OUR Guide service & the four corners guides Packraft Instructors
At Four Corners Guides, we seek to offer adventure opportunities that get you on the edge of your own reality to feel things you’ve never experienced. And we work hard to enhance your existing backcountry skills so you can do bigger, safer and more exciting bike and packraft adventures, while at the same time pushing you a bit further so you can find out what you’re really made of.
To achieve those goals, we’ve trained our instructors extensively. All are certified in Swiftwater Rescue Training and as Wilderness First Responders, which includes First Aid and CPR. All our guides are Level 3-4 American Canoe Association (ACA) Packraft Instructors. As well, each year we do various trainings such as Risk Management or WFR with Wilderness Medical Associates International and advanced paddle training and/or ACA certification with Kent Ford.
Collectively, our guides have decades of outdoor adventure experience and a plethora of skills to share with our guests. So much so, that we feel absolutely certain you’ll walk away from our courses with a deeper sense of enjoyment for both living in and utilizing human-powered tools to pass through remote landscapes. We want your experience to be the milestone in your life that you measure everything else up to
our us team
Landon Sawaya
Packraft Instructor, Level 4 ACA, WFR & SSI Certified
A lifelong outdoor adventurer, Landon has guided backpacking trips and packrafted avidly since 2021. Getting good instruction early on was instrumental to his love for the sport and skill progression, so he’s excited to pay that forward. Landon enjoys the outdoors in many ways from backcountry skiing and hiking to birding, photo, and video – but a passion for rivers has become a core identity and he spends many days per year enjoying rivers of all kinds. Follow Landon!
Annie Bussell
Packraft Instructor, Level 3 ACA, WFR & SSI Certified
Annie is deeply passion about backpacking into remote wildernesses and floating wild rivers. As a raft guide since 2014, she has long held a love for navigating and immersing herself into river corridors. She discovered packrafts in 2021, which allowed her to merge her to find new ways to access the remote wildernesses she loves. When not paddling or hiking, Annie makes art, including stunning murals you can find at the La Plata County Airport. Follow her on Instagram!
Lizzy Scully
Founder, CEO, Level 4 ACA Packraft Instructor, WFR & SSI Certified
A dedicated and passionate adventurer, Lizzy spent more than two decades climbing big walls around the world. She’s best known for her for her first free ascent with Heidi Wirtz of “Bad Hair Day” (5.12-) on the South Howser Minaret, Bugaboos, Canada and her third ascent of “Inshallah,” Shipton Spire (19,700’) in Pakistan. She focuses now on cycling and packrafting. Follow Lizzy @scullbinderranch on Instagram. Get to know Lizzy!
Jeff Creamer
SSI & Adv. Packraft Instructor, Level 4 ACA & WFR Certified
BRIAN ACCOLA
Medical Director
Born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska, Brian’s father hauled him all over the state fishing, hunting, and camping. In college he started rowing a 14-foot raft with his partner Audra. Having found medicine a lifelong calling, he became an EMT-III level, and volunteered for long hours on a ground and air (twin engine Navajo aircraft) ambulance. After finishing medical school in Detroit, he served as a family medicine physician with the US Air Force in Japan. In 2008, they moved back to Fairbanks, where they live with daughters, Sierra and Amber, and a pack of Icelandic sheepdogs. Brian has been packrafting since 2019.
Ben Phillips
Adv. Packraft Instructor, Level 4 ACA, WFR & SSI Certified
It’s with great sadness that we lost our dear friend and instructor Ben in a tragic car accident August 2026. Ben was an incredible human being and a strong team member. With decades of Class V whitewater packrafting and kayaking experience, Ben not only made paddling look easy, he took clients to the next level of boating. He was also a patient, calm and knowledgeable instructor. Ben is survived by his wife and children. The entire FCG teams will miss our “Zen Ben” forever.
KRISTA BEYER
Packraft Instructor, Level 3 ACA, WFR & SSI Certified
Krista’s lifetime curiosity with water started with her pulling on muck boots at an early age to explore the tidepools of the Puget Sound. It has since taken her to study aquifers in northeast Arizona, river corridors and fisheries on the Colorado River Watershed, the snowpack of the San Juan Mountains, and more. To this day, muck boots are her favorite shoe, and her favorite days involve a dry suit or a durable rain jacket. Krista is certified in Swiftwater Rescue and as a Level 3 ACA Packraft instructor. She also bakes delicious bread! Follow her @kristabeyer.
our mexican team
Manuel Lucia Mánica
Kayak Instructor, Level 4 ACA, WFR & SSI Certified
Manu is a whitewater kayaking instructor and swiftwater safety and rescue specialist. With more than 20 years of experience in adventure and outdoor activities, he has built his career navigating rivers and exploring the canyons, jungles, and mountains of Mexico.
His experience includes kayaking, rafting, canyoning, climbing, and swiftwater rescue, as well as leading school groups through outdoor education programs, where he has focused on leadership, communication, teamwork, and decision-making in natural environments.
As an instructor, his goal is not only to teach technical skills, but also to help each person develop sound judgment, confidence, and respect for the river.
These skills helped him survive 21 days on Naked and Afraid.
JANET LOPEZ
Packraft & Kayak Instructor, Level 4 ACA, WFR & SSI Certified
Janet began her career as a kayaker in Jalcomulco, Veracruz, in 2003, and trained as a rafting guide in Canada in 2004. Since then, she has completed various courses in Whitewater Rescue and Wilderness First Aid, holding Level 4 Kayak and Packraft instructor certifications by the ACA. She has paddled rivers in more than 10 countries across Latin America and Eastern Europe, She currently lives in Jalcomulco, where, she paddles the Pescados river almost every day.
Together with the club “Por las Venas del Monte” and “Packraft México” she leads multi-day expeditions on rivers in Chiapas and Oaxaca. When she is not on the river, she teaches Spanish, reads, plays guitar, does yoga or writes.
RODRIGO ALFONZO
Packraft Instructor, Level 4 ACA, WFR & SSI Certified
Rod, a proud Chiapas native, deeply loves his home state. Fluent in Spanish and English, “Rod” resides in San Cristóbal de las Casas with his wife and three kids, who are always ready to explore Chiapas’ hidden gems. With over 15 years experience in hospitality, his family’s hostel has been recognized as one of the 7 worlds best independent hostels. Posada del Abuelito also clinched the title of, “Mexico’s Best Hostel,” three times! Catch their adventures on Instagram at @Losabuelitoschiapas. Rod’s certifications include: WFR, SSI PSRT, ACA Packraft Level 4, LNT. He is also Trained as a water quality analyst to collect and process samples in the field, providing data for conservation efforts of Chiapas Rivers.
Juan Femat
Mexican Logistics Coordinator, Safety Boater
Juan Femat is an audiovisual producer and specialized river guide with 25 years of experience paddling rivers in Mexico, Argentina, Chile, and the United States. He’s the director of Whitewater Images, the whitewater content promotion channel. Follow him on YouTube or Instagram.