Owner, Operator, and River Guide
What is a river? Water. Plants. Animals. Currents. A glint of sunlight. The reflection of sky. The ripple of a merganser landing on a still pool. Bunchgrass growing in the shade.
What is a river trip? A journey. An adventure. An inspiration. A physical engagement with nature and its profound beauty. A potentially life-changing experience. It is all of these things for me.
My river journey starts long ago. Before I could walk, my mother would take me to swim the American River and its tributaries. They inspired me. They nourished me. They got into my blood. We moved for a while to the salty waters of the ocean, but I liked to play in the creeks, missing the twisting passages of freshwater streams. We returned to the California foothills when I was 10-years-old. This time I fell in love with the gentleness and warmth of the Cosumnes Rivers. I passed summers staring into clear water where living creatures stared back at me.
At 20-years-old, I paid for a rafting trip with co-workers. I had forgotten the nourishing waters of my youth. I was seeking success in the city under the glimmer of fluorescent light. Fortuitously, and quite randomly, I had booked a trip with River Runners. I rafted the Chili Bar section. A connection was made that day, but many decisions refused my return to that spiritual home.
In the year 2000, at the age of 22 I started training to be a river guide. It awakened in me such madness and mirth. When I fell out of the raft, when I engaged in conversation with guests, when I swam rapids, when I cooked for busloads of happy folks, when I sat in the sun for 6 hours guiding down the Gorge, it was the only place I wanted to be. It felt real. It felt like home.
Here it is, well over two decades later, and I haven’t missed a summer. I have worked as a river guide all over the country and the world. I have dedicated much of my life to the exploration of river canyons. I have taught many guides old and new how to engage and inspire others in a dangerous and beautiful environment. River running is an art for me. I thrive in an ever-changing environment. Every day is different. Every trip is different. And there is always a new chance to learn and improve, despite the wealth of my skill.
Look for me on a rock in the middle of a blue-green river, or next to a class V waterfall pondering my fate, or making a fire for some curious youngsters. I am here ready to help you challenge yourself and fall in love with the river and the journey.