Ashly
Raft Guide
Echo Staff & Guides
Zach
Raft Guide / Equipment Manager
Chloe
Raft Guide
Acie
Raft Guide
McIver
Raft Guide
Matt
Raft Guide
Berto
Raft Guide
Suzy
Raft Guide
Mickey
Raft Guide
Alfredo
Raft Guide
Mack
Raft Guide
Lauran
Raft Guide
Thor
Shuttle Driver
Jesse
Raft Guide
Ben Sack
General Manager
Joe
Raft Guide
KK
Raft Guide
Red
Raft Guide
Charlie
Raft Guide
Sage
Raft Guide
Spencer
Raft Guide
JC
Raft Guide
Michelle
Office Staff
Max
Raft Guide
Bill
Office Staff
Ken
Shuttle Driver
Sunshine
Raft Guide / Multi-Day Coordinator
Krysta
Raft Guide
Jac
Raft Guide
Jered
Raft Guide
Pat
Raft Guide
Alec
Raft Guide
Andy Neinas
Owner
Addie
Raft Guide
Don
Shuttle Driver
Alex
Raft Guide
Amanda
Raft Guide
Blake
Raft Guide
Boomer
Raft Guide
Brown
Raft Guide
Collin
Raft Guide
Craig
Raft Guide
Josh
Raft Guide
Devon
Raft Guide
Freddy
Raft Guide
Fed
Raft Guide
Gerj
Raft Guide
J.C.
Raft Guide
James
Raft Guide
Jenny
Raft Guide
Fry
Raft Guide
Kurt
Raft Guide
Lex
Raft Guide
Courtney
Raft Guide
Mike
Raft Guide
Rachel
Raft Guide
Ricky
Raft Guide
Ryan
Raft Guide
Stephen
Raft Guide
Truelove
Val
Raft Guide
Skip
Raft Guide
Will
Raft Guide
Joel
Raft Guide
Ashly
Raft Guide
Hailing from Humeston, Iowa, Ashly trained with Echo back in 2009 and is now one of our trainers. She went to school in Humeston, and then ventured on to massage therapy school in Des Moines. Ashly owned her own business in Humeston, doing massage therapy for four years. After having a handful of random jobs she is now back in school for physical therapy. Ashly first went rafting in high school and has been hooked ever since. She has been guiding the Arkansas for 8 years and would love to raft her whole life. Ashly’s favorite section would have to be the Royal Gorge, which can be challenging but still incredibly fun and beautiful; and she loves sharing this beauty with the guests on her boat. She has been fortunate enough to run the Grand Canyon section of the Colorado twice, which will always hold a place close to her heart. Ashly also enjoys running, hiking, biking, cooking and spending time with her family.
Zach
Raft Guide / Equipment Manager
Born and raised in Cañon City, Colorado, Zach, is one of our 4th year guides. He was drawn to raft guiding by the simplicity the life has to offer. Zach feels it was the river that made him want to guide, and his love for the water inclined him to share that love with the people he takes down each day. Sunshine rapid in the Royal Gorge especially entices him, how it constantly changes with so many different lines hidden in its whitewater. Zach compares summer to an adult playground where occasionally you don’t even know what day of the week it is. He explains that the real world doesn’t exist here and guiding provides us the opportunity to give others an escape from their daily grind. No matter what, as a river guide, you have to be able to let everything else go. He says, things will happen but you have to keep going just like the river, just like life. “Ain’t no time like river time!”
Chloe
Raft Guide
Chloe from Tuscon, Arizona is a 5th year guide. Before guiding on the Arkansas she spent time guiding in Oregon, California, Idaho and Washington. When Chloe was six years old she met a guide named Amy on a rafting trip through Gates of Lodore. She describes her as short but strong and it left an impression so lasting Chloe herself was inclined to be a guide. She refers to a quote “no man steps in the same river twice” explaining how, as a guide, we may do the same thing everyday but the river has a character of its own. We meet new people and a new river everyday and then have to solve its riddle. Chloe says after this she’ll probably end up downstream, who knows what life has in store next!
Acie
Raft Guide
Acie aka “pretty eyes” comes all the way from Moberly, Missouri. He attends St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, and is studying Leadership. Acie grew up on the water, mainly fishing, in Southern Missouri, and always wanted a little bit more; which inspired him to come out and be a river guide. His high school soccer Coach, Chris Buckman, worked with us here at Echo for many years and motivated Acie to come out and do the same! He loves hitting munchy holes and being able to look back at the gradient of the rapid to see what you’ve just conquered. Acie also enjoys the team aspect of rafting, coaching your paddle crew and working with people who are likely novice to rafting in order to make it down the river together. He hopes to ultimately guide Class 5 and oversees, and he idealizes Sunshine, another one of our guides, who he describes as the brother he never had.
McIver
Raft Guide
McIver came to us 13 years ago from Boston, Massachusetts. He might have stayed in Boston if they hadn’t kicked him out for being too Redneck! McIver has seen the Arkansas more than the average person yet he still sees and loves the fact that the water changes everyday. The river, as McIver knows it, is a different river every time you run it. He plans to run for President in 2020, and can say “beer” and “thank you” in seventeen different languages, what more could you need! Although the river is a huge reason McIver comes back year after year, it’s really the family that he has at Echo that brings him back, it’s home.
Matt
Raft Guide
Matt is a Cañon City native currently working at Cañon City High. He teaches US history, wood shop and coaches football. He just finished up his 18th season on the Arkansas River, making him one of our most senior guides! Matt especially enjoys the massive waves that inhabit the Royal Gorge during our high water season, and come low water season he fly fishes his way through the sheer cliff walls. He enjoys other rivers in Colorado as well including: the Animus, the Blue, and of course the Colorado River. In his free time you’ll almost always find Matt outside, skiing, fishing, mountain biking or spending time with his wife and dog.
Berto
Raft Guide
He’s been guiding rafts for 30 years! That’s not a typo, folks; thirty years of guiding experience! There’s no place he’d rather be than rafting the Royal Gorge with a paddle crew. This summer he’ll surpass 2500 raft trips under the Royal Gorge Bridge. As Berto says, “It just keeps getting better every year.” Believe it or not, he has other interests aside from rafting. He enjoys going for hikes with his dog while camping in the Canon City area, and during the heart of winter he heads to Arizona where he and his parents search out and map Native American ruins. He’s also an avid reader and makes weekly trips to the library to feed that passion. He’s a talented and very knowledgeable senior guide and we feel fortunate to get to boat with him.
Suzy
Raft Guide
After 9 years of being a raft guide Suzy still finds solace and excitement working on the river. She started on the Pigeon River in East Tennessee and since then has guided on the Gauley, New, Russell Fork, Ocoee, Chattooga, Tallulah and of course the Arkansas. If you couldn’t already tell Suzy is passionate about rivers, but she is passionate about people too, and brings a Tennessee flare to each and every one of her rafting trips. Aside from rafting she enjoys travelling the country and seeking out new rivers to conquer with her trusty hound dog Louie by her side! When in doubt you better believe Suzy is somewhere out there chasing mountains and rivers… and if you’re inclined to look, start at the Gauley, it holds a place close to her heart.
Mickey
Raft Guide
Mickey, from Oxford, Ohio is a 2nd year guide. She goes to Miami University and is studying sustainability. Mickey came out to the river to learn how to read the water, live closer to nature, her friends and the community. Mickey feels rafting allows her to help encourage the appreciation for nature with the people riding in her boat. Her long term goal is to stay working on the river and do wilderness therapy with at-risk youth on outdoor expeditions. Mickey enjoys doing yoga, mountain biking, anything outside really! She has recently been studying the medicinal and edible plants in this region of Colorado and loves sharing this information with her guests.
Alfredo
Raft Guide
Alfredo is from Beaumont, Texas. He currently attends Lamar University, is a member of the University Cheerleading team and is ultimately pursuing a career in nursing. Rafting has been a passion of his ever since he went for the first time with his Boy Scout troop almost 12 years ago. Now Alfredo is one of our trainers here at Echo! One fun fact is that he is fairly fluent in Spanish! So if you want to come rafting but are more comfortable in that language have no fear! In his free time he enjoys fishing, cycling, working out and Disney movies.
Mack
Raft Guide
Ben or “Mack” as we know him, is a 5th year guide with Echo. Originally from Muskogee, Oklahoma, he inherited his nickname from his Grandpa Mack, whom he spent much of his childhood looking up to. Mack grew up on the Arkansas River, although it wasn’t until 5 years ago that he found himself on the Colorado section of it. He grew up water skiing, dirt biking, wakeboarding, and fishing… anything fast paced and outside really. Mack attended Oklahoma State University and majored in Geology. He knows an incredible amount about the geological features of the river; it can be quite enchanting listening to him explain the billions of years the river has spent whittling away at the rocks surrounding it, leaving its story there for anyone willing to read it. Mack clearly is at home in any kind of water, finding solace in its constant evolving nature. The rush, the change, the challenge, all keep him coming back for more while simultaneously keeping his mind open to other places to travel and other rivers to run.
Lauran
Raft Guide
Lauran, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, became a river guide as a fun way to spend summers while studying art in college. The 8 seasons to follow allowed her to realize that rafting is her joy and passion Lauran loves being able to take someone to a place in nature that they wouldn’t be able to experience on their own. She describes it as a gift that she gets to share with people, opening their eyes to the natural wonders our country holds. Lauran spends her winters in Winter Park, Colorado, snowboarding and teaching preschool at the Early Education Center. In her spare time she enjoys drawing and painting and even has some pieces hanging up in the local coffee shops in Winter Park!
Thor
Shuttle Driver
Thor has been here at Echo longer than any other CDL driver – 22 years! He’s known for his impressive backing skills and his awesome handle bar mustache! He’ll always volunteer for the longer drive assignments and he can’t wait for the next river season to start. Thor lives in Canon City, drives also for Fort Carson, and is a proud Dad and Grandpa. We hope he sticks around Echo a long time.
Jesse
Raft Guide
Jesse is originally from Snowshoe, WV and found Echo Canyon on a late night whim while searching the Internet for a way to spend a summer in Colorado. The first day of training was his first time rafting yet he instantly fell in love with the water, the canyons, the other guides, and the state of Colorado. This summer will be his 10th as a raft guide. Since 2006, Jesse has guided all sections of the Arkansas River as well as the Gauley and New Rivers in WV. He has taken many private boating excursions with some of his favorite being the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, Burnt Ranch Gorge on the Trinity River in California, and the Upper Youghiogheny in Pennsylvania. In addition to rafting, Jesse skis religiously at most of the Colorado resorts and in the back-country. He currently lives in Boulder, CO where he is finishing his last semester of the University of Colorado MBA program.
Ben Sack
General Manager
Ben is the General Manager of Echo Canyon and began working with us here at Echo in 1994 as a first year raft guide. We just can’t seem to get rid of him! He keeps busy at Echo with staffing, marketing and social media, but his favorite part of the job is guiding rafts with guests like you. Why does he keep doing it? His response: Why would you want to stop having fun on the river… and get paid to do it! What’s his favorite section of river to float? The Royal Gorge, of course. His home town is Omaha, Nebraska, and has lived in Canon City for the last 8 years. In his free time he and his wife have a photography business which keeps them busy. And in his free free time he likes spending time with his wife, two sons and furry canines. Ben feels very lucky have been able to take so many wonderful rafters down the river, and also that he gets to work with a great group of people.
Joe
Raft Guide
Joseph Vercellotti is a 3rd year guide with us at Echo. Originally from New Hampshire, Joe spent last winter working for Ski Patrol in Park City, Utah. Not only does Joe enjoy shredding the gnarliest lines on the snow but also on the river. Rafting entices Joe because sometimes (a lot of times) you get to go places that you can only get to on a boat; the Royal Gorge being a prime example. Aside from being remote the Gorge also creates a draw for Joe by virtue of the spectacular scenery and adrenaline pumping rapids. Joe hopes to, in the future, raft all the Colorado 14ers! Why raft with Joe? He will tell you a tale of the van he used to live in and comfort you with his safety talks.
KK
Raft Guide
Kristen, or “K.K.”, as we know her, is from Temple, Texas. K.K is a 7th year guide here at Echo canyon and currently teaches 8th grade science right here in Cañon City. She studied environmental science and international studies at Texas A&M. K.K. came to the Arkansas River to get outside and spend more time in Colorful Colorado. Her favorite part of working on the river is being with like-minded people, and having fun! K.K. especially enjoys the scenery of the Royal Gorge and the world-class whitewater that flows through its spectacular landscape. Her hobbies include travelling, skiing, running, and spending time with her dog Ollie.
Red
Raft Guide
Red is a 3rd year raft guide from Omaha, Nebraska. Yes, Red is a nickname and you know, I’m not sure we even know what his real name is! He attended Regis, graduating with a degree in Environmental Studies. When Red isn’t rafting you can find him hiking, climbing, skiing, or backpacking! His favorite part of rafting though, would have to be the constant changing nature of the river, in addition to the people he gets to meet from all over the world!
Charlie
Raft Guide
Charlie, a 3rd year guide from Miami, Florida, attended Florida State University and graduated with a degree in Sociology. He was inspired to be a River guide on his very first rafting trip on the Inn River in Austria while on a backpacking trip through Europe; after which he knew he would be a raft guide. He came to Colorado to train with Echo because he had read so much about our superior safety standards and intensive training. Charlie loves rafting because of the challenges it presents. He is a huge chess fan and it turns out you can use many of the same skills in both avocations. Both rafting and chess require you to think several moves ahead, if your opponent unravels the puzzle before you, you lose. Charlie enjoys exploring these challenges. He is also passionate about Political Science and skiing and spent last winter living and working in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Sage
Raft Guide
Sage is a 2nd year guide from Waco, Texas. She was 14 the first time she went rafting and actually fell out of the boat in Widowmaker rapid through Brown’s Canyon! Despite the less than ideal first time rafting she was still drawn to the river. Sage says it’s the friends that make rafting great. The relationships that develop over the summer make it something you want to come back to year after year. Sage is perhaps one of the biggest Lord of the Rings fans you’ll ever meet; and she hopes to one day raft in New Zealand (just so she can see the shire). She enjoys hiking, her friends, her cats, and a recently discovered aptitude for juggling! If you want a new friend and a hug you should come raft with Sage!
Spencer
Raft Guide
Spencer, a sixteen year river guide, is an eccentric renaissance man, artist, painter, illustrator, poet, playwright, actor, writer, director, MC, photographer, and all around creative whirlwind. Spencer is also an accomplished Eagle Scout, mountaineer, chocolatier, rock climber, mountain biker, snowboarder, skier, and whitewater ninjedi lunartic. He works out of B.A.T. Studios (Bohemian Artisan Tribe Studios) in downtown Cañon City, Colorado. Spencer is always hard at work and play.
JC
Raft Guide
John Crockett, aka J.C., aka Grandpa is a man of many nicknames (so he must be pretty cool, right?). J.C. grew up rafting and always knew that he wanted to be a raft guide, so he came down to Canon City as soon as he could. Now, a typical day for J.C. begins at sunrise with a cup o’ joe and some reading, followed by a trip or two down the river, and ends with a possible afterhours rafting trip through the Royal Gorge (his favorite section of water). This winter, he’ll be heading back to Colby College where he is pursuing a degree in Biology.
Michelle
Office Staff
Michelle is our most experienced reservationist at Echo Canyon. She’s worked here since 1996! Michelle can help a guest with questions and complete a phone reservation faster than the average raft run through Sunshine Rapid (average Sunshine run time is 16.9 seconds with a light breeze and average river flow). Okay, maybe we’re exaggerating a little, but she’s pretty fast! She’s a teacher at RE-1 School District when not at Echo. She also likes to travel, spend time with her niece and she’s a huge fan of anything Disney.
Max
Raft Guide
Max started working at Echo selling our rafting photos, but talking to all of the guests and seeing their exciting pictures drove him to try his hand at guiding a boat. “This has been the best summer ever!” is what he has to say about his decision. He loves that he is now a part of the big happy family here. When he’s not on the river, you can find him cooking, reading, or shooting his bow (sometimes all at the same time). Max can’t get enough of Colorado, though, so he’ll be returning to Winter Park this winter to be a snowboard instructor.
Bill
Office Staff
Bill will rejoin us this summer working in the office helping guests plan their trips, and he also is one of the photo sales reps. He grew up in Aurora, Colorado, but has lived in Canon City for the last 27 years. He loves biking, watching cartoons and more than anything he enjoys spending time with is wife of 26 years and his 3 kids. He says it’s rejuvenating for him to work here; all of the guests are excited and pumped for rafting and the staff is great to work with. In the off-season he teaches 3rd grade at Washington Elementary in Canon City. Next year, you’ll see him a bunch at our photo counter since he loves that part of the job! Give a shout for Bill or if he helped you make your rafting reservation this summer.
Ken
Shuttle Driver
Ken is one of our trusty and skilled Shuttle Drivers. He grew up in Williamsburg, Colorado, but has traveled around a bit. He worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for 10 years, then moved back to Colorado and worked 5 years with the Cañon City P.D., and finally spent over 20 years working for the Department of Corrections. He now drives school busses for RE-2 School District during the school year. In his spare time he enjoys fishing and hunting.
Sunshine
Raft Guide / Multi-Day Coordinator
Sunshine, from Detroit, Michigan, has been a river guide for 11 seasons now. Sunshine does much of our overnight raft trip coordination and finds it provides him the opportunity to really bond with his crew. Multi Day trips are unique in their interpersonal nature, not only do you get to spend all day rafting together, but you also get to know one another off the water. Sunshine studied outdoor education at Fort Lewis College and since then has done an impressive amount with his rafting career. Aside from the Arkansas he has guided on the New, Gauley, Dolores, Colorado, and Gunnison rivers. Last season Sunny accompanied a group of scientists on a 30 day, 385 mile trip down the Maranon River in Peru. There are 20 dams proposed to be placed on this section of river which is the main source of the Amazon River. These dams could have a severe impact on not only the river but many other ecosystems and livelihoods of those living on this river. Sunshine was not only a guide on this trip but a major part of the movement to keep this river free flowing. Last winter Sunny was a back-country ski guide in Oregon; this winter he will be moving to Queenstown, New Zealand to be a guide on the Shotover River!
Krysta
Raft Guide
A local of Canon City, Colorado, Krysta has been guiding with Echo Canyon for the past 6 years. She mixes it up in the off-season; currently she coaches gymnastics but soon she’ll head to Winter Park where she works as a server and gets in some time on the slopes. Krysta also enjoys travelling the world when she can. Her most recent trip found her in Costa Rica. But she always loves coming back home to the Colorado summer and the ever changing Arkansas River to challenge her with her paddle crews.
Jac
Raft Guide
Jac, a 2nd year guide from Columbus, Ohio, studied Social Work at Capitol University. Her mom took her on her first rafting adventure down the Gauley when she was 16 and ever since she was hooked. Jac’s favorite part about boating is being able to improve her boating skills day after day. Although her favorite river is the upper Gauley, she is also fond of the Royal Gorge and hopes to be a Gorge Guide on the Arkansas before moving onto other rivers.
Jered
Raft Guide
Jered, yet another Cañon City local, is an 11th year guide with Echo Canyon. He attended CSU Pueblo and studied engineering. It was actually Jered’s older sister who got him into rafting, she worked at Echo for three years before him, which sparked the interest in Jered to join the river family. His favorite part of the Arkansas is the Royal Gorge, the waves it contains and the smiles it puts on people’s faces when they get soaked head to toe. Jered enjoys hiking, backpacking, hunting, fishing and being outdoors in general. During the off-season Jered works as a snowmobile guide in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Pat
Raft Guide
Pat is a 2nd year guide originally from the Czech Republic, currently living in Chicago, Illinois. He attended Dominican University and studied Environmental Science. Pat truly loves rafting, not only the teamwork aspect but also the fears one must face, the learning/adapting, the constant attention you must pay to yourself and your fellow patrons, and of course the ever changing water. Pat’s dream is to build a tiny house, travel the US, live off the grid, perhaps one day even cultivate a small farm. Not only does Pat speak three languages: Czech, Spanish, and English, but he can also make impressive bird noises. Pat hopes to run the Grand Canyon at some point in his river adventures.
Alec
Raft Guide
Alec is from Cañon City, Colorado. He is a 4th year guide and currently taking time off from school in order to pursue other passions. Alec loves being on the water because it is different everyday; no matter what, the river is constantly changing. Being on the river also allows him to spend more time outdoors rather than being cooped up in an office. He hopes to guide on other rivers in the future although he is uncertain as to where. It’s especially difficult given the fact that there are so many choices, and it’s hard to leave a place as wonderful as the Arkansas River! This winter Alec plans to work in Breckenridge, Colorado, on the mountain while continuing his dedication to fitness and living a healthy lifestyle.
Andy Neinas
Owner
Andy is our fearless leader and owner of Echo Canyon. He grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and started guiding rafts while in school, just like a lot of our guides today. Now let’s not do any math on his age, but he’s been working in the rafting industry for the past 26 years, the last 12 of which as owner of Echo. He’s very active and dedicated to the industry as a whole, involved in the Colorado River Outfitters Association, Arkansas River Outfitters Association, Pikes Peak Country Area Attractions and Colorado Springs Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, just to name a few. He absolutely loves floating rivers (he picked the right profession, right?), and he gets on the river every chance he gets. He and his wife, Karen (who gets to be featured here soon enough), have 3 kids who all play a role in the business as well. They love being able to raise their kids in the fun environment of a rafting company. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with family. All of us here at Echo feel fortunate to work with Andy.
Addie
Raft Guide
From Birmingham, Alabama, Addie is a 2nd year guide here at Echo. She attends Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania and is studying Biology. Addie started guiding after she went down the Ocoee with her friends and knew that guiding was what she wanted to do. Her favorite part about guiding is the people, being able to be on the river and surrounded by the Rocky Mountains everyday, no views like that in Alabama! Addie will be studying in Panama this school year and hopes to run some rivers while she’s there! “Though she be little, she is fierce!”
Don
Shuttle Driver
Don worked for the federal government for 22 years, retired, and then he realized that he’s not very good at being retired. So he got his CDL and started driving buses for Echo Canyon in the summers and for the school district the rest of the year. Before and after work, Don enjoys riding ATVs, checking out old ghost towns, and visiting his four daughters.
Alex
Raft Guide
Alex, otherwise known as “Silly-bones”, is a 2nd year guide at Echo Canyon. He is from Peachtree City, Georgia, and came out to Colorado to raft the mighty Arkansas River. Alex graduated from Wittenberg University with a bachelor degree in geology and hydrology. In his free time Alex enjoys baking cookies with his Dad, or playing the mandolin in his van. His favorite part about rafting is all the new people he gets to meet everyday and the process of making a team out of the crew in order to make it down the river. Alex dreams that one day he will be known world wide as the Pioneer of the Bighorn Sheep Canyon. Eventually he would like to visit Australia and see if the rivers flow upstream… just in case. He also wants any and all to know that his best friend is Ricky.
Amanda
Raft Guide
Amanda is a 1st year guide from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She attended the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and studied Journalism and Communications. Amanda decided to become be a river guide to try something different, see a new part of the country, and take on the challenge of white water rafting. She had actually never seen a mountain before coming out to Colorado! Now that she has a better grasp on how to read water Amanda has her eyes set on rafting the Menomonee River in Wisconsin, which is the only river you can raft there. Amanda hopes to become a high school teacher in the future in addition to expanding her river expeditions.
Blake
Raft Guide
Blake is from Battle Creek, Michigan. He loves to camp, be outside, and has always been into water sports. Blake works at a bike shop and loves to mountain bike. Aside from fixing bikes he also enjoys snowboarding. This winter Blake will be in school part time while continuing his work at the bike shop.
Boomer
Raft Guide
Max, or “Boomer”, as we know him, is from Boston, Massachusetts. He attends The University of Massachusetts and is currently studying Turfgrass Science and Management, History, and Political Science. Boomer hopes to one day own his own landscaping company and continue his work as a Firefighter in Boston. He loves to have GT’s (Good Times) with his pals, and it was actually his friend Fed who inspired him to come to the Arkansas River. Boomer’s favorite part about the river is crushing all the big waves! Despite what some may think he is wicked smahht (insert Boston accent)! When he isn’t in Colorado, chances are you can find Boomer by the Charles River, loving that dirty water. Go Pats!
Brown
Raft Guide
From Georgetown, California, Brown has guided an impressive amount of rivers. Aside from the Arkansas, he has spent time on the Colorado, Barron, Green and San Juan rivers. Brown went to Prescott College and studied Adventure Education. For the non-profit “After Cool Outdoors” Brown takes 7th and 8th graders down Black Canyon and the Grand Canyon every year. Last winter Brown was a river guide in Australia and this winter he’ll be working as a snowmobile guide in California.
Collin
Raft Guide
Colin is from Denver, Colorado, and went to CU Boulder. He graduated with a degree in Ecology and Environmental Science. Colin first rafted when he was 18, down the Green River with his High School graduating class. He loves being outside and around nature. Colin’s favorite section of the Arkansas River is the Gorge through the narrows due to the technicality and beauty it holds. This past winter he worked for Beaver Creek Ski resort and will do the same this winter. Colin loves the rush that both rafting and skiing provide.
Craig
Raft Guide
From Akron, Ohio, home of LeBron James, Craig is a 2nd year river man with us here at Echo Canyon. Last winter he taught history at Northwest High School in Ohio. Craig loves history; he feels the greatest thing about it is that it’s made everyday. His favorite historical event just might be the Cavaliers 2016 NBA Championship run, we aren’t sure we’ve ever seen someone more excited! Craig enjoys rafting because he gets to crack jokes with the boys while also crushing big waves. Eventually he dreams of going down the Grand Canyon and the Congo River. Craig also wants to eventually visit all the National Parks, he has already knocked out 17 of them! DOWN WITH THE DAMS! FREE THE RIVERS!
Josh
Raft Guide
Josh is a 1st year guide from Cañon City and is going to be a freshman at University of Colorado, Boulder. He trained at the beginning of the 2016 raft season and enjoyed having the opportunity to be on the water everyday. When training at Echo we spend a substantial amount of time swimming and cultivating the skills to flip boats over that occasionally capsize. Josh found this component of training to be especially exhilarating! Travelling will likely be a big part of Josh’s future; until then if you’re lucky enough to have him as your river guide you’ll see that he has the biggest dimples on the Arkansas River.
Devon
Raft Guide
Devon spent the last five years guiding on the Pigeon and Ocoee Rivers in Tennessee, and joined us this season for her first on the Arkansas. She is from Newport, Tennessee, and is going to be a senior at Tennessee State University in Johnson City. Devon is currently studying sports and leisure management with a focus on parks and recreation. Ever since she was young Devon and her family would go rafting and she found herself training to be a guide right out of high school. She particularly enjoys the Royal Gorge and Numbers sections of the Arkansas due to their technicality and beauty. Her favorite river is the Chattahoochee, in Georgia, because of the incredible waterfall drops it consists of. In the future you’ll probably find Devon working in the Parks services while chasing her dream to raft as many rivers as she can!
Freddy
Raft Guide
From Akron, Ohio, home of LeBron James, Craig is a 2nd year river man with us here at Echo Canyon. Last winter he taught history at Northwest High School in Ohio. Craig loves history; he feels the greatest thing about it is that it’s made everyday. His favorite historical event just might be the Cavaliers 2016 NBA Championship run, we aren’t sure we’ve ever seen someone more excited! Craig enjoys rafting because he gets to crack jokes with the boys while also crushing big waves. Eventually he dreams of going down the Grand Canyon and the Congo River. Craig also wants to eventually visit all the National Parks, he has already knocked out 17 of them! DOWN WITH THE DAMS! FREE THE RIVERS!
Fed
Raft Guide
Fed was born in Brazil, lived in Milan, Italy, then at age 11 moved to Philadelphia. He attends Franklin and Marshall College and is studying Neuroscience with hopes to be a trauma surgeon. Fed found himself seeking an escape from his tough academic workload, which landed him right here in Cañon City! While rafting during the day is spectacular, he feels there is something about the after hours evening trips down the Royal Gorge that are incredibly intoxicating. Fed has found a lot of joy in the fact that we can talk about our different views of the world off the river, but once you’re on the water we all strive for the same goal and working towards achieving that goal.
Gerj
Raft Guide
Gerj (we know, sounds like a made up name) joined us this year from Libertyville, Illinois. He graduated from Illinois State with a Bachelor of Science and Environmental Health. Throughout college Gerj was a member of the Gamma Phi Circus, now how about that! He hopes to eventually be an adventure guide, which would allow him to take all the outdoor skills he has acquired to places all over the world. Gerj is particularly drawn to the beauty of nature and the intensity of the rapids the Arkansas holds. He also has a passion for snowboarding, backpacking, hiking, in addition to a deep awareness of being environmentally conscious.
J.C.
Raft Guide
J.C. is from Fort Collins, Colorado, and just graduated from Colby College with a BA in Biology. He grew up rafting with his Dad and Uncle; his Dad was a guide in Brown’s Canyon and J.C. always knew that he wanted to do the same. He had heard great things about Echo Canyon and wouldn’t want to guide anywhere else. J.C. would be on a boat everyday if he could!
James
Raft Guide
James was born in Montrose but currently lives in Flagstaff. He is going to be a senior at Northern Arizona University and is studying Biology with a focus on Ichthyology. James hopes to study marine biology somewhere near the equator. James’s father actually worked here 22 years ago! James has run rivers his whole life but his favorite is the Tatshenshini because it’s so remote, comparable to a wild class 3 run with class 6 consequences.
Jenny
Raft Guide
Jenny goes to Kansas State University and runs cross country and track. She is from Fulton, Missouri, and is a 1st year guide with us at Echo. Jenny had been studying all night and at 3 am in the morning googled cool jobs in Colorado; the rest is history! She loves being outside all day and can’t wait for the upcoming summer!
Fry
Raft Guide
Fry, from Philadelphia, is a 1st year guide. He graduated from Rutgers in 2010 with a degree in Economics. Fry rowed competitively in Philly which influenced him to be a river guide. Last winter he worked with another one of our guides, Red, who convinced him to come train at Echo. Fry enjoys the daily interactions he gets to have with different people everyday. The fluid, ever changing nature of each day, motivates him to ultimately, be a class 5 boater.
Kurt
Raft Guide
Kurt is a 1st year guide from Phoenix, Arizona. He graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in Parks and Recreation Management. Kurt was inspired to be a raft guide after rafting in Canada and New Zealand! He especially enjoyed tackling the challenges of some of the bigger rapids the Lower Bighorn Sheep Canyon holds, such as Spike Buck and Three Rocks. Kurt hopes to eventually work in many countries in an outdoor leadership position. He went backpacking, kayaking, and canoeing with NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) for six months, and knew he belonged in the outdoor leadership community.
Lex
Raft Guide
Lex is from Sarasota and Athens Greece. She recently started whitewater kayaking and fell in love; and from that point she knew she wanted to work on the river. Lex wants to do something that allows her to teach people who don’t normally go outdoors how to be outdoors. Last winter she was in school but is now graduated from Clemson with a degree in Parks and Recreation and Tourism Management. This winter she hopes to chase the summer.
Courtney
Raft Guide
Courtney is a fourth year raft guide and she hales from Tomball, Texas. She keeps busy in the non-rafting season attending school at South Eastern Louisiana University where she loves playing college level volleyball. Courtney is quite good at the sport; she played on a team in Switzerland for a bit last winter and is considering playing professionally after this coming rafting season. Another talent of hers is guiding rafts, of course! Courtney enjoys guiding with Echo because she gets to work outside and share an incredible experience with her crews.
Mike
Raft Guide
Mike is from Baltimore and graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in Business Administration. Mike had never rafted before coming out here and was looking for something to do over summer. He strictly guides the Arkansas now. Last winter Mike was a bartender in Baltimore and this winter he will be moving to Breckenridge. Aside from being a big fan of Kevin Costner or a “cost-nerd” as Mike calls it, he also considers himself a bit of a trailblazer; setting paths for others to follow. Currently 5’ 6 ¾” he is still waiting on a growth spurt.
Rachel
Raft Guide
Rachel is one of our 2nd year guides from Austin, Texas. She enjoys rafting because of the total involvement it provides; not only do you get to be immersed in the outdoors but you’re also surrounded by a lot of good people. Rachel also enjoys all the rocks, she feels content in observing their physical nature as they slowly pass by. These boulders and rocks form all the things that allow us to do what we do as raft guides. In her free time Rachel enjoys making music and is actually the founder of her band “The Twitchy Kittens”. The group predominantly is avant-garde, aka “an experimental noise group”, featuring instruments such as synthesizers or trombones, under heavy effects.
Ricky
Raft Guide
Coming all the way from Orlando, Florida, Ricky is one of our 2nd year guides. He came to Colorado after working as a cook in Alaska, in order to be outside and out of the blazing hot kitchen! Ricky thoroughly enjoys travelling; he has visited many places including Thailand, Japan, Columbia and the Caribbean. Ricky’s favorite part of the river is the noise the water makes, it ebbs and flows and becomes incredibly enchanting. His love for the river has landed him a job in Australia this winter, as a river guide on the Barron River! Ricky plans to continue rafting and travelling in the future, he hopes to eventually run the Rogue River in Oregon, the Ocoee in Tennessee, and the Futaleufú in northern Patagonia.
Ryan
Raft Guide
Ryan or “Ron”, as some know him, hails from Meridian, Mississippi. He attended Ole Miss and majored in Business Marketing. Ryan found himself looking to get out of his home state to see something new and Colorado turned out to be the perfect place to do both! In the future he hopes to check the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Oregon off his bucket list. Ryan’s thick Mississippi accent allows him to connect with his guests bringing a Southern Charm to his rafting adventures. He enjoys hunting, fishing, and outdoor activities in general. This winter Ryan will be heading west to California to work as a snowmobile guide in Mammoth Lakes.
Stephen
Raft Guide
Stephen, a 1st year guide from Muskogee, Oklahoma, attends Oklahoma State and is currently studying Finance and Accounting. He came to raft because he wanted to learn how to read whitewater, once he did he realized how valuable his experience here as a guide has been. Stephen wishes more people knew how to read water, to know why you are where you are at any given moment in time. Someday Stephen hopes to own his own business; until then, he spends his free time hunting and having a good time with his friends.
Truelove
Truelove, a 7th year guide, is from Traverse City, Michigan. He attended Central Michigan University and studied Secondary Education, English and Math. Truelove works as a teacher, and coaches basketball in Loveland at Lucile Erwin Middle School (he would be lying if he said he didn’t like dunking on the middle schoolers he teaches). When he isn’t rafting you can probably find Truelove rock climbing, water skiing, or drinking copious amounts of coffee. The Rocky Mountain National Park is his favorite place in the world, he could spend an immeasurable amount of time there. When it comes to rafting he of course loves all the big waves during our high water season and the family aspect the river community lends. He recently got engaged and hopes to eventually spend time climbing in Alaska!
Val
Raft Guide
Val is from Satellite Beach, Florida, and has been a raft guide for 9 seasons. She loves rafting, fly-fishing and dog sledding. In the past Val worked as a dog sled guide in Breckenridge, Colorado. In the off-season she works as a contortionist with the Barnum and Bailey Circus, she can actually fit into one of our lunch coolers (you’ll have to come on a full day trip with us to really see her do it)! Her favorite section of river is the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River and her favorite rapid is Pillow Rock rapid on the Upper Gauley in West Virginia.
Skip
Raft Guide
Skip, a local to Cañon City, is a 3rd year guide. Skip grew up on the Arkansas River and counted down the days before he could train to be a raft guide. Since training Skip has made some life long friends here, and learned a vast amount about the river. He attends Western State University in Gunnison and when he isn’t studying he enjoys snowboarding, hiking and fishing on the Gunnison River.
Will
Raft Guide
Will went to University of Colorado at Boulder and is from Memphis, Tennessee. He knew that he wanted to be a guide since the first time he went rafting on the Chattooga River in South Carolina. Will particularly enjoys meeting new people each day and having the opportunity to show them the river.
Joel
Raft Guide
Joel is a second year elf guide who is honestly from the North Pole, Alaska. When he first arrived in the lower forty-eight, he spent many of his school days in suspension for writing replies to Santa’s letters. He then became a lawyer. (What’s the difference between a lawyer and a raft guide? You’ll have to ask Joel) He decided to break away from the corporate world of being an appellate lawyer and become a raft guide. In his spare time he enjoys playing the violin and guitar. His latest post-rafting season adventure is traveling in Nicaragua.