B10 THE BULLETIN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 2021
PHOTOS FROM FAR LEFT:
This octopus-resembling juniper
is among the many trees living
and dead along the Ancient Juni-
per Trail.
Even a dead juniper tree has
beauty to reveal in the Oregon
Badlands Wilderness, located 15
miles east of Bend.
David Jasper/The Bulletin
Juniper
Continued from B1
Out of “an abundance of
caution,” that phrase we be-
came all too familiar with in
2020, we opted to keep our
masks on for the hike, and we
set off on the easy, relatively
flat Ancient Juniper Trail. De-
spite the wintertime popular-
ity of the Badlands, and the
number of cars you’re likely
to encounter in the parking
Central
Oregon
reservoir
levels
Madras
84%
lot, you’ll probably see few if
any people once you set off on
foot.
Unless, that is, you take your
time and lots of photos of the
gnarled junipers of the trail’s
name, as we did. And even
then, should you encounter
other groups, the wide trail af-
fords plenty of room. Be sure
to stay on the trail, though. As
the Oregon Natural Desert As-
sociation says, “the area known
today as the Badlands Wilder-
ness is the ancestral land of the
Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs and Northern Paiute.
These are fragile cultural arti-
facts that you can admire, but
not touch. You will also find
some of the oldest trees in Or-
egon, bright displays of des-
ert wildflowers and castle-like
rock formations.”
Map Guy and I talked about
our lives as we strolled, stop-
ping now and then to admire
strangely shaped trees, whose
twisted trunks bespeak of the
struggle to find water and grow
in this harsh environment.
Some of the junipers here are
several hundred to over 1,000
years old, and even the burned
snags here and there rang a
somber note of beauty.
Getting there: From Bend,
head east on U.S. Highway 20
for about 16 miles, keeping an
eye out for Oregon Badlands
Wilderness and the Flatiron
Rock Trailhead sign, on your
left as you proceed down the
grade. (Bikes are not permit-
ted, but they are across the
highway at Horse Ridge.)
ý
David Jasper: 541-383-0349,
djasper@bendbulletin.com
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