If familiarity with a landscape encourages one to advocate for its conservation, then journalists Kevin Fedarko and Pete McBride would count as two of the Grand Canyon’s most tireless advocates. Having completed a 750-mile thru-hike of the canyon—in eight stages over the course of a year—the intrepid pair has experienced more of this iconic setting than most of us ever have, or will. One result of that adventure? A feature-length film from McBride, a National Geographic photographer as well as a writer and filmmaker. In conjunction with the Grand Canyon’s centennial as a national park, Into the Grand Canyon makes its national debut tomorrow, February 21, on National Geographic TV. The film already nabbed a director’s award at the Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival and will continue to play at festivals throughout the year under the title Into the Canyon.

"The canyon’s scale is so beyond human comprehension," says McBride, who directed the film. “That is the thing that captivates me the more time I spend there. And there’s a greater range of biodiversity than in any other national park. It’s a giant living classroom. It’s also incredibly harsh, foreboding, and humbling. The canyon respects nobody.”