How Pattie Gonia raised $1.2 million with a drag hike

Pattie Gonia doesn’t pack high heels for a backpacking trip. “I am not an insane person,” she clarifies with a laugh. But a wig? Absolutely. Strong wig glue? Nonnegotiable, especially when hiking 102 miles along the windy California coast in full drag.

In December, Pattie (and her wig) completed a six-day journey from Point Reyes National Seashore to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, raising a stunning $1.2 million for climate and queer-led outdoors organizations. Notably, that amount came from 35,700 individual donations.

“This wasn’t a fundraiser that had megadonors dropping $5,000, $10,000, or $20,000,” she says. “This came from people donating $25 donations, $10 donations. That is incredible to me because I want to remind people who think we can’t make change. Every time we come together to create change, we’re always amazed by the impact that we can have.”

Pattie Gonia is a renowned drag artist and environmental activist.Pattie Gonia Team

Pattie set the Golden Gate Bridge as her destination so that she could be in town for her sold-out performance for 2,500 people at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco. “I literally went straight from the backpacking trip into the drag show,” Pattie says casually. “Selling a 2,500-person venue as an independent drag artist is pretty unheard of,” she rightly adds.

Raising $1.2 million from 35,700 donors, followed by a sold-out performance to thousands of people would’ve been a remarkable feat for just about anyone. Yet it is even more mind-blowing for a drag artist like Pattie, who’s never appeared on a big TV competition like RuPaul’s Drag Race or The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula and who’s been trekking a different path for herself entirely — one that’s rooted in activism, environmentalism, and a drag perspective that extends far beyond reality shows. “I have so much respect for Drag Race, for Dragula, and for all of the incredible pillars that have brought drag to a bigger stage,” Pattie acknowledges. “I think people are really ready for something new…something different.”

Pattie Gonia in a rare mustacheless lookPattie Gonia Team

The upcoming Pattie Gonia’s SAVE HER! tour embodies that philosophy, platforming drag kings, underground artists, and local performers who become integral parts of each show rather than mere opening acts. “The drag that I want to believe in is way more diverse than what’s on that show,” she observes. “I want to be making a stage that supports kings, underground drag, the weirdos, and drag that isn’t polished but still has creativity and heart.”

Beyond redefining what drag success looks like, Pattie is laser-focused on the political urgency of this moment. Many of the grassroots organizations she fundraises for — all founded by Black, Indigenous, and/or queer people — have lost government funds and grants under the current Trump administration. “We have to show up for us,” the 2024 Out100 honoree says simply.

Pattie Gonia ended her hike at the Golden Gate Bridge.Pattie Gonia Team

When asked how she maintains optimism amid relentless attacks on queer rights, environmental protections, and marginalized communities, Pattie offers a simple yet radical philosophy. “Feeling hopeless is exactly how they want us to feel. Apathy benefits them,” she argues. “I want us all to remember that empathy is a superpower, that joy is strategic, that ‘doing nothing’ is doing something, and that people united will never be defeated.”

Pattie also has pointed words for members of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly gay men. “A lot of gays, in particular, are lazy and don’t actually take action,” she says bluntly. “Lesbians and straight women and bi people and queer people and trans people actually do take action. Gay men should learn from them…to actually take action as your privilege is becoming extremely visible and your inaction is also extremely visible.”

Pattie Gonia’s sold-out show at the Warfield Theatre in San FranciscoPattie Gonia Team

Pattie doesn’t encourage burnout-inducing marathons of protest, however, and highlights the concept of “sustainable activism,” which mirrors ecological principles. “I want people to not go out and take so much action one week that they’re burned out and then never take action again for another year,” she observes. “I want us to do it in sustainable ways, for the long term.”

Instead, the drag superstar and activist still believes in using joy as a rebellious act. “A question in a lot of people’s minds is, ‘Do we have permission to feel joy right now?’” Pattie muses. “We have to remember what our queer elders knew: We mourn in the morning, fight in the afternoon, and dance in the evening. And it’s the dancing that would keep us going.”

An even more ambitious hike is already in the works for Pattie: more miles, an undisclosed location, and the same mission. “We’re only just beginning, babe,” Pattie promises.

Learn more about Pattie Gonia’s 2026 tour at pattiegonia.net.

This article is part of OUT’s Mar-Apr 2026 print issue, now on newsstands. Support queer media and subscribe — or download the issue through Apple News+, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader.