1 00:00:11,164 --> 00:00:13,700 NARRATOR: On this episode of Life Below Zero, 2 00:00:13,767 --> 00:00:16,869 Alaskans prepare for dark winter. 3 00:00:16,936 --> 00:00:19,573 If you don't like winter, don't come to Alaska. 4 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,442 NARRATOR: Glenn braves thin ice for a new food source. 5 00:00:23,110 --> 00:00:24,678 Whoa. 6 00:00:24,745 --> 00:00:26,580 NARRATOR: Andy races to break a new trail. 7 00:00:26,647 --> 00:00:28,549 Hey, hey, hey, hey! 8 00:00:28,616 --> 00:00:30,317 Chip must build an essential tool 9 00:00:30,384 --> 00:00:32,018 in time for dark winter. 10 00:00:32,085 --> 00:00:34,455 CHIP: Basically armouring up a sled for heavy work. 11 00:00:34,522 --> 00:00:37,223 And Sue tackles Alaska's deadliest road. 12 00:00:37,290 --> 00:00:39,025 SUE: I've got mountain passes to go through 13 00:00:39,092 --> 00:00:40,360 that are notorious killers. 14 00:00:59,146 --> 00:01:00,814 ANDY: You guys wanna haul water today? 15 00:01:01,915 --> 00:01:05,285 Who's gonna get water? Is Jack gonna get water? 16 00:01:06,653 --> 00:01:08,955 Today's the day of getting a lot of chores done. 17 00:01:09,022 --> 00:01:12,493 So, first thing's first, gotta go get some water 18 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:13,594 out of the river. 19 00:01:13,661 --> 00:01:16,563 We've got a ton of water flowing by our house, 20 00:01:16,630 --> 00:01:19,299 about a million gallons an hour flowing (CHUCKLES) by our house. 21 00:01:19,366 --> 00:01:22,102 I'm just gonna push this sled down and let the dogs run around 22 00:01:22,169 --> 00:01:24,238 -and hopefully I can call them all in, -(DOGS WHIMPERING) 23 00:01:24,305 --> 00:01:26,373 hook them up, and bring the water back up. 24 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:27,507 Let's go. 25 00:01:28,775 --> 00:01:31,878 Everybody come! Everybody come! 26 00:01:31,945 --> 00:01:34,614 NARRATOR: Andy and Kate must get water every fifth day 27 00:01:34,681 --> 00:01:36,783 for drinking and cleaning. 28 00:01:36,850 --> 00:01:39,719 With no indoor plumbing, Andy must use the Yukon River 29 00:01:39,786 --> 00:01:41,355 as his water source. 30 00:01:47,861 --> 00:01:48,862 ANDY: Whoo! 31 00:01:51,465 --> 00:01:53,667 By far this is the most dangerous time of year 32 00:01:53,734 --> 00:01:55,301 for me to do this chore. 33 00:01:55,368 --> 00:01:56,436 I'm always really nervous 34 00:01:56,503 --> 00:01:58,472 any time I go near the edge of the river. 35 00:01:58,539 --> 00:02:01,074 The ice is hollow, it doesn't take much 36 00:02:01,141 --> 00:02:03,110 to collapse ice when it's hollow. 37 00:02:06,213 --> 00:02:08,281 Yeah, I've gone swimming in the Yukon 38 00:02:08,348 --> 00:02:09,749 a number of times in the winter. 39 00:02:09,816 --> 00:02:10,817 It's not fun. 40 00:02:10,884 --> 00:02:13,654 When it's slushy ice like this, 41 00:02:13,721 --> 00:02:16,256 as soon as you go in it's like cement. 42 00:02:16,323 --> 00:02:17,857 It just closes up around you 43 00:02:17,924 --> 00:02:19,626 and there's not a damn thing you can do. 44 00:02:19,693 --> 00:02:22,663 I understand how people drown on ice really quickly 45 00:02:23,363 --> 00:02:25,098 now because of how cold it is 46 00:02:25,165 --> 00:02:29,269 and how hard it is to get out once you're in 47 00:02:29,336 --> 00:02:32,038 without some kind of assistance. 48 00:02:32,105 --> 00:02:34,508 So I've learned through experience 49 00:02:34,575 --> 00:02:37,811 that when you're on your own you're really on your own out on the ice. 50 00:02:37,878 --> 00:02:40,880 And if it happens, kiss your ass goodbye. 51 00:02:40,947 --> 00:02:42,216 It's a killer. 52 00:02:42,283 --> 00:02:43,950 It's a killer out here. 53 00:02:47,387 --> 00:02:48,689 Everybody come! 54 00:02:51,158 --> 00:02:54,260 Attaboys! All right! 55 00:02:54,327 --> 00:02:58,131 Hey, Coug, I'm gonna... Whoa, whoa. It's okay. I'm gonna put you in swing 56 00:02:58,198 --> 00:02:59,699 so you don't have to get close to that ice. 57 00:02:59,766 --> 00:03:00,933 -I know you don't like that. -(BARKING) 58 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:02,935 Everything I do 59 00:03:03,002 --> 00:03:04,771 I try and do with my dogs around here. 60 00:03:04,838 --> 00:03:07,808 They're my buddies, they're my tools, they're my machinery. 61 00:03:07,875 --> 00:03:09,976 They pretty much do it all for me. 62 00:03:10,043 --> 00:03:11,778 Most of all, they're my best friends. 63 00:03:11,845 --> 00:03:13,146 I love these dogs. 64 00:03:13,213 --> 00:03:14,915 Okay. Hup, hup, hup. Let's go! 65 00:03:15,715 --> 00:03:16,850 Attaboys! 66 00:03:18,786 --> 00:03:20,587 Up we go. Hup, hup, hup, hup, hup. 67 00:03:21,522 --> 00:03:23,390 Yeah! Let's go, boys! 68 00:03:26,293 --> 00:03:27,960 CHIP: It makes everything sweeter when you can just go out 69 00:03:28,027 --> 00:03:30,096 and be reliant on yourself. 70 00:03:30,163 --> 00:03:31,431 When you go out there, and you come back, 71 00:03:31,498 --> 00:03:33,300 time after time and you make a living 72 00:03:33,367 --> 00:03:36,103 and after a pile of years goes by, you're still here. 73 00:04:01,728 --> 00:04:02,963 No plane yet. 74 00:04:05,132 --> 00:04:07,801 CHIP: I've got some wood coming to make stuff for sleds 75 00:04:07,868 --> 00:04:09,702 because my old one is beaten to death. 76 00:04:09,769 --> 00:04:12,673 So if I'm gonna get ready for winter coming up here, 77 00:04:12,740 --> 00:04:14,775 I'm gonna need a sled. 78 00:04:14,842 --> 00:04:16,910 Well, now we're just waiting for the plane. 79 00:04:16,977 --> 00:04:18,878 When the plane gets here we'll see what we got for wood. 80 00:04:18,945 --> 00:04:20,980 NARRATOR: Chip and Agnes Hailstone await the arrival 81 00:04:21,047 --> 00:04:22,983 of a daily freight plane. 82 00:04:23,050 --> 00:04:25,986 It carries valuable goods from Kotzebue to Noorvik. 83 00:04:27,554 --> 00:04:29,522 CHIP: Cargo planes are never on time. 84 00:04:29,589 --> 00:04:31,158 Another thing, too, is that the weather 85 00:04:31,225 --> 00:04:33,226 is just turning to garbage, total garbage. 86 00:04:33,961 --> 00:04:35,062 So we're not quite sure 87 00:04:35,129 --> 00:04:36,863 what we're gonna be doing here soon. 88 00:04:36,930 --> 00:04:38,398 I didn't order any hickory 89 00:04:38,465 --> 00:04:40,299 so we're not gonna have no basket sled. 90 00:04:40,366 --> 00:04:42,936 The only wood that's coming off of this order that I paid for 91 00:04:43,003 --> 00:04:45,672 is gonna be planks and more planks. 92 00:04:49,542 --> 00:04:51,611 I didn't think it would come in this crappy weather. 93 00:05:04,157 --> 00:05:05,792 Hey there, you got some wood for us? 94 00:05:05,859 --> 00:05:07,360 Hey, Chip. Hey, Agnes. How are you guys doing? 95 00:05:07,427 --> 00:05:09,829 Good. Well, we're just happy for the snow. 96 00:05:09,896 --> 00:05:12,398 -Lucky we got in here when we did. -CHIP: Yep. 97 00:05:12,465 --> 00:05:14,735 They're probably gonna shut down the pass today. 98 00:05:14,802 --> 00:05:16,102 -Right on. -MAN: Here's some wood, guys. 99 00:05:17,337 --> 00:05:19,005 -CHIP: Yep, thanks! -Take care, guys. 100 00:05:19,072 --> 00:05:20,440 -Yep. -MAN: See you. 101 00:05:21,108 --> 00:05:22,509 AGNES: (CHUCKLES) Bye. 102 00:05:28,515 --> 00:05:31,484 CHIP: It's just so cold that I'm gonna call it a night. 103 00:05:31,551 --> 00:05:32,986 I can't win the weather. 104 00:05:33,053 --> 00:05:35,388 The wind's just too cold to drive a nail 105 00:05:35,455 --> 00:05:36,756 through without cracking it up. 106 00:05:37,758 --> 00:05:39,125 So there's tomorrow. 107 00:05:39,959 --> 00:05:41,394 I do indeed have tomorrow. 108 00:05:46,199 --> 00:05:47,200 (WHIRRING) 109 00:05:51,271 --> 00:05:53,740 Well, the first thing I'm doing here is I am taking a board 110 00:05:53,807 --> 00:05:55,575 and I'm going to make it into runners and I'm dividing it up. 111 00:06:02,215 --> 00:06:03,483 You can rely on these to pull up 112 00:06:03,550 --> 00:06:05,184 to a thousand pounds total. 113 00:06:05,251 --> 00:06:06,419 They take quite a beating. 114 00:06:06,486 --> 00:06:09,189 You're going through trails and places that have no roads. 115 00:06:09,256 --> 00:06:10,523 They're not smooth. 116 00:06:10,590 --> 00:06:11,958 They're just bump, after bump, after bump 117 00:06:12,025 --> 00:06:13,926 for hundreds and hundreds of miles. 118 00:06:13,993 --> 00:06:15,962 I'm working on cross pieces. 119 00:06:16,029 --> 00:06:17,564 So as soon as I have my cross pieces done 120 00:06:17,631 --> 00:06:18,932 and I've got seven of them, 121 00:06:19,799 --> 00:06:21,301 I'll start to inlet them. 122 00:06:23,503 --> 00:06:25,205 You go around on snow machines up here. 123 00:06:25,272 --> 00:06:26,606 We go around on boats. 124 00:06:26,673 --> 00:06:28,307 A lot of people seem to think that snow machining 125 00:06:28,374 --> 00:06:31,144 and boating is recreational, 126 00:06:31,211 --> 00:06:32,412 and for us it's not. 127 00:06:32,479 --> 00:06:34,380 It's a machine that meets the conditions 128 00:06:34,447 --> 00:06:36,816 that we have here to be a utility vehicle. 129 00:06:39,719 --> 00:06:41,488 That's a pretty tight fit there. 130 00:06:41,555 --> 00:06:43,056 So when it comes to stuff like this, 131 00:06:43,123 --> 00:06:44,724 this here makes my ride 132 00:06:44,791 --> 00:06:47,994 or my wife's ride or my daughter's ride into a pickup truck. 133 00:06:48,061 --> 00:06:50,029 And nobody sells these kind. 134 00:06:50,096 --> 00:06:51,531 I've got to build them myself. 135 00:06:51,598 --> 00:06:54,066 And they're just a good way to go. 136 00:06:54,133 --> 00:06:55,768 I'm getting close to being done. 137 00:06:55,835 --> 00:06:57,803 The runners are done, the cross pieces are done. 138 00:06:57,870 --> 00:06:59,138 I'm getting the top end done. 139 00:06:59,205 --> 00:07:01,841 It's all good. 140 00:07:01,908 --> 00:07:03,677 GLENN: A lot of my time out here is spent just looking 141 00:07:03,744 --> 00:07:05,212 around the mountains, just watching 142 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:06,546 and then going up on the mountains 143 00:07:06,613 --> 00:07:08,547 looking down at the valley, just seeing what's going on. 144 00:07:08,614 --> 00:07:10,817 So often when I'm doing one thing 145 00:07:10,884 --> 00:07:12,886 another opportunity presents itself. 146 00:07:28,935 --> 00:07:32,539 NARRATOR: Glenn Villeneuve has lived off moose for the past month. 147 00:07:32,606 --> 00:07:34,507 Needing to diversify his diet, 148 00:07:34,574 --> 00:07:36,075 he heads out to the frozen lake 149 00:07:36,142 --> 00:07:37,744 in search of fresh fish. 150 00:07:44,885 --> 00:07:47,053 I can't see the ice under the snow. 151 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,255 I don't know exactly what it looks like, 152 00:07:51,958 --> 00:07:53,860 -how thick it is. -(CREAKING) 153 00:07:54,294 --> 00:07:55,395 Hear that? 154 00:07:58,265 --> 00:07:59,265 Whoa. 155 00:08:00,601 --> 00:08:01,701 It's deeper right there. 156 00:08:05,906 --> 00:08:08,041 That ice is not very thick right there. 157 00:08:08,108 --> 00:08:10,309 I have to be careful of thin ice, 158 00:08:10,376 --> 00:08:12,078 and I have to watch out for overflow. 159 00:08:12,145 --> 00:08:15,448 If I get my feet wet when it's this cold, I could freeze my feet. 160 00:08:16,683 --> 00:08:19,819 It's seven below zero. That snow's insulating the ice 161 00:08:19,886 --> 00:08:21,888 and the warmth of the water underneath of it 162 00:08:21,955 --> 00:08:24,023 is keeping it from freezing very thick. 163 00:08:24,090 --> 00:08:25,692 That's good for putting in holes. 164 00:08:33,032 --> 00:08:35,235 Ice there is about five inches thick. 165 00:08:36,269 --> 00:08:37,337 That's good. 166 00:08:37,404 --> 00:08:39,338 It's easy to get through to put in the lines. 167 00:08:39,405 --> 00:08:42,075 I can put in a lot of lines when the ice is thin, 168 00:08:42,142 --> 00:08:43,877 have a better chance of catching fish. 169 00:08:43,944 --> 00:08:47,781 This is the only time of year I fish through the ice, when the ice is thin. 170 00:08:47,848 --> 00:08:49,916 I'm trying to catch burbot here. 171 00:08:49,983 --> 00:08:52,151 Burbot are a fish that feeds on the bottom. 172 00:08:52,218 --> 00:08:53,519 I'm trying to put the bait down 173 00:08:53,586 --> 00:08:55,655 right next to a bank here where it drops off, 174 00:08:55,722 --> 00:08:57,857 where the burbot may be swimming along the edge. 175 00:09:01,127 --> 00:09:03,129 So that's on the bottom down there. 176 00:09:05,765 --> 00:09:09,102 This cable is gonna get frozen right in. 177 00:09:09,169 --> 00:09:12,271 I'll come over and chip it out tomorrow. 178 00:09:12,338 --> 00:09:14,507 Got my first hole, I'd like to make a lot more. 179 00:09:15,108 --> 00:09:16,542 The more holes I put in, 180 00:09:16,609 --> 00:09:18,878 the better chance I got of catching some fish. 181 00:09:40,900 --> 00:09:42,735 There, that's the last one. 182 00:09:42,802 --> 00:09:44,104 That's good, I got a good chance 183 00:09:44,171 --> 00:09:46,106 of catching something with all those holes out here. 184 00:09:47,540 --> 00:09:48,574 I'm gonna leave them overnight, 185 00:09:48,641 --> 00:09:49,843 come back tomorrow and check them. 186 00:09:50,910 --> 00:09:52,579 Hopefully I'll have some fish. 187 00:09:54,814 --> 00:09:58,184 SUE: A lot of people go remote and they just go crazy. 188 00:09:58,251 --> 00:09:59,919 For me, that tends to happen more 189 00:09:59,986 --> 00:10:03,122 if I go to town and I stay far longer than I had planned on, 190 00:10:03,189 --> 00:10:04,590 or I can't get out. 191 00:10:04,657 --> 00:10:06,192 I call it getting town flu. 192 00:10:12,865 --> 00:10:14,300 SUE: All right. Well, thank you. 193 00:10:14,367 --> 00:10:15,601 MAN: Take care, we'll see you, Susan. 194 00:10:15,668 --> 00:10:17,404 NARRATOR: Sue Aikens has spent several days 195 00:10:17,471 --> 00:10:20,073 in Fairbanks recovering from a foot procedure. 196 00:10:20,140 --> 00:10:23,542 Fully healed, she plans to go home to Kavik 197 00:10:23,609 --> 00:10:26,245 but a massive blizzard stands in her way. 198 00:10:26,312 --> 00:10:27,713 SUE: Flight's been called. 199 00:10:27,780 --> 00:10:29,114 Which means, cancelled for the day, 200 00:10:29,181 --> 00:10:30,616 they're not even gonna keep trying. 201 00:10:30,683 --> 00:10:33,519 My brain is going, "Get home, get home, get home." 202 00:10:33,586 --> 00:10:35,922 I got the gen running, I got the fuel tanks. 203 00:10:35,989 --> 00:10:38,958 I don't know if there's animals running around. 204 00:10:39,025 --> 00:10:40,593 I don't know what's going on. 205 00:10:40,660 --> 00:10:43,162 NARRATOR: With the possibility of being stranded in town 206 00:10:43,229 --> 00:10:44,531 for another week, 207 00:10:44,598 --> 00:10:46,466 Sue's arranged for a bush pilot 208 00:10:46,533 --> 00:10:48,567 to fly her out of Prudhoe Bay. 209 00:10:48,634 --> 00:10:51,036 All she has to do is get there. 210 00:10:51,103 --> 00:10:52,572 SUE: I decided to get a vehicle 211 00:10:52,639 --> 00:10:55,041 and drive the 500 miles up the haul road. 212 00:10:55,108 --> 00:10:56,843 A lot of people call it the ice road. 213 00:10:56,910 --> 00:10:58,811 Five hundred mile stretch of road 214 00:10:58,878 --> 00:11:02,115 that is just nothing but ice, snow, 215 00:11:02,182 --> 00:11:04,083 and some of the worst conditions you've got. 216 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:08,688 "This is the state of Alaska, 217 00:11:08,755 --> 00:11:10,756 "travel advisory's been updated. 218 00:11:10,823 --> 00:11:14,427 "Blizzard conditions, high winds, gusts up to 50. 219 00:11:14,494 --> 00:11:15,828 "Blowing snow, drifting snow, 220 00:11:15,895 --> 00:11:18,297 "poor visibility, less than 200 feet. 221 00:11:18,364 --> 00:11:19,932 "Travel is not recommended." 222 00:11:19,999 --> 00:11:21,968 Well, they don't live where I live, and I gotta get home. 223 00:11:40,753 --> 00:11:43,690 Two days of dangerous driving, it's on the list. 224 00:11:43,757 --> 00:11:47,093 I just gotta strap myself in a seat and get it though. 225 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,129 You know, that's just part of who I am. 226 00:11:49,196 --> 00:11:52,031 I cannot justify staying another week or two 227 00:11:52,098 --> 00:11:54,167 and just saying, "Wow, it's pretty bad. 228 00:11:54,234 --> 00:11:56,535 "I guess I'm just gonna have to take it in the shorts." 229 00:11:56,602 --> 00:11:59,606 My way of thinking is, "Wow, it's pretty bad. 230 00:11:59,673 --> 00:12:03,309 "I better go tame that tiger, get up the road and get out home." 231 00:12:03,376 --> 00:12:06,146 I am responsible for camp. 232 00:12:06,213 --> 00:12:08,347 Camp repre... If I have the camp 233 00:12:08,414 --> 00:12:11,050 and I have a business, then I have a right to stay 234 00:12:11,117 --> 00:12:13,019 and live my life where I wanna live it. 235 00:12:13,086 --> 00:12:17,156 If I lose that camp, I can't afford to rebuild. 236 00:12:17,223 --> 00:12:20,293 I will lose that lifestyle whether I want to or not. 237 00:12:27,233 --> 00:12:30,369 Looking further north, as we approach, 238 00:12:30,436 --> 00:12:31,771 we go further up the road 239 00:12:31,838 --> 00:12:33,739 and we approach the brooks 240 00:12:33,806 --> 00:12:35,508 and the foothills of the mountains. 241 00:12:35,575 --> 00:12:38,077 The closer we get, you've got the fog 242 00:12:38,144 --> 00:12:41,347 and the storm that's blasting the north slope, 243 00:12:41,948 --> 00:12:43,115 hanging out there. 244 00:12:43,182 --> 00:12:45,017 I mean, you're still hundreds of miles away 245 00:12:45,084 --> 00:12:46,386 from where the real action is. 246 00:12:47,020 --> 00:12:49,488 But the storm systems 247 00:12:49,555 --> 00:12:52,725 fan out, filter out, and find their own boundaries. 248 00:12:52,792 --> 00:12:54,794 -I'm going right into the thick of it. -(METAL CLANKS) 249 00:12:59,265 --> 00:13:00,633 Are you fucking kidding me? 250 00:13:05,271 --> 00:13:07,840 I was coming up the pass and... (IMITATES METAL CLANKING) 251 00:13:07,907 --> 00:13:09,475 I mean, it sounded definitely metal 252 00:13:09,542 --> 00:13:11,478 and boom, hit the undercarriage. 253 00:13:11,545 --> 00:13:13,112 And, oh, here's one. 254 00:13:14,113 --> 00:13:15,148 Let's see. 255 00:13:17,584 --> 00:13:19,285 I don't know what it is. 256 00:13:19,352 --> 00:13:20,820 That's got to be the other half. 257 00:13:23,957 --> 00:13:25,591 Some kind of a... 258 00:13:28,094 --> 00:13:30,229 ...joint or a fastener, I don't know. 259 00:13:30,296 --> 00:13:32,632 Brakes or whatever, I'm not quite sure. 260 00:13:33,700 --> 00:13:36,803 Came tumbling off and busted. 261 00:13:36,870 --> 00:13:39,972 So hopefully it ain't important. 262 00:13:40,406 --> 00:13:41,407 We'll see. 263 00:13:42,641 --> 00:13:47,613 So I'm 170 miles from the next destination 264 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:50,183 that might be able to help me out. 265 00:13:50,250 --> 00:13:53,319 And still good to go. I'm gonna go slowly, 266 00:13:55,321 --> 00:13:58,658 make sure I'm not gonna break down. 267 00:14:00,193 --> 00:14:02,662 Go forward, make sure I got brakes. 268 00:14:04,431 --> 00:14:05,565 Yep. 269 00:14:09,936 --> 00:14:13,572 There's two theories, go fast, get there quick 270 00:14:13,639 --> 00:14:15,441 before you have another problem. 271 00:14:15,508 --> 00:14:19,311 Or go slow in case you drop your drive train 272 00:14:19,378 --> 00:14:20,780 and have to make out with the trees 273 00:14:20,847 --> 00:14:23,082 on the side of the road. 274 00:14:23,149 --> 00:14:26,819 Now, if my wheel passes me on one of these sections 275 00:14:26,886 --> 00:14:30,623 then I know it probably was a bad idea to progress. 276 00:14:34,493 --> 00:14:38,597 We are about 50, 60 miles still from the storm. 277 00:14:38,664 --> 00:14:42,802 I much, much, much wanted to be there in the daytime so I could see. 278 00:14:43,703 --> 00:14:45,905 It enhances my comfort level. 279 00:14:45,972 --> 00:14:48,441 You know, it's already darkening 280 00:14:49,009 --> 00:14:51,210 towards night time. 281 00:14:51,277 --> 00:14:54,047 And we're only 2:00-something in the afternoon. 282 00:14:54,114 --> 00:14:57,283 So you've only, you know, tiny little window. 283 00:14:57,350 --> 00:15:01,120 But the further north I go, the tinier that window gets. 284 00:15:03,389 --> 00:15:08,027 You know, you're heading into the long night of winter. 285 00:15:08,094 --> 00:15:10,196 Would have increased my comfort level 286 00:15:10,263 --> 00:15:13,333 just to hit the creepy patch 287 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:14,867 during the light. 288 00:15:14,934 --> 00:15:19,738 That way if I do miscalculate and end up in the tundra, 289 00:15:19,805 --> 00:15:21,774 at least in my brain somebody might pass 290 00:15:21,841 --> 00:15:23,009 and see me sitting there. 291 00:15:25,344 --> 00:15:27,480 GLENN: I live simple and I live close to nature. 292 00:15:27,547 --> 00:15:28,981 I love nature, I love the wilderness, 293 00:15:29,048 --> 00:15:30,683 that's why I live in Alaska. 294 00:15:30,750 --> 00:15:32,685 There's no place left where you can do this. 295 00:15:42,896 --> 00:15:44,897 I got 15 hooks out on the lake, 296 00:15:44,964 --> 00:15:46,866 good chance I caught something. 297 00:15:46,933 --> 00:15:49,368 Here's the first hook, I'm gonna check it. 298 00:15:49,435 --> 00:15:50,803 It's been in there since yesterday. 299 00:15:50,870 --> 00:15:51,938 Hopefully I've got fish. 300 00:15:56,276 --> 00:15:57,776 The water has refrozen overnight. 301 00:15:57,843 --> 00:16:01,014 The hook's down there on the bottom with some bait on it. 302 00:16:01,081 --> 00:16:04,383 I've got to chip it out, see if I got a fish. 303 00:16:16,696 --> 00:16:17,697 Nothing. 304 00:16:18,565 --> 00:16:20,032 Put it back down there. 305 00:16:22,735 --> 00:16:25,137 It's only been one night. I'm just getting started. 306 00:16:25,204 --> 00:16:27,706 Can't be discouraged just 'cause there's not a fish on it. 307 00:16:27,773 --> 00:16:30,843 I'll put it back down in, come check it again tomorrow. 308 00:16:31,678 --> 00:16:32,778 Onto the next hole. 309 00:16:41,554 --> 00:16:42,588 Nothing. 310 00:16:43,623 --> 00:16:44,824 That's the way it goes. 311 00:16:44,891 --> 00:16:48,160 Sometimes the fish are here and sometimes they're not. 312 00:16:48,227 --> 00:16:51,230 It requires patience, like a lot of things, 313 00:16:51,998 --> 00:16:52,999 the way I live. 314 00:16:53,066 --> 00:16:54,133 You have to be patient. 315 00:17:00,573 --> 00:17:01,574 Nothing. 316 00:17:06,279 --> 00:17:07,480 Nothing on that one. 317 00:17:10,750 --> 00:17:12,551 I might catch fish and I might not. 318 00:17:12,618 --> 00:17:14,453 But I won't know if I don't try. 319 00:17:26,031 --> 00:17:29,134 I haven't gotten any fish yet, but that's not surprising. 320 00:17:29,201 --> 00:17:31,170 It takes a lot of patience to find food out here, 321 00:17:31,237 --> 00:17:32,505 it's really hungry country. 322 00:17:36,576 --> 00:17:37,577 Nothing. 323 00:17:40,180 --> 00:17:41,647 This is the last hole. 324 00:17:44,817 --> 00:17:46,685 Nope, no fish. 325 00:17:46,752 --> 00:17:50,456 I have caught fish here at this time of year before so I'm still optimistic. 326 00:17:50,523 --> 00:17:51,791 I'll put it back in. 327 00:17:52,891 --> 00:17:54,860 I'm gonna leave all of these in overnight. 328 00:17:57,630 --> 00:17:59,532 Come back and check again tomorrow. 329 00:18:02,535 --> 00:18:03,936 ANDY: I think everybody in this world 330 00:18:04,003 --> 00:18:05,872 is just trying to make life a little better, 331 00:18:05,939 --> 00:18:07,340 or a little easier for themselves, 332 00:18:07,407 --> 00:18:10,242 a little more comfortable, and that's our goal too. 333 00:18:10,309 --> 00:18:13,412 We just do it in a very different place than most people do. 334 00:18:20,586 --> 00:18:21,654 Haw, haw. 335 00:18:21,921 --> 00:18:25,524 Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa. 336 00:18:25,591 --> 00:18:28,594 Good! All right! That was good. 337 00:18:28,661 --> 00:18:30,521 KATE: Andy's harnessing up the dogs right now 338 00:18:30,663 --> 00:18:34,400 and we're gonna take this boat that we left here this fall, 339 00:18:34,467 --> 00:18:38,937 slap the motor in the boat, and get the dogs to pull it back up to high ground. 340 00:18:39,004 --> 00:18:41,207 ANDY: My boat is in jeopardy right now. 341 00:18:41,274 --> 00:18:42,975 Once the river level starts to come up, 342 00:18:43,042 --> 00:18:45,678 if it overflows and locks that boat in 343 00:18:45,745 --> 00:18:47,145 I'm pretty much gonna lose it. 344 00:18:47,212 --> 00:18:49,081 This is a pretty valuable boat to me. 345 00:18:49,148 --> 00:18:51,450 This is my running in the ice boat 346 00:18:51,517 --> 00:18:53,419 and my real shallow water boat. 347 00:19:04,831 --> 00:19:07,532 The idea is to hook these dogs up to this boat 348 00:19:07,599 --> 00:19:09,435 and have them drag it up. 349 00:19:09,502 --> 00:19:11,337 It's just another one of those things with the dogs, 350 00:19:11,404 --> 00:19:12,939 the more exposure you give them 351 00:19:13,006 --> 00:19:14,940 for doing different types of chores, 352 00:19:15,007 --> 00:19:16,676 the more well-rounded they are, 353 00:19:16,743 --> 00:19:18,010 the more well-rounded they are 354 00:19:18,077 --> 00:19:19,111 the more things you can do with them. 355 00:19:19,178 --> 00:19:20,546 Plus, it's good exercise. 356 00:19:20,613 --> 00:19:24,016 And how many people get to pull boats out with dogs? (LAUGHS) 357 00:19:24,083 --> 00:19:25,350 Get up here and hold the dogs 358 00:19:25,417 --> 00:19:26,886 so that they don't take off, please. 359 00:19:27,820 --> 00:19:28,888 Stay! 360 00:19:29,822 --> 00:19:31,323 I'm pretty good with snow here 361 00:19:31,390 --> 00:19:33,592 but as soon as I make the turn, 362 00:19:33,659 --> 00:19:37,262 the wind's blown a lot of the snow off the trail. 363 00:19:37,329 --> 00:19:40,999 When aluminium hits rocks, it just stops dead. 364 00:19:41,066 --> 00:19:43,669 And it doesn't take much of a rock to stop a boat 365 00:19:43,736 --> 00:19:45,204 or anything that's aluminium. 366 00:19:45,271 --> 00:19:47,340 They... It's like glue. 367 00:19:47,407 --> 00:19:49,041 Tighten up! Let's go! 368 00:19:49,108 --> 00:19:52,078 Let's go! Hup, hup, hup, hup! Hup! 369 00:19:52,145 --> 00:19:53,879 Twenty-eight paw power pulling the boat. 370 00:19:55,714 --> 00:19:57,016 Hup, hup! 371 00:19:58,418 --> 00:19:59,752 Hup, hup, hup, hup! 372 00:19:59,819 --> 00:20:01,087 Come on! Hup, hup, hup. 373 00:20:01,154 --> 00:20:02,621 Come on! Hup, hup, hup. 374 00:20:05,591 --> 00:20:07,593 -KATE: Come on! Let's go! -(DOGS WHINING) 375 00:20:08,260 --> 00:20:09,662 (ANDY CHUCKLES) 376 00:20:09,729 --> 00:20:12,397 It's a wide boat, I had it tipped up. 377 00:20:12,464 --> 00:20:15,067 It probably has ice under it, which doesn't slide good. 378 00:20:16,336 --> 00:20:18,570 And we've got rock and sand here. 379 00:20:18,637 --> 00:20:21,306 Not good combinations for sliding something over. 380 00:20:21,373 --> 00:20:22,708 (BARKING) 381 00:20:22,775 --> 00:20:26,045 Let's go! Good, tighten up. Hup, hup! 382 00:20:26,112 --> 00:20:28,514 Attaboys! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's go! 383 00:20:28,581 --> 00:20:29,615 Hup, hup, hup. 384 00:20:29,682 --> 00:20:31,083 Hup, hup, hup. 385 00:20:31,150 --> 00:20:35,220 Attaboys! Attaboys! Let's go! Hup, hup, hup, hup. 386 00:20:35,287 --> 00:20:37,323 Yeah! Good boys! 387 00:20:38,324 --> 00:20:39,325 Whoo-hoo! 388 00:20:41,661 --> 00:20:42,661 Bye! 389 00:20:43,095 --> 00:20:45,297 Whoa! Whoa! 390 00:20:45,364 --> 00:20:49,068 I had the option of using more dogs to begin with, 391 00:20:49,135 --> 00:20:50,669 but there's no way once they got it going 392 00:20:50,736 --> 00:20:52,071 I'd be able to keep up with them. 393 00:20:53,306 --> 00:20:55,574 So it's kind of a balance between 394 00:20:55,641 --> 00:20:59,545 having enough dog power and having control. 395 00:20:59,612 --> 00:21:03,048 So, and this job's done for the day. 396 00:21:03,115 --> 00:21:05,751 This job's done for the season, actually. 397 00:21:05,818 --> 00:21:09,287 -Yay! Good boy, Cougy. -Hey, Briggus! Briggus! 398 00:21:09,354 --> 00:21:12,524 Good boy, Cougy, you like pets, don't you? 399 00:21:12,591 --> 00:21:15,961 SUE: Kavik, to everybody else maybe it's just a location, 400 00:21:16,028 --> 00:21:19,031 it's a spot on the map, it's a GPS coordinate. 401 00:21:19,098 --> 00:21:21,801 But I have an emotional, visceral 402 00:21:22,701 --> 00:21:24,670 relationship with that place. 403 00:21:38,951 --> 00:21:42,972 One of the benefits of driving this time of the day/night 404 00:21:43,122 --> 00:21:45,057 is most people 405 00:21:46,492 --> 00:21:48,694 would consider this foolhardy 406 00:21:50,162 --> 00:21:53,666 because your vision is impaired, 407 00:21:54,016 --> 00:22:00,706 but I am battling less oncoming traffic around me. 408 00:22:00,773 --> 00:22:03,509 For somebody who doesn't drive but like once a decade, 409 00:22:04,444 --> 00:22:05,611 that's important to me. 410 00:22:05,678 --> 00:22:08,414 I kind of feel like I'm the only person on the planet. 411 00:22:08,481 --> 00:22:11,884 But, yeah, I'm still a long ways away from the brunt of the storm 412 00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:15,721 but visibility is impaired. 413 00:22:17,990 --> 00:22:20,860 NARRATOR: With a blizzard grounding all flights out of Fairbanks, 414 00:22:20,927 --> 00:22:24,496 Sue has 48 hours to drive up the deadly Dalton Highway 415 00:22:24,563 --> 00:22:28,067 to make the only available flight back to Kavik. 416 00:22:35,674 --> 00:22:38,110 SUE: Kind of shimmying a bit here. 417 00:22:38,177 --> 00:22:42,047 So we are now approaching Coldfoot, 418 00:22:42,114 --> 00:22:44,517 which is sort of the halfway mark up the haul road. 419 00:22:44,584 --> 00:22:45,885 Maybe a little bit more than half. 420 00:22:47,619 --> 00:22:50,322 I need to get fuel. It's the one gas station. 421 00:22:52,558 --> 00:22:55,393 You don't really wanna park the car overnight 422 00:22:55,460 --> 00:22:57,829 if the temps are gonna get real low 423 00:22:57,896 --> 00:23:02,334 and let that condensation ice up in your tank. 424 00:23:02,401 --> 00:23:04,870 I made more than 50% of the journey tonight. 425 00:23:04,937 --> 00:23:07,606 And I think the wise course of action is fuel up, 426 00:23:07,673 --> 00:23:09,241 kip out for a few hours 427 00:23:09,308 --> 00:23:11,042 and then hit the road as soon as it's light. 428 00:23:11,109 --> 00:23:14,079 There we go. The rust princess has food. 429 00:23:16,549 --> 00:23:18,651 I still have no idea 430 00:23:18,718 --> 00:23:20,885 what the part was that fell off of the vehicle. 431 00:23:20,952 --> 00:23:23,121 But everything seems to be working all right 432 00:23:23,188 --> 00:23:25,157 so I'm gonna keep risking it. 433 00:23:25,224 --> 00:23:29,095 You know, until it goes tits up, you're doing good. 434 00:23:29,162 --> 00:23:30,763 So that's where I'm at. 435 00:23:35,535 --> 00:23:37,369 GLENN: In the modern world, people don't think about 436 00:23:37,436 --> 00:23:39,204 being so patient to get what they want 437 00:23:39,271 --> 00:23:40,706 because things come a lot easier. 438 00:23:43,075 --> 00:23:45,144 Out here, things come with more effort. 439 00:23:56,388 --> 00:23:58,323 (EXHALES) 440 00:23:58,390 --> 00:24:02,795 It's 17 below zero. Typical for this time of the year. 441 00:24:02,862 --> 00:24:04,830 I'm gonna go check my fish lines. 442 00:24:06,032 --> 00:24:07,966 So far I haven't caught any fish. 443 00:24:08,033 --> 00:24:09,768 I just have to keep looking. 444 00:24:12,204 --> 00:24:14,873 One thing about the way I live out here is that 445 00:24:14,940 --> 00:24:17,376 it requires a lot of patience. All of the hunting I do, 446 00:24:17,443 --> 00:24:18,443 the fishing, trapping, 447 00:24:18,510 --> 00:24:20,646 everything, requires a lot of patience. 448 00:24:20,713 --> 00:24:24,416 It's not uncommon to expend a lot of effort 449 00:24:24,483 --> 00:24:26,485 and not get any immediate result. 450 00:24:26,552 --> 00:24:27,953 There have been years when I've had 451 00:24:28,020 --> 00:24:30,789 lines out in this same area at this time of year, 452 00:24:30,856 --> 00:24:34,059 same set up and caught fish. This year I might not. 453 00:24:34,126 --> 00:24:36,028 You never know until you try. 454 00:24:39,031 --> 00:24:40,099 (GLENN SPEAKING) 455 00:24:48,841 --> 00:24:50,809 Yeah. Nothing. 456 00:24:50,876 --> 00:24:53,178 The life out here's spread really thin over the land. 457 00:24:53,245 --> 00:24:57,983 It's really harsh country and it can't support a lot of life. 458 00:24:58,050 --> 00:24:59,885 It doesn't feel like there's one on there. 459 00:25:05,690 --> 00:25:08,293 When I started I just had a few inches of ice, 460 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:09,828 now it's a foot thick. 461 00:25:09,895 --> 00:25:11,663 That's a huge difference when I'm chiselling 462 00:25:11,730 --> 00:25:13,431 with a hand chisel through that ice. 463 00:25:13,498 --> 00:25:14,833 I'm expending way more calories 464 00:25:14,900 --> 00:25:17,002 than I'm likely to gain out here. 465 00:25:24,210 --> 00:25:25,344 This is the last hole. 466 00:25:27,613 --> 00:25:29,314 My last chance to get a fish today. 467 00:25:37,356 --> 00:25:38,457 My last hook. 468 00:25:39,859 --> 00:25:43,695 Doesn't feel like anything's on it. Nothing. 469 00:25:43,762 --> 00:25:45,464 I didn't catch a single fish. 470 00:25:47,433 --> 00:25:50,702 The ice fishing is never spectacular out here 471 00:25:50,769 --> 00:25:52,504 but I have caught fish at this time of year 472 00:25:52,571 --> 00:25:55,507 with the same technique in the same area. 473 00:25:55,574 --> 00:25:57,209 Right now they're not biting for whatever reason. 474 00:25:57,276 --> 00:25:58,344 I wouldn't know until I tried. 475 00:25:58,411 --> 00:26:00,378 But now that I've tried for a couple of days 476 00:26:00,445 --> 00:26:02,114 and checked the lines and got nothing, 477 00:26:02,181 --> 00:26:03,748 I'm not gonna keep working at it 478 00:26:03,815 --> 00:26:05,017 because it's just a waste of energy. 479 00:26:08,554 --> 00:26:11,289 I'm disappointed I didn't catch any fish 480 00:26:11,356 --> 00:26:14,426 but that just goes with the territory out here. It's hungry country. 481 00:26:14,493 --> 00:26:16,095 Things don't always pay off. 482 00:26:16,162 --> 00:26:17,630 You gotta know when it's time to cut your losses 483 00:26:17,697 --> 00:26:19,164 and move on to the next project. 484 00:26:21,100 --> 00:26:22,367 CHIP: You're gonna work. 485 00:26:22,434 --> 00:26:24,670 You can do it smiling or crying but you're gonna work. 486 00:26:24,737 --> 00:26:28,207 So we put the fun factor into it all and I think it really helps. 487 00:26:41,753 --> 00:26:43,188 (WHIRRING) 488 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:51,229 Well, what I've got here are a couple sheets of plywood. 489 00:26:51,296 --> 00:26:53,799 The plywood is gonna get nailed on the outside 490 00:26:53,866 --> 00:26:55,367 of this right here. 491 00:26:55,434 --> 00:26:57,302 NARRATOR: With winter bearing down, 492 00:26:57,369 --> 00:27:00,572 Chip scrambles to finish his freight sled. 493 00:27:00,639 --> 00:27:02,908 Basically armouring up a sled for heavy work. 494 00:27:06,345 --> 00:27:07,846 Giving this thing some protection because 495 00:27:07,913 --> 00:27:09,981 your sled, especially if a real heavy weight, 496 00:27:10,048 --> 00:27:12,050 and we don't really have a road up here that's clear... 497 00:27:12,117 --> 00:27:14,820 You're always hitting ice and logs, 498 00:27:14,887 --> 00:27:17,355 and snow banks and all kinds of crazy stuff. 499 00:27:17,422 --> 00:27:21,025 Just plain old, frozen concrete hard ground. 500 00:27:21,092 --> 00:27:24,129 And this sheet of plywood gives it some integrity on the outside. 501 00:27:25,730 --> 00:27:27,399 A lot of times I get a couple of years out of a sled. 502 00:27:27,466 --> 00:27:30,001 It will be good for one year and then I'll have a year where it's repaired 503 00:27:30,068 --> 00:27:32,137 and then I'll just have a year where I walk away from it. 504 00:27:38,377 --> 00:27:40,846 There's a division of labour between men and women. 505 00:27:40,913 --> 00:27:42,381 I'm taking care of the new freight sled 506 00:27:42,448 --> 00:27:45,317 and my wife is making a sled bag out of caribou skins. 507 00:27:45,384 --> 00:27:47,619 It will be windproof, it will be warm 508 00:27:47,686 --> 00:27:50,088 and it will fit, because she will make it custom fit. 509 00:27:50,155 --> 00:27:53,358 So right now we're just threading all the needles 510 00:27:53,425 --> 00:27:57,095 that we're going to be using since we have two thimbles 511 00:27:57,162 --> 00:27:58,730 and the girls are looking for theirs. 512 00:27:58,797 --> 00:28:00,232 This is going to be the back. 513 00:28:01,166 --> 00:28:02,701 And it will hang over like this. 514 00:28:02,768 --> 00:28:06,304 But it will be the other way. The hair will be towards us. 515 00:28:06,371 --> 00:28:08,673 The more girls that sew the faster we get done. 516 00:28:08,740 --> 00:28:10,709 It's kind of a large project. 517 00:28:10,776 --> 00:28:14,246 But it's a big skin so it's not too many stitches. 518 00:28:16,648 --> 00:28:18,483 Carolyn, you know to tie your knots 519 00:28:18,550 --> 00:28:20,452 every eight to twelve stitches? 520 00:28:20,519 --> 00:28:22,687 No, but I'm checking it on Qutan's. 521 00:28:22,754 --> 00:28:23,922 TING: There you go, Mary. 522 00:28:23,989 --> 00:28:26,658 -Oh, you can't thread it? -MARY: Yeah, yeah. It, um... 523 00:28:26,725 --> 00:28:28,193 AGNES: It's real important for these girls 524 00:28:28,260 --> 00:28:29,527 to learn how to sew. 525 00:28:29,594 --> 00:28:31,863 It was real important that I learned to sew 526 00:28:31,930 --> 00:28:33,699 that I can pass this on to my girls. 527 00:28:33,766 --> 00:28:35,467 And hopefully they'll be able 528 00:28:35,534 --> 00:28:38,437 to pass it on to their daughters. 529 00:28:38,504 --> 00:28:40,572 I always sew from the top to the bottom. 530 00:28:40,639 --> 00:28:41,807 You always sew from the bottom. 531 00:28:41,874 --> 00:28:43,508 -That's how I always sew. -Like this, this, yeah? 532 00:28:43,575 --> 00:28:45,777 From the top to the bottom. From the top to the bottom. 533 00:28:45,844 --> 00:28:47,579 -IDI: You guys go to your hand? -I always go like this. 534 00:28:47,646 --> 00:28:49,514 Yeah, I always go to my hand. 535 00:28:49,581 --> 00:28:53,018 It's good to know that these girls can easily know 536 00:28:53,085 --> 00:28:55,320 what I'm trying to do and then just jump right in 537 00:28:55,387 --> 00:28:57,889 and help me work on a project and just get it done. 538 00:29:03,562 --> 00:29:05,463 SUE: You're getting by in life or you're living your life. 539 00:29:05,530 --> 00:29:07,633 I mean, what are you going to be proactive about? 540 00:29:07,700 --> 00:29:10,969 A couch potato doesn't take a lot of proactive energy 541 00:29:11,036 --> 00:29:14,106 but surviving in 100 degrees below zero does. 542 00:29:29,721 --> 00:29:31,923 Day two on the road. Kipped out overnight. 543 00:29:31,990 --> 00:29:34,192 You know, I just... The conditions on the road 544 00:29:34,259 --> 00:29:36,928 were such that going up the pass and hitting that 545 00:29:36,995 --> 00:29:40,631 bad storm, no road maintenance. I wasn't into it. 546 00:29:40,698 --> 00:29:44,002 It was late. I needed to get fuel, get a little rest. 547 00:29:45,270 --> 00:29:47,438 I've got some mountain passes to go through 548 00:29:47,505 --> 00:29:49,875 that are just notorious killers. 549 00:29:49,942 --> 00:29:52,411 NARRATOR: Sue is halfway to Prudhoe Bay. 550 00:29:52,478 --> 00:29:55,747 Once there, she'll hook up with a bush pilot and fly to Kavik. 551 00:29:55,814 --> 00:30:00,052 But first, she must navigate the deadliest section of the Dalton Highway. 552 00:30:01,553 --> 00:30:03,988 Looks like he's gonna take your freakin' head off. 553 00:30:04,055 --> 00:30:06,424 I'm looking at the road and I'm thinking, 554 00:30:06,491 --> 00:30:08,427 "How the hell am I supposed to tell what my side is 555 00:30:08,494 --> 00:30:11,296 "without getting sucked off in the ditch?" Hey, buddy. 556 00:30:13,832 --> 00:30:17,569 The road, it's theoretically two semi loads wide. 557 00:30:18,771 --> 00:30:20,672 I can't see that. 558 00:30:20,739 --> 00:30:23,308 There's a tendency just to drive in the centre. 559 00:30:24,609 --> 00:30:25,977 So, like you see that dude doing. 560 00:30:26,044 --> 00:30:27,512 He's driving down the centre of the road. 561 00:30:27,579 --> 00:30:31,983 So you end up with like one semi load and a bit wide. 562 00:30:32,050 --> 00:30:33,251 So when another truck's coming, 563 00:30:33,318 --> 00:30:36,454 I've got to pull off into the snowfield. 564 00:30:36,521 --> 00:30:37,823 And I know there's a ditch there 565 00:30:37,890 --> 00:30:39,358 and I don't want to get sucked into it. 566 00:30:39,425 --> 00:30:40,892 'Cause that's what happens, is you go off, 567 00:30:40,959 --> 00:30:42,728 you hit the soft, and you're just sucked right in. 568 00:30:45,731 --> 00:30:49,334 We are now officially on the north slope of Alaska. 569 00:30:49,401 --> 00:30:53,505 This road way up ahead, that's Atigun Pass. 570 00:30:54,540 --> 00:30:58,209 And it is one mean, 571 00:30:58,276 --> 00:30:59,711 dicey little section of road. 572 00:30:59,778 --> 00:31:02,981 It's just a thin road chopped into the hill. 573 00:31:03,048 --> 00:31:05,884 But on one side or the other, generally you've got a lot of 574 00:31:05,951 --> 00:31:08,419 thousand-foot drops. 575 00:31:08,486 --> 00:31:13,525 So, you know, they try to plough it, but for me 576 00:31:13,592 --> 00:31:17,829 it's a little intimidating. Yeah, it's a little sketchy. 577 00:31:17,896 --> 00:31:21,499 It's a little icy through this portion. 578 00:31:21,566 --> 00:31:25,437 Is Susie scared of much in life? This is a little spooky. 579 00:31:31,243 --> 00:31:33,979 This is a serious stretch of road, man. 580 00:31:34,046 --> 00:31:36,148 Yeah, you're not making me go too far over the edge, pal, 581 00:31:36,215 --> 00:31:38,784 -we've got to share the road. Are you fucking kidding me? -(TRUCK HORN HONKING) 582 00:31:43,355 --> 00:31:45,724 Okay. What happened, I tried pulling over 583 00:31:46,925 --> 00:31:50,328 and that soft shoulder sucked me in. 584 00:31:50,395 --> 00:31:53,632 It's not very far over on that shoulder and you get sucked in. 585 00:31:54,699 --> 00:31:55,967 I know they have the right of way 586 00:31:56,034 --> 00:31:58,036 but do they have to be so big about it? 587 00:31:58,103 --> 00:32:00,639 You know, the trucks passing do make me nervous. 588 00:32:00,706 --> 00:32:05,010 At Kavik, there's nothing out there charging at me 589 00:32:05,077 --> 00:32:07,845 except things that aren't very good. So... 590 00:32:07,912 --> 00:32:11,116 It's kind of nerve racking having people come at you. 591 00:32:24,329 --> 00:32:27,132 Okay, if you didn't have those reflectors there, 592 00:32:28,066 --> 00:32:30,635 you tell me how you're finding the road. 593 00:32:30,702 --> 00:32:32,803 Fuck. Seriously? 594 00:32:32,870 --> 00:32:35,373 I can't tell where the edge of the fucking road is. 595 00:32:38,911 --> 00:32:42,013 Talk about your comfort zone going down to zero. 596 00:32:44,583 --> 00:32:45,950 Would be a hell of a time for whatever part 597 00:32:46,017 --> 00:32:48,253 it was that fell off to become necessary. 598 00:32:52,624 --> 00:32:54,259 (SUE SPEAKING) 599 00:32:58,997 --> 00:33:04,503 So I made my destina... Well, I'm not at my final destination yet. 600 00:33:05,337 --> 00:33:07,305 But I made it to Prudhoe. 601 00:33:08,006 --> 00:33:09,007 Um... 602 00:33:09,808 --> 00:33:13,478 Plan of action is to... 603 00:33:13,545 --> 00:33:16,815 Ermie hasn't pottied in the last 150 miles 604 00:33:16,882 --> 00:33:18,617 so she needs to do her business. 605 00:33:21,019 --> 00:33:22,520 Come on, Erms. 606 00:33:22,587 --> 00:33:24,555 My goal's been achieved this far. 607 00:33:24,622 --> 00:33:27,025 I'm here. I'm safe. I'm tired. 608 00:33:27,759 --> 00:33:29,995 Come on, get in. 609 00:33:32,631 --> 00:33:35,200 And it's time to get to bed. 610 00:33:35,267 --> 00:33:36,368 Kavik, next stop. 611 00:33:37,936 --> 00:33:40,539 CHIP: A long time ago, possessions were a burden, literally, 612 00:33:40,606 --> 00:33:42,206 because you carried everything you owned. 613 00:33:42,273 --> 00:33:44,275 And if those folks could live with everything they owned 614 00:33:44,342 --> 00:33:46,744 able to be on their back, so can we. 615 00:33:46,811 --> 00:33:49,080 You can do so well with so little, it's crazy. 616 00:33:56,721 --> 00:34:00,024 Right here I'm putting on screws to tack this down. 617 00:34:00,091 --> 00:34:01,393 NARRATOR: Chip puts the finishing touches 618 00:34:01,460 --> 00:34:03,095 on his new freight sled. 619 00:34:03,162 --> 00:34:06,030 Soon, the Hailstones will use their sled to travel 620 00:34:06,097 --> 00:34:09,868 to distant places to hunt, fish, and trade. 621 00:34:09,935 --> 00:34:11,836 We waited about three weeks for the lumber. 622 00:34:11,903 --> 00:34:14,639 We ordered it and then it got stored while we waited for 623 00:34:14,706 --> 00:34:16,975 availability in a cargo plane for it to come. 624 00:34:17,042 --> 00:34:20,211 And then it finally did show up after a couple of days and we were pretty happy. 625 00:34:24,315 --> 00:34:25,817 Well, my runners are on straight. 626 00:34:25,884 --> 00:34:27,786 My wife and me have been working on the sleds, 627 00:34:27,853 --> 00:34:29,287 getting ready for dark winter to come. 628 00:34:29,354 --> 00:34:32,590 And she's made a caribou skin bag that is specifically made 629 00:34:32,657 --> 00:34:35,794 for our basket sled for the girls to travel in safely and warmly. 630 00:34:35,861 --> 00:34:37,428 AGNES: Watch out, Qutan, Irene, while we put this. 631 00:34:37,495 --> 00:34:38,630 QUTAN: That's for loads, that. 632 00:34:39,865 --> 00:34:41,533 AGNES: Ah, it almost dried too much. 633 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:43,768 TING: I sewed this side so I get to sit in it. 634 00:34:44,969 --> 00:34:47,305 Wow, I really like it. It's just right sled. 635 00:34:47,372 --> 00:34:49,974 It's not too big and not too small. 636 00:34:50,041 --> 00:34:51,909 It's the exact same type of sled I've built 637 00:34:51,976 --> 00:34:54,412 -for about 20 years in a row now. -(CHUCKLES) 638 00:34:54,479 --> 00:34:57,348 So, yeah. Same measurement, same look. 639 00:34:57,415 --> 00:35:01,119 Same height. Same parts. Same pattern. Same design. 640 00:35:01,186 --> 00:35:02,286 CAROL: Dad? CHIP: I think I've accomplished it 641 00:35:02,353 --> 00:35:04,689 one more time. If you want it, you make it yourself 642 00:35:04,756 --> 00:35:07,125 or you wait a long time to get it, or you just do without. 643 00:35:12,564 --> 00:35:14,932 AGNES: It feels real good to have the caribou pad on the sled 644 00:35:14,999 --> 00:35:17,135 and the kids riding in it. 645 00:35:17,202 --> 00:35:19,070 Now they understand what it was all about 646 00:35:19,137 --> 00:35:20,839 and what process we take to make it. 647 00:35:22,907 --> 00:35:25,977 CHIP: Well, this has been a pretty good fall. It's a pretty normal fall. 648 00:35:26,044 --> 00:35:27,512 We got the projects we usually take care of 649 00:35:27,579 --> 00:35:29,147 at this time of year taken care of. 650 00:35:29,214 --> 00:35:32,216 Now, freeze up is almost over, the ice is a foot thick 651 00:35:32,283 --> 00:35:33,618 and people can make it to Kotzebue 652 00:35:33,685 --> 00:35:36,087 and make it to Selawik, and make it to Kiana. 653 00:35:36,154 --> 00:35:38,656 We can go places. So it's time to bust loose, 654 00:35:38,723 --> 00:35:40,358 we're not stuck at home any more. 655 00:35:40,425 --> 00:35:41,993 Freeze up's just about done. 656 00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:50,702 ANDY: Everybody does it different out here. 657 00:35:50,769 --> 00:35:53,471 Everybody's got to find their own methodology, 658 00:35:53,538 --> 00:35:57,108 their own equilibrium, and their own bush economics. 659 00:36:00,345 --> 00:36:01,346 (DOG BARKING) 660 00:36:04,383 --> 00:36:06,885 Hey, hey, hey. Come on. Hey, hey, hey, hey. 661 00:36:06,952 --> 00:36:10,622 Come on. Come on. Who's gonna go for a run? 662 00:36:10,689 --> 00:36:12,724 Hey, buddy, do you wanna go for a run? 663 00:36:12,791 --> 00:36:14,425 Let's go break some trail. 664 00:36:14,492 --> 00:36:16,394 The challenge for me this time of year 665 00:36:16,461 --> 00:36:18,997 is getting the miles on the dogs early in the season. 666 00:36:19,064 --> 00:36:21,232 My rule of thumb is dogs aren't really in shape 667 00:36:21,299 --> 00:36:23,468 until you get to about 1,000 miles on them. 668 00:36:23,535 --> 00:36:25,970 I need to be able to run 15 or 20 miles a day 669 00:36:26,037 --> 00:36:28,239 to really start getting the dogs in shape. 670 00:36:28,306 --> 00:36:29,340 Okay, let's go! 671 00:36:38,082 --> 00:36:40,985 Given the current condition of the Yukon River, 672 00:36:41,052 --> 00:36:44,122 it's gonna be even more important for me to get trails 673 00:36:44,189 --> 00:36:47,725 in new places where I can run. 674 00:36:47,792 --> 00:36:51,362 Nice and easy down the hill, guys. Nice and easy. 675 00:36:51,429 --> 00:36:53,865 Nice and easy. Nice and easy. 676 00:36:53,932 --> 00:36:56,567 Attaboys. Nice and easy. Good boys. 677 00:36:56,634 --> 00:37:00,037 This is kind of an exploratory trip. I have no idea how... 678 00:37:00,104 --> 00:37:01,806 What I'm gonna run up against here. 679 00:37:03,708 --> 00:37:04,776 Oh, shit. 680 00:37:07,579 --> 00:37:11,549 Ah! Okay. Straight ahead, boys. 681 00:37:11,616 --> 00:37:14,152 Whoa! All right, time for some chain sawing. 682 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:16,087 (CHAINSAW WHIRRING) 683 00:37:19,791 --> 00:37:22,460 The last thing I want to do is get slapped in the face or bust my sled. 684 00:37:22,527 --> 00:37:25,263 So I'm gonna do a little bit of cutting here and clear 685 00:37:25,330 --> 00:37:26,865 some of this brush out of the trail. 686 00:37:27,699 --> 00:37:30,167 A never-ending job out here. 687 00:37:30,234 --> 00:37:33,138 I like taking the time to cut trails out and make them good. 688 00:37:33,905 --> 00:37:35,940 Everybody tries to do their part 689 00:37:36,007 --> 00:37:37,875 locally to maintain trails. 690 00:37:37,942 --> 00:37:40,711 And this is close to home and I'm gonna use it 691 00:37:40,778 --> 00:37:42,280 so I'm the one who's got to cut it out. 692 00:37:44,650 --> 00:37:46,585 I think we're good for a little bit here. 693 00:37:46,652 --> 00:37:47,919 (DOGS WHIMPERING) 694 00:37:47,986 --> 00:37:49,020 (BARKING) 695 00:37:49,087 --> 00:37:52,490 Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! 696 00:37:52,557 --> 00:37:54,292 Hey, hey, hey! Hey! 697 00:37:54,359 --> 00:37:55,727 Hey! 698 00:37:55,794 --> 00:37:58,129 All right, enough of that. 699 00:37:58,196 --> 00:38:01,499 I just had a little bit of a tussle between Cougaran and Shilling here. 700 00:38:01,566 --> 00:38:03,802 They're both brothers but sometimes they just kind of 701 00:38:03,869 --> 00:38:06,170 bump into each other, the other one gets pissed off 702 00:38:06,237 --> 00:38:08,139 and they get into a little bit of a thing. 703 00:38:08,206 --> 00:38:10,341 Just a little bit of a tussle between two brothers. 704 00:38:10,408 --> 00:38:13,945 They don't wanna stand around in harness. They wanna work. 705 00:38:18,850 --> 00:38:21,318 There's no better match in this country than getting out 706 00:38:21,385 --> 00:38:24,355 and living out in the bush and having good dogs with you. 707 00:38:25,156 --> 00:38:26,424 They're great companions. 708 00:38:26,491 --> 00:38:28,959 They just lift my heart whenever I'm around them. 709 00:38:29,026 --> 00:38:30,294 They're always wagging their tail 710 00:38:30,361 --> 00:38:31,762 and they're happy to see you. 711 00:38:31,829 --> 00:38:34,065 That just puts a smile on my face. 712 00:38:34,132 --> 00:38:37,101 Attaboy. Straight ahead. Good. 713 00:38:37,168 --> 00:38:39,004 Straight ahead. Straight across. 714 00:38:39,071 --> 00:38:41,339 Haw, haw. Haw, haw. 715 00:38:41,406 --> 00:38:42,941 Haw, haw. 716 00:38:43,008 --> 00:38:44,008 Good. 717 00:38:45,276 --> 00:38:46,644 Whoa. Whoa. 718 00:38:49,915 --> 00:38:52,383 Well, I think I'm at a dead end here. 719 00:38:52,450 --> 00:38:54,552 I'm really, really nervous when I get on these rivers 720 00:38:54,619 --> 00:38:56,821 and I see this open water like this. 721 00:39:01,560 --> 00:39:03,861 That's why I don't wanna go here. 722 00:39:03,928 --> 00:39:07,031 This is dangerous stuff. Some of this water is deep, 723 00:39:07,098 --> 00:39:09,967 some of it shallow, but it's all fast. 724 00:39:10,034 --> 00:39:13,104 I'm out there by myself, so something happens, 725 00:39:13,171 --> 00:39:14,805 I'm pretty much toast. 726 00:39:14,872 --> 00:39:17,041 There's nobody to come out and help me out there. 727 00:39:17,108 --> 00:39:18,743 I don't think I wanna continue on here. 728 00:39:18,810 --> 00:39:21,846 I think this is a... It's not worth the risk. 729 00:39:21,913 --> 00:39:23,114 I don't wanna go here with the dogs, 730 00:39:23,181 --> 00:39:25,950 I don't wanna come this way with the snow machine later. 731 00:39:26,017 --> 00:39:28,653 I'm gonna have to wait for some 20, 30 below temperatures 732 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:30,889 to start getting this all to freeze up 733 00:39:30,956 --> 00:39:33,491 before I think it's safe to go in this area. 734 00:39:36,128 --> 00:39:38,529 Got a dead end, boys. 735 00:39:38,596 --> 00:39:41,365 You guys are all good dogs, that was good trail-breaking. 736 00:39:41,432 --> 00:39:44,936 Hit a dead end, but it's a good day's adventure. 737 00:39:45,003 --> 00:39:47,071 Dogs had a ball breaking the trail out. 738 00:39:47,138 --> 00:39:48,673 It was good training for them. 739 00:39:48,740 --> 00:39:50,275 Hey! Let's go! Let's go! 740 00:39:50,342 --> 00:39:53,010 Any day you come back from a good, fun dog mushing trip 741 00:39:53,077 --> 00:39:57,148 and all the dogs are wagging their tails, it's been a good day. 742 00:40:00,251 --> 00:40:02,820 SUE: I try to be a good person every single day, 743 00:40:02,887 --> 00:40:04,889 I try to giggle more than I cry 744 00:40:04,956 --> 00:40:07,458 and I have the inquisitiveness of a 5-year-old. 745 00:40:07,525 --> 00:40:11,095 I see no reason to graduate kindergarten. I get snacks and naps. 746 00:40:27,445 --> 00:40:30,181 It's the last little leg. It's the last leg and you get 747 00:40:30,248 --> 00:40:32,850 to go home and see your little Slinky friend. 748 00:40:34,919 --> 00:40:36,888 The winds have died down considerably 749 00:40:36,955 --> 00:40:38,823 so we're gonna go ahead and make a stab at it, 750 00:40:38,890 --> 00:40:40,124 try to get into Kavik, 751 00:40:40,191 --> 00:40:42,126 see what is or isn't happening out there, 752 00:40:42,193 --> 00:40:44,329 how it rode the storm. If it's there. 753 00:40:44,396 --> 00:40:46,164 Hopefully I've got a camp standing 754 00:40:46,231 --> 00:40:48,933 and there's just a few erroneous things that happened. 755 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:50,401 You know, small problems. 756 00:40:50,468 --> 00:40:52,003 But I won't know until I get there. 757 00:40:55,640 --> 00:40:57,708 NARRATOR: Treacherous flying conditions in Fairbanks 758 00:40:57,775 --> 00:41:01,278 forced Sue to drive 500 miles to Prudhoe Bay. 759 00:41:01,345 --> 00:41:02,814 From here, she'll embark on the 760 00:41:02,881 --> 00:41:04,816 last leg of the journey to Kavik. 761 00:41:19,364 --> 00:41:20,397 Okay. 762 00:41:20,464 --> 00:41:21,565 SUE: A storm like this, I mean, 763 00:41:21,632 --> 00:41:23,934 I could have all my buildings gone, they're tents. 764 00:41:24,001 --> 00:41:27,672 The trailers will be there but my tents, my shop, my storage closet, 765 00:41:27,739 --> 00:41:30,375 the Twinkie, the dining hall, that may be compromised. 766 00:41:30,442 --> 00:41:33,344 And landing is kind of a goofy deal. 767 00:41:33,411 --> 00:41:35,046 I'm not there maintaining the runway. 768 00:41:35,113 --> 00:41:37,982 When I can't maintain it, I can't tell you how it is for landing. 769 00:41:46,190 --> 00:41:47,191 (SUE SPEAKING) 770 00:41:52,663 --> 00:41:53,931 (BOB SPEAKING) 771 00:41:55,166 --> 00:41:56,167 (SUE SPEAKING) 772 00:42:08,079 --> 00:42:10,415 (SUE SPEAKING) 773 00:42:12,817 --> 00:42:13,818 SUE: Here, little Ermie. 774 00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:17,888 I think I lucked the hell out. 775 00:42:17,955 --> 00:42:20,524 I do have some drifting and a lot of snow piled up, 776 00:42:20,591 --> 00:42:23,461 but my buildings are up and that is first and foremost. 777 00:42:23,528 --> 00:42:26,197 Come on, Ermie! Where are you? 778 00:42:26,264 --> 00:42:30,068 It's your home! You are home! 779 00:42:30,935 --> 00:42:32,370 It's good to be home. 780 00:42:32,437 --> 00:42:34,438 Just a lot of hecticness that I'm not used to, 781 00:42:34,505 --> 00:42:37,608 just trying to get in. It feels like I've been... 782 00:42:37,675 --> 00:42:40,978 Well, I have been trying for the last friggin' week to get in here. 783 00:42:42,046 --> 00:42:43,481 Definitely a stress ball. 784 00:42:44,281 --> 00:42:45,782 Way better here than I thought. 785 00:42:45,849 --> 00:42:49,120 It must have just been at that 30-mile point right there. 786 00:42:50,388 --> 00:42:52,457 Just like it was driving up. 787 00:42:52,524 --> 00:42:55,459 I mean, it was beautiful until you hit that 30-mile wall 788 00:42:55,526 --> 00:42:57,061 and then it was all hell. 789 00:42:57,128 --> 00:42:59,964 -Well, I'm going back into it. -Well, fly safe. 790 00:43:00,031 --> 00:43:01,465 -See you later. -All right, you big... 791 00:43:01,532 --> 00:43:05,636 Feels good to be home and now I can get back to the business 792 00:43:05,703 --> 00:43:07,238 of being Kavik.