When I was a teenager, I got the opportunity to work for Tat X as a guide. That summer introduced me to the rafting and river world and also to Bob Daffe. Over the years I was lucky enough to spend a lot of time working with Bob. Bob took many young guides like myself under his wing and gave them the opportunity to learn. He was an amazing teacher and mentor. He had high standards and expected hard work, but allowed his guides to make mistakes and learn from them. Tat camp and Bob were a very important part of my learning to be an adult. I will always remember the many life lessons I learned from Bob. Below are a few stories from my time working with Bob.
One time Bob, Peter Joe Jensen, Will Rees, and I had been out at Tat camp for around a week. We were definitely starting to become “bushed”. One night after a day trip we came home, made dinner, and sat around the fire drinking beers and chatting. After a while, everyone started to get a bit snacky. Bob got up from the fire and said he would be right back. We could tell from the twinkle in his eye that he was up to something. He went down to his bus and after a couple of minutes he practically sprinted back up carrying a few boxes. With the excitement of a kid on Christmas morning, Bob told us that he had army rations for us to try. For the rest of the night, the four of us sampled and critiqued dehydrated chilli, chicken, pasta, and puddings.
During one of my first rafting seasons, in the days when I was still intimidated by Bob, I was up on the roof of a bus unloading rafts after a day trip. I had dropped rafts off the roof of a bus many times, and I thought I had mastered the technique of spinning the raft 90 degrees and then pushing it until it slid off the side and landed leaning against the bus. On this occasion, I was unloading a different-sized raft than I was used to and when I dropped it off the side of the bus it did not land leaning against the bus. Instead, it bounced and slammed into the side of the bus, breaking several windows. Bob was standing right there watching the whole thing. I was horrified that this was a mistake that would end my raft guide career. Instead of getting angry or yelling, Bob very calmly said, “Everyone gets one”. He showed me where everything needed to repair the bus windows was and sent me on my way. By the end of that evening, the bus was good as new, I still had my job, and I came away with a few more useful skills. To me, this is a perfect example of the tough, but fair way that Bob led and taught his young guides.
As everyone who spent time around Bob knows, he loved a good prank and a bit of mischief. One season for the staff party, we organized a Raft Guide Olympics. It consisted of activities such as throwing throw bags, a raft obstacle course, and the raft guide shotgun (holding your breath in the beer pond followed by shotgunning a beer). Everyone was having a blast. Eventually, we all noticed that a coworker who shall not be named was missing along with their significant other. After some debate, we agreed that they must be “busy” in their camper. At this point, Bob had snuck away. When he returned, he had a mischievous look in his eyes and a giant Super Soaker water gun in his hands. We all knew where he was headed. The group followed him up past the cook shack and into the complex. I remember thinking that this was a bold move, even for Bob. As we got to the complex, all the guides hid behind bushes, rafts, and trees. Bob snuck up to the camper and without hesitation swung the door open and unleashed the wrath of the Super Soaker. Everyone ran back down the hill absolutely howling with laughter.
One of my favourite things about Bob was seeing how much he enjoyed being on the river. It didn’t matter if it was a flood run in June, or a chilly low-water day in August – he always seemed so content to be on the water. On day trips, he usually elected to take the lunch raft to make sure all the guides could take a paddle raft. He spent day trips splashing clients, bumping rafts off line, sneaking into eddies, whistling songs and practicing his royal wave. If a night run was happening, Bob would be there. If new people were hanging around camp, Bob would offer to guide a raft down the river during the night run. I am so impressed that after 40 years of paddling the same river, Bob still got so much enjoyment out of running the Tat.
