A Special Breakfast Treat to Try at Home:
The first time we heard about cottage cheese pancakes we were a bit skeptical but the second we tried them we knew we had to serve them on our trips! These are a real treat and guests regularly rave about how yummy they are. We get so many requests for the recipe that we wanted to share it with everyone.
Let us know if you make them and how they turned out!
Uncharted Learning: The Road as My Classroom
As a student at Oregon State University, my college journey is anything but typical. While many navigate the traditional pathways of dorms and lecture halls, I’ve carved a unique academic and life experience through OSU’s Ecampus, embracing a world where adventure and education intersect seamlessly. My story began at the University of Puget Sound during the peak of COVID-19 in 2020. Fresh off a gap year filled with travel and work, the abrupt shift to an in-person campus with solely online classes felt restrictive. Yet, it was here that I discovered an affinity for online learning, a realization that would drastically reshape my educational landscape.
In 2021, drawn by the freedom to design my life, I transitioned to OSU’s online program. With my computer stashed in my backpack, I’ve since explored 15 countries across six continents. My classrooms are as varied as the locales I visit, from the roaring rivers of the Patagonian Andes where I guided whitewater rafts, to the remote deserts of Peru, flipping burgers with a view of one of the world’s longest surfing waves. Each job—whether instructing kayaking in the Amazonian rainforest of Ecuador, and participating in the country’s first Olympic trials for Kayak Cross, or navigating the rugged Southern Alps of New Zealand as a helicopter-assisted packraft guide—has not only funded my travels but also enriched my educational experience.
Studying botany while living nomadically has offered unparalleled opportunities to engage with diverse ecosystems firsthand. In the lush expanses of the Ecuadorian Amazon, I lived alongside indigenous Quechua women, whose deep knowledge of local flora and their medicinal uses provided a living textbook on botanical science. Meanwhile, in Patagonia, I connected with a scientist specializing in lichen, an encounter that complimented my lichenology studies and highlighted the symbiotic relationship between academia and real-world exploration.
The flexibility of online education has allowed me to merge my passions for adventure and botany. It’s a synthesis that has transformed each destination into a dynamic learning environment, where education does not confine itself to theoretical knowledge but expands into practical, real-world application. This approach has not only nurtured my academic growth but also my personal development as an independent and culturally aware individual.
However, this lifestyle comes with its challenges. Life on the road can be exhilarating—each new town offers a blank slate, a place where no one knows your name or story. Yet, the initial thrill of anonymity has, over time, given way to a sense of isolation. The constant movement, while liberating, often precludes the possibility of deep community ties. After three years of continuous travel, the landscapes may change, but the longing for familiar faces and consistent relationships grows.
As I reflect on my journey, the highs and the lows, I recognize the profound impact of my educational path—not just on my career as a budding botanist but on my identity as a global citizen. The experience has been a testament to the immense possibilities that online education offers, enabling a fusion of life’s adventures with academic pursuits. It is a narrative not just of acquiring knowledge, but of living it, in the truest sense.
In sharing my story, I hope to inspire others to see the potential in non-traditional education paths. Whether it’s through the lens of a camera, the paddle of a kayak, or the pages of a textbook, learning can happen anywhere. And perhaps, in this boundless classroom, we can all find a way to satiate our thirst for knowledge and adventure, while remaining mindful of the communities and connections that tether us to the world.
Learn more about Peter and the rest of the HRO team: https://www.helfrichoutfitter.com/meet-the-team/
Check out this years food menu for our 6-day trips on the Middle Fork of the Salmon! Guaranteed to make your mouth water!
For this month’s guide spotlight we’re excited to share some history and an update from one of our most familiar (maybe favorite) and long time guides, Kevin Hawkins.
Kevin began his guiding career joining us on the Middle Fork of the Salmon as a 19 year old “swamper” during the summer of 2004. What started as one trip, turned into a summer job, then a year round career and now 20 years later, his own thriving fishing guide service running trips in both SW Montana and Oregon.
He’ll tell the story “After Kelsey and I graduated from Oregon State in 2007 I can remember penciling out a guiding business plan with my parents, adding up expenses, then figuring how many days I would need to work each year to make ends meet.” “It was kind of simple like that.” From then on Kevin has pushed not only himself, but also the other guides that he works with to deliver the very best days possible for our guests on the river.
Starting by riding along on the sweep boat, doing all the camp chores, then learning to run rafts and drift boats, Kevin really went “full circle” in our company. In addition to leading the majority of our Rogue River trips for several years, he has now trained many of our other current guides. He gives credit to the people he learned from saying “I was fortunate to have been mentored, and taught by some of the very best and most successful guides in this industry.” As our Rogue River trip leader, Kevin not only is the guests’ go-to guy for whatever they need, he is also the leader for our team of guides. He brings years of professional experience, a positive attitude, and a love for great times to every trip he’s on.
Now for the good stuff! After four years of dating, Kevin and Brittney just said their I do’s at a wedding on Flathead Lake this month. They live in Corvallis, Montana with Brittney’s two daughters, Abbie and Jaynie, as well as 3 dogs and a handful of horses. Kevin stays busy running his day-trip fishing business on the Bitterroot River. Brittney is a dental hygienist and also runs her own rodeo/barrel racing production company. Together they love sharing all of their favorite ways to enjoy the outside world with the two girls. Bikes, horses, boats, swimming, and skiing, “We love where we live and can’t imagine a better place to raise these girls.” Kevin happily says, ”Our calendar is really full with all kinds of good things.”
As summer goes on and the Bitterroot River gets too warm to fish, Kevin will take his salmon fishing boat to Astoria, OR to guide the Buoy 10 – Lower Columbia River salmon fishery for the month of August. This year will make his 10th consecutive August there where he’s earned an excellent reputation for running one of the best boats on the river. In September, he takes a little time off to spend with his family before he returns to the Rogue River to work our multi-day lodge steelhead fishing season.
If you’d like to congratulate Kevin on his marriage, inquire about a fishing trip, or just catch up with him, he’ll be with us on most of the Rogue trips this fall or you can send him a note at fishingkevin@gmail.com He also has a website at www.khfishing.com where you can check out the great trips he offers.
Sharing a Special Helfrich Family Tradition:
If you have ever been on a multi-day Helfrich trip, you have most likely enjoyed the family recipe for our famous spinach salad. While the ingredients themselves are wonderful, the true trick to making it great is the dressing. A long time Helfrich Family recipe, we are now sharing it with you!
Let us know if you make it and how it turned out!
