Crossword Genius

Hiker, person walking past river (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rambler

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'hiker' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'person walking past river' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'river' could be 'r' (abbreviation for river) and 'r' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ambler' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rambler that I've seen before include "Trailing climbing plant" , "who's not heading for the point" , "Presumably one goes on" , "Hiker" , "country activist" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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