Outdoors in Indiana: The Hidden Wonders of Winter Hikes

These last few months, I’ve noticed that I always get the same response when I tell someone I’m on my way out to go for a hike.

“Isn’t it a bit cold for that now?”

The short answer is, no. The long answer is, there are wonders to be discovered while in the forest during the wintertime that are completely denied to people who only wander to the out-of-doors during the warmer times of the year.

Take, for instance, Saturday, March 8. Three of my friends—Brittany Carpenter, Ally O’Neill and Zachary VanWinkle—and I decided to take a short trip to Salamonie State Forest for a hike up to the top of Hanging Rock and a trek around the Three Falls Trail (see “Outdoors in Indiana” articles from September 21, 2007 and November 16, 2007).

Not all of my companions were equally enthusiastic about the venture. “When I was first asked if I wanted to go hiking, I was very unsure,” Zachary said. “I was mostly unsure of my friends’ sanity, because it was freezing and there was snow on the ground.”

But he was willing to be persuaded by the rest of us, and less than an hour later we were trekking across unbroken fields of snow, towards hills, rivers and waterfalls.

Now, I have been on the Three Falls Trail a plethora of times, but that day it was like discovering a previously unseen winter wonderland. The river flowed beneath a thin crust of ice; the ice was shimmery and traced with patterns of starbursts on top and the ripples of trickling water underneath.

About a mile into the trail, there is a steep drop-off down into a valley; I call it the “As You Wish” hill, my own tribute to The Princess Bride. Because we could see a frozen waterfall just a short distance beyond the bottom of the hill, we decided to slide down it and see what exploring there was to be done.

The journey down was an adventure unto itself. We swisssshed down swiftly: no sleds were required. “That slide is better than anything you will be able to find at the local park!”, Zachary exclaimed later.

If you have never climbed underneath a frozen waterfall, you should strongly consider doing so. Although the icy and snow underneath our gloves was cold, our cheeks were warm and our breath danced with our giggles whenever we slipped.

The sound of water dripping was audible underneath the heavy solidity of the ice; it was so profound it is difficult to not wax poetic about the movement found within stability. I’ll leave it at this: when it comes to waterfalls, direct experience is really the way to go.

So-called “bad” weather provides us with an opportunity to see familiar things in a new way. Although the comfort level may not have been equal to that of a mellow stroll in June, the discoveries, challenges and new perspectives that are offered by hiking in snowy, rainy, or icy conditions far outweigh the difficulty.

The hike even affected Brittany’s perspective on Indiana and the area surrounding Manchester College. “Until my hike at Three Falls Trail, I had thought that Indiana was generally kind of ugly,” she said. “The frozen waterfalls were some of the most gorgeous sights I’d seen in quite some time, and there was absolutely nobody around. It was very refreshing to experience such peace and beauty only minutes from Manchester’s campus.”

Of course, spring has now officially started and melting has begun. However, it is hardly unheard of for there to be an early spring frost. If this does occur, I will humbly recommend that you consider breaking out your hiking boots and a good pair of gloves and seeing what you can discover.

After all, the world is right outside the door…. Let’s go!