Guide Hi-lights

Hello world, my name is Kyle, and I just started working at the Phoenix office of Arizona River Runners, though I've been taking trips down the Colorado River with ARR since I was a young kid. Sometimes I would go with my family, sometimes with my friends and later in my life I began working on the trips as a Swamper (assistant guide). Many times I've gotten the question, "what is there to do on a raft all day?".  First, you need to know that Arizona River Runners provides trips with thrilling whitewater and accesible hikes that lead you through canyons that might be expected in the Amazon, but are really just a couple miles off the river. These things are happening all the time down there, but there will be times when you're sitting on our 35ft S-Rig raft in the middle of mile deep canyon with flat water all around. Have no fear! Our guides are not only extremely knowledgable in geology, anthropology, botany and southwestern history, but they are also natural born (or maybe they figured it out) entertainers.

Our charming guides are hard at work to keep you safe and well fed, as well as sharing with you captivating anecdotes of daring adventurers and even the occasional cheesy dad joke (sympathy laughs recommended). If you have never heard the stories of John Wesley Powell or the adventures of a wild and wonderful eighty year old woman who wore leopard print and a helmet as she led people through the whitewater, then you're in for a trip! The Colorado River has so many nuances and history behind its grandeur that you can miss it, if not for our experienced and wise Grand Canyon guides to enlighten you on what makes the Grand Canyon so grand.

Post your own guide stories on our Facebook wall at www.facebook.com/ArizonaRiverRunners

At Arizona River Runners we would like to wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Safe New Year!

Thank you to all who traveled the Canyon with us in 2012, we hope to see you soon.

If you haven't taken a rafting trip in the Grand Canyon for a while - or ever, call us we'd love to have you on a whitewater trip in 2013! 1.800.477.7238.

As the 2012 rafting season is in full swing, we would like you to meet our guide - Julie Clinton!  Leaving law behind, Julie has been a guide with Arizona River Runners since 2007. Say "hello" Julie...

"Naturally, as a young kid growing up in Arizona, I wanted to get out, go where there were mountains, where it was green and where it wasn’t 120 degrees. Then as life always does, it taught me a lesson. In 2003 I took my first trip down the Colorado River and fell in love with the brown and red desert for life.  Naturally, finishing school with a Pre-Law degree, I went into Guiding River Rafting Trips, and have been going at it strong since 2007. Nothing brought a greater sense of adventure, laughter and the unique gift of meeting and learning from wonderful, fascinating people than being down on the river watching the experience change peoples lives as it is continuously doing to mine. It’s truly an education that can’t be taught in any classroom.  With a little bit of time in between the seasons I often find myself in another country exploring the culture and terrain it has to offer."

Book your river rafting adventure with Arizona River Runners - who knows - Julie just may be your guide! 1-800-477-RAFT (7238)

For over twenty years National Park Service (NPS) personnel and commercial river guides have joined together on Co-operative Resource trips in Grand Canyon National Park.  These trips began as volunteer opportunities for river guides to give back to the valuable natural resources of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon, and a way for guides to interact with and get to know the NPS employees that actively manage the resources.  According to Mark Pillar of Arizona River Runners, the long-time Colorado River outfitter began participating in Co-operative Resource trips in 1991, donating their facilities and equipment year after year and drawing in guides from other river outfitters.  Pillar says, “Over the years, these trips continued and evolved to give each outfitter a chance to outfit and actually pay their guides to participate.  Although the funding and acronyms may have changed, the spirit of the trips remained the same – Grand Canyon outfitters and guides working alongside NPS personnel for the greater good of the Grand Canyon River Corridor.”

Maintaining a pristine river corridor is an ongoing effort in the Grand Canyon.  Grand Canyon rafting guides actively work on a daily basis to minimize their passenger impacts during the rafting season, but with the help of NPS, they are given the opportunity to give back to the resource by actively managing the impacts that occur over time by commercial and private boaters.  Work on Co-operative Resource trips may involve improvement of river trails, campsite and archaeological site stabilization, social trail obliteration, invasive plant removal or archaeological site monitoring.  Joining with NPS personnel on these restorative missions fosters camaraderie, understanding and the chance to interact one-on-one to manage the Grand Canyon’s natural resources.

In February of 2012, Arizona River Runners completed a 19 day Co-operative Resource trip focused on archaeological monitoring over 226 river miles from Lee’s Ferry to Diamond Creek.  Six Arizona River Runners guides ran the boats and logistically supported a crew of 7 NPS archaeologists and an NPS hydrologist.  Over 170 archaeological sites were monitored over the course of the trip.  Planning for the trip began months ahead of time in order to create an itinerary that would allow the archaeologists to meet their goals efficiently, as well as mapping out the logistics of food and gear required for the cold weather trip.

As a participant in the Colorado River trip, Pillar says, “This trip has given our staff a firsthand knowledge and insight regarding specific areas in the Canyon along the river corridor, and how these sites pertain to Native Americans.”  He points out there are hundreds of sites throughout the Canyon that have historical and present day ties to the Hopi, Navajo, Paiute, Zuni, Havasupai and Hualapai tribes, and visiting the sites with NPS archaeologists gave the river guides a deeper understanding of the physical and cultural sensitivity of these sites within the Grand Canyon.  “The cooperation and sharing of skills and information gave archaeologists and guides alike a great appreciation for each other and the commitment to the Canyon that each group possesses,” explains Pillar.  “This Co-operative trip was a complete success, thanks to NPS personnel and the guides!” 

For information on Grand Canyon rafting trips, call Arizona River Runners at 1-800-477-RAFT (7238).

Going on one of Arizona River Runners whitewater trips this summer? Wondering who your guide will be? Maybe it will be Tyler.

We would like you to meet our Grand Canyon rafting guide Tyler Reber...

"My name is Tyler Reber and I was born and raised in Flagstaff, AZ. One of my best friends took me on my first Grand Canyon river trip in 2007. I fell in love with the place and decided on that trip I would do whatever it took to get a job.

Sometimes life is all about being at the right place at the right time and I started working at the end of that summer. I feel like I have found my “dream job” and I absolutely love sharing this place with everyone that I can. This job and the Grand Canyon have opened up so many opportunities in my life and have showed me that there are so many places to go and things to do in life!"

Tyler's dream job lets him travel the globe during the off season, and this fall he will return to NAU to complete his degree.

See you Canyon river rafting! 1-800-477-RAFT (7238)

We start our season this month with mixed feelings - excited for another thrilling season of white water rafting, all the while missing a dear, dear friend.

At Arizona River Runners we get the question "what do your guides do in the winter? What do they do when they aren't guiding a whitewater trip?" Well here is what one river guide did this off season...Read Kelly's story.

"I started out as a river guide while I was still in college.  White water rafting was a really fun way to fill my summer and save up some money to be able to make it through another winter in school!  Once I graduated, I joined the ranks of true seasonal workers.  I love having a seasonal job because it allows me a lot of creativity when I answer that typical college graduate question, “now what?”  I have all summer to dream up a way to spend October through March.  I have a job waiting for me every April and each winter can hold different plans from the last.  I let my creativity run wild, dream up where I’d like to try living, what type of work I can find, what playing and traveling I want to squeeze in and can afford, and I go forth!

My boyfriend Tyler and I met our first year working at Arizona River Runners in 2008.  We have been dating, and running the river ever since.  Last winter I graduated from Northern Arizona University in December.  We strapped our backpacks on and headed for Taiwan, Thailand, India, and Nepal for the next three months.  We spent most of our savings just in time to come back to our wonderful job guiding river trips. 

This year I was ready for a challenge, a job, and an experience.  And the universe quenched my thirst.  Through a simple internet search I found a listing for an internship that made my ears perk up.  To make a long story short, Tyler and got the 2 internship positions and we’re now working for a nonprofit organization called Citizenship Counts.  But, we don’t sit in an office and commute to work each morning.  We sit in an RV, Tyler sits on a bicycle seat for 50 miles at a time, and this is our office as we are interns on a cross-country journey. 

Dr. John Eckstein and his wife Diane Eckstein are board members of Citizenship Counts who decided to raise awareness and funds for this fairly young organization they’d like to really see take flight.  They wanted help; they needed “guides” if you will, so they hired us.  John is biking and walking a total of 3500 miles along the way.  Tyler leads him on a 50 mile bike ride about every other day.  We’re the logistics people.  We plan the route, the stops, RV parks to stay in, where to safely ride 50 miles on a bike every other day, we capture video and photos of the journey, and we cook dinner for our newfound road family. 

There is a team in the Phoenix office of Citizenship Counts which deals with the really tough planning.  They coordinate with schools, United States Customs and Immigration Services, and the district court systems to plan naturalization ceremonies that students attend in culmination to studying about good citizenship.

We began in San Diego and we’ll end in New York City June 6^th.  We will bear witness to 12 naturalization ceremonies, and maybe by the end I’ll be able to watch one without getting all weepy.  We are learning more about being good guides as we help John and Diane realize their dream of this journey.  And we, ourselves, are thrilled by this US adventure.  We’ve soaked up the salty San Diego sunshine, we’ve felt small in the vast magnificence of Carlsbad Caverns, we’ve watched pigs race, and a chick hatch from its shell (not simultaneously) at a Texas rodeo! And we’ve already been privileged to watch over a hundred people’s American dream become reality.  

We’ve got just over 2 months left on the road.  We will fly back to Arizona June 9^th and be at Arizona River Runners warehouse June 11^th for our first whitewater trip of the 2012 season.  This is a heck of an adventure but it’s impossible not to always look forward to another season in the white water rafting in the Canyon!"

Above photo: Kelly and Tyler with President Bush at Texas A & M for a naturalization ceremony

Call Arizona River Runners and book a white water rafting trip with Kelly as your guide!

River Guide Thea Lander has been guiding ARR whitewater trips since the summer of 2011 - say hello to Thea..

"Growing up in Germany, I had never seen the Grand Canyon until I was 16 years old.  Needless to say I was blown away by its "grandness".  I moved to Flagstaff in 2008 and at that time my older sister was working as a hiking guide in the Canyon; I started hiking with her on a regular basis just for fun. In 2009, I was able to guide my first GRand Canyon river trip - and that was it for me!

Being in the Grand Canyon is a life changing experience.  I have become a more positive, open-minded and appreciative person.  The Colorado River gives me a feeling of excitement and at the same time tranquility and freedom.  The Grand Canyon and the wonderful people I have met on river trips have changed my outlook on life, I hope to be inspired by the Canyon for the rest of my life."

Besides white water rafting and hiking in the Grand Canyon, Thea has a degree in Social Work. She enjoys any type of outdoor activity from skiing to exploring trails around Flagstaff and Sedona. She loves running all rivers and is currently honing her kayaking skills. 

Meet Arizona River Runners guide Joe Pollack. Joe has been guiding folks on whitewater trips with Arizona River Runners since 1994! Enjoy his story!

"I have been fascinated by the Grand Canyon since first visiting in the eaarly 90's and have been hooked by rafting the Colorado River since 1994.  I've had the privilege to be a participant on many different types of trips--archeological, geological, trails and vegetative work trips, biological survey trips, as well as commercial trips for fun--and find it amazing to see something new on every single adventure down through "The Big Ditch."  I am pleased to be able to represent Arizona River Runners and share with folks any of the human and natural history to which I've been exposed.  Come on down!!"

Meet Arizona River Runners guide Chelsea Atwater, she's been "running" the Colorado River for over 6 years now with ARR. 

"My first Grand Canyon river trip was in 2002.  As often happens, that trip forever changed my life.  I've been devoted to working in the Canyon ever since.  Every year I fall more and more in love with the Colorado and it's Canyon.  Each trip is a new and exciting experience!  There is so much to learn, so much to do and see.  I love the people I work with - and I love the people I work for!  I feel so lucky!  In my time off I’m obsessed with rock climbing!  I also love traveling and exploring other rivers and other kinds of boating.  Just remember – "go with the flow!"

Its amazing where people find love, in Paris, at the grocery store, even on a Colorado River Trip!

A Grand Canyon river trip with Arizona River Runners seems to work its magic on people from all walks of life.  The Grand Canyon has an effect on visitors from all over the world, even if they only walk from their car to the rim to snap some photos.  Imagine how immersing yourself for days in the depths of that awe inspiring natural wonder could work its way into your psyche.  The simple decision to take a vacation could truly change your life. 

For Moira Winter, seizing the opportunity to take a Grand Canyon rafting trip in her early 20’s led her on a path she never would have imagined as she prepared to climb into a raft for the first time over 30 years ago. “Did I just pay all this money and I’m going to die?” she thought.  Winter was no newcomer to travel and adventure, but had to convince herself that she was prepared for a different kind of experience. “The guides go down the river, come back, do it again and again and again,” she reasoned.  “So it must be okay.”  Winter says she experienced “an adventure beyond anything I expected or could have hoped for” and from that adventure, made the river her home.  She happened to marry that guide, Arizona River Runners owner Bruce Winter, and ran the river with him for years. The couple incorporated the inspiring energy of the Grand Canyon into their everyday lives as they raised a family, and today their two grown daughters work the river as well.

Happy Valentine's Day from Arizona River Runners!

Arizona River Runners' Guide Bianca Aiken tells us her feelings when hiking the Grand Canyon.

I have hiked down to the Colorado River from the rim well over fifty times. I'm not bragging, it's not an impressive feat, it's just time in the Grand Canyon which is always a blessing. I have hiked out of Grand Canyon enough to notice a trend, there's a certain anxiety that overcomes me with the inevitable butt kicking effect of those last thousand vertical feet. No matter the season, (fit in the summer, out of shape in the winter), it is always an effort. I persevere - one step after the other. I call them "zen steps" where I meditate, let each step just flow like water and my mind float somewhere above. I breathe easy, take little sips of water and it seems my heart beat slows to the rhythm of each footfall.

There are times I partially close my eyes and breathe deep, still walking, and it never fails, as the rim becomes closer and closer, as my journey begins its ending, a bittersweet wave floods my heart. I 'm never ready to walk back into "rim world."At the top I start planning the next trip to the Canyon. I feel a peace that comes with good hard exercise. I wonder what would happen if I just turned around and went back home. I think about the mac & cheese, or the burgers and fries; and I always turn back to the vastness of our glorious Canyon. While tourists excitably push around to get their memories, I give thanks and blessings for being humbled once again by this beautiful wonder.

So when you are on your Grand Canyon raft trip, look up, see the cliffs, the horizon, the birds floating on the currents. Take advantage of the off river hikes offered. This is an amazing place, with niches and secrets, beauty and adventure.

Call Arizona River Runners. We have Grand Canyon raft trips with hikes in and out of the Canyon, letting you experince it all! 1-800-477-7238.