Neal Adams Turns Cedar Logs into Kiosks on C-P Trail

When Neal Adams learned a pile of white cedar trees that were cut down when constructing the Conover-Phelps Trail were headed for the burn site, the 72-year-old trail advocate went into action. The trail contractor had piled the logs on a large concrete pad where the old chemical plant was located on the former Christensen Lumber Co., property between Highway E and North Twin Lake.

“When building the last 2.2 miles of trail into Phelps, we got permission to remove the line of white cedar trees between the road and that pad. The guy that owned the property said we could cut them down, but he wanted the wood,” explained Adams. “The contractor cut them down and laid them on that concrete slab. They laid there for a month. In the interim, the property got sold and the new owner didn’t want them. The contractor was going to drag the trees to the brush site to be chipped or to burn them up. I said ‘time out. If nobody wants that stuff, I will come down and cut it up.’ I delimbed them, cut it all up and hauled it home.”

The wood sat on Adams’ property and retirement home on North Twin Lake for a year, but he finally peeled it and hauled it to a local sawmill to be sawed into cedar boards. That’s when Adams had another idea. He would turn the cedar boards into two much-needed kiosks for the Conover-Phelps Trail, a 10.2-mile biking and hiking trail that connects Conover and Phelps.

The two kiosks are located at the trailhead in each community and provide maps and information about trail use and activities related to the trails.

“I also built two Aldo Leopold-style benches that we auctioned off at the Ride with Leinie out of the same wood and two trailhead identification signs at the bottom of the kiosks,” said Adams.

Adams and his wife, Cheryl, take pride in doing much of the trail maintenance and have created the Friends of the Trail — a group of people who can help them with trail projects.

“It’s a group of people I can pull from for help,” said Adams. “If anyone picks up a stick or moves a tree off the trail, that is a friend of the trail.”

Since the recreation trail is under the ownership of the towns of Phelps and Conover, they provide some funds for trail maintenance. Great Headwaters Trails (GHT), an organization to develop bicycle trails in eastern Vilas County, also provides trail funding. Events such as the Ride with Leinie, which attracted 405 bicyclists to the Conover-Phelps Trail last month, also raises funds for GHT.

The Conover-Phelps Trail starts in the Conover Recreation Park on Highway K and Town Road near downtown Conover. It then crosses Highway 45 and travels about a 1/4-mile north and heads east across Highway 45 and up the old railroad grade toward Phelps. That portion of the trail has a compacted “trail bond” surface (developed by Pitlik and Wick, Inc.) and has limited grade because it is a former railroad corridor.

“At this time it doesn’t get the traffic the Heart of Vilas Trail gets, but on this trail there are no homes, no vehicle traffic,” said Adams. “I’ve seen bear, grouse, deer and porcupines along the trail. One guy saw a moose just past the highline.”

The last two miles of trail heading into Phelps have an asphalt surface. The trail follows along the north side of Highway K, features some hills and ends at a lakeside park near downtown Phelps. There are parking areas at both trailheads, along with restrooms and the new kiosks with maps. There are additional small parking areas near Muskrat Creek Road and Song Hill Road, both off of Highway K.

“The next goal is to get the trail down to Torch Lake Campground just south of Conover,” said Adams. “That portion would be paved and would serve the county campground users. It would be a nice addition to get the campers into Conover and eventually over to Phelps.”

Adams said engineering students from UW-Platteville completed a conceptual design as capstone project, so a lot of initial work is complete. Their work included offering two or three trail options in a congested area near Highway K west in Conover.  “From there, heading a few miles south to the campground is very feasible,” said Adams. “While it would be a town trail, GHT would be involved in all aspects of trail development including fundraising.”

GHT is also the organization that is trying to develop the River Trail, a paved bicycle trail from Eagle River to St. Germain. That trail would connect to the 52-mile Heart of Vilas County paved bike trail system that already connects St. Germain, Sayner, Boulder Junction, Manitowish Waters and Mercer. Adams serves on the GHT board as an at-large member. In addition, the 8-mile Three Eagle Trail connects Eagle River and Three Lakes, and the Land O’ Lakes Bike and Pedestrian Trail travels 12 miles west out of Land O’ Lakes paralleling Highway B. Riders who want more scenic beauty can continue riding north out of Land O’ Lakes on the 13-mile Agonikak National Recreation Trail.

For Adams, participating in the development and maintenance of the biking and hiking trails in the Conover and Phelps area has been a passion since moving from Weston in 2017. “My wife and I ended up with the family cabin that was turned into a retirement home for my parents in 1975,” said Adams. “When we retired, we immediately decided to move up here and have been involved with the trails ever since. Maybe someday all of the trails will be connected.”