Last year, two young men from Butte did something incredible.

Experienced mountaineer Robert Lester and his cousin Braxton Mitchell, who says he is not a mountaineer, traveled from the Mining City to the Pacific Ocean by canoe.

In incredible — and important — journey covered nearly 1,300 miles. It took 52 grueling days as Robert and Braxton paddled and carried the canoe the entire way.

Braxton, who was 18 at the time, had never been in a canoe before.

The “Columbia River Canoe Project” is a documentary about their journey. The movie, which lasts 1 hour, 1 minute, gets two gigantic thumbs up from the ButteCast. On Aug. 30, the public in Butte gets to see why. You will laugh. You will cry. You will learn.

The movie will premier with a night of music, education and the film at the Original Mine Yard. Gates open to the free event at 6 p.m. After a Levi Bloom Concert, the film will be played at 8:15 p.m.

In April of 2023, Robert appeared on the ButteCast to talk about his adventure. Today he returns to talk about the trip and the movie.

Today’s podcast is presented by Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warrantee.