Klamath Dam Removal, Almeda Fire & Building a River Business with Will Volpert

Episode 41 | Go Wildly Podcast

Will Volpert was born into the river life and continues to choose it.

His parents guided and outfitted whitewater in Idaho. By the time he could walk he already knew the sound of a rapid. Today he and his wife Julie run Indigo Creek Outfitters out of Phoenix, Oregon — running day trips on the Rogue, exploring the newly restored Klamath following the largest dam removal in American history, and turning first-timers into people who can't stop thinking about the next time they'll be on the water.

We talk about learning to listen to podcasts, sleep habits indoors and outdoors, building and growing Indigo Creek Outfitters — business values, culture, and what it takes to run a small family-owned business — the Almeda Fire and post-fire revelations, the birth of the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, becoming a river guide and outfitter as a kid, lessons from the river, a wildlife encounter, and the Klamath Dam removal through the lens of recreation access and relationship building.

Links

Indigo Creek Outfitters: indigocreekoutfitters.com | @indigocreekoutfitters

Phoenix Oregon Chamber of Commerce: @travelphoenix

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Hosted & Produced by Emily Berlant & Heather White / Go Wildly Podcast

Theme Music: "Rainmaker" by Jared Masters — used with permission

Keywords

Go Wildly Podcast, Go Wildly, Southern Oregon podcast, outdoor podcast, Emily Berlant, Heather White, Will Volpert, Indigo Creek Outfitters, Phoenix Oregon, Rogue River rafting, Klamath River, Klamath Dam removal, largest dam removal history, dam removal recreation, river outfitter Oregon, family owned business outdoors, small business Oregon, Phoenix Oregon Chamber of Commerce, Almeda Fire Oregon, post fire recovery Southern Oregon, growing up on rivers, river guide kid, whitewater Idaho, river culture, first time rafting, outdoor business values, delegation business growth, wilderness United States, be uncomfortable try new things, Southern Oregon rivers, place-based podcast, outdoor lifestyle, whimsy, Kula Cloth