Elk Valley resident Alison Gagne has recently placed in the Top 20 female huntresses of the world in the Extreme Huntress contest.

Here is the essay that earned her that placing:

“I was brought up into the outdoor lifestyle lagging behind my Grandfather, complaining about being tired as he assured me onwards to the fishing hole, the remote spike camp or closer to that raging bull elk on the other side of a windfall-filled canyon. This has been my family’s way of life for many past generations.

At age 19 I was employed as a big game hunting guide for five years. But living independently and having to pay my own way through life I found it convenient to eat fast foods and not cook those nourishing meals my mom once had. And my health suffered terribly.

My family preached about eating the right foods and avoiding the junk; growing and hunting our own food because after all “we are what we eat.” But I learned the hard way. Despite growing up with those positive influences, I still made bad food choices, which I blame for my past ill health. Having those influences embedded in me to my core gave me the knowledge I needed to reflect upon. We really are what we eat.

For years my health suffered until I seriously focused on nutrition. So I became a nutritionist, regained my health and now realize the true value and human right of feeding our bodies the way nature intended; the way our ancestors ate; with hunting being a large part of that.

Throughout my studies of nutrition I realized how lucky I was to have been brought up in the hunting lifestyle. I now use the meat and organs from the animals I hunt as tools for feeding my body the way it needs to be strong and balanced.

Now I get to guide the next generation; my children, by showing them the values of this lifestyle so it too can be embedded to their core.

The importance of hunting our own food, being self sustainable, as well as reconnecting with nature and helping conserve her in this ever-so-disconnected society.

I feel I am an Extreme Huntress because I’ve gone to the extremes to keep hunting my lifestyle. After losing my health and regaining it through the “hunting lifestyle,” it is a personal priority.

Hunting is part of the nutrition and fitness triad, which results in true health. As a nutritionist and personal trainer, I live and work towards being as healthy and as fit as I can be in order to be able to conquer mountains, chase big game, pack meat out, and carry my children alongside as a positive role model for them and others.

As a female, I am a true provider for my family.

We’ve been so caught up in our progresses on this planet that we’ve forgotten some of our core wisdom of our species; a wisdom that tells us to conserve this good earth for generations to come.

Nature is in all of us. Nature is where we originated. Some of us have lost that connection. I want to help those people find nature again through hunting; as the female voice.”

Alison is now in Stage 2 of the competition, which requires the public’s votes.

How to vote for Alison

People will want to go to the direct link to her voting profile. Then enter a valid email address (they won’t spam you) and click ‘vote.’ A confirmation email will be sent. Click on the confirmation email from Extreme Huntress to make the vote count.

“The purpose of this contest is to promote the outdoor lifestyle to women and children of the world especially with divorce rates at 51% there are a lot of single mothers that may not be so inclined to get the children outdoors – we hope to inspire the ladies to do so especially in this technological era that may be disconnecting us from Nature. We want to keep our heritage alive,” Alison told e-KNOW.

“This is not a popularity contest but the contestants do need to promote themselves in order to achieve the votes they need and to show the judges that they are capable of getting a message out to the public,” she said.

There will be one winner and she will win the title as ‘The most Extreme Huntress of the World,’ “but in my opinion, we are all winners for just helping push and protect our outdoor heritage,” Alison noted.

“Although this is a competition, I believe any woman helping get other ladies and children in the outdoors makes them a winner by making a difference by being a positive role model for our future generations and by keeping our heritage alive.”

If Alison makes it into the top six, then in July of this year she will be going to Texas to compete against the five other ladies in head-to-head outdoor skill challenges for six days that will be filmed and broken down into over 20 television episodes.

Once those episodes are aired then Alison will need the public’s help again with voting for each episode and the Extreme Huntress 2017 winner will be determined in January 2017 by the judges and combined over all voting scores.

Find more info and also voting rules at www.extremehuntress.com.

e-KNOW

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