1966 年，甫自美國返臺的導演陳耀圻，在拍攝碩士論文作品《劉必稼》前，輾轉結識就讀國立藝專的黃永松、牟敦芾、黃貴蓉——三位熱愛藝術與電影，也喜歡爬山的好友。於是陳耀圻帶著 16mm 攝影機，隨他們造訪新竹五指山，將三人的青春、友誼及沿途風景收攝至黑白影格中，更捕捉三人對藝術抱負的討論、黨員才能領獎學金的現實及對越戰看法云云。

全片以〈California Dreamin'〉一曲貫穿，除了吐露時代苦悶，也烘托出三位青年煥發的活力，影像之間的對話更激盪出多重意涵，令本片不只是一次郊遊的記錄，更是一場精神的漫遊，不僅留下三位好友的青春軌跡，同時見證日後聯合創作的三人電影夢起點。電影膠卷封存於 UCLA 教授車庫數十年，50 年後由國影中心數位修復。

In 1966, director Richard CHEN had just returned to Taiwan from the United States. Before filming his master’s thesis Liu Pi-Chia, CHEN came to know HUANG Yung-Sung, MOU Tun-Fei, and HUANG Kuei-Jung, three close friends who were students at the National Taiwan Academy of Arts and shared a love for art, film, and mountain climbing. CHEN brought a 16mm camera with him as he followed the three on a trip to Wuzhi Mountain in Hsinchu, capturing their youth, friendship, and the scenery along the way in black-and-white images. The three spoke about their artistic ambitions, the fact that only KMT party members could receive scholarships, and their views on the Vietnam War.

The entire film is set to the song California Dreamin’, which not only expresses the frustrations of the time but also amplifies the youthful energy of the three. The dialogue between music and image stirs multiple layers of meaning, making the film more than a record of a countryside outing; it becomes a spiritual journey. It preserves the traces of their youth and marks the beginning of the trio’s shared dream of filmmaking. The film reel was stored in a UCLA professor’s garage for decades and was digitally restored fifty years later by the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute.