. We typically have a 10-12-week riding season on average, with mid-range snowfall. The decent snowfall does not always equal a decent amount of volunteerism from the riders out there. Most simply want to purchase a trail pass and be on their way. This is not an issue that is specific to the club I am a part of, nor to snowmobile clubs in general. It is widespread across many volunteer organizations.The crew I had the privilege of working with on the trails in September consisted of eight steadfast volunteers in addition to myself, which made nine. Three of them made the long trip from Connecticut to help the cause, which was incredibly 22 | Snowmobile VERMONT'