Maine White Water Rafting Guide: Luke DiSilvestro
Name: Luke DiSilvestro
Hometown: Caratunk
Age of First Rafting Trip: 8
Year you started guiding at Northern Outdoors: 2007
What type of guiding do you do?
Whitewater Rafting, Leadership Programs
What do you enjoy most about working at Northern Outdoors?
The People
What is your favorite river to guide, and your favorite rapid on that river?
The Penobscot River, The Crib Works
What’s your classic Northern Outdoors memory?
Training Jay on Gorge/Crib, he steered us right into the meat of exterminator @ 3400+ CFS. As we got innevitably back surfed one kid immediately high-sided himself directly out of the boat while another, hanging out the bow as we all helplessly look on, got sucked into the hole and popped up down stream. Meanwhile the rest of us got wildly surfed for what fealt like minutes and pin-balled our way down the rest of Rip Gorge. Classic.
Where do you adventure when you are not working?
A boat, a BBQ, or a bar.
What do you do in the off-season when you’re not guiding for Northern Outdoors?
Ski Patrol in Montana.
Tell us about any certifications, special talents, guide awards.
Level II Maine Whitewater Guide
Outdoor Emergency Care (OEC)
Wilderness First Responder (WFR)
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
2012 & 2014 Penobscot Guide of the Year
What rivers have you run outside of Maine?
Colorado River from Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek (Arizona)
Rio Pejibaje and Rio Pacuare (Costa Rica)
Black River (New York)
Hudson River (New York)
Gauly River (West Virginia)
Which Kennebec River Brewery beer is your top choice after a day on the river?
IPA
2 Responses
Merry Christmas Luke! I remember when… you were sliding down the waterslides in the resort pools with all the faculty kids or snorkeling in the waters in Perhentian! So fun to see you play as a grown-up!
Love this blast from the past! You must have been from Luke’s overseas adventures as a kid?! Thanks for commenting and sharing some memories 🙂 I’ll be sure to pass the message along to Luke, too!