A short film for Trout Unlimited and Caribou-Targhee National Forest

HORSES AND HIGH WATER: RESTORING TINCUP CREEK

Grateful to be a part of such a unique project in conjunction with Trout Unlimited and Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Last fall(2024) I spent multiple days in the backcountry with them working toward the common goal of restoring Tincup Creek and documenting the process of doing so through photography and cinematography.

We set up camp just before the trail head lower down on Tincup. I believe the crew - Corey, Kat, Creed, and Daryl - camped for 4 weeks in their efforts. Myself, I only camped for 4 days in my car. Luckily, they had a generator because keeping batteries charged with my Goalzero was tough - should have sprung for the bigger one.

Each day we would get up, have some coffee, and get packed for a full day in the woods. We'd hike in just shy of two miles to our "office." Not a bad backdrop for an office if you ask me.

The project started with the helitack crew flying in the necessary tools and materials so the crew was able to hike back there and get to work. Posts we're dropped throughout the project reach making it more efficient for the hand crews to place them where needed. I believe there were about 9 drop sites.

I had never seen anything like this before so it was already a great start to the project.

During the restoration phase of the project - Corey and Kat with Caribou-Targhee Nation Forest had the plan of how the restoration was going to shake out and Creed and Daryl - the horseman - would use their horses to pull logs into place. It was very much so a team effort as one wouldn't have been possible without the other.

Watching Creed and Daryl work with their horses was something special. These horses pulled bigger logs than I expected and it was impressive to see how smart they were with just simple commands like "step up" and "woah" getting the job done.

The night of the interviews with Daryl and Creed, we had a "family" dinner out at camp. We made some steaks, enjoyed conversation and learned more about each other on a human level. We finished off the night with a fire which was the final piece to the puzzle for what I needed to round out the video.

Seeing every part of the process - I learned a lot about what it takes to make these types of projects happen. The "behind the scenes" perspective and being a part of it is something I'll never forget.

If you made it this far - thank you reading.

If you fish, there is definitely a good amount of fishing in here. If you like a wholesome story that's community driven - that's definitely in here. If you want to see something that has nothing to do with AI - then watch it.