What we’re about
This Meetup site manages trip announcements and sign-ups, and we are also starting a Facebook group to share our activities with an even larger audience, bringing them back to Meetup to sign up!
We offer various outdoor programs, including beginner backpacking in spring and fall. Our modern backpacking equipment library and wilderness navigation support these programs, and we also organize backpacking trips, day hikes, service days, and other activities.
We are part of the National Sierra Club's "Local Outdoors" program and organize outdoor activities. These outings (a/k/a "trips") are open to the KC Area community and designed to be inclusive. We are closely affiliated with the Sierra Club's Thomas Hart Benton and also the Kanza & Wakarusa groups. We aim to welcome individuals from all backgrounds, and many of our members are committed to conservation, equity, and social welfare advocacy.
Our activities happen at places whose current names we can see on Google Maps, e.g., Missouri and Kansas. We know the people living there are Missourians and Kansans. Historically, it's worth noting that these areas could have had different names, and the people living there could have had other names, too. Here is a helpful mapping tool to consider these matters, another referencing many established, well-known trails re: these matters and a resource for additional perspective.
Are you looking for a way to connect with nature, meet new people, or get some exercise? Sierra Club's local outings with us and inter/national trips have something for everyone. Join Sierra Club on an outing today!
While you do not have to be a Sierra Club member to join this meetup group or participate in the outings, we welcome you to join for as little as $15 as it supports the overall Sierra Club, including the Local Outdoors program.
We sometimes ask for small donations to cover the costs of training our outing leaders in various areas, such as Wilderness First Aid, and maintaining our gear lending library for backpacking courses. It's important to note that the Sierra Club is a Section 501(c)(4) non-profit organization under the Internal Revenue Code, which means that any donations made are not tax-deductible. Additionally, our leaders are unpaid volunteers who generously give their time to lead these outings.
Concerning backpacking, in addition to the beginning backpacking program, our leaders host beginning and higher backpacking locally and sometimes regionally, with regular options for big league trips on Sierra Club inter/national outings, for which our local outings can help prepare you.
Our leaders are volunteers and organize diverse activities according to their interests. Day hikes, cycling, backpacking, and camping are some of our activities. Still, we also participate in other activities such as picking up trash, bird watching, clearing brush along a hiking trail, crawling in a cave, or eradicating invasive vegetation. You can feel confident that our leaders are certified for outings leadership, including the first aid training required for the level of the outing they are leading, and they complete structured pre-trip planning.
Due to certification requirements, only our leaders may create outings. However, please suggest nature—or conservation-oriented outings; one of our leaders may make them happen.
To make sure everything runs smoothly during our outings, RSVP in advance. So that you know, we do not accept walk-ins. Leaders have the final say before and during the outing, and they may require certain minimums for fitness, experience, and equipment. We will give you all the relevant information to set clear expectations, and we appreciate your cooperation in following the instructions. We thank you for your understanding and look forward to seeing you on our next outing!
Minors can join many day hikes, but only if they are accompanied and supervised by a responsible adult. Please check the outing description to see if it allows minors.
Sierra Club has a policy regarding pets on outings. Generally, pets, especially dogs, are prohibited unless the outing specifies otherwise. However, service animals are permitted and are not considered pets.
Outdoor activities occur more frequently in late spring and fall/winter and decrease during summer when leaders take personal trips or go on the water.
For the safety of all individuals, please be aware that firearms are strictly prohibited during outings.
Carpooling is encouraged among participants, but it is important to note that carpooling arrangements are strictly private and not covered by Sierra Club's insurance. As such, the club assumes no liability for any issues arising from carpooling or ride-sharing arrangements.
All Sierra Club outing participants must sign a standard participant agreement as part of the sign-in process. This agreement will be linked in individual Outing announcements; you can review it before signing it.
You must complete a medical form if you plan to go on a backcountry, overnight, or day trip more than an hour away from an emergency medical facility. The trip leader will review the form and respect your privacy. We take the privacy of our participants very seriously and ensure that the responses on the form are kept confidential. In emergencies, the form will be available during the trip. After the trip, we will either return or delete the form.
Whenever possible, we prefer to collect medical forms at the trailhead. However, for backpacking trips, we need to conduct a more thorough vetting process of the participants to ensure everyone's safety. Therefore, we require the medical forms to be filled out and submitted upfront for backpacking trips.
It is essential to prioritize the health and safety of everyone attending an outing. So, individuals who feel unwell or display symptoms of any contagious illness are asked not to participate in the outing.
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Please immediately let the outing leader know if you have any concerns during or after an outing. If you receive an unwelcome message from another member on Meetup, Meetup provides some guidance on individual action. Also, please don't hesitate to contact us if you need more help. This group is committed to posting events supporting the Sierra Club and those interested in participating.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Introduction to Wilderness NavigationAnita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, Kansas City, MO
Would you like to learn how to use a map, compass and GPS, stay found and plan a wilderness outing? Join us for Introduction to Wilderness Navigation on May 25 for an in-person class, May 30 zoom for catch-up or questions, & June 2 for practice at an orienteering course. We will be using the book “Wilderness Navigation: Finding Your Way Using Map, Compass, Altimeter & GPS” by Bob & Mike Burns, Mountaineers Books, 2015. You will need to purchase this book and read the Chapters 1-5 & 9-10 before May 25. The book is not included in the materials that I will be giving you at the first class.
You might be able to find the book at the library -
https://search.worldcat.org/title/889941305
You will also need a baseplate compass with adjustable declination - see page 37 in Chapter 2 for recommendations. The TruArc5 Baseplate Mapping Compass is relatively inexpensive. Both the book and compass are available on Amazon.YOUR RSVP DOES NOT HOLD YOUR SPOT!
Class size is limited to the first 12 people who enroll. Once you have enrolled I will confirm that you are in the classes.COURSE ENROLLMENT: $70 exclusively via PayPal -https://paypal.me/kcsierracluboutings
SCHOLARSHIPS: $0 if you are in your 20s or 30s, and can help at a monthly trail maintenance. RSVP here:
https://www.meetup.com/kc-sierra-club-outings/events/300759405/
Instructors are volunteers & not compensated. Part of your payment is for class materials: UTM booklet with grid tool, USGS Hilda topo quad map, and worksheets/handouts. The remainder of the payment is a fundraiser/donation to finance the Gear Lending Library, local leadership first aid training, & trail maintenance in KS & MO.May 25 (Sat) 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM, ANITA GORMAN DISCOVERY CENTER
CHAPTERS 1 & 2, MAP AND COMPASS BASICS
“With the exception of your brain, a map is your most important navigational tool. No one should venture into the wilderness without one, nor without the ability to interpret it.”
CHAPTERS 3 & 4, NAVIGATION AND UTM BOOKLET
"Navigation is the science of determining the location of your objective and keeping yourself pointed in the right direction from your starting point to this destination.
CHAPTERS 5, 9 & 10, LOST!, TRIP PLANNING & GPS
“Routefinding begins at home. Before heading out the door, you need to know not only the name of your wilderness destination but also a great deal about how to get there and back. This information is accessible from guidebooks and maps and from people who have been there.”MAY 30 (THU) 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM, ZOOM
If needed for catch-up or questions.JUN 2 (SUN) 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM, SHAWNEE MISSION PARK
Practice with map & compass at the Shawnee Mission Park Orienteering Course.At sign-in - all participants on Sierra Club outings are required to sign a standard participant agreement you can read here, if you would like to read it b4 you choose to participate, www.tinyurl.com/sonsite
There are no vaccine, mask, or testing mandates.
If you're sick, please do not attend.
If you develop symptoms/illness during the trip, you may be removed for your and others' safety.
Knowing the above, it is your choice to attend the outing.Explore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet 🌎 - The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with over 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
Why America must protect 30x30 (w/ Sen. Tom Udall, Dr. Enric Sala) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4VmOchhp8o
- 20’s & 30’s Scholarships to Introduction to Wilderness NavigationAnita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, Kansas City, MO
Are you in your 20s or 30s and would like to learn about wilderness navigation at no enrollment cost to you? For the 60th anniversary of wilderness, we have scholarships available to our Introduction to Wilderness Navigation Class. We meet in-person on May 25, zoom on May 30 and in-the-field map and compass practice June 2.
If you are in your 20s or 30s, can attend all 3 classes, and help at a monthly trail maintenance, then RSVP here. Go to this link for a complete description with class dates/times, location and activities -
https://www.meetup.com/kc-sierra-club-outings/events/300758959/
You will need to get your own book and compass.Outdoors for All programs ensure that each new generation stays in touch with nature and learns the importance of protecting it for the next generation. The Nearby Nature initiative is committed to building a more equitable, just, and inclusive movement by increasing access to and protecting natural spaces in and around urban areas. After the class, we ask for your participation in a couple of trail maintenance mornings at a nearby trail.
- Trip Report Series #12.5 | Toleak Point (Olympic NP South Coast)Link visible for attendees
The south Olympic National Park coastline is just outside of Forks, WA - a center of outdoor activity on the Olympic Peninsula. No vampires or werewolves to be seen.
A group of KC and PNW-based folks gathered to pack in a variety of Olympic NP and British Columbia adventures, including backpacking: Enchanted Valley, Toleak Point, Hoh River Trail. Also day hiking Cape Flattery and Sol Duc Falls. Then we went into Canada through Vancouver on the way to Squamish and Whistler, for hiking, bungee jumping, and zip lining before returning to Seattle. There is some unfinished business in the Olympics, with a planned future lollipop backpacking trip in the Quinault zone, the full Hoh River Trail onto the Blue Glacier, and a return taking a zip on the High Divide loop and part of the traverse.
I'll provide an overview of the trip there: highs and lows, difficulties, risks, terrain, elevation, permit requirements, maps and guidebooks, information gathering, water strategy, food storage, side hikes, gear, group planning thoughts, logistics, and more.
It will be helpful to you to have reviewed this backpacking trip online and have at least a basic familiarity with it before this talk. The speaker(s) intend to launch into various specifics of the experience and not necessarily provide a start-to-finish walkthrough.
This is not a future trip planning session. This overview does not equip you with all you need to know to be safe and successful should you plan your trip - that will require significant due diligence beginning with official sources, but this can be helpful.
*Also, did you know Sierra Club runs trips to scenic areas like this which takes on the planning for you? Search here for a wide range of those Trips!
Take a look at these unofficial trip guides for additional perspectives:
- WTA
- Taryn (she's a great resource IMHO, for my 2025 Vancouver Island West Coast Trail and North Coast Trail combo. trip)
- Zilcsaks
- There are many, many more.
You'll get some insightful curated experiential information during this talk; see video clips and pictures. Hopefully, I'll also have some of my trip partners' testimonials (live or recorded) for you. And I'll save time at the end for questions.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with over 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.Why America must protect 30x30 (w/ Sen. Tom Udall, Dr. Enric Sala)