Author Archives: Larry Ward

I am the General Manager at the Smoky Mountain River Rat Whitewater Outpost and I have been on the river for over 23 years. I started on the water as a photographer from a kayak on the Colorado river and never had any desire to be a guide until I swam in that Kayak. I attended a guide school on the Arkansas river in Colorado, where I instantly fell in love with guiding and immediately whitewater became my passion.

From there, I worked on the Chattooga, Ocoee, Clear Creek, New, Gauley, French Broad, and Pigeon.

In 2007 with the birth of my first daughter, I took my first management position with the mighty Pocono Whitewater. Then, I returned to the Pigeon River in 2013 and met the River Rat crew at what was then USA Raft Smoky Mountains.

River Rat had a completely different attitude and style, where the goal was not the number of guests, but the quality of the trips. The owner's commitment to excellence was exactly the place I was hoping to find. I was hooked. We had an awesome experienced staff and eventually the opportunity for management was presented and I was excited to help further those goals.

As you get older, you start to think about how you can give back to an industry that has given you so much personal fulfillment. I love training new guides and helping them to achieve excellence in a new sport where they can enjoy serving others. I am proud of the accomplishments and rankings they have earned. I love working with such a talented and experienced staff who works hard and plays harder, that is the essence of whitewater.

We strive for excellence as a family of guides, bus drivers, and retail staff to give our guests something different than any river in the world. That is what we do differently at the Rat!