
What we’re about
SOA hikes everywhere from cities to mountains to deserts. We go backpacking, biking, and climbing; ski and snowshoe, kayak, sail and swim, and in many other ways celebrate nature and the great outdoors.
While exploring the Pacific Northwest is thrilling and restorative, we care about our delicate environments and promote Leave-No-Trace principles and good trail etiquette.
To better protect ourselves from injuries and other life-threatening conditions, all members should take safety and preparedness seriously, carry the Ten Essentials, and be self reliant.
Check our calendar and join us on an upcoming adventure. We're eager to welcome new friends and hope to meet you in person soon.
Your Organizer, Michael Songbird
DISCLAIMER: All activities hosted by Seattle Outdoor Adventurers (SOA) involve risk. Becoming an SOA member and/or participating in events offered by our Meetup group, you agree to release, hold harmless, and indemnify SOA, its members, and its organizers from any and all liability. You alone are responsible for your safety, comfort, and health.
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SOA Event Attendance Disclaimer
S.O.A. is not a professional guide service. SOA meetup organizers function, as facilitators only, to enhance the collective group outdoor experience. By participating in any SOA event you agree to release, hold harmless, and indemnify SOA, its members, and its organizers from any and all liability in the event of injury or loss. Reports of trail and weather conditions are available to all (internet) and subject to change. You are responsible for your own safety and the overall safety and wellbeing of the group. We respect the environment we adventure in. We collectively know that hiking involves risks and that weather changes quickly in the mountains. We know the more prepared we individually are, the better the chance we will remain safe as a group. We leave no trace.
[signing up for any S.O.A. organized event indicates that you have read, understand, and agree to the terms of this disclaimer and hold harmless all S.O.A. Organizers and Event Hosts in the event of injury or loss].
Additional information about our group, Member responsibilities, and clarification of the role of Organizer:
Seattle Outdoor Adventurers (SOA) activities may involve certain dangers including but not limited to: hazards of travel in rugged terrain, physical stress, mental stress, inclement weather, and intended and unintended actions of other Members and Organizers.
Participating Members agree to the following statements:
- I am physically capable of safely participating in SOA events that I join.
- I am equipped with the appropriate gear and clothing for SOA events that I join. If not, I have pre-arranged required gear with the Organizer.
- I hold responsibility for my own safety while participating in SOA events which I join.
- I assume all risks while participating in SOA events that I join.
- SOA is not a guide service.
- SOA Organizers are not guides.
- Per Meetup.com's Terms of Service Agreement, SOA organizers are released from all forms of liability related to SOA events.
- I am 18-years-old or older. Note: Participants under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Tips on preparing for a safe outing:
Before venturing into our state's amazing backcountry check the Weather Forecast. During winter, spring, and early summer, check the Avalanche Forecast.
If you're new to Washington state, be advised that Search and Rescue teams are busy year-round assisting lost, injured, and/or ill-equipped backcountry recreationists. You can increase your chances of a safe outing by equipping yourself with (and knowing how to use) the Ten Essentials. The Mountaineers offer an excellent low-cost hands-on navigation training course which teaches backcountry map and compass use.
Your feedback is important and welcomed!
If you have any questions or comments about our group you're welcome to email the main organizer or post your question or comment on our group's Message Board. It is our Members and Organizers who make this group a great one so thank you for making it one of Seattle's best!
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Early Winters Spires Climbing Incident - Retrospective and LessonsThe Mountaineers Program Center, Seattle, WA
It has been almost 100 days since the tragic accident in North Cascades mountains. We lost three remarkable and highly admired friends- Tim, Vishnu, and Alex. As we move on and live with the loss and void left, we will honor their legacy and the lasting impact they left on our community.
While the event was not an SOA planned event, our friends were an integral part of our community, and the core of our leadership team. We owe it to our members to review the circumstances prior to and leading up to the incident.
Seattle Outdoor Adventurers Meetup organizer leadership is hosting this meeting for the public to review official reports of the incident while our community continues to mourn their loss and support their families and the surviving member during his healing process.
Background:
In May 2025, four of our members were on a privately planned trip, which involved a climbing accident in the North Cascades. Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office personnel and Okanogan County Search and Rescue volunteers responded to a climbing accident in the area of North Early Winters Spire off of State Route 20, approximately 16 miles west of Mazama, WA, at approximately 11:30 on May 11, 2025.
"A party of four climbers were involved in a fall while descending a steep gully. Three individuals were confirmed deceased at the accident site. The fourth member of the party self-extricated and contacted law enforcement. Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team assisted in extricating the deceased members of the party from the technical, mountainous terrain. The presumed cause of the accident is an anchor failure while rappelling, with more investigation still ongoing."Guest Keynote Speaker: James Pierson, American Alpine Institute Director for Operations
AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor and AIARE Avalanche Instructor
Rope Rescue Technician and Certified Personal Protective Equipment Competent Person.
More about James Pierson - Let's Explore Oregon outback Dark Sky Sanctuary (Family Friendly)Eastgate Park & Ride - East Side Under Overpass, Bellevue, WA
This is a wilderness trip which requires you to be self-sufficient and self-reliant. We will be together most of the time during this outing. Exception is the day-trips to available scramble options in the surrounding nearby mountains.
This event is family and kid-friendly. Join the waitlist to be confirmed.
About Dark Sky Sanctuary:
The Oregon Outback Dark Sky Network (ODSN) has completed the first phase of a multi-phased project to establish a landscape-level International Dark Sky Sanctuary within the largest, contiguous dark sky zone in the lower 48 United States.This is a high desert area characterized by sage scrub and abrupt changes in topography that alternates between narrow faulted mountain chains and flat, arid valleys and basins. Within this unique geography of geological wonders is priority habitat for an array of wildlife, including American pronghorn, bighorn sheep, sage grouse, white-tailed jackrabbits, and migratory birds navigating the Pacific Flyway (. The region is also culturally significant and is home to a 13,000-year-old human occupation site. Dispersed within the Oregon Outback are hot springs, wild horses, private rangelands, ranches, and lots of cattle.
More information here
And here
Summer Lake InformationLet's explore this beautiful and out of this world frontier for a few unforgettable evenings where space meets earth on the horizon!
Whether you’re a star-gazing enthusiast, a photographer, seeking meditation and solitude, a science lover, or just looking for a unique night out, this trip is a truly unique experience in one of the most serene and pristine environments on the planet.The Plan:
- Leave the Seattle area Thursday Aug 14 around 10am
- Drive down to Summer Lake in Oregon (see directions below)
- Set up campsites or car-camping
- Drive back on Sunday Aug 17 afternoon
Carpooling will be coordinated from the Park and Ride before we leave the Seattle area.
Short excursions and hikes:
Multiple short daily and evening excursions are planned for this trip. We will firm up the plans as a team. Here are some activity ideas/options:- Winter Ridge Hike, right above Summer Lake
- Hager Mountain, a challenging mountain that climbs to a Lookout (4 miles and 2200 feet gain to the summit at 7188 feet)
- Summer Lake Hot Springs
- Dark skies viewing
- Summer Lake Wildlife Area- We may experience the start of fall migration (all manner of shorebirds and waterfoul, from tundra swans to western sandpipers to sandhill cranes)
- Fort Rock- hiking and scrambling + Cave Tours and/or Stargazing
I will have a few copies of stargazing permits to handout - Prineville Reservoir State Park, Prineville, OR 97754
Directions to Summer Lake:
41777 Oregon 31 Mile Marker, 92, Summer Lake, OR 97640Follow I-5 S, US-26 E and US-97 S to OR-31 S
Follow OR-31 S to the destination in Lake County
https://maps.app.goo.gl/pMeEXkUmtGUySZgE9We will camp near the resort area.
Not open - Three Fingers Lookout Bike and Hike! [Postponed]Needs location
This event is postponed until snow thaws from the ladders! I want this to be a scramble hike. This snow will be clear sometime in august-sept. When I get more beta, I'll change to an official date.
This hike requires a bike ride to the trailhead that lasts for ten miles. What makes this bike/ hike extra challenging is that you will have a backpack with 25-35 pounds of gear. The hike includes a scramble to the top, culminating in 360 views of the North Cascades. We can camp at the lookout!
Distance: approximately 33 miles round-trip with 20 miles on a bike
Elevation: 6,480 feet
Estimated time:- Car, bike to trailhead: 2 to 2.5 hours
- Trailhead to lookout: 5 to 6 hours
- Lookout to trailhead: 4 to 5 hours
- Trailhead to car: 1 hour
For more information about the hike here is a video to check out what we're in for:
Three Fingers Lookout
Video #2Kit needed:
- Backpack
- Sleeping bag and mat
- Helmet
- Bug spray
- Electrolyte mix
- Bike rack or ability to fit your bike in your car
- *I have a bike rack that can fit two bikes, so I can drive one person + a bike.
- Deck of cards
At first you will be put on a waitlist and then added to the group by priority based on your experience level. By signing up to this hike you recognize that outdoor adventuring/mountaineering is inherently dangerous and you are solely responsible for your own preparation and safety.