Meet Your River Guides

Rapid Expeditions is proud to introduce our dedicated river rafting guides! All are experts on the water, and maybe more importantly, they're all great people to spend a few hours with on the water!

Name: John Huff
Nickname: Huff
Hometown: Seymour, TN
Food: Beef — It's What's for Dinner
Music: Country
Favorite thing about being a river guide:
Excitement, thrill, meeting new people
Greatest whitewater memory: Rafting with my cousin, uncle, wife and son.
What are you doing when you're not on the water? Diggin' dirt, throwing hay and snow skiing.

Name: Wes Soward
Nickname: Westicle
Hometown: Kodak, TN
Food: Nannie’s potato salad
Music: Bluegrass/Dead/Old time
Favorite thing about being a river guide: Sharing my passion, respect and enjoyment of the outdoors with others.
Greatest whitewater memory: There are so many... I just love all the experiences and people over the years.
What are you doing when you're not on the water? Building green homes, biking, fly fishing, hiking, running, playing with my dogs.

Name: Ryan Rose
Nickname: Rose
Hometown: Powell, TN
Food: All of it :-)
Music: I really love just about anything. Incubus is a staple of mine, and I love The Crystal Method and Prodigy.
Favorite thing about being a river guide: Being outside and being able to appreciate the Great Outdoors and share my love of it with others.
Greatest whitewater memory: My first trip (ever) down the Ocoee.
What are you doing when you're not on the water? Just about anything else I can outside. Im trying to play as much as I can before I start medical school in the fall.

Name: Gene Lynch
Nickname: You better call me Gene
Hometown: Mill Springs, TN "aka" Heaven
Food: Fresh homegrown "maters" from my garden
Music: Old school country, bluegrass, "Skynnard"
Favorite thing about being a river guide: Meeting new people and telling stories to people who have to listen.
Greatest whitewater memory: Gauley trip 2002. Doe River at high water with Wes. Swimming Climax (oh no) on the Russel fork.
What are you doing when you're not on the water? 5th grade teacher.

Name: Jeff Christensen
Nickname: Mule Deer (an old baseball name)
Hometown: Knoxvegas!!
Food: Sushi
Music: Rock, jam bands, bluegrass
Favorite thing about being a river guide: Getting outside!!!
Greatest whitewater memory: My first whitewater combat roll on North White Oak Creek on a trip with my buddy Dave.
What are you doing when you're not on the water? Working, cycling (one speed is all you need), hockey, coaching a 13 year old baseball team.

Name: John Crawford
Nickname: Johnny C if you don't know me, snakebite if you do!
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
Food: Italian
Music: Bluegrass and alternative
Favorite thing about being a river guide: Turning people on to something new and dangerous.
Greatest whitewater memory: Kayaking the new river gorge at 4 feet.
What are you doing when you're not on the water? My main job is installing and programing cell phone sites.

Name: Grigori
Nickname: Siberian Greg
Hometown: Moscow (Russia)
Food: Bread, fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy, and brownies
Music: Electronic; reggae; classic, psychedelic and alternative rock; jam band
Favorite thing about being a river guide: Being outdoors and getting to meet new people.
Greatest whitewater memory: The epic big-water day on the Pigeon with Dave.
What are you doing when you're not on the water? Studying at the University of Tennessee or working ski patrol at Ober Gatlinburg.

Name: Paul Campbell
Nickname: Tripp, Mad Dog
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
Food: All food, I love to cook!
Music: Jazz, Americana
Favorite thing about being a river guide: Cooling off in the summer.
Greatest whitewater memory: Taking a family out on the water who up to that point had never even been in water before. By the end of the trip they were all swimming in the river!
What are you doing when you're not on the water? Building sailboats, scuba diving and skiing.

Name: Dave Crawford
Nickname: The Dad
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
Food: Anything, but nothing crazy
Music: Bluegrass
Favorite thing about being a river guide: Getting to share the love of the outdoors with others.
Greatest whitewater memory: There are too many to mention but I will never forget the Green and the Gauley.
What are you doing when you're not on the water? When I'm not on a river, you can either find me on my bike, on a board, or in my truck traveling somewhere cool.