Sports & Activities
The Big Gay Wilderness
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mike Boisvert
Is there a particular type of person who joins these outings? What's the average age, relationship status, fitness level, etc. of those who attend the outings?
Gay folks from all backgrounds join us—both both singles and couples. The age range is from 30 to 60. In general, the people who join us are fit, but that really depends on the difficulty of the trip. When we run a strenuous trip to—let's say a hike of 4,000 feet elevation gain or above, and over 12 miles—fitter people tend to join in.
The interesting thing about fitness level in the outdoors is that many of us don't look buff and beautiful like some of the shirtless guys in RealJock, but put these buff and beautiful RealJock guys in one of our strenuous trips and I'm certain many of them would struggle to complete one. My concern is the lack of younger folks participating. However when I was that age, I was into the bar scene so I can understand.
Do you think there are members of the gay community who are interested in the outdoors but are hesitant to pursue this interest?
Not everyone is into the outdoors. People at work think I'm crazy when they hear about my adventures. I'm sure there are members of the community who are hesitant—most likely because they feel they don't know what to bring or how to deal with an emergency. For some people, the cost of some of this gear can be expensive. My advice to them is to join a local outdoor club—gay is better, but if one isn't available, join a mainstream one. I started out not knowing anything about the outdoors but loved the experiences. So I joined a straight outdoor club that led trips and taught me a few things. Eventually I got involved with a gay outdoor club. As for gear—buy used, on eBay, wait for a sale, or visit your local army/navy store.
Gay folks from all backgrounds join us—both both singles and couples. The age range is from 30 to 60. In general, the people who join us are fit, but that really depends on the difficulty of the trip. When we run a strenuous trip to—let's say a hike of 4,000 feet elevation gain or above, and over 12 miles—fitter people tend to join in.
The interesting thing about fitness level in the outdoors is that many of us don't look buff and beautiful like some of the shirtless guys in RealJock, but put these buff and beautiful RealJock guys in one of our strenuous trips and I'm certain many of them would struggle to complete one. My concern is the lack of younger folks participating. However when I was that age, I was into the bar scene so I can understand.
Do you think there are members of the gay community who are interested in the outdoors but are hesitant to pursue this interest?
Not everyone is into the outdoors. People at work think I'm crazy when they hear about my adventures. I'm sure there are members of the community who are hesitant—most likely because they feel they don't know what to bring or how to deal with an emergency. For some people, the cost of some of this gear can be expensive. My advice to them is to join a local outdoor club—gay is better, but if one isn't available, join a mainstream one. I started out not knowing anything about the outdoors but loved the experiences. So I joined a straight outdoor club that led trips and taught me a few things. Eventually I got involved with a gay outdoor club. As for gear—buy used, on eBay, wait for a sale, or visit your local army/navy store.
