ack in November, I was asked to articulate Grand Canyon River Guides' position on the Wilderness issue to a group of people discussing it for Grand Canyon. While I was unable to say that we had a clear position on the issue, I could express some of our fears and concerns. One of those revolves around a constant and pervasive claim put forth by many private boaters (and sadly, some commercial guides as well)‹that commercial river trips are unnecessary given the number of people willing and able to go downriver without concessioned services. There is a fear that all of the crmp proceedings and the Wilderness debate are a thinly-veiled attempt to do away with commercial boating in Grand Canyon. We can (and should) debate how expensive these trips should be, whether they should have motors or last 4 days or 14, how to get private boaters on the river quicker, possible changes in allocation ratios and how to provide access for educational groups, youth organizations and others. But the problem I see is that all these issues are becoming synonymous with "commercial trips." If something is wrong with the system, it¹s very convenient to make it the industry¹s fault, especially with talented and well-outfitted private trips to hold up as examples of people who don¹t need the services of the commercial industry. I emphasized at the meeting, and do so here as well, that commercial boating in Grand Canyon is extremely important, serves a purpose distinct from that of non-commercial trips, and is invaluable to the public whom we serve. Neither type of trip is "better" and we need both on this river. Most of our people come because they want and need guided services, not because they haven¹t time to wait for a non-commercial permit. The vast majority of commercial clients choose these trips because they have neither the knowledge, experience, connections or desire to go privately. We hear constantly how only 10% of backpackers in Grand Canyon use concessioned services, so why shouldn¹t river trips be similar? There is a distinction. Everyone can walk, not everyone can run a boat. Backpackers are usually desirous of a more solitary experience, and are often on a quest or a challenge to themselves and do not want or need the services of a guide. People going on river trips are consciously entering a truly alien environment and often prefer to be guided (let¹s face it, moving water often frightens us as humans). We cannot compare apples to oranges in this case. I read a letter in the recent Grand Canyon Private Boaters¹ Association newsletter The Waiting List that claimed "I know that the quality of my trip far surpassed the quality of a commercial trip"Š And another statement in a recent High Country News article that stated "to go really deep, you need to go on a private trip." Unequivocal, narrow-minded and simplistic statements like this annoy me. They make me write long-winded articles like this. Certainly, we on commercial trips are not all exploring and experiencing the river for the first time together as is the case on many private trips. Yes, we provide a safety net, an element of "cush" that a self-outfitted trip may not have. But these things do not take away from the experience for our guests. Because they do not have to worry about whether they will find a camp, eat well (or soon), make it through this or that rapid, because someone else is taking care of the details, these people are free to truly let go and go far "deeper" than one might imagine. These postal workers, and doctors, teachers and students, these accountants and lawyers, writers and computer jockeys, these homemakers, teenagers, nurses and film makers, these actors, musicians, carpenters and policemen are free to become some of the things they used to be as children, or never have been and always wanted to be. Because a large part of a commercial river trip involves education‹about geology, archaeology, conservation, history, ecology, Native Americans‹many of our guests come off a Grand Canyon trip beginning to see their world with truly different eyes. As a teacher I¹ve learned that there is no better way to help people learn to care for this planet than by helping them understand how it works, understand the connections between all living things. These people come to us open and ready for anything. Certainly, they may have expectations, and at the start many are just there for a vacation, but most of them leave with something far greater than that. They leave with a sense of the natural world, and a sense of history‹theirs and other people¹s. They take home the confidence and joy that comes from climbing that waterfall by themselves, completing that hike, living outdoors under the stars. As guides, we do not do this for them. We may show them the best ways to climb, or give them an idea of where to put their feet, but before long, they are doing it themselves. Having someone there to help, having someone who can still look up in awe and say "Wow‹would you look at that!" after having seen it 50 or 100 times before helps our guests look at the Canyon in a new light as well. A good guide will not do everything for the guests. A good guide will show them how to pay attention, the rest is up to them. After reading Brad Dimock¹s article in the recent High Country News, I too felt sad at the changes that I have seen in the industry in just 12 years. The restrictions and arguments of the late ¹90s make the late ¹80s look free and simple‹I can¹t even imagine the ¹70s. Some people say our guests have changed, become too soft, too demanding‹experience collectors instead of adventurers. Some people say the price of our trips is too high, the excess too great. They say the industry has gotten too fat, too entrenched. The young, poor and disabled are disenfranchised. Yes motors, no motors, shorter trips, longer trips, pee in this cup, wash your hands, jet skis, helicopters, more people, less peopleŠit gets overwhelming at times, doesn¹t.