# How to become a rafting guide?



## master of disaster (Apr 6, 2009)

Dream Jobs Link

I think you can do it here in colorado at age 18; most companies do their own internal training early season for new hires.


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## islandertek (Apr 4, 2008)

Send my friend Alex a "PM". (screen name: Airborne2504) He just got his cert a few months ago. He'll be able to give you some good info! Good luck!!

Cheers!

-Nick


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## COUNT (Jul 5, 2005)

I've known people under 18 who've guided in Cali (Kern, I think). Don't know the legal logistics of it though.


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## fred norquist (Apr 4, 2007)

wear a Hawaiian shirt, wear chaco's, put lots of ******* and ropes on your safety vest, get a helmet cam so you can helmet cam grizzly to 2rivers, maybe a couple cheasy tattoos, and act like you know EVERYTHING about rivers and safety and ur set.

haha just poking fun


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## UserName (Sep 7, 2007)

Put a Tooth under your pillow


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## BoscoBoater (Jul 11, 2006)

If your in New York, you need to be first aid and cpr certified. There are only 5 rivers that require a guides license. You need to have 5 trips down each river that you want a license endorsement for. After that you can sign up for the test, it isn't to hard. The New York State outdoor guides association has a rendezvous every spring that has all of the classes you need and they also give the test. Here is their website.

NYS Outdoor Guide Association: New York State Guides Adirondack Guides Catskill Guides Central New York Guiding

Here is the New York DEC website. They can answer any questions you have.

Licensed Guide Program - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation

I hope this helps...


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## jmalefyt (Apr 23, 2009)

Do lots of 12oz curls...


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

I believe Shlitz, Turkey legs, no access to soap or shampoo, a healthy appitite for alchohol and possibly the ability to swim are in order...if you have those down you are ready to guide on the Arkansas.


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## Riparian (Feb 7, 2009)

Learn to shower infrequently. Oh, and mastering couch surfing is essential.


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

fred norquist said:


> wear a Hawaiian shirt, wear chaco's, put lots of ******* and ropes on your safety vest, get a helmet cam so you can helmet cam grizzly to 2rivers, maybe a couple cheasy tattoos, and act like you know EVERYTHING about rivers and safety and ur set.
> 
> haha just poking fun



Make sure to also read everything you can on the net. Much better info here than any river guide can give you, they all lie like rugs.


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## Kendi (May 15, 2009)

We do not lie all the time. Occasionally we are brutally honest with each other (as in you gonna drink that crap beer?)

Seriously, to answer the question, look up the companies in your area. Most do guide training in the early spring, then hire from that pool of individuals.

Keep a river log that includes river miles and river hours. This is pretty handy if you want to be hired with a company that you didn't do your training with.

Finally, yep- First Aid and CPR certs (which you already have a a lifeguard) and sometimes a food handlers permit if the company offers food on their trips.

Kendi


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

Kendi said:


> We do not lie all the time. Occasionally we are brutally honest with each other (as in you gonna drink that crap beer?)Kendi


Wow, so there is a place where raft guides can afford something better than pbr...I don't suppose you can actually afford to live inside a building can you?...Here on the Arkansas many are lucky to be able to afford to have gas and beer when they get back to their campsite...good luck on becoming a guide!


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

lmyers said:


> Wow, so there is a place where raft guides can afford something better than pbr...I don't suppose you can actually afford to live inside a building can you?...Here on the Arkansas many are lucky to be able to afford to have gas and beer when they get back to their campsite...good luck on becoming a guide!


What's wrong with PeeBeR?

Good beer where I worked. Now Carling Black Label, or Natural Light or Coors Light or some of the others would qualify as not great, but PBR?


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

Don't get me wrong, I love pibr's...I suppose I should have asked "Kendi" their opinion on crap beer, but I usually think of PBR, Busch, Coors, Bud and any other watered down domestic as crap beer (even though it's what my poor ass is usually drinking)...


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

lmyers said:


> ......... Bud and any other watered down domestic as crap beer (even though it's what my poor ass is usually drinking)...



And then you put the King in there. Good God man. Have you no shame?


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## jmalefyt (Apr 23, 2009)

Have we forgotten Hamm's or Rainier beer?


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## lmyers (Jun 10, 2008)

carvedog said:


> And then you put the King in there.


The "King" huh?...Personally I can't tell much difference between any of them...There are soooo many excellent microbrews around here they completely put Budweiser to shame...but that should be a different thread...


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## Riparian (Feb 7, 2009)

I drank crap beer when I was young. I'm old and expect much more from a brew. Geezer? Yes. Beersnob? Yes.


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## smurf (Mar 8, 2006)

*Trifecta*

Practice the Trifecta. Something we used to do around the bus in Canyon City. That's where you inhale a lung-full of weed, hold it while shotgunning a Nattie light, followed by a slug of whiskey, then exhale. 

God I miss the good ol' days with Buff Joe!


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## Kendi (May 15, 2009)

I'm with Riparian on this. In my youth I drank whatever was laying around, now that I'm a little more worldly- I do have preferences (and none of my favorites come in a can.....)

And to answer lmyers, I do live indoors but camp in the parking lot in my car when working. Can't say the same of many of my co-workers though....


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## Blade&Shaft (May 23, 2009)

smurf said:


> Practice the Trifecta. Something we used to do around the bus in Canyon City. That's where you inhale a lung-full of weed, hold it while shotgunning a Nattie light, followed by a slug of whiskey, then exhale.
> 
> God I miss the good ol' days with Buff Joe!


 
I always called that the 'Strikeout,' definately a great way to either start your evening (or day) or end it. Also a fan of the 'Bear Fighter.' Jaeger Bomb, followed by a Car Bomb, followed by a shot of whiskey. I dare you. Then you'll be prime time to fight a bear. Good stuff.


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## basil (Nov 20, 2005)

Rafting guide sounds cool, but I'm not sure. The river gets old, tourists get stupid, and the pay is lousy. Also, you don't learn any skills for the future. Get a real job instead. How many 40 year olds are out there who wish they had done better stuff with their time when they were young?


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## Kendi (May 15, 2009)

Basil, it IS a cool job but it isn't for everyone. As far as being 40 and wishing I had done something better- hell bells, isn't that what youth is for in the first place? To do all the stupid and fun stuff so when you are sitting in a rocking chair in a nursing home in your old age- you get to tell some incredible stories. Wouldn't trade it for the world! 
And as for the custys- well- they provide loads of entertainment!


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## Demosthenes (Dec 19, 2008)

Hey Smurf you asshole, its called a strikeout. Three strikeouts is an inning. Nine innings is a game. Two games is a doubleheader. Three games is a series. Barfing is a run for the other team. Get your friends together, pick teams and see if you can pitch a perfect game or sweep the series! 

I used to be able to mow down the competition in an inning, the called me "the closer" because at the very end of a game, when everybody is real messed up and doesn't want to play anymore, I used to come out of the bullpen with some serious heat.


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## dugan (May 5, 2006)

First, get rid of any self-respect or dignity you might posses. Next, pretend that every one from Texas you meet is the most interesting person on the planet. Then, learn 5 five jokes and repeat them daily - never learn more than 5. Finally, DO NOT learn how to actually guide a boat.


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

basil said:


> Rafting guide sounds cool, but I'm not sure. The river gets old, tourists get stupid, and the pay is lousy. Also, you don't learn any skills for the future. Get a real job instead. How many 40 year olds are out there who wish they had done better stuff with their time when they were young?


First off the river never gets old. That is the best part of the whole deal. Being paid to be on the water. I guided ( at least part-time) until I was 42 - not a single regret about 15 years in the biz. 

And I decided to pursue experiences instead of money a long time ago. 



dugan said:


> First, get rid of any self-respect or dignity you might posses. Next, pretend that every one from Texas you meet is the most interesting person on the planet. Then, learn 5 five jokes and repeat them daily - never learn more than 5. Finally, DO NOT learn how to actually guide a boat.


Haven't guided in CO so maybe it's different down there. Self-respect? Dignity? We are all whores of one kind or another so it helps to come in with less or none to start with. 

Not learning how to guide can certainly make the trip more interesting for your peeps. I know one guy who couldn't guide his way out of a wet paper bag and he did quite well with the tips too, cuz the peeps had so many "unique" lines that usually included out of boat experiences. Once he hurt a couple or people though that was kind of the end of it. 

river guiding = one of the best things I have ever done. 

But I did get to end up on the MF of the Salmon. And got paid well to do it and I still have people who look me up every time they come to town cuz they had such a good time and enjoyed (?) my company. Whoa.


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## TakemetotheRiver (Oct 4, 2007)

basil said:


> Rafting guide sounds cool, but I'm not sure. The river gets old, tourists get stupid, and the pay is lousy. Also, you don't learn any skills for the future. Get a real job instead. How many 40 year olds are out there who wish they had done better stuff with their time when they were young?


Hmmm...I did the "right" thing and got a degree and a "real" job before I became a raft guide. Now I wish I had spent all that time on rivers instead of in school, but then I'm not 40 yet.

Guiding in Costa Rica is my dream goal, I'll be doing that in the winter time by the time I'm 40, for now I have to work as a teacher until I get old enough.

PBR is the official beer of raft guides I'm pretty sure. When I was younger I was a beersnob, insisted on microbrews, now I usually prefer room temp PBR.


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## Blade&Shaft (May 23, 2009)

basil said:


> Rafting guide sounds cool, but I'm not sure. The river gets old, tourists get stupid, and the pay is lousy. Also, you don't learn any skills for the future. Get a real job instead. How many 40 year olds are out there who wish they had done better stuff with their time when they were young?


 
Freakin' A. Skills for the future? In this economy especially? I'm gonna have to hold back on this so I don't get on a tangent, but I'm doing a hell of a lot better than most all of the kids I graduated with from both highschool and college. And I'm definately having _*WAY*_ more fun than any of them. It's attitudes like this that keep you at home with a limited perspective of the world and all the awesome things that are out there to do. Life is a journey, not a destination, and like an above post, I'd choose adventure and experiences over money any day. Then again, it's noobs like you that balance the rest of it out for us. So in a way, thanks, actually, for being a freakin' noob.


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## LSB (Mar 23, 2004)

As an old fart that had my retirement before my career... I say just do it now
There is no way now that I could do the outrageous shit that I did when I was living the dream
I didnt grow up till 35 = real job, mortgage, wife
The economy sucks anyway... play now while your body is strong


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