Cassie grew up in Utah and found the Mazamas the way many do, through an internet search for hiking. She signed up for a dog-friendly hike with the Adventurous Young Mazamas and now leads similar hikes, in part to continue exploring the Pacific Northwest and also to give back to the Mazama community.
Name: Cassie Soucy
Pronouns: she/her
Year Joined Mazamas: 2019
Present-day outdoor activities: Hiking, backpacking, Zumba, and dog-walking 🙂
What’s your earliest outdoor memory? I grew up in Utah exploring my grandparents neighborhood and the high desert in general. My cousins, siblings, and I would construct grand adventures in the epic park nearby that we affectionately called, “the Pit”. When we were done adventuring, we’d retreat to my grandmother’s garden to fill up on a bounty of berries and fruit.
How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? When I moved up to Portland, I was searching for a community to get outdoors with and truly just Googled ‘hiking groups in Portland’. The Mazamas popped up in my search, and I found the Adventurous Young Mazamas. My first hike was one led by our current AYM chair, Heather Polonsky, and I chose it because it was dog-friendly. I didn’t have a dog at the time but got to meet several great pups (including Linus,Heather’s dog). My involvement with the Mazamas has only increased since, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to help lead hikes providing others the same opportunity for connection and community that I found.
As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? My best piece of advice is to have fun! There is so much beauty here in the PNW – from incredibly challenging hikes that get you to remote areas to exploring our urban trail systems here in Portland. Any walk, hike, or backpack can be epic with the discovery of a new favorite flower or getting to the top of a summit.
What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Pick one. My favorite fiction book is The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, which is in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre. She is an incredible author who masterfully constructs a world impacted by climate change and seamlessly integrates commentary on racism through the characters in the novel. I highly recommend it if you want to immerse yourself in a new world while challenging yourself to think about how issues related to race, gender, and climate are reflected in our own world.
What’s on your adventure bucket list? Climbing Mt. Hood, section hiking the PCT in Oregon, enjoying our glaciers, and seeing whales on the Oregon coast.