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I was very fortunate to meet Eugene Bosshart through my friend and co-worker Dave McKay, who I found out later owned the property during the filming. Eugene was kind enough to share his stories about the Opening Scene filming with me. Who approached you with wanting to film the movie? A few guys showed up in a van and asked me if they could use the property for a movie shoot. I found out later that they were looking further down Quarry road when someone there told them that my place was ideal for the scene they wanted. They offered to put my family up in a hotel and cover the expenses because they wanted to remove my furniture and shoot some of the scenes inside. The crew decided afterwards that it wouldn’t be necessary to move us out as they had cancelled the interior shots. How long was the shoot? The actual shooting of the scene took three days and there was originally a shot of Delmar’s widow coming out of the cabin that didn’t make it to the big screen. Were some of the buildings in the movie part of the set? No, they were all part of the property prior to filming. Did you get a chance to watch any of the filming? Yes, I was there for the entire shoot and watched Sly make his entrance from the road. You can also see my dog and trailer as Sly’s approaching the cabin. Did you get a chance to meet Sylvester Stallone? I was able to see and talk to him on numerous occasions. I even offered him a drink when he came to sit with me inside the cabin, but he said no. At one point Sly wasn’t happy with the lighting and went up to his motorhome until they fixed it. Back then the only communication we had was an old radio phone; one in my cabin and one in Sly’s motorhome. When Sly had gone up to his motorhome, one of the girls that was doing his make up asked if she could make a call from my radio. I only had three channels and accidentally picked the channel Sly was on and could hear his side of the conversation. Soon after, the makeup girls and I went into a panic and got off as soon we could. We didn’t mean to eavesdrop and when I saw him later he didn’t say anything to me. What ever became of Delmar’s Cabin? Unfortunately, the cabin burned down after it was sold and two of the other cabins were later demolished.
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This, along with the junkyard was one of the most sought out of the missing locations. With thousands of lakes around British Columbia the possibilities were endless. Herve Attia came up here from California to do a then and now tribute to First Blood and pinpointed the general area using Google Earth… Pretty amazing when you think about it. Due to the amount of private property and the fact that it’s pretty dense forest around that area, he missed finding it by about a mile. After reading Herve’s blog, my Father and I took his boat up the river as it was easier to find the location by water. |
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Who owned it at the time? |
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How do I get there? |
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WATER —Launch your boat at the Northland Marina in Pitt Meadows. Travel up stream, around the bend and you’re there in less than 10 minutes depending on your boat. Unfortunately, the dock at the opening scene is now gone. There have been logs I’ve tied up to on a couple of occasions and walked across. If you have a small boat with an outboard motor you can beach it, but watch your draft as it gets shallow real fast and if you have a jet boat your laughing. Due to the small tidal effect in the river from close proximity to the Pacific Ocean (Georgia Strait), be sure to pull your boat up far enough so it doesn’t float away on you. Canoeing and kayaking are great options and wouldn’t take you long. As far as current, rips and whirlpools go you’re pretty safe. Also, for the people paddling your way to the Opening Scene, stay close to the shore as there can be a fair amount of boat traffic.
LAND — Please email me for inquiries.
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****Please be cautious of bears in the area**** |
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The Delmar Tree |
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The Outhouse |
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Opening Scene from the water |
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This picture was taken during September of 2008; you can see the amount of growth that has occurred over the years and what used to be a road is now a wide trail. |
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The field is in great shape until you reach the cabin area where the growth is about eight feet tall. I was able to make a path where the light green and dark green bushes meet at the right. |
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The tree is rotting and the integrity has diminished quite a bit in the past year. Delmar’s cabin on the right caught fire years later and was never rebuilt. There are only a few traces of the foundation and appliances that survived the fire. |
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I’ve noticed that the tree has been rotting pretty fast during the past year and hope you get a chance to see it before it topples over. |
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The only complete structure still standing out of all the buildings seen in the opening scene. The structure is still very sound and the amount of growth around it has doubled since this picture was taken a year ago. |
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This picture I call “Herve’s Quarry”. Herve Attia had originally searched to the right of the Quarry which is the gravel pile pictured on the right. You can see how close he came to finding the Opening Scene by using Google Earth from the landmarks in the movie… |
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The cabin you see behind Stallone suffered the same fate as Delmar’s cabin and is now gone. |
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THE FIELD |
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THE ROAD |
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THE TREE & DELMAR’S CABIN |
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What state is the property in now? |
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RAMBO LEAVING DELMAR’S |
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How it was found? |
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This pictures shows the amount of growth that has occurred over the years. |
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THE OPENING SCENE |
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THE HOMESTEAD |
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The property is growing over extremely fast and has literally doubled in a year. I have cut a path between what used to be the two cabins Sly walks between in the movie so you can access the waterfront, field and road without many problems. |
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***GOOGLE MAP*** |