Catching Pinecones

Herb and Jan Conn were legendary explorers who traveled across the United States. Between the 1940s and 1980s, their attention was focused in South Dakota, where they pioneered rock climbing in the Needles area and then mapped over 60 miles of nearby Jewel Cave. Their tiny, off-the-grid home was nicknamed the “Conncave” and they embodied the ethics of living simply and sustainably. They approached life with an unmatched sense of curiosity, humility and humor. Director Chad Heddleston first learned of the Conns from the rock climbing routes they pioneered. Intrigued by their adventures, he reached out to Jan in 2015 (Herb passed away in 2012). After exchanging several letters (Jan’s preferred means of correspondence), Chad went to visit her in South Dakota and was welcomed into the famed “Conncave” dwelling that Jan and Herb had shared for almost 60 years. He began filming conversations with Jan and capturing her stories. Chad soon discovered that every question he asked led to five more questions, and the depth of Jan’s stories was seemingly as endless as Jewel Cave’s passages. What he thought would be a fun little hobby video project quickly turned into something much more comprehensive and important.  In the spring of 2021, Chad asked his longtime photographer/videographer/journalist friend Parker Michels-Boyce and his climbing/caving/mountaineering friend Mitch Goldman to join on a return visit to South Dakota. They spent more time with Jan and filmed interviews with her friends and peers. After about a dozen more trips around the country, they approached film editor Sheree Chen to help organize the pieces they had gathered into a cohesive story. Sheree Chen and Parker Michels-Boyce worked together to create this story, weaving material from a variety of modern and archival sources. Drone footage shows off the incredible landscape of South Dakota’s Black Hills, while Jan’s music, recorded mostly in the 50s and 60s, creates an authentic sonic backdrop that places the film appropriately in the era when the Conns were most active.  Always remaining true to the Conns’ ethic of pursuing fun above all else, the film has been a passion project. The core filmmaking team have spent countless weekends and late nights in between full-time jobs to bring you this film, a rich life story as entertaining as it is inspiring.