Community Partners: Trailmix

A Sisterhood of Stewards

Inspired by its leader, Trailmix gives back to the Gorge.

By Laura O. Foster

On the trail, Debbie Asakawa likes to lead from behind. After an introductory trailhead talk to a group of hikers, she hangs back and lets others discover the wonders ahead. As founder of the 200+ member women’s outdoor group, Trailmix (TMX), her style is to let the Gorge reveal its wonders, and to mentor others into joining her as one of its champions and stewards. She also serves as board vice-chair for the Friends of the Columbia Gorge.
 
Debbie's enthusiasm has made her one of the Gorge’s most effective advocates, both on the trail and as co-chair with Gwen Farnham of Friends' successful Preserve the Wonder campaign, which acquired and preserved 470 acres of land on the Washington side of the Gorge.
 
“My hope for TMXers was to give $100,000 to the campaign. I made them aware of opportunities to participate…it was more about creating awareness than making an ask,” Debbie notes. “TMXers are passionate, deeply appreciative, and they value their experiences in nature, whether it’s a difficult hike or a birding adventure at Steigerwald.”
 
The response from Trailmix members was overwhelming. “One woman gave the most she’d ever given to a nonprofit to Friends. Then she gave that same amount two more times. Others did too,” Debbie says. Some members held house parties; others led hikes and promoted Preserve the Wonder’s conservation goals. By the end of the 14-month campaign, TMXers had given more than $250,000.
 
Pam Davee, Friends’ Director of Philanthropy, has been in development for more than 20 years and says Trailmix is extraordinary, “I felt like they were our teammates; to see their cohesion and enthusiasm made me feel the campaign’s goal was very achievable. With them, my enthusiasm never flagged. It’s unique that we have such a committed group so in love with the Gorge and inspired by their leader.”
 
Most Trailmix members are over 50. Like Debbie, they are at a point where they have more time to explore, and are ready to give back. Many are mentors and leaders in their own right—volunteering with Friends as trailhead ambassadors, hike leaders and shepherds, and in the youth education program; they also sign up for work parties on public lands. With Debbie as Trailmix’s founder, they have a mentor whose leadership is founded on her unquenchable sense of wonder for the Gorge, a place she explores 100+ times a year, in every season.
 
“I see the Gorge as the Milky Way laid down on earth, with limitless possibilities of big and little ‘stars’ to explore: the towns, the museums, the trails, the people, the forests, the waterfalls, the rocks, the moss, the grasses, and the wide sweep of wildflowers, each made up of individual exquisite blooms.”
 
Metaphors aside, Debbie says simply, “I let the Gorge speak for itself. My goal is to mentor people into a responsibility to give back, not just to enjoy their hike. And TMXers have a strong sense of responsibility to pay it forward and be stewards.”

Laura O. Foster has written eight guidebooks about Portland and the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Her work has been featured on Oregon Field Guide, Oregon Art Beat, and AM Northwest, and in Portland Monthly, Willamette Week, the Portland Tribune, and The Oregonian. She has been an Oregonian since 1989.

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