Through this course, Outward Bound California aims to bring teens together to enjoy a wilderness and urban experience with people who understand the same struggles they go through on a day-to-day basis. “The ability to share space with people who are all in that community is special, because that doesn’t really ever happen.” Most of the teenagers came from smaller communities across the United States, where they might not have LGBTQ role models, let alone a community that’s interested in the outdoors. “I find that in the outdoor industry, people who are LGBTQ are few and far between,” said Liz Sequeira, one of the three trip leaders. Photo Courtesy: Outward Bound California Part of the magic of the trip: It brought together 10 people-nine who identify as members of the LGBTQ community and one ally-in the outdoors. “I did this course, and I think I can do anything else that comes at me in life, both mentally and physically.” ![]() “Putting on a heavy pack and going up a mountain, quite literally, is one of the hardest things, but to persevere through that and get to the top of the mountain is so relieving,” a trip participant said. We got see all the wonder that the Sierra has to offer-alpine lakes with granite all around them,” said Elyse Rylander, trip instructor and executive director of OUT There Adventures, who has been leading outdoor trips for 12 years. They enjoyed day after day of clear, perfect weather, and there weren’t even too many bugs. The students discovered how to travel as a group through varied terrain, which included snow, and with some off-trail navigation. They started at 5,000 feet and worked their way over Fernandez Pass, climbing to more than 10,000 feet. Over the course of eight days in the backcountry, the teens and their leaders covered 35 to 40 miles and thousands of feet of elevation. It began with a trek through the Ansel Adams Wilderness, adjacent to the national park. The teenagers, who identified as members of the LGBTQ community, came from across the country, most without backpacking experience, and all without a Pride experience. The two-week course combined a wilderness experience in Yosemite National Park with San Francisco Pride events. The idea came out of the Women in the Outdoors Summit, where members of both organizations met and came up with a unique course, merging a successful course model with the deep LGBTQ history of San Francisco. To create this new trip, Outward Bound California teamed up with OUT There Adventures, an organization built to empower queer young people through their connection with the natural world. But this year was the first time the nonprofit hosted a trip specifically for LGBTQ youth. Since its founding in 1961, Outward Bound’s mission has been to change lives through outdoor challenge and discovery. That pride is exactly what the new LGBTQ Backpacking to Urban Service course seeks to inspire. “I’ve never thought about being proud about my trans identity because I’ve spent so long trying to hide it,” said a trip participant from Ohio, while marching. ![]() Among those marching were seven teenagers, aged 15 to 18, and three trip leaders who were taking part in the first-ever teen LGBTQ Outward Bound California trip. On a bluebird June afternoon, blue, pink and white flags waved as thousands of people pressed forward into Dolores Park for this year’s San Francisco Trans March, which took place the Friday before the city’s LGBTQ Pride Parade.
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