One of my goals for 2015 was to hike in a different park every month.  Last month, we visited Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, which counted as both the January hike for what I’ve dubbed our “twelve months hiking project” and the first of our four seasonal hikes for 2015.  For February, I set my sights on Knox Farm.  We’ve been to Knox Farm a number of times in the past and have actually hiked there in spring, summer and fall (unblogged, but if we’re friends on Instagram you saw some of the pictures).  (An inadvertent four seasons hiking project!)  We’d even seen it in all its winter glory when we took Peanut there to play on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when there was already a blanket of snow on the ground.  I was eager to check out the snowy wonderland on the trails.

Boots on the ground!  Hubby didn’t repeat his mistake of leaving his snowshoes in the car, and he loved having them.  I was struggling a lot more in just my hiking boots.  We were walking over drifts, which were fairly well-packed in some areas, but I still broke through the pack quite a few times, and the snow was up to my knees when I did.  I only got stuck once, though.  It would have been a much easier hike had I been wearing snowshoes too – I should have rented a pair.  Next winter I’m planning to ask Santa for a pair of my own; I didn’t want to buy them this year because Nugget has pushed me up a size.  Anyway, hubby has really been enjoying his, which makes me happy.

Guess who had an even easier time on the hike?  The backpack is definitely the way to ride.  Wish she would’ve given me a turn.

As you can see, the drifts were pretty deep!  I led the way and tried to pick the best packed snow.

There were lots of snowshoe and boot prints and cross-country ski tracks.  I loved seeing the evidence that so many people are out enjoying this space even in the cold weather.  We saw a few couples snowshoeing and one couple on skis.  I really miss cross-country skiing; it’s one of my favorite outdoor activities and I haven’t done it in years.  Next year I’d really like to get back to skiing – both downhill and cross-country.

This trail is actually a nice loop, with short and long options.  I’d planned for us to take the short loop, just because of the cold.  But we found ourselves walking and walking without breaking off, because there were no packed snow trails leading away from the longer loop.  And in fact, we soon discovered that the long loop trail wouldn’t work either, because the packed snow simply ended and there was no way to follow the trail around without me sinking into hip-high drifts.  So we decided to make it an out-and-back instead.

We found our way to the frozen-over creek and then turned back.  Look at those drifts, almost covering the wood fence!  This was where I got stuck and needed hubby’s help to free myself from a drift.  Snowshoes would have really come in handy… hubby never broke through the pack once.  I’m definitely getting a pair for next winter.

All in all, it was a successful hike.  I worked up a good sweat, breathed my fill of fresh air, and got to spend time in nature with my two favorite people.  (Three favorites, if you count Nugget too, but he slept the whole time.  Hubby and Peanut were livelier hiking buddies.)

Gear:
Hubby: Tubbs Frontier snowshoes; I still don’t know what his winter boots are; Black Diamond men’s hiking poles; Deuter KidComfort III child carrier.
Me: Oboz Bridgewater BDry waterproof hiking boots (SO WARM LOVE THEM); Black Diamond women’s hiking poles.

Do you enjoy winter hiking?  WNY friends, what park should we check out for our March hike?