"The scenery was great and the lunch was tasty and filling. Most of all, however, what made the trip the most enjoyable were the guides! Their skill, efficiency, friendliness, and their concern for our safety were as much as one could hope for. Thanks for a great outing"
Bill Stallcup

Los Rios Guides

Los Rios guides are the best on the river, with an average of ten years’ experience. All are professionally trained in river safety, swiftwater rescue, first aid and CPR, and many are Certified Wilderness First Responders. All exceed federal requirements. They are fun-loving, creative individuals, friendly and knowledgeable, devoted to making your trip the best it can be.

Cisco Guevara Cisco has been running the Rio Grande for over 40 years, since he was a boy in Los Alamos. He has a number of first descents in the Copper Canyon area of Chihuahua, Mexico, and on the Rio Costilla, NM. He also teaches and guides cross-country skiing, and is a champion two-stepper, a passionate fisherman, a trick roper and western entertainer, a flamenco singer, a trained EMT technician, a CPR and first aid instructor, and president of Rio Grande Restoration. An acclaimed local storyteller, he performs yearly at the Taos Storytelling Festival.

Bruce Graff Bruce first ran the Taos Box in 1976, and has been a guide with Los Rios for over 20 years. He has held the record for the lowest water descent of the Box, as well as the first descent of the Canadian river in eastern New Mexico. He is an enthusiastic traveler who has visited 37 countries, spending long periods in Tobago and Sumatra and hitchhiking across Africa. A keen environmentalist, he enjoys sharing his knowledge of the botany, zoology, and geology of northern New Mexico.	Jerry Sikora Jerry Sikora has been rafting for over 20 years, almost all of them with Los Rios. In the winter he works as a ski mechanic at Taos Ski Valley; he has also done some ski racing and kayaked the Grand Canyon. Originally from southern California, he has lived in Taos since 1976, and takes pride in his extensive knowledge of the history and geology of northern New Mexico.	John Harvey John Harvey grew up in New Mexico, and has a degree in Environmental Science. He has been a river guide with Los Rios since 1992, and in the winter he works on Ski Patrol at Taos Ski Valley. He has traveled around the world, and spent five years paddling outrigger canoes in Hawaii.
Barry Weinstock Barry Weinstock grew up in California and Chicago, and has lived in Taos for fourteen years. This is his fifteenth season working as a river guide, which he has done on many rivers across the US. He holds a degree in biology from UNM and works as a fish biologist for the Bureau of Land Management. He recently qualified as a scuba divemaster.	Leslie Hammond Leslie Hammond has been a river guide for eight years, all of them with Los Rios. She grew up in Albuquerque, NM, and went to Northwestern University, where she majored in journalism and minored in anthropology. A swimmer throughout college, she competed in the 400 Individual Medley at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1996. She loves to ski, and has written for Ski magazine. She has travelled widely in South America and throughout Mexico.	Dan Irion Dan Irion began boating as a kid on the backyard ditch behind his house in Austin, Texas. While studying finance at the University of Colorado he got into kayaking. He has been a river guide with Los Rios for eight years. He plays mandolin in two regional bands, The Last to Know and Honest Abe, and owns Crossroads Pizza in Taos Ski Valley (ask about the pie and paddle special).
Arnie Arnold Arnie Arnold, a boater since 1985, has rafted in Africa, Alaska, New Zealand, and across the US, including the Grand Canyon. A Harley Davidson enthusiast and a skier, he has done hydrology work for the US Geological Survey on islands throughout the Pacific and has traveled to over 80 countries. He takes a keen interest in natural history.	Josh Frederickson Josh Frederickson is originally from Gettysburg, PA, and has been boating for 15 years, seven of them with Los Rios. He has boated on about 70 different rivers and creeks in 25 states. He has a B.A. in anthropology from Vassar College, and an M.A. in Parks & Recreation, with an environmental education emphasis, from UNM. During college he spent six months in West Africa, and has also traveled all over Europe.	Adrienne Reynolds Adrienne Reynolds, who is from southeast Alaska, came to New Mexico in 2004. As well as her five years on the Rio Grande, she has guided in Alaska and on the Southfork river in California. She went to the University of Hawaii and the University of Southeast Alaska, where she majored in biology and teaching. She is a certified EMT and scuba instructor, and has sailed around the world.
Denielle Perry Denielle Perry began guiding with Los Rios in 1999. She has worked internationally on the rivers of Costa Rica, Mexico, and Spain and on numerous rivers across the US. She achieved a double BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies at Humboldt State University in California, and an MS degree in Geography at the University of Nevada, Reno. Denielle dedicates her research and advocacy work to river and water conservation. She is also an avid kayaker and skier.	Tony Burchell Tony Burchell took his first river trip at age 12, and has been guiding professionally for six years. He grew up in northern Kentucky and went to Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina, where he majored in business and also studied outdoor education. He has run over 20 different rivers, from West Virginia to Peru. He recently qualified as a certified rescue diver.	Sophia Bryer Sophia Bryer is a native northern New Mexican, from Mora. She trained as a guide on the American River in northern California, and has been boating on the Rio Grande for seven years. She has a degree in theater education and experiential learning from the University of New Mexico, and is currently working on her master's.
Brian Barnhart Brian Barnhart has been a wilderness traveller across the planet, an artist and musician, an art instructor, a backcountry guide by horse and foot, a ski instructor, a street-theatre performer, and a Manhattan bike messenger. He has been involved with different projects concerning sustainable agriculture and human rights.	Suzie Benton Suzie Benton is originally from Colorado Springs, and has been boating professionally for three years, all of them with Los Rios. She holds an Associates degree in Early Childhood Education, and teaches the Watershed Education program for the nonprofit organization Rivers & Birds in Taos County public schools. The mother of three boys, she makes her own wine and cheese, and is currently building a house.	Sarah McCluskey Sarah McCluskey was raised in northern California and Oregon, and is currently studying at UNM Taos to be a nurse midwife. For three years she worked as a forest firefighter. She is also a glass-blower, specializing in jars and beads. She has lived in Taos for 11 years, and this is her fifth year with Los Rios.
Leanna Even Leanna Even has been guiding on the Rio Grande since 1995. Born in Raton, NM, she is the granddaughter of an eye doctor who traveled around the pueblos before New Mexico gained statehood. She has a degree in Communications from Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, is a certified scuba divemaster, and holds a Coast Guard 100-ton captain’s license. She also captains whale-watching and snorkeling boats in Maui.	Joel Craig Joel Craig was born in Ketchican, Alaska, and moved to Taos when he was three. He has sixteen years' experience as a restaurant chef, and worked at many of Taos's finest restaurants including the Taos Inn, the Stakeout, and Eske's Brew Pub. He learned his back-country skills by hiking the Grand Canyon about 15 different times, and is an avid bicyclist. His hobbies include rock-hounding, stone-carving, gem-cutting and coin-collecting, and he has a lifetime membership of the Gold Prospectors Association of America. He took his first raft trip in 1995 and joined Los Rios in 2005.	Rob Hagerty Rob Hagerty was born in Bristol, Rhode Island. He has travelled all across America, and is an avid hiker. He has worked as a big-boat fisherman on the Grand Banks, fishing for monkfish and eel, and as a boat-builder. In winter he works in forestry. He is also a keen drummer on hand drums, playing all kinds of music from African to Celtic to Balkan. After a childhood spent whitewater canoeing, he became a raft guide in 2005. This is his third season with Los Rios.
Lars Stoltz Lars Stoltz is from Santa Barbara, CA, where he grew up on a farm with chickens, horses, king snakes, a possum, geese, and a savanna monitor lizard. He guided rivers in Washington state for 5 years before joining Los Rios River Runners in 2007. He is an avid kayaker.	Sean Jennings Sean Jennings is a genuine son of the American Revolution—one of his ancestors signed the Declaration of Independence. He was born in Biloxi, MS, and grew up in Oklahoma, where he paddled canoes on creeks and lakes. As a bike mechanic based in Boulder, he worked on the bikes of racers on the European circuit including Tyler Hamilton and Andy Hampston (the only American to win the Giro d’Italia). This is his second year with Los Rios.	Jon Cohen Jon Cohen grew up in Queens, NY, and has been a raft guide for eleven years. He has a degree in park management and recreation from North Georgia College, and served in Field Artillery in the Army for four years, stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He left as a First Lieutenant. He is an avid skier, whitewater canoer, and reader of science fiction.
Monica Martin Monica Martin was born in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles. She majored in women's studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles. For three years she lived and worked at the famous Harbin Hot Springs retreat center in northern California, and has also worked construction, with particular experience in the field of alternative energy. She is an ace volleyball player, and joined Los Rios in 2006.