Valerie Cassity
Special to the Sun

Kristen Finstad grew up rafting the Kern River, and turned a happy childhood experience into a job that she loves. For the past twelve years, Kristen has been a raft guide on the Kern River, and since 2005, she has been a guide for Kern River Outfitters (KRO) on the Forks of the Kern; the most remote and challenging section of the river.

Growing up in Kernville, Kristen’s dad, Gary Finstad, began taking her rafting as soon as she was old enough to use a paddle at age 6. While a student at Kern Valley High School at age 15, Kristen attended her first guide school and began guiding for Sierra South that summer, and returned the next year. After graduating from KVHS, Kristen went to work for Kern River Tours, where she guided Class IV trips for five seasons, until 2005 when she began guiding the forks for KRO. “I really enjoy taking guests who otherwise wouldn’t be able to do that, and help them develop a new skill set and show them places they wouldn’t see otherwise, and have them feel safe riding in my boat,” she said. Many raft guides work toward becoming a member of the forks team, but Kristen said that she never had that set as a goal. Rather, fate stepped in a few summers ago, when she was approached by the forks team, who she had known for many years, and was asked to start training. The forks contains Class V rapids; the most dangerous and exhilarating classification where experience and focus on safety is crucial. Guides are chosen for their ability to handle difficult situations with knowledge, calm, and poise. Those who are chosen generally love the river and feel at home in a boat. “It’s amazingly beautiful and remote, which adds to the excitement and adventure to the trip, because you’re so far away from civilization that you have to be self-contained,” explained Kristen, “The adrenaline that comes with those rapids, it’s one of a kind.”

Kristen said that she loves to travel, and in 2005 was able to guide commercially for a season in Costa Rica where, she recalled, the water was bathwater warm. She thoroughly enjoyed guiding there through a canyon where monkeys and scarlet macaws abounded. “The beauty of the rainforest was amazing, and it was a really, really great learning experience for me; about myself and boating,” said Kristen.

Even though Kristen thoroughly enjoys her summers as a raft guide, she says that the pay is not something that one can build a life upon. Last month, Kristen earned her Bachelors Degree in Nursing from Cal Poly San Luis Obisbo, and plans to go into critical care nursing as her career. After this season, Kristen plans to return to Ventura and get a job in the hospital there. She plans to continue rafting throughout her life, and would like to explore other rivers around the nation. “In the future I would like to travel and keep boating and not live off of a raft guide’s wages. I’ve done that for far too long.”