Where the Rocks Have Names, Bryce Whitmore and the Birth of Whitewater Rafting
by Ty Childress · July 2026
His first craft was a chunk of ice, his last was a wheelchair. In between, Bryce Whitmore built California’s first river rafting company, invented the self-bailing raft, the fiberglass river kayak, and, at 97 years old, was inducted into the International Hall of Fame.
I spent years as a whitewater guide before I became a teacher. Then I became a writer, and I knew Bryce’s story had to be told. Where the Rocks Have Names is that story. It’s the biography of the man who made it possible for the rest of us to run rivers safely. The first edition won runner-up for biography at the New York Book Festival in 2025. The second edition is even better, with new river stories from Wendell Berry, Brad Dimock, and many others.
If you love rivers, adventure, or simply the story of a life lived on the edge of possibility, this one’s for you.
About Where the Rocks Have Names, Bryce Whitmore and the Birth of Whitewater Rafting
His first craft was a chunk of ice, his last was a wheelchair. In between, Bryce Whitmore built California’s first river rafting company, invented the self-bailing raft, the fiberglass river kayak, and, at 97 years old, was inducted into the International Hall of Fame.
I spent years as a whitewater guide before I became a teacher. Then I became a writer, and I knew Bryce’s story had to be told. Where the Rocks Have Names is that story. It’s the biography of the man who made it possible for the rest of us to run rivers safely. The first edition won runner-up for biography at the New York Book Festival in 2025. The second edition is even better, with new river stories from Wendell Berry, Brad Dimock, and many others.
If you love rivers, adventure, or simply the story of a life lived on the edge of possibility, this one’s for you.
T
Ty Childress
Ty Childress has worked as a photographer, reporter, river guide and activist, elementary school teacher, and rammed-earth builder. He was drawn to the California foothills after falling in love with the Stanislaus River and working on the campaign to protect her. His long-term interests include whitewater rafting, canoeing, kayaking, photography, gardening, origami, and sourdough bread making. He lives on an unnamed tributary of Jesus Maria Creek in Calaveras County, California.
View profile