Wyatt Baldwin

About a month ago, I stumbled across a group called The Mazamas. More accurately, I stumbled across their web site. They are a “mountaineering education organization” in Portland and organize all kinds of hikes, mountain climbing, snow shoeing, etc.

The thing that got me involved are the Street Rambles. These are two hour walks starting in NW Portland that go to various places in the city. They happen every Tuesday and Thursday from 6-8pm, rain or shine. Don’t be late! There are slow, moderate, fast, and super fast groups. I’ve done four rambles so far, and I feel like I’ve seen more of the city in the past month than I have in the past three and half years that I’ve lived in Portland. We’ve been all over Southwest and into North and Northeast. During drier weather, there are more walks in Forest Park and on other trails.

I’m really enjoying getting out and talking with (pseudo) random people. They are diverse, friendly, and inclusive and there is a sense of community, even if it only lasts for those two hours.

Today I did my first super fast ramble. It was super fun. It was about seven miles of hills, stairs, trails, and interesting neighborhoods. The midpoint of the walk was riding the Portland Aerial Tram down from OHSU (this walk is known as a “Tramble”). It’s like some kind of amusement park ride, and it’s free to go down. The view is spectacular, and the first time was quite a thrill–suspended by a mere cable (a long cable) hundreds of feet up.