Live Rough and Know the Real World

Guides in the outdoor industry inevitably come up with collective nicknames for customers. On horseback they’re “dudes,” on the river, they’re “mers” — short for customers — and they’re “sticks” if you’re trying to trick a trout. Sometimes the terms trend a little negative — “flatlander” comes to mind, and there’s another name I’ve come to use but need to explain it.

It comes out of what I do: For the last decade, I’ve guided multi-day whitewater fly-fishing trips through western Colorado’s Gunnison Gorge during the summer. Then I spend the fall guiding horseback hunting outfits in the wildern...