(ascending light music) - [Jeff] Sometimes the greatest outdoor discoveries are made right in your own backyard.

It's kinda fun shooting a show local though, isn't it?

- Oh, I love it.

No, this is cool, this is like a dream come true for me.

- [Jeff] A place you thought you knew reveals a side of itself you never truly understood.

You and I grew up as the crow flies, what, 30 miles from here, maybe?

- Yeah.

- [Jon] We love our side of the hill.

This is... - Yeah.

- We haven't explored it.

- [Jeff] And once you feel these winds blow and fill your sails.

- Sail, she's puffing 'cause the wind change.

- [Jeff] Yeah.

- [Scooter] Pull the tiller towards you a little.

There you go.

- [Jeff] The waters of this Alpine Lake High in California's Sierra Nevada will forever whisper to you, calling you back to fly.

(light music) ♪ Now and forever ♪ ♪ I don't care ♪ (light music continues) This is Huntington Lake, one of the top sailing lakes in the world.

Not far from where we all grew up, but never fully appreciated for what happens here each summer.

- [Scooter] When it folds like that, your nose is into the wind too much.

- Got it.

- Right there.

- [Scooter] There you go.

- [Jeff] The joys of sailing on the high Sierra will be taught by a local legend and a master of the winds here.

- Some people can grab it and just do it, other ones, it takes time.

- [Jeff] An exploration beyond these deep blue waters will lead to cinematic settings we've overlooked for a lifetime.

I feel bad for growing up right here and not enjoying this place enough.

I feel like I've missed out.

We often preach about finding outdoor beauty close to the places we live.

Downwind, run home.

Now that practice unlocks images and experiences close to home, but far from the expected.

- We always seem to find pretty places around, even real, you know, places that are not known for beauty.

You have to just zoom out far enough to see it sometimes.

(light music continues) - This is why we do this show is just to capture these moments, these scenes, have a little fun along the way, share the inspiration of what we get outta being out here.

And hopefully it gets you to come out here.

This is where we all belong.

(light music fading) (jet engine revving) (upbeat music) - [Jeff] When you travel, the world becomes a smaller place.

- Pretty incredible stuff.

- [Jeff] When you explore with friends like mine, that are outdoor cinematographers, destinations definitely come to life.

(thunder rumbling) Okay, that was loud.

We share our love of travel with our cameras, telling the stories of Earth's most amazing places in every frame.

(scene whooshing) But on every adventure... Oh shoot, Dave.

(alligator growling) The unplanned moments are the ones we remember the most.

I did a bag of raw chicken.

Hang on, I'll be right back.

(man laughing) - What's up?

- Here we go.

Lake Como.

I'm Jeff Aiello.

Go bridge.

(grunts) And this is "Outside Beyond The Lens."

It's not always about the obvious big view behind you, sometimes, the prettiest things are right below your feet.

(upbeat music fading) - [Endorser] Production funding for "Outside Beyond The Lens" provided by Visit Fresno County.

Nature, diversity, found in the heart of California Central Valley.

From Fresno and Clovis, you can drive to three nearby national parks.

By Hedrick's Chevrolet.

- Hedrick's Chevrolet is proud to support the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Adventures start here.

- [Endorser] By Advance Beverage Company.

Serving Bakersfield and Kern County for over 50 years.

From our family to yours, supporting Valley PBS in the wonders of travel.

By The Penstar Group, promoting opportunity and growth for collaboration and partnerships for the future.

By Hodges Inc.

Battery Storage Systems.

Would you rather invest in the power company's infrastructure or your own?

And by Visit Yosemite Madera County, California's gateway to Yosemite National Park.

Explore the outdoor magic of Madera County and be inspired to discover more.

(light music) - One of the new realities of living in the mountains of California is facing the real threat of wildfire in the summer months.

(light music) In September of 2020, one of the largest forest fires in California's history at the time erupted in Big Creek Canyon.

And one of the first places it torched just above the ignition point, was Huntington Lake.

The fire spread so fast, and with such intensity, cabin and homeowners had to literally run for their lives.

The damage left behind was shocking to me and our crew when we filmed this footage for a documentary we did on the Creek Fire in the fall of 2020.

Somewhat shocking to see how much... Now three years later, we're back to kick off a three day shoot close to home in a place we know fairly well, but not as good as Jon Neely, our on-again-off-again cinematographer who when he's not filming with us, is usually sailing somewhere in the Caribbean.

And that's really where this story begins.

You see, John's love for sailing was born on these waters.

Learning to sail as a boy on a lake that is world famous for its steady winds and scenic beauty and now resiliency as Huntington Lake makes a slow recovery from the smoke and flames that left deep scars on this landscape and community.

David, what do you thinking, buddy?

I mean, you and I grew up as the crow flies, what, 30 miles from here maybe?

- Yeah, really close.

- [Jeff] And we never really came here a lot as kids.

- No, no, we didn't.

I mean, I've been here one time, maybe 15 years ago, but only went part of the way around the lake, so... - And I'm just sitting here going, "We wasted a lifetime."

- Mm-hmm.

(Jeff laughing) - Yeah.

- Not coming here, man.

- It's pretty great.

I mean, we love our side of the hill.

- Yeah.

- But this is...

I mean, it's virtually the same.

It's just we haven't explored it.

- [Jeff] And we don't have a lake this size at this elevation, you know.

- Yeah.

Yeah, right.

(light music) - Huntington Lake sits just under 7,000 feet in elevation in the Sierra National Forest.

About an hour and a half drive from Fresno, California.

We've arrived on a late summer afternoon to capture footage of the lake as golden light and long shadows shaped this alpine setting.

Huntington Lake is quiet this time of year as a slow transition to winter is about to begin.

Well, it's golden hour again.

Our favorite time of the day.

And Jon Neely is down there below me on the top of a cliff.

We don't want him to go any further than that.

Zach Allen is flying the drone.

I can hear it buzzing in the treetops right now.

We're at the east end of Huntington Lake.

The sun's setting up perfectly for a great sunset.

And we're just gonna sit here and try to milk a couple of good shots.

I think we've had a good first little half a day here.

For me, getting familiar with Huntington Lake, I've been here many times over the years, but never really spent a lot of time right here at the lake.

Just really immersing myself into its beauty and all it has to offer.

And so we've been doing that today.

And also a fair amount of kicking myself for not doing it sooner.

And Jon Neely back there's been sure to make sure I understand that too.

He's been ribbing me.

You know there's a little bit of a rivalry here because he's a Shaver Lake kid, I'm a Bass Lake kid.

For those of you not in the area, you might be watching this in Paducah and going, "What are you talking about?"

The San Joaquin River sort of runs right between the two of us where we grew up.

He went to a rival high school, Sierra High School.

I went to Yosemite High School.

And somehow we're working together.

Cats and dogs can get along.

He's boastful about his side of the mountain.

I'm boastful about my side of the mountain.

At the end of the day, it's all good, it's all beautiful and we're enjoying it right now.

This is great right here.

Check this out.

We can see all the way down.

Huntington Lake's like a giant runway, like a giant, like a bowling alley shaped lake.

What, Jon, eight miles long?

- Just under.

- Just under eight miles long.

Little over a mile wide at its widest spot.

About 150 feet deep in its deepest spot.

And right now, this is why we come here.

This is why you come to Huntington Lake.

Well, actually there's another reason why you come to Huntington Lake.

We're gonna see that tomorrow.

(light music) ♪ We come on the sloop John B ♪ ♪ My grandfather and me ♪ ♪ Around Nassau town we did roam ♪ A cool and quiet morning on the Sierra as we wake in a cabin not far from the lake.

Plans are discussed around the breakfast table on how to best shoot today's planned excursion.

That is something Huntington Lake is known around the world for, sailing.

- We have at least one drone with us or are we... We have have three, I think.

- We have three.

Yeah.

- In fact, for 71 years, the High Sierra Regatta has drawn large crowds and competitors racing on these winds in a variety of boat classes each summer.

In a fitting example of serendipity, Jon has connected us with the sailing and racing legend on Huntington Lake, as well as the person who taught him how to sail these crystal blue waters, a man named Scooter Holms.

All right, man, I'm excited to actually be sailing for the first time on Huntington Lake and with a legend.

- Yeah, no, you got the right guy.

- He's like family to you.

- No, I know he is.

And when you said we're going out with Scooter, it's like right on.

- It's good.

- No, no, it's a good call.

- All right, after you.

You lead the... Yeah.

- Oh really?

Okay.

- The stories I've heard of Scooter and his dominance on the race circuit at Huntington Lake helped to build an image of a keen waterman in my mind.

A cunning tactician and wind whisperer.

A man who wore too much sun on his face with a salty sense of humor and eyes that see the wind before it blows.

I was mostly right.

- Okay, so I'm a Bass Lake boy.

I grew up over there.

- Power boat.

- Power boat guy.

I was driving a power boat when I was eight years old, pulling skiers.

This is my first time being on Huntington.

And I'm kind of ashamed that I'm almost 56 years old and this is my first time.

- You should be.

You should be ashamed.

(Jeff laughing) But, I mean, it's only a half an hour away.

- It's right here.

So I hear, you're, like, one of the legends out here.

Jon, I've known for a long time.

Jon's actually taught me how to sail a little bit and I've been able to sail in places like the BBIs and take a catamaran out, a Hobie Cat out.

When did you first start out here?

- I started in '78, so we're talking 46 years, I guess, around there, 45 years.

- Are you from the area?

Did you... - Yes.

- Okay.

- Born and raised a local Loki of Fresno.

- Yeah, got you.

And did your parents introduce you to this lifestyle or how did you get into it?

- No, came up after my son was born.

Dropped him off at grandma and grandpa's and headed up to the lake to give mom a break.

And my friend, my best friend then, his wife, they were racing up here and sailing and they didn't know what they were doing.

And I'm looking at it, he's beating her up.

I mean, he doesn't know what he's doing, she doesn't...

So I said to the ex-wife, I said, "Hey, mind if I sail with uncle Chuck?"

She goes, "Nope," so that's... - So Chuck got you into sailing.

- [Scooter] Chuck got me into sailing.

I mean, real sailing.

I mean, I knew how to play sail, but there's play sailing and racing.

Racing teaches you how to sail better.

(light music) ♪ Let me go home ♪ ♪ Let me go home ♪ ♪ I wanna go home ♪ ♪ Why don't you let me go home ♪ ♪ Well, I feel so break up, I wanna go home ♪ ♪ I wanna go home ♪ (light music fading) (light music continues) - If anyone knows about racing on Huntington Lake, it's scooter.

He has one of the longest winning streaks in the Regatta for the Victory 21 boat class.

Scooter's race boat has been running these waters since the 1960s.

One of the things sailors love about Huntington Lake in the summer is how consistent the wind is here.

It turns on and off at almost the same time every day.

And blows about the same 10 to 12 knots right down the middle with puffy gust as strong as 19 to 20.

All morning, it's been glassy calm on the water.

But with the drone up around 10:00 AM, you can see the wind line on the water approaching from the west.

Right As we hoist the sails to take our first run of the day.

- And what we do, is we go up to the middle of the lake where it's usually a little mellower and that down here.

- [Jeff] Yeah.

- And we do DUI sailing, drunk sailing we call it.

Because when they're learning the tiller... - [Jeff] It looks crazy.

Yeah.

- Yeah, 'cause you're moving all around and you're learning how to narrow it down and... - [Jeff] Get a feel for the over the overcompensation.

- Right.

And the other thing that's so funny about 'em, women usually have a much better touch than guys.

Guys are animals.

My comment to people when they're learning how to sail, "Okay, you've been trying to go out with this girl for six months, you finally get your chance.

So have some finesse.

Don't be groping."

And the women, every one of 'em go, "Oh, I understand now."

And the guys, "Huh?"

(all laughing) - That's awesome.

- Yep.

- Yeah, Scooter told me when I was 12 and I didn't understand it.

- [Jeff] When even put on he's 13, he understood.

- Yeah, no I got it at 13 though.

13, it all clicked.

- [Jeff] Yeah, 13, he's going, "Oh yeah, I know what he's talking about."

(uplifting music) Sailing out here with Scooter and Jon with Huntington Lake all to ourselves on a mid-September afternoon is a bittersweet realization for me.

I've known sailing was a thing here for a long time, but until today, didn't truly understand why it's so special.

Now, after getting some time on the tiller and learning the subtleties of sailing that can only be taught by a person with Scooter's time on the water, the overwhelming feelings of joy I have are occasionally muted by pings of regret for not having discovered this much sooner in life.

Especially, in a place that is so close to my home.

Let's talk about the Creek fire for a second.

So that happened on Labor Day weekend of 2020.

- Uh-huh.

- [Jeff] Were you out here on the water that weekend?

- No, but I was coming up and pulled the boat.

- And you got turned around?

- Yeah.

- Where'd they turn you around?

Were you at Four Lanes?

- Four Lanes.

- Yeah.

At the top of the four lane.

- [Jeff] Yeah.

- Now it's freaking, 'cause I thought all the soot and stuff would get on the boat, but... You know, back there, it didn't... You know, it ran along and went to China Peak and it really, you can see here, they got to China Peak that way on that side.

- Yeah.

- You know.

- [Jeff] Well, thank God it didn't torch this whole lake all the way around.

- Oh, God, yes.

- [Jeff] I mean, it would be such a different experience right now.

- My grandkids will be able to see the road and the lake like I saw it all my life.

- [Jeff] Yeah.

It'll come back.

- Cause it's gonna take three generations to get back into it or at least two, you know.

- [Jeff] Yeah.

It's on its way.

It has a way of healing itself, but it takes time.

- Yeah.

(light music) - [Jeff] It's taken about an hour for us to tack back and forth up the lake into the wind towards the dam at Huntington Lake.

Zach and Dave are shooting from shore with the 200 and 600 millimeter lens and a drone, but now it's time to pick them up for some boat time too.

(light music) Scooter's ability to teach sailing is like second nature.

And in no time David and Zach are both easing threshold of a dream into the wind.

(light music) Time shared on these waters, under bright blue skies in the High Sierra is something none of us will forget.

(light music) Experiences like this on a lake so close to where we live, hammers home a lesson we try to share wherever we travel.

Exploring doesn't always have to happen far away.

Do those things and go to those places that are near you that maybe you've never seen but have heard of your entire life.

Hike a new trail or visit a park close by.

Be curious and take those small first steps that can lead to a larger journey of discovery.

And with camera in hand, capture new images to share with the world.

- Now lift it up, push the tiller.

Keep pushing.

Keep pushing.

Harder.

Harder.

Keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing.

Okay, now go to the other side.

Okay, watch your main.

Look up, look up, look up.

When it fills up with air, right there, straighten it.

There you go.

Cool.

- Yes, Zach.

- bada-bing bada-boom, Zachariah.

- Great job, buddy.

- [Scooter] Good job.

- Yes, Zach.

- bada-bing bada-boom, Zachariah.

- Great job, buddy.

(light music) (water rippling) - [Jeff] As the sun sets on another day in the Sierra Nevada of Central California, Jon takes us to another local spot he's been coming to for years.

And once again, a place I've driven by a thousand times and never stopped.

Directly behind the parking lot at China Peak Ski Resort, a hiking trail winds with the gentle curves and falls of Big Creek as it makes its way to Huntington Lake.

This is a short and fairly easy hike with scenic and photographic rewards that come quick.

Giant pools catch the last glimpses of afternoon sun through a filter of Jeffrey Pine and red fir.

- [Jon] What do you think of this place, Jeff?

- Well, I mean, this is my home.

This is our home.

We're all from here.

And we've at different times in our life we've spent a lot of time up here, sometimes we get away from it for too long.

But I've never really explored, you know, beyond just the China Peak or just a quick drive around Huntington Lake.

And it's not surprising that the same reasons why I love my side of the hill, I stay my side of the hill over closer to Yosemite where I grew up, it's all the same forest technically, it's all the same mountain range and new places are always fun to discover.

And discovering them with your buddies on a day like today is doesn't get much better than that.

(light music) There is an ease and approachable nature to the Sierra that you just don't find in other mountain ranges around the World.

Heavy effort isn't required to get to places like this.

And once you're here, there is a quiet peace that welcomes you no matter why you've come.

On our last day at Huntington Lake, we decide to drive up Kaiser Road to grab a few elevated shots of the lake settings below and are reminded of how fun a drive in these mountains can be on a beautiful day like today.

(light music) Throughout the Sierra, a large network of roads and trails winds through valleys next to meadows and up to mountain peaks in the lower elevations.

(light music) We find the road to Mount Tom, a locally familiar mountain with a fire lookout on top near the South Fork of the San Joaquin River basin.

Along the way, we visit and stop, and shoot, and plan where our next adventure will take us, and drive on, hopeful to finally see the top of Mount Tom, but that won't happen today.

Well, this is what happens sometimes.

This is not the first time we've been on a four-wheel drive road and had the road close sign, especially, when there's a lookout tower up there.

And there's a bunch of communication infrastructure on top of Mount Tom too that it's probably best that the masses aren't allowed to go up there.

But a little bit disappointing 'cause we wanted to see a cool view from up there.

It's a unique viewpoint because Mount Tom sits out in the middle of the San Joaquin River basin, especially coming off the South Fork, which is right below us right here.

The silver divides right there.

Edison Lake's right here.

And so it's kind of, this is a big basin, and then Mount Tom kind of sits up on top of it kind of by itself.

So it provides a 360 degree view of not just the upper San Joaquin, but all the way back to the Sierra Crest.

You can see the Ritter and Banner.

We'll put the drone up here for sure and get a couple of shots to show what that view looks like.

(light music) We're close enough to the summit for Zach to get shots of the top of Mount Tom with stunning views of the Sierra Crest beyond.

For a day trip photo excursion or a longer camping trip in the Sierra, Huntington Lake in the back country access via the Kaiser road is an excellent way to escape and recharge.

- I think that's the biggest lesson I've learned traveling with you going to all these places, 'cause we've traveled the entire country and a lot of parts of the world too.

And I always seem to find with you, we always seem to find pretty places around even real, you know, places that are not known for beauty.

I mean, it's just you have to just zoom out far enough to see it sometimes and... - Get away from things.

- Yeah.

- [Jeff] So true, man.

And that's one of the things we've always loved about doing this program is hopefully inspiring people to, you know, it's okay to go for the big Marquee-Rock Star location, but man, look what we just did here.

- Yeah.

- We walked off the road on a nondescript little pullover.

- [Jon] Mm-hmm.

- [Jeff] We walked not even a quarter mile.

- [Jon] Yeah.

- [Jeff] And now we're sitting on this beautiful rock over looking at Huntington Lake.

You could just sit here all night too, you know?

- Yeah, 'cause this is just epic.

- [Jeff] And this is a view that you would pay money for.

- Yeah, this is spectacular.

- [Jeff] A lot of people would pay a big dollar to sit and enjoy this, and there's places like this where you are too.

- Yeah, no, this is spectacular.

(light music) - [Jeff] To experience the beauty, thrill and downright fun of sailing on Huntington Lake, and to learn more about the High Sierra Regatta here, check out fresnoyachtclub.org.

Who knows, you might just run into Scooter up here.

And if he invites you on board, trust me, that's an invitation you take.

(light music fading) (light music continues) - [Endorser] Production funding for "Outside Beyond The Lens" provided by Visit Fresno County.

Nature, diversity, found in the heart of California Central Valley.

From Fresno and Clovis, you can drive to three nearby national parks.

By Hedrick's Chevrolet.

- Hedrick's Chevrolet is proud to support the spirit of travel in each of us.

Every journey has a first step.

Adventures start here.

- [Endorser] By Advance Beverage Company.

Serving Bakersfield and Kern County for over 50 years.

From our family to yours, supporting Valley PBS in the wonders of travel.

By The Penstar Group, promoting opportunity and growth for collaboration and partnerships for the future.

By Hodges Inc.

Battery Storage Systems.

Would you rather invest in the power company's infrastructure or your own?

And by Visit Yosemite Madera County, California's gateway to Yosemite National Park.

Explore the outdoor magic of Madera County and be inspired to discover more.

(ascending music)