In VOYAGE OF ADVENTURE: RETRACING DONELSON'S JOURNEY, photographer John Guider sets out to retrace a historic expedition that took place between 1779-1780. Embarking on a 14-and-a-half foot, self-made row boat, Guider follows surveyor John Donelson's late-17th century, 1, 000-mile river journey, which began in the northwest corner of Tennessee and ended at what would later become present-day Nashville. Donelson, an American frontiersman, politician, city planner and explorer, along with fellow pioneer and surveyor James Robertson, set out to establish the first large-scale European settlement in Tennessee. While Robertson trekked over land to their new destination, Donelson led a flotilla of families, slaves and supplies down the riverways. Encountering the worst winter in recorded history and navigating without charts, Donelson and his party dealt with harsh conditions, dwindling food reserves, smallpox and attacks by Native American tribes who were trying to protect their land. Featuring stunning river and wildlife footage, excerpts from Donelson's journal, interviews with historians and authors, and images shot by Guider during his 2016 autumn excursion, VOYAGE OF ADVENTURE weaves together the stories of these two men. Parallels between Guider's journey and that of the Donelson party are found throughout the documentary, making the film both a historical exploration and a celebration of Guider's love of Tennessee's natural landscape and heritage.
