Fairmont man gets returns on nature exploration project

FAIRMONT - Having lived in Fairmont all his life, Corey Gatewood knew he wanted to get people out and about to explore the natural features of Fairmont.

The answer? Hiding a bait puck.

The puck, which looks similar to a hockey puck, is 3-D printed by his 10-year-old daughter, Kallyn. It screws open, a note explaining the project and prize the finder has won is put in, and the puck is then placed out at a park, on public property, for people to look for and someone to find. A clue is then posted to Corey Gatewood's Facebook page.

When it is found, the puck is brought to Sommer Outdoors, and the lucky scavenger wins their prize, generally a gift card to a local business.

Gatewood, who had been posting videos on social media showing off his favorite spots, said he got the idea from Justin Sommer of Sommer Outdoors.

"He gave me a call one day and had an idea to do a scavenger hunt," he said. "Thought it’d be good to help get people outside and fit with what I was doing, and we decided to start the bait puck."

Once a week is the schedule Gatewood settled on to hide the pucks, with a special once a month one usually placed in Cedar Creek Park.

As for why he dedicated himself to facilitating such a time-consuming task himself, Gatewood said he wants to get people outside and see what Fairmont is all about.

"Remember these great lakes we have, the parks we have and the wonderful people here," he said. "I take my daughter and my boys to all these spots and get them outside. You don’t see as many people, kids, out playing as you used to. I thought it’d be good to get some people outside to enjoy Fairmont, as well as bring some positivity back."

The placement of pucks started in early May. Gatewood said he is always looking for potential hiding spots.

"You get out and look around, and even during the month, we’re looking all the time to see where a good spot to hide it next would be," he said. "My daughter spends a lot of time at parks with me, and we look a lot. Justin [Sommer] comes up with some ideas too, of good places to hide them. We just keep our eyes open."

Since they started, Gatewood said all the pucks have been found each week except for one, which he said they could not find themselves and may have been lost or thrown away by someone who didn't know. In the two-plus months since they started placing bait pucks, Gatewood said it has gotten a lot bigger than he thought it would.

"So much positive feedback from the community," he said. "There’s so many people out looking. I see people all the time, and they stop. 'Hey, love what you’re doing. Thanks for pushing positivity and helping get people outside and getting our whole family out looking.' It's really cool when people are getting out with their kids and spending more time outside."

Looking back on the people they have been able to interact with and the increase they've seen in usage and exploration of the parks, Gatewood said he has been able to achieve his goals for the project over and over again.

"If I can make one person get outside and do something they haven’t done, visit one of our parks, or go to one of our local businesses, I’m happy," he said. "I think I’ve done that and then some. It’s been a success for all of us."

There are no plans to stop anytime soon. When it starts to get cooler, Gatewood said he could even continue it into the winter.

"We’re gonna have to see how that goes and what we can do," he said. "I haven’t fully figured that one out yet."

For those who are interested in looking, Gatewood offered a few tips and ways to stay safe.

"It’ll always be on public property," he said. "It’ll always be within reach. You never have to climb something or dig a hole. You should be able to respect the environment, the city and the parks."

To stay up-to-date on puck clues, visit facebook.com/corey.gatewood.2025.