A Documentary about a Beautiful Trail and a Bad-Ass Chick Doing the Incredible.
This September, a thru-hiker and outdoor athlete, Tara Dower, is going to conquer the world in the midst of an epidemic by setting the fastest known time for the Mountains-To-Sea Trail in North Carolina, USA.
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Tara's Story
Tara planned a thru-hike of the Mountains-To-Sea Trail this year, but everything changed when COVID happened.
To complete the MST, hikers need to rely on "Trail Angels" for shelter and transportation in places that hikers are not allowed to camp. These Angels are often older adults, making them an at-risk population for COVID.
Conflicted, Tara knew she wanted to complete the MST this year, but she wanted to do it responsibly to minimize exposure to COVID for herself and for the generous Trail Angels.
Tara decided to complete the MST responsibly, she'd need her own limited support team to meet her on the trail, and she'd need to run most of the trail.
She plans on running and hiking 1,175 miles in 30 days with her own support team. She'll start her days at 3am travel 40-50 miles per day until she has completed the trail.
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The Mountains-To-Sea Documentary
The Mountain To Sea Trail is a hidden gem of North Carolina, and it has a long and interesting story that has never been told before.
We will be following Tara on her journey to document this trail in its entirety for the first time in a film. We'll tell the story of the trail and reveal its unique history, as well as the issues that are affecting North Carolina's public lands. We will be producing a short documentary to give testimony to this beautiful trail and the story of Tara's journey.
But this documentary can't happen without your support...
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For Tara's expedition to happen, she will personally need food, water, and the appropriate gear to handle a feat of this magnitude. Our documentary team wants to help fund her expedition.
This expedition also can't work without her support team. They also needs food and water, plus vehicle rentals and gas to follow her on the hike from the road. Our documentary team also wants to help support Tara's Team.
Furthermore, to produce the film that will give testimony to Tara's story, we will need camera gear, camera operators, post-production crew, and funding for marketing and distribution.
If you contribute to this cause, your investment will:
- Help tell the story of a trail that few people know about
- Bring awareness to the issues affecting our public lands
- Bring awareness to the accomplishments of female athletes
- Inspire people to enjoy the outdoors responsibly in the age of COVID
Your contribution to this project will ripple into the world and inspire and empower outdoor enthusiasts, environmental activists, and young girls, everywhere.
Help us make this film and make the world a little brighter through it.
What We Need
Here's what we need to make this work:
First Goal: Cover the Expedition Costs - $5,000
If we reach our goal of $5,000, we will be able to fund Tara's whole expedition, as well as her support team. We want to support Tara by covering her costs for allowing us to document her journey.
If we don't meet this goal, all funds will go toward Tara's costs for the expedition and toward producing a film with the barest minimum resources.
Second Goal: Cover Expedition and Cost of Film Production - $12,000
If we reach our goal of $12,000, we will be able to produce this film the right way-
If this goal is met before August 20, we will be able to bring on film crew to follow this 30 day expedition and capture Tara's journey and the Mountain To Sea trail in all of it's glory.
If we don't meet this goal, all funds will go toward Tara's expedition to guarantee she will be provided all she needs to accomplish her goal. The remaining funds will go toward production and we will make the best documentary we can with limited funds.
Third Goal: Cover Expedition, FIlm Production, and FIlm Distribution - $25,000
If we reach our third and final goal, this will guarantee that this expedition will happen with no expense uncovered for Tara.
Furthermore, we will have the ability to put this documentary out for the world to see in film festivals, streaming services, and more. This will cover the marketing costs of this film so that the world can know about Tara's accomplishment and bring awareness to a great female athlete conquering the world in the midst of an epidemic.
If we do not meet this goal, funds will be allocated toward Tara's expedition costs and film production. Whatever remains will be used frugally to distribute the film to as many places as possible, but there is no guarantee it will be able to premiere.
The Impact
Your support will bring awareness to a practically unknown trail with ever-changing terrain and an interesting history. 10% of every contribution through this campaign will be donated to organizations responsible for building and maintaining the Mountains-To-Sea Trail.
Your support can help launch the career of an ambitious female outdoor athlete.
Your support will bring people a ray of light through the dismal epidemic we still battle against.
Your support will inspire young girls all over the world to be their best selves and pursue great things.
Your support will impact us personally, you'll have won our deepest gratitude. We'd love to personally thank you in any way we can.
Risks & Challenges
There is a lot of risk involved with a project like this.
First and foremost is the risk of injury. There is a chance that Tara may be injured and unable to complete the trail at the pace she set out to. There is a chance she can't finish at all.
We will be standing at the ready to administer first aid in the event of an injury. The documentary will reflect whatever happens on the trail. Regardless of whether the trail is finished in the goal-time, we will tell the story of this trail and the journey we experience through it.
There is also the risk that we may not be able to fund the crew we need for filming and post-production to make the documentary the way we want to. If that is the case, we'll make what we can with what we have and share this story however we're able.
Other Ways You Can Help
You can help in more ways than one! Here's just a few things you can do to help:
- Share this campaign on social media!
- Tell your friends and family about this campaign and ask them to help!
- Email your favorite outdoor gear retailer and ask them to support this expedition!
- Share this campaign on Indiegogo!
- Volunteer as camera crew for the documentary!
- must be in North Carolina and available to film for a period of time between August 25-October 5th
- Volunteers interested in offering their time in any way will be cited in the credits of the film
- email Ryan at ryan@ryanthomascontentcreation.com if you are interested in volunteering your time to help make this production a reality
Thank you for helping us crush mountain-miles!
