Todd Smith – Founder & President

A Turning Point That Shaped My Path

About the time we graduated, I was diagnosed with cancer. Two surgeries and chemotherapy healed my body, but my mind and soul were changed forever. I determined to live every day to its fullest, to cherish family and friends and to appreciate our precious time on this planet. 

With a new outlook on life and needing to stay close to my doctors, I convinced Lisa, a Polynesian island girl, to move away from the beach and to the mountains of Lake Tahoe. What was supposed to be a gap year of hiking, biking and skiing turned into a lifestyle.

Discovering Alaska & True Wilderness

Lisa found an ad in the local paper for work at Glacier Bay Lodge in Alaska. The summer job recruited seasonal workers from ski towns across the west. That first summer of 1995 in Alaska, I worked as a bus driver and Lisa managed the restaurant and bar. 

We fell in love with Alaska. It was wilderness and grandeur on level we had never imagined. We spent every available moment hiking, camping and added sea kayaking to our tools of exploration. I’ll never forget the first time we encountered a brown bear in the wild or paddled to the face of a massive tidewater glacier.

Becoming a Naturalist Guide

The company that operated Glacier Bay Lodge (now defunct Glacier Bay Tours & Cruises) operated a day tour boat and two small cruise ships. I quickly figured out that these boats were where the action was. If you wanted to experience and photograph wildlife in Alaska, overnight vessels could cover far more territory than a kayak. 

I convinced the marine department I knew what I was talking about, and when we returned the next summer, I worked as a naturalist aboard the 36-guest Wilderness Explorer and the 48-guest Executive Explorer. It was my dream job, and I found I had a knack for educating travelers and giving presentations. Lisa no longer had to hear me wax poetic about nature; now I was getting paid for it! 

Innovating a New Style of Small Ship Adventure

The vessels I worked on were older and had difficulty competing with other small ship companies operating in Southeast Alaska at the time. I approached leadership with the concept that we should invest in Zodiacs, kayaks and crew of guides to take people off the ship away from port to experience authentic Alaskan wilderness up close on hikes and paddles. “A cruise with no ports will never sell,” some said, but I knew I was on to something. 

To my surprise the company ownership accepted my proposal. They had recently acquired two additional ships the 69-guest Wilderness Adventurer and the 87-guest Wilderness Discoverer. It was decided that the three “Wilderness” boats would be converted to the new style of “portless” cruises. 

Suddenly, I was purchasing a small fortune of adventure equipment, hiring and training a crew of guides, obtaining permits from government agencies, working with captains to plot wilderness-based itineraries and implementing safety management systems for the new program.

The wilderness-oriented adventure cruises were a huge hit. Travelers loved the easy access to remote wilderness, guided off-vessel activities and flexible itineraries with time to view whales and wildlife. They reveled in returning to the ship after an excursion for warm cookies, a glass of wine, a delicious meal and a comfortable bed. In 1997 we were the first operator in Alaska to offer guided hiking and kayaking right from the ship. Adventure cruising was born. 

Fun Fact: The Wilderness Adventurer and Wilderness Discoverer are now operated by our partners at UnCruise Adventures. The Executive Explorer has been rechristened the Alaskan Dream and is operated by our partners at Alaskan Dream Cruises.

Building Expertise Across the Industry

Over the next few years, I gained invaluable experience and achieved many milestones. The marketing team, not knowing how to sell these newfangled cruises, recruited me to train travel agents and consult on brochure design and messaging. Our programs expanded into Baja California, another ideal landscape for this new style of boat-based adventure travel. I hired the first indigenous Tlingit storytellers to work aboard ships in Glacier Bay and Alaska’s Inside Passage. I educated high-profile guests as diverse as TV personality Jungle Jack Hannah and executives from Sea World theme parks. Throughout this time, Lisa ran shore support and managed guest services staff aboard the fleet.

As the company grew so did my responsibility. Against my better judgement, I was temporarily promoted to General Manager of Guest Services. In this role I oversaw the entire hotel department including four overnight ships, one day boat and the lodge. The experience was indispensable and a crash course in hotel and restaurant management, human resources, budgets and burnout. I missed my previous role as Guest Program Manager and the crew of guides and travelers I worked with.

Foundations in Sustainable & Responsible Travel

In 2001, when it became clear that the company expected me to remain as GM indefinitely, I left to accept a position as General Manager of Wildland Adventures (a now retired ecotourism pioneer and distinguished adventure travel company).

Mentored by the owner, a founding member of the Ecotourism Society (now the International Ecotourism Society), I learned the logistics of lodge-based adventure travel, the importance of hiring local guides, the tenets of sustainable travel and how travel must give back to communities and ecosystems.

I was introduced to conservation organizations and attended adventure travel trade shows. As second in command at a small family-owned company, I learned to wear many hats including personnel management, customer database management, website design, media relations and accounting. Most importantly, I learned how vital strong operator partnerships are to this industry.

Founding AdventureSmith Explorations

After many years of a transient and adventurous lifestyle working and guiding in Baja, Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, Lisa and I decided it was time to return home to our beloved Lake Tahoe. We were now married and wanted to start a family.

In 2003 I founded AdventureSmith Explorations to bring together small ship cruising with the values of sustainable travel. Soon after, Lisa and I also welcomed our first son. In many ways, two families came into being at once. Our family at home, and the AdventureSmith family that now includes our dedicated crew, our trusted operator partners and the many travelers who have joined us on this journey.

Learn more about AdventureSmith Explorations.