It’s unseasonably cool; my breath meets the morning in misty gusts, my boots crackle along the trail underfoot.

Up through the juniper and ponderosa pines I climb, meeting an occasional hiker going the other way. Two jackrabbits cross the trail in front of me, their king-sized ears pricked for trouble.

And, from a distance, there’s the rhythmic bang of hammer striking nail, the high-pitched whine of heavy equipment operating in reverse.

This is Pilot Butte, a volcanic island of nature in a sea of Western-style development.

The butte, used by early-day pioneers to mark their way, is still an oasis for wildlife, but it’s also a place where hundreds of people head every day seeking solace for the spirit and a little aerobic bliss.

There’s a mile-long paved trail and road to the top of the butte that switchbacks up the hill to the south, plus a dirt nature trail that winds around from the east. Many people combine those to make a loop.

I meet Deanna Cooper and Marlene Crandall on the way up and we stop to chat. Crandall’s a regular butte walker, making the round trip at least three times a week.

”I can get all the exercise I need in three hours a week,” says Crandall.

Cooper doesn’t get out here as often, but she’s been making the climb for years.

”It’s nice to see the changes in Bend,” she says. ”I have pictures of 25 years ago and today. You can see everything.”

Pilot Butte has been a prime vantage for the last 190,000 years. The butte is a 480-foot-high cinder cone created in an extended eruption thought to have lasted between a few months and a year or two.

Dave Weistekow comes up here twice every day, usually with his dog, Niki.

”I’m closing in on 400 miles,” he says. ”I’ve always been an outdoors kind of person. You get a nice view and the weather changes all the time. Wintertime is neat up here. You see more wildlife.”

Weistekow has seen rabbits, deer and even some elk tracks.

Up top, there’s a panoramic view of the desert country to the east, the Cascades to the west and the territory to the north and south.

It’s a convenient spot to get an idea of just how much there is going on in river city.

Steve and Marian Williams walk the butte five or six days a week. They’ve seen it under a blazing August sun and with snow mantling its flanks in January.

”It’s close to home and it’s good exercise,” says Steve Williams.

Wife Marian has her own reason for making Pilot Butte her regular stomping ground.

”Because it’s there,” she says with a smile.

Pilot Butte is a state park, but parking and admission are free.

The trailhead parking lot is off Highway 20, just east of Pilot Butte. There’s plenty of parking and restroom facilities. It’s about two miles round trip. Dogs are allowed as long as they’re on leashes.