{"id":27375,"date":"2022-07-17T10:00:50","date_gmt":"2022-07-17T17:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=27375"},"modified":"2022-07-07T12:13:56","modified_gmt":"2022-07-07T19:13:56","slug":"stories-from-the-lgbtq-outdoor-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2022\/07\/17\/stories-from-the-lgbtq-outdoor-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"Stories from the LGBTQ Outdoor Summit"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2017, Elise Rylander<\/a>, founder of Out There Adventures<\/a>, and Hannah Malvin of Pride Outside<\/a> launched the inaugural LGBTQ Outdoor Summit<\/a>. Their mission was to build new connections and a community inside a queer space. Now in its fourth year, the Summit brings together outdoor leaders from across the country to focus on forming accessible ways for the LGBTQ community to get OUTside. As the only queer paddler on Team NRS, I was given the opportunity to participate in this year\u2019s Summit to represent and expand my leadership in the paddling community.<\/p>\n

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The Summit was an eye-opening experience for me in more ways than one. Coming from the South, I rarely, if ever, find myself surrounded by a lot of out queer people. In the outdoors, it\u2019s even less so. But for one weekend, I was not only surrounded by queer folks but ones who enjoyed the outdoor spaces as much as me.<\/p>\n

While I was there, I got the chance to meet and speak with queer outdoor leaders. I learned their stories, how the outdoors has impacted their stories, and how the Summit has affected their lives.<\/p>\n

I was nervous about going to this event as I didn\u2019t know anyone. On top of that, I was in a part of the country I had never visited: West Virginia. So, on the first night, feeling the nervous nostalgia of choosing a lunch spot in high school, I sat next to Matthew Daugherty (He\/Him\/His). Matthew turned out to be\u2014like everyone at the Summit, honestly\u2014kind and very open to conversation. He made me feel welcomed. Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, Matthew loves the outdoors and enjoys going camping, which was the only previous outdoor experience he had before attending the Summit.<\/p>\n