Rachel has spent the better part of her life paddling on the lakes and rivers of Northern Minnesota and Canada. She grew up going on paddling trips with YMCA Camp Menogyn, and spent 5 summers and 2 winter seasons working for Menogyn. Through Menogyn, Rachel has participated in and led numerous expedition length whitewater canoeing trips through Ontario, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada. Rachel has been unable to escape the draw of the Northern Minnesota waters and currently works as an Outward Bound instructor year-round for the Voyageur Outward Bound School (VOBS). During the summer, she instructs canoeing, backpacking and rock-climbing courses varying in length from 2 weeks to a month. Rachel is very passionate about the Intercept Program at Outward Bound, which brings struggling youth into the Boundary Waters for 3 weeks before facilitating a parent conference regarding healthy conflict resolution and communication skills with their families in Duluth, MN. During the winter, Rachel instructs weeklong cross-country skiing and dog-sledding courses throughout the Boundary Waters for adults, college groups, and US Army Veterans. She’s in love with dog-sledding as much as she is with canoeing, so she spends the spring and fall caring for and training the 63 sled dogs that call VOBS home. Rachel makes time for personal paddling trips every year, including a 3-week expedition on the Missinaibi River in Ontario, a week-long paddling trip on the Rio Grande in Texas, and most recently, a speed paddle of 250 miles across Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in 100 hours.