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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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Mick
Ingram |
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Mick Ingram lives to work outdoors. In the
summer Mick is a trip leader on the Rogue river rafting and
Klamath river
trips, personably and professionally leading trips down these
beautiful wild and scenic rivers. Mick is now raising a family (see Kat and
Franklin above) and driving a tractor backhoe as well as a raft. He says
what matters most is that whatever he is riding needs to just be steady and
have a relatively low seat. So a tractor and a raft both work. Mick is a
soft spoken diplomat who spins funny tales and honed jokes. Be sure to ask him
about his Norwegian relatives from the old viking days! |
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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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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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Erika
Wasner |
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Erika Wasner has a story to
tell, but only if you ask. You would never guess, given her humble and
soft-spoken style that she has: a) spent several winters on an old wooden boat
leading trips in the Antarctica; b) worked in Holland at a wooden boat builders
shop; c) travelled across the U.S. in her truck by herself about 30 times; and
d) led world-class adventure trips and Pacific Northwest rafting trips since
1995. In a word, Erika is friendly. In two words she is very friendly.
In a lot more words (which she is not prone to uttering herself unless you ask)
she is one of the most caring, genuine, and down to earth people you will ever
meet. |
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Jon
Eisenberg |
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Jon Eisenberg ("Jon-EEE") has a
unique perspective on the world. This may come from his east coast big city
upbringing or his travels to distant corners of the world in search of ....you
will have to ask him just what it is he is searching for. Jon EEE loves to
guide rafts down fun and wild rivers and brings a tongue-in-cheek humor to the
river every day. Hardworking, concerned about your enjoyment and safety,
and always trying to get a laugh (even with jokes that take a while to
absorb...in some cases years) Jon EEE's Boston born style leaves us feeling
comfortable and confident and we are guessing you might feel this way too after
spending time with him in a raft.
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Caitlin
Burns |
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Caitlin Burns (guiding in the
back) will trick you. Her playful exuberance and boundless energy show how
young at heart she is and always will be. But watch out, because she is an old
soul, filled with wisdom, caring, and a sense of responsibility that typifies
her grandparents' generation and belies her years. This beautiful paradox is
what gives us pause. Caitlin truly is a source of pride and wonder. We are
infinitely grateful for her being a glue that holds us together and for the
love and concern she brings to the river. If the world was left in her hands
it would be a much better place. |
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Jonathan
Nussbaum |
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Jonathan Nussbaum is one in a million. He is
dedicated, hardworking, safety conscious, very friendly, and has a tender
heart. For a couple of years it seemed his main goal in life was to spend more
time running rivers than sleeping. One year he rafted and kayaked over 180
days, in the Pacific Northwest all spring, summer and fall and in Australia all
winter. Since getting married and starting his own photography business Jon
will likely cut back on some of his guiding. He says for us not to worry about
his skin going through withdrawals due to a lack of moisture, as he plans to
take more showers given he will have much more time on land. His bride will
likely be happy about his tidying up too .
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Jason
Himick |
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Jason Himick, as pictured here,
is apparently the most stress free person this side of the Rockies. Being a
river guide is the perfect fit as Jason always seems to be able to go with the
flow. However, this does not mean that he doesn't work hard to make sure
you are having a great time. It's just that he does it with a calm and quiet
determination that is essentially pressure free, even when in the middle of a
whitewater maelstrom. Come to think of it, the most pressure he has ever put on
anyone was to have another fresh piece of warm chocolate cake he brilliantly
bakes in a Dutch oven at a pristine riverside camp. "C'mon", he will politely
plead, "just one more little piece."
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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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 2606 SW 58th Redmond, OR 97756
 Toll Free 1-800-423-8868 Phone (541) 923-3836 Fax (541)
923-9680 email: info@WildernessTrips.com
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