Meet the Crew

Experienced whitewater rafting and fly fishing guides: We take great pride in our community of guides here at Winding Waters River Expeditions. They are the heart and soul of our company, along with the brains and brawn! Life around our boathouse and on the river is a joy with our cast of characters. It's this genuine, infectious enjoyment of river life that has brought many Winding Waters clients back year after year.

Our licensed professional guides have extensive backgrounds in the outdoor industry as whitewater rafting, fly fishing and backcountry ski guides, as well as 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. And they can all spin a pretty good yarn as well. Our licensed guides are trained in First Aid, CPR, and swift water rescue techniques.

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 an Outdoor Emergency Care Technician, as well as 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 with his wife, Penny where he spends his time working as a backcountry ski guide and carpenter, fishing for Steelhead, and looking forward to the next river season. As an active volunteer in the community, he's a member of the Lion's Club and the Ferguson Ridge Ski Patrol. He also volunteers for the Wallowa Avalanche Center and the Wallowa Valley Soccer Association.

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, where she met her future husband, Paul. After a year teaching for Echo Hill Outdoor School on the eastern shore of Maryland, she headed west again in 1998 to work 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 Teton Science 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 and non-point source pollution in urban areas and the subsequent effects on aquatic ecosystems. 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, Wallowa Resources. She is certified as a Wilderness First Responder and an Outdoor Emergency Care Technician. In her free-time, she loves to ski, horseback ride, hike, and ride her bike. As an active volunteer in the community, she's a member of the Lion's Club, Ferguson Ridge Ski Patrol and a board member for the Wallowa Avalanche Center.

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 is a certified Wilderness First Responder and has 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.

Tom Farnam

Tom is native to Northeast Oregon. Tom was born and grew up in LaGrande, located in the Grande Ronde Valley. He has been fishing the Grande Ronde, Imnaha and Wallowa Rivers for the better part of 30 years. He has made it his goal to learn every rock, hole, seam, bend and fish in each of these beautiful rivers.

Tom has based his life around being on "The River". He spent 12 years as a river Ranger on the Grande Ronde River, Deschutes River and John Day River for the Bureau of Land Management. For the last 20 years Tom has been a professional Fly Fishing guide, guiding for Trout, Bass and Steelhead.

When the snow flies in NorthEast Oregon it can be tuff on an angler. This is the time of year that Tom leaves town and heads for warmer waters. He can be found casting his fly in the Sea of Cortez off of the Southern tip of the Baja Peninsula during the months of January and February. He is always eager to get back to his home waters to feel the tug of the Steelhead on his fly line.

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.

Todd Kruger

Todd is the boathouse manager, as well as a guide for Winding Waters and our resident "happy bear". An Oregon native, he attended Walla Walla College and studied social work. Following college, he helped develop the recycling program for Walla Walla College. He directed the Big Lake Youth Camp for 4 years, training and managing 12-15 counselors, as well as coordinating approximately 400 students each week. He also directed Discovery High, a residential teen boys home for juvenile delinquents for 2 years. From 1998 to 2001, he was co-director and lead instructor for TRAILS (Teaching Responsibility and Individualism as Life Solutions), a youth leadership backpacking program in Wallowa County. He is also a staff naturalist for Wallowa Resources. For 15 years, Todd has owned and run Twig, a 2nd hand recycled material craftsman company, which produces functional items from recycled materials. He’s very passionate about recycling and helping make Wallowa County’s environment a better place for all.

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.

Patrick Baird

Patrick was born and raised in Wallowa County, Oregon and has been running local rivers since the age of thirteen. He started working with Winding Waters in 2007. As a recent graduate of Enterprise High School, he enjoyed an active lifestyle competing in Cross Country, Wrestling, and Track and Field in addition to participating in Student Government, Choir, Drama, and Student Filmmaking.

Patrick has now made the move to a more urban environment on the west side of the Cascades, where he attends the University of Oregon and is pursuing a degree in English. While Patrick does enjoy the college life, he is always looking forward to returning to his rural home and getting behind the oars of the Winding Waters Gearboat. When he’s not studying or working on the river Patrick enjoys watching/making/or talking about movies, writing, snowboarding, reading, hiking and taking long afternoon naps.

Mike Baird

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

One of his 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. He has worked in the woods as a self-employed consulting forester from Arizona to Alaska.

He is currently am employed as a high school science and economics teacher in Enterprise, Oregon and continues to work in the woods during the summers between river trips. Currently, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department has contracted with him 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. He involves students from his biology classes in this research. Every time he gets students out in the wild and involve them in hands on projects, he sees the kids come alive and become immersed in their education.

Whitewater rafting is a great adventure for Mike. He loves 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 him as running the rapids. Hell’s Canyon is one of his favorite places. It is a beautiful place full of great diversity of plants and animals. Every trip he makes through the canyon is a memorable experience. He can’t think of many things he likes more than a raft trip down a wilderness stretch of river with a great group of folks.

Craig Nichols (photo coming soon)

Craig is a river guide and entertainer extraordinaire. We are fortunate when we can pull him away from his ranch, 6 Ranch Corriente, which he runs with his wife Liza Jane and children Adele and James. His son James has also guided with us, but we've lost him to the Marine Corps. As a recorded singer/songwriter and award-winning cowboy poet, Craig keeps us around the campfires late into the night on the river.

Dave Yost

Dave 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.

Janet Hohmann

Janet is our naturalist-extraordinaire. She has been a wildlife biologist and outdoor educator for over 30 years and knows our regional natural and cultural history like the back of her hand. Janet earned a BS in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana and has worked as a field biologist for the US Forest Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Nature Conservancy. Her main research focus has been on non-game species, including various amphibians, small mammals, neotropical songbirds, forest and prairie grouse, hawks, and owls. Over the past 25 years, she's also worked as a backcountry interpretive guide, a guest speaker for school classes, and a trip leader for Elderhostel International.

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 and sleep on top of Mom & Dad when they're in their sleeping bags. I used to eat the meal left-overs, but according to Mom and Dad, I'm "watching my waist line," whatever that means. Perhaps it has something to do with my lifejacket feeling tighter.... See you on "the river"!

Posts from "The River"

Weekend Train Report on the Wallowa - Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:51:40 -0800 Steelhead Fishing Train Report! - Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:52:58 -0800	The Steelhead Express - Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:55:28 -0800 Fancy Clothes - Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:10:35 -0800

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