HIKING WITH HOPKINS

This is the third year Mr. Hopkins has led Hiking with Hopkins, where every day the group hikes eight to ten miles around Rochester exploring the wonders of Rochester like Lock 31 and the reservoir on top of Cobbs Hill where you can see the entire Rochester skyline.

On Wednesday, the hikers took a trip to Buckland Park. The day started off at 9am, the group packed up, applied sunscreen, and headed off, cutting behind AC’s International House to reach a road that led to the rail trail. From there the group crossed over the highway stopping along the way, encouraging traffic honking especially from the larger trucks that drove by. They took a few more stops at Twelve Corners and the Brighton library before arriving at Buckland Park.

Mr.Hopkins gave a mini lesson on the backstory of this park which was originally a brick factory. Back in the 1820s three brothers opened a brick manufacturing business that lasted until the early 1900 before closing down and is now a gorgeous park. While walking through the middle of the park Mr. Hopkins pointed out bits of history, like the bricks placed in the middle of the park actually manufactured by the original company.

From there on, the group stopped for lunch in a pavilion across the street and played on the playgrounds. Around 12:40 it was time for the walk back where they took a different route cutting through a neighborhood, passing Brighton High School to return to Twelve Corners. This is where the group enjoyed ice cream from Abbotts or smoothies from Core Life, before heading back to AC to complete their nine mile hike around Rochester.

The Howler reporters enjoyed participating in this hike after taking this May Term in Middle School.