Walking in Bend, Oregon.
Pilot Butte is the big cinder butte located in the center of Bend. The butte has three different trails that can be walked up fairly easily.
About the Butte:
The butte is a cinder cone formed from an extinct volcano. The butte is about 500 feet above the rest of Bend, Oregon.
Hiking time:
Hiking time is 30-45 minutes depending on your physical fitness level and how motivated you are moving up the butte. The walk up the 500ft to the top is 0.9 miles.
What can you see:
To the West of the butte are the Three Sisters, Mt. Jefferson, Black Butte and Mt. Hood are some of the highlights.
Also you can see almost every part of the city of Bend. Some of the best times are early morning to watch the sunrise and right before sunset to see the sun setting over the before mentioned mountains to the west.
How to make it more challenging:
Things we have done while hiking the butte to make it more challenging. Put on a weight vest, or pack. A 20# weight vest coupled with the steep incline can easily make the hike a zone 2 workout.
Another option is dragging a sled while going up the butte. A 45# plate on a sled. Hook the sled to to a belt around your waist will have your glutes, hamstrings, and calves burning.
If you want more intensity and less aerobic you can perform :10 sprints up and :50 walks. Although this seems fairly simple it does start to really burn the lungs. As you get closer and closer to the top especially.
Here are a couple of useful links if you are going to tackle Pilot Butte.
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