Our Adventure and River Guides

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!