<\/p>\n
Two area educators who set out to backpack the John Muir Trail are now part of an award-winning feature length documentary.<\/p>\n
Dolores residents Kelly Finlay, a science teacher at Mancos Middle School, and her husband, David, assistant director at Southwest Open High School in Cortez, routinely take adventure trips over the summer to unwind from the school year.<\/p>\n
In 2011, the couple decided to backpack the 220-mile John Muir Trail from Yosemite Valley to Mt. Whitney, the highest point in the contiguous U.S. The epic journey started July 13, and ended 24 days later on Aug. 11.<\/p>\n
The film, however, happened by chance. As the Finlays were camping the night before their journey, a group of Los Angeles artists arrived and simply requested a photo of the Finlays for a proposed viral video project. The film crew ultimately recorded 32 hours of footage, which would become the documentary.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe kept running into this film crew,\u201d said Kelly Finlay. \u201cWe started hanging out, camping together and at Squaw Lake they asked if we wanted to join them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the Finlays had neither plans nor intentions of being cast in a documentary prior to the excursion, cameras and microphones began documenting their every step.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur whole plan was to take a monthlong trip, just the two of us,\u201d said Kelly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s another world, but it\u2019s fun,\u201d she added on turning from backpacker to film star.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still can\u2019t believe that people are coming out to watch my vacation,\u201d chimed David Finlay, chuckling. \u201cIt\u2019s a little uncomfortable seeing people lined up to watch the film, but at the same time it\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n
A screening of \u201cMile \u2026 Mile and a Half\u201d is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Gaslight Twin Theater in Durango on June 27. The Finlay\u2019s and filmmakers will take part in a question-and-answer session following the screening.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Mile, mile and a half\u2019 is the answer to everything,\u201d explained Kelly. \u201cHow far is it to lunch? How far is to the stream crossing, the fork in the trail \u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the Finlays, the documentary is a true representation of the adventure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful film, but more importantly, it\u2019s about people,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cIt\u2019s about life. It\u2019s inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n
The most difficult aspect of the journey for David was adjusting to a different rhythm. He explained that backpacking with a film crew requires lots of intermittent stops along the way, so the routine associated with backpacking is interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormally you wake up, eat and hit the trail,\u201d David said. \u201cAll you have to focus on is making your miles, so stopping to film and record took a few days to get used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those interruptions ultimately turned out to be a blessing. David explained by the end of the trip, he found himself wanting to stop along the way to soak in the landscape.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started to become part of the process of trying to capture it all,\u201d David said. \u201cIt was both a realistic and artistic trip. I think I became more in tune with my surroundings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daily routine<\/p>\n
A typical day consisted of backpacking approximately 10 miles. The journey fluctuated between 9,000 and 14,000 feet above sea level, and included navigating over 10 mountain passes. The John Muir Trail meanders through Yosemite, Ansel Adams Wilderness, Devils Postpile National Monument, John Muir Wilderness and Sequoia\/Kings Canyon National Parks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe crossed water nearly 50 times every day,\u201d said Kelly. \u201cSome of the creeks were more like raging rivers.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the trail, David said he found descents easier than ascents, mainly due to the snow-covered terrain. \u201cIt was very steep, and there was a lot of snow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
While the L.A.-based trekkers relied on smart phones and digital maps, the Finlays relied solely on pioneering navigational techniques \u2013 a compass and topographical map.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter about the third day, the folks from L.A. put away their smart phones,\u201d David explained. \u201cI think they found that the compass and maps were more reliable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Transporting warm clothes, a tent, goose-down sleeping bags and pads, a small cook stove, a pot and a couple of bowls, Kelly\u2019s backpack weighed about 30 pounds. David\u2019s pack weighed closer to 55 pounds. The longest the duo had to travel with food before restocking at pre-determined pick-up locations was six days.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy feet took a beating,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cThey got torn, up! At one point, I said I had blisters the size of Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Memories<\/p>\n
Kelly\u2019s most memorable moment of the journey ended atop Mt. Whitney. She described meeting Kazuyo, a Japanese backpacker, on the second day of the journey on Donahue Pass. There, Kelly learned Kazuyo was traveling by herself.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Kazuyo) had never done anything like this before, and we were all kind of worried about her,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
That was the last time the Finlay\u2019s saw Kazuyo until they had just four days left in the journey. When they reunited and summitted Mt. Whitney together, Kelly said she and Kazuyo both cried with sadness and joy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a wonderful, tough journey, but it means a lot,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n
Defining the most memorable moment of the quest is difficult for David, who said the experience was just too grand to compartmentalize.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really can\u2019t rank one experience over another,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of the whole package.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spending nearly a month outdoors acts to retool your mindset, Kelly explained. Getting away from all of the daily tasks that you\u2019re supposed to do only to be surrounded by magnificent views all day, all the time is rewarding, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt simplifies life,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cYou walk. You eat. You talk. You sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kelly said tackling the adventure required both courage and stamina, but it was a life-changing journey that she\u2019ll treasure forever, especially the friendships that it spawned.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the people we met, which really comes through in the film, I have some very close, lifelong friends now,\u201d Kelly said.<\/p>\n
Lessons<\/p>\n
Inside her outdoor education classroom at Mancos Middle School, Kelly strives to instill the important ethical responsibilities and values of the Leave No Trace program. She also teaches geology, and with her first-hand accounts from being outdoors, she said she\u2019s better able to relate curriculum objectives to her students.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe students are most excited about wildlife stories,\u201d said Kelly.<\/p>\n
At SWOS, David said he has been able to take the photography and recording tips he picked up from the L.A. crew back into the classroom. He said students were even able to produce their own eight-minute film.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe big thing that I\u2019ve tried to relay to my students is just to get out and experience life,\u201d David said. \u201cDon\u2019t be afraid to put yourself out there, and allow the natural consequences that you come into play with in the outdoors to just happen. When you fall into that rhythm of doing what you have to do, things turn out pretty well. It\u2019s when you try to shortcut that things can go wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a big, beautiful world out there,\u201d Kelly said. \u201cGo see as much of it as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will change your perspective,\u201d David concluded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMile \u2026 Mile and a Half\u201d premiered June 1 at the Dances with Films Festival in Hollywood on National Trails Day. It won the Audience Award for a Documentary Film.<\/p>\n
From Seattle to Boston, film screenings for \u201cMile \u2026 Mile and Half\u201d have sold out. The Finlays urge filmgoers to the Durango screening to purchase tickets in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com.<\/p>\n