"The joy of being a part of helping folks to overcome fear and timidity - working with someone who is really nervous and apprehensive about what they're getting in to. And then being able to share in the joy of triumph - gee this really IS fun! And more than that, I CAN do it. It's being able to take a group of strangers, teaching and learning with them about teamwork and how as a group we can paddle together and direct our course (most times). Sometimes the river does have its own agenda."

"Sometimes I'll get in the raft with my folks for the day and immediately feel like I've known these people all my life. Other groups are more quiet and reserved than some. It took me awhile to learn how to deal with all the different people I'd meet. I learned I was most successful if I just let things flow naturally and be myself. I don't have the natural talent for being the hilariously funny jokester - and that was okay. Things never worked out well when I tried to be something I wasn't. "

Growing Up

"Our family, in my younger years, vacationed every summer for two or three weeks. We camped, hiked, fished, canoed, swam, played, relaxed - just enjoyed being together and outside. Becoming a "river rat" seem like a natural progression to my life. In the early days of my rafting career I lived under trees, in tents, and out of my old Saab (a-family-hand-me-down-kind-of-car). A fellow boater, Joy, discovered that if she put her river clothes in between her sleeping pad and bag they would, at least, be flexible on those frosty and frozen March mornings. She lived out of her car too. I, like many others, then progressed from renting an apartment, to renting a few different houses, and now happily situated on 60 quiet acres of land. Yes, there is a house on the land. And I still sleep out on the deck under the stars from time to time."

"Sometime during my elementary school years, I had my dad proof-read a paper I had written for school. I remember so distinctly him asking me to make one correction. In one of the sentences I wrote a phrase - when I was a kid. He looked at me and smiled and said, `I'd like you to change the phrase when I was a kid and replace it with when I was younger because I hope you always remain a kid at heart.' "

"Perhaps it's that child-like curiousity that remains instilled in me. Being a river guide and all the associated challenges evoke a wonder and mystery. Great joy is found in discovery and constant learning."

Women and Whitewater

"I have found over the years that women tend to make better paddlers than men overall. And women can have a tremendous calming influence when in the presence of men. I'm not sure why, but women seem to listen better to instructions, react more quickly and consistently to commands, and often do what is asked without having to prove their strength or virility."

On Water

"I like all kinds of water - salt water and fresh, still, moving, frozen,or chrystallized as snow. The sound, taste, and feel of the ocean surf and sand; sailing, cruising, or water skiing on a lake; running rambunctious whitewater; spending the day with parents and their younger children on mild river stretches; canoeing or kayaking mild and wild sections of the river; skating on ice; snowboarding, alpine, and telemark skiing down a groomed slope; and cross-country skiing through the backwoods. I just like it all!"

New River Girl

"I pretty much describe myself as a New River Girl. That's the river I've spent the most time on and as with all other rivers, I have a great respect and appreciation for it. A geologist friend of mine revealed to me the other day that current debate among geologists is that the New River may be, in fact, the oldest river in the world and not the second oldest as once believed. Something exists around here that I've found nowhere else. The feeling is hard to pinpoint and express, yet it is there all the time."

"My life is good. and thank goodness for serendipity!"

Aletha Stolar
Copyright © 1998