RIVER RUNNERS GUIDES

John Kosakowsky

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, 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 challenger yourself and fall in love with the river and the journey.

John K.

Kyle Brook

Hello,

I have been guiding on the South Fork of the American River since I was a teenager. I grew up in Lotus playing and swimming in the South Fork with family and friends. I learned how to skip rocks on this river, and now I am currently training to break the world record of 88 skips set by Kurt "The Mountain Man" Steiner in 2014. Outside of my training regimen, I do land survey work, play volleyball, and ski. Every summer I return to be a River Runners Guide because the experiences I have with guests and co-workers are always special, fun, and truly unique. I am very interested in the history and geography of the South Fork and I believe rafting trips can both bring groups together and give guests the experience of a lifetime. I have rafted on many rivers, and constantly seek to expand my exposure to the beautiful raft-able rivers of the world, but I have always found the South Fork of the American to be a very playful and fun river unlike any other. I have always been proud to be a River Runners guide because of the way our guides raft and treat guests. My goal is to make each river trip a unique trip tailored to the interests and needs of each group I take, and River Runners has allowed me to achieve this goal season after season.

This upcoming season I hope to push the limits of what fun can be had on the South Fork. I will be striving to create visible confusion on the faces of passing guests and guides as they wonder how and why my guests ended up hilariously stuck somewhere, covered in natural paints, and/or fully submerged in whitewater.

All the best,

Kyle

Chris Wilson

Chris grew up in a rural part of Northern California. He graduated high school in the early 80’s. His father required him to start a career (as was normal in those times), so he applied to Clown College. He was accepted, educated, and sent out into the world to provide his zany mix of punk-rockism and goofiness. He traveled the world as a professional clown. First he went to work in Italy, where he lived in a boxcar for two years. Then he bought an old Hearse with a few other circus folk and they worked the trade in the United States. Eventually, Chris settled down and decided to ride a push bike from Northern California to Southern Mexico and back. That took him a few years (truly). Somewhere on that trip he tried to build a house deep in Copper Canyon. It’s complicated—you should ask him some time.

In or around 1996 (Chris isn’t sure), he went to guide school. His first trip he was tricked into guiding Troublemaker, and he fell out along with his father. Nothing bonds a future river guide to his future job more than falling out and taking his family with him. In the ensuing years, Chris guided all over the United States, including Arizona and West Virginia. He is a very skilled river guide who can guide class IV trips and also spend 7 hours on the Gorge with 2 guests (he’s done it more than once). In fact, the only time he got in trouble with management in the 2021 season, he ended an afternoon express trip at 7 pm. His guests begged management not to penalize him. They were mostly successful in that request.

Chris Wilson is described by one of his best friends as “a quality human being.” We concur. Most people who meet Chris wish they had known him all of their life. He’s patient, kind, humorous, and determined. We hope you get to meet him too.

Scotty Scheu

I grew up in the forested hills of the Georgetown Divide, and didn’t mix much with wacky river folk until I got my first job down in the Coloma valley at a local pizza joint. My boss took us on a staff rafting trip near the end of summer, which was a big mistake because I quickly realized rafting was way more fun, and so I signed up for a guide school. It’s been 20 years and thousands of river trips since then, but I’m still just as excited and wonderstruck by the process of exploring river canyons as ever. 

What is it like to raft with me? What type of person am I? That is a complex question that in this moment I can only answer with this vignette: I had a dream one night that I ate a strange and wonderful sandwich, just an absolute triumph; it had brie and butter, pears and black walnuts. I decided I needed to make it a reality. I didn't know where to buy black walnuts, but I knew of an abandoned orchard where some were, so I went and picked through the tall grass beneath the trees on my hands and knees to get them, and I filled a large sack that I could barely carry back. I gently and painstakingly crushed the shells with a sledgehammer until I had enough for my sandwich. I gathered the rest of the ingredients, made, and finally ate, the sandwich. It was meh. And now I had all these messy black walnuts still unshelled. I threw them unceremoniously into a gully by my house. The next day, I was staring out at the river, pondering my failure, when I heard a grinding sound in the tree next to me. I scanned the canopy and saw a squirrel holding one of the walnuts, seemingly in a blissful trance, staring at me and shaving down the shell with it's sharp teeth. As the days and weeks passed I saw more squirrels around my property had discovered the walnut treasure trove and were noisily shaving down shells all around me. I began to take great pleasure in hearing them munch at all hours of the day, and seeing them get fatter and shinier, staring adoringly at me like I was their sort of nutty god! My sandwich was not a failure after all!....

Anyhow, self-reflection maybe isn't the most accurate way to describe oneself. Here are a few things other guides and guests have said about me over the years that have stuck:

“Yer gonna flip the boat…” These were some of the first words spoken to me by my instructor on my first day of guide school as I flailed frantically trying to steer the raft during a rainy high-water Spring day. To be fair, he was right, but that long cold swim made sure I’d always respect the power of the river going forward. 

“You know all the plants along the river!” No, there are two that I have not identified, and they haunt my dreams.

“You make us something called ‘guide-trash lasagna’ and my mouth is somehow watering.” Don't worry, I don't make this dish for guests. As guides we often live on leftovers of the meals we cook for guests. I love that guiding has pushed me to live simply while still being able to create elevated experiences. 

“You’re the only guide I know that will paddle upstream to get to work.” This is true, the best wildlife is seen early in the morning on the river. Plus, I only live a half mile down river, so why not?

“I like that after the end of rafting season, we go on a really long rafting trip.” One of my guide buddies pointed out how we’d just worked from April through October doing commercial trips with guests, and yet here we were going in for some more rafting afterwards. This was the first time of many to come that I admitted my river running fanaticism to myself.

“You’ve been rafting for 20 years? Doesn’t it ever get old?” No, the people that you work with as a guide are generally quirky, curious and fun to be around, and rivers are so naturally beautiful and awe-inspiring; playing around in them is a timeless experience.   

Elena Szlemp

I grew up rafting in Central Oregon, mainly on the Deschutes River, and it quickly became my favorite thing to do. I would make sure to do it at least once every summer, even once I moved to California for college. While in college, a friend told me and a couple of other friends about her experience guiding on the South Fork of the American River. I knew I was always interested in raft guiding and this conversation inspired me (and my friends) to sign up for guide school. We had signed up for River Runners guide school under our friend’s recommendation. At the very least, we expected a fun week of rafting, but I fell in love with the South Fork and River Runners. A focus on enjoying the whole river - including cliff jumps, natural whirlpools, and the rapids - was what made River Runners special. Every day on the river since has been a blast with River Runners.

Remington “Remy” Cox

Remy has been running rivers as a South Fork guide since 2015. He loves all things balance and coordination related, from riding motorcycles to surfing and snowboarding to strumming the guitar. Having traveled and lived in more than 25 countries, he would love to guide your next river trip in Chinese or Italian (Encouraged for guests searching for a wilder river trip.) Despite Remy holding the title of "The Hairiest River Runner," many rafters mistake Remy for John, which is perhaps the highest form of flattery he could receive. A composer and performer of original songs, you can find his many musical projects on the web. But rest assured, he won't be quitting his day job anytime soon.

Scott Rist

Scott became a river guide by a series of peculiar events (which you will probably hear about one day if you meet him).  He is a proud alumni of the River Runners guide school in 2011 and since then has never really looked back.  He has guided both day trips and multi day trips running just about every type of strange and oversized boat imaginable in California, Oregon, and Idaho.  After being knighted an honorary Kosakowsky, he has had the great privilege of running many of the world class rivers all over California with his river family.  He is back in his hometown of Placerville to get back to his favorite river in the world…the South Fork of the American.

Kyle Ingles

I was born and raised thirty minutes from Coloma and started rafting on my local rivers back in 2010. Over the past twelve years I have rafted and inflatable kayaked all over California, Oregon and Colorado. Eventually I quit my job as a millwright to become a full time professional river guide back in 2015. On the river I like to show my guests the exciting parts of rafting if they are up for it, like surfing and taking big lines. When I am not rafting or inflatable kayaking I like to explore the cool places where I live by hiking and backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Emily Peters

I was born and raised right here in El Dorado County and I started rafting on the South Fork of the American River around the age of 11 or 12 with friends that had an ancient Avon bucket boat. My first experiences rafting were terrifying and exhilarating and even though I was so scared of the river, I never turned down an opportunity to get out on the Gorge whenever I could.

As I entered high school, I drifted away from rafting and threw myself into academic pursuits, though I still got out on the river on occasion. After high school, I needed a job real bad and I took a job as a cook at one of the rafting companies on the American River. I fell back in love with rafting that summer and knew I had to become a guide as soon as possible.

I started guiding in the summer of 2015, and never looked back. Even when nursing school forced me to step back from full-time guiding in the summers of 2019 and 2020, I still managed to wedge in days here and there on the river.

I met my husband, Wiatt, on the river in 2016, and we got married in 2019 after many days of working and playing together on the South and Middle Forks of the American River. We now have a beautiful baby girl born in October of 2021 named Lorena Lotus, after the place we fell in love.

No matter where I go or what I do, the American River always calls me back and I'm never happier than when I'm waking up at the crack of dawn getting ready for another day of adventures in the Coloma valley.

Wiatt Peters

I've spent most of my life working and playing on the rivers and lakes of the Central Sierra. I spent my childhood summers fishing, snorkeling, and gold mining in the San Joaquin canyon and winters skiing in the mountains that fed that river.

As I entered the workforce, I spent my winters grooming the slopes at China Peak and summers working on a marina at Shaver lake. The first time I went rafting was on the Tuolumne River in 2012. In the fateful spring of 2013, I bought a one-way ticket to Hawai'i to become a zipline guide, but island fever got me within months.

I came back to California without a plan for the summer. My friend suggested I join a guide school on the American River, and the rest is history. I've now spent hundreds of days rafting rivers all over California, but the American River has become my home.

I now permanently live just 10 minutes from the South Fork of the American River with my wife, Emily, and our daughter Lorena. When I'm not skiing or rafting, I like to pan for gold in the local creeks and rivers, work with my beehives, and introduce my little daughter to my favorite places here in El Dorado County and in the mountains where I grew up.

Do you think you have got what it takes to be a River Runners guide? Check out our guide school! Or look at our employment page for job opportunities.

HALL OF FAME

JOE T

The sign posted on the job board at Cal State Northridge read: “White Water Guides Wanted, No Experience Necessary”. In October 1977 as a college freshman, I attended River Runners’ first ever guide training on the Kern River.

All 12 of us were from Los Angeles and had never been rafting before. It was a cold and rainy day. One of the guys had a wet suit; the rest of us wore flannel long sleeve shirts, wool socks, hiking boots and Levi jeans with our bathing suits underneath – it made sense at the time. After a lengthy orientation by an ex-drill sergeant who told us to cuss at our crew when things went wrong, we were issued Mae West life jackets and wooden paddles. It was a difficult day as the blind led the blind – there was lots of cussing.

The next April we headed north 400 miles to the South Fork American River for a 2-day training trip (River Runners’ 1 st commercial trip was the following weekend). We put in at Camp Lotus in the morning and took out at Salmon Falls at dusk. The day was filled with a wrap on Fowler’s Rock, multiple swims, broken paddles and lots of cussing. Back at camp we fashioned a rock-rimmed fire pit, lit charcoal then put in foil-wrapped potatoes. We placed a diamond-pattern metal grate on top where we cooked chicken and steak. Dinner was served at 10pm.

As the 1 st outfitter to bring customers from Southern California, River Runners began booking multiple weekend trips. I tagged along as a paddler during the next two weekends helping with the equipment, preparing food, and learning how to cuss at adults. Out of sheer necessity I was deemed a professional river guide before our 3 rd commercial trip. My first day as a river guide I had multiple swimmers, broken paddles, wrapped on Fowler’s Rock and cussed at my crew … just like I was taught.

After a few years of commuting back and forth from LA to the South Fork - seeing rocks, panicking, then running into them - I eventually became a decent guide learning how to “go with the flow”. In the spring of 1983 I moved to Lotus and have been here ever since. I married Gina in1988 and we had kids who eventually became professional river guides … just like their dad. Well sort of. They had proper training from skilled instructors, use modern equipment, employ kind-hearted customer service and they couldn’t imagine in their wildest dreams cussing at their guests. They’ve taught me well.

Love one another, have fun, go rafting,

Joe T

Daniel Jenkins

Hello, I have been guiding on the American river for over 15 years now but my history with it goes further back than that. At a young age I learned to swim in this river. After spending many years exploring the side creeks and swimming the river, I finally got into a raft. Since my beginnings on the American River, I went on to explore and work on rivers across America and the globe.

Like the salmon that go out to sea and return years later to the same river bed, I keep returning. When it comes to the South Fork American River, I have rafted it all: from the headwaters sliding down steep granite faces where the change from creek to river happens to the lost river bed under Folsom Lake. I see the river as my back yard and I am always looking to share it with others.

On the river I like to channel the muse of the Rodeo Clown. You will see me dressed up in all sorts of styles and colors playing around having a jolly time. Just as the clown puts on a show in the pen with a Raging Bull, the dangers of the river are always on the top of my mind. People might say rafting is in my blood, my 3 brothers and 3 sisters have worked on the river, at some point over the years for River Runners.

Welcome, catch you on the... upright side.

Sarah Vee

I was born in the Riverland, South Australia where the wide and slow Murray River winds its way through the low mallee scrub. I never thought I was adventurous but adventures kept finding me, and I always seemed to have the courage to see where life would go if I just said “yes”. There are many miles, driven, flown, cycled, hiked, and rafted behind me now, and they led me here to Placerville, California.

I went rafting for the first time nearly a decade ago on a class 5 section of the Tully River in Queensland Australia. In 2012 I went to guide school at River Runners and over the following years, my relationship with the river cemented into something inextricable from my personality.  The excitement, the peace, the fun, the athleticism, and the tranquility of whitewater rafting are just so intoxicating for me.

After working at River Runners for a couple of years, I ventured out of the cocoon to dip my toes in other rivers and other ways of guiding, but nothing really compared to the freedom and satisfaction I felt guiding for River Runners. I love watching people forget themselves on a long Gorge day and I love teaching little girls how to skip rocks when moments before they didn't believe they could. What I really love is that working as a guide at River Runners feels like an adventure, of course, we are going to go down river, we are going to eat lunch and run some fun rapids but the rest, well that is just up to you, and my courage to say "yes".

- Sarah Vee