WILD MAN

When it comes to love of the Great Outdoors, it would be hard to be more devoted than Scott Gauvin of Springfield. An avid hiker, kayaker and camper, Gauvin shares his adventures with the world through his blog, www.hikingforward.com. And it was his blog that earned Gauvin a chance to go on his biggest adventure yet. Gauvin is one of 14 people from around the country chosen to participate in the Hell Hike and Raft, a 10-day outdoor excursion through the 650,000-acre Hell’s Canyon Wilderness in western Idaho. The trip was organized by outdoor gear companies as a way to put their products to the test in real world situations by dedicated outdoor enthusiasts who have a major social media presence. “I’m stoked,” Gauvin says. “This is like a pilgrimage for me. It’s a new location and a new adventure.” He leaves Springfield Sept. 1 for Idaho, then begins a sevenday group hike through Hell’s Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America. (Yep, it’s even deeper than the Grand Canyon.) After the long hike, the group will raft down the Snake River for three days. Gauvin says it will be his first time whitewater rafting, although he’s an experienced kayaker who traverses the Sangamon River regularly. He’s looking forward to putting the test gear through its paces, but he’s even more excited about the relationships that are already starting to form among the 14 members of the expedition. “The big thing for me is the camaraderie, the trail family that develops,” he said. “I know a couple of these people already, but most of them I’ve never met, and we already feel like family.” For more information, visit www.hellhikeandraft.com.

Article can be viewed on the Illinois Times website.

Today, was my first day at Ecology Camp. Ecology Camp is located at Lincoln Memorial Garden, here in Springfield, Illinois. Ecology camp is a nature camp where you hike and learn about the different habitats that animals live in.  Today, we learned about woodlands, prairies, wetlands and savanna habitats. 

At Ecology Camp we need to bring the following items:

Bug Spray
Sunscreen
Sun Hat
Water
A lunch
(2) Snacks
A notebook
Colored pencils 
A towel & 
Water Shoes

We need our notebook and colored pencils because our counselors want use to take time during the day to sketch things in the woods that we like. Maybe later in the week my dad can take pictures of my drawings to share with you. We need a towel and water shoes because during the week we will go into Lake Springfield which is near the Lincoln Memorial Garden to learn more about the creatures in the wetlands. 

That's all for now, and I hope to write on Friday when Ecology Camp is over.

And like my Daddy always says...

Keep Hiking Forward

I am honored and pleased to announce that HikingForward.com was awarded the Golden Boots Blogger Award for June 2014. 

The Golden Boots Blogger awarded by Hikingthetrail.com is aimed at recognizing outdoor adventure bloggers who are adventuring and providing amazing stories. Do you have a favorite blog that you would like to suggest? Click here to submit your favorite blogs.

The other June 2014 winners were:

Trails 2 Brews – Trails2brews.com
Beers at the bottom – beersatthebottom.com
Section Hiker – sectionhiker.com



Keep Hiking Forward

Scott

Hi, my name is Grace and I am nine years old. This is me and my dad, Scott. This is us after we recently ran our second Girls on the Run 5k a few weeks ago. Tomorrow, is my last day of third grade. I will be moving on to fourth grade in the fall. My summer will be filled with all sorts of camps. I will be attending camps with my little sister Gabby and my friend Ava. I will be attending various camps such as, an Acting Camp called PAVE, Art camp, and Ecology camp.

In addition spending my days at these camps I hope to spend time with my family doing fun activities such as swimming, camping, hiking, bike riding, canoeing and much more. Last summer we went on vacation and dug for clams in New England and climbed Mt. Monadnock which is in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. It was very cool to go and hike Mt. Monadnock because there were lots of blueberries that we could eat and they were very sweet. It was also very special to go and hike on Mt. Monadnock because that is where my daddy proposed to my mommy. We also spent a lot of time kayaking with family in New Hampshire, I love to kayak!

This summer I hope to have as much fun as I did last year doing all the wonderful things that we as a family love to do.  I will continue to be in contact when I have my first summer adventure, so please stay tuned.

As my daddy says...

Keep Hiking Forward

Grace

This past weekend along with good friends from my hiking and adventure group, together we tackled a section of the Ice Age Trail in Southern Wisconsin in the Kettle Moraine South State Park.

As always, when we get together the food was abundant and amazing. Fortunately, the weather was gorgeous. But the best part of getting outdoors is not the trail, the weather or the food. It's the experience of letting it all go, your worries and concerns and just allowing yourself to be. And who better to "be" with then great like minded people who think and care about being outdoors in nature as much as you do.

An amazing time was, as always had by all! I hope you have people like this around you. And if you don't, find some and get outside. The mountains are calling. GO!

Keep Hiking Forward

Scott