Corey joined the Mazamas a year ago, and in that short time has taken part in BCEP, Canyoneering, Nordic Ski School and Wilderness First Aid (WFA). They have been exploring the West Coast for the past decade since moving here from Florida. When they aren’t in the mountains, they are usually near a bike, riding all over the greater Portland area and volunteering with Bike Farm and Pedalpalooza.
Name: Corey Johns
Pronouns: they/them
Year Joined Mazamas: 2023
Present-day outdoor activities: Rock climbing, canyoneering, gravel cycling, backpacking, hiking, Nordic skiing, surfing, bird watching.
What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Camping with the Boy Scouts in elementary school, watching my parents struggle to put together a tent before we hiked a few miles in a Florida swamp.
How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? My partner took BCEP and invited me to climb Mt. St. Helens with her, a demanding and awe-inspiring day that made me appreciate how much more I needed to learn about mountaineering. I was attracted to Mazamas because of its focus on instruction and awareness in service to exploring the mountains.
As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Be patient and gentle with yourself! It is easy to become demanding of ourselves when there is so much to do and see outdoors, but learning to go at the right pace will make it so much more enjoyable.
What activities/situations/people most inspire you? I’m most inspired in moments when we are required to problem solve and think on our feet in order to move forward with the objective. Flexibility and lateral thinking are great assets when exploring the outdoors!
What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Pick one. Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, the memoir of William Finnegan, is a great read about the life of a surfing obsessive and has a lot to say about our relationship to sport and the outdoor world.
What’s on your adventure bucket list? Climbing Prusik Peak and doing a Nordic ski hut-to-hut.