Two packrafters embark on a 65-mile, five-day expedition down Utah's Escalante River, meditating on the breathtaking wilderness and a political controversy pitting conservation against extraction. This film arrives at a critical tipping point: following a January 2026 Government Accountability Office decision, Escalante now faces an unprecedented legislative attack that threatens to permanently strip protections from the nation’s wildest public lands.
HOriginal • High Sierra Film
The John Muir
107K ViewsFestival SelectionTV-PG4K
Some people think John Muir was a hero. Others, not so much.
Every year, brothers Brian and Hank Leukart meet somewhere in the world to take on an epic adventure. When they set out — well past the end of the summer hiking season — to hike the 211-mile John Muir Trail (a.k.a. Nüümü Poyo), they find themselves up against a slew of unexpected physical and psychological challenges. As they make their way across the Sierra, they discover that conservationist John Muir’s legacy isn’t as straightforward as they once thought, prompting them to reevaluate their fundamental assumptions about environmentalism and mankind’s relationship to the natural world.
After I directed the film Bears Ears — which tells the story of Native Americans in Utah fighting for federal protection of their ancestral lands — I was inspired to continue telling stories of indigenous people native to the land that I hike through regularly. The fascinating, undertold story of California’s Native People in the Sierra inspired me and my brother to make this new film about our thoughtful trip on the John Muir Trail.
Directors: Hank and Brian Leukart
Awards: Breckenridge Film Festival, Official Selection