THE SHUTTLE DRIVER BRAD CAMDEN
PHOTO: NATHANIEL WILSON
A NEW STAY-AT-HOME DAD, Brad Camden had just moved to Gasquet, Califor- nia, when a business opportunity appeared in his driveway. It was a kayaker looking for a ride to the put-in on the North Fork of the Smith River. Besides taking care of his six-month-old daughter, Camden was “walking circles in his liv- ing room.” That is to say, he was eager for a diversion. Driving the two-hour shuttle seemed like a good way to get out of the house, so “I said, ‘If you have room for a car seat, I’ll give you
His house is on the main thoroughfare in
Gasquet, and is described as a “miniature cas- tle,” with three turrets and suits of armor in each window. Camden is amazingly tolerant of paddlers’ “I would prefer
quirks. if kayakers called the
night before,” he says, “but I understand that in a lot of cases they might not know until that morning which fork they are going to float and how many drivers they’ll need.” Because flows on the Smith depend entirely
take it upon myself to keep the road open.” Camden has only floated the Smith twice, but
he loves to live vicariously through the stories of the paddlers he shuttles. He also battles to keep the watershed pristine. Camden once collected nearly 2,000 signatures on a petition opposing a nickel mine in the area. The proposed develop- ment was ultimately turned down. Remarkably, Camden’s fees have only in-
creased by $5 over the 29 years he’s been in business. “I hate to think you can’t float the river
“I DON’T MAKE A LOT OF MONEY, BUT BILL GATES CAN’T AFFORD AN OFFICE AS PRETTY AS MINE.”
a ride,’” recalls Camden, 59. That was 1986. Today, Camden, better known
as Bearfoot Brad, remains the only shuttle driv- er for whitewater runs in northern California’s Smith River drainage. As his nickname suggests, Camden is known for his aversion to footwear. “Anybody can take their shoes off,” he laughs, “but it takes a long time to get bear feet.”
54 PADDLING MAGAZINE
on precipitation, Camden keeps tabs on an im- provised gauge on the river in Gasquet. He posts daily synopses on the website,
Dreamflows.com. In the winter, when the forest service gives up maintaining the road to the North Fork, Camden routinely gets out and uses his four-wheel-drive truck to punch a path in the snow. “It wouldn’t be good business to get stuck,” he notes. “So I
because you can’t afford it,” he says. “I don’t make a lot of money, but Bill Gates can’t afford an office as pretty as mine, and he doesn’t get to hang around as nice of people as I do. “Whatever the paddlers do from Monday to
Friday, I see nothing but smiles on faces when they’re going to float the North Fork of the Smith.”
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