Bob was a humble man with very little judgment for others. Adventurous, yes, but also very inclusive towards all types of people. His priority was simply to share his passion and love of rivers. I was always surprised by Bob’s curiosity toward people and his respect for their differences. In the guiding industry, we often find more men than women but Bob always made sure to employ an equal number of men and women. Bob truly believed that both are equally capable of working as guides. This always created a nice dynamic in our team. Bob always said that you can teach anyone to paddle a raft but the more difficult skill is to gain the trust of your passengers and entertain your clients. That’s why on a trip with Bob, the day always started with a gathering by the river bank to discuss and clarify the plan for the day. Bob took advantage of these moments to joke around, laugh and chit-chat with the group. It was a nice atmosphere.
Bob was passionate about history and culture. After rivers, this was the next reason why Bob loved travelling. When I worked for him, we would often get up at five in the morning to drive to the Tatshenshini camp. During our long drives in old school buses, Bob often talked for hours about the history and culture of different countries he had travelled to. Bob also liked reading about history and sharing what he learned.
One of the things we loved to do was to go paddling late at night after a hard day of work. Often, we would guide all day on the Tatshenshini river to then eat supper and get back on the river again to kayak. There is a river, the Klehini, which is near the Canada / US border by Haines Alaska. We would go there and paddle in the evening. The rapids were really exciting and the scenery was stunning. When we were in Whitehorse, we would head out after work and paddle the Tutshi River near White Pass. We would leave at 5:30pm to start driving and eventually put on the water around 8 or 9pm. It was pure dedication toward our passion for kayaking!
Bob was an extremely generous man. Under his wing, Bob taught me to guide river expeditions. Together, we paddled numerous rivers not only in the Yukon but also in Nepal, Chili, Ecuador and the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.
At a young age, Bob trusted me to guide expeditions up to two weeks in length. I learned to prepare the equipment, the meals and to command the raft with confidence. One of the first trips I guided was an expedition on the Macmillan river with a group of disadvantaged youth. At 17 years old, Bob let me make all the preparations for this trip. I remember asking him: “What should I bring for meals?”. Bob responded: “I don’t know Olivier, make a meal plan and go shopping for your menu…” I then asked Bob: “What should I cook with?” He responded: “I don’t know Olivier, use a stove or cook on the fire. Whatever you like… “Following his advice, I decided not to bring a stove and to cook on the fire for the group for two weeks. It was a lot of work and I learned a ton. Now when I go on trips, I bring a stove.
That was Bob though, he was not the type to try and micro-manage people. He believed in the abilities of his guides and instilled trust in them to make the right decisions for the trips they lead. Sometimes, when I really made a mistake or forgot something important, Bob would pull me aside and let me know.
Bob was extremely adventurous. His desire for adventure was incomparable. Bob had ideas of rivers to paddle to last him more than one lifetime.
Once, I went shopping for an 11-day expedition on the Tat / Alsek. I asked Bob for his credit card. He replied: “Call me on my cellphone when you’re at the till.” So, I shopped for my trip and the bill was around $2000. I arrived at the till and called Bob on his cell. He replied: “I’ll be there right away!” A few minutes later, Bob entered the store, walked over to the cashier and asked her: “Can I have my Senior’s discount please?” On $2000, it was quite a discount! That was Bob, he loved laughing and playing with the rules. For him, it was just a game.
Once, while trying to start an old school bus with jumper cables, I started a fire in the engine compartment. I scrambled around looking for a fire extinguisher and finally managed to put out the fire. Concerned with this situation, I found Bob to explain what happened. I asked him: “What should I do?”. Bob responded: “Take it for a drive, see if it still works!” We laughed a bit and I proceeded to take the bus for a drive.
