We should not overlook the majesty of the Grand Canyon, director Pete McBride reminds us in Martin’s Boat—nor its fragility. The short film displays the region’s full magnificence, taking viewers through the canyon on dories that navigate the whitewater rapids of the Colorado River. With a keen photographer’s eye—he worked as a photojournalist for over a decade—McBride incorporates the breathtaking beauty of the Grand Canyon into the story of the dory boatmen who run the river. Both the small, hearty boats and the stunning backdrop around them channel the legacy of the late Martin Litton, a hardworking conservationist who began the Grand Canyon Dories company and whose perseverance helped prevent two major dams from forever changing the canyon’s landscape.

The Colorado River is Litton's legacy, too. Litton played an instrumental role in halting the proposed Marble Canyon Dam in 1963, when the long, snaking river came under threat. The dam would have reduced the river from its rushing whitewater rapids to a weak trickle. Litton’s unwavering stance motivated the Sierra Club to take action; he was the “conscience” of the Club’s director at the time, David Brower. Now, dories continue to maneuver the water yearly, surrounded by the towering Grand Canyon walls.

McBride takes viewers aboard Litton’s dory fleet as we follow the maiden voyage of a boat built in his honor. Named the Marble Canyon, the boat merges one of Litton’s greatest achievements with his passion for traveling down the river by boat. The environmentalist and boatman is omniscient in the stunning overhead shots and in-canyon views. The film intersperses interviews with him and video of his friends running dories down the Colorado River, all of whom speak reverently of his seeming invincibility and prowess navigating the Grand Canyon.

The film remembers Litton through an impassioned group of boatmen and the timelessness of the Grand Canyon’s wonder and wildness that are homage to his love. From the vantage point aboard a dory, or anywhere at the bottom of the canyon, it’s not hard to imagine why Litton so vehemently defended the river.

Martin Litton was a Sierra Club member and served on the Sierra Club Board of Directors. Martin’s Boat was supported by the Sierra Club.