Mariah Wilderness Expeditions' Staff Gallery

Two of Mariah Wilderness Expeditions guides where recently written about in the Auburn Journal!
Click here to read the first article....
Click here to read the second article....

At Mariah Wilderness Expeditions, we know that our great guides are the key ingredient to great river trips. Our guides are sensitive, highly skilled in both running the rivers and preparing top-notch meals. They are fun-loving, independent yet perfect team-players, fascinated with the lives and stories that our wide variety of guests bring with them to our rivers.

Our guides are “family”, returning year after year, and as a result are able to pay attention to the smallest details of providing a wonderful, exciting, and safe adventure for all of our guests. Each guide contributes something unique and special to the trip. Since the guides come from all walks of life, and bring many different experiences, skills and personalities to your trip, each guest is made to feel right at home.

Here are a few of our guides! All of them have CPR certification, Advanced First Aid, and Swift Water Rescue. Most of them have participated in the California Park and Recreation Department’s River Interpretative programs. All of them are awesome!

Don't miss our Guide School Photo Gallery

Nikki Doyle

Nikki hails from the land down under, and has worked at Mariah for 19 seasons. She has a background in outdoor education, a degree in Adventure Leadership, and has been leading groups on outdoor adventure for 23 years. This year, after guiding for Mariah for 18 years, she took on the role of Operations’ Manager for Mariah, and has been helping improve our camp and operations. In the off-season she leads trips to foreign countries like Belize and Costa Rica, sharing the natural history of tropical rainforests and rivers. Nikki also surfs, kayaks, snowboards, skiis, and loves spending lots of time with her dog “Sprocket” (Mariah’s camp dog).

Sprocket

Hi, I’m Sprocket, the camp dog. This was my third summer at Mariah and I already can’t wait for next summer. Thank you to all of you who played “fetch” with me, and for all of the pats. I probably have had about thirty river trips now, and I recommend it to everyone. Thanks to all of you who let me go in your boat. And, thanks to all of you who dropped some of your meals thinking that nobody was watching.

Matt Kurth

Matt is back for his fifth season at Mariah. He loves working on the river, guiding both the South and Middle Forks of the American Rivers. Matt is working towards a bachelors Degree in Recreation Administration at Chico State University. Matt is a gib part of the Outings Program at Chico State called “Adventure Outings”, where he also raft guides. Next semester he will be managing the Adventure Outings’ office, showing how easily he adapts to his environments.

Mike Weaver

Mike, a veteran guide of 20+ years, also brings to Mariah his extensive experience as a special education teacher, outdoors’ man, and camp cook. He’s also an expert at boat repair. A fifth generation Californian, he is knowledgeable of local and state history. 

Kenna Foster

A bit of a nomad, Kenna comes from Idatexawyomiforianewmexitana.  Having lived in 6 states, 4 countries, and traveling at every opportunity, it has become apparent that Kenna enjoys seeing new places and getting to know new people and cultures. Through her travels and moves, Kenna keeps finding her way back to Mariah each summer, making 2008 her fourth year on the American River. She has also guided West Virginia’s lower Gauley River, and has run assorted rivers throughout the US and internationally “just for fun”.  Since she stopped using her Pepperdine Communications degree in a cubicle setting, things have gone much better for Kenna.  With works currently available online and in galleries in Texas and California, advancing her photography career keeps Kenna busy throughout the year.

Dee Harrington

Diane, also known as Dee, is from Kentucky. She trained on the rivers in West Virginia in 2000 and has been commercially guiding in WV, Colorado, and California ever since. This will be Dee’s fourth season at Mariah. She loves the California sunshine, super-fun CA whitewater, and her little dog, Peachy.

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Donna Bullard

Donna is a local gal, local to El Dorado County, and has been rafting on the American River for many, many years. She started working for Mariah, off and on, in the late 80’s.

Jose Martinez

I’m from Costa Rica, and I’ve been working as a whitewater guide for nine years; this is my fourth season with Mariah. In Costa Rica, I work as a naturalist guide and also as a raft guide.

Melissa Mirabile
Melissa is from Pittsburgh, PA, and been guiding in West Virginia and California for the past 10 seasons. She loves to spend her summers rafting and kayaking, and her winters snowboarding and dreaming of the river. Oh yea, even though she guides with a youth paddle, they call her “the Mangler”!  If you rented skiis or a snowboard this winter in Tahoe, you may have rented them from her.

Hillary

Hillary has spent most of her life in the California foothills. She is a banana slug; that is to say, she is a UC Santa Cruz alumni. Her favorite color is monkey, and she enjoys most things food-related. Hillary has been guiding on the South Fork of the American River for seven summers. Her other rafting experience includes rivers in Colorado, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Costa Rica. She just returned from Australia where she travelled for several months this winter.

Morgan Selby

Morgan is a classic Southern CA girl. At 19, after moving to San Francisco, she discovered the Northern CA outdoors scene. At that point she became an avid hiker, biker, climber, camper, and rock hunter. After a few years of private boating with friends, Morgan knew she too wanted to sit in the back of a boat. Upon completion of her B.A. she made the move to the foothills. She loves it here, and looks forward to many wonderful seasons at Mariah!

Kristen

Hi there, I’m originally from Texas; however, now I just travel around rafting and backpacking. I prefer to spend most of my time out of the United States, but rafting the American River has been a fantastic experience. Come out and raft with Mariah down the American River!!

Marc Bristol

Marc is currently at the University of Nevada Reno double-majoring in International Business and Spanish. He recently spent the fall in San Sebastian, Spain, where he studied Spanish. After moving from the great state of Hawaii, Marc has spent the majority of his life in Grass Valley, CA. He grew up on the forks of the American and shares a deep love for nature. He says "Life is good!!! Let's go rafting!!!"

Lauren McKinnon

Lauren is originally from Southern California and has decided that her home is now Northern California. She has been rafting for four years now, and loves the river. She is currently working on her bachelors degree in English at Chico State University and wants to pursue a Masters in Education. She is currently teaching English as a Second Language in a volunteer program called C.A.V.E.

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Jason George

Jason is a local boy raised on the water. He started rafting with his uncle who used to work for Mariah and has been hooked on it ever since. He loves being outside and being on the water. This is Jason’s third season working for Mariah, and he can’t wait to get back out on the water next season.

Laine Tennyson

Laine’s mom, Shelley, was Donna Hunter’s business partner and they started Mariah together in 1982. Both of Laine’s parents were raft guides, so he decided to get in on the fun. He enjoys all sorts of things –traveling, rafting, halo, Frisbee, movies, etc. He is currently working on a double major at UC Davis – Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering. He has done a lot of traveling all over the world, including Europe, Japan, and ten months in Argentina.

Lori Markey

Lori’s “real” job is working in the city as an executive for a major corporation. Her “really, real” job is working as a river guide for Mariah. Lori has been rafting for years. Oh, she is also married to John, Mariah's most long-term guide (since 1984). The two of them are avid bicylists and are planning a ride across the state of Iowa this year!

Monica Day

I was raised on a 40-acre ostrich ranch in Northern Oregon. I’m an only child, so I spent a lot of time outdoors, making up games and exploring. I’ve been a swimmer for 14 years now, and love all things that have to do with water. So, I figured I’d try river guiding. It’s been a blast, no doubt….when I’m not on the river, I’m in Davis, playing halo, Frisbee, swimming, and working on my psychology degree at UC Davis. Or I’m rocking out to Hannah Montana. God’s been good to me.

Ackerly Shellberg

I started guiding because my father fell off the roof. No really, he called me up and said “Ackerly, the body falls apart. I don’t know when it happens, but it does. If there is anything in life that you need to do now, do it! There’s plenty of time to grow old”. He never mentioned he just broke his arm in six places.  Four months later, I called him up and said I was headed to California to train as a raft guide. The phone fell silent. Ha.

I’ve been told you can tell a lot by someone’s walk. I’ve never seen myself walk. However, it feels like I walk tall even though I’m not, but my shoulders droop just enough to prove I don’t take myself seriously. I think life is really good because I’m constantly surrounded by amazing people. If you find the world is bitter, look harder. If you still don’t smile, then move. Ha!

Laura Rose

Laura is shy, and is still thinking about what she wants to say about herself. She has been a great addition to Mariah’s staff, however. This winter she is doing stage construction in the San Francisco area.

John Fullbright

John is shy and is still thinking about what he wants to say about himself. This winter he will be a junior at San Francisco State University, working toward some degree. He’ll be back on the river with Mariah next summer.

Kurt Snyder

Kurt is very involved in outdoor education for his kids and the community. He loves rafting and always has a big smile!

Scott Wager
Scott moved to camp from Texas nine years ago and quickly became one of our most highly skilled and popular river guides. He spends part of the year in Alaska working as a fly fishing guide, operating his own boat with his captain's license. You can expect to see him back at Mariah’s American River camp in the spring and early summer. He is one of our guide school instructors, also. Our guide school in 2009 will be April 18-25, 2009. He co-instructs with Nikki. We have guest instructors come in for a day or so, also. In 2008, we were joined by Matt, Amy, and Janice.

Grady Garlough
Grady is another of Mariah's long-term guides. He spends most of his time running rivers, fishing, and pursuing a good career in construction. Ask him anything about fishing and he'll have some good stories.

John Markey
Here's John! He joined Mariah in 1984.

When new guides come up to me and say, “You guided with my Dad!” it almost makes me want to hang up my paddle.  Of course, if I did that, I’d have to concentrate on my “real job” and that ain’t gonna happen. After 25 years, I still get a thrill out of running the rapids, even if I’ve managed to stay in the boat.  One of these days our customers will be in for the treat of a lifetime when they let me work in the kitchen again. So what if I messed up my famous ‘tuna jello surprise’ dish.  Can’t anyone take a joke anymore?  See ya on the river!

John and Lori are planning a bike ride across the state of Iowa some time this year!

Jerry Pepper
Jerry has been a loyal Mariah guide for over 17 years. He has a “city job” now but still comes out to guide on many weekends. He is a “guide’s guide” – one of the best. He and his wife, Jackie, just bought a home in Sacramento. He has many good river stories to tell since the days of strumming his guitar at the campfire.

Ned Sickles
Those of you who rafted with us four years ago, in the spring and early summer, during the super-high water, will remember Ned. He and his kayak could always be seen on a Mariah trip—he was our very special “kayak-support”. He now can be seen in the guide's position in the back of one of the paddle boats. He has great stories to tell about his many river exploits. He is kind, caring, and always has a story.

In the fall and winter, he's either in the Philippines where he owns his own rafting company, or he is skiing in Northern California. Oh, he's the one who put the solar panels in our South Fork American River campground showers. You’ll see him back at Mariah next year.

Myles Bean

Howdy folks, I’m Myles. I’ve spent most of my years in Australia, lived in New Zealand, Canada, and Italy for awhile. Life’s great; make the most of it, and help save this beautiful planet and all of its creatures so others can also enjoy. Hope to see you on the river. Come get wet!!

Kate, our photographer
We are told that Kate really does have a better photo of herself. She's traveling right now. Many of you bought your rafting CD's from her this year. She'll be back next year!

Melinda Jones

Melinda keeps the Mariah office running smoothly. She answers the phone, answers all of your questions, and directs you to the best possible river trip for you to enjoy. Many of you rely on her knowledge and wisdom in choosing your trip. She has worked for large corporations, but loves the excitement of working in the rafting industry.

Donna Hunter

In 1982, Donna began Mariah Wilderness Expeditions by turning a 10-year hobby (rafting the California rivers) into a business. Her original business partner was Shelley Tennyson, whose son, Laine, is now a Mariah river guide. She is still having fun and finding the business challenging.