Hi! I’m back!

Hope you’ve had a lovely summer. I know I have!

Something VERY important that I discovered via social media this summer – I have a friend that’s a Registered Maine Guide. If you’re wondering what exactly a Maine Registered Guide does, here’s what maine.gov says:

“Registered Maine Guides are outdoor professionals who are licensed and permitted to accept any form of remuneration for their services in accompanying or assisting any person in the fields, forests or on the waters or ice within the jurisdiction of the State while hunting, fishing, trapping, boating, snowmobiling, using and all-terrain vehicle or camping at a primitive camping area.”

Pretty cool, right?

I caught up with Ashley, my Registered Maine Guide friend, to find out more..

First thing’s first – can you explain your title & tell us what certifications you’ve got?

Ho yeah! So I’m a Registered Maine Guide for Sea Kayaking and Recreation (which means I can guide kayak, SUP, and camping trips along the coast as well as lead kayak, canoe, sup, hiking, and any other recreational trip inland!), and I am certified by the ACA (American Canoe Association) to instruct classes for kayaking and standup paddle boarding.

 

What made you want to become a Registered Maine Guide? 

To be honest, I didn’t even know that a Registered Maine Guide was a thing haha. In 2017 I hit a mental rock bottom in my misery working in an office. That summer, I met a raft guide who said the river was his favorite office and I thought ‘now that’s the kinda office I could see myself in’ and decided I had to quit my job and jump into the outdoor industry. I emailed around to different paddling companies, I said something like “I have no idea what I want to do but I want to try!” Portland Paddle took me in, and I met so many badass guides and the rest just kinda came naturally.

 

How long did it take you to get certified? 

Each certification was a whole huge process. For sea kayaking, I took a 4 day course, studied for 3 months, only passed 2/3 of my first test, and went back a month later to retest. For the ACA certifications, each class was four 8 hour days of paddling, quizzing, practicing, and learning and then at the end of the class we learned if we passed or failed. I mentally prepared for the recreational licensing test for like a year and then I took another 4 day prep course and took the test a couple months later.

 

What are your favorite & least favorite parts of your job? 

My absolute favorite part of my job is helping people experience something they don’t normally get to experience. I’m pretty fortunate I’m able to do what I do, and I recognize that not everyone is capable of doing it safely, so it’s pretty cool to be that safety for folks. Least favorite? So far..the driving haha. Maine is my playground, and Maine is freaking huge. Driving to the different places that I guide can take me anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours – just to get there!

 

 

Remember when you & I got lost in the woods near our houses & your mom had to drive around honking her horn so we could follow it out? Do you think if this happened now you could get us out without the horn? 

Hahahah oh man, that was quite the time! I think we were looking for the blueberries? I don’t think we found them Yes! Definitely could get us out now, although that was a pretty rad woods exit we did there. Wanna go see if we can find those bluebs now??

 

Have you ever had a scary/crazy wild animal encounter while out doing your thang? 

Hahah scariest animal encounter I’ve had was probably the night I stayed on Crow Island by myself and the resident red squirrels were not scared of me and wanted my cheeze-its. I ended up sleeping on the beach instead of in the woods because I didn’t feel safe from them . Oh and then there was the time I saw my first Mola Mola on the backside of Richmond Island while I was paddle boarding – totally thought it was a shark at first!

 

 Is this a more male-dominated field? 

YES! Which is funny, because the first Maine Guide was a badass lady name Cornelia ‘Flyrod’ Crosby (look her up, she’s super cool). But yeah, historically, guiding is a male dominated field. I’ve noticed a lot more female guides popping up lately though!

 

How would you recommend someone start if they’re interested in getting into your line of work?

Throw any reservations you have out the window and go do it. Folks in the outdoor industry are the most supportive and helpful people. We want everyone to enjoy the outdoors, and the more people that know how to do it the right way, the better!

Find more info here!: Registered Maine Guides: Programs & Resources: Maine Dept of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife

If you think of anything COOL & LOCAL that I should check out, feel free to drop me a line at courtney@1019por.com or on Facebook (Courtney Ross) or Instagram (@justcourtneyblog)!