Summer on the River

I kind of fell into it ass-backwards, as far as the guiding thing goes.

I grew up on a farm in Vermont and my parents were doing the same thing all parents do, just trying to wear the kids out by sending them outside. But I really liked skiing and got pretty immersed in it. I went to college to ski and then when I had to choose a major I picked business because it seemed practical. It’s going on fifty years now for my dad growing Christmas trees and I’m trying, as he fades out, to keep the business going.

I was about to graduate college and had no plan. A buddy of mine had guided a season out in Idaho and told me I should check it out. I had no idea how to be a raft guide, but I called the phone number and talked to the guy for about ten or fifteen minutes and he said, “All right, be