YOUR GUIDE · CURTIS LEMON
Made
for this.
Curt didn't fall into guiding. He has spent his entire adult life on rivers, in mountains, and on remote coastlines — first as a client, then a guide, eventually as the person trip leaders called when something went sideways.
NK · PORTRAIT 01
Laikipia · 1,800m
“Some people pick a career. I just kept saying 'yes' to adventure.”
THE MOVE
He came for
the wilderness.
Stayed for
the life.
CURT AND HIS KIDS - TANA RIVER · 2026
01
THE BEFORE
Fifteen years guiding whitewater in the Appalachians, running fishing skiffs in Alaska, and leading climbs on African peaks. He learned what good guiding looks like from the best — and what bad guiding feels like from the worst.
02
THE PIVOT
In 2021, with two young kids and a wife who said yes, Curt moved the family to Nanyuki, Kenya. The plan was a year of adventure. Five years in, the house is still here, the kids are in school, and the network is deep.
03
THE NOW
He builds trips for friends, friends of friends, and travellers who find him through word of mouth. No call centre, no off-the-shelf packages — just one person on the ground, designing the trip you would never have built yourself.
THE PLACE
Why North
Kenya?
It is one of the last challenging, low-pressure, low-traffic wilderness pockets on the continent — and it is different every fifty kilometres you drive.
Mount Kenya rises out of the Laikipia plains. The Northern Frontier rolls into the Suguta Valley. The Mathews Range, the Chalbi desert, Lake Turkana — Curt has spent five years getting to know them all, one trip at a time.
EWASO NGIRO RIVER, SAMBURU NATIONAL PARK
NK · 02
A LIFE OUTSIDE
Roots, not
reservations.
Curt has spent his life in the kind of places most travelers spend a week visiting. Four of them shaped how he guides the rest.
Whitewater, wild fisheries, big mountains — same rules everywhere.
WEST VIRGINIA
Whitewater Guide
Learned how to read water, manage groups under stress, and stay calm when nothing was going to plan. The clients changed every week. The river didn't.
KEY WEST
Island Life
In a destination where competition is fierce, the Florida Keys is where he refined the art of guiding—combining local knowledge, attention to detail, and genuine hospitality to create experiences guests never forgot.
ALASKA
Fishing Skipper
Captained a 40ft boat out of Valdez, Alaska. Long days, short summers, halibut and salmon to the horizon. Learned to trust local operators over big logos.
AFRICA
Expedition Lead
Mount Kenya to the Northern Frontier. Side by side with clients, accomplishing feats they only dreamed about. Built relationships with the camp owners, pilots, and trackers he still works with today.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOU
An American
who actually
lives there.
Curt understands what you expect from a trip because he's been on your side of the booking — paying real money to a stranger and hoping it works out.
He also knows Kenya from the inside. That combination is rare, and it's the whole point of NorthKenya.com.
01
One point of contact
Every email, every call, every change of plan goes to Curt directly. Not a sales desk. Not a junior rep. Him.
02
Personally vetted by Curt and his team
Every camp, every pilot, every captain has been used by Curt himself, his family, or someone in his immediate network. No second-hand recommendations.
03
Plain-English planning
No jargon, no industry double-talk. You get straight answers about cost, risk, and what to expect in plain English.
A letter from the field
Curt didn't just guide us up Mount Kenya — he picked us up when we were exhausted, kept us safe in weather we'd never seen, and made the whole thing feel like an adventure with a friend rather than a transaction with a tour company.
James & Sarah
Colorado, USA
Adventure · Mount Kenya Summit · 7 Nights
ONE CONVERSATION AWAY
Let's talk
about your
trip.
No package to pick, no pressure. Just a conversation about the trip you want — with the person who's going to build it.