Month: June 2023

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Meet the Mazamas

Rick has spearheaded our trail tending efforts for many years and first started maintaining trails with the Mazamas in 1990. He leads hikes and is U.S. Forest Service-certified in the crosscut saw, a handy skill.

His efforts to give back to the land and instill that ethos into our organization continues, as he gathers work parties in mid-July (20, 21, 22) to work on our namesake trail on Mt. Hood. See our calendar for details and to sign up. 

Name:  Rick Pope

Pronouns:  He/him

Year Joined Mazamas: 2003

Present-day outdoor activities:  Hiking, bicycling, trail maintainer, occasional caver and photographer

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Being dragged to Mt Rainier as a child, not realizing it would start a lifelong passion for wild areas. 

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? My father was aware of the Mazamas a long time ago and signed both of us up for what is now called BCEP. 1969 I think. 

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Recreate responsibly, tread lightly. Many places are overrun nowadays, so be kind and seek the paths less traveled. 

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? People that change careers to take on a lifelong crusade for conservation (like Doug Tompkins, established North Face and then left to create conservation areas in Patagonia)

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? I’ll admit to posting on Facebook but I don’t Instagram, Tweet, Tik or Tok. Generally prefer a good book ranging from CIA fiction to true life adventures. 

What’s on your adventure bucket list? Switzerland this fall, Africa and Antarctica would give me 7 continents so they’re pretty high up. 

Name:  Rick Pope

Pronouns:  He/him

Year Joined Mazamas: 2003

Present-day outdoor activities:  Hiking, bicycling, trail maintainer, occasional caver and photographer

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Being dragged to Mt Rainier as a child, not realizing it would start a lifelong passion for wild areas. 

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? My father was aware of the Mazamas a long time ago and signed both of us up for what is now called BCEP. 1969 I think. 

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Recreate responsibly, tread lightly. Many places are overrun nowadays, so be kind and seek the paths less traveled. 

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? People that change careers to take on a lifelong crusade for conservation (like Doug Tompkins, established North Face and then left to create conservation areas in Patagonia)

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? I’ll admit to posting on Facebook but I don’t Instagram, Tweet, Tik or Tok. Generally prefer a good book ranging from CIA fiction to true life adventures. 

What’s on your adventure bucket list? Switzerland this fall, Africa and Antarctica would give me 7 continents so they’re pretty high up. 

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Meet the Mazamas

Emily is a self-described thrill-seeker who loves to explore the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. They’re fairly new to mountaineering, but summited Mt. Shasta in 2022 and are looking to add more peaks to their resume post-BCEP, which they credit with “absolutely changing my life.” 

Name: Emily McEntire

Pronouns: They/Them

Year Joined Mazamas: 2021

Present-day outdoor activities: Canyoneering!!! Mountaineering, Climbing, Hiking, Paddle-boarding, Exploring

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Running around in the miles of forest behind the townhomes I lived in. I’m an only child, and I’d spend hours by myself exploring every little corner of that place just zen-ing with the wind and the trees. There was a frog pond nearby as well, and I’d go sit and listen to the sounds of all the creatures that lived there.

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? I was looking for community when I moved back to the West, and a hiking friend mentioned BCEP. I had also been researching Zion National Park where I learned about Canyoneering, and after I saw the Mazamas offered that as well, it was a done deal. Haha

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Live and explore!!! I’ve heard so many people say “I wish I could.” You can!! It’s yours for the taking!! Just, approach it with respect, and of course safety in mind.

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? People with a thirst for life charge my batteries. People who live life with enthusiasm and compassion, and I’ve found more than many of those people within the Mazamas. There’s so much experience, and ambition, and miles underfoot, it’s a blessing to be surrounded by, and get to adventure with so many of my own personal heroes!!

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why?  Lately I’ve been reading “The Rock Warrior’s Way.” I try not to spend too much time on social media, but I do love seeing everyone’s adventures on Insta and Facebook. I’m always tickled to see everyone’s summer smiles!!

What’s on your adventure bucket list? Oh there’s so many!!! I grew up in the Tacoma area, so Mt. Rainier is at the top of my mountaineering dream list, and I’m slowly planning a canyoneering trip to Zion next year. The crystal caves down in Mexico caught my eye as well. Really I just want to rappel the world!! Haha

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Meet the Mazamas

Joshua moved to the Pacific Northwest about 10 years ago, and in the past few years he’s done a lot of climbing with the Mazamas through our Basic Climbing Education Program (BCEP) and Intermediate Climbing School (ICS) programs. When not out in the wild, he works to create more equitable, prosperous and resilient communities. 

Joshua also has been instrumental in creating the Queerzamas, an affinity group within the Mazamas for queer and/or trans folks and was part of our first-ever queer BCEP team.

Name:  Joshua Baker

Pronouns:  he, him, his

Year Joined Mazamas: 2022 

 Present-day outdoor activities: Mountaineering, rock climbing, hiking, backpacking  

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Growing up on a dairy farm in northern New York – cows out to pasture are an early outdoor memory. In terms of outdoor recreation, ice skating on a frozen pond at my grandparents farm with my sisters and cousins is an early memory I have.

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? I first learned about the Mazamas about a decade ago when I worked for the nonprofit, Focus the Nation. Each summer we held an annual climate focus retreat at the Lodge and went on Mazama-led hikes up to Elliot Glacier area. It wasn’t until I had a couple friends who did BCEP in 2019 that I decided I wanted to get involved in the Mazamas though. 

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Find what brings your joy in the outdoor community. 

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Historically I’ve been a solitary creature – particularly when it comes to outdoor activities. More and more I have found inspiration, comfort, and enjoyment in the community building aspects of my outdoor pursuits. That’s why I’m particularly excited to be part of the new Queerzamas affinity space.  Queerzamas will also be marching in the Pride Parade on July 16 – hope to see you there!

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? For folx who’ve spent a good amount of time around me the past few years, they  know I’m a bit obsessed with beavers and their importance to ecosystems in the West (and that they are adorable). A lot of my passion stems from reading Ben Goldfarb’s  “Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter.”

What’s on your adventure bucket list? In addition to the mountains, I love the Oregon High Desert. I’m slowly chipping away at visiting, hiking, and volunteering on environmental stewardship trips to sites along the Oregon Desert Trail and across High Desert. I’m hoping to get out to the Owyhee Canyonlands for an adventure soon!

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Meet the Mazamas

Meet the Schwabs: They’re a blended family— each with varying degrees of “from-here.” While Meg moved to Oregon from the Midwest as an adult, Michael’s family basically got here with the Pioneers. Tegan and Isaac actually have the deepest roots to the Pacific Northwest though, because they’re members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde through their mom’s side of the family.

Thankfully, they all love being outside equally, and enjoy spending lots of family time exploring the outdoors. They were grateful to discover the Mazamas during COVID, and decided to take the Families Mountaineering 101 class together last year. 

Name:  Michael (dad), Meg (stepmom), Tegan, 12, and Isaac, 9

Pronouns: He, she, she, he

Year Joined Mazamas: 2022

Present-day outdoor activities: Hiking, camping, backpacking, climbing, and snowshoeing 

What’s your earliest outdoor memory? As a fam: the kids have been camping since they were babies, and we’ve been taking them on hikes since before they even liked it. 

How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? Since COVID, we were always on the lookout for activities to do outside, because it really seemed to help the kids get through being stuck with online learning and not being able to see their friends as often. We found Family 101 in 2021 (through a google search, I think?), but the planned dates that season didn’t fit with the 50/50 parenting-time schedule we have. For 2022, the calendar was almost exactly [magically] aligned, so we applied!

As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? For families specifically: get started as early as you can! Even when you think it’ll be hard at first (FYI: you are correct), you’ll all get the hang of it eventually. Nothing has brought our family unit closer than the times we’ve been hanging out together outside. Also, if you have the opportunity to go with other families with kids (ex. FM101!): jump on it. 

What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Every time we’ve been at the summit of a crazy-difficult hike and seen a parent walk by with their baby in one of those backpack-carrier things. So metal. 

What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Primitive Technology by John Plant. 

What’s on your adventure bucket list?  Re-doing our favorite trips we did when the kids were too little to take them with us. Banff National Park, Zion, and the Inca Trail stick out as the main ones.