Pangaea River Rafting, Inc.
The Story of the Owners Brooke, David, & Leave Boring Behind!
It started as a bike trip across the country. Brooke Baunsgard and David Lawrence had been raft guiding for several years on the Clark Fork River near Missoula, Montana. During their last summer guiding, before they left on their 4,000 mile ride across America, they decided to create a special company that would reflect the integrity of their ideals: sincere and authentic relationships created in the outdoors while pursuing meaning in the work of becoming a boatman.
On their bike trip along the Trans-America Trail, Brooke and David solidified their commitment to achieving their dream. After completing the ride, they completed the deal and bought Pangaea Expeditions.
Pangaea River Rafting started as Pangaea Expeditions in 1989 by two women who wanted to create an outdoor adventure company that offered rafting trips to the general public, and a company that provided unique trips specifically for women. After 13 years, varying degrees of success and multiple owners, Pangaea Expeditions was bought by two young men from Missoula, Montana. They resurrected the company from the brink of extinction, improving location, gear and marketing systems. In two years, the strain of partnership forced the owners to sell in 2004. That’s when they got a call from two Trans-America cyclists, Brooke and David.
In order to position themselves in a new paradigm of economic development and tourism, Brooke and David created a series of new programs and trips that would reach a broader demographic of clients.
In addition to their bread-and-butter whitewater trips, Brooke and David created River Wine Floats, GPS Geocaching Trips, a team building program called W.E.T.® (Working Efficiently Together), Bird Watching Floats and custom-tailored tours for conventions and special events. In just a few years, Brooke and David combined the play of work with a successful business model, defined by Pangaea’s trademark: Leave Boring Behind!