Sunday, Sept 18 • 10 am
Hiking can be intimidating for city people. How do you get up there if you don’t have a car? Do you need to own some gorpcore? What if you don’t fit the hiking stereotypes?
Thankfully, a cluster of queer and POC-led hiking groups serve the Seattle area, like QPOC Hikers, which started in 2019 and gained its footing during the pandemic as people walked away from the city and into the woods. “Queer People of Color have always been part of the outdoors, but we have not always been represented in mainstream media,” writes the group’s founder Jasmine Maisonet. “This group aims to change that.”
During the group’s hike at Crystal Mountain Resort this September, you can be part of that change. Organized with Seattle Pride, the hike welcomes everyone within the LGBTQIA+ community to participate. They’ll teach things like safety, navigation, water filtration, and shelter-building beforehand, and the Resort will literally uplift queer people by having its gondola carry you part of the way.
The ticket is donation-based. “If you are an ally and would like to join, great!” writes Maisonet. “We ask that you make a donation (Venmo: @Jasmine-Maisonet).” Find out more by filling out the form on QPOC Hikers’ site.
