To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Brook's Cascadia Trail line, we traversed the Northern Cascadia Mountains in search of the most alpine-feeling locations with the right combination of varied terrain to show off the line’s versatility. My friend and Director Nolan Grose and I made our way to the mountains of Northern Washington - a roughly 3 hour drive from Seattle. In a brief 36 hour trip, we were joined by Location Manager Paul Riordan and completed 12 miles of hiking at our top two locations - Artist’s Point / Table Mountain & Maple Pass. Both offered stunning views and breathtaking plant life. But both presented unique challenges for filming, such as far proximity from any viable crew lodging, steep trails, long distances for crew to travel heavy gear in on foot, and limited hours in the day to accomplish it all. Our Maple Pass scout hike alone - with just two people and some backpacks - took 6 hours. To add 20 more people and a bunch of cumbersome equipment would present far more hurdles. 

But these are exactly the kinds of problems I LOVE solving! Once Brooks approved the Artist’s Point and Table Mountain locations, we got to work. The first step was to find the right crew members who would view the terrain and physical dexterity required as a fun challenge, rather than a burden. For example, I know a lot of talented camera crew, but not all of them would enjoy this kind of work environment. We found just the right team to take on this task - led by Nash Howe as the Director of Photography, and joined by Jared Rogers, 1st AC, and Lane Clark, 2nd AC. Together, the three of them created a camera backpack system that consolidated their gear into large hiking packs and removed the need for carts. With the help of Key Grip Jon LaFollette, these four never stopped moving - anticipating every need and nailing every take of our runners scaling the terrain. 

The nearest town with viable lodging options was about an hours drive down the mountain from where we filmed, and about 3 hours drive from the nearest major city. With the help of Production Coordinator Anita Koltun Wolfram, we assembled the logistical puzzle that would become our crew and talent lodging and transportation matrix. Our phenomenal Production Assistants from Seattle helped us transport crew, talent and clients to and from various airports and hotels, and kept our days starting and ending on time. 

Shorter fall days meant call times before sunrise and panoramic sunsets telling us it was time to camera wrap. The hiking was challenging, but the views made it all worth it. 

Production Company: Brother Films

Director: Nolan Grose

Line Producer: Annie Varberg

Executive Producer: Dan Windsor

Production Coordinator: Anita Koltun Wolfram

1st AD: Tony Becerra

Director of Photography: Nash Howe

1st AC: Jared Rogers

2nd AC: Lane Clark

FPV Drone: Logan Lien

Sound Mixer: Steve Becktold

PA: Ethan Glaze

PA: Max Monson

PA: Jake Nelson