Friends Create Trail-side Rest Stop

Who can say what Betsy Valle was thinking that day when walking her little four-legged pal, Coco, along a section of grim alley recently inhabited by mangled vehicles and abandoned dreams that the intersection of N. Decatur alley at N. St. Louis had become? Nonethless, it’s not a rare sight to see pedestrians and bicyclists passing by on this segment of the future North Portland Greenway Trail. To see beyond the nexus of desperation and litter that have dominated the site a person needs rose tinted glasses. Or, maybe, simply the naturally sunny nature and can-do spirit that is Betsy’s.

Walking north on Decatur adjacent to Baltimore Woods corridor, there’s a particular place where Decatur rises gently to meet the gravelled N. St. Louis Avenue right of way, an unimproved road on the downside that on the hillside disappears into a small cluster of established Big Leaf Maple trees and shrubs shading the ground underneath.

It needs to be said that spot, since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, had been effectively taken over by a succession of illegal RV and trailer campers. Portland Park Rangers and PBOT did what they could to address locals’ concerns about the impact to the immediate natural area; and vehicles would then be moved out, only for others to show up to take advantage of the site next to the dirt roadway that by now had been made level and easy to pull into. And on this particular day, not long after the most recent eviction, most people would be expecting the next caravan to soon arrive.

Betsy, though, looked around and recognized the site for what it was: a leafy bower that naturally attracted people to rest under its filtered light and to gaze out at the panorama it offered of the St. Johns Bridge, the Willamette River and Forest Park blanketing the hills beyond the opposite shore. Betsy thought to herself, what if it could be a rest area for people walking and biking?

Within a day or two, other Friends of Baltimore Woods, Leah Passell and Barbara Quinn, had joined in on the idea and planning was underway. Portland Parks and BES, the Friends partners, were notified of the proposal to make a trailside rest stop. FoBW purchased a nice heavy wood picnic table advertised by a St. Johns neighbor on craigslist. Tim Wessels from Green Anchors and Lars Limburg of Arbor Pacific Tree Work, LLC delivered a huge heap of wood chips and Lars placed a couple dozen giant tree rounds and limbs strategically around the soon-to-be rest stop. Lars can be reached at arborpacifictreework@gmail.com.

With the logs placed around the perimeter in time for November’s SOLVE volunteer work party at the site, twenty local Scouts, some parents, troop leaders and other volunteers joined FoBW to spread the wood chips, and dig weeds such as blackberries, clematis vines, ivy, and holly.

Volunteer Liz Dally donated several trays of native plants that she’d propagated and the Scouts and volunteers then helped plant them. The picnic table was set and anchored to the ground and a welcoming sign designed by Barbara was mounted on a post.

At the end of the work party, after group photos, and collecting tools and supplies, there was a moment to reflect, savor the accomplishment and smile at the amazing transformation.