The Larkspur Trail is probably best done with two people, one car at each end. Lacking a second person, I just did part of it.
What I had done before was the southern end. The middle part goes from the base of Pilot Butte, under Greenwood, and on down towards Larkspur Park. Where I was now was at the part of the state park, where I could park my car, use the restroom, and head out. The weather was cold, with thick clouds and a strong wind, which was to my back on the first part of my walk.
The path goes past the playground, and is paved with asphalt and is nicely wide and for the most part, easy to go on in a wheel chair. I looked to my right to the multiple family housing that was packed in like sardines and then to my left to the butte, sagebrush and junipers. The trail was down hill from Pilot Butte Middle School, and I could see the tops of people standing by the track above me and the sound of voices. There was a blasted, long dead juniper lying by the trail, and it was lovely to look at, as the wood had been polished by time. The trail has the helpful little posts to remind you that you are on the Larkspur Trail, and the trailhead sign was inconveniently in a place where you had to walk a ways to get to it, and where there was no parking. I walked down to the front of the school, to the crosswalk.
If I took the crosswalk, I was to walk down the sidewalk to Hollinshead Park, go through a residential neighborhood, and end up at the triangle of grass and trees and brush that made Sawyer Park. I haven't been to Sawyer since my oldest was a toddler, and I didn't go there this time. Instead, I turned and walked back to the shelter of my car, through the cold wind with its infinitely small flecks of sleet hitting my face.
What I had done before was the southern end. The middle part goes from the base of Pilot Butte, under Greenwood, and on down towards Larkspur Park. Where I was now was at the part of the state park, where I could park my car, use the restroom, and head out. The weather was cold, with thick clouds and a strong wind, which was to my back on the first part of my walk.
The path goes past the playground, and is paved with asphalt and is nicely wide and for the most part, easy to go on in a wheel chair. I looked to my right to the multiple family housing that was packed in like sardines and then to my left to the butte, sagebrush and junipers. The trail was down hill from Pilot Butte Middle School, and I could see the tops of people standing by the track above me and the sound of voices. There was a blasted, long dead juniper lying by the trail, and it was lovely to look at, as the wood had been polished by time. The trail has the helpful little posts to remind you that you are on the Larkspur Trail, and the trailhead sign was inconveniently in a place where you had to walk a ways to get to it, and where there was no parking. I walked down to the front of the school, to the crosswalk.
If I took the crosswalk, I was to walk down the sidewalk to Hollinshead Park, go through a residential neighborhood, and end up at the triangle of grass and trees and brush that made Sawyer Park. I haven't been to Sawyer since my oldest was a toddler, and I didn't go there this time. Instead, I turned and walked back to the shelter of my car, through the cold wind with its infinitely small flecks of sleet hitting my face.
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| Photo of school from http://www.bendbugle.com/wp-content/bdc-images/1408_1.jpg |
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