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Our Adventure and River Guides
Our adventure and river guides are regarded as among the
best wilderness guides in the business. |
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Authors of definitive guidebooks, creators and directors of
international guide schools, published photographers, and licensed naturalists,
our adventure guides and whitewater river guides have a wealth of experience
and are known throughout the world as among the best in the business. All
Destination Wilderness white water river guides and adventure guides are
certified in First Aid and CPR and fully licensed. They are talented
professionals who have led the way in wilderness explorations and safe
backcountry expeditions throughout the world. Many are natives of the regions
they are guiding, and all bring a wealth of knowledge regarding the environment
in which they are working. Above all else, each guide is friendly, caring, and
a pleasure to be around. We invite you to meet a few of our adventure guides on
this page, and hope you will get the opportunity to share a wilderness
experience with them as well... |
Greg
Smith |
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Greg Smith (shown here showing a guide school
student the ropes) has been a river and adventure guide for nearly 20 years. He
has led first descents on remote overseas rivers, been the head guide on the
most challenging whitewater trips in the world, and helped run our adventure
operations from Alaska to Latin America. He is an accomplished fly fishing
guide and spends each fall sharing first rate fishing trips with guests on the
Rogue river. He has also taught river guide schools for 15 years and in doing so has
helped foster a style of guiding that leaves guests feeling appreciated! What
endears Greg most to guests is his humble, low key approach that makes everyone
feel welcome. In the adventure travel world, Greg truly is a gentle
giant. |
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Kat
Morrow |
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Kat Morrow, pictured here with
her handsome young son Franklin, is the business and office manager of
Destination Wilderness. She brings to work day after day a sense of calm and
degree of caring that is beyond belief. She has a diverse background (she has
been an engineer, traveled all over the place, lived in a car, is a great cook,
and now has a great place in Sisters) and an unbeatably professional and
friendly approach. When you speak to her on the phone or travel with her we
feel you will understand that she wants you to have a great time on your trip
with us, as well as in life in general. She knows our trips, listens to
what you want, and will make sure that your adventure is all that we promise!
Give her a call and enjoy her good cheer! |
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Joy
Gustavson |
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Joy Gustafson is the perfect
name. She brings joy to every trip she works, she is enjoyed by everyone
that rafts with her, and she rejoyvenates us every time we see her. Joy is
a true wilderness enthusiast who is infinitely positive. A sea kayaking guide
in Hawaii in the winter and a Northwest river guide and river lover in the
summer, Joy is easily one of our most requested guides. If you aren't bowled
over by her kindness than you likely will be by her guiding skills. She will
likely leave you with the thought that the world would be infinitely better if
there were only more Joy. |
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Sam
Scharf |
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Sam
Scharf is a role model for the world. He is our operations
manager and river guide extraordinaire. Why and how? First, he has a big heart.
Second, he is as sincere as the day is long. Third, he takes great pride in the
work he does, the family he embraces, and the friends he keeps. And fourth, he
lives life fully with humility and dignity. Sam has been guiding rafts with us
since he was 17. He is older than that now by a few years, and his old soul is
brilliantly matched with his youthful approach. |
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Leo
Durand |
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Leo Durand (on the right) has guided on
rivers in the Pacific Northwest, Scandinavia, and Latin America since the
mid-1980's. Whether rowing through class V maelstroms or leading
Alaska adventure
travel tours on scenic class II waters, Leo's whitewater guiding
experiences have enabled him to become one of the premier adventure guides on
earth. But, as with all those who have shared wilderness adventures with
him, we know that what makes Leo sooooo special is his unmatched kindness,
consideration, and virtuoso guitar and ukulele playing. Leo truly is one of
the most accommodating and gracious people you will ever meet. And mellow.
Perhaps this comes in part from the idyllic life he has created for himself: a
chef in Hawaii in the winter and gourmet river guide in the summer. |
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Nick
Pierce |
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Nick Pierce is a prodigy. He is
young in years, short in tooth, long on experience, and steep in work ethic.
His age belies his experience and wisdom, as he has logged more river miles in
the northern and southern hemisphere over the past five years than a pilot for
Quantas has air miles. Above all else, Nick loves guiding rafts through
beautiful canyons and this affection is contagious. Hardworking (here he is
getting the bbq ready to cook teriaki chicken or steak or some other delicious
concoction...) and concerned about your enjoyment and safety Nick gives us all
great hope for the future of our world!
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Stacey
DuCharme |
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In the winter, Stacey DuCharme (guiding in the paddle raft at the
top of this page) is a registered nurse working for a small Northern California
school district. In the summer she changes into one of the most talented and
friendly guides ever to lead trips down the rivers of the Northwest, which
she has done since 1985. At the end of every trip she works, people leave
knowing that they could not have had a better person to guide them down the
river. What a compliment! |
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