Staff & Guides

We have a professional staff of seasoned outdoor guides, many with years of corporate experience, who have the skills and insight to create the adventure of your dreams.

Bruce is one likable leader - every year I get a handful of volunteers who will go to the end of the world to be on another expedition with him... Amy Blum, Big City Mountaineers		Bruce "el Lobo" Corey WFR Owner, Lead Guide Bruce brings a unique combination of skills - extensive business experience in information technology in the financial sector and other businesses - and guiding outdoor adventures in the mountains and canyons throughout the United States and internationally. Bruce actually spends more time outside than in and he is able to sleep in some of the worlds most remote locales with the absolute minimal gear. A "Leave No Trace" advocate, he is well travelled in the Colorado Plateau, having logged over 75 backpacking trips below the rim of the Grand Canyon, and has spent considerable time over the past several years in the great outdoors leading groups on "adventure of a lifetime" trips. He is also the co-founder and owner of Canyon Tough with his wife Gerry. Bruce has worked with business leaders, youth, and a number of international clients and is known for his wily wisdom, sense of humor, and his ability to utilize adventure for learning. Certified Tahoe Rim Trail Guide

		Gerry Corey Owner, Administrative Manager Gerry is a warrior, of sorts. She has climbed the highest peaks—in Texas. She has waded through non-piranha infested waters in the Amazon. She got locked in a restroom in Spain and almost missed her bus. Oh yes, she has seen it all. And yet, she never met a trip she didn’t like. From the Grand Canyon to the Grand Canal, from Barcelona to Bandolier, it’s all a great adventure. It’s a chance to see something new and amazing, to meet people from all over the world, to find herself in places she first imagined as a kid. What does she bring to Canyon Tough? She brings many years of organizational and managerial experience. She brings a joie de vivre, only slightly tempered by those years of managerial experience. While all of those gifted guides will take you to wonderful places, she keeps the home fires burning. She is the voice of moderation, the woman who doesn’t go rim to rim in a day, but prefers to spend time at the river. She can run both budgets and human beings and make it her business to put together the best trips ever.

		Karen Hendricks WFR Guide Karen has been playing in the Southwest since 2006. She first discovered the Grand Canyon and its geology on a spring break trip a years ago. After completing her Master's in Recreation Administration at Aurora University she moved out West to pioneer what she had studied and to practice the adventurous lifestyle she leads. Karen is an advanced team facilitator and has experience motivating a wide variety of clients. A Wilderness First Responder, Karen currently lives in Prescott, Arizona with her four-legged friend Lola. She frequently enjoys rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking and river adventures. She is wild, friendly and loves making lifelong pals along the way.

		Carla Olson WFR Guide A midwest transplant, Carla has been exploring the desert southwest for over 8 years. Carla has extensive experience in community and event programming, specializing in outdoor recreation and volunteerism. Currently Carla juggles her schedule between Flagstaff and Phoenix to support her own business that focuses on event management, recreational events, and marketing and design services. A self-proclaimed "Jane of all Trades", Carla is up for any challenge - indoors or out! While having a deep-rooted passion for anything related to water (be sure to ask about her days in behavioral research with whales/dolphins), the mountains have called her name and she prefers to spend her time listening to the wisdom they hold. Carla brings a unique spin to every adventure with her mix of subtle wit and occasional locker-room humor. Life favorites include her two dogs, partner Elias, crosswords, and microbrews.

		Tim Owen WFR Guide Tim has crafted his life to allow him to explore wilderness all over the lower forty-eight and around the world. From obscure national parks of Montenegro and Albania, to fantastically hidden places in his own backyard, finding and exploring magical, lonely places has become a way of life for him. Tim has spent well over a year of his life cumulatively in the back-country and feels he is a better man for every one of those days. His enthusiasm is infectious and sense of adventure indefatigable. When not in the mountains, Tim lives in Oakland, CA as a professional musician, music producer, and music educator.

		Tammy "T2" Teegardin Guide Tammy was born in the Black Hills of South Dakota and for lack of better words, lived in tents with her free-spirited mother during her grade school years. She later moved to Arizona where she learned to further appreciate the outdoors of the Desert. She did her undergrad at the University of Vermont and earned her degree at Arizona State University. Her specialty is Archeology and Botany. She enjoys educating people on the edible and medicinal uses of plant life in the desert. Although she adventures to Yosemite, Glacier National Park, and the Tetons, her true love is the Grand Canyon State of Arizona. There is so much to appreciate in the Sonoran Desert. She is an avid volunteer at many Arizona's Park Systems and State Trust Land Programs as an Interpretive Ranger. She has earned her NAI Region interpretive education status that enables her guiding experience to be informative and educational to her explorers. Her hobbies include wakeboarding, mountain biking, guiding, hiking, and being a hockey/soccer mom/wife to her husband and kids.