Katrina Cornell
Rogue & Middle Fork Guide
Katrina has had a love of river trips since childhood. Her first river trip was actually in utero on the Dolores River. Katrina grew up among a community of river-trippers including both of her parents who guided for ARTA. She and her childhood friends (including fellow ECHO guide Zach Byars) were taking trips with their parents from an early age. Being surrounded by California's many rafting opportunites instilled a love of nature in Katrina (whose middle name is Muir).
She always knew she wanted to be a river guide. In elementary school when other kids said, "I'm gonna be an astronaut" or "I'm gonna be a ballerina" she said, "I'm gonna be a river guide." Even though her teachers seemed unsure of this vocation, she made her dream come true and started guiding with ECHO in 2004.
She took a three year hiatus to study rivers for her undergraduate degree in Geology and her Master's Theses at MIT. This gave her the opportunity to get on some fabulous whitewater runs in Peru as a geological field assistant. Upon return, she found a way to extend the season with spring work for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. However, she realized that sharing the river with other people and teaching them the many things she learned from her schooling, her fellow guides, and her years growing up on the water, is far more rewarding.
Katrina has worked many seasons on the Rogue River and is an excellent trip leader. She trained on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River and continues to guide there. She can also be found on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Guests remember Katrina for her stellar voice and guitar playing around the chair circle. She fills the canyon with music and makes you realize there is no place you'd rather be.
