Meet Rudi Bega. He’s not your typical root vegetable. Besides his parents, we may be the only ones that know his real name. Unfiltered, passionate, funny, ridiculous. He’s following his own path in life and we’re glad it led him to River Dancers.

He’s usually last to bed and last to rise. If you can wake him up, you’ll find an amazing guide and a true river rat with a million stories to tell.

Meet Matt. He took guide school a few years ago and has been geeking out on rafting ever since. He’s done that river and this river. He’s got this cert and that cert. Yadda, yadda, yadda. He’s a class V dishwasher and that is all you need to know. You’ll love it if you find yourself on the river with him and so will your dinner plate.

We’d like to give Becca a hard time. That’s what river guides do. But she is too nice. And she is becoming the backbone of River Dancers. She runs the office, packs the food, loads the gear, cooks the meals, and guides the rafts. She does it all. She has her Wilderness First Responder and Swiftwater Rescue certs. She’s guided on a variety of rivers, paddled on an expedition trip in Nepal, but her favorite trips are always on her home rivers around Northern California. If you get her on a trip, you’ll want her back on all of your trips. We are stoked to have her part of the River Dancers family.

Meet Kaylee. She’s one of those behind-the-scenes players – helping with food shopping and packing, hefting gear, prepping food on the river, making charcuterie art. Her passions are plants and skiing. While not pontificating about dandelions, look for her getting after those sick lines in Dunsmuir. Oh, she also guides a raft on occasion. Give her a hard time and expect to get it back. She can’t help it. She’s a Winkelman.

Don’t let his last name fool you. He’s not French. Though French Gulch was not far from his home town. He grew up in Lewiston. A small dot on a dot on the map of the Trinity River.

This guy knows how to fish and we’ve never met anyone more passionate about Salmon and Steelhead than Travis. His reverence and realism about the watershed is informed by a life of experience and learning. You don’t need a radar to find fish if you’re on Travis’ boat. He sees them pass. He is also an experienced whitewater guide, has is WFR, and ski patrols with the rest of us bums in the winter.

Always hilarious, just don’t feed him Tequila after midnight. His gremlin version is more unfiltered and hilarious. You’ve been warned.

Jennifer is a teenager at heart and has the sleep patterns to prove it. Always smiling and positive, she is a great energy to have on a trip. She loves teenagers and has the personality to connect with them. Her passion is being a life coach. She designed the Whitewater Camp for teenagers trip and it is gaining popularity each year. You’ll be stoked if you find her out on river. We always are!

If you see Casey carrying a large, sharp knife around town, don’t worry, he’s a sushi chef. You may even be blessed to have him make sushi on the river. He’s also always prepared for a tough boat repair.

Casey is an exceptional and experienced river and mountain guide. He’s skied many of the Cascade volcanoes and Denali in Alaska. He has his Wilderness EMT, a BS in Geology, and a swiftwater rescue cert.

Casey believes that the most important piece of gear is PMA (Positive Mental Attitude).

That’s his motto. Did we mention he owns a successful window washing business? He’s so busy with it that it is rare he gets on the river with us. But when he does, we’re stoked. You will be, too.

He took whitewater school several years ago and for some odd reason, keeps coming back. He has become a skilled guide, but more importantly, he helps with all aspects of the trip, shows up on time, sets his alarm in the morning, washes dishes with a smile, and maintains a great attitude and sense of humor. He even displays a cheerful reluctance to clean the groovers. What more could a river company ask for?

Marty has been guiding rivers since time immemorial. He went out into the real world for a while to work as a family therapist. Probably with a pay cut. Now he is back helping our guides stay on track. We need it. He lets the river do the therapy now. He is the kindest person we know and will quickly become your favorite guide. But don’t let that stop you from giving him a hard time. We are still looking for a good picture of him, so submissions are welcome.

Nick has been raft guiding since 1999. You may have seen him out on one of the many rivers of the west including the Animas, Snake, Skagit, Noosack, Cattooga, San Juan, and the Colorado through the Grand Canyon. He has also guided on all of our local classics including the Rogue, Klamath, Trinity, Sacramento, and Smith Rivers. Nick is an EMT and has technical rope rescue and swiftwater rescue training. When not on the river, Nick works as a mountain and heli-ski guide and ski patroller. Ultra professional when needed, but always willing to let loose with a good joke and story. Nick is pleasure to have on the river with us.