#outdoorguide

Whether you're an avid hiker, angler, or simply enjoy spending time outdoors, these 10 places in Kimball, MN, offer the best selection of outdoor gear to make your summer adventures memorable and enjoyable.

So I’m digging pretty far into my memory bank to write this post but it’s always good to look back and reflect on the past. I did a rafting expedition with my school in the fall of 2014 and for me it was a huge mixture of emotions, to give you a bit of a background when I did this course the first time, I was fresh out of high school and entering a program that is very special and very involved. I’m not going to lie on raft ex I was very homesick and didn’t enjoy myself as much as I should have. I felt as if my life would never be the same as it was when I was in high school and this scared the shit out of me.(not to mention I am the shyest person you will ever meet and although I’m working on it now I had no clue how to make friends) it was my first real experience on whitewater beside a family rafting vacation I took a few years prior. Whitewater scared me, I have been sailing for 12 years now so water is my second home BUT sailing involves flat water and staying on top of your boat at all times. The notion of rocks and heavy current (much less swimming in it) were completely native to me at the time. So for me the idea of big volume water was TERRIFYING, I survived and I have learned a sound appreciation for whitewater even though it scares me to this day.  My instructors are amazing but I found that since everyone else was enjoying themselves they didn’t even think that there would be students that weren’t happy. It wasn’t the best feeling ever, but from a professionalism standpoint they definitely did their jobs. Every route was scouted first and they made sure that it would be safe for us to run. They were very thorough on making sure everyone was accounted for and they kept their guide faces on even though they could have had fun with us they understood the importance of us students seeing how a guide should behave and act on the river as well as off.

I would like to get a job in the Outdoor Adventure industry this summer, using my certifications I will receive from completing the year at school.

When we think about a professional usually we think about jobs that take years of schooling to complete and therefore don’t usually think that outdoor leaders are professionals. In this day and age however with risk management and assessments going on we cant forget about our guides, the people who take us into dangerous situations and get us out alive and well. When looking at a profession we take into account a few things. As an outdoor leader everything is totally situational and varies from trip to trip so we must have a wide range of knowledge in order to make the best decisions possible for our clients. This means we either go through extensive training and certification process OR we have a lot of experience through personal tripping and hands on learning. When we are out on trips the trip leader or guide makes all of the critical decisions and has authority over trippers.  Therefore it is important that guides adhere to certain ethical values so that people don’t get hurt, or feel uncomfortable and just plain old won’t be in danger! I know for sure that in the guiding community many of us don’t make huge amounts of money but instead are driven by the love of the outdoors and sharing our lifestyle with others. 

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Even the widest adventurer who lives off the grid needs to keep connected. http://www.kampesnomads.com/#!backpackinggoal-zero/c1h9x