What’s on your personal outdoor challenge list? Is there a hike in Pennsylvania calling your name? Or is the sound of elk bugling beckoning you each September?

If you have postponed some of your favorite outdoor activities, for any reason, wait no longer. The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation has the incentive you need.

The Great Pennsylvania Outdoor Challenge offers a series of personal challenges that supporters of parks and forests set to help raise funds for state parks and forests, as well as build awareness of exceptional outdoor recreational opportunities available in Pennsylvania .

“I wanted to develop an event that anyone could participate in, regardless of age or outdoor interests. It’s so easy to join in, as a team or individually, and our parks and forests offer almost anything you can imagine,” said Marci Mowery, President of the Pennsylvania Parks and Forest Foundation. “We’ve set the date for the challenge between September 12-30th, in honor of Dr. Maurice K. Goddard, the father of Pennsylvania’s state park system. And to make it simple, you pick the location and activity most convenient for you.”

What does a challenge entail? You decide. Bike rides, hikes, cleanups, trail repair, nature programs, count a species, canoe or kayak trips....anything goes. Currently, registered challenges include:

Biking on the Great Allegheny Passage; Hiking from Caledonia State Park to King’s Gap; Finishing an unfinished section of the Loyalhanna Trail; and motorcycle camping over the course of a weekend.

How do you participate? Set a challenge for your self, register your challenge online at First Giving PPFF. Choose to participate by registering your challenge OR take it up a notch and choose to raise funds for the Foundation, a park or forest of your choice, or your favorite friends group.

Spending a few hours, a day, a weekend or longer recreating in one of our state parks and forests, doing something you love to do, and supporting a good cause…what could be more fun, at a great time of year, in beautiful Pennsylvania ?

Registered GPOC challengers will receive a t-shirt and be eligible for prize drawings. Get your gear, your kids, or your friends together and register online at First Giving PPFF or send email to Marci Mowery at mmowery-ppff@pa.net to receive your free information kit or become a sponsor.

8/1/2008