Why Good Trip?
Our guides are local experts, and our service is world-class.Meet the Company
We work with career guides who are experts in their fields and lead thousands of adventurers each year. We provide world-class experiences for all trippers – from first-timers to experienced travelers. We’re not just a local operator, we’re a national company that ensures consistent experiences of the highest quality.
And the best part? Regardless of where you come from, every experience with Good Trip Adventures will be not only good to you, but good to others, and good to the planet.
Meet the Team
Good Trip guides are professionally licensed. We are vetted thoroughly, trained often, and prepared for the unexpected. But most importantly, we love what we do.
Our team is made up of Master Naturalists, Wilderness First Responders, rock climbers, thru-hikers, kayakers, conservation volunteers, scientists, inspiring storytellers, and Master’s in outdoor education, environmental education, and sustainability education. We regularly volunteer with local non-profits to improve trail conditions, remove invasive plant species, and improve wildlife habitat.
Megan Kennedy
She/Her
Chief Adventure Officer &
Senior Guide
Megan got her start in the travel industry as a kayak guide at an eco-lodge in Wales. After returning to the States, she continued leading day hikes for New Yorkers. Day hikes became multi-day trips in the Northeast, which turned into week-long adventures around the world. During this time, she also began working on the logistics side of travel – creating itineraries, booking vendors, and building partnerships.
In 2017, she headed to the University of Edinburgh to pursue a Master’s in Outdoor Education. After completing her degree, she headed to Montana to become the Regional Manager of a tour operator.
Megan is a passionate environmentalist who uses her experience to run a more sustainable and inclusive outdoor travel company.
Tyler Tennant
He/They
Director of Operations &
Senior Guide
Tyler is a professional, full-time guide with years of experience leading and educating the public. With seasons of personal and professional experience in Yellowstone, the Sierra Nevadas, and the Pacific Northwest, Tyler is more than comfortable in the backcountry. Tyler has administrative, operational, and managerial expertise in his field, a Master’s degree in Outdoor Education, and is certified a Wilderness First Responder, and Master Naturalist. His passion for outdoor recreation and exploration is matched only by his desire to educate about and preserve the beauty of the natural world.
Lauren Skonieczny
She/Her
Director of Strategic Planning & Senior Guide
Lauren has been a professional guide since 2013, leading groups of diverse backgrounds to destinations such as Yosemite, Mount Rainier National Park, New England, the North Cascades, and Mount Kilimanjaro. An extremely capable leader, Lauren has worked several years at the director level in the travel industry, training and managing guide teams and overseeing brand growth from a local to national level. Outside of work, Lauren sits on the board as vice president of the United States Australian Football League, volunteers as an EMT with Pacific Northwest Search and Rescue, and teaches earth living skills to young students.
Alex Wehrle-Garsh
She/Her
Southwest Regional Manager & Senior Guide
Alex is an Outdoor Advocate and professional Recreation Therapist. Beyond passionate about the outdoors, she loves helping others see their abilities, and say yes to any outdoor adventure. She’s usually found with the biggest of smiles laughing at the cheesiest of jokes.
You’ll usually find her with a trash bag in hand, always leaving the trail better than she found it. A legacy member of the Granite Gear GoundsKeepers team, Alex has personally removed over 2500 pounds of litter from outdoor spaces. Motivated to inspire the community to do the same, she is Masters Certified in Leave No Trace and regularly facilitates LNT training and clean-ups.
Most days you can find her hiking, camping, doing yoga, or biking, and her favorite adventures include the ones before the sun is even up. She believes there is nothing like being the only one at the summit watching the sunrise.
Mallory Fischer
Operations Assistant & Lead Guide
Mallory grew up playing outside with farm animals, birdwatching, and exploring her family’s farm in Northern Illinois. This rural upbringing instilled a passion for wildlife and nature in her, which led to earning a bachelor’s degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management and a master’s degree in Conservation Biology. Mallory’s academic adventures took her to Brazil, Mexico, Mongolia, and Namibia to study the impact of climate change on various communities and ecosystems while also helping to develop environmental education resources, scientific research, and community-based conservation efforts. As her career evolved, she spent time working as a naturalist and environmental educator whose goal is to help others see the value in caring for the environment while simultaneously building connections that work to ensure a healthy, sustainable future. Mallory is a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association of Interpretation and has previously worked for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, the National Park Service, Walt Disney World, an AZA accredited zoo, and various other government and nonprofit conservation organizations. She is an experienced naturalist guide who loves to hike, camp, kayak, observe wildlife, and provide an inclusive and welcoming experience for anyone who joins her on an outdoor adventure.
Colin Snider
He/Him
Operations Assistant & Senior Guide
Colin grew up in the rolling hills of southern Indiana, hunting, fishing and foraging for mushrooms with his family. His affinity for the outdoors as a child encouraged his parents to enroll him in an outdoor adventure summer camp which he attended for fourteen summers as everything from camper to camp director.
His time at camp instilled a lifelong
passion for protecting the environment and sharing it with others.
Colin holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Outdoor Recreation, Parks, and Human Ecology from Indiana University and a Master’s in Environmental and Sustainability Education from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He is a Montana Master Naturalist, Wilderness First Responder, and holds his Avalanche Level 1 certification. In his free time, Colin is a die-hard skier, climber, and fly fisher.
Alexis Krauss
She/Her
Lead Guide
Alexis is a longtime lover of the outdoors and teaching. Alexis has been guiding adventures in the outdoors since 2016 and especially loves sharing the transformative power of nature with youth. She is an outdoor educator for Wild Earth and a Wilderness First Responder. An avid climber she recently passed her AMGA Single Pitch Assessment and is a NYS licensed climbing guide. She is co-founder of Young Women Who Crush, a climbing and leadership program for New York City girls. Alexis is a working musician and one half of the band Sleigh Bells.
Nathan Duclos
He/Him
Lead Guide
Nathan grew upon in New Hampshire hiking and climbing in the White Mountains. Since that time he has gone on to climb across the globe submitting many of the worlds highest peaks. Nathan has lead expeditions in Argentina, Nepal, Iceland, Peru, the Alps, Mongolia, Alaska and beyond. He is a Wilderness Paramedic and licensed EMS instructor, he teaches wilderness medicine classes domestically and around the world. He is also a mountaineering instructor and has focused much of his time understanding and treating high altitude illnesses. He has established backcountry hospitals in remote areas of Africa, Haiti and Panama. His other passions include ocean kayaking and road biking.
Savannah McCauley
She/Her
Lead Guide
Savannah’s love for the outdoors began in her backyard in Northern CA. A lush and vast Redwood grove gave life to her love for all things outside. In 2018 she jumped head first in to the life of multi-day backpacking, hiking, guiding, and outdoor photography. She loves the strong yet gentle environment the outdoors gives to everyone and the mental and physical change that emerges from spending time in it. Her favorite places to backpack include the Northern Cascades, Escalante and by far the Wind River Range. Savannah now works full time as a professional photographer in the outdoor realm and strives to create a safe, exciting, and all-welcoming environment in all spaces within the outdoors. She currently lives both on the East Coast in Brooklyn, as well as the West Coast in Seattle. Savannah always has her trusty pup sidekick Sequoia by her side as well as a camera in her hand. No doubt you’ll find her either up on a wall, out in the ocean, or deep in the backcountry.
Justine Horton
She/Her
Lead Guide
Justine was born and raised in New York City, but since childhood has found great joy and peace in the outdoors. Growing up, she was fortunate to spend her summers in the Catskill Mountains, where she first began hiking and backpacking. Since then, Justine has gone on to become an avid outdoorsperson: she has hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, the Long Trail, vast sections of the Appalachian Trail, and has completed many shorter backpacking trips in Alaska, New Zealand, Myanmar, Iceland, and Tanzania. While her passion is backpacking, she also enjoys rock climbing, trail running, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, car-camping, and hiking interpretive trails. Justine believes that time spent outside can have a truly meaningful impact on an individual’s life, and that learning the skills one needs to succeed in an outdoor pursuit can be incredibly empowering and rewarding. As an outdoor educator and guide for teenagers and adults, she works to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to safely, intentionally, and responsibly engage with the outdoors.
Marc Cassone
He/Him
Lead Guide
Marc is an ER Physician and outdoor guide who grew up hiking and paddling in the Adirondacks of upstate NY (46-er!). He has worked as an outdoor guide since 2010 leading multi-day trekking trips across the US, Alps, Pyrennes, Andes, Morocco and two ascents of Kilimanjaro as well as bike touring trips across the US and Europe. His next big goals are to summit the highest points of all fifty states (30/50!) and complete the Winter Haute Route. He’s passionate about wilderness medicine, global health, outdoor sports (you name it!), crossword puzzles and sharing the outdoors with new and veteran adventurers.
Jade Chimo
He/Him
Lead Guide
Jade is an enthusiastic outdoor adventurer, he has been guiding fly fishing and hunting trips in Montana for 3 years. A true Montana native he has lived in the state enjoying all it has to offer for the last 23 years. During the summer months he spends his time teaching people the art of casting a flyrod, however frustrating it might be.
Emma Capulong
She/Her
Lead Guide
As a AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide and Mayo Clinic trained & Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Emma Capulong (pronounced like a cup of oolong tea: Cup-Oolong) helps clients explore nature within and outside. Emma loves getting to know her clients and helping them reach their goals. Whether you want to climb a mountain or explore the National Parks with your family, Emma meets you where you are. Since 2014 Emma has been guiding individuals, groups, children, and families through every season with transformative coaching, mindfulness education, and outdoor play.
Diana Proemm
She/Her
Lead Guide
Diana started her outdoor adventures with skiing at an early age. Skiing, mountain biking, hiking, trekking, and white water paddling have carried her to places she would never have imagined. She took her love of the mountains to explore Montana and Alaska, spending time camping, exploring, and biking. Traveling for months alone as a woman in the 90’s was not the norm, but it helped her expand her love for adventure and grow confidence and resilience along the way. Learning how to navigate her way safely during solo travels slowly blended into her personal life. Eventually, she headed back to school to become a Recreational Therapist. She has led backcountry adventure programs, taught and directed adaptive outdoor adventure programs, and retreats in the great outdoors. Currently, she keeps busy in her off time by climbing mountains, rolling downhill on her mountain bike, or floating the river.
SHAUNA BARON
She/Her
Lead Guide
Shauna Baron holds a B.S. in Biology, and a M.S. in Science Education. She has had over 25 years of experience as an outdoor educator. In her early academic years, her studies focused on large and small carnivores, including wolves, bears, fishers and bobcats. Shauna saw her first wild wolf while volunteering with the Yellowstone Wolf Project in 1996, and she has been hooked on wolves ever since.
Over the years, she focused her career on predator conservation, working as an educator for the Colorado-based captive wolf program at Mission: Wolf, a field biologist and outreach coordinator for the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Red Wolf Recovery Program in North Carolina, and a forest carnivore researcher for the University of Vermont. Shauna spent 13 years as a resident instructor for the Yellowstone Forever Institute, where she specialized in creating outdoor education programs for disabled veterans, inner-city and at-risk youth, as well as autistic youth groups. Today, she is working as a naturalist guide in Yellowstone National Park, where she continues to share her love and in-depth knowledge of wolves and the outdoor world, inspiring a sense of wonder in students, both young and old.
Lydia Kopecky
She/Her
Lead Guide
Lydia is a deep lover of all things outdoors. An avid climber, mountaineer, and backpacker, Lydia loves to help push others to their limits and see what they’re truly capable of. From the Annapurna range in Nepal and the top of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, to the eastern Sierras and the Alps, Lydia loves to help others explore and revel in the beauty of our natural world. Lydia has been an outdoor guide since 2012 and is a mentor for Young Women Who Crush, a climbing and leadership program for girls in New York City. Lydia is a member of the US Fencing Team and potentially too much in love with her two cats, Spoon and Canoe. She’s based in Brooklyn.
Gary Keir
He/Him
Lead Guide
Gary loves getting out of the city for day or multi-day trips. He always feels grounded after spending time out of doors. What he enjoys most is when participants have a really good day. In addition to guiding trips in the Northeast, Gary has led backpacking trips in Arctic Alaska for 20 years. As a volunteer, he is chair of the committee that oversees all Alaska and Arctic Canadian trips for Sierra Club Outings. He has also volunteered for Warriors and Quiet Waters in Bozeman. A native of Pittsburgh, he now lives on the Upper West Side of New York City. Gary is also an Eagle Scout.
Marc Leone
He/Him
Lead Guide
Marc was born and raised in the northeastern US. He has always felt at home in the woods and believes that the beauty of every outdoor landscape, even city parks, must be preserved so future generations can benefit from the healing power of nature. Marc spends his free time in the mountains of upstate New York, but the Canadian Rockies are his favorite place to explore. He loves dedicating time to honing his naturalist skills and enjoys helping others cultivate their own appreciation and respect for the natural world. Marc has been guiding groups of hikers since 2012 and lives in New York City.
Matt Bloomfield
He/Him
Lead Guide
Born and raised in the Midwest, Matt’s fascination with the outdoors started on a family road-trip from Indiana to Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. Already an avid geological enthusiast and rock collector, the experience of seeing a diverse landscape of mountains, canyons, cliffs, and deserts sparked an even greater desire to leave the farmlands of the midwest.
Several years later, at the age of 23, he moved to Flagstaff, Arizona to earn his bachelor’s degree in Geology from Northern Arizona University. While studying geology and partaking in as many outdoor activities as possible, he stumbled upon a desire to capture and share all the amazing landscapes he so frequently experienced. Matt’s love for photography blossomed and he now specializes in shooting landscape and adventure photography, with a focus on the southwestern US. His goal is to share his passions with others by teaching them the skills they need to explore and appreciate the natural world, educate them about geology and its role in shaping the world they see today, and photograph their incredible journey along the way.
Lærke Nielsen
She/Her
Lead Guide
Lærke is a professional guide, instructor, and outdoor educator with global experience. Growing up in the woods of Scandinavia, Lærke decided to turn her love for the outdoors and environmental stewardship into a full-time career, and she now holds a postgraduate degree in Outdoor Education, is a certified Wilderness First Responder and Mountain Leader, and has worked trips and expeditions out of Norway, Scotland, Greenland, and the US Southwest. Lærke’s main guiding passion is sharing that perfect combination of exhilarating adventure in and meaningful connection to the landscapes we journey through. Having worked a few good years in Scotland as a climbing instructor and wilderness therapy guide, Lærke has just relocated to Southern California, where she finally gets to experience the joy of being able to climb under the sun all year round.
Beau Reed
They/Them
Lead Guide
Beau grew up in the wilds of rural Tennessee. They spent their summers as a kid camping, fishing, jumping in muddy swimming holes, catching fireflies, and spending hours a day with their horse out in the woods. As an adult they now live on occupied Duwamish territory (aka Seattle, WA) and have grown to love backpacking, rock climbing, mushroom hunting in the northwest and saying yes whenever an opportunity arrives. They have trekked across Scotland, many National Parks, California, and sections of the Appalachian Trail. They have dedicated their life to educating and instructing others so they too can enjoy the backcountry.
Michelle Zizian
She/Her
Lead Guide
Michelle considers herself fortunate to be based in her favorite National Park: Yellowstone. Over the years she’s done winter caretaking stints at Mammoth, on a horse ranch in Greater Yellowstone, and has spent multiple seasons as a caretaker for Yellowstone Forever’s Overlook Field Campus. She specializes in and currently studies botany, foraging, and wildcrafting. She co-founded a forestry science company that took her around the country hiking and backpacking in some of the most remote wilderness areas. She also spent several years as a conservation storyteller for an NPR member radio station. All along Michelle has been volunteering in various citizen-science projects with the National Parks Service, including wildflower phenology studies gathering data on the effects of climate change. She has hands-on wildlife experience that includes working in wildlife medicine as a veterinary technician for Florida Wildlife Hospital and participating in wildlife capture, tag and release studies with state wildlife agencies. Aside from guiding, Michelle works as a political organizer, focusing on voter engagement with conservation issues in Montana. She enjoys acting, hiking, wildlife watching, and cross country skiing. Her passions for wild creatures, the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem, the interconnection of humanity and nature, and fostering the desire to protect wild places for future generations, all give her palpable enthusiasm and purpose.
Lori Taylor
She/Her
Lead Guide
Lori grew up adventuring in the Pacific Northwest and Colorado. After raising a family and spending some years in Florida taking groups on expeditions into Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, she chased her dream to be a professional guide by moving to North Carolina and starting Mountain Treks, LLC. At Mountain Treks, she creates custom experiences for individuals and groups seeking adventure, renewal, and personal challenge. She believes trekking through wilderness opens pathways to live great stories. With a Doctorate in Spiritual Formation, as well as training as a NOLS Outdoor Educator and Leave No Trace Master Educator, Lori has a passion to combine wilderness education with personal character and group development through transformational wilderness experiences that are inclusive, supportive, and fun.
Kimberly Rivers
She/Her
Lead Guide
Kimberly was born and raised in North Carolina, and grew up hiking along the Appalachian Trail. On her first backpacking trip out west, through Glacier National Park in Montana, she fell in love with the wild and varying landscapes of the opposite coast. She has spent the past several years exploring parks all over the south- and northwest, and is excited to lead tours in some of her favorite places! She is a Wilderness First Responder and an avid landscape photographer. She is passionate about combining her interests in sustainability and environmentalism with her love of backpacking and climbing. She is based in southern California with her two adventure pups, Ande and Lucy.
Molly Brennen
She/Her
Lead Guide
Molly grew up in Michigan where she fell in love with the outdoors at a young age. Molly got her start in the conservation world after she graduated from Western Michigan University and joined a conservation corps doing trail work where she found a passion for protecting, preserving and respecting the environment. Since then, she has gained both personal and professional experience in the outdoors: she was a Conservation Educator for youth where she taught outdoor education and led backpacking trips and a Park Ranger with the Bureau of Land Management where she enjoyed leading a variety of different groups on interpretive hikes in Northern California. In her free time she loves exploring, backpacking, camping, kayaking. During the winter, Molly enjoys sports such as snowboarding, cross country skiing, and ice skating. Molly finds joy and enthusiasm in connecting with people and the environment through interpretation and is looking forward to more opportunities to do so!
Derek Esposito
Lead Guide
Derek started his guiding career leading climbing and mountaineering courses for NOLS while pursuing a career in the solar industry. He has been guiding full time for the past 5 years and now calls the Cascades home where he happily pursues adventures on ice, rock, and snow throughout the year. Derek has taken AMGA courses in the Rock, Alpine, and Ski disciplines along with Wilderness First Responder and Avalanche Pro 1 certifications and has traveled extensively to guide clients in Nepal, Ecuador, and Alaska.
Ally Petrilla
Lead Guide
Ally grew up in the Cumberland Plateau of east Tennessee. With Appalachia as her backyard, she learned from an early age to love and enjoy the outdoors biking, hiking, backpacking, and studying the local flora and fauna of her hometown. A multi-sport athlete, Ally started her career in the outdoors as a fitness and cycling coach and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. While earning her Master’s Degree in Global Public Health she coordinated and led outreach trips in Latin America, which expanded her love of travel, trip leadership, and advocacy. In 2015 she shifted gears in order to marry her passion for the outdoors with her education in public health and became a professional bicycle tour guide. She has led multi-day excursions in locations around the globe including Ecuador, Spain, Costa Rica, and National Parks across the U.S. On her own, Ally enjoys bikepacking, hiking, and camping with her dog Chevy and her partner Jeremiah.
Kim Palmer
She/Her
Lead Guide
Kim is an avid adventurer, having grown up in a very active family in Colorado. Kim enjoys hiking, cycling, skiing, mountaineering, and whitewater kayaking. Kim has been guiding professionally for three years following a corporate career helping small businesses find financing in Denver. She left the corporate world to pursue her passion for adventure, and for helping others enjoy and learn more about the outdoors. Kim has guided hiking and cycling trips all over the Western United States. During her time in Denver, Kim worked as a volunteer on a mountain search and rescue team for ten years. Her specialty was avalanche education, rescue, and recovery. During her tenure on the team, Kim gained many valuable outdoor skills, including navigation, outdoor survival, and most importantly, how to handle an outdoor emergency. Kim is an EMT and Wilderness EMT. When she is not guiding, Kim enjoys international travel, and organizing trips for groups of friends. She has spent a considerable amount of time in Nepal, trekking to Mt Everest Base Camp twice, and helping build a school in a rural community. Kim believes it is very important to give back to the communities in which she recreates. Whether with a group of friends or with people she has not previously met, Kim loves sharing her knowledge and passion for the outdoors.
Erin Quinley
She/Her
Lead Guide
It is the pleasure of a lifetime to discover that one can make a living hanging out with nice people, outside. “Life is to be enjoyed” and Erin insists on having fun! To that end, Erin has been an outdoor educator since her first ropes course facilitation and team building gig, in 2006. Since then she has talked countless people into stepping off platforms and trusting a zip line, climbing up a rock face and trusting me and a rope, and walking through the woods and trusting that if we encounter a bear we’re still going to be alright. Erin believes that we are all “outdoorsy” because we are made of the same stuff as a tree, and the water in our bodies has been part of the earth’s story since its beginning; we can’t make anything without a natural source so even if we “don’t like going outside”, the items inside our homes are just extensions of the natural world! Erin has found during her years of camping, backpacking, rock climbing, and hanging out in trees that the walls we build up to separate ourselves from nature and each other can’t resist the gentle force of opening provided by time spent outside. We are so lucky to have National Parks established to provide access to those life changing experiences, and she cannot wait to be there with those who choose to get outside with us this year.
Sam Combs
He/Him
Lead Guide
Sam considers himself very fortunate to get to spend his time guiding adventuresome outings in astonishing places with people from all different walks of life. A lifelong student of the natural world, Sam does his best to infuse all of his guided journeys with opportunities for deeply immersive learning experiences. Holding space for groups and individuals to connect with themselves and the people and places that they are visiting is an intrinsic part of Sam’s mission on any excursion, and he’s going to have a blast fulfilling that objective. Sam has been guiding professionally for the better part of a decade, and when he’s not plying his craft on the trail, he’s helping to manage a retreat center and permaculture farm in Belize, where he makes music, movement and chocolate with his growing family.
Kyle Moon
He/Him
Lead Guide
Kyle was raised in the urban environment of Orlando, Florida. Despite not having much surrounding green space he always had a keen eye for finding wild things. His interests in wildlife led him to pursue a B.S. in wildlife ecology and conservation from the University of Florida which changed his world forever. Since graduating he has worked for many federal, state, and non-profit organizations from Florida to Guyana, to Alaska and Montana. Kyle currently resides in Bozeman, Montana where he spends much of his free time giving back to the community through conservation efforts. As a board member of the Sacajawea Audubon Society he helps guide free birding trips and lends a hand on various ongoing conservation projects. When dedicating time for himself, you’ll most likely find him with camera in-hand in search of his next wildlife encounter. He’s a wildlife photographer, but a conservationist first who practices ethical photography. With his photographs he hopes to raise awareness on various conservation issues and shed light on the amazing biodiversity this planet has to offer. Kyle also enjoys hiking, backpacking, skiing, fishing, exploring, running, biking, and Spikeball.
Justin Carter
He/Him
Lead Guide
Justin is an explorer. He aims to know something about everything in our physical and natural world. Growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, he spent summers traveling, camping in national and state parks across the US. During the school year, he pestered his teachers, particularly his science teachers, with question after question after question.
Proud Member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association
