LGBTQ+ Snowshoe OUTing

**Please register HERE on the Sierra Club webpage - *Signing up on MeetUp does NOT guarantee you a spot on the trip. ***

Explore Bogus Basin's beautiful winter scenery with OUTdoors Idaho on a beginner-friendly LGBTQ+-only snowshoe adventure! We'll meet at the Fort Boise Parking Lot at 12:30pm (across the street from the Boise Bike Park), where we'll grab some snacks and self-sort into cars to carpool up the mountain to the Bogus Frontier Point Lodge (AKA Nordic Lodge) parking lot. At the lodge, we will enjoy lunch together with Boise Co-op sandwiches, fruit, snacks, and hot cocoa (on us!). While we eat, we'll hear from our guest speaker, Mikah Meyer, the filmmaker and lead of the inspiring LGBTQ+ rafting short film, Canyon Chorus.

From there, our snowshoeing guide Brenda will walk us through putting on snowshoes and getting us ready for the trail, and we'll embark on a walk through the beautiful snowy landscape.

Special thanks to Clicked Connections for co-sponsoring this event and providing sandwiches - you'll hear from them on the Outing about a new app they're launching to make queer friendships in the Treasure Valley!

Who is this Outing for?
OUTdoors Idaho outings are explicitly queer-only spaces, and we ask that folks who attend these outings identify with the LGBTQIA+ community (including questioning folks, closeted folks, asexual folks, etc. etc.!). We have created this as a queer-only space with the intention of creating a shared identity group in Idaho’s outdoors, where folks who don’t feel safe/comfortable in other social/hiking groups can join, feel connected, and build queer community in a non-heteronormative, non-cisnormative place. We ask that allies do NOT attend this outing to honor the queer-only space, so participants who want a queer-only space can feel more confident that they’re safe being themselves. However, we also host regular outings for BOTH allies and the queer community.

To read more about our reasoning behind this policy, check out this blog post!

What to expect

• 12:45 PM | Meet at Fort Boise Parking Lot (across from the Boise Bike Park) to pass out snacks & carpool up the mountain
• 2 - 2:30PM | Arrive at Bogus Frontier Point Lodge for lunch (we’re providing Boise Co-op sandwiches, fruit, hot cocoa, apple cider, and tea), group intros, group intros, guest speaker Mikah Meyer, and Q&A & quick discussion
• 2:30 PM | Gear up with snowshoes and guidance from Brenda, our expert guide
• 2:45 PM | Hit the trails for a 1-2 mile snowshoe hike, stopping occasionally to learn about the ecology of the mountain and take a breather
• 4:15 PM | Tour ends - take off gear and get back into cars
• 4:30 PM | Drive back into Boise (and to catch the second half of the Super Bowl, if you wish!)

Sliding scale cost
Bogus Basin is giving us the generous rate of $10/person for snowshoe equipment rentals, trail pass, and tour fee. We will cover these costs for anyone who needs it, but if it's in your budget to help us cover these costs, please let us know in your RSVP! (also please let us know if you already have snowshoes and won't need rentals!)

More info about trail/activity difficulty, skill level, and safety
We will be hiking along the non-motorized roads and single-track hiking-only trails located near Frontier Point Lodge. In the winter, these are used for Nordic skiing and snowshoeing and are designed for a quiet beginner-friendly experience while offering beautiful vistas of the hills and mountains to the west. We will walk approximately 1-2 miles along these trails, depending on how fast the group is moving, with an approximate elevation gain of 200 feet. We will walk at a pace that works for everyone and never leave anyone behind.

Please reach out if you have any questions about the difficulty level of the route or what to expect, or if there's anything we can do to help make this trip accessible for you!

Carpooling
Weather and road conditions note: The road to Bogus Basin can be snowy/icy, or completely dry, depending on the conditions. We will be sure to communicate the conditions prior to the event. However, in an effort to plan ahead, we created a group carpool website, where folks can volunteer their cars and others can sign up for "spots" in those cars that wouldn't feel comfortable driving up in snowy conditions. Please sign up here if interested in participating: https://www.groupcarpool.com/t/qkcsy7. (note: Sierra Club cannot be directly involved with arranging carpools. All carpooling offerings and decisions are at the risk of participants).

Please note: If there are many people that do NOT feel comfortable driving up the mountain in their own cars, we cannot guarantee there will be enough space to drive everyone. Sierra Club will be able to rent one big car if needed, and we will do our best to make sure everyone can join us - but we are limited to the weather the day-of and the number of people we have willing to drive.

If you are unable to drive to the meeting spot at Fort Boise, please let us know in your RSVP! We will work our hardest to help folks with barriers to transportation so they can join the event.

Other considerations

• Kids (10 years & older) are welcome! Snowshoeing can be challenging, especially for kiddos- please see information above to learn more about the difficulty/skill level and whether it would be a good fit for your kids.
• No dogs.
• Please fill out a separate registration form for each person (including kids!), so we can have a signed waiver on file for each person and know each individual's dietary preferences, etc.
• We expect everyone joining this event to act respectfully and help create a safe and inclusive space for folks from marginalized identity groups. All participants must adhere to the standards of conduct in our Participant Agreement.

Level: Easy
Cost: Free - $10 (sliding scale)
Bring: Warm, layered clothing (think hats, gloves, waterproof boots, and a cozy jacket), a water bottle to stay hydrated, sunglasses or goggles (the snow can be bright!), any personal snacks or gear you'd like for the hike
Signup Restrictions: Ages 10 and up
Additional Directions: Please register before the end of the day Thursday, February 5th so we have a headcount for food and gear.
Cancellation Policy: Activity is held rain or shine, but may be altered due to inclement weather