Hike Across America

My name is Brendan Powell, I am a Junior at WVU studying Forest Resource Management within the Davis College. Last summer I had the opportunity to lead the Wilderness Orientation Trip with Adventure WV. In 2011, before enrolling in WVU, I hiked the Appalachian Trail with my brother, Garrett, where I met Josh Seehorn. After completing the trail, the next time I heard of Josh was when I learned about his plan to go big and hike clear across the United States. In March 2013, Josh set out from Point Reyes, California with his destination of Cape Henlopen, Delaware, 4800 miles ahead of him. The emphasis of Josh’s trip is based around his passion for Envirothon, an academic organization that allows high school students to test their environmental knowledge in a competitive manner on a county, state, and national level. The program encourages high school students across the country to create their own outdoor experience.

Josh has earned a degree in both fisheries biology and wildlife biology. He loves being outdoors and broadening his understanding of nature. After Josh discovered the concept of running and hiking The American Discovery trail, he took the challenge head on. His father plays a major role with Envirothon in Georgia, and with that exposure, he partnered with North America's largest high school natural resource education competition (The North American Envirothon 501c3) in an effort to raise awareness and funds for the competition.

Josh will be getting off route this Thursday, February 6^th in order to come to the WVU Student Recreation Center. He will be giving a presentation, using pictures and stories, to tell us what his journey has been like so far. In addition to this, he will be incorporating the goal of his journey regarding Envirothon. Josh is excited to be speaking to college students here in The Mountain State, and will appreciate any amount of attendance and donations (the event itself is free, though!). Come out and hear what awesome stories this fellow adventurer has about the people, wildlife, and scenery of America the beautiful!

 You can find Josh on campus tonight, February 6^th at 7:00pm at the Sports Café inside the Student Recreation Center. To view this event, visit the TAP calendar where you can also check to see what other events are going on this month within the outdoor community.

For more information on Josh and his journey across America, check out his website: Outdoor Josh

Hope to see you all at the event! Have a great day and GO EXPLORE!

-Brendan Powell J