A small scouting crew - Director, DP and Line Producer - went in advance to the Foster family's Sand Creek Ranch in remote British Columbia, an hour and a half down a dirt road from the town of Tatla Lake, population 250. We had first scouted the ranch the year before, and were amazed by its incredible beauty, situated in a broad river valley flanked on both sides by mountain ranges. From the high pastures above the valley, snow capped mountains fill the background in nearly every direction - we knew we would have to shoot there.
Fortunately, the Fosters move their cattle up into these same mountain pastures every summer, to graze on the abundant grass. It's not unusual, in this corner of British Columbia, to see cattle as high as 11,000 feet, roaming freely with no cowboys in sight. In fact, the cattle are fairly wild here, as they have to fend for themselves in vast fenceless areas, keeping bears, mountain lions and wolves at bay.
Our storyline, then, would follow Walt Jr. and Carol, their three sons Josh, Ryan and Jake, and Jake's girlfriend Lindsay, as they pack tents and a few days of supplies onto horses and make the day's journey into the mountains. Walt is very careful that the cattle not overgraze any pastures. So, while half the team set up a mountain camp, he and the other half would push the cattle from one verdant high glade over a tall ridge and into another.
The Fosters, as do most of the ranchers in this area, use dogs to help with this task. The cattle don't know there's better grazing over the next hill, and are reluctant to make the difficult journey up the mountainside to get to it - and the dogs help the cowboys add an extra bit of encouragement.
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