Junior Adventurer’s WNY Winter Hiking Challenge Journal

About the Author:

My name is Henry I am in fourth grade and love hiking, canoeing, Scouting and building Lego models. I’ve completed the WNY Hiking Challenge in both summer and winter. This journal is about my 2021-2022 challenge. To sign up for the challenge, check out the Outside Chronicles website. I’ll update this page as I complete more trails.

Erie County Forest December 29

Distance: 3 Miles

The first hike we did for the WNY winter hiking challenge was Erie County Forest. It was cold but not a lot of snow and it was muddy. At the begging of the hike we walked through a tiny house then over a bridge and into the forest. We walked through the mud because we wanted to leave no trace but it was challenging. We were starting to get hungry so we had a trail lunch; we had a pasta primavera backpacking meal. After a long hike we made it to the challenge point “A Bridge Too Far.” So we went to a different bridge but it was cracked in half so took back another trail. On the way back we saw a big hemlock tree that crashed from a wind storm.

Wilson-Tuscarora State Park January 8

Distance: 2 Miles

This morning me and the family decided to go to Wilson Tuscarora state park for the winter WNY hiking challenge. When we got there I was so excited to go hiking. We got on our mittens and gloves and hats and neck gaiters. Grabbing our backpacks, we hit the trail. When we started hiking Dad said we should take the secret trail. Along that skinny path we found a chewed tree -looked like a beaver’s work and then we found more chewed trees and more chewed trees. On the loop by the challenge landmark, we found many different kind of trees like beech, hemlock, huge oaks and black cherry. We also found some dead cut up ash trees that came down in the last wind storm. The park guys did a good job of clearing the trails.

ArtPark State Park January 16

Distance: 2 Miles

The third hike we did was with my dad’s friend and his son. We were doing ArtPark so we got our micro spikes on and hit the trail. It was cold with lots of ice in some spots like under the big bridge and near water. The trail was busy with people. It was the most we’ve seen this winter especially near the challenge point which was the big waterfall. On the way past the challenge point we saw many rusty parts of the old bridge near the big bridge that goes to Canada. We made it to the challenge point, took the selfie and kept moving. With a challenging trail we made it to the ice cave which is very cool but only half frozen.

Darien Lakes State Park, January 30

Distance: 3.5 miles

My family and I went to Darien Lake State Park for the WNY Hiking Challenge. It was a sunny day and snow was on the ground and it was cold out. After a long 40 minute drive we made it to the trailhead. We were glad that the snow was compacted because that means we can do it with our winter boots and not snowshoes. It was an easy trail for me and my family. We were on the Conservation Trail following the orange trail markers. We made it to the first lean-to and had a snack and water break. Storing our water bottles inside insulated bottle pouches kept them from freezing. Harper kept her bottle in Dad’s old wool sock. After some more hiking we made it to the challenge point at the second lean-to. Taking the selfie, we then had some delicious hot cocoa. Then we started to hike back to the car along the gas lines. Old road signs pointed back the way to the trailhead. Instead of going the same way back we took the gas line to our car parked at Sumner Road. It was warm hiking back in the sun of the open field but we finally made it to the car.