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East Africa Trek & Safari
Book Now! Space still Available!
More Unique & Less Traveled Routes
Climb Africa's two highest mountains via unique routes and take a 3-day safari to Masai Mara after the treks. Cost is $6,895 (airfare from the USA included!). December 29 - January 20, 2008
Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya, at 19,340 ft. and 17,157 ft., respectively, are the two highest points on the African continent. Though they straddle the equator, both receive heavy amounts of snowfall in the rainy season due to their high altitude. This package allows you to explore some of the more unique and less traveled routes on each mountain. You will start with a trek up Mt. Kenya via the scenic Chogoria Route. As this is not a technical climb, the maximum altitude we can reach on Mt Kenya is 16,450ft. at Pt Lenana.
Your 5 days on Mt. Kenya have now prepared you for the higher altitudes of Kilimanjaro, which you will ascend via the very scenic  Machame Route, then descend quickly via the Mweka Route. You summit Kilimanjaro after 6 days on the mountain, including one rest day. A one day cultural tour in Nairobi and 3 days safari in Masai Mara are included. Save money by getting your friends to go with you! Book four or more people as a group and save $295/person
Click here for more details |
Peruvian Adventure
"Calling RA Guides was the smartest decision we made concerning our trip."
-Jay Thompson
Happy clients Jay Thompson and his wife recently returned from a "fabulous trip" to Ecuador and Peru. They got a late start on their planning, but RA Guides came through for them with kayaking and trekking in both countries. They had tried to book a trek on the Inca Trail, but that walking route is congested this time of year and was full. Here's Jay's account of the Peruvian adventure trek RA Guides planned instead.
 The trek RA Guides provided for us was fantastic! The four-day, three-night trek started just outside Cusco and ended near Ollantaytambo. For the first two days we hiked to a summit of 14,520 ft. From there we beheld the breathtaking view of the entire snow capped range running along the Sacred Valley of the Incas. The second night we camped at 14,200 ft. next to a beautiful mountain lake. During the mostly downhill next day-and-a-half, we visited two Inca ruins, the Temple of Veronica and the Inca Quarry. While we were technically backpacking, the camping experience and comfort was more in line with first class car camping. The cook prepared three delicious meals each day, and a dining tent was put up to serve us.
 The trek had two distinct aspects that we greatly enjoyed: the breathtaking beauty of the high Andean scenery and the cultural experience the trek afforded. Our guide was from the area, and he told us about the spiritual traditions in Andean culture and about how people live today. In many smaller mountain villages, people still barter their agricultural products to earn a living. On the way to the summit, we stopped to meet a couple of Peruvian families that live and farm in the mountains. It was eye-opening to see how the indigenous people live. All our guides and porters were native Cachicattans from the small community, Cachicatta, at the end of our trek. Here we learned that a portion of the fee for each trip is donated to the people of the community to help with projects in the area. The town has collectively built a campsite where we spent our last night. The campsite, which represented the finest example of eco-tourism I have seen anywhere in the world, was very nice. The hot showers particularly impressed us!
In sum, I wish we would have let RA Guides plan our entire trip because our favorite experiences were the adventures set up by Mad Max and company
Sincerely, Jay Thompson
Click here for more details:
Ecuador, Peru |
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Kayak Classes Run Through September
2-Day novice river classes on the Colorado River will have plenty of water even after the Front Range rivers dry up this season.
 You can still get time on the river for some whitewater kayak training! Through September, take the two-day novice trip on the Colorado River near beautiful Glenwood Canyon! Designed for first-time whitewater kayakers or for those who want to refine and review technique, this is a great course and a good follow-up to our basics and roll courses. While the Front Range rivers are dropping, the Colorado River is still going strong, providing a great learning experience and an exciting trip through the end of September. Novice lake class K110 or demonstration of equivalent ability is a prerequisite.
Some words of wisdom from Mad Max: "The 2-day novice classes are really the best way to learn to kayak on the river. The first day you learn to handle eddies and different currents, then practice and increase your comfort level. The second day, you put the skills to use with confidence and accelerate your learning. Over 2 days, you'll gain good kayaking skills, not to mention that spending 2 days on the river is just a lot of fun. All kinds of people take this course. We've had:  younger families enjoying paddling and bonding together; two brothers and their sons spending time in an enjoyable outdoor activity together; couples experiencing nature and some of the magic of moving water; and kids - one nine-year old kid went through his first Class II rapids and ended with a big grin because he styled it! He looked really good!"
Spaces are filling fast! Sign up now!
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Extend Your Kayaking Season
Central American Kayaking Trips Offered in November and December 
What's a kayaker to do when it's the end of September in Colorado and summer is just a memory? Book one of RA Guide's Kayaking Trips to Costa Rica or Panama, that's what! "For about 20-odd years Costa Rica has been a kayaker's heaven," explained Mad Max Young. "They have great infrastructure, super-friendly people (the native Ticos) and every valley you go into has another FANTASTIC river!" Not to mention the views of the jungle and the critters therein! Panama also has some great rivers, but is more undiscovered - akin to what Costa Rica was 20 years ago.
 Class III-IV paddlers can choose from either a November 10-18 adventure in Costa Rica or a November 24 - December 2 trip to Panama. These trips provide paddlers a great opportunity to enjoy the wilder side of paddling in Costa Rica or Panama. The trips have everything from creeking to big volume rivers. A mid-trip rest day on the Caribbean beach offers some super-surfing. Costa Rica has world renowned class III-IV rivers like the Pacuare, Reventazon and the General. This trip will be great for adrenaline surging whitewater as well as scenic flat sections to enjoy the feeling of complete remoteness as you paddle in the middle of the jungle. The cost for each trip is $1,485/person and does not include airfare from the US.
Costa Rica for class II-III kayakers is an eight day trip running from November 17-25. This tropical paddling paradise is the perfect place to increase your kayaking skills and enjoyment. It begins with a day of working on skills playing kayak polo and surfing at the beach. Two days on gentle rivers follow that, with another day at the beach and then three more days on rivers as you get to step it up a notch or two. Warm water, a multitude of different rivers to choose from and the gentle surf of the ocean offer the perfect setting for this beautiful kayaking adventure. We've combined all the best that Costa Rica has to offer for this tour - great paddling, awesome instructors, a schedule with plenty of down time for recovery, and side adventures to the jungle and the beach to keep a smile on anyone's face.
Click here for more details:
Costa Rica, Panama
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Testimonials
Hey all, Kevin Cahill and I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for an awesome intro to kayaking! We started in the pool with Mad Max who really made it an exciting first day! From there we went to the roll class with Lyle. Once again, very enjoyable. That brought us to the Dotsero river class with Lyle, which was lots of fun and above and beyond our expectations. Thanks, Lyle, and double thanks for the hero shot! We hope to see you again soon. The mission for the summer is a bombproof roll! (Swimming sucks!) - Marc Leyser "It's not very often you show up at a roadside for a kayaking lesson, meet some people and within 30 minutes put yourself in a life threatening situation with them. You have to have confidence in the instructors and equipment in a class like this. I did with no hesitation. It was good to see a healthy level of attention to detail. I felt my equipment was in good condition, well-maintained and up-to-date -- no ragged edges, splits or cracks. I will continue to use RA Guides for my kayak training and will highly recommend them to others. I really enjoyed my class, what I learned and who I learned it from."-- Fraser Roberts, 3-Day Novice Class Student
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Kayaking Facts
- The river stewardship club American Whitewater recently reported that "paddlers represent a true cross-section of American society and include many highly educated professionals who know the limits of their skills. By choosing what rapids they run, they control the intensity of their experience. It is a life-long sport that nurtures a love for wild places and an appetite for low-impact, human powered travel. Extreme paddlers are especially calculating when exposing themselves to danger."
- Paraphrased by Mad Max: "Kayaking doesn't have to be extreme. It's more of a hydrotherapy for people. It's a great way to get your soul fed! It's as extreme as you want to make it."
- Outfitting and kayaks have evolved over the last five years. Notably, kayaks are more comfortable with strategically placed padding for your hips and thighs. Paddles are now available with a bent shaft, helping avoid carpal tunnel irritation. Even helmets and PFDs (personal flotation devices) have really improved.
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Kayak Sale!
We will be selling many of the boats from our instructional fleet at
the end of the season. These boats are only 1-2 seasons old and in
good condition. We have the range of Mambas (7.5, 8.0, 8.5), Wavesport Diesels, a Prijon Fever and Chopper, and a range of Jackson Funs and a MegaRocker. We are selling all of them for $700 each (includes float bags), or a package that includes a paddle, skirt and helmet for $750, not including sales tax of 7.6%. If you want to buy one of these boats, you can reserve one with a deposit of $250, with the balance due on Sep 15th, which is when you can pick up the boat. Deposits are non -refundable if you change your mind, so make sure you want the boat before reserving one. Paddles , skirts and helmets are also available individually for $50 each |
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