Tales of a dirty female river guide
How to keep spirits high when you’re getting beat-down I was 5 days into hiking the Wonderland trail, a 93 mile loop that circumnavigates Mt. Rainier. My friend Alia and I planned to complete the trail in 9 days, so we were just over half-way done and stoked about the prospects of actually finishing the… Continue reading Surviving the Sufferfest
Between raging whitewater, harsh weather, and the existence of possibly every poisonous critter imaginable, there is no doubt that rivers are a dangerous place. So, naturally, river guides are highly attuned to danger. Most of our job involves mitigating risks on the river, from knowing every rock and wave that might flip our boat, to… Continue reading In-tune or Ignorant? The danger of escaping to the outdoors
I first entered the whitewater industry the summer after my freshman year of college as an unassuming, 120-pound, 19-year old woman. As you can imagine, this is not the typical demographic for river guides -- an occupation that is dominated by big, burly, self-assured men. Right off the bat, I was intimidated by this macho-charged… Continue reading Overworked and Undervalued: the survival story of a female raft guide in a macho industry
Looking down at Snow Hole rapid my heart is racing. I have pulled over above one of the class IV rapids on the Lower Salmon River with three coworkers and a group of 15 guests. Standing on the rocky shore, we scout our line down the rapid. 15 people, I think. That’s 15 people to… Continue reading The Worry Warrior: inside the mind of an anxious raft guide
If you have ever been on a guided raft trip, you may have noticed that your guide always seems to have an answer to any question you ask. This may come as a shock, but the truth is, we don’t know nearly as much as we let on. Although we have years of experience and… Continue reading Just Around the Bend
