Gay outdoors
Hiking with a community is a superb way to create friends and multiply your outdoor skills while doing an activity you devotion. But there are some stereotypes about outdoors access that can keep people from setting out on trails.
From pop culture notions of who gets to be a hiker to tongue-in-cheek roundups of hiker stereotypes— from outdoor magazines, stereotypical images of hikers tend to be cis light male.
The rest of us struggle to see ourselves represented outdoors. Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild was so popular because it offered women who wanted transformative adventures a literal road map for it. It made it more acceptable to commit to a long-distance hike.
Because marginalized groups including BIPOC and LGBTQ folks haven’t always felt welcomed outdoors, we can consciously or self-consciously limit our participation. We stick with daytime hikes while dreaming about longer backpacking trips. We favor popular trails over more remote ones out of concerns for our safety.
Concern for how LGBTQ-friendly a group trip will be can keep queer folks from signing up for group outdoor adven
OUTdoors: Nashville Gay Backpacking, Hiking & Camping
Welcome to OUTdoors Nashville - the Middle Tennessee LGBTQ adventuring club. Join us for hiking, backpacking, and camping through our local great giant backyard.
OUTdoors Nashville is a judge-free Meetup open to all backgrounds, ages, and experience levels. Even though we are primarily a gay men's group, people of all identities, friends and allies are always welcome! If you contain a four-legged friend that you would like to bring along feel free, provided they are on a leash, play adequately with others, and permitted based on location (not otherwise noted in the event’s description).
Adventuring with us starts with you, and probably the most electrifying part about our team is that our outings are just as diverse as our members. Whether it’s leisurely day hikes around town, car camping at a state park, or multi-night backpacks in the mountains we compete to maintain an active year-round calendar. As always, if you have an idea for an event feel free to produce a suggestion or contact us by email.
Thank you for your interest in joining
UPCOMING HIKES/EVENTS
Caribou Mountain Hike – Wild Views & Amazing Company! (West Bethel, ME)
Now for something completely different! Join us for a stunning hike up Caribou Mountain (2, ft), where vast open ledges offer sweeping views.
# Attending [11] people
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Forehead via Frost trail and returning on Long trail (Underhill, VT)
Forehead via Frost trail and returning on Long trail
# Attending [1] people
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Sacandaga River Camping & Local day hike (Wells, NY)
Sacandaga Campground camping
# Attending [1] people
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Lake Mansfield, Long, and Bolton-Trapp Trail Loop (Stowe, VT)
Lake Mansfield, Long, and Bolton-Trapp Trail Loop
# Attending [1] people
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Join us in PTown (Provincetown, MA)
It's Day For PTown
# Attending [11] people
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Ziplining + Social Lunch (Lincoln, NH)
Ziplining + Social Lunch
# Attending [1] people
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A Hike Around Peddocks Island in Boston Harbor (Boston, MA)
A beautiful island date with a hike and a swim in the harbor!
# Attending [9] people
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Wildcats Hike (Gorham, NH) I’ve never seen a wall of fire like the one on the ridge in front of me, and our strike team of five brush trucks is driving right toward it. I’m in the truck at the front of the line, and my lieutenant tells me to grab the nozzle from the hose reel and ascend on top of our vehicle. I put water on the fire as we slowly drive forward, with just a wet bandana wrapped around my mouth to protect my lungs from the thick smoke.
Just over the fire line, I see another wall of fire barreling toward us. There isn’t much time to react, so I climb down and rush to the roadside as the two fronts merge into one. A wave of fire crests over my head and around me on all sides. The wind howls and pushes the liquid back at me. I choke on the dense smoke and heat, my eyes burning with shadowy tears. My hose stream can’t compete; I’m nearly engulfed by fire. Just as I feel it overcoming me, it burns its fuel of sagebrush and grass and dampens just enough for me to beat it into submission. We fight all night.
The next day we gather at a viewpoint above the Grand Coulee Dam, in central Washington on the C
I’ve never seen a wall of fire like the one on the ridge in front of me, and our strike team of five brush trucks is driving right toward it. I’m in the truck at the front of the line, and my lieutenant tells me to grab the nozzle from the hose reel and ascend on top of our vehicle. I put water on the fire as we slowly drive forward, with just a wet bandana wrapped around my mouth to protect my lungs from the thick smoke.
Just over the fire line, I see another wall of fire barreling toward us. There isn’t much time to react, so I climb down and rush to the roadside as the two fronts merge into one. A wave of fire crests over my head and around me on all sides. The wind howls and pushes the liquid back at me. I choke on the dense smoke and heat, my eyes burning with shadowy tears. My hose stream can’t compete; I’m nearly engulfed by fire. Just as I feel it overcoming me, it burns its fuel of sagebrush and grass and dampens just enough for me to beat it into submission. We fight all night.
The next day we gather at a viewpoint above the Grand Coulee Dam, in central Washington on the C