Aaron Cavagnolo – Author

Hi, I’m Aaron Cavagnolo a long time lover of whitewater rivers. I’ve put this site together to share information about river running. Included are pages with trip reports and blog posts about rafting skills and equipment.

While I’ve done a fair amount of kayaking and even taught a little my expertise lies in rafting. For over 25 years I’ve worked as a commercial rafting guide on all types of trips (one to 16-day), crafts (oar, paddle, dory, motor) and rivers (low/high volume, technical, wilderness). Additionally I’m an avid private boater having run over 250 different sections of river on 4 continents.

I take the most pride in being able to participate in numerous conservation trips over the years and having volunteered time to lobby in Washington D.C. for Wilderness and Wild Rivers.

In between guiding gigs I’ve taught beginning and advanced guide schools as well as swiftwater courses through numerous organizations in the western U.S. You can also hear me as a guest host on the River Talk Podcast, Mediocre Video Review, and occasionally on Gear Garage. More recently I’ve begun to explore packrafting to access remote rivers I’d been unable to see in the past.

The purpose of my site is to provide useful information for both private and commercial paddlers. Every river written up I’ve personally run. My favorite commercial trips are the Grand Canyon, Cherry Creek, Illinois, Selway, and Futaleufu Rivers.

Please let me know if additional information would be helpful or if my information is not up to date. Every river on this website I have run.

Currently I live in Hawaii with my wife, daughter, and son. I still teach rafting and guide river trips in the summer and get my whitewater fix by surfing during the winter.