Michael Hughes: whitewater guide

Michael Hughes is a 37-year-old river guide, training director, and year-round rafting company employee who’s built a stable yet unconventional life around whitewater. (@northwest.rafting.company)

His journey started at age 19 on a canoe float down the Rio Grande, where he realized that working on rivers could actually be a job. Michael spent his twenties chasing the guiding season between California and Oregon, stitching together odd jobs to keep returning to the water. He built chicken coops, worked wine harvests, lead students on a gap year program in India and Nepal, and never let a “real job” get  ...