Environmental Traveling Companions

My work often partners with ETC for some of our recreational activities. I was a volunteer/worker for our annual kayaking event. We normally go to Tomales Bay. This time, we went to Angel Island.

The staff & volunteers were really engaging, enthusiastic and thoughtful with our clients. They accommodated our large group and everyone loved kayaking & camping with their crew.

Some of us took the ferry over but even experiencing the great outdoors for a few days left all of us, myself included with lasting memories we won't forget.

If you have a chance to go on one of their trips or want to volunteer with them, do it, you will love it!

These guys are rad!
Just had a kayak trip with them in Sausalito with a bunch of kids with special needs.
They were organized, helpful , aware.. but also super intuitive and kind ( each and every one) with my kids,
And the whole group
Everyone had fun, got out on the water, saw houseboats and harbor seals, ....very cool

I can't recommend enough!

Thanks y'all

I didn't go to the ETC benefit last night to increase my chances of being raptured on Saturday. I already know I'm not going up. I'm not going up for the same reason George Clooney won't be running for office.

I went because these people are cool. I went because being in their company and listening to the stories of their work remind me that there are people in this world that do good work simply because good work needs to be done. And reminders like this help me keep things in a proper perspective.

ETC devotes its energy to connecting people with the outdoors, people that without the help of the organization might not get so connected. ETC clients include people with social or physical challenges, circumstances economic or physiologic that make it far more difficult to do what so many of us simply take for granted. As of last night ETC has taken over 50,000 people whitewater rafting and on hikes, on cross-country ski trips and kayak adventures from Tomales Bay to the Sea of Cortez.

It's serious stuff, done by serious people. Seriously good people.

With the gentle encouragement of Kristy, a kayak volunteer for ETC, I participated in my first kayak experience. In Tomales Bay. At night.

The trip was an extraordinary, emotionally boundary-breaking experience. The ETC guides and volunteers work enthusiastically and competently to educate, assist, and shepherd all participants, young and old, experienced and novices, those who are athletic and those with disabilities, through an awe-inspiring evening of magic.

Our trip included group bonding exercises, thorough safety instructions, assistance with gear that kept us warm and dry, and a guided kayak trip (in the dark, did I mention that?), to see glittering protons in the water, stars, and the beauty of nature.

Do it. You will complete the trip having had the experience of a lifetime.

ETC stands for Environmental Traveling Companions.

ETC's mission is to make outdoor travel accessible. It's an amazing organzation.

It is a mostly volunteer based organization that takes people with special needs on rafting, kayaking, and cross-country skiing trips.

If you are interested in volunteering and you enjoy learning new skills this is your place. Each spring they hold training on how to become a whitewater raft guide. The price is much lower than a commercial guide training and in return you get to volunteer with some of the coolest people you will ever meet.

Here's my wordy heart-felt review:
As so many people have said, ETC (Environmental Travel​ing​ Companions) is a game-changer for those who have some physical limitations and want to explore ​the outdoors and develop outdoor skills. I don't usually introduce myself​ ​ ​in​ this way but I have M.S. - I've had it for 30+ years and have been incredibly fortunate. MS is unpredictable: I am now ambulatory and need different degrees of support at different times. ETC staff are so well oriented​ and ​sensitized that they sense when assistance would be valuable and they are right there (checking in first). I have never, ever,​ ​experienced an assumption of inability and ​have ​always felt recognition of my desire for independence WHILE recognizing my hesitations​ and ​fears​.​

I ​can't emphasize enough the amazing​ community​ feeling on ETC trips​ -​ that each of us is ​valuable ​ and important part of the team. I've experienced other courses​ and ​trips where the annoyance of the other participants at being slowed down or having to adapt, has ultimately caused me to not continue to learn a skill I wanted. I learn better and faster with support​, and ETC provides just the right amount.​ ​I am tremendously grateful for the existence of ETC​ - and did I mention ​that we also ​ ​laugh a lot and eat incredibly delicious food​?​

Our July 15, 2017 outing was a perfect trip for a disabled person to take, well, for anyone to take! My son and I had a great time. The staff and volunteers were exceptional in their assistance, information, and enthusiasm. We are definitely going to do this again.

I was a volunteer with ETC 30 years ago when I was in my 20s. I just finished a day rafting trip in collaboration with the Yuba Salmon group "South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL). Any day on any river is a good day, but this trip absolutely warmed the cockles of my aged heart. Diane Poslosky has done a remarkable job of continuing the wonderful work as Director of this non-profit organization, which has enriched both disabled and non-disabled people for over 30 years. Back in 1980, when Jerry Brown (our illustrious AG) was Governor of California, he signed the death warrant for the Stanislaus River where I learned about river rafting with ETC. Construction of the New Melones Dam drowned one the last "wild" stretches of a most beautiful river canyon with historic Indian artifacts. At that time, ETC had a "camp" in Angel's Camp that I loved dearly. Volunteering with ETC changed my life forever and I went on to teach disabled people boating on Lake Merritt in their pilot program and have been working as an Environmental Planner for over 10 years.

Kudos to Mark Dubois and Gracielle for starting this group, and for Diane for keeping it up all these years to give back to this new generation of concerned citizens and for generations to come.

I went on a kayaking And a white water trip with Environmental Traveling Companions. A simple sentence for many people, but not for me because I have secondary progressive multiple sclerosis and have significant difficulty sitting up straight and walking. For both my trips, ETC enabled me to perform a miracle and every single staff member from the director to the person who handled my reservation, all the way through to each staff member and volunteers who were there the day of my trips were the people who made it happen. And all of these people treated me with dignity and respect, while we had fun the whole day. I can't recommend ETC more highly. Perform your own miracle with them and go on one of their affordable and wonderful trips the first chance you get!

My friend and I, who both have M.S. went on a kayaking trip in Sausalito last June with ETC. From the enrollment process to the send off the experience was great. The price was right, the directions and advice were spot on, and the ETC leaders were helpful, infinitely patient, skilled, knowledgeable, and kind.
We had every level of M.S. disability present for this trip, and although it took a considerable amount of time, effort and skill to get this large group of people into the kayaks and comfortable the staff got it done without showing any frustration or sacrifice to detail. Once on the water we were all able to experience the freedom of movement that is denied many with this disease.
We Kayaked around Sausalito for a couple of hours with the wind in our faces, the sun on our backs, and wildlife all around us. It was wonderful!
If it weren't for an organization like ETC many of those on this trip (and others like it) would never be able to enjoy an outing like this again in their lives.
Instead of being relegated to the sidelines having to live through the experiences of others, ETC enables us to share our own exciting adventures. An invaluable service to be sure!
Thanks ETC!