Every company on the Poudre River says they have the most experienced guides. For proof that we actually have the most experienced guides please read this form - Colorado State Parks Outfitter Records Inspection Form.

Pat Legel, the owner and founder of A Wanderlust Adventure, started the company back in 1982. The company was a lot smaller back then and consisted of one Datson pickup, one non bailing raft and Pat. Since then the company has grown into one of the largest outfitters on the Poudre River. Pat still likes to guide on the river when he isn't on a Wanderlust journey in another part of the country. He enjoys going on private multi-day trips like the Grand Canyon, Cataract Canyon, Dolores River, Tatshenshini, Snake, Salmon and you name it! Most of the time you can find Pat hiking or biking around the foothills of Fort Collins with his faithful golden retriever, Rio.

Bob Klein, the manager of the company, has been guiding on the Poudre River for the past seventeen seasons. He holds a degree in Natural Resources Commercial Recreation and Tourism from Colorado State University. Before he started managing the company full time he enjoyed living the ski bum life and taught snowboarding at Steamboat Ski Resort and Jackson Hole. Bob is originally from the western slope town of Hotchkiss, Colorado. He enjoys rowing his raft on multi-day river trips, mountain biking, snowboarding, bow hunting and traveling. Some of his favorite experiences include rafting through the Grand Canyon, & traveling to Costa Rica, Ecuador, New Zealand and Australia.

Paula Hodgson has guided on the Cache La Poudre River with Wanderlust for the past eighteen seasons. She attended college at Colorado State University where she earned her degree and discovered her love for the outdoors and rafting. During the off season Paula has worked with youth at risk, taught environmental interpretation at youth camps and instructed skiing at Steamboat and Jackson Hole. She earned her Masters in Counseling in 2007. Paula has a passion for traveling, especially in Central and South America. Some of her favorite experiences include kayaking on the Futalafu River in Chile, kayaking thru the Grand Canyon, trekking on the Inca trail in Peru and thru the Himalayas of Nepal.


Brandy Hodgson has been a guide with Wanderlust for fifteen seasons, has worked a season on the Gauley River and has rafted several other rivers nationally and internationally. In the off season Brandy is a challenge course facilitator, has worked as a junior high science and health teacher and currently graduated from CSU earning her PHD in Interdisciplinary Wellness Counseling and Experiential Education. Favorite experiences include trekking in Nepal, hitchhiking through New Zealand and rafting the Grand Canyon, though a love for her home state and family keeps her coming back to Colorado. Brandy loves working with people and providing fun experiences and learning opportunities for people who want to improve the quality of their lives. Brandy is a certified Swiftwater Rescue Technician.

Aaron Crawford has been a guide with Wanderlust for ten seasons. He is a certified Swiftwater Rescue Technician. Originally from Illinois, Aaron moved to Fort Collins to attend Colorado State University where he earned a degree in Exercise Sport Science and his teaching certificate for Physical Education. During the off season he teaches P.E. at Bacon Elementary School in Fort Collins. Aaron loves teaching and enjoys many outdoor activities like road and mountain bicycling, snowboarding and climbing many of the 14 foot peaks of Colorado's mountains. During the summer of 2003 Aaron participated in the annual Ride the Rockies Cycling event touring the state for more than two weeks on the saddle of his bicycle.

Robin Conley has been guiding rafts on the Poudre River for twelve seasons. She is certified as a Wilderness First Responder and Swiftwater Rescue Technician. Robin also worked one season guiding for North American River Runners on the Gauley River in West Virginia. She moved to Colorado to attend CSU and earned her degree in Natural Resources Commercial Recreation & Tourism/ Eco-tourism. She is currently in Nursing School in Fort Collins. Robin has a passion for the outdoors and loves to kayak and snowboard. She and her husband Jeff, enjoy traveling, snowboarding, hiking and going on multi-day river trips with friends and family.

Kate Wallace has been guiding on the Cache La Poudre River for the past fifteen seasons. She has been with A Wanderlust Adventure for the past five summers. Kate is an Emergency Medical Technician and is also certified in Swiftwater Rescue. She completed her undergraduate degree at Tufts University in Classical Studies and obtained her teaching certificate for Secondary Social Studies from the University of Colorado. Kate loves to work with children and has a passion for teaching and reading. She currently teaches in Poudre School District here in Fort Collins. Being a world traveler, Kate lived abroad for most of her life before her parents moved to Florida. She still loves to travel and enjoys scuba diving, kayaking, hiking and going on multi-day raft trips.


Michael Kirkpatrick started working for Wanderlust back in 2002 and has been guiding commercially for the past ten years. He is a certified Swiftwater Rescue Technician. He earned a degree in Music from Washington State University where he started guiding on many of the rivers in that area. Graduate School brought him to Greeley where he studied Music at the University of Northern Colorado. After earning his Masters, Michael had an opportunity to sing for the Santa Fe Opera which he did for one summer. His love for rafting and Fort Collins brought him back to Colorado, where he frequently plays music for several bands in the area.

Lucas Stanley will be entering his seventh summer guiding for our company. He also spent one winter guiding on the Pacuare River in Costa Rica. Lucas is certified as a Swiftwater Rescue Technician. He is originally from Colorado Springs and moved to Fort Collins to study at Colorado State University. Lucas earned a degree in History from CSU and currently teaches for Thompson School District. He loves to fly fish and spends much of his free time enjoying this sport in the Poudre Canyon. Lucas also enjoys rowing his raft down the Poudre River and other rivers in Colorado and Utah.




Sarah Sammons will be entering her seventh season as one of our staff photographers. Many of the pictures on our web site were taken by Sarah. A Fort Collins native, Sarah has lived in the Front Range of Colorado for most of her life. She developed a passion for photography at an early age and enjoys taking scenic photos as much as the action shots that many of our guests purchase. Sarah is also a certified professional massage therapist and works for Poudre School District as a teachers assistant. Sarah enjoys crafts, camping, biking, snowboarding and hiking with her two dogs.

Joe Halseth will be entering his eighth season of rafting on the Cache La Poudre River. Joe is a Swiftwater Rescue Technician and is certified in Wilderness First Aid. Originally from Austin, Texas Joe came to Fort Collins to study Wildlife Biology at Colorado State University. During the winter months Joe works for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. Joe has a passion for outdoor activities and enjoys multi day river trips, camping, fly fishing and hunting for big game in Colorado and Texas. Joe has also worked as a guide for a hunting outfitter in Texas. He plans to attend graduate school to earn

Luetta Starks will be returning for her sixth season of driving with our company. During the winter months Luetta drives a school bus for handicapped children at Thompson School District. Luetta loves driving for our company and commutes from the town of Loveland, a forty minute drive away. Everyone in our company loves having Luetta drive for us because of her great sense of humor and positive attitude. Luetta and her husband Randy enjoy horseback riding and own a small farm on the outskirts of Loveland, Colorado.

Noelle Liska will be returning for her fourth season working for A Wanderlust Adventure. Noelle enjoys multiple tasks at our company and has worked as our staff photographer, receptionist and as our hostess. Noelle attends Colorado State University where she is currently studying biomedical sciences. Next year Noelle plans to study abroad in Australia. She has a passion for traveling and she can't wait to spend some time down under. She recently learned to kayak on the Poudre River and loves to do this with her Mom who also works for our company. Noelle has a passion for dancing and enjoys salsa and other forms of dance.

Ellie Wheat will be returning for her third season of guiding for our company. She recently graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Wildlife Biology. During this past spring Ellie worked as a guide in Costa Rica. She kayaked many of the rivers there during her travels. Originally from Colorado Springs, Ellie grew up enjoying the outdoors and exploring the west on many multi-day river trips with her family. She has rafted down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon several times and has also done trips on the Yampa, Green and Middle Fork of the Salmon Rivers. She loves many outdoor activities especially kayaking, hiking, backpacking and skiing.




Gregg Thomas will return for his ninth season guiding for us on the Poudre River. He is a certified Swiftwater Rescue Technician. Gregg graduated with a degree in Marketing from Penn State. He is originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and moved to Colorado in the winter of 1996 to work for Steamboat Ski Resort. For the past five years Gregg led guests all over the world working as a professional guide for the company Back Roads. He organized and guided trips all over the United States, Africa, Asia and Australia. Gregg loves the outdoors and most of the time you can find him mountain biking, road cycling, snowboarding, rock climbing and trail running every chance he can get.

Randy Rothwell has been working in the outdoors for about twelve years. A rock and ice-climbing guide from Wyoming, Randy discovered his passion for whitewater in 2002. Since training as a raft guide in Breckenridge, Colorado, Randy has guided commercial raft trips on the Arkansas, Eagle, Colorado, Cache la Poudre, New and Gauley rivers. He recently spent 56 days rafting the Green and Colorado rivers on a nearly 800 mile river trip. Randy loves the outdoors, playing bluegrass music and having a good time with good people. He is certified in Wilderness First Aid, Swiftwater Rescue and is a Raft Guide Instructor in the state of Colorado. He has a A.G.S. degree in Outdoor Recreation Leadership from Colorado Mountain College in Leadville and a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Wyoming.

Jenn Berg will be guiding for her sixth season on the Cache La Poudre River. This is her second season working for our company. Jenn is trained in Swiftwater Rescue. Jenn achieved her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Colorado State University. She also obtained her minor in English. Jenn is currently attending Law School at Denver University. After graduating from CSU Jenn taught skiing at Steamboat Ski Resort during the winter of 2007. She loves to travel and spent time experiencing Central and South America. Jenn guided on a river in Ecuador while traveling in South America and recently visited Columbia in the spring of 2008.

Jon Vivolo will be returning for his third season of guiding on the Poudre River with our company. He also guided one summer with Mountain Waters Rafting on the Animas River in Durango, Colorado where he is originally from. Jon is a certified Wilderness First Responder and trained in Swiftwater Rescue. He is working on his degree in Health and Exercise Science with a concentration in Sports Medicine at Colorado State University. Jon will also minor in Biomedical Science. He plans to attend medical school after graduation. Jon has a passion for road and mountain bike cycling. He has been an expert rider on CSU's Cycling Team since 2007 and raced mountain bikes professionally in the summers of 2008 and 2009.

Laura is returning for her second season as a reservationist for our company. She is originally from Marin County, California and moved out to Fort Collins to attend Colorado State University. She is majoring in Natural Resources Recreation and Tourism within the college’s Human Dimensions Department. She plans to graduate in spring 2011 with a Bachelors of Science and a minor in Business. She loves the outdoor recreation industry because it resonates with her own passions and interests. Laura’s main interests are hiking, snowboarding, and longboarding in the summer.

Lindsey is starting her first season as a reservationist for Wanderlust. She is originally from Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania and moved to Ft Collins to attend Colorado State University. She is a senior majoring in Environmental Health with a focus in Industrial Hygiene and plans to graduate in the spring of 2011. Lindsey loves the outdoors, whether it be skiing in the winter or camping in the summer. When she's not taking reservations Lindsey is most likely on the polo field with her two horses or going hiking with her pit bull.

Kevin Jacobi was born and raised in Fort Collins and graduated from Colorado State University. This will be his fourth season guiding on the Poudre River. Kevin is certified in swiftwater rescue and also as a kayak instructor. During the winter months Kevin is a 7th grade social studies teacher at Riverside Middle School in New Castle, Colorado. During the summer of 2009 Kevin toured across Colorado on his bicycle running Class V rapids in his kayak to raise money for cancer. His goal was to run 50 Class V sections of whitewater while cycling across the state. Kevin has a passion for kayaking and paddles every chance that he can get.

Raised on a lake in Michigan, Mary realized she had a passion for water as a child; sailing, catching turtles, and swimming were her passions. In 2005, Mary began guiding on the Poudre River and for the past five seasons she has progressed to guiding many more rivers in the state and abroad. Also since 2005, Mary has been traveling down to Futaleufú, Chile for the winter months to continue rafting and fishing in a circuit she calls “the ever-summer”. She loves to row fly fishing boats and get people on big fish, she has also been known to catch a few herself. Mary is Swift Water Rescue Certified and pays much attention to safety on the river. A proud CSU graduate with a degree in Global Tourism and a minor in Spanish, Mary has used her degree well, both in Colorado as she and her husband                                founded TroutTamers.com and in Chile working for PatagoniaElements.com.

Dan Fleishman will be entering his eighth season as a raft guide on the Poudre. He has also guided on the Colorado, North Platte, Arkansas and Clear Creek. Dan is certified as a Swiftwater Rescue Technician. His greatest passion is running private multi-day raft trips around the West with his friends. He recently completed his third 21-day trip on the Colorado River through Grand Canyon. A native New Yorker, Dan earned a B.A. in English from Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., and an M.A. in journalism from the University of Colorado in Boulder. He wrote his Master's thesis on Colorado's hotly contested dispute over the "right to float" on rivers that traverse private land. His other hobbies include reading, golf, Scrabble and the New York Jets.

Jackson will be guiding for his first season at Wanderlust, and his third in a row on the Poudre. He is certified as an EMT basic and whitewater rescue technician. In 2009, he was stricken with a ferocious case of wanderlust, which led him to Mexico and Central America, where he snorkeled with a manatee, looked after an orphaned anteater, surfed, and rafted some world class water. He spends the off season in pursuit of a biology degree and the elusive Wapiti, and enjoys camping, cooking, and playing stringed instruments, especially on overnight rafting trips.

Jay Brekke will be entering his second season of rafting on the Cache La Poudre River. Jay was born and raised in Canon City, CO where he played high school football while hunting, rafting, fishing and water skiing in his spare time. Jay is currently in veterinary school at Colorado State University and will graduate in 2013. After graduation he plans on staying in Colorado, hoping to someday own his own veterinarian practice. He has a passion for sports and outdoor activities and enjoys playing ice hockey and softball. He is an avid water skier and spends as much time as he can in the fall hunting waterfowl and upland birds with his yellow lab.

Rio is the official company mascot for A Wanderlust Adventure and has been with the company since 1998. She has a passion for going on walks, chasing small animals and chewing on things. Although she has been on many multi day river trips she does not like to get splashed by water. Most of the time you can find Rio hanging out in our office, helping our staff book reservations and protecting them from the UPS man.

Pepper will be returning for his seventh season of working for our company. A border collie mix, Pepper loves to heard the guides to the boat barn to prepare the trips for the day. He earns his biscuits by making sure there are no slackers at this company. Pepper loves to raft and like his friend Rio, he does not like to get splashed by waves in the river. He has only rafted on Class III sections on the Poudre River. He hopes to raft some Class IV next year if his daddy will let him. Pepper's dream is to develop the first whitewater canine helmet. He hates to travel in a car unless that car is going to the park or a favorite trail. Pepper loves to go on hikes, chase mountain bikes, dig holes, go sledding, play soccer, fetch sticks and is an amazing frisbee dog.

Qwiggly will be returning for his second year of herding guests around at our meeting area. He is a half australian shepherd and half border collie mix. As you can imagine, Qwiggly has a lot of energy and loves to play. This past fall he went on a road trip with Pepper to the Big Sur Coast in California. He loved playing frisbee on the beach in Carmel by the Sea. He also enjoyed viewing the elephant seals and camping in the redwood forest. Qwiggly loves to go on hikes and like his brother Pepper, he is an amazing frisbee dog. He also loves to fetch any kind of toy and he definitely has got some hops. This summer he hopes to go rafting again on the Poudre River.

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A WANDERLUST ADVENTURE Meeting Area at Vern's Restaurant: 4120 W County Rd. 54 G Laporte, CO 80535 1-800-745-7238 or Local (970) 482-1995 E-mail: info@awanderlustadventure.com