Pattie Gonia Completes 100-Mile Coastal Trek, Raises Over $1M to Make the Outdoors More Equitable

Pattie Gonia Completes 100-Mile Coastal Trek and Surpasses Fundraising Goal

Pattie Gonia, the drag performer and environmental advocate, arrived in San Francisco on Friday after completing a weeklong, 100-mile trek from Point Reyes National Seashore along the California coast. Walking each day in full drag—complete with a voluminous red wig and smoky eye makeup—Gonia crossed the Golden Gate Bridge to finish the journey, which raised more than $1 million for causes that broaden access to outdoor spaces.

The fundraiser was organized to benefit eight nonprofit organizations focused on expanding outdoor access and making parks and natural areas more inclusive and equitable. By Friday, a GoFundMe set up for the campaign had attracted nearly 35,000 individual donations, exceeding the initial $1 million goal.

'Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you can’t make a difference. When I started being Pattie, everyone told me I was crazy. When I told people I wanted to do this fundraiser, they laughed in my face. Seven years later and I hope I can be a little bit of proof to you that combining who you are and what you’re good at to fight for the change you want to see in the world works.'

Over the course of the week, Gonia traveled solo, getting into drag each day, pitching camp each night and filming video updates to document the trek. Social video posted on Friday evening showed her striding across the Golden Gate Bridge and celebrating the finish with a slice of cake.

Activism and Public Moments

Pattie Gonia has become a prominent figure at the intersection of environmentalism and LGBTQ+ visibility. Earlier this year she helped organize an action at Yosemite National Park where climbers flew a Trans pride flag from El Capitan to affirm that transgender people belong in outdoor spaces. At the time she said the action was meant to both protest and celebrate trans existence: 'Trans people are natural and Trans people are loved.'

Her image has also been drawn into national politics: footage of Gonia alongside Kamala Harris was used by Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign in an attack advertisement targeting the then vice-president. Gonia has used attention-grabbing, often playful tactics to spotlight issues; for example, she recently posted a lighthearted video challenging U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to a pull-up contest.

The trek highlights a growing movement to make outdoor recreation and conservation more welcoming to people who have been historically underrepresented in parks and wild spaces. Gonia said she planned to perform her final show of the year in San Francisco on Saturday, 'that is, if I can make it in time.'