Rainbow Sierrans, the Sierra Club’s first LGBTQ hiking group, on 40 years of trekking together

On a foggy morning in August, a group of hikers stood laughing and joking, trekking poles in hand and backpacks full, at the top of a trail in Reinhardt Regional Redwood Park. That day, those joining the Rainbow Sierrans were mainly older women. Even in the early hours of the day, the energy emanating from them indicated a passion for the outdoors and the smiles passed between them hinted at the decades-long friendships many of them share.

When the Rainbow Sierrans, formerly the Gay and Lesbian Sierrans, formed in 1986, it was the Sierra Club’s first LGBTQ affinity group; many other groups followed in its footsteps. Several of the women present on the August hike have been members since the late 1990s; more than one told The Oaklandside they met their current or former wives on outings ov