Three Utah friends run '100 Miles from Nowhere' in upcoming Animal Planet series


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SALT LAKE CITY — As Matt Galland made his way up to the top of Devil’s Castle alongside friends Danny Bryson and Blake Josephson, for their upcoming series on Animal Planet, “100 Miles from Nowhere,” he looked out at the Wasatch Mountain Range. He then lifted up his camera — that he had been carrying over the course of nearly 100 miles — to film what very few have been able to see. He looked forward to the day when he could show to the world.

Born on Earth Day, Galland said that he was destined to be an explorer. When he was 10-years-old, he remembers packing a backpack and doing a solo 20-miler up Rock Canyon and over lightning peak and back out Provo Canyon.

“I woke up one Saturday morning and wanted go find Indians,” he said. “I followed the trail, thinking I was going to discover something I’d never seen before. I guess I just had enough stamina and curiosity to keep me going, because I made it home safely.”

That same stamina and curiosity to find what is out beyond most people’s reach has grown with age, and he is exploring places few have gone before.


When I would tell people where I had gone and what I had seen, many didn't believe me. 'There's no way you came that close to a mountain lion,' they'd tell me. It was then when I decided to carry a camera wherever I went so I could show people what I was seeing.

–Matt Galland


“When I would tell people where I had gone and what I had seen, many didn’t believe me,” Galland said. “‘There’s no way you came that close to a mountain lion,’ they’d tell me. It was then when I decided to carry a camera wherever I went so I could show people what I was seeing.”

In 2010, Galland started a YouTube channel he called “Matt in the Wild.” Once the channel started nearing a million views is when he began getting calls from TV networks inquiring about a possible show. The show was eventually sold to Animal Planet, and Galland asked Bryson and Josephson to join in.

The trio is dropped in the middle of nowhere and run an average of 100 miles to their destination, stopping to rest each night, after a 25-mile daily trek over some of the world’s most treacherous terrain. They do something that is unheard of in survival shows: carry their own cameras, filming all the footage that themselves.

When producers discussed getting a crew to follow the trio, Galland answered: “No, a film crew can’t follow us,” adding, “This show would lose its uniqueness of really going far. Without a film crew, you can cover much more ground and film much more footage. Nobody bothers us and we can do whatever we want. There is nothing planned. If we see a snake, let’s film it, if we see mountain lion, let’s film it.”

There are drawbacks to filming your own footage, though, and Galland and Josephson were quick to point out the huge undertaking that it was. However, it was Bryson who took that dislike a step further.

“It's the ball and chain, the ghost at the feast, the self-invited trip companion," he said. "Every beautiful moment is spoiled by its sudden and unwelcome appearance. Conversations sputter and stall under the glare of its red blinking light. Its ubiquitous influence is felt every moment of the day. Should I be recording this? Am I recording this correctly? Did I remember to push record during that moment? Did I record enough or has the day been wasted? When we hand the footage in, I always have this feeling that I didn't record or say enough. All of these feelings, anxieties and emotions are present because of that camera. Without it, the trip would be a lark.”

Matt Galland, Blake Josephson and Danny Bryson in their upcoming Animal Planet series "100 Miles from Nowhere." (Photo: Animal Planet)
Matt Galland, Blake Josephson and Danny Bryson in their upcoming Animal Planet series "100 Miles from Nowhere." (Photo: Animal Planet)

The three take it all in stride and do it with the same wit of Bryson. And what better place to begin than where it all began: the Wasatch Mountains.

In the first episode "Utah: Devil’s Throne,” the friends tackle familiar territory. It's set to air at Sunday, April 5, at 8 p.m.

“It was important to me to have the first episode filmed in Utah,” Galland said. “Producers wanted to film somewhere exotic, like Africa, but most people don’t know the Utah that I know. I know every inch of these mountains; it is a sacred space.”

It is sacred places like these where each spends many hours thinking about his family at home. Each has a wife and children who count on them to make it home safely and takes that need very seriously.

Galland’s wife, Erica, said, “So much of what he does is what makes him who he is, and I love who he is.”

“We don’t do this to be cool,” Galland said. “It’s not about running, adventure or even friendship. I really don’t think that people know how pretty the earth is. The show is about inspiring people to get out, and I really hope it does just that.”

Contributing: Andrew Adams


![](http://media.bonnint.net/slc/2505/250517/25051768\.jpg)
About the Author: Arianne Brown -------------------------------

Arianne is a mother to six young children. Her down time is spent running the mountain trails of the Wasatch Mountains and beyond. Contact her at ariannebrown1@gmail.com, follow her on Twitter @arimom6 or search her Facebook page, "A Mother's Write."

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