Since 2009
Family run, out of Terlingua.
Two rafts, a truck, and a town at the edge of the map.
Dale and Marisol Ruiz moved to Terlingua in 2009 with two rafts, an old truck, and a hunch that people coming to Big Bend needed gear they could trust and locals they could ask. They started by renting boats out of the driveway. Word got around.
Fifteen years later, the fleet has grown to more than sixty rigs and rentals, the cabins and Airstreams went up across the property, and the guided trips became their own thing entirely. What has not changed is the size of the place: small enough that the people who pack your kit are the people who answer the phone.
"We rent the gear we would want, and we send you where we would go."
What we hold to
Our values
Gear that works
Every rig and kit goes out dialed and comes back checked. We would rather pull a piece of gear than send it out broken. Out here, your equipment is not a detail. It is the difference.
Guides who live here
Our guides are not seasonal hires reading a script. They live in Terlingua, run these rivers and roads on their days off, and know what the desert is doing this week, not last season.
Leave no trace
We pack out what we pack in, stay on the routes, and leave the springs and the quiet for the next person. We expect the same of every guest. That is the deal that keeps this place wild.
Honest advice
If the river is too low or the hike is more than you want, we will tell you. We would rather point you to the right trip, or talk you out of the wrong one, than book a bad day.
The people out here.
Founders
Dale & Marisol Ruiz
Started with two rafts and a truck in 2009.
Head river guide
Cole Whitfield
Has run Santa Elena more times than he can count.
Backcountry lead
Nina Park
Knows every primitive road and where it goes.
Gear & logistics
The shop crew
The reason your kit works on the first night.