Written by Becca Wicher
With assistance from Joseph H.
Joseph H. is a very nice gentleman who likes to go outside and hike, especially with his staff Becca, his mom and dad, and brother and sister. Joseph is also a power wheelchair user, which makes it very hard to go out hiking on many trails.
Joseph’s wheelchair has a very short clearance under it- about two inches maximum. This means that Joseph cannot travel on bumpy trails, trails with large rocks, and trails with roots. Grassy and muddy trails are also very difficult, because the tracks and wheels of his chair tend to collect a lot of mud, and it gets hard to clean. After a muddy run near Birdsong park one afternoon, Joseph and Becca had to go out to buy a tire brush to clean the wheels before heading to their next outing.
Being in a wheelchair is different from just having a stroller or a manual wheelchair. Strollers and manual wheelchairs tend to be thinner at the base, easier to to move and rotate, and easier to get over bumpy parts. They also weigh much less- Joseph’s chair weighs about 400 pounds before Joseph is even sitting in it.
Despite being in a chair, Joseph and Becca visited many trails this summer and fall. At the beginning of the 2024 Hiking Challenge, Becca reached out in the hiking challenge Eventzee group chat to find some of the easier and accessible hiking trails. Together, Joseph and Becca made a list of trails that are wheelchair friendly, paved, and easy to navigate.
Joseph’s favorite hiking spot this year is Birdsong park, in Orchard Park. On their first trip there, Joseph and Becca attempted to use the boardwalks and grassy and dry paths. They found that the boardwalks had a “lip” up onto most of them that had more than 2 inches to get on. So if they found themselves at the end of the boardwalk, they could get off, but not back onto the path. They also found that some parts around the ponds were very soft for his wheels, and he was sinking in the grass. One of the boardwalks even has a post in the middle of the entrance, where it was impossible for him to get around it.
Despite all of this, Joseph and Becca returned many times to walk the paved path around the open field and the neighborhood next to it. The path was never crowded- there were maybe one or two other people there each day. Going around the paved path and through the neighborhood was exactly one mile, and many days he would travel the same loop two or three times, equaling over 2.5 miles. “It’s beautiful,” said Joseph, “the leaves in autumn. In the summer days we enjoyed the walk with water.”
Walton Woods was another favorite spot. Walton Woods is completely paved around the whole trail. Joseph enjoyed taking pictures of the geese, ducks, turtles, and Nori (Becca’s hiking dog). He also enjoyed listening to his music on his headphones. The easy trail would lead them around the pond two or three times each day. Everyone nearby was always very kind, there was never a bad time at Walton Woods.
Some of the ones Becca enjoyed with Joseph included the boardwalks at Stiglmeier Park in Cheektowaga and Jenny Glen Trail in Beaver Meadow. While some of the base boards needed to be updated and replaced, there was always more than enough nature to go around, and no mud to worry about. While sometimes the lower railings on the boardwalk were harder to navigate for Joseph, he was often able to take breaks in open areas and see some animals that he normally wouldn’t on more traveled trails.
The Ellicott Creek Trailway was a big goal for both Joseph and Becca to complete. Everyday they would go out, they would chip away at the trail more and more, about one mile or so at a time, and would backtrack to the van. They started in Amherst, and worked their way past UB, past the JCC, over bridges, past workplaces, all the way to Niagara Falls Boulevard in Tonawanda. While the trail was about 6 miles long, Joseph and Becca have walked over 15 miles of it.
Other places that Joseph has visited this year are Reinstein Woods trails (as they are all graveled, before the fall 2024 update), Buffalo’s waterfront trail near the outer harbor, Glen Falls in Williamsville, Sprague Brook Park, and Chestnut Ridge. These paths were all either access roads or paved. The downside of some places like Sprague Brook and Chestnut Ridge is that the hills are much harder to traverse. Joseph would often say, “My chair is getting tired from all this!”
This past summer, Joseph’s family from Texas came to visit. They are always on the lookout for kid-friendly activities, and learning new nature facts are some of their favorite things to do while here. Joseph scouted out nature centers for them to visit, including Beaver Meadow, Reinstein Woods, and the Audubon Community Nature Center. “It [the Audubon Community Nature Center] was neat, it had a playroom on the top floor,” Joseph recalled. The Audubon also was extremely accessible friendly- including sensory play outdoor areas and a short boardwalk trail.
Each nature center he visited had very kind staff who showed us around. Beaver Meadow was kind enough to open up early for Joseph to check out and navigate their newly renovated play areas, and Joseph loved learning about different bird calls.
Joseph was able to book time for his family while they were in town, and the staff members remembered him by name. Each of the nieces and nephews all enjoyed Beaver Meadow when they reopened to the public.
Outside of Buffalo’s trails, Joseph’s family also visited Cortland, NY. At the Lime Hollow Nature Center, there was an accessible offroad wheelchair to be used specifically for the trail. It had large treads, a wide base, and moved quickly. Joseph had training on the chair, and was able to take the outdoor “track” wheelchair for a spin. There was about a full six miles where Joseph went up and over rocks, roots, and even a little mud. Joseph was very excited to return and tell Becca all about it, including pictures of his adventure.
“It was fun to walk outside,” Joseph told Becca with a smile. “I like the outdoors, I am an outdoors-man.” Joseph and Becca worked together to complete the 2024 Hiking Challenge. Joseph earned his badge, and is excited to show it off on his backpack. Even though there are bumpy trails, hiking is for everyone of all abilities. The most important thing about hiking is to go out and see nature.
Great story! Their passion is an inspiration.
Loved reading about his adventures! He’s inspiring!
Wonderful! Way to go, Joseph! Hike on! Hope to meet you on the trail sometime!
Great job Joseph and Becca. Congratulations on making it to so many places/ hikes together. Look forward to possibly seeing you on the trails this year!
Joseph’s passion for the outdoors and the obstacles he encounters make for a remarkable story. It is commendable that Lime Hollow Nature Center provides an accessible off-road wheelchair designed specifically for the trail. Congratulations to Joseph and his support team.
Great to see rising awareness of how small things many wouldn’t even notice can make or break the accessibility of a trail. Congratulations to Jospeh on earning his badge and being a true outdoorsman!
My husband, Joe, and it’s also in a power chair. I am an avid hiker, kayaker, biker. Joe has joined me at the Lockport trails and at Beaver Meadows. But tends to support me from afar and the cool gifts, gadgets, and equipment necessary for my endeavors. He tends to shy away from trying any other trails because of his wheelchair which is extremely similar to this gentleman’s wheelchair. He does however fish and practices his bow skills. Wheelchair wheel cleanliness is also a big issue for us which is why I tore up all the carpet in our house and went with hardwood floors, much easier to clean. We also have heavy duty mats in the kitchen that he will spin around on to get”most” of the dirt off. There are cool off trail wheelchairs available start at almost $14,000. But he,we, keep moving and grooving! The year I hiked Holland Ravines ravines and Joe came to meet me at the one end to take me to my car at the other some of you may remember he was camped at the one end making his coffee on his numerous camping stoves with his numerous gadgets that fill the back of his van. He never looks at himself as being handicapped but handicapable!!!
Mike, you will remember me as Deni and Lucy, our service dog.