With a promise of better weather ahead, Mr. Sun came out today smiling. The glow almost hurt my eyes. Colors seemed harsh as the light washed out the deep colors of spring. There was an energy indescribable filling the air as we looked skyward for the new storm coming in tomorrow. Just clear, blue skies... seems unreal since we've had so much rain the past 30 days.
Our guide school starts on Saturday. Again, we limit it to a very small number. W.E.T.'s guide school is a funny one. Not really opened to the general public. Most have come from referrals from within our staff or other sources. Last year, the guide school had people that were just not guide material, so this year, we pulled back on advertising and marketing of the program. It seems that we get better student guides from referrals.
This year, we have a few coming aboard to boat with our staff the next few days. They will be acclimated first on the South Fork American and learn the ins and outs of guiding rivers. Drew is in charge this year of the school and he is a tough, disciplinarian who excels not only in river running, but he is an absolute stickler for organization. He will be demanding and up front with the newbies. He will also be leading this group towards becoming professional guides; not private boaters. They will learn the basics of packing and loading, boat repair, ropes, safety issues, reading the water, handling the guests, blah, blah,... Drew has worked for W.E.T. for a long time and he is someone who takes his profession very seriously.
The newbies will arrive excited, enthused and filled with childlike wonder. We'll all get a buzz from their energy and hopefully, we'll find some promising students for our guide staff.
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