MOAB – Long before “women-only adventure travel” became a category, Sheri Griffith was loading rafts in Moab, building a business that made space for women in a landscape long dominated by men — doing it quietly, stubbornly, and on her own terms.

Sheri Griffith River Expeditions got its start in Moab in 1981. Set against Utah’s red rock country, the town’s population swells seasonally as more than three million visitors arrive each year to raft rivers, hike canyons, and play outside.

In the April 2013 edition of Paddling Life, Griffith — then 60 — described her motivation plainly:

“I fell in love with taking people into the backcountry,” she wrote. “I had two options: face a huge debt to go to vet school or get serious about the business. History tells you what happened.”

She expressed no regrets.

“What a life,” Griffith wrote. “It was a struggle in the early days and still is. There’s very little profit and not a whole lot of inventory. But it’s so rewarding.”

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

José Tejada, the current owner of Sheri Griffith Expeditions, met Griffith in 1982, shortly after the so-called “Black Sunday” collapse in western Colorado. That year, Exxon abruptly shut down the Colony Oil Shale Project near Parachute, wiping out roughly 2,000 jobs and forcing as many as 15,000 people to leave the area.

“All those oil companies shut down at the same time,” Tejada said. “Massive unemployment. Our house plummeted in value, and we were underwater right away.”

After Tejada was laid off, his family headed for Moab, where his wife landed a job managing a Pizza Hut. They made the roughly 100-mile move by bicycle, towing their two young children behind them in a trailer.

Tejada had some outdoor recreation experience from college and had rafted Colorado’s Cache la Poudre River several times. He went knocking on doors at river companies around Moab.

“The only person who would hire me was Sheri Griffith,” he said, noting that his daily commute by bike — two kids in tow — didn’t faze her.

Their partnership stood out at the time.

“We were two outcasts,” Tejada said. “She was the only woman outfitter, and I was the only person of color. So off we went — like peas in a pod.”

In the early 2000s, luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent acquired Sheri Griffith Expeditions. The North American branch later filed for bankruptcy. When Griffith regained ownership, Tejada’s oldest son, Arlo — one of the two children once pulled behind that bicycle — had graduated from college.

“As a little kid, he always told Sheri he would take over her business,” Tejada said.

When the opportunity finally arrived, Arlo lacked the financial means to do it alone. He drafted a business plan and asked his father to partner with him. Tejada agreed, unaware of the turbulence ahead.

“Unfortunately, Arlo passed away from Hodgkin’s lymphoma,” Tejada said. “He fought it for four years, constantly going to the hospital. It was really rough.”

Arlo’s death in 2014 left Tejada in charge of the business that had given him his start in Moab decades earlier, while carrying the weight of multiple personal losses that deepened his bond with Griffith.

“Sheri and I are quite close,” Tejada said. “Her mom was like my mom. Sheri’s brother died of cancer as well, back in those early days. He was one of my good friends.”

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HOW WOMEN THRIVE

According to National Geographic, women are “reshaping the way we travel … Offering everything from safety to sisterhood, all-female travel is on the rise,” wrote Qin Xie in an August 2025 story.

But Sheri Griffith Expeditions embraced that approach long before it became a recognizable trend.

“One of the things Sheri did differently was food,” Tejada said. “Back in the day, it was all men — canned goods, Dinty Moore stew, that kind of thing. She made it so women would be more comfortable. We had chairs. We did all the dishes.”

The company’s trips emphasized comfort without softening the adventure, creating space for camaraderie, ease, and reflection alongside physical challenge.

AROUND THE BEND

Tejada, now 74, hopes to retire soon. When that time comes, there’s no one he would rather see take over ownership than longtime employees Kristl Johnson and Brenda Milligan.

Johnson oversees reservations, while Milligan manages operations. Both wear multiple hats and have spent years immersed in the daily rhythms of the business.

Johnson said the three are working to finalize the transfer of ownership this year, with the goal of preserving both the Sheri Griffith name and the vision behind it.

“That vision is rooted in the outdoors,” Johnson said. “There’s something about being in the wild — away from judgment and expectations — that allows people to be themselves. And once you realize that, you realize it’s okay.”

Feature image: Brenda Milligan, Operations Manager at Sheri Griffith River Expeditions, enjoying a day on the water. Photos courtesy of Sheri Griffith River Expeditions.