My friends and I go rafting together in Glacier every summer, and I go rafting at least twice every summer, but this was the first time in about six years that I have rafted with Glacier Park Rafting (which is actually the red rafts of Great Northern Resort and Rafting). I have already cancelled my second rafting trip with them re-booked with another company, and I have emailed this company directly regarding the following concern (and a couple others):
The whitewater rafting trip itself was a lot of fun, and our guide Alvin was great.
But the bus trip from the office to the launch was terrifying. The young lady driving the bus drove way too fast for the traffic (a lot of oncoming vehicles) and conditions (curvy roads with lots of trees on each side as well as the possibility of wild animals emerging unexpectedly). Several times the bus leaned far enough to the left that I thought it was going to roll- and one of those times there was a semi coming right at us. The only reason I didn't say anything at the time was because I was in the back of the bus and I was afraid that startling her would surely cause a wreck.
There were 13 customers (rafters) crammed onto a bus that was big enough to fit 12 comfortably, and the two guides were standing near the driver. At one point during the short (maybe 10 mile) drive, one of the guides said something to her about her driving after a near-miss with an oncoming vehicle; she slowed down a bit for a couple minutes but within a couple miles sped right back up again. One of my friends joked that she wondered whether the waiver we signed covered the bus trip as well as the rafting, and a few minutes later commented that there was no way that the rafting could be anywhere near as much of an adrenaline rush as the bus ride to get there.
When we arrived at the take-out at the end of the rafting portion of the adventure, she was there waiting for us to take us back. At that point it became obvious that we weren't the only ones concerned about her driving because several other rafters commented and made jokes about it. Although the return trip was much shorter with a lot less oncoming traffic, it was still just as nerve-racking, and at least twice several other passengers and I suddenly gripped the seat in front or the walls of the bus when she took a bend in the road way too fast.
Overall, the only employees that we encountered that seemed to actually be enthusiastic about their jobs were the two rafting guides, Alvin and Alex. And they were great fun!