Meet the Crew

"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing- absolutely nothing- that is half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."-Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

EXPERIENCED GUIDES: Our licensed professional guides have an extensive background in the outdoor industry as whitewater and backcountry ski guides, kayak instructors, school teachers, outdoor educators, and ski instructors and patrollers. The average age of our guides is 34 with an average of 8 years experience. They enjoy teaching, meeting new people, and have a passion for the outdoors. Our licensed guides are trained in First Aid, CPR, and Swift Water Rescue. On every trip, there will be a guide(s) trained as a Wilderness First Responder or Wilderness EMT. Please visit our guides PHOTO GALLERY to see what they have been up to!

Paul Arentsen

Paul Arentsen, co-owner of Winding Waters River Expeditions, grew up in Louisville, KY. While earning a B.A. from Indiana University, Paul began his career as an outdoor educator and guide during the summers. He worked as a guide for Wilderness Ventures (WV), leading teen backpacking trips all over the West and Alaska. While working for WV, he was introduced to “The River” which he has not been able to leave behind since. In 1998, Paul began working as a professional river guide on the Salmon River, Deschutes, Grande Ronde, and Colorado Rivers. Paul is trained as a Wilderness First Responder and in Swift Water Rescue. He has a genuine interest in sharing his passion and knowledge of running rivers with others, which will become apparent from the first moment you meet him. Paul resides in Joseph, OR, where he spends his time working as a backcountry ski guide and carpenter, fishing for Steelhead, and looking forward to the next river season.

Penny Rieke Arentsen

Penny was raised in Indiana and headed west for school at Colorado College, where she studied geology. Following school, she led backpacking trips with teenagers for Wilderness Ventures and taught for an outdoor education school on the eastern shore of Maryland called Echo Hill Outdoor School. She headed west again in 1998 and worked as a geologist for an environmental consulting firm in Denver, Colorado helping with groundwater cleanup projects.

Deciding she truly enjoyed teaching, she started her graduate career in 2000-2001 in environmental education at the TetonScience School (2001) in Jackson, Wyoming. Following this experience, she earned a Masters in Watershed Science in 2005 from Utah State University. Her thesis focused on impervious surface areas in urban areas and its effects on water quality. Today, along with river-running, she develops, coordinates, and teaches a variety of outdoor experiential science programs for K-12th graders for a local non-profit in Enterprise, OR called Wallowa Resources (www.wallowaresources.org).

Morgan W. Jenkins

Morgan W. Jenkins was born and raised on the coast of Virginia. He migrated west to finish his B.A. at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He began professionally guiding on the Arkansas River in 1990 and has worked on rivers for the last 15 years. An avid fly fisherman and whitewater enthusiast, Morgan has honed his backcountry skiing and musical skills during his time working rivers in New Mexico, Washington and finally Oregon and Idaho. He has received Wilderness EMT and Swiftwater Rescue Training, as well as completed an Outdoor Leadership Course. He currently resides in Joseph, Oregon, gateway to Hell's Canyon. You can find him at Wallowa Alpine Huts ski guiding in the winter and working with the Hell's Canyon Whitewater crew throughout the river season. His specialties include gourmet cooking, playing music, finding the elusive trout and making our guests feel safe and comfortable with his good old southern hospitality.

Sam Macke

Sam is one of our true local guides. Growing up in Cove, Oregon in an outdoor adventure loving family enabled Sam to develop an intimate knowledge of our local rivers. He has been running the rivers of Eastern Oregon since the age of 6. Sam has been professionally guiding on the Grande Ronde and Snake rivers for the past 7 years.

 

In addition to running our local rivers Sam has also become an avid climber. Sam is most happy climbing rock, ice or a mix of both. He has pioneered many of the areas hardest climbing routes. Sam also loves to travel in search of the next big climbing challenge. He has been restoring an old Mercedes bus turning it into a vegi oil burning climbing adventure rig. We fear that when this project is complete we may never see Sam again, as he has big plans for this home on wheels. While not on a remote climbing expedition Sam has found the time to complete a degree in International Studies at the University of Oregon. This may be what eventually takes Sam away from the river.

 

Jon Rombach

Jon Rombach grew up on the west side of Oregon, where it rains and it rains and it rains. He fled this moisture, but not before learning to appreciate being on the water during river trips with his dad.

After graduating from the University of Montana with a history degree, Jon bought a little sailboat in Hawaii and lived aboard. This little experiment taught him to appreciate being off the water, at least in heavy weather. But it turns out you can get a boat off the reef after a storm passes, so it all worked out.

Rombach then worked as a substitute teacher in East Palo Alto, California, where students regularly threatened to pop a cap in him. Those rascals. After work as a freelance writer and radio broadcaster, Rombach taught journalism and cross-cultural studies at Alethia University in Taiwan.

Rombach moved to the Wallowas specifically because of the outdoors, but then tricked himself by spending five years inside a small, soundproof box, working as a radio DJ. That was not the color of his parachute, and he?s delighted to be back outside rowing for Winding Waters.

Jon writes a column for the local newspaper and is remodeling a log home built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. If he keeps up the pace, improvements on the house will be done by the 2030s.

Caitlin Ecklund

Born and raised in Eastern Oregon, Caitlin has spent more summers of her life on the river than off. A second-generation Eastern Oregon fly-fishing and raft guide, she grew up with the lore of the family business--yarns of monster trout, apocalyptic storms, extravagant dutch-oven feasts, and meteor showers. All of this time on the river with her family has made her dedicated to the region. These last few years, however, Caitlin has been living the city life in Portland during the off-season. After completing her education in cultural Anthropology at Reed College in May 2008, which she hopes she can eventually put to use close to home, she's got some exploring to do...but no matter where she goes, if she's gone long enough, she gets lonesome for home and the quiet of the river.

 

Mike Baird

I grew up in Idaho. In addition to rafting, I love to travel, telemark ski, hunt big game and birds, and work with my Morgan horses. In the 70's, I worked as a smokejumper with the U. S. Forest Service and when I wasn’t parachuting onto forest fires, I ski bummed in Sun Valley.

One of my recent adventures included working as a ski course volunteer on the Men’s Downhill Ski Course at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. I have worked in the woods as a self-employed consulting forester from Arizona to Alaska.

I currently am employed as a high school science and economics teacher in Enterprise, Oregon and continue to work in the woods during the summers between river trips. Currently, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department has contracted with me to study the isolated population of spruce grouse in the Eagle Cap Wilderness in northeast Oregon. This contract involves locating and capturing birds and tracking their movements with the use of radio collars. I have had the opportunity to involve students from my biology classes in this research. Every time I get students out in the wild and involve them in hands on projects, I see the kids come alive and become immersed in their education.

Whitewater rafting is a great adventure. I love the act of traveling through beautiful landscapes, combined with the adventure and challenge of running the rapids; and finally finishing the day with a great meal and good companionship. Dutch oven cookery is almost as much fun for me as running the rapids. Hell’s Canyon is one of my favorite places. It is a beautiful place full of great diversity of plants and animals. Every trip I make through the canyon is a memorable experience. I can’t think of many things I like more than a raft trip down a wilderness stretch of river with a great group of folks.

Dave Yost

Dave Yost is a native of Wallowa County, Oregon. He received his Agricultural Education degree from Oregon State University and for the last 23 years has taught high school Agriculture, Watershed Science, and Earth Science classes. On top of his course-load, Dave coaches high school football and wrestling and is the director of Ferguson Ridge Ski Patrol. Dave and his wife, Marianne, along with their two daughters, Anna and Megan raise and train quarter horses on their ranch outside of Joseph. Anna, a sophomore at Eastern Oregon University, has done some guiding for us as well. As an avid river runner, Dave has rowed many western rivers since the early 80’s. He’s been a wonderful addition to our guide crew and we feel fortunate to work with him.

 

 

Melissa Osmond

Melissa is a native Oklahoman who migrated to the PNW in 1995 after two years in the Peace Corps and random nomadic journeys in the US. Melissa has over 15 years experience in youth development, conservation, and outdoor experiential education. Her obsession with exploring new challenges has led her to bicycling tours in West Africa, jungle treks in Central America, and fending off marriage proposals in locales such as Haiti, Togo, and Idaho.

Always looking for a new adventure, Melissa answered the call of whitewater rafting in 2001 on the Salmon River. She’s been hooked ever since.

When she’s not on the water, Melissa can be found at a small liberal arts college in Portland, where she works as a health educator, trying to convince students to make healthy life decisions. She also spends the off-season hiking, skiing, rowing, and planning her next overseas adventure.

Macey Arentsen

I love running rivers with Mom & Dad! I get to ride on the bags in the boat, sleep on top of Mom & Dad when they're in their sleeping bags, and, best of all, I get to eat meal leftovers (Mom & Dad call it the "doggie smackdown")!