Meet Jay Healy
Jay took his own direction in writing his guide profile for us, and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with you! He truly told his story, which is so so fun to read. It makes him come to life even more. His love of Grand Canyon is truly infectious! You’ll catch his sarcastic humor a few times while you read too. If you haven’t had the pleasure of going on a river trip with Jay, you’ll have to come back on another trip with us and hope that you have the opportunity to go with him! He’s a great guide, full of history and information and he knows so much about the flora and fauna! He’s simply a treat to raft with. Read below to learn more about Jay!
Growing Up
I was born in eastern Montana, then in eighth grade we moved over to the west side of the state, to the Flathead valley. It was there that boating became a huge part of my life. Spending the summer cruising around in my parent’s lake boat was a dream. When not out on Flathead lake, my friends and I were fishing, hunting, and camping. Spending all of our time outside until ski season rolled around! After high school I moved to Bozeman to attend Montana State University where I studied biology and mostly skied. Priorities!
Getting into guiding
It was the summer of 1995 where things really went south. One of my high school buddies, Scott Solle, moved down to Moab, Utah to do some mountain biking. Unfortunately, it is too hot to do that there in the summer months, so he found a job guiding on the Moab daily river trip stretch. Scott gave me a call and told me that I had to get down there and check it out. I drove down and did a Westwater trip with a bunch of guides on their day off.
That’s when my life was changed forever! Someone told me that you could get paid to run the river. I loved that trip so much, I came back for a Cataract Canyon trip before school started and that was my first multi day river trip, hook line and sinker. The next spring (1996), Scott called me up again and asked what I had planned for the coming summer. I hadn’t given it much thought, but was planning on heading back home to spend another summer on Flathead. Scott asked if I was going to live in my parents basement too? Like any college sophomore that I’ve met it was plan A. Being put on the spot like that by my best friend caused some serious hesitation and shame in that being the only plan I had. Scott then said he was renting a house in Moab for the summer and he was saving me a room. I couldn’t really argue with that now could I!
Next thing you know I’m guiding day trips on the Colorado River in Moab.
That next summer I ended up being hired by Bob Quist at Moki Mac River Expeditions up in Green River, Utah. At this point, I’m thrust into the multi-day scene and get a first class education in guiding. I still had no idea that Grand Canyon even existed or that you could float through there on rafts. Midsummer came around and my Moab peers started talking about a private Grand Canyon trip they were all going on in September.
Now my interest was peaked.
At this point, Bob Quist tells me about how Moki has baggage boats down in Grand and that they usually save the fall trips for the Green river crew. This is another moment that leads to ruining the next 20 some years of my life. Took that fall semester off of school and rowed Grand Canyon on my own without ever having even seen it from the rim. Even did a private trip that same fall.
Going back to school that spring, I had an idea of what I really wanted to do: be outside running rivers.
I graduated with a BS in biology, skipped graduation to go back to the Colorado River and never looked back.
What Jay’s doing now!
I worked at Moki Mac until AZRA bought them in 2014 going round and round in the big ditch until now, some 167 trips and 28 years later. Loving it more and more every year. These days, you can usually find me running AZRA’s motor boats helping mentor the swampers and showing them the ropes. I still do the rowing trips and love those dories, but just don’t do as many of those as I used to.
These days, I live in Moab and spend my winters fixing up an old house, exploring the desert on my dirt bike. When I’m not guiding for AZRA in Grand Canyon, you can find me driving jet boats for my friends at Moab Jett. It’s like rafting, only faster.
What he loves about Grand Canyon
Some of my favorite things about Grand Canyon are just about everything!
There’s the waterfalls, stars, critters, rapids, solitude, quiet, beaches, friends, family, frolicking, sunrises, sunsets, views, hikes, swimming, bumps, bruises, and millions of smiles. This trip is always called a trip of a lifetime and that’s a hard thing to describe. A spirited adventure through one of the natural wonders of the world is a start. Add that to being removed from the day to day distractions and truly being present in the moment.
It will change you if you let it happen.
Show up knowing that we are all just along for the ride and that the Canyon magic does the rest! There are ups and downs in every rapid and every hike which adds to the journey and the experience. Your perspective gets warped by the insignificance of time and space in your surroundings, adding to the experience. You have to be ready for the embrace of the indescribable landscape that encompasses every direction. Bring only the essentials and expect those belongings to be penetrated by the elements and the surroundings.
My advice is to anyone who is joining us on an AZRA trip is take the stairs every chance you get. Bring your favorite old clothes that you’ve been meaning to throw away. Embrace the dirt; roll in it, in fact. It’s not a fashion show, it’s a pilgrimage back to that 10 year old shameless self, living in the moment of self discovery and the shear delight of having nothing to do but FUN! If you can do that, it will surely be a trip of a lifetime.
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And falling asleep listening to music and using the bass case as a pillow so when the music stops you’ll get woken up by the bass player putting away her instrument.
Thanks for sharing this memory! The great cat naps in the shade while listening to music are such great times on a river trip!
You only get so many trips around the sun….make em’ count! Fair winds and following seas fellow Healy🤠
Yes, fill ’em with adventures with fun people!
Our first Dorie rides were with Jay. Fun boat and a fun guide!
SO FUN!
I’ve had the privilege of joining Jay on two of these trips and will never forget the how much fun it was.
Jay Healy truly is a legend and one of the best guides a person could have.
We definitely agree, Mike! Thanks for sharing!
Jay…I did my first AZRA trip in 1982, and again in 1984 with Jim Norton; doubt you would have crossed paths. But the guide makes the experience in so many ways. I’m looking at bringing my daughter Sedona down in 2025, along with some friends. (My dad, Larry, took me, and we did our last together in ’99 when he was 70. I’ll be a bit younger than that.) I would love it to be on one of your boats.
We’d love to have you with us next year with your daughter AND Jay!