08/18/2026
At the time of this writing, our head boatman, Michael Inman, has reached a milestone: his 5,000th trip down the Snake with Barker-Ewing. Michael was a child when his family took a float trip with us, and something happened that made him decide then and there to be a boatman. He started guiding for us in 1999 after a stint working for Signal Mountain Lodge. When Michael joined our crew, the record for miles floated was guide Alan Klagge’s insurmountable 40,000 miles. No one thought that record would fall, but then Michael started getting close…and then closer…and then two years ago, he made it to the top of the all-time leaderboard. Does he hang up his oars? No, he keeps going because he is good at what he does and he loves the work. (You should ask Mike what he thinks of his office when next you float with him!) Huzzah for 5,000 trips with Barker-Ewing! Huzzah to 50,000 miles – that’s twice around the earth! And here’s to many more miles on the Snake River!
