Why you should always/never ride with a rookie guide
It is said that the most important members of a company are the new ones. The newcomers have a fresh perspective, new ideas, several questions, and the will to work hard and to commit themselves into the never-ending process of learning. Constantly seeking knowledge and ways to improve, committing to perform at their very best at all times and synchronizing their pace of work to the company’s logistic machinery. Rookies always have the beginner’s adventures.
We all remember stories from our rookie year, from the very first day of training to the first trips ever down the river. Some of my costumers ask me how my very first trip was, and I honestly replied, I peed myself for the first few times. Even though I had spent over 160 hours on the Ocoee river during over a month of intense training, had swam most of the river and knew how to handle any case scenario that might happen, the river changes every day, and every hour. We have to learn its pulse, its rhythm, the river is an entity to be respected, and learning all of its secrets takes time.
The rookie’s adventures on water are stories worth living. For the wild crews, riding with a rookie can be a fun, rowdy ride. There is something very unique and authentic about a guide’s first trips that is worth experiencing as a costumer, every trip is a brand new adventure. It is beautiful to see the thrive of guiding, the pursue of making the team work together, of analyzing the river’s ongoing process of existence: rocks that move due to the water flux, trees that fall, the different ways the wind blows every day, the currents that change.
Senior guides are more familiar with the river and have better knowledge of how the water changes in different conditions. Therefore, the senior guide experience is a different kind of adventure, it can still be rowdy, but it’s more strategized. The progression of a guide’s trips is usually: wild, mild, wild/mild. The rookie experience is something you can only have during a specific time, wild eventually becomes mild and then technically wild, but mild, in the sense that the adventure lies in refining specific technical skills of a well-known river. All experiences are unique and every adventure is a new adventure, newcomers are welcomed, experienced guides are admired. All of us, rookie or senior guides or costumers, are just like the river, constantly changing and learning, while living great stories.
By: Laura de Leers
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FAMILY FUN FOR ALL AGES! JON HALL WAS AWESOME! First let me say we had 5 people. Ages ranged from 18 to 42 and everyone had a blast! Jon Hall was an awesome and experienced rafter who really seemed to know his stuff. He was there to make sure... read more 10/31/2019jineshFun Packed Rafting We were a group of friends and each of us enjoyed the ride. The company believes in the complete satisfaction of the customer. We had Phil as our guide and he was amazing. He gave us a really wonderful time... read more 10/15/2019lorihaginsJon Hall makes the experience!!! My husband and I went white water rafting on the Ocoee for the first time and had an absolute blast! This was in part due to the nature of the activity but also because Jon made it such an experience!... read more 10/11/2019 - RonnyRequest Jon Hall Man, this trip was awesome. We did a half day in late September, so the water was still warm but it wasn’t insanely hot outside. We were a more adventurous group, and our tour guide, Jon Hall, did his best... read more 9/29/2019JenniferFantastic company, fantastic experience! There are a lot of choices in this area for white water rafting. I'm glad we chose this one! The proprietor made us feel welcome and is clearly committed to creating an unforgettable experience for his customers that lives through... read more 9/25/2019mammothfilmsAwesome Experience I have nothing but great things to say about OAR. I would recommend anyone looking for an Ocoee rafting adventure to use OAR. The guides are great at what they do and it is easy to see they love doing it. 9/23/2019
- Nina1121Team trip It was great! We did paintball, white water rafting and rock climbing and repelling. John was our instructor for the white water rafting, and for a party of 20 it was the smoothest trip I had ever been on. 9/22/2019JackBest bang for the buck! If you want to float down the river and watch people actually hit rapids repeatedly go somewhere else. If you want to get in the stink, go to OAR. Our guide Jon was the trip leader and he definitely set... read more 9/21/2019imranmeghjiAwesome experience - better than other companies we saw The OAR team did an awesome job to provide an action packed yet safe adventure. John started us off with the most entertaining (yet informative) safety session I have ever seen. All the guides were super knowledgeable and... read more 9/16/2019
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