Leon "Buckshot" Anderson represents a bygone era of fishing lore. At 67, he still practices the time-honored craft of shore lunches that he learned from his father, Roy "Andy" Anderson. He's a Freshwater Fishing Hall of Famer who began his guiding career under the watchful eye of his father as a 13-year old upstart back in 1951. He is one of the lucky ones who has a lifetime of adventure stories.
John Bates is an author, naturalist, and educator. His books include Trailside Botany; Seasonal Guide to the Natural Year for Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin; A Northwoods Companion-Spring and Summer; A Northwoods Companion-Fall and Winter, and River Life: The Cultural and Natural History of a Northern River. He has worked as a naturalist for the Wisconsin DNR, and currently owns Trails North, a naturalist guiding service.
Deana Jones Bigley is a retired Art and Physical Education teacher from Sugar Camp. She enjoys being active in many outdoor pursuits and has biked across Iowa five times. She's been a ropes course facilitator at the Ced Vig Classroom since 1989 and still holds the record on the Duo Dangle.
Scott Bradley is a veteran of numerous wilderness canoe trips in northern Canada, including adventures on the God's River, Red Sucker, and North Knife, to name a few. He's American Canoe Association certified in flat and moving water. Scott has been canoeing for 37 years.
Mark Bruhy has been an archaeologist for more than 30 years. His academic training was at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, receiving B.A. and M.S. degrees in anthropology with a focus on North American archaeology. Since 1981 he has served as historic and archaeological sites manager for the U.S. Forest Service. His primary interests are the management and protection of archaeological sites, and Upper Great Lakes Native American tribal identity and social organization prior to European contact.
Mary Burns works primarily as a fiber artist and incorporates elements of the Northwoods into nearly all her pieces. She has been teaming with John Bates for over 17 years to lead an array of natural history trips.
Tori Cihla is a personal trainer, martial artist, and pilot. The hat she is most proud to wear, though, is that of mom to her two children. She has been a ropes course facilitator since 1992.
Dan Clausen teaches canoeing, sea kayaking and windsurfing. He has lead many trips on Lake Superior and in 1994 led a sea kayaking expedition around the Whitsunday Islands in Australia. Dan has been a certified ski instructor for 27 years including 8 years in Australia.
Ana Davis has been teaching Creative Writing and English for the past ten years in England, France, New Zealand and America. She has a Masters in CreativeWriting from Bath Spa University, where she also taught for three years before relocating to Northern Wisconsin. Her focus was nature writing and the environment. Ana now resides in the Nicolet National Forest, where she is constantly inspired by the majestic Northwoods. She also works as a freelance writer, as well as Brad's sous chef and easel assistant.
Brad Davis is an oil painter who lives and works in the Nicolet National Forest. He has guided artistic, cultural and outdoor excursions in the UK, New Zealand and Northern Wisconsin, and has also participated in numerous plein air adventures. Brad considers nature the foremost inspiration in his own work.
Wes Doak first discovered his personal affliction with pyromania on a summer camp canoe trip to the Boundary Waters, 1960. He stayed up all night tending a fire to keep the bears at bay but they got one of the two food packs anyway. After 23 years, Wes retired from teaching Physics and Chemistry in Marshfield, Wisconsin; he helped establish four cross country ski centers including Minocqua Winter Park in 1978. His interests in the outdoors are kayaking, canoeing, riflery and skiing.
Paul Ehlers is a native of Cornucopia, Wisconsin's northernmost village. Paul has had a lifelong interest in the natural environment. A geography major at UW-Stevens Point, Paul received his M.A. in Geography from the University of Nebraska. He worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Rhinelander and is currently the geography/geology instructor at Nicolet College. He travels extensively on his bicycle, regularly taking extended trips in different parts of the country.
Ruth Jaeger subscribes to the philosophy that a day isn't complete without time outdoors, along a river, lake, road or trail. Ruth playfully competes at whitewater canoeing, cross-country skiing, and running and also likes to kick it back a notch. As a physical therapist and a Feldendrais Method movement educator, she can help you with your body needs and then turn to her background in biology to identify plants and aquatic bugs.
Gordon King worked with battalion commanders and staff during the D-Day Invasion and from that moment forward to the surrender of the Germans in Berchtesgaden This purple heart award winner also has paddled a least two thousand miles on Canadian rivers including the Thelon. As a child he trapped , hunted and explored .
Susan Knight works the University of Wisconsin Trout Lake Station and the Wisconsin DNR on lake plants and lake management issues. She is happiest looking for plants on a new lake she has never visited and gets unreasonably excited when she discovers a rare species. She will talk about plant identification and water plant ecology as we paddle wild lakes.
Kirby Kohler has been teaching environmental science at Rhinelander High School for eight years. He grew up in Northern Minnesota where he forged his connection to the land and today passes those beliefs on to others through his teaching and as founder of the Hodag Adventurers, a student organization that examines environmental issues through outdoor exploration.
Bob Knops - Ever since he was a teenager, Bob has preferred the canoe over any other watercraft. He has tripped, fished and whitewatered all his life and has raced competitively for 24 years. An American Canoe Association certified flat and moving water instructor, Bob has logged more than 7,000 canoe miles in the past 31 years.
Aaron Lifschutz graduated from UW Stevens Point with a biology degree and enjoys spending time outdoors in the Northwoods and meeting people of all ages with similar interests.
Melanie Lindert Panush has been teaching yoga and dance for years. She lives in California during the school year where she teaches dance to children and submerges herself in as much yoga as possible. She makes her way to the Northwoods in the summer to breathe, stretch and visit family and friends. Melanie holds an MA in Dance, has three music recordings on the Northsound Label, and has a dance film, In Vivo, that has enjoyed international acclaim.
Wil Losch has been kayaking for over a decade, completing his first ACA instructor course in 2001. His favorite kayak students are his young children. His favorite place to paddle still remains the cool waters of Lake Superior. Wil is an educator in the Rhinelander School District and has been an integral member of two of the district's Charter Schools; Northwoods Community Secondary School and the Rhinelander Environmental Stewardship Academy.
Sandy Lotto was a teacher/naturalist at Trees For Tomorrow Natural Resources Specialty School for 18 years before branching out to open her own outdoor skills/rustic furniture school, Lotto's Log Cabin near Eagle River. She has a B.S. in Forestry from UW-Stevens Point, is a PSIACertified Nordic Ski Instructor, and has taught a variety of classes for the Outdoor Adventure Series in the last 10 years. She also helped build her log home (starting with peeling the logs) and is furnishing it with rustic furniture she made.
Rae Lundberg has been paddling for several years and guiding since the summer of 2003, mostly on Lake Superior. Rae is certified through the American Canoe Association and is a Wilderness First Responder. She is an avid teacher both on the water and off. When not in a kayak, Rae is an avid rock and ice climber. She is equally at home on the water, frozen waterfalls or vertical rock. Rae is recognizable often paddling in the cedar-strip kayak and Greenland paddle her father made.
Darlene Machtan has taught in Rhinelander for 32 years at the high school, junior high, and the Northwoods Community Secondary School. She loves writing, speaking, traveling, and music but most of all a little West Highland White terrier named Willie.
Bill Peshel canoes whitewater, races, and has been wilderness canoe tripping for many years. Bill is American Canoe Association certified in flat and moving water canoeing. He is also a PADI certified scuba diver, and he snowshoes, skis, and mountain bikes. Bill has a B.S. in physical education from UW-Oshkosh and an M.S. in guidance and counseling from Illinois State University. He is the Financial Aid Director at Nicolet College.
David Phillips has had a long career involved in adventure education, consulting, program development and world travel. David developed and managed SPRITE, an adventure education program for the Wisconsin Division of Juvenile Corrections and has consulted internationally with public and private agencies involved in issues of juvenile justice. He holds a B.A. from Morehead State University in English and Philosophy and has completed all course requirements for a M.A in Teaching from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. Additional credits in environmental education and anthropology were received from University of Wisconsin, Madison and the University of Pittsburgh. David began his adventure travel as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa and has since traveled extensively on five continents. Travel highlights include: a successful climb of Mt. Logan (second highest mountain in North America) and a natural history survey for the World Wildlife Fund on the Thelon River in the Northwest Territories. Currently, David leads adult groups on walking tours of wilderness areas in Wisconsin.
Martha Schouweiler is Nicolet's Outdoor Adventure Series coordinator. Martha develops the series of offerings each year, instructs several of the courses, and attends to the details of each one. She is an avid cross-country skier, biker, paddler, dogsledder, and mom. She has been a ropes course facilitator since 1989 and is American Canoe Association certified in coastal kayaking. She holds a B.S. in physical education from UW-River Falls and an M.S. in Experiential Education from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
John Seefeld has been a life-long outdoor enthusiast, having spent his summers on the lakes and streams of northern Wisconsin. While serving as an instructor/counselor with the Galloway Schools in Atlanta, GA., John was instrumental in the development of their outdoor skills program and was co-founder of North Star Outfitters, a whitewater rafting/kayaking/travel company. John holds a MS degree in Counseling from Miami University (Ohio) and is currently employed as a Licensed Professional Counselor with Nicolet College.
Joan Slack is an artist, gallery owner and teacher who lives to be outdoors. When she's not making pottery she can be found in her kayak or on snowshoes, exploring out of the way places in the Northwoods and on Lake Superior. She has a special interest in archaeology and the history of the Great Lakes region.
Ernie St.Germaine - Anishinaabe.
Andrew and Susan Teichmiller have formed their roots in the North woods of Wisconsin and have decided to raise their family here. Susan started her traveling experience with a 6 month trip to New Zealand that turned into a two year trip around the world. From Buddhist temples in India to the Inca trail in Peru, Sue has been adding to her list of incredible experiences. Susan is certified Physicians Assistant with the Marshfield Clinic. Andrew began his love for the outdoors with his parents in his early years, skiing, canoeing, hiking, & camping. Andrew is a certified costal kayak instructor through the American Canoe Association. He is also a 4-star paddler and a Coach 2 instructor through the British Canoe Union.
Jeff Taege is a professional walleye fisherman and licensed guide fishing the Professional Walleye Trail circuit. As an avid outdoorsman, Jeff uses G.P.S. on a daily basis for fishing and traipsing through the woods.
Shane Tulowitzki is an avid canoeist and kayaker. He works at Mel's Trading Post in Rhinelander, one of the Northwoods' biggest sports and adventure outfitters, so he does literally live and breath canoeing, kayaking, camping, and all other outdoor adventure pursuits. Shane can be seen surfing the wave at Smokestack Rapids on any given release on the Rhinelander whitewater course.
Mickey Wurl-Koth has hiked, backpacked, skied, and/or canoed in no less than 16 national parks, numerous national and state forests, 14 different countries, and three continents. He is an American Canoe Association certified canoe instructor in flat and moving water. Mickey holds a B.S. in political science and a B.A. in secondary education from UW-Madison.