Ever since our founding in 1894, the Mazamas wanted a presence on Mt. Hood in an effort to demonstrate the importance of this mountain and our organization’s devotion to it. The Mazama Trail was conceived as a way to mark our 100 years of existence, which began at the summit of Mt. Hood in 1894.
The closure and abandonment of the Cathedral Ridge trail in the late ‘80s made way for the creation of the Mazama Trail, located on the Northwest side of Mt. Hood. It took nearly a decade from conception. In that time, volunteers tended to constant blowdowns, out-of-control huckleberries, rhododendrons and underbrush that overtook the trail. The Mazamas worked on ridge reconstruction, switchback creation and obvious rest spots.
Photo by Mary Spiering
Since the successful completion of the Mazama Trail in 1994, the area has withstood the Dollar Lake fire in 2011 and ongoing winter storms. And every year, we tend to it, to ensure it remains an enjoyable trail, which we did this past weekend.
Photo by Gina Binole
Over the course of three days in July, and an advanced scouting trip in June by Trail Tending leader Rick Pope, more than 30 people, the oldest being 90, cut out 32 logs, brushed back about 3 miles of trail, cleared out 60 drain dips, initiated ¼ mile of tread repair and hauled 50 buckets of gravel, which was spread, or stashed in strategic locations. It required about 257 hours of volunteer time, plus 36 hours of scouting time in June for a total of 293 hours.
For the uninitiated, the Mazama Trail serves as a ridge crest connector to a number of destinations, such as McNeil Point, Cairn Basin, Dollar Lake and the Timberline Trail. It offers the diversity of shady forest, a couple of springs, a talus-filled gully, a rhododendron alley, gorgeous views of Mt. Hood and more.
Lisa has been climbing mountains since she was little kid. She has served our organization in many capacities, volunteer climb leader, BCEP leader, canyoneering leader/instructor, teaching: ICS, AR, MFA, Crevasse Rescue, Rock Rescue, Skill Builders, FM101, CPR & First Aid and an organizer for our Used Gear Sale.
What’s your earliest outdoor memory: Catching frogs while camping with my family
How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? Mazamas had a reputation in Portland as the best of the best. Very safety conscious, and a group that was serious about mountain climbing. I had already climbed a number of mountains including Mt Hood years before I joined Mazamas, then I decided I should take BCEP to learn more and to meet more climbers.
As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Get some good training so you can enjoy the outdoors safely and more confidently.
What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Pick one. The BCEP students who are non-traditional. Who have not grown up hiking and spending time outdoors, and who might start out less physically fit.
What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Deep Survival (Laurence Gonzales) – Led me to consider why we do what we do, and how each of us deals with challenges when they occur.
What’s on your adventure bucket list? Kilimanjaro, Borneo, Antarctica, more Pacific NW climbing
Jeremy grew up on a lake in Minnesota, fishing and camping with his family. He spent three years in Bozeman, MT in college before permanently moving to the West Coast. He met a great group of friends through the Mazamas and our Basic Climbing Education Program, and now he spends most of his free time rock climbing or mountaineering with them.
Name: Jeremy Luedtke
Year Joined Mazamas: 2020
Present-day outdoor activities: Alpine and sport climbing. I recently summited Mount Shasta with Gary Bishop and have multiple ascents planned for the remainder of the summer. I have also been doing more outdoor rock climbing with a great group of people I have met through The Mazamas.
What’s your earliest outdoor memory: I grew up in Minneapolis & my mom was from the north woods closer to Canada. Her family still lived in northern Minnesota and almost every weekend in the summer we would go camping near her hometown and hang out with her family. My earliest outdoor memories were learning how to fish from my grandpa during these trips. He was a cranky old Norwegian fellow who was happiest outdoors and loved to fly fish. While he was always gruff (even around his grandson), he showed his affection by always taking the time to take me on adventures in the woods and teach me about it.
How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? After I moved to Portland, I ended up working with a Mazamas member who was on the Lodge Committee. We would chat at work about getting outside and into the mountains. He told me about the Mazamas, and said I would enjoy it.
As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? Take advantage of the educational opportunities that Mazamas offers, such as the “gym-to-crag” class or the Sunday Skill-Builders, or volunteer to help with BCEP. Most of my friends, and all of my climbing partners are Mazamas that I met through these opportunities.
What activities/situations/people most inspire you? Honestly, it is the instructors and volunteer assistants at Mazamas classes that I take. Personally, I believe that climbing fun & climbing safely go hand-in-hand. The instructors at Mazamas classes have so much passion about sharing both technical skills and safety best practices, that it inspires me to get outside even more.
What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Alpine Savvy, @alpinesavvy. It is both a website and an Instagram account. It is an encyclopedia of climbing knowledge. Definitely a resource that all climbers should subscribe to.
What’s on your adventure bucket list? Easter Island. I know it sounds funny because I don’t think you can do any climbing there, you just walk around and look at stuff. The fact that the island is so remote (the nearest inhabited land to it is 1,200 miles away), and filled with over 1000 giant stone heads is fascinating. Of course, it is also off the coast of Chile, and I heard there is some halfway decent climbing in Patagonia I could do on my way there…
The Mazamas fully embrace the opportunity to publicly support the Bureau of Land Management’s historic effort to address our intensifying climate crisis by improving biodiversity and ecosystem resilience on our public lands. Our current predicament unquestionably demands aggressive action and rethinking fundamental priorities.
We agree wholeheartedly that preserving mature, old-growth forests is essential to any new plan. Not only do these forests store vast quantities of carbon from our atmosphere, but logging activity in these forests instead releases vast, harmful quantities of carbon – and needs to stop now.
These mature forests have shown they are more resilient to drought, insects, and fire, rendering them more valuable than ever. They support countless wildlife and plant species, enhance our threatened water supplies, and help combat flooding and erosion. Saving them from destruction must be a keystone of any forward-thinking and, yes, planet-saving, standards.
We believe much more can, and should, be done to mitigate and even reverse ongoing damage to our public lands. The BLM must continue to decommission unneeded roads. It should greatly limit free-range grazing and transition to rotational grazing wherever possible. The Bureau must work to restore and protect critical wetlands; and focus on biodiversity (rather than monoculture) when replanting/reseeding in deforested or otherwise-damaged areas. While the BLM and other public land managers have long juggled competing priorities of economic, recreational, and ecological interests, at this point there is only one path forward, lest these publicly owned treasures simply cease to exist: Restoration and preservation of environmental health and biodiversity must lie foremost in all planning.
(This was submitted to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning on behalf of the Mazamas)
I am deeply humbled and honored to be joining the Mazamas as your Executive Director, and wish to thank you, our supporters, for your warm welcome, as well as the Mazama Board of Directors, Interim E.D., and staff for facilitating such a smooth and focused transition during this exciting time.
Throughout my 20 years in nonprofit leadership, accessibility and advocacy have been the guiding principles behind increasing both engagement and revenues. On the marketing end, I’m often responsible for developing the strategies that bring folks through an organization’s door for the very first time. If I do my job right, that initial experience generates a spark that then keeps a person coming back for more. As a fundraiser, I’m a fierce champion of our mission and values, always striving to keep members, volunteers, and donors inspired and empowered by our programming and impact. In any nonprofit, acquisition means nothing without retention, and I’m eager to roll up my sleeves on both fronts.
After so many years in the performing arts, joining the Mazamas has the distinct feeling of coming home. A lifelong Oregonian (and a rather chest-thumping one at that), my passion for the outdoors was stoked at an early age. I was lucky enough to have elementary school teachers who valued the natural sciences, and we often learned them in the field. Our classrooms ventured to the Redwoods, where we learned to identify nettles, salmonberries, and banana slugs. We explored the Lava Beds, where, led by “Captain Jack” Kintpuash, the Modoc used their knowledge of the tricky terrain to resist their white oppressors. We watched reel-to-reel footage of Mount St. Helens’ massive eruption while our teachers reminded us that we’d been born among its ashes, and as we learned about lahars, pumice, and obsidian in the shadows of Crater Lake, our young imaginations contemplated what must have been the terrible magnitude of Mt. Mazama’s eruption nearly 8,000 years prior.
These sorts of lessons were also received at home. As a family of six, we camped, hiked, and fished everywhere from Harris Beach to Yellowstone, often spending seemingly endless hours waiting for my dad—an avid nature photographer—to catch up with the rest of the family after stopping to carefully capture the perfect waterfall, tiger lily, or sunset on film. Needless to say, most summer weekends were spent chasing a view, hiking switchback after switchback, exploring wildernesses from Castle Crags all the way up to the North Cascades. The training, discipline, and teamwork I’ve found among the mountains—and as a member of the Mazamas myself—is a powerful reminder that we are all interconnected, and that nature is the ultimate teacher.
As you are all aware, the extensive history of the Mazamas has endowed the organization with considerable influence in the present-day field of responsible recreation. I applaud the membership for taking the important step of revising the bylaws to maintain our standing as leaders while positioning the organization for critical growth. Big change often comes with the discomfort of uncertainty, but so, too, does it come with opportunities for learning; as your Executive Director, I am deeply committed to staying curious and working together to meet the challenges of the future.
Perhaps what excites me most is how our mission to inspire everyone to love and protect the mountains provides so much room for creativity. In making a difference for generations to come, we have many strengths to leverage: our legacy as advocates and stewards; our distinguished role as expert outdoor educators; and, of course, our members, who, with their vast and varied skills, knowledge, and passions, form a mighty corps of ambassadors for the wild lands and spaces we celebrate.
For nearly 130 years, the Mazamas have flourished by staying true to values of inclusivity, collaboration, and sustainability. But we know that America’s outdoor spaces have been shaped by systemic racism, economic inequality, and the erasure of Indigenous history. The Route Ahead depends on forging spaces of belonging in which all of us feel meaningfully represented. Now more than ever our parks, peaks, and public lands are calling on us to dismantle barriers, create positive experiences for others, and bridge cultural, economic, and political divides. The work is exciting, but let’s be clear—it will bework. Lucky for us, the work of a Mazama comes with plenty of play.
Drop me a line anytime—and let’s get out there together!
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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
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!
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.
Born and raised in Baltimore, Md., Koko moved to Portland in 2013. She loves to hike and climb and considers the outdoors a meaningful, meditative space. To her, mountaineering is less about climbing the next big thing and more about showing up to be in supportive community, with curiosity, to have fun, be safe, and find joy in every tiny victory within. She is very passionate about and committed to diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in the outdoors. Inspired by her time in nature, Koko also is an artist who creates many mountain-themed pieces.
What’s your earliest outdoor memory? Biking along the NCR trail from Maryland to the PA border with my uncle during the summer
How did you first hear about the Mazamas, and what prompted you to engage with the organization? My bestie and I got early season permits to the Enchantments in 2016 and didn’t feel equipped to climb Assgard Pass in the snow but seeing everyone attempt it made me want to learn skills to go higher and see more! I found mountaineering during a really hard transitional time in my life and it really helped remind me of my own strength again and find some great community.
As more people seek to recreate outdoors, what advice would you offer them? You belong here just as you are. The outdoors are such a healing space and I want everyone who wants to be a part of that to feel like they belong, because you do. Period.
What activities/situations/people most inspire you? My friends inspire me a lot and many are doing super badass things in the community. Random acts of kindness and wildflower hikes fill up my serotonin stores.
What is your favorite book/movie/TV show/social media account that you follow and why? Ted Lasso- my dad is a soccer coach and it is both hilarious and wholesome and the character development makes my heart swell. Team Roy+Jamie besties forever.
What’s on your adventure bucket list? Trekking inPeru, Tatras in Poland, Mount Athabasca and pretty much anything in Canada, climbing in the Tetons, Patagonia
