It was an exciting year on the Field & Steam's Total Outdoorsman Challenge.  We traveled all over the country searching for the Total Outdoorsman and this was by far the toughest field to date.  Several former champions and some new tough talent completed the field.  For two days 16 guys battled it out and it all came down to the last 10 feet of the final event which was the ATV challenge to determine the champion.  It was close!  Last year's reigning champion Paul Thompson was off to a great early lead in the event on Day 1 but FLW Tour pro Mike Hawkes picked up two wins the first day in Fly Fishing and the Endurance challenges.  It was really close.  Going into day 2 it was a three man race between Thompson, Hawkes and the Florida Regional winner Thomas Cooprider.  Cooprider closed the gap first thing on day two with a win in the baitcasting competition and Hawkes taking second.  This closed the gap to Paul Thompson so it was anyone's game.  In the air rifle competition Mike Hawkes shot a flawless round in under a minute to take the win.  Paul Thompson finished second only a few seconds behind.  This setup a close finish as the final event was the ATV challenge.  Only three points separated Thompson and Hawkes, with Thompson in the lead.  The ATV challenge is run with two competitors going head to head till the finish.  Hawkes and Thompson were set to compete head to head so Hawkes had to beat Thompson to have a chance to win.  During the event Hawkes beat Thomspon's speed with loading the ATV and had him beat all the way out and almost all of the way back until Hawke's had a bobble 10 feet from the finish and Thompson passed him a few feet from the line to take the overall win for the second year in a row.  The last two years he has really displayed what the Field & Stream's Total Outdoorsman Challenge is really all about and that is an Outdoorsman that displays superb talent in many different outdoor skills.  Congratulations Paul!

Looking back at this year's events there were a lot of memories and stories but I think the most important thing that I have personally taken away from this event over the last two years is the friendship and camaraderie that is present in this event.  I have really enjoyed the many new friends I have made through this event and look forward to the good times with them in the future.

There will be three separate one hour shows on the Versus network beginning September 9.  Go to http://www.fieldandstream.com/fieldstream/totaloutdoorsman/tvtimes.html   to check the dates and times the shows will air.