Nearly everyone I know, has asked at least once why I haven't got my New York State guide license. They recognized that I had been guiding friends and family for years, and could generate some income doing so for others. There are many benefits to be had by heading afield with a licensed guide, most of which revolves around education and safety.

For the most part, my past medical issues had kept me from pursuing my dreams. Since middle school, I had aspired to become a licensed guide. After graduating from high school, I decided to go into the medical field with the intention of saving up the money to start my own service. I passed the state boards exam, and immediately got a job. That was when I started to have the first signs of medical problems. The condition quickly escalated, and cost me my job. It also caused me to come to the realization that my dreams of becoming a guide were unattainable.

I spent many years suffering with no option, due to a lack in medical knowledge by our state’s surgeons. Fortunately, I was able to find a facility in Arizona that knew how to fix me. That was over a year ago, and for the past six months I have been certifying and taking all the classes needed to get my guide license. This past week, I finished my last class, and passed the test to get my CPR and first aid card. A special thanks to Matt Asma for allowing me to sit in and test locally. He saved me many miles of trave,l and will be headed down river with me soon. Of course, no charge for his efforts.

While recovering, I was researching what needed to be done to get licensed. I was surprised how many classes and certifications were needed to get one. There are guide schools which aren’t mandatory, but for the beginner, would be quite helpful. I decided to research what needed to be learned, and set out to gather all the materials needed to educate myself. While studying, I found that I knew most everything needed to pass the four tests, except for the orienteering and nautical portions.

There are six categories: Hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, white water rafting and ice climbing. I chose to skip out on the rafting and ice climbing portions, being that I don’t have a death wish. Each portion has its own test that you must pass to become a guide in that category. You must also take a water safety course and receive a certification card to be able to use boats in your business.