# average earning for a guide



## montuckyhuck (Mar 14, 2010)

Poor and tan.....


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## k2andcannoli (Feb 28, 2012)

Guiding class 5 pays $100-150 per trip in MD, WV, and PA. No overnights around here. Tips pay $0 up to a small fortune.


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## rpmcolorado (Jun 8, 2011)

Average on the Arkansas would be about $80 - $90 for a full day trip, plus tip. Give or take a little if you are a seasoned veteran or a rookie. Tip varies from $0 to $100 or more.


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## TriBri1 (Nov 15, 2011)

In Oregon day trips are $75-100 depending on experience and training. Tips are typically $20 a day. Overnight trips tend to pay about $30 more per day. A good rule of thumb for a paddle trip is the guide gets paid about equal to what one customer pays to be on the trip.


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## jwithers (Mar 18, 2011)

I'd bring home 10-15K for a summer in AK.


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

My last year as a full time guide on Colorado Class IV I earned about $110 a day with about $70 per day in tips. I worked 6 days a week during peak season and probably averaged 4 days a week from May 15 to August 31 because of the slow early and late seasons. So I made $8,000 or so in 3 1/2 months. This was as a charismatic, talented, very attractive ten-plus year raft guide. A two month Gauley season could probably add another $5k for a hard worker. There you have it; in ten years of hard work you too can earn $13,000 a year!


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## Tub-a-lubs (Jul 14, 2013)

You guys need to get down under. In Australia, guides are on anywhere between $200-$300 a day. No tips. Short season, small market but there is work around and our rivers are pretty technical, narrow and shallow.


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## openboat (Jul 13, 2004)

There is an old joke which asks the question, "What is the difference between a raft guide and stock and bonds?" 

Answer - "Eventually stocks and bonds mature and make money." :mrgreen:


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## JohnR (May 23, 2005)

another one is

How do you get 20 raft guides into a closet?
- let 'em live there.

How do you get 20 raft guides out of a closet?
- charge 'em rent.


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## JohnR (May 23, 2005)

My guiding, such as it is, is drift boat flyfishing. I know some kids up on the Roaring Fork that aren't hurting. But, they own their own boats and lots of fly rods, and both work thru shops and have their own repeat clients. I'm strictly friends and family, and work for shuttle partners, plus they gotta push the oars some so I get to fish too.


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## El Flaco (Nov 5, 2003)

Randaddy said:


> This was as a charismatic, talented, very attractive ten-plus year raft guide.


You forgot 'humble' :-D


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

El Flaco said:


> You forgot 'humble' :-D


Humble doesn't impress the Dallas tourists.


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## Beav212 (Apr 17, 2006)

I'm making $45/half day $80/full, $30 for driving a shuttle on the Upper C and Eagle (when it was running). Tips come in at $20 to $60+ per half day. I find that throwing kids off rafts (might want to check with the parents first...) usually gets you $20 extra!


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## Paul the Kayaker (Nov 7, 2004)

Like Randaddy, I was fairly good looking and charismatic as well. Even gave my self the title of "Mr. Fort Collins" one summer. Anyone can guide a raft full of morons down a river, making a living doing it is a different thing. You have to show them a good time, and that doesnt really have much to do with the river... Good guides know that. Good guides know families tip better than hot chicks, especially when they are there with their muscle bound boytoys...

That being said, with talent on the front range you can get about 50-65 bucks a trip, 2 trips a day, plus 0-200(yes 200 once happened) tip per trip, average tip is 50-100 per trip though, and you still have to be really good to pull that, none of this rookie 20$ tip shit. So average about 300 a day. If you can pull off a full summer, 5-7 days a week, double trips, extra pay for being a TL, and always coming to work with a smile (or in a speedo, yes it garners better tips) you can have a fairly successful summer. But the key is to not show up salty, and servicing the customer is #1, even if you pull the ultimate tip you should be servicing her/him not the other way around.

In the end its not about the cash, its about the river, the fun, the laughs, the customers, the other guides, the tan (chaco version), the stressless life that accompanies, the stories (real and imagined, told and untold) and of course the chance at beers or more with a cute customer (maybe even an invite to strip for a bachelorette part, say yes)...

Either way, its a good gig, unfortunately the money earned usually goes to the local watering hole and by the end of summer you are broke. I was mature one season and made it last through January, another I traveled through South America for 10 weeks on the residual, maybe next summer I'll have enough to retire, who knows who I'll meet!


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## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

When I guided the Middle Fork I was making about $1k per week with no place to spend it 
=awesome end of summer pile. 
But really you only get about 10 to 12 weeks of work. This was after years of daytripping rafts down super low water years, having a CDL for bus driving duty, two different wilderness oriented first aid certs, two swiftwater rescue classes and showing up with your dancing shoes on.....it's awesome while it lasts.

And occasionally the hot chicks come as part of a family that tips well. Or sometimes you will get a pair lovely ladies from Alberta (danders I think they were) who each tipped $100 cuz they had such a good time. 

When I started I was older, fatter and had way more fun than most of the young bucks. 

FWIW.


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## Aerocam (Jul 11, 2011)

Paul the Kayaker said:


> In the end its not about the cash, its about the river, the fun, the laughs, the customers, the other guides, the tan (chaco version), the stressless life that accompanies, the stories (real and imagined, told and untold) and of course the chance at beers or more with a cute customer


1983, 16 years old, Rowed the lunchboat on the SF of the American, 6 days a week. Paid $20 a day. The first of many awesome summers guiding in Cali. I wouldn't trade it for the world!! My best friends are from those years and now our kids are all rafting together.


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## Paul the Kayaker (Nov 7, 2004)

Before I get torn apart, I meant average of about 300 a day if you rock it! Closer to 200-250 if you are good, and like 150 for the rookies and clueless who think its about the rafting. 

Its a lifestyle, not a job... And with it should come the dirtbag lifestyle where you can easily live off that kind of money, PBR is cheap, shopping never crosses your mind, biking is your preferred/mandatory mode of transport and refried bean burritos satisfy... Oh also you'll never get 2 trips a day, 7 days a week for 3.5 months straight, early and late season its like 5 trips a week, and mid season when its on you need to get after it, and not worry about getting a weekend off if you really want to make money doing it.

Bottom line, 6-10K a summer, and worth every penny earned or unearned.


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## CBow (Aug 26, 2007)

After 7 years of doing day trips in Colorado and Montana for $30 a half and $60 for a full day trip I ended up working in Alaska doing 5 to 10 day fly outs for $150 a day plus tips that averaged $100 to $200 a trip. Good wages but you really worked your ass off for it and got very little sleep keeping the bears out of camp. The awesome rivers and fishing made it worth the work though. Could usually bank about 10k for the season from 1985 to 1998 when it was my main summer gig.


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## ytupnorth (Jul 11, 2013)

*thread morph*

Since this is developing into jokes....my favorite:
what's the difference between a canoe and a Canadian?
A canoe sometimes tips.

funny 'cause it's true.


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## Randaddy (Jun 8, 2007)

Paul the Kayaker said:


> You have to show them a good time, and that doesnt really have much to do with the river... Good guides know that. Good guides know families tip better than hot chicks


I'll never forget the comment card at A1: "Paul kept hitting on my wife."

I think we all know that wasn't PaulK...


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## paulk (Apr 24, 2006)

True, my impeccable guiding was enough to win anyone's wife over, no need for the extra effort to hit on them. According to Trip adviser "My wife was barely enough tip to cover how awesome of a time we had." And that's just the tip! I made much more monetarily.


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## El Flaco (Nov 5, 2003)

Why you should tip your guide: See guide rescue unconscious rafter - CNN.com Video

Nice move by SuperFly Jimmy Snuka


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