Off the Grid Studios

The festival run continues.

We’re excited to share that our film The Hard Way has been officially selected for the 2026 Golden Mountain Film Festival in Portugal.

After a recent festival selection in Peru and a stop at the prestigious 5Point Adventure Film Festival in the past year, along with hundreds of US cities, the list of countries and communities this story has reached continues to grow.

We’re incredibly grateful to every festival, partner, filmmaker and audience member helping carry the film forward.

You can watch the full film now on our YouTube channel. Link in bio.

Day one in the Grand Canyon, we flipped in Horn Creek Rapid.

8 out of 10 whitewater. The raft landed on us in the hole. One of us recycled in the hydraulic for 30 seconds. I was pinned under the boat. Our gear sat underwater for nearly an hour.

That night, I could hear water sloshing inside my guitar before I even opened the bag.

Poured out what felt like a small river. Set it on a rock. Walked away.

Next morning I tuned it.

It rang out. Clean. Playable. Like nothing happened.

I spent 16 years in the guitar industry.

I know how wooden guitars fail — which is exactly why I didn't bring one.

I brought a : carbon fiber, separable neck, built to move.

14 days. More rapids. More sand. More sun. Two birthdays and a proposal around the fire.

Every night, it came out and played.

Made it home to Bend on the same strings it left with.

Still playing it today.

Huge thank you to INKAFEST Mountain Film Festival in Peru for accepting The Hard Way as an official selection.

One of the great gifts of filmmaking is watching a story travel — from the communities and rivers where it began to audiences around the world. We’re honored to share this film with communities near and far, and grateful to be part of this year’s festival.

My fav Pelican Products. Almost 20 years, all the continent. All the stories we’ve told have traveled through this mighty case.