thePULSEWith GayOutdoors.com, There’s No Reason To Stay Inside!
By Annette Cinelli
June 2006 – If you are looking for something fun and exhilarating to do this summer, something that will get your heart pumping and introduce you to some interesting and adventure-loving GLBTs, check out the host of activities sponsored by GayOutdoors.com!
Back in 1999, New Hampshire native Mike Boisvert, who has been participating in outdoor trips like the ones now posted on the GO website for 25 years, decided to start an online organization that would encourage people across the country could post various outdoor activities. GayOutdoors.com (the name of both the organization and the website), whose mission it is “…to build the broadest, deepest, most informative gay outdoor recreation community so that gays and lesbians can ‘GO’ Outdoors and make new friends in a safe, comfortable atmosphere,” was born.
Mike runs trips twice a month and also plans weekend trips. He tries to stay away from annual events ~ and if someone really enjoys a trip and wants to have it again, he encourages him/her to post it online and organize it him or herself!
One excellent feature about the website itself is that it lists activities from across the country and allows people from all over to connect. Anyone can post trips and everyone is welcome to attend. If you’re planning a vacation to California, you can search the website for Gay Outdoor events going on while you’re there.
Another cool aspect of GayOutdoors is that every few years, Mike organizes a major international trip. It’s a strenuous journey that only a few people brave, but what an awesome experience it is for those who do! On their last adventure, the group climbed Mt. Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas. For their next trip, they might tackle Kilimanjaro or Mt. McKinley.
GayOutdoors.com is also a great way to meet people. It offers member profiles but, unlike many other sites where there’s a matchmaking component, there is no sexual overtone (and nudity is not allowed in the profiles). It’s a way to meet everyday people, like your neighbor down the street, who share a love for the outdoors. The search engine makes it very easy to find someone with similar interests. There is no charge for creating a profile, but you must become a premium member to connect with people.
GO is the perfect opportunity for the GLBT community in Worcester to become involved in some excellent outdoor activities and, encourages Mike, even start their own chapter. And that’s not as difficult as one might think; according to Mike, “To get it going can be as simple as planning one trip a month.” The key is to take little steps at a time to formulate a formal group. Start out by meeting as a group at the same place every month to plan an activity. Set up a date and time and post it on GayOutdoors. Local advertising is another great way to get people involved, as is starting a Yahoo group, which is both easy to use and free. Use the message board to post events, discuss the trips, and tell stories about your adventures.
Worcesterite David Nowell has taken advantage of the activities posted on GayOutdoors.com, most recently one right in our backyard. “Several weekends ago we did a hike up Mount Wachusett on one of the first warm days of spring, it was nice.” Other activities he’s participated in include “…kayaking off the coast of Maine, weekend hikes to Mount Washington, after work mountain biking in a couple of Metrowest parks, and rock climbing near Plymouth, NH. I don’t feel like I’ve really had summer until I’ve gotten up to Franconia falls near Lincoln, NH. It’s an easy 3 mile hike along an old rail bed, then you reach this swimming hole with geological pothole formations and a natural water flume that dumps you down about 10 feet into the water, it’s cold, really only bearable from early July through late August.” David also suggests that “…there are some great spots around Central Mass for the motivated trip leader.”
There are plenty of places in the Worcester area that would lend themselves perfectly to any number of GayOutdoors activities. Why not plan one today for an upcoming weekend? The long Fourth of July weekend is right around the corner, after all! There’s hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, swimming, and more right at Leominster State Forest. You could also plan a day trip to a unique natural landmark, Purgatory Chasm, which runs for a quarter of a mile between granite walls rising as high as 70 feet. Trails lead to a wide variety of rock formations with intriguing names like The Corn Crib, The Coffin, The Pulpit, Lovers’ Leap and Fat Man’s Misery. Also not too far is Ashland State Park, which has 470 acres that include the 157 acre Ashland Reservoir and areas for swimming, picnicking, boating, fishing, bicycling and hiking.
So now that you have some ideas on where to go, how about making your outdoor time a terrific social event? Visit gayoutdoors.com/ and get started. If you’re interested in organizing an event, posting it is really simple ~ in fact, you’ll find the whole site nice and easy to us. If you would like to attend one of the trips already posted, just email the organizer; everyone is great about responding within a couple of days. And check out all the other features on the site, too ~ photos, discussion forums, classifieds, e-cards and links. And if you have any questions or are interested in organizing a local trip, feel free to contact Mike at gocenter@adelphia.net. He’ll get right back to you, too!
