“The mountain does not discriminate”: LGBT hiking in the peaks of Monterey
In 2022, Senderismo LGBT was born, a group that hikes in the mountains of Monterrey. From adventure to a caring and diverse community. The value of activism and sport for LGBT people.
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MEXICO CITY, Mexico. Monterrey is a city in northern Mexico considered the country's "industrial capital." It is surrounded by mountains and hills that are part of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range. It is also the capital of Nuevo León, a state historically considered conservative. Here, same-sex marriage and the right to gender identity for transgender people have been guaranteed by a Supreme Court ruling , not by the political will of the legislature.
In this city and within this context, in 2022, Senderismo LGBT (LGBT Hiking) . Since then, this group has not only dedicated itself to hiking the mountain trails of Monterrey, but it is also a space that strives to create community, reclaim the mountains as a political act, and assert the right of LGBTQ+ people to participate in sports . Currently, the group is made up of people of all ages and gender identities.
LGBT Hiking is led by Dany Hikes, who has over 15 years of experience. In 2022, twenty people joined the first group outing, one of whom was Dani CyC, who is now part of the staff and found in the mountains of Monterrey a reason to put down roots in the city. In an interview with Presentes, they explain what this activity brings to the community.
The answer to a need
–What need did you see that wasn't being met when you created this hiking group?
Dany Hikes: -When you start hiking, you join different groups, and all of them have always been heterosexual or not specifically from the community. You notice the kinds of interactions, the environments, the relationships and bonds that form there, and you also realize that something isn't quite right. I realized it was necessary when, before the group was even formed, we put out a call for members and there was demand. There are people who want and need these spaces.
—How did you first get involved with this hiking group?
Dany CyC: -I'd never done hiking before, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to meet people like me, get involved in the community, and do some exercise. What attracted me most was precisely that need: I need community, I'm new in town, and they're going to do something here that looks fun.
-How do the routes they plan work?
Dany : Fortunately, the Monterrey metropolitan area has a mountain in every municipality: if you're in Guadalupe, you have Cerro de la Silla; if you're in Cumbres, you have Mitras; in Escobedo, you have Topochico. We focus on this metropolitan area to make it easily accessible for everyone, but sometimes we venture to other, more distant municipalities. We're close to Santiago, Montemorelos, García, and Mina. Especially during the colder months, we head to slightly more remote routes, to the state of Coahuila, to the Sierra de Arteaga, where there are some beautiful snow-covered trails that present different kinds of challenges for hiking. We try to schedule hikes almost every weekend, and we're very curious to explore even more distant places.
A very queer nature
-How do you experience life in the mountains as part of the dissident groups?
Dany: -For me, it's about reclaiming space. Sport has always been a place where we've been sidelined, or as kids we were afraid to go because we'd be ridiculed (...) It always happens that we tend to do very easy routes where more people gather, we take 50 or 60 people and we arrive and take over the space. For example, in the summer we go to the Ramos River a lot to swim and when we arrive it's clear that we're imposing; many people either leave or stay, sometimes they make faces at us or join in.
Dani CyC: – For me, it's been about reconnecting with my body in a kinder way. (…) Being in nature has been more liberating for me; being able to say: I'm going to feel my body from the strength or freedom of being here. We trans people talk about this a lot: that nature is very queer and doesn't follow binaries . Knowing that you're part of here, just like the trees or the mountain, and that there's nothing wrong with you. Just as there's diversity in plants and animals in nature, there's the same with people.
What kind of personal or collective transformations have you found in the groups with whom you do these routes?
Dany: -As a leader, I've seen new people come here needing to connect or be themselves because sometimes outside, in their everyday environment, they can't. Here, they're given the opportunity to do whatever they want, dress however they want, but come to play sports. Be who you want to be, without limits, without inhibitions. We have people who arrive very introverted or quiet, and now they're talking to everyone; people who have shared their experiences of depression with us and say, "Thanks to you, I've been able to strengthen myself and climb out of that hole." We don't question anyone when they arrive; we just open up to them, start conversations, and encourage them to keep going.
Dani CyC: -With the group, we've learned a lot about building community, because nobody teaches you how, and it's definitely not something that happens naturally; it's a daily effort. We question what we're missing, whose voice we haven't heard, or what message we haven't yet incorporated. People find a space of acceptance where you can talk to people you might not meet in another context, but coming to the mountains makes us connect. It's been a journey of many transformations and of becoming aware of the role and responsibility we have for the physical well-being and relationships of others. It's been about going from "I come because it's fun" to understanding what it means to be part of the group and what we must do to ensure it remains a safe space.
Mountains and activism
-What collective care strategies have you built to feel safe, not only in the mountains?
Dany: -We have our internal regulations based on respect: respect among ourselves, for the mountain, and for yourself. It's not just about the knowledge of the guides and staff, but also about understanding what we want and how we want things to work. We are a diverse group, but just because someone is LGBT doesn't mean they'll be knowledgeable about all other identities; we try to function as a space for building and deconstructing understanding.
Dani CyC: -It's largely about allowing ourselves to question things, about what we could do differently. We don't think that just because we're staff we already know everything; we need to learn and ask for advice. A few months ago, we had the support of a sexologist colleague to help us with the regulations and see what other things we should keep in mind to take care of ourselves as a group; that openness to keep learning is key.
–For you, being part of the dissident movement and visiting the mountain, is it a form of activism?
Dany: -Yes. Since the group started gaining momentum and we saw how we were doing good for the community, we started calling ourselves activists because we do this out of a need to contribute to the community. We are promoting sports in a historically marginalized and disadvantaged population that needs these spaces.
Dani CyC: -Sport has been a space where identities have been relegated, and we feel a lot of fear about participating. So this is also a way of reclaiming that space and that connection with the body and health, which is denied to us due to discrimination or lack of spaces, and which we perhaps don't always consider as something we should have access to.
–What are your thoughts when we are living in times where hatred is exacerbated and trans people are being directly denied the right to sport?
Dany: -You see that what you're doing benefits the community, and that really encourages you to keep going. But when we see these political environments where they want to invalidate identities, starting with some and continuing with others, it strengthens us even more to make ourselves visible and share information. So that these people who want to deny us realize that we won't let them; we've always been here.
Dani CyC: -As I always say when we're in the mountains: being here is already a political act. It's important that people see us as free and that we're together as a group; when we're together, discrimination is harder to come by. The people who don't want to see us or who find us repulsive are the ones who leave, not us. The important thing is to remain visible and for people to see it as an opportunity to feel joy; that's what inspires others to join us.
Hiking: there are plenty of reasons to do it
–What do the mountains and hiking represent?
Dany : It's the space where I connect with nature and myself, and I forget about daily life and routine. I'm passionate about discovering new places or taking people to places they never imagined were so close; Nuevo León is a naturally beautiful state. We're not just a state of industry, pollution, and noise.
I never imagined I would be a guide, but through what the mountains have taught me, I've come to see how they change lives, because they changed mine too. I share that with others; it's this reciprocity and this way of sharing a part of myself with others.
-What does the mountain mean to you? And what has hiking given you?
Dany: -That's what made me stay in Monterrey; I hadn't planned to stay so long because of the circumstances. Once I joined the group, it was harder to leave; I'm staying because of the mountains.
I only started hiking when I got here. My grandfather, who was a very important father figure to me, was a scout leader for many years and he always told me about his adventures. He instilled in me this love for insects and plants. But I didn't see it as a possibility; I thought I would never achieve it, but coming here and seeing that people like me are doing it was the invitation I needed to take the plunge.
–How would you invite someone to go to the mountains and do a hike?
Dany: -I would tell them that the mountain doesn't discriminate. It won't care about your race, gender, religion, or identity; the mountain will treat you according to how prepared you are and whether you go with the intention of enjoying, caring for, and respecting it. Hiking is a sport that adapts to anyone ; you can start from scratch even if you're not in the best physical shape. The mountain will give you a chance.
Dani CyC: I would tell them that there is a community. I thought there was nothing organized in Monterrey, but there are a lot of people doing important things. When I invite someone, it's like, "Come because really cool things are happening, and you're missing out on this sense of community and connection." Everyone in the LGBT community is looking for connection with other people in the community; well, it's happening here, and it's happening in the mountains.
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