Life as a raft guide in Durango may seem too good to be true. Paddling down the cool waters of the Animas with the summer sun blazing above and beautiful mountain views around every turn. What could be better?

The good news is, the job can be as sweet as it sounds, but it takes a certain person with the right mentality about life, nature and going with the flow. According to what several of Durango’s veteran paddlers had to say, here’s what it takes to be a rafting guide in Durango:

Love the water

Whether they had grown up on the river or had just stepped foot in a raft a few years ago, all of the guides said they were doing the job because they love being on the water.

Kjirsten Williams, an English teacher at Aztec High School, said she started guiding to make extra money during the summer.

“Now I keep teaching so I can keep rafting,” said Williams, who has been guiding for six years. “I tell my students when I grow up I want to be a full-time river guide.”

There’s a special quality about water that makes it unique from any other outdoor experience, said Josh Lau, a fourth-year river guide veteran.

“There’s something about rivers that draws people into a different human experience,” Lau said. “It connects us all and is such a life force to everything around you.”

Be a people person

The most important part of the job is making sure the customers come away happy, said raft guides. It can be a challenge working with different people’s moods, senses of adventure and desires for the trip, they said.

It’s a combination of hospitality and baby-sitting, said Codye Reynolds, a guide going into her 11th season.

On top of making sure people have a good time, guides also have to help everyone work together to get the raft down the river.

“It’s harder work than you think,” said Aaron Schenk, manager at Four Corners Whitewater.

Let go

Some of the best river trips venture into the deepest wilderness, guides said.

It’s the complete immersion into nature that makes the trip so liberating and fulfilling, Reynolds said.

“I like being removed from technology and white noise that comes from city life,” she said. “You have to relinquish to the river and the wilderness.”

There’s no thinking about unpaid bills or future appointments when your boat is slamming through rapids and winding down the river, she said.

“People have to give up and be where they are,” she said.

Be flexible

The summer season lasts only so long, so most guides have to find ways to make a living the other half of the year. Reynolds has been a barista and a retail employee. Lau blows snow at Telluride and travels cheaply to South America. And Aaron Lombardo, a 20-year guiding veteran, plays in a band, works at a zipline company and owns a chimney sweep company.

Rafting jobs also can take guides away from home to rivers across the country.

“The hardest part of the job are the personal relationships,” Reynolds said. “I’m on the move so much, I don’t get to see my friends and family as much.”

Adapt to the conditions

Guides can never control the weather or the water, so it’s up to them to adapt to whatever the day brings, Schenk said.

During training, students have to practice flipping over the raft then flipping it back, and sometimes the water can be freezing, Williams said. She remembered going through flip training one spring while it was snowing.

Wet suits don’t help much, she said.

Be ready to work hard

Raft guiding isn’t all about floating down the river, Schenk said.

“The job is physically demanding,” he said.

Guides have to stack boats, load gear and be able to paddle with enough force to guide the boat down rapids and between obstacles.

On multiday trips, the preparation work makes for extra-long days, Lombardo said.

“It’s getting up at 5 a.m. to pack up gear, load on the train, spend an eight- or nine-hour day on the water then cooking and cleaning at night,” he said. “It’s like a 15-hour day for us.”

Don’t expect a stellar paycheck

“It’s great living, this life, but it’s not the greatest financial-wise,” said Drew Kensinger, who has been rafting for four years.

It’s a labor of love more than a career, Lau said.

“You’re never going to make a ton of money doing this, so if you want to continue doing it, it’s definitely a lifestyle choice,” he said.

Enjoy

“People come here for vacation, and I get to do it for a living,” Kensinger said.

It’s difficult to name a difficult or terrible part of the job, Schenk said.

“It’s like, ‘Wow, I can get paid to go out on the river and hang out with people and have fun in the sun.’”

ecowan@durango herald.com