b'TRAILS REPORTBy Matt Tetreault, VAST Trails AdministratorAs I am gearing up to draft this articlebut it is what I am using. Do not evenmoon falls on the first or second day it appears we have a second winterget me started on the variation in theof the month. arriving over the weekend. Thisrange expected. 30,000 is significantlyThe new moon is rumored to affect winter has been on life support for adifferent than 200,000 I think, but hey,human health and moods. Like while now, and it appears we arentI am not an expert in this departmentthe full moon affecting our sleep pulling the plug just yet! Since I dideither. Needless to say, we agreed thatpatterns or as I have heard, making not have much to write about sincewe would close gates and attempt toelderly people in assisted living the last article (snowmobiles havekeep unwary travelers infesting theact differently. Werewolves come not moved since, except for washingstate from getting stuck or lost out onout, along with all kinds of other them, greasing them, fogging them,our trails in the Northeast Kingdom.mythological creatures. When I was and putting them away for the year)We do not want any safety issues toa kid at my grandmothers camp in I was going to write about the newoccur, or landowner relations strainedGroton State Forest, pine gropers were moon phase and the solar eclipse.because of our gates being open whenout during the full moon. Pine gropers Have you all heard about that? Well,they should not. (which are completely inappropriately it is happening. This magazine shouldWith that all figured out, I did becomenamed for small children) were out be hitting your mailbox about thea bit fascinated with this eclipse,any night in the forest, or when time of the eclipse, I think. Anyhow,and of course with the hub bubfamily members wanted to scare despite the second coming of thesurrounding it. Why would anyonethe daylight out of us cousins and winter that never was, I am still goingtravel for hours to Vermont duringget us to bed. Anyhow, there is no to write about the eclipse. If I get anwhat is normally a pretty cruddy timescience behind the new moon affects idea in my head, I run with it! of year (apart from the sap running) toanything to do with humans, but it Now, I am no scientist and NASA hassee three minutes of darkness? As mydoes affect other organisms such as not called me up yet, so bear withdaughter told me, Dad, it gets darkcorals. Corals time their spawning me on this. My article is completelyfor 12-24 hours every night. Whatsbased on the lunar cycle. There is based on internet research and an oddthe big deal? She has a point. But Ialso talk about the effects of the lunar curiosity with this whole thing, andneeded to research this. I needed tocycle on deer movement for all you all the hype surrounding it. try and understand this fascination.hunters out there. I will leave it up I first heard about the eclipse twoBesides the fact that this eclipse isto you to decide whether the lunar months ago when I had a phonevisible from San Antonio Texas tophase affects you or the animals call from a forester at the VermontArkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Newaround you. It does affect the tide Department of Forest Park andYork and right across into Vermont.in the oceans though. That is a fact. Recreation. He informed me that weSeems like there are other cool placesGoogle perigee or apogee if you are needed to be thinking about closingto see the eclipse besides here, but Icurious. And one last thought on the snowmobile gates along our trails inguess the viewing here will be to dienew moon from almanac.com, If the the Heritage Lands of the Northeastfor as we are in the path of totality.new moon stands on its points, expect Kingdom for April 8. I argued thatI keep wondering how disappointedprecipitation to spill out. Whatever our season was open until April 15these hundreds of thousands ofthat means. at midnight officially and if therevisitors will be if it is raining orGranted, this phenomenon happens were snow, we would have gatescloudy all day on April 8. It is not likeevery year and as a result, a solar open for riders. He then asked mea NASCAR race where they will justeclipse like this happens somewhere if I knew about the eclipse. I said,run the eclipse on Monday insteadon the Earths surface annually, but Yeah! Mitsubishi made those carsdue to inclement weather. Hopefully,the eclipse often occurs over water or from 1990-2012. One of my friends init will be a blue bird sunny day! locations that are difficult for humans high school had one. They were prettyResearch says that a solar eclipse canto reach and/or see, so the eclipse neat, especially with the turbo! I amonly happen when there is a newmay go unnoticed. A given location kidding about that part, but truthfully,moon. A what? New moon. Not aon Earth will experience totality once I did not know about the eclipse, butused moon from Craigslist. It must beevery four hundred years.the forester educated me and thennew. A new moon is when the moonsThis 2024 eclipse is extra special sent me follow up information onorbit around Earth allows the moon tobecause, it is our chance in that four-it. We did discuss closing the gatesmove between the Earth and the sun.hundred-year cycle, to experience and it made sense once I understoodThis means that the back side (or sidetotality, but also because the time that there were 30,000 to 200,000away from Earth) of the moon is lit byof totality will be twice as long as it people expected to infest Vermont inthe sun, and therefore the side facingnormally is (based on the last Great and around this date, solely for theEarth appears dark. A new moonAmerican Eclipse in 2017). Ninety purpose of viewing the eclipse. Nowhappens once a month usually butpercent of the sun will be blocked. infest may not be the proper word,can happen twice in a month if a newHere in Vermont, we will be able to 12 | Snowmobile VERMONT'