Using a website where ordinary Joes like myself can book charter boats [0] at various ports from Texas around The GoM to the Atlantic seashore, where the article was focused, doesn't support the article's contention that they do all this work and only make $26000/year. In fact it is a bit preposterous.
As a mate onboard you may not get the big bucks but someone is making bank here.
As far as backpacking camping trips go if you book through a normal site like through REI [1] they can be pretty expensive depending on duration, destination, etc since there is a lot of logistical stuff that has to be handled. It is not cheap, in the thousands per person for multi-day operations. I have not personally booked a trip like that since I lived in a tent in Nat'l Parks, motel parking lots, KOA or similar campgrounds off and on for several years. I can do my own thing and don't need assistance.
Same thing goes for whitewater rafting trips. The costs range from really low for half-day trips to thousands for multi-day trips. A good friend of mine has been river guiding in Idaho since the late 1970's. I would think that if he had been in danger of failing in that business that he would have fallen back on his college degree in the sciences years ago. I have rafted several of the great rivers in the western US and it is fantastic fun. [2]
[0] https://fishingbooker.com/
[1] https://www.rei.com/adventures/a/backpacking
[2] https://www.iwuraft.com/
I don't see that $26000 annual income is relevant for anyone except the lowest paid seasonal guide. That has to be a low number.