I had originally planned to bike to Crystal Lake from my house, but thunderstorms were forecast, and I figured I would be better off starting from the parking area at the junction of M and N. One very nice thing about the trail is the number of starting and ending points.
It looked to me that there were about 100 people. (by the way, is there a calculus one uses in estimating crowd size?). Not bad for a rainy day. I asked Boulder Junction town chair Jeff Long if he felt pretty proud of what had been accomplished-due in a large part to his vision. He was beaming. He talked about how the connections were good for all communities. How about trails to other communities? He said he would like to see trails anywhere he could get them, but that it isn't easy or quick.
Marcia Kittleson, from the Sayner-Plum Lake Chamber of Commerce, was also excited for the future. She talked about Cloverland wanting to get on board, helping to connect Eagle River with the Heart of Vilas system. There is still more work to be done. Mark Hiller, from the St. Germain Bike Trail Committee, talked about surfacing a new portion of their trail. (It ain't cheap!)
And while people talked about the future, it was time to celebrate what had already been accomplished. People in all three communities worked very hard to create this treasure we can all enjoy. No one anticipated the excitement this trail system has generated. It is changing the economic landscape of Vilas county. (See the Dennis McCann article I linked to about a week ago)
(Three photos: First, of Crystal Lake, one of many beautiful gems on the trail, The Ribbon cutting with Jeff Long, Marcia Kittleson, Mark Hiller, and Sen. Breske, and finally, a picture of the trail just before Crystal Lake from Highway M.)
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