Working with Washington State Search and Rescue, Kari learned everything from teamwork skills to leadership-under-stress to emergency backcountry medicine. With a degree in outdoor recreation, she truly loves being able to share the outdoors with others, and finds herself simultaneously passing along the knowledge and skills she has accumulated over the years, as well as constantly adding to them. Her favorite kayaking destinations include Southeast Alaska, the San Juan Islands and southern Puget Sound.

Ana grew up back east but now calls western Washington home. Her kayaking experience includes tours in the San Juans, Vancouver Island and the Washington coast, along with hundreds of hours leading tours all over Puget Sound. An elementary teacher during the school year, Ana still finds the time to spend a significant portion of every month on the water.

If there's snow in the mountains, you're just as likely to find Jim on a pair of skis as you are to see him on the water. Put him in a kayak, however, and it's easy to see that he is completely in his element. He brings a genuine love of the outdoors with him on every trip or class that he is a part of and he has a wealth of knowledge and experience that he is happy to pass on to those lucky enough to paddle with him.

Jules combines her love of kayaking with her considerable teaching skills, a symbiosis that benefits students and fellow coaches alike. Her paddling adventures have included trips to various spots in the US and Canada, and her wish-list of future kayaking spots continues to grow. For now, however, she's easy to find… on the water somewhere!

In addition to authoring several books and numerous magazine articles on Pacific Northwest kayaking, Ken is a long-time presenter at sea kayak symposia and clinics throughout the region. A former board member of the Washington Water Trails Association, he makes his home in Tacoma. His kayaking pedigree includes expeditions in British Columbia, Washington and California. On a 3-month kayak journey in the summer of 2000, he became the first American to circumnavigate the island of Newfoundland. His next great adventure began in early 2007, when he and his wife Mary had their first child.

As if being married to Ken wasn't adventure enough, Mary is also an accomplished guide and instructor with more than a decade of kayaking experience. She has led trips in British Columbia and Newfoundland, as well as throughout western Washington. A reliable sense of humor and the ability to make any trip or class work out are among her unique and valued qualities and her favorite kayak adventure is wherever she's going next.

John started his paddling experiences as a Boy Scout, in canoes on rivers and lakes back home in Michigan. During college, he took American Canoe Association courses in solo and tandem canoeing while pursuing a degree in Outdoor Recreation. When he traded his canoe paddle for a kayaking blade, he was hooked. His love of the outdoors, coupled with a strong understanding of natural history, makes him an ideal instructor and kayaking companion. According to John, "Anytime I'm on the water it's my favorite spot."

Marc's idea of a good time is to take a generous portion of wilderness, mix with water, add people, and shake thoroughly. His skills as a raft guide and whitewater kayak instructor have set him up to be an amazingly talented sea kayaker. His expedition experience includes trips throughout the Pacific Northwest, including portions of Vancouver Island's west coast and the roadless coast of Washington.

Gary teaches exercise physiology and nutrition at the University of Puget Sound. Before relocating to Washington, he was active in the outdoor program at UCLA, where he taught classes and led tours all over southern California. Since arriving in the Northwest, Gary has logged many hours on the water, both as an instructor as well as on his own, and is firmly convinced that, for kayaking, there's no place like this place.