Winter 2018 | 27 TRAILS REPORT by Matt Tetreault, VAST Trails Administrator Control is defined as “the power to influence or direct people’s behavior or the course of events.” I believe that all of us attempt to have control over events in our lives and we all want our kids to make the right decisions in life. How much influence do we have on them as parents? We can teach them right from wrong and try to guide them as much as possible. In the end, the only way they learn is by sometimes making the wrong decision and learning “the hard way.” Friends and unforeseen circumstances influence the decision-making process and the final outcome of a situation. We can only hope that our positive influence as a mother or father will weigh stronger in the minds of our children, but that isn’t always the case. The fact of the matter is that we have no control over it, like many things in our lives. We struggle and strive to grasp and maintain control over so many things and, when it comes right down to it, the only thing we truly ever have control over is our own actions, behaviors and how we react to situations. Nothing is guaranteed. Like our kids, we are often influenced by outside sources. We cannot eliminate those outside forces or other people all together, but we can control our response to these outside forces, re-evaluate our position and move forward. This is easier said than done. At times, we all struggle with how to react to a situation. It seems we struggle more with reacting to less than favorable situations. Positive situations are easier. It’s the not-so-positive situations that stump most of us. Do we get angry and try to grab control of the situation and manipulate it to the outcome we want? Do we lie awake at night thinking about how we could have changed the outcome? Do we shut down completely and push others away who are trying to help? Do we simply become angry and lash out at others and become irritable about situations that have nothing to do with what is really bothering us? There are many possibilities of how each of us will react to a negative outcome we did not want or expect. The outcome of most situations are generally out of our control and we have to step back and realize that everything happens for a reason. It is part of a larger plan. We may not understand why, but there are reasons that we might able to understand someday. We don’t have control over this. We just need to control how we react to it. How does this life lesson relate to snowmobiling? What kind of crazy pills is the trails administrator taking these days? I can relate the philosophies mentioned above to Mother Nature and her antics. Every season, I receive a number of calls from disgruntled members who are upset about one thing or another regarding the VAST trail system. Don’t get me wrong. I feel we have many happy members too, but they are out enjoying the trails and enjoying life and aren’t on the phone with me. Often, what these members are upset about is the weather or lack of snow or the coming of a thaw or the fact that they did something foolish but do not want to take responsibility for it. What they are upset at me about really has nothing to do with anything that anyone can control. That is the real issue at hand. We are outdoor enthusiasts who like snow during the winter and of course we want it to snow. We want a good trail base early in December and then some fresh snow each week at about a rate of 6 to 8 inches per week. We don’t want powdery snow, though. We want snow with some moisture to it, followed by some colder weather so we can pack it in and freeze it down and make it last. The powdery snow causes too many moguls! If we get some rain, it has to be just the right amount to add moisture to the powdery snow and the temperatures have to drop. Then we have to hit the trails with the groomer just when the snow is at the right temperature. We all talk about it constantly, but really, how much control do we have over any of this? It will snow when it is going to snow and rain when it is going to rain. The snow will be what it is and we are left to contend with what is available. We only have control over ourselves, where we ride, how we ride, who we ride with or what brand we ride on. Even some of this can be easily influenced by other outside forces. Mother Nature will do as she pleases and being upset about it does no good. In fact, it does harm to us, our minds and our bodies. We wear ourselves down being negative about something we have no control over. Be happy to be alive, be happy you have a snowmobile to ride, be happy there are trails here in Vermont to ride, be happy there is snow, and be happy you have friends and family to ride with you! Find something to be happy about! Don’t wait for things to get better. Learn to be happy now, otherwise you will run out of time! If the riding isn’t good, find something else to do with those same people you would have ridden with. Something that is fun and that you all enjoy. When we come into this world, we are given a set number of minutes to spend in it. How we use those minutes is crucial. I hope we can all learn to spend more of our time embarking on positive pursuits and enjoying time on the VAST trails with friends and family. We don’t have any control over when that time begins or when it expires. Get out and enjoy life to its fullest, preferably on the seat of a snowmobile here in Vermont. And while you are doing this, please know that the staff and volunteers are doing the best that we can to make it an enjoyable experience for you! We cannot control the weather or many other things in our lives for that matter, so make the best of what we have and enjoy! 15-year-old Matt saved his lawn mowing and painting money to buy this sled in 1995.