My Heritage: Marlene Johanson

Take a hike? You bet—and throw in some skydiving, strength training and camping, too

Climbing mountains and jumping out of airplanes may seem counterintuitive for someone who was afraid of heights and would get vertigo on the Space Needle, but I’ve overcome many of my fears and love the beauty and inspiration each activity provides. In fact, jumping out of an airplane for the first time last summer was the best thing I’ve ever done.

I was a little worried I would back out once it came time to jump, but I didn’t hesitate. I was scared, but I was positive the parachute would open; after all, I was strapped to an experienced guide for the tandem plunge. The views, the adrenaline and the pride when I landed—I think everyone should experience the rush just once.

I did my second jump in midMay with my oldest daughter, 36, who made her first jump for her birthday. Everyone told me the second time is better, and they were right. The views were amazing: beautiful blue skies and you could see from the Olympics to Mount Hood. My daughter did fantastic, and I was (and am) so incredibly proud of her.

I haven’t conquered all my heightrelated nervousness. For example, I keep my distance from ledges when hiking because, unlike being strapped to a parachute, there’s nothing to prevent a fall from a cliff-hugging trail or mountain ledge when on foot. Nonetheless, I love the outdoors with its visual rewards, whether summiting a volcano, like Mount St. Helens (which I’ve done twice), or enjoying stunning views from trails high above the Columbia Gorge. Living in Longview, Washington, there’s so much spectacular hiking and scenery nearby.

My goals are to summit Mount Hood in the next couple of years and to hike all 2,650 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada after I retire. At 60, I’m in the best shape of my life and love being active to enjoy the inspiring landscape that hiking offers.

The older I get, the more adventurous I get.

images courtesy Marlene Johanson

I got turned onto to hiking starting when my husband, Keith, and I would take our three kids, two girls and son who are all in their 30s now, on Sunday drives that might include short excursions to waterfalls or some other attraction. Nothing long or dangerous, of course. After they were grown, Keith and I picked up hiking, doing short treks at Mount Rainier National Park and such. Then I met a group of ladies who like to do longer hikes, about 10 to 12 miles, and I got hooked on the physical activity and beautiful rewards that come with the scenery, especially as my husband’s knees have limited his on-foot adventures.

At my age, I want to ensure I can continue doing the activities I love; therefore, I work hard to stay fit and mobile. Learning that we lose muscle mass as we age, I started strength training at a local gym during COVID, followed by obtaining my certification as a personal trainer and nutritionist. As the pandemic waned, I created a gym in our garage. I include cardio in my workouts, but I focus largely on strength training.

Some of my colleagues or business partners joke that they want to arm wrestle me, but I don’t want to embarrass them. (Just kidding, I love having the muscle tone of someone younger and the accompanying good health.) I take no medications and my doctor said I’m as healthy as a 40-year-old. I’ll take it! I work out daily Monday through Friday, try to do a fun hike or other physical activity during the weekend and take one day to relax.

I get up at 3 a.m. during the week, have my coffee and enjoy some quiet time. A friend comes over at 5 a.m. and she and I do our training circuit in my garage until about 6:30 or 7. Then it’s off to work at my Heritage Bank office in Longview. I usually go to bed between 6:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.

While Keith’s knees don’t allow big climbs, we do love to kayak and camp. Anything I can do to be outside, especially on summer weekends, rejuvenates me. Keith and I do one weeklong camping trip each year with another couple where we tent camp off a forest road near one of the Cascade peaks—we’ve done Mounts Adams, Rainier and St. Helens—and go completely off-grid. Our “unplugged” trip this year will be in the Olympic Mountains.

I’m not afraid to rough it. When I first started doing it, I thought, “You want me to do what?” But I enjoy it. Going off-grid for a week, no computer or phone, just resets my internal clock. It’s great.

We also own a camp trailer and Keith and I will take it on weekend getaways or longer if time allows.

I can’t imagine not being mobile as I get older, so I’m motivated to keep active and fit.

At work, I keep moving as an assistant vice president-commercial banking officer for Heritage, a job I’ve held the last three years. I also worked 20 years with Heritage on the retail side, then went to another bank for a year before returning to Heritage for my current role. The bank encourages community involvement, which I love as a longtime resident in this area. My involvement includes serving as treasurer on the board for the public TV station KLTV. I’m also the past president for the United Way of Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties and am the current president of the LongviewKelso Chamber of Commerce board. Previously, I served on the Longview Pioneer Lions helping raise money for scholarships and people in need.

I love giving my time to those agencies and nonprofits in the community and feel like I’m making a difference for people. Heritage supports that kind of involvement, which is incredible.

About Marlene Johanson

Marlene Johanson is a commercial banking officer at Heritage Bank in Longview, Washington. She works with business customers to find financial solutions to meet their goals. Her experience in small business lending, branch management and consumer lending gives her a solid foundation to help her customers succeed.