Renowned adventurer to lead gorge hike and talk

The New York State Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation, in partnership with Old Falls Street and the Comfort Inn The Pointe, will host the 2012 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Jennifer Pharr Davis.

Pharr Davis, who currently holds the overall record for hiking the Appalachian Trail in just 46 days, will lead a hike of the Niagara Gorge on June 19 followed by a lecture and signing of her new book, "Called Again," which chronicles her record-setting hike.

The hike will begin at 11 a.m. at Niagara Falls State Park and will end at Artpark (lasting about four-and-a-half hours). Following the hike, at 6:30 p.m., Pharr Davis will give a talk on her accomplishments and sign copies of her new book on Old Falls Street by the Comfort Inn The Pointe. Both events will take place rain or shine.

Pharr Davis has hiked more than 11,000 miles of long distance trails. She has trekked on six continents and currently holds endurance records on the Appalachian Trail, Long Trail and Bibbulmun Track. She is the first woman to be the overall record holder on the Appalachian Trail. She set this mark by hiking the 2,181-mile trail in 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes - an average of 46.9 miles per day.

In 2008, Pharr Davis was named Blue Ridge Outdoors Person of the Year. In 2011, she appeared in the Sunday edition of the New York Times, and on national television and radio shows such as CNN Headline News, CBS' "Early Show," and NPR's "Talk of the Nation." She was also named a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year and voted Ultrarunning Magazine's top female performer of 2011.

Pharr Davis has also authored four books, including three North Carolina guidebooks and her hiking memoir "Becoming Odyssa." She has written for, or appeared within, the following magazines: Blue Ridge Outdoors, Backpacker, Trail Runner, Men's Journal, Shape and Fitness.

Reservations for the hike are required as space is limited. Call 716-282-5154. For more information on Pharr Davis, visit http://www.blueridgehikingco.com.