RiverRunsThroughHer

travel - recreation - explore

adventure

“Only as high as I reach can I grow, only as far as I seek can I go, only as deep as I look can I see, only as much as I dream can I be.”

– Karen Ravn

A River Runs Through Her

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Photo by Amy Hansen.

Photo by Stephanie Trimmer.

adventure

WRITTEN BY June Pace

Living in this corner of the southwest provides easy access to many magnificent state and national parks. One of the greatest gifts these parks offer, are the rivers that run through them. The Colorado River, in particular, is an exceptionally epic water way that snakes through miles of parks and scenery. Only those that make the trip to see it will ever understand its grandeur. And a privileged portion of those will actually take a trip on the river and experience it first hand. But perhaps the most fortunate are the river guides, who through hard physical labor and commitment to their craft, take these adventurers down the river on an experience of a lifetime - running the Colorado River down the length of the Grand Canyon. Many of these guides are women, who have broken through the stereotypes - women who have proven with grace and tenacity that they can provide you with the ride of your life.

Stephanie Trimmer is one of those women. Moving here from Virginia and after many trips down the Colorado and other rivers, she gave into the pull of the water and the red sand, and made her home the southwest. No longer a river guide, she works for the National Park Service in Zion National Park, lives on a mesa in a home built by her and her husband, Brad, a master stone mason, and turns the red soil into lush gardens that defy the desert air. She still gets on the river when she can, and the life she has created for herself here reflects the impact that the desert landscape has had on her and that the sound of the rapids are never far away. woman

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Describe your background and how you became a river guide: “I grew up in the suburban DC area. When I graduated from college I received graduation gift checks and an ad for a river trip in the mail on the same day. I took that as a sign. I drove to the Grand Canyon and hiked into Phantom, hopped on a boat and never looked back. The manager of the company was one of the guides and I asked him for a job at the end of the trip. He sent me to wash life jackets. Not what my Mom had in mind for her college graduate. I started as a river cook, then rowed the gear boat, and was guiding by the start of my third season.”

Describe your and Brad’s new home and the process: “It took us six years to complete the core of our home. I often thought we could have made a reality show called ‘adventure building.’ We built on a site with challenging access for traditional cars, much less delivery trucks, concrete trucks, and all of the services necessary for home building. It was a long, challenging road. But waking up to the silence of wilderness and a national park front yard is out of this world. It’s like waking up on a river trip with its daily shocking beauty, but with a coffemaker, beer in bottles and a flush toilet. Heaven.”

What role did gender play in your experience as a guide: “When I hiked in to Phantom there was one woman guide. I jumped on board with her. It was her first trip as a guide. She didn’t tell me that at the time. We both were carrying our own set of fears and accomplishments.

She encouraged me to pursue a boating ‘career’. It probably would never have happened without her example.”

“As a woman, your boat is often that last one to fill up at Lee’s Ferry.

Many people have the misconception that strength equals ability.

Inevitably, after a few days, passengers would be reserving in advance to ride on my boat. I’d never tell people verbally that, ‘Hey I’m as good as the guys.’ I’d let them overcome their stereotypes on their own. I think it was a healthy lesson for them, and a rewarding process for me to watch people growing in unexpected ways.”

How has being on the river informed or influenced your life choices since then: “The river is overflowing with metaphors for life. I guess one of the more teachable ones would regard Lava Falls. Rough waters are going to come. They’re invevitable. But you can’t just stop. You’ve got to navigate through or you’ll be stuck there forever (there’s a miserable thought). So take a long, hard look, get in your boat, navigate it as gracefully as you can and float away. You might be a little beat up, but it’s over, and you can move on.”

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Photos by Amy Hansen.

THE SUMMER ISSUE 2012

Photo by Stephanie Trimmer.

Photo by Brad Quinn.

Describe your current position in the Park Service and fire training: “I am the clerk for the Wildland Fire Division at Zion National Park with a secondary duty as a wildland firefighter. The training was one week of fire school and the minimum fitness level rating is ‘arduous’ – meaning you go on a three-mile course with a 45-pound pack, you aren’t allowed to run and you complete it in less than 45 minutes. I’ve been on four local fires this summer, all initial attacks. It is really rewarding work; so much adrenaline, so many unknowns. But the industry is so well trained and safety driven, and our crews are so experienced and solid that I felt comfortable out there. They are an amazing, hard-working bunch of folks. A lot like the river-you have a crew with a goal, and nobody’s gonna achieve anything alone. Most importantly, having each other’s back is the core.”

What does being on the river mean to your life now: “Unfortunately river season and fire season are one and the same (tomato season too, for that matter) which leaves me little time for river trips. I went down two years ago, 22 days of reminiscing. It was a little intimidating after so many years away. Nothing had changed. Pretty hopeful thing to know that so many of those camps have had between 15 and 30 people living in them each night for 7-8 months a year for all those years, and they look just like they did when I left.”

Photo by Amy Hansen.

woman

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