Description
Figure It Out: On the Hayduke Trail
90 minutes 2018
The Hayduke Trail is an 800 mile route across the deserts of southern Utah and Arizona. Starting in Arches National Park and ending in Zion National Park, it snakes through canyon country and some of the most remote land in America. Most of the time there is no trail and navigation through the canyons can be extremely difficult and dangerous, but it is also known as one of the most beautiful hikes in the world.
I hiked it in the spring of 2018. It took two months and I finished at the end of May. Now I’m working on a series of episodes and a full-length documentary about the hike. My goal is to make a movie that is about more than just hiking. I’ll be using the thru-hiking experience as a metaphor for many life lessons that are hard to learn in modern society.
Yooper Tours: On da North Country Trail
55 minutes 2017
Yooper Tours: on da North Country Trail is a 9 part series about my hike across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. This is my second hiking project, totaling 550 miles on the NCT. I wanted to hike across the U.P. but didn’t have the means to take a month off, so I broke the hike up into 9 sections. I hiked it in 5-day sections usually around 60 miles each. The interesting thing about this method of section hiking is that I could experience the U.P. in all seasons. I started in the summer and ended in the deep winter.
A Sense of Direction: A 1,200 mile walk on the Pacific Northwest Trail
60 Minutes 2015
The Pacific Northwest Trail is unlike any other long distance trail. It’s founder, Ron Strickland has been developing it since the 1970‘s but it was only established as a National Scenic Trail in 2009. The trail is still very unknown and unestablished. Many local residents don’t even know that it passes through their backyard.
In 2015 the PNT saw more than double the number of thru hikers it has seen in past years, but that number still only comes to somewhere between 35-75 hikers. The Appalachian Trail sees about 3000 thru hikers annually now and the Pacific Crest Trail sees about 2000.
Most hikers begin the PNT at the eastern terminus at Chief Mountain in Glacier National Park in Montana. Hugging the Canadian border, the route takes us through the panhandle of Idaho, then across the entire state of Washington. 1200 miles later we arrive at the western terminus of Cape Alava, the western most point of the contiguous United States.
Trail conditions can range from perfect tread to thorny bushwhacks to highway walking in just a few miles. Navigation can be very frustrating at times. But all the aspects that make the PNT more difficult than other trails also make it more adventurous. A thru hike on the PNT is not just a very long walk through the mountains, it is an exploration into the unknown.
This is the first documentary about the Pacific Northwest Trail and I am very excited to share this incredible experience with more people. I expect its popularity will soar in the next few years so hike it while you can before it gets too crowded!
