GUIDES & SAFETY

Eric Ladd, Owner & Guide

Eric launched Boundary Expeditions in 2016, operating multi-day river rafting trips on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. His passion for wilderness, rivers and guiding has never subsided after learning to guide at the age of 15 and later completing expeditions including the 2007 first descent of the Salween River in Tibet and the 2009 high-water descent of the Yangtze River in China.

Eric is also the founder of Outlaw Partners, a media, marketing and events firm in Big Sky, Montana and co-founder of L&K Real Estate, the top real estate brokerage in Big Sky.

Eli Kretzmann, Manager & Guide

Eli serves as Operations Manager and guide for Boundary Expeditions. Since 2008, summers have found him guiding on the Middle Fork Salmon, with winters largely spent traveling and guiding internationally. Eli’s other involvements include working for Outlaw Partners in Big Sky, MT and operating Over The Edge Travel, a boutique tour company offering private tours to Asia.

Jason Moore, Guide

Jason’s passion is exploring rivers around the globe. Expedition boating has taken him to China, Tibet, and Costa Rica including multiple first descents. Domestically, Jason has guided rivers from California, Colorado, Utah and Idaho, all the way to West Virginia. From the Class V creeks of the Central Rockies to the high-volume Colorado River through Westwater, Cataract, and the Grand Canyons, Jason has navigated ways to keep his feet wet and sleep with stars overhead.

Jason has worked as a professional river guide and guide trainer, competed in Class V whitewater races and still continues to teach as a wilderness medical educator when ever he gets the chance.

When he’s not on the river, Jason holds multiple professional roles including working as an epidemiologist while also practicing clinical medicine as a physician assistant in the specialties of general surgery, trauma and critical care.

Seth Dahl, Guide

Seth Dahl grew up in Montana where he fell in love with all things rivers. Soon he taught himself how to fly fish, kayak and to row a boat. His first river job took him down the Smith River, where he pushed a gear boat and cast flies to feeding trout. He also did day trips on the mighty Missouri River and on one such trip he came across Lewis and Clark in full regalia! No joke, ask him about it.

After a time in the military, Seth decided to pack up his gear and move to Idaho, with intent to work the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, the “Emerald Queen” of multi-day river trips. Eleven years later, Seth is still deeply in love with the wilds of the river, the people that float it, and the fish that swim it.

He spends his free time on river trips taking photos and drawing. Off the water, his drive for adventure has taken him into many wild corners of this world, mostly in pursuit of whitewater and fish. Seth spends his off-season in Boise, Idaho working for his video production business called Big Cedar Media. He hopes to inspire, motivate, and encourage people through the art of visual storytelling.

Mel Pareti, Guide

Mel grew up in the rolling hills of northern New Jersey. In younger years she had a few family fun floats on the Delaware River, and in 2000 had her first taste of whitewater on the Pacuare River in Costa Rica. In 2003 after finishing up her BA in Kinesiology from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, Mel headed to Fayetteville, West Virginia to learn to guide on the New River and the Gauley River.

After that very first season spent in West Virginia, she knew that the river would always be a part of her life. With the incredible whitewater also came a family of friends and an amazing community of boaters. Mel guided in West Virginia for a few years, and then in 2006 she also began guiding rivers in Colorado.

Mel spends as much time as possible on the river and loves sharing all things great about river life. The Middle Fork of the Salmon has become a special place to Mel and she’s excited to share its beauty. When not on the Middle Fork, Mel can be found guiding trips on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon, adventuring on private river trips somewhere in the west, or at home in the mountain town of Leadville, Colorado enjoying skiing, hiking, and nearby rivers.

Josh Timon, Guide

Josh caught his first “bug” of running rivers with Outward Bound in 8th grade. It was that trip down the Yampa and Green rivers in NW Colorado and Utah where Josh started learning about rivers, flows, navigation and the amazing experiences of multi day river expeditions. Since then Josh has floated the Grand Canyon, Westwater Canyon, many stretches along the upper Colorado and Eagle rivers, Desolation and Grey Canyons to name a few.

What draws Josh back to the river is the adrenaline rush and respect of the power of the river as well as the experience of Mother Nature while enjoying some hard-to-reach areas only navigable by boat. The Middle Fork of the Salmon offers an environment made up of world class fishing, natural hot springs, breath taking camping sites and a camaraderie that will last for years. Josh’s passion on the river will be exhibited when you sit down for meals as he enjoys the challenge of cooking in the elements.

Brian Ladd, Guide

Brian is passionate about mountains and rivers and have spent the last 20+ years climbing, fishing, ski touring, kayaking, and rafting. He has served as an alpine patroller for National Ski Patrol and hold an active certification in Outdoor Emergency care and am a licensed Emergency Medical Technician in Oregon.

The Middle Fork holds a special place in Brian’s heart and over the years he has come to appreciate the power and sacredness of this very special canyon. His favorite memory of this river was an intimate trip with friends and brother in 2014 when he made the descent in my drift boat, which helped me refine my river reading and rowing techniques in a hard-hulled boat.

Rapids can be had anywhere. Brian feels fortunate to have the opportunity to share this special canyon and environment with new clients (new friends) and the fact that it just happens to have a dense and exciting collection of whitewater is the icing on the cake. When not on the river, Brian runs a real estate team in Bend, Oregon and spends as much time outdoors with his amazing wife and kids as possible.

Cameron Scott, Guide

Cameron Scott has called the Central and Eastern Rivers of Oregon his home waters for over 20 years. A passion for floating rivers started in his early teens and it has been his calling ever since. With an average of over 100 days a year on the sticks on the Lower Deschutes River as a Fly fishing guide for trout and steelhead and multiple trips every year on the Wild and Scenic John Day river living in a crazy hectic world centered around the solitude and beauty of river life is a life he considers well lived and it is something he longs for almost every day of his life.

His favorite river trip in the past 20 years was a cancellation permit he was able to join in on with Eric and Brian Ladd, on the Middle Fork of the Salmon last July. The river levels were at 2.4 feet and dropping and he had agreed to float the river in a brand new plastic composite drift boat that Brian Ladd had just bought. We picked it up the night before the trip in boise and spent the next 5 days trying to dodge boat crushing boulders, huge drops and skinny water slots. It was the most adrenaline filled trip he has experienced in the past 20 years and one he won’t ever forget.

When not floating rivers or chasing the elusive steelhead all over the state of Oregon, Cameron is a custom home builder in Bend Oregon.

Linda Wilton, Massage Therapist & Yoga Instructor

Linda is a massage therapist and yoga instructor who loves to live a lifestyle that blends health, wellness and the outdoors. Growing up mostly on the east coast, Linda spent a lot of time traveling around ski racing in the winter and sometimes summer ski camps. During summers she took advantage of being around the ocean and lakes of northern New Jersey and through ski camps she was introduced to bigger mountains and all the other adrenaline activities it provided.

Her passion for sliding downhill on skis led her to move to Big Sky, Montana after graduating from St. Lawrence University in 2005 with a bachelors degree in economics and environmental studies.

While living in Montana during her early 20’s, Linda spent a few years ski patrolling and summers were spent rafting the Yellowstone River. It was during these years Linda gravitated towards yoga and bodywork while seeking a physical balance to an active lifestyle. She found herself traveling to Bali for her first yoga teacher training in 2010 and a few months after was led to attending massage school in Bozeman, Montana.

Now, having 10 years of established yoga classes and a massage therapy practice in Big Sky, Linda also enjoys spending several months living in Baja, Mexico during spring and fall. She has fallen in love with surfing the warm blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and the community of Southern Baja.

Black “Betty”, River Scout

Betty will join many Boundary guests on their journey’s through the Impassable Canyon and has logged countless river miles. She is a lab/pointer mix, born on a Montana farm with a strong passion for hunting, fishing and skiing.

She has a keen eye for rising fish and usually spends her afternoons sitting on the shoreline with guests pondering thoughts of the amazing landscape of the Middle Fork.