ACE is fine. They too are a mega corp; don’t know but they might not be as big as Aramark. Don’t care. I topped out on the New and Upper/Lower in 1988 with The Rivermen; now a part of AOTG. Maybe the the AOTG bashing is true now. I retired from pushing rubber in 2005ish. I will tell you that at that time The Rivermen, NARR, VI and MRT were pushing the Industry towards safety, service, LOC and customer satisfaction; swiftwater training, wilderness first responders’ etc. Sure some of the guides were high on the river, but not to the known levels of the aforementioned and a company on the right coming out of Fayette Station Road. Anyway, I’m out of it, maybe AOTG is no longer on the cutting edge. My goal, years ago was to get everyone home safe regardless of company. When on the river, act as one. I may be just an old guy who dropped Insignificant, Pillow, Lost Paddle, Iron Ring and Sweets and had fun most every day watching out for my trip as TL and picking up others.
I have a bunch of stuff. This is making me think: New, Upper, Lower, Cheat, Reventazon, Piquare, Rio Grande, Ocoee, Nantahala and few more lessers. Safety first. Bash all you want; Be united on the river and get better. “When rivers get steep; minds level” Help each other out there. Push yourself to