Meet Mara: Mara is the Director of Product Management Rivers & North America at MT Sobek. She is also the reason our Rafts & Drafts trip came to be! Her position at MT Sobek is incredibly important because she deals with ALL of the river permits that the company holds for rivers all over the world as well as deals with all of the land based excursions in North America. Without those permits, all of the river trips that MT Sobek hosts would not be able to happen. Mara expressed that she feels so lucky to be a part of a MT Sobek’s legacy. MT Sobek has led the majority of first descents on commercial rivers and to be a part of this legacy/ to share it with all of the clients that come on these excursions means so much to Mara.
Mara and I talked a lot about the light bulb moment that these excursions give people. That moment when you are completely disconnected and truly at peace with it. It is that moment where you realize that you don’t need much, in these beautiful places you don’t need much at all. You become infatuated with your surroundings, dumbfounded that you have been missing this beauty for so long and suddenly all of the validation that you search for in the real world has withered away because everything you need is right in front of you.
The light bulb moment Mara experienced was on her first day trip on a river in California with her mother and aunt at the age of 15. She explained how she was a “water baby”. She loved the water, the sunshine and the rush of the rapids. The following year she went on a 3 day trip and then again the next. The female guide on the second 3 day trip approached Mara and asked if she had ever thought about becoming a river guide herself. Of course Mara had no clue where to begin but before she knew it, she was in guide school the summer following her senior year of high school. It was then that her career in commercial whitewater river guiding began.
Mara has been rafting all around the world for the last 30 years. She started in California and was able to raft all throughout the state. The large company that she started her career with in the 90’s also gave her the opportunity to pursue her passion on rivers all throughout Oregon. 150 days a year Mara would guide, “chasing the endless summer”. Not many guides will make this an actual career but Mara did. California, Southern Oregon, the Grand Canyon, the Middle Fork and Main Salmon, the Selway, and not to mention Eastern India! She has tackled everything from dessert rivers to alpine settings, class 3 to class 5 rapids, flat water to technical water, the wilderness is her second home and she is tied to it. Her very first experience guiding in Idaho was on the Salmon river which is where Rafts & Drafts is taking place in June of 2020. Mara said that she instantly knew that she needed to guide in Idaho because it was so beautiful and proceeded to guide in Idaho for 10 years.
Staying motivated to keep pursuing this profession and continually becoming a better guide was easy for Mara because of a couple of different things. First, she has always been an athlete. Being in shape and able to maneuver rivers is a huge part of guiding as you can imagine. Mara grew up playing Volleyball and continued to play in college, she loved the physical challenge of guiding different rivers. Next, it is about better understanding the water. Each river is different and takes a different understanding and skill yet to successfully guide. Finally, as a guide it is so important to work as a team. On these trips, especially the long river excursions, guides are in an interesting role because they aren’t only a part of someones vacation, they are leading it and a lot of what they do as guides determines their clients whole experience. Mara had to learn not only to work with her fellow guides but work as team leader for the clients in her boat. Making them feel at ease, educating them, entertaining them, and putting out fires behind the scenes so that these clients can really unwind and connect to their surroundings with ease. Mara is the one that can show these people how important it is to care for these places, leave no trace and protect their resources, which is something she is so passionate about.