Thursday, July 16, 2020
At last, I’ve managed to identify a complete horseback riding trail at Bend’s Horse Butte National Forest. I am naming this the “Blue Elderberry Trail”. It begins at the Horse Butte Trailhead and loops to pretty places before returning a rider to the Trailhead.
Some of “Blue Elderberry” long has been unused, neglected and obscure, difficult to locate. I’ve repeatedly ridden over the same trails and searching for connections between paths. Recently, I’ve become armed with information and training from map-savvy friends and have begun using an electronic map on my cellphone. This has made it possible in the large outdoors to navigate more sensibly, and also, to record the locations of significant trail spots. Finally, and happily from my perspective, “Blue Elderberry” has been mapped.
The five mile loop is a two-hour ride that features four key points: (1) “The Greenery”, a natural almost-wetlands area that’s healthy and well-flowered; (2) a hunter’s campground from which runs an interesting hand-constructed trail; (3) a blooming wild Blue Elderberry shrub, strikingly beautiful, and (4) a large lava outcropping, grassy and flowered, over which a pretty trail crosses.
Next will be to work at creating a hard-copy map of “The Blue Elderberry Trail”, that hopefully also could be printable.
Dear Friends: New learnings, although maybe-difficult to absorb, always offer rewards. Diana
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