Uncategorized: Queer hiking in LA
This drawing is so cute I could just throw up. Credit: Jacopo Camagni
When I first moved to LA, I hated almost everything about this city (the traffic, the smog, the evident superficiality, etc.). But I quickly learned to love a few things about LA. And first on that list was the fantastic hiking opportunities that abound here.
LA is uniquely situated near some of the most scenic landscapes and deep wildernesses in the country. Hardly any American city offers so much hiking so close to civilization–Anchorage, certainly, and maybe Denver or Salt Lake City. Nothing on the East Coast comes close to our outdoor opportunities, and our neighbors up coast do not have the diversity of wilderness offerings of Southern California–you can traverse from desert to alpine peak to chaparral to beach all in the course of a single day. And thanks to our moderate climate, hiking is possible year-round!
Gay people don’t hike. Or so the stereotypes go. We are to fussy and soft to handle the rigors of pitching a tent and going a day or two without our products. But the reality is that plenty of homos like to hike. Perhaps nothing proves this point better than the proliferation of queer hiking groups in the Southland.
Great Outdoors is one of the older gay hiking groups in southern California. There are chapters for Los Angeles, Long Beach/Orange County, Palm Springs, San Diego, and Santa Barbara/Ventura County. The organization was founded in 1977, and was formed to create an alternative place for GLBT individuals to socialize outside the bars–their slogan is “Out of the bars and under the stars!” a clever nod to the radical queer protests of that era. Each chapter offers outings targetting a variety of skill levels. Combined, the five chapters typically have at least one outing per week, although the holiday season is a bit light on trips. Check out their calendar for a schedule of their upcoming events.
Perfect Pace is newer, and is geared towards hikers interested in relatively more strenuous hikes, including several multi-day backpacking trips per year. They are based in San Diego, but offer trips throughout southern California. This would be the group to get involved with if you’re an experienced hiker. Read about their upcoming events here.
The Angeles chapter of the Sierra Club has a Gay and Lesbian section. Thus, it is the only gay and lesbian hiking group that can trace its heritage back to John Muir. It is the second GLBT section of a Sierra Club chapter (after San Francisco), and had to win the approval of the entire Angeles chapter before getting founded in 1988–their difficulties in getting established proves that homophobia can be a problem even among otherwise progressive groups. As a section of the Sierra Club, this group engages in as much environmental advocacy as it does on hiking excursions. Read about their events here.
San Diego Trail Tramp is a gay men’s hiking group based in San Diego that was founded in 1998. They go on monthly outings, mostly in the San Diego area. Here is a link to their upcoming hikes.
Of course, there are gay hiking groups all over the country. If you don’t live in Southern California, or are visting a new area and want to find a group to hike with, check out Gay Outdoors, which covers the whole wide world.
(That adorable drawing was by Jacopo Camagni. You can see more of his art at Studio Dronio.)
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