Sam Karas has been a reporter with The Big Bend Sentinel for almost three years and says she loves working as a community journalist, but there’s another pursuit that has kept her drawn to the Big Bend for even longer: working as a river guide on the Rio Grande. Karas has worked for a variety of outfitters on all kinds of trips — big and small groups, multi-day overnights, and in all kinds of conditions on the river.
Recently, the New York Times hired her to accompany a photographer who planned to retrace the “steps” on the river that a writer — Daniel Modlin — had taken for an article to be published. For Karas, it was a different experience trying to assist journalists on a story instead of reporting and writing one. It was also a challenge orienting and equipping the photographer — Ivan Pierre Aguirre of El Paso — who had never been on a river trip.
The experience also offers a chance to get an update on the river, which Karas follows closely, in a period of significant drought. As the title of the New York Times article suggests, things are looking dour for river trips — “How do you paddle a disappearing river.”
BBS: How did you get involved with the project of taking a New York Times photographer out to the remote river areas stretches of the Rio Grande?
SK: In addition to being a journalist, I have been a river guide for almost five years now, and I sort of freelance. I used to guide full-time, but right now I’m doing occasional trips for Far West Texas Outfitters out of Presidio, and that’s a lot of fun. And I get to be on the river more than I would trying to do it on my own.
I got a message from the owner of the company saying that he had this photographer who was really interested in coming out, but he was a party of one. So we were trying to figure out how best to do that logistically, because when packing for a river trip, it’s almost as difficult to pack for one person as it is for 10 people. But the Times was open to anything that would get Ivan on the river.
BBS: What do you think the New York Times was looking for in this article?
SK: It was a more lyrical, less hard journalism piece. The author interviewed a couple of different river guides, and the photographer and the writer did not go on the same trip. So they sort of had to recreate the trip that the writer went on, which was also an interesting experience because we were trying to figure out how to stage photos. Because there are typically no other parties on this section of the river, he ended up taking photographs of me. It was interesting to kind of think of it from that perspective of this trip that I’ve done so many times but trying to see it from a photojournalist’s eyes.
BBS: And what part of the river was that?
SK: So this is Temple Canyon, which is the first 12 miles of the Lower Canyons, which takes a week to 10 days to do and is much more strenuous. So this is a beautiful and much shorter introduction of sorts — just an overnight for two days. It’s accessible through Heath Canyon Ranch. It’s a really interesting trip because most of it’s through private land, and it’s basically the only part of the river that is floatable right now. I went out on it last weekend, and it was considerably lower than it was six weeks ago when I was guiding the photographer.
BBS: So, this photographer, had he ever been on a river trip before?
SK: No, he’s from El Paso, Ivan Pierre Aguirre, and he does mostly El Paso-based photography, a lot of immigration-related stuff. So, this was his first time on the river. It was really interesting too, because he was talking about how cool it would be for there to be more of a river culture in El Paso. But because it’s so politicized, and it’s basically a ditch there, people don’t feel the same sort of ownership or don’t feel welcome to use the river recreationally in the way that we can here in the Big Bend.
BBS: When someone is a novice like that, is it challenging to have them on the river?
SK: This trip, it was just the two of us in one boat, so that was pretty easy. The majority of what I just did was hold the boat still while a camera was out and show him how to use the protective gear you can use to keep camera equipment safe and dry.
BBS: So what kinds of things was he interested in, and what do you think he got out of it as far as photography?
SK: They wanted dramatic shots of people in really low water not able to navigate their boats correctly and pushing things through when getting stuck. But there wasn’t anyone out there, which is usually what you want from a Big Bend river trip –– not necessarily for the purpose of photographing people. So I ended up being the subject of the shots. We did a lot of landscape shots and some drone footage.
There’s a particular spot where there just is no way for the boat to go through, not through a bunch of really sharp branches. So, you have to line the canoe, which means basically you get out and you guide it around with ropes. It was pretty embarrassing though, because I was doing this while the photographer was kind of massaging the shot, figuring things out. But I fell down. So there’s the one shot that’s in there that looks really cool –– like I’m in high water fighting the current –– but actually I fell on my ass.
BBS: So you have a great job as a reporter at The Big Bend Sentinel. What drives you to continue to do river trips?
SK: I’m a glutton for punishment (laughing). No, I moved out to Big Bend to be near the parks. I love what I do with The Sentinel and feel lucky to get to be out in the parks reporting all the time. But the river is why I live here. It kind of keeps me in touch with nature when things get really stressful. It re-centers my relationship to this place.
BBS: So it doesn’t take a genius to look outside and see that we’re in a fair amount of drought. Things are dry, dying. The river’s low in so many places. What would you advise for someone still interested in taking a river trip?
SK: This Temple Canyon trip would be the trip to do. Although I would say if you have the option, if you’re a local, wait and don’t do it right now. A day on the river is always a beautiful day, but while it’s hot outside it can be pretty miserable to drag the boats around. So wait for nicer weather or deeper water if you can. If you’re visiting the Big Bend, talk things through with an outfitter to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into. Most outfitters also offer hiking, biking and Jeep trips if you want to see the parks with a pro in the meantime.
BBS: What should people look for in an outfitter for a trip?
SK: You can really customize it to your budget and the kind of experience that you want. Some companies offer a catered experience with gourmet food or with musicians that jam around the campfire. Just be upfront with the people that you’re calling about what type of experience you want, how much money you’re planning to spend, and if you have any special interests like birding or geology.
BBS: This wasn’t your first interaction with the New York Times, was it?
SK: I did door-knocking for the New York Times after the death of the Unabomber, because the Unabomber’s brother has property in Terlingua. (He wasn’t home.) This river trip was less about my journalism than it was about me assisting a journalist. It was especially interesting because I’ve done a lot of reporting on the lack of water in the Rio Grande and its impact on the tourism industry.
I think the author of this piece did a fabulous job. But I do like to remind publications that whenever possible, try to hire local journalists from the place that you’re reporting on because we do have a special perspective and it supports local journalism.