Trisha Schales began living her passion as a wilderness therapy field guide in 2020. She spent the pandemic years in the Utah wilderness, and in 2021 moved to Oregon where the trees, rivers and mountains quickly became home. By 2022, she had hired on as a guide with REI Experiences. In January 2025, REI’s decision to eliminate its Experiences (guiding) department to focus on retail came as a shock.
In response, Trisha formed Trails Diverged to allow herself and her fellow displaced co- guides to continue guiding and to improve the guiding industry. Based in the Portland area, the company offers guided kayaking, backpacking, mountain biking, and snowshoeing adventure tours in the Columbia River Gorge, Mt. Hood, and Mt. St Helens areas. Services are targeted primarily at beginners and tourists, with all the necessary gear provided, along with experienced guides who are committed to ensuring safety and respect for the outdoors by providing skills assessments and training as needed. Read more about the company and its mission in the Outdoors NW Magazine article.
As a first-time, woman-owned business, Trails Diverged qualified for the OIB’s business lending program to refinance the company’s initial outdoor equipment purchase, purchase a passenger and a tow vehicle, plus provide sufficient working capital to allow the company to start offering services immediately. Learn more about the company and book your adventure trip this summer on the company’s website: http://www.trailsdiverged.com/.