1 00:00:20,043 --> 00:00:22,014 (EXHALES) What, uh, what's happening is I got up, 2 00:00:24,051 --> 00:00:27,491 went out, tossed my old coffee water out this morning, 3 00:00:27,892 --> 00:00:29,763 and there's caribou right across the runway. 4 00:00:29,997 --> 00:00:31,833 Really unusual for this time of year. 5 00:00:31,900 --> 00:00:34,171 Problem is, on this landscape, 6 00:00:34,238 --> 00:00:36,376 there's almost no way to sneak up on them. 7 00:00:42,221 --> 00:00:45,394 They look close, but they are actually 300 yards out. 8 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:49,770 Ah! There they go. 9 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:53,878 (THEME MUSIC PLAYING) 10 00:01:18,293 --> 00:01:19,295 (RELOADS GUN) 11 00:01:21,933 --> 00:01:24,973 That's every bit of 500 yards there. 12 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:26,610 They're just too far out. 13 00:01:28,514 --> 00:01:29,783 What's that? Hello. 14 00:01:29,850 --> 00:01:32,354 I don't see anything that tells me I've injured one. 15 00:01:32,655 --> 00:01:35,060 So now I'll go and see if I can lay up a better shot. 16 00:01:37,699 --> 00:01:38,901 Winter hunting is... 17 00:01:40,470 --> 00:01:41,606 A son of a bitch. 18 00:01:41,673 --> 00:01:44,646 I'm not wearing inconspicuous colours. 19 00:01:45,882 --> 00:01:47,284 This makes noise. 20 00:01:47,351 --> 00:01:49,889 All of these things are... Are not in your favour 21 00:01:49,956 --> 00:01:51,459 when you're trying to get an animal. 22 00:01:51,527 --> 00:01:52,662 They shouldn't be here now. 23 00:01:53,530 --> 00:01:55,501 It's still a month, two months early, 24 00:01:55,568 --> 00:01:56,837 for them to even be here. 25 00:02:02,181 --> 00:02:04,586 Just like I use the foxes to tell me 26 00:02:04,653 --> 00:02:06,222 where the animals are at, 27 00:02:06,289 --> 00:02:08,192 the caribou are using the animals, too. 28 00:02:08,259 --> 00:02:10,664 When ptarmigan go, "Oh, my God!" 29 00:02:10,731 --> 00:02:11,966 And they flock up, 30 00:02:12,033 --> 00:02:14,004 they know to head in the opposite direction 31 00:02:14,071 --> 00:02:15,675 because there's something spooking 'em. 32 00:02:16,075 --> 00:02:17,177 You know, if they're in here, 33 00:02:17,244 --> 00:02:19,114 it's way easier to lay in a plan of attack. 34 00:02:19,181 --> 00:02:20,416 If they're out in the open, 35 00:02:20,483 --> 00:02:22,020 it's just damn near impossible. 36 00:02:23,858 --> 00:02:25,795 The best course of action for me 37 00:02:26,229 --> 00:02:28,066 to have success hunting today, 38 00:02:28,767 --> 00:02:30,538 I'm gonna bag on the caribou 39 00:02:30,938 --> 00:02:32,173 and I'm gonna get the .22 40 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:33,978 and I think I'm gonna go for Ptarmageddon. 41 00:02:34,345 --> 00:02:36,248 I saw so many ptarmigans out there, 42 00:02:36,315 --> 00:02:39,656 that what I need to do is put food in the freezer. 43 00:02:39,723 --> 00:02:40,725 How I do it, 44 00:02:41,226 --> 00:02:43,631 is in the manner I'm gonna be the most successful. 45 00:02:43,898 --> 00:02:46,002 A bird in a hand's worth two caribou in the bush. 46 00:02:48,874 --> 00:02:51,044 CHIP HAILSTONE: There's no social security benefits to this. 47 00:02:51,111 --> 00:02:53,584 There's no retirement to this. There's just death. 48 00:02:54,018 --> 00:02:55,020 That's what I look forward to. 49 00:03:02,702 --> 00:03:04,404 You ladies got your hats and you're ready to go? 50 00:03:04,471 --> 00:03:06,709 -BOTH: Yeah. -You need a mini goggles, too. 51 00:03:06,776 --> 00:03:08,178 'Cause it's gonna be kicking up snow. 52 00:03:08,245 --> 00:03:10,216 But I... We tried to make you a nice little protection thing 53 00:03:10,283 --> 00:03:11,819 so it doesn't just fly straight into your face. 54 00:03:11,886 --> 00:03:13,422 It's prime fishing season now, 55 00:03:13,489 --> 00:03:14,826 and, uh, we just wanna go look 56 00:03:14,893 --> 00:03:17,263 and see if we could find a school of fish 57 00:03:17,330 --> 00:03:20,837 under the ice, so me, Chip, Ting, and Carol 58 00:03:20,904 --> 00:03:23,510 are going out into the new camp at Emonakrov. 59 00:03:23,577 --> 00:03:24,979 This camp down there, 60 00:03:25,046 --> 00:03:26,849 it's a place where we had received 61 00:03:26,916 --> 00:03:28,687 new titles from my grandma, 62 00:03:28,754 --> 00:03:30,557 so, um, we have a tent frame down there 63 00:03:30,624 --> 00:03:32,327 that Chip made this fall, and now that 64 00:03:32,394 --> 00:03:34,198 the ice is thick enough and we can travel, 65 00:03:34,265 --> 00:03:36,870 we're gonna go spend a first night down there. 66 00:03:36,937 --> 00:03:39,207 And hopefully we'll be fishing out 67 00:03:39,274 --> 00:03:41,112 some pretty nice-sized fish. 68 00:03:41,647 --> 00:03:42,815 That's everything, eh? 69 00:03:43,416 --> 00:03:46,088 Uh, I got a couple traps I wanna set down there, 70 00:03:46,155 --> 00:03:47,826 so I was gonna put these on top of my stuff. 71 00:03:48,159 --> 00:03:49,963 You know, since we're gonna be down there permanently, 72 00:03:50,330 --> 00:03:51,967 I figure why not just have some traps 73 00:03:52,034 --> 00:03:53,269 to start to set that way. 74 00:03:53,570 --> 00:03:55,340 And then in, uh, dark winter when I'm here, 75 00:03:55,407 --> 00:03:57,612 I could use that for a roundabout. It just depends. 76 00:03:57,679 --> 00:03:58,747 First what I wanna do is 77 00:03:58,814 --> 00:04:00,250 get to learn that area down there, 78 00:04:00,317 --> 00:04:02,487 see what it has to offer, and then figure out 79 00:04:02,555 --> 00:04:04,626 what time of year I'd wanna be there and, uh, 80 00:04:04,693 --> 00:04:06,563 what it'll, what it'll turn out to be for us. 81 00:04:06,930 --> 00:04:08,166 There might be stagnant times of year 82 00:04:08,233 --> 00:04:09,268 when you don't wanna be down there. 83 00:04:09,903 --> 00:04:11,940 Never know. We don't know. It's like a new adventure. 84 00:04:12,407 --> 00:04:14,311 So, our plan is to just outfit the place 85 00:04:14,378 --> 00:04:16,716 with the proper tools and start testing the waters 86 00:04:16,783 --> 00:04:17,785 and see what's there. 87 00:04:30,611 --> 00:04:32,782 AGNES: This is something I'm looking forward to. 88 00:04:32,849 --> 00:04:34,518 It's, um, a new place for the girls, 89 00:04:34,585 --> 00:04:38,392 but yet a place where I've been all through my growing years, 90 00:04:38,459 --> 00:04:42,602 and, um, I hope these girls will find it their home, too. 91 00:05:01,673 --> 00:05:02,675 AGNES: Wow! 92 00:05:03,910 --> 00:05:05,079 CHIP: Slick, huh? AGNES: Yeah, 93 00:05:05,146 --> 00:05:06,950 -it's on the platform, too? -CHIP: Yup. 94 00:05:07,317 --> 00:05:09,221 How's this sound? About three bends up, 95 00:05:09,288 --> 00:05:10,924 there was a dead moose beside the... 96 00:05:10,991 --> 00:05:12,962 Beside the side of the bank there. 97 00:05:13,029 --> 00:05:14,331 It's kind of frozen into the ground there. 98 00:05:14,398 --> 00:05:15,534 Did you see its ribs sticking out? 99 00:05:15,601 --> 00:05:16,969 -TING: Yeah. -I'm gonna go back there 100 00:05:17,036 --> 00:05:18,306 and go put a couple of my traps there. 101 00:05:18,373 --> 00:05:20,043 Or at least one and maybe one closer. 102 00:05:20,110 --> 00:05:21,411 -Is that okay? -We'll just unpack, huh? 103 00:05:21,478 --> 00:05:22,681 CHIP: Yeah, just unpack, please. 104 00:05:22,748 --> 00:05:23,951 I'll be back in a little bit. 105 00:05:31,232 --> 00:05:32,768 GLENN VILLENEUVE: I don't think this is for everybody. 106 00:05:32,835 --> 00:05:33,970 Unfortunately, there are a lot of people 107 00:05:34,037 --> 00:05:35,440 that aren't doing what they love to do. 108 00:05:48,634 --> 00:05:50,302 I've had this little caribou hanging in the closet 109 00:05:50,369 --> 00:05:51,873 for the last four days thawing out. 110 00:05:51,940 --> 00:05:53,243 It was frozen solid. 111 00:05:53,744 --> 00:05:55,880 Now it should be thawed out enough that I can skin it 112 00:05:55,947 --> 00:05:57,484 and cut it up into smaller pieces. 113 00:05:59,254 --> 00:06:01,926 NARRATOR: For Glenn Villeneuve, hunting is an essential tool 114 00:06:01,993 --> 00:06:03,797 for surviving in the Brooks Range. 115 00:06:04,164 --> 00:06:06,068 And utilising every piece of his kill 116 00:06:06,135 --> 00:06:08,640 is key to maintaining his subsistence lifestyle. 117 00:06:13,283 --> 00:06:14,952 GLENN: This little caribou will have enough meat on it 118 00:06:15,019 --> 00:06:16,523 to feed me for a couple of weeks. 119 00:06:17,290 --> 00:06:18,325 And the hide. 120 00:06:18,627 --> 00:06:19,962 I'll make into a blanket. 121 00:06:20,597 --> 00:06:23,169 It's got a really warm fur, on a caribou. 122 00:06:26,810 --> 00:06:28,847 Every animal is different when you go to skin it. 123 00:06:28,914 --> 00:06:31,686 Some animals require a lot more work with a knife. 124 00:06:31,753 --> 00:06:33,055 Others, like a caribou, 125 00:06:33,523 --> 00:06:34,959 you can tear a lot of the skin 126 00:06:35,026 --> 00:06:36,696 right off with just your hands. 127 00:06:37,130 --> 00:06:38,934 It's actually faster and more efficient. 128 00:06:39,234 --> 00:06:40,738 These are the warble flies. 129 00:06:41,338 --> 00:06:43,910 Those are the maggots, live underneath the skin. 130 00:06:47,017 --> 00:06:48,018 (GRUNTS) 131 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:50,123 There! 132 00:06:50,858 --> 00:06:53,563 There. That'll make a nice warm blanket for my bed. 133 00:06:55,968 --> 00:06:57,904 Cutting it up into smaller pieces, 134 00:06:57,971 --> 00:06:59,909 the legs, the ribs, the back. 135 00:07:00,276 --> 00:07:03,181 Each time I wanna eat something I take it out and let it thaw overnight. 136 00:07:04,117 --> 00:07:05,521 Now, a big caribou will last me a month, 137 00:07:05,588 --> 00:07:07,925 but this little guy here will barely last me two weeks. 138 00:07:08,092 --> 00:07:10,931 One of these shoulders, gosh, I can eat that in a day. 139 00:07:11,298 --> 00:07:12,701 (BONES CRACKING) 140 00:07:15,440 --> 00:07:18,045 I got this little caribou all cut up into small pieces now. 141 00:07:18,478 --> 00:07:20,049 And every bit of it's gonna be useful to me. 142 00:07:20,116 --> 00:07:21,151 I got meat here, 143 00:07:21,586 --> 00:07:23,288 I got marrow in the bones, even in the hooves, 144 00:07:23,355 --> 00:07:25,360 and I got a hide there to make a blanket out of. 145 00:07:25,694 --> 00:07:27,130 I'm just gonna throw some snow over it 146 00:07:27,197 --> 00:07:28,566 to keep the birds off while I go inside 147 00:07:28,633 --> 00:07:29,769 and start working on that hide. 148 00:07:43,897 --> 00:07:45,700 ANDY BASSICH: I'm not real paranoid about predators. 149 00:07:45,767 --> 00:07:47,336 They gotta be paranoid about me. 150 00:07:47,403 --> 00:07:48,807 I'm on the top of the food chain. 151 00:07:50,409 --> 00:07:51,546 You guys wanna go for a run? 152 00:07:51,846 --> 00:07:53,650 Who wants to go set some traps? 153 00:07:54,317 --> 00:07:56,589 Oh, Topaz does. (LAUGHS) 154 00:07:56,656 --> 00:07:57,658 You ready to go? 155 00:07:57,925 --> 00:07:59,294 We're gonna go downriver today. 156 00:07:59,895 --> 00:08:01,465 Now I'm gonna hook up the dogs, 157 00:08:01,533 --> 00:08:02,902 and head downriver, 158 00:08:03,202 --> 00:08:04,438 set some traps for the day, 159 00:08:04,506 --> 00:08:06,675 try and get that done before it gets too dark here 160 00:08:06,742 --> 00:08:09,582 and hopefully we'll catch some little fur, some big fur, and 161 00:08:10,250 --> 00:08:12,988 I can put together a hat and make something up later on. 162 00:08:13,255 --> 00:08:14,257 We'll see how it goes. 163 00:08:14,324 --> 00:08:15,326 (DOGS BARKING) 164 00:08:16,328 --> 00:08:17,330 Hup! Hup! 165 00:08:23,275 --> 00:08:24,277 Straight ahead! 166 00:08:25,714 --> 00:08:27,518 Okay, easy. Haw! Haw! Haw! 167 00:08:27,918 --> 00:08:29,320 Attaboys, easy. 168 00:08:29,387 --> 00:08:31,559 Easy. Easy. 169 00:08:31,626 --> 00:08:32,962 Whoa, easy. 170 00:08:33,462 --> 00:08:35,534 The thing about trapping, you just gotta go out, 171 00:08:35,601 --> 00:08:39,041 set the traps. It's a... It's a big crap shoot most of the time. 172 00:08:39,141 --> 00:08:41,513 So you set where it's likely and then, uh, 173 00:08:41,980 --> 00:08:43,115 it's a waiting game. 174 00:08:45,486 --> 00:08:47,056 Trapping is one of these things that I... 175 00:08:47,123 --> 00:08:49,060 I have a lot of mixed emotions about. 176 00:08:50,463 --> 00:08:52,166 I really don't like killing stuff, 177 00:08:52,835 --> 00:08:56,241 but part of living out here is you gotta... You gotta kill to eat. 178 00:08:56,776 --> 00:08:58,680 And you gotta kill to clothe. 179 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,018 You know, that's, that's a part of living out here 180 00:09:01,085 --> 00:09:02,755 and I've learnt to deal with it. 181 00:09:06,696 --> 00:09:07,731 Okay, everybody, whoa. 182 00:09:08,533 --> 00:09:09,535 Ho! 183 00:09:10,537 --> 00:09:11,672 Ho! Ho! 184 00:09:11,739 --> 00:09:12,975 Good, everybody stay. 185 00:09:13,543 --> 00:09:15,981 So this is probably gonna be kind of deep snow out on the lake here, 186 00:09:16,048 --> 00:09:19,755 but I think it's gonna be worthwhile to go over to that area and try 187 00:09:19,822 --> 00:09:21,492 and get rid of some of these traps. 188 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:24,665 And that way if multiple animals come through, 189 00:09:24,732 --> 00:09:29,374 you have different types of equipment out there to... To harvest those animals. 190 00:09:31,980 --> 00:09:33,783 I got some old tracks right here. 191 00:09:34,150 --> 00:09:35,486 Those are lynx tracks. 192 00:09:36,756 --> 00:09:38,694 Kind of a roundy, you can kind of see... 193 00:09:39,696 --> 00:09:42,934 Right here there's these nice, rounded little pads. 194 00:09:43,603 --> 00:09:48,245 So that's good. I think I'm gonna just walk up into this draw a little bit. 195 00:09:57,931 --> 00:10:00,169 I'll try and set the trap right in here. 196 00:10:10,690 --> 00:10:13,362 When you're working with traps, you always have to be paying 197 00:10:13,429 --> 00:10:15,834 really close attention to where you're putting your hands. 198 00:10:17,170 --> 00:10:19,040 This is the part I always don't like... 199 00:10:19,975 --> 00:10:21,444 Getting my hands in there. 200 00:10:25,152 --> 00:10:26,421 It's a hair trigger. 201 00:10:27,691 --> 00:10:29,427 That's why you don't put your hands in there. 202 00:10:29,862 --> 00:10:31,331 (LAUGHS) 203 00:10:31,966 --> 00:10:35,005 Let's try round two, let's put the paper under, in there first. 204 00:10:35,072 --> 00:10:38,379 What this wax paper does is it keeps the snow off the trigger. 205 00:10:38,546 --> 00:10:42,053 If you don't put something like this over the trigger, it'll just freeze shut. 206 00:10:45,426 --> 00:10:49,200 Yeah, I feel pretty good that at some point in time within the next couple weeks, 207 00:10:49,267 --> 00:10:50,704 something's gonna walk through here. 208 00:10:51,271 --> 00:10:53,409 It might be a fox. It might be a lynx. 209 00:10:53,476 --> 00:10:55,045 Potentially a wolf. 210 00:10:55,112 --> 00:10:57,618 I mean, even a wolverine bounding through here could do something. 211 00:10:57,685 --> 00:10:58,886 So, yeah. 212 00:11:00,022 --> 00:11:03,596 I think I'm gonna set a few snares around here since I'm in this nice tangle. 213 00:11:23,569 --> 00:11:24,771 I'm liking that pretty good. 214 00:11:24,838 --> 00:11:27,210 That makes a nice, tight little hole right there. 215 00:11:27,410 --> 00:11:30,082 Now we just have to do the old adage, time will tell. 216 00:11:30,282 --> 00:11:31,652 So that looks pretty good. 217 00:11:32,688 --> 00:11:34,558 I'll get on out of here and I'll come back, 218 00:11:35,359 --> 00:11:36,796 see if we got something. 219 00:11:40,570 --> 00:11:42,172 CHIP: We're hunters, not farmers. 220 00:11:42,239 --> 00:11:43,676 We chase it down to kill it 221 00:11:43,743 --> 00:11:46,147 and we get instant satisfaction or we get nothing at all. 222 00:12:02,714 --> 00:12:04,450 This here's a dead moose, all right, 223 00:12:04,518 --> 00:12:06,321 that's pretty well-embedded into the river. 224 00:12:06,589 --> 00:12:07,657 It's gonna make a good bait. 225 00:12:07,724 --> 00:12:09,127 Animals will keep coming to this. 226 00:12:09,194 --> 00:12:10,496 This thing's frozen solid, 227 00:12:10,563 --> 00:12:12,432 it's a real big attractor to animals, 228 00:12:12,499 --> 00:12:14,270 and the fact is that dead animals 229 00:12:14,337 --> 00:12:15,874 don't get eaten up in just one day, 230 00:12:16,174 --> 00:12:18,846 and, uh, it's a great bait, so... 231 00:12:18,913 --> 00:12:21,118 It's natural, it's in sight, and I'm gonna use it. 232 00:12:21,686 --> 00:12:24,490 Get the springs set on these guys. 233 00:12:29,835 --> 00:12:31,772 Well, this trigger doesn't wanna fucking move over. 234 00:12:34,244 --> 00:12:35,613 They're not a complicated trap, 235 00:12:35,680 --> 00:12:36,682 but, um, 236 00:12:37,082 --> 00:12:40,021 you've always got everything sliding and bending and 237 00:12:40,322 --> 00:12:43,563 shit moving and it fucking tries to kill. 238 00:12:45,533 --> 00:12:46,535 Well... 239 00:12:46,802 --> 00:12:49,106 It's just a little too tough and my hands are frozen. 240 00:12:49,173 --> 00:12:50,677 Well, these are very thin gloves. 241 00:12:51,946 --> 00:12:53,315 And this metal here is very cold 242 00:12:53,382 --> 00:12:54,818 and it's, like, 3 below right now. 243 00:12:55,452 --> 00:12:58,191 When you're trying to do this, and your hands are cold and you get clumsy, 244 00:12:58,258 --> 00:12:59,628 you're just flirting with disaster. 245 00:12:59,695 --> 00:13:01,097 So I'm just gonna take a few minutes 246 00:13:01,799 --> 00:13:03,536 and get some feeling back in my hands and 247 00:13:04,169 --> 00:13:05,305 carry on slowly. 248 00:13:05,372 --> 00:13:06,809 I've been down this road many times. 249 00:13:06,876 --> 00:13:09,948 I just know it takes patience. I just gotta be patient. 250 00:13:10,015 --> 00:13:11,552 As long as I'm patient, it'll happen. 251 00:13:13,188 --> 00:13:14,791 I'll try it one more time here. 252 00:13:20,069 --> 00:13:21,471 It's getting to be a pain in the butt. 253 00:13:21,538 --> 00:13:22,541 That's okay, too. 254 00:13:24,144 --> 00:13:25,279 Ah, there it goes. 255 00:13:26,649 --> 00:13:27,984 Okay, I got the springs done. 256 00:13:29,354 --> 00:13:31,525 Now let's go over here where we're gonna set this baby. 257 00:13:32,426 --> 00:13:34,163 I think I'm actually just gonna set it in here. 258 00:13:34,898 --> 00:13:36,401 Probably right on top of the hole. 259 00:13:38,839 --> 00:13:40,643 As long as an animal doesn't smell me out, 260 00:13:41,144 --> 00:13:42,346 this sucker's ready to go. 261 00:13:43,983 --> 00:13:45,687 Have some bone shards around. 262 00:13:46,622 --> 00:13:48,225 You know, a little bit of anything, 263 00:13:48,292 --> 00:13:51,163 a little bit of everything a fox or another animal really might like 264 00:13:51,330 --> 00:13:52,333 and that would... 265 00:13:52,567 --> 00:13:53,869 That would be marrow for sure. 266 00:13:53,936 --> 00:13:56,073 And it's already in a well-established hole. 267 00:13:56,908 --> 00:13:59,480 I got one more trap, and I'm thinking, 268 00:14:00,181 --> 00:14:01,819 you know, I'll get one more out there. 269 00:14:03,155 --> 00:14:04,624 I got a double set right here. 270 00:14:05,392 --> 00:14:08,298 When I got a trap going, the trap is hunting all night for us. 271 00:14:08,432 --> 00:14:10,168 When we go fishing, we're actively fishing, 272 00:14:10,235 --> 00:14:12,607 so we can be down there jigging away fishing 273 00:14:12,674 --> 00:14:14,076 and the traps will be right here 274 00:14:14,143 --> 00:14:16,247 waiting for something to come along and try to take a bite. 275 00:14:16,615 --> 00:14:18,451 So I could get a nice predator fur 276 00:14:18,686 --> 00:14:21,124 and a fish meal all at the same time. 277 00:14:21,357 --> 00:14:22,359 It's pretty cool. 278 00:14:23,863 --> 00:14:25,700 I'm gonna leave this one out here in the obvious. 279 00:14:26,267 --> 00:14:27,770 Maybe they'll move over to that one. 280 00:14:28,304 --> 00:14:29,674 That's kind of what I'm thinking. 281 00:14:29,741 --> 00:14:31,410 We'll come back in the morning and check it out. 282 00:14:31,477 --> 00:14:33,783 You know, it's just the first set, first time, first night, 283 00:14:34,050 --> 00:14:35,051 and, uh, 284 00:14:35,385 --> 00:14:36,454 we'll just see how it goes. 285 00:14:50,181 --> 00:14:51,183 GLENN: It feels different 286 00:14:51,250 --> 00:14:52,620 when you're wearing animal skins 287 00:14:52,687 --> 00:14:54,457 and you're sleeping on animal skins. 288 00:14:54,524 --> 00:14:56,461 It connects you to the whole environment out here. 289 00:14:56,528 --> 00:14:57,831 That's what it's all about. 290 00:15:11,224 --> 00:15:14,096 The animals provide a lot more than just food for me. 291 00:15:14,163 --> 00:15:17,236 Hides are very useful. I use animal hides for my clothing. 292 00:15:18,471 --> 00:15:20,342 I use animal hides for my bedding. 293 00:15:21,210 --> 00:15:24,450 There are even certain bones that I use for tools out of a caribou. 294 00:15:24,585 --> 00:15:26,622 This caribou hide's gonna make a nice blanket. 295 00:15:26,889 --> 00:15:28,458 You don't just rip a caribou hide off 296 00:15:28,525 --> 00:15:31,197 of the caribou and start sleeping on it, it's gotta be cleaned up. 297 00:15:31,665 --> 00:15:35,773 There's still fat on here, there are these warble fly maggots that I'm cleaning off. 298 00:15:36,073 --> 00:15:39,146 Warble flies lay eggs on caribou... 299 00:15:40,182 --> 00:15:41,250 In their fur. 300 00:15:41,317 --> 00:15:42,720 In the summertime, when the eggs hatch, 301 00:15:42,787 --> 00:15:45,593 little maggots bore under the skin, 302 00:15:45,893 --> 00:15:49,033 down on the legs usually, and then they migrate up to the back. 303 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:50,636 They're kind of a pain because they 304 00:15:51,371 --> 00:15:53,041 degrade the hide. 305 00:15:53,709 --> 00:15:57,049 Some people find it kind of tedious, but I just have to work, 306 00:15:57,116 --> 00:15:58,485 taking all that stuff off. 307 00:15:58,819 --> 00:16:01,023 You want the hide to last, you don't want any fat 308 00:16:01,090 --> 00:16:03,094 or junk that's gonna be rancid on it 309 00:16:03,294 --> 00:16:05,632 without cutting holes through the hide, that's the big thing. 310 00:16:05,699 --> 00:16:07,469 It's a very delicate operation. 311 00:16:07,537 --> 00:16:11,410 The goal is to get the hide flexible, soft after it dries. 312 00:16:11,477 --> 00:16:14,382 Mostly it's by scraping, sometimes chewing on it. 313 00:16:14,449 --> 00:16:17,055 'Cause what you'll see is you'll actually see it turn into leather. 314 00:16:17,289 --> 00:16:19,159 Like right here, if you just chew it a little bit. 315 00:16:25,973 --> 00:16:28,011 You know, in old days, people used to chew hide all the time. 316 00:16:28,478 --> 00:16:30,048 Saliva actually helps it. 317 00:16:30,550 --> 00:16:32,754 A lot of people don't get to do stuff like this any more. 318 00:16:32,821 --> 00:16:34,323 Everybody used to do this. 319 00:16:34,390 --> 00:16:35,760 Everybody used to work on hides. 320 00:16:35,827 --> 00:16:37,129 That was just 321 00:16:37,196 --> 00:16:38,566 a normal way of life. 322 00:16:38,833 --> 00:16:40,503 It's a special feeling when you've got 323 00:16:41,004 --> 00:16:43,040 your food and your bedding 324 00:16:44,109 --> 00:16:47,416 on a mountain that you can see right out the window while you're in your cabin. 325 00:16:47,551 --> 00:16:49,353 That's what subsistence living is. 326 00:16:49,654 --> 00:16:52,960 It's just nice, it's like doing the dishes, it's like chopping firewood. 327 00:16:53,027 --> 00:16:54,029 Working on a hide. 328 00:16:54,598 --> 00:16:55,766 You see the results, 329 00:16:56,233 --> 00:16:57,871 right in front of your eyes. 330 00:16:57,938 --> 00:16:58,973 Look at that. 331 00:16:59,541 --> 00:17:00,610 Isn't that beautiful? 332 00:17:01,946 --> 00:17:03,582 That's gonna make a beautiful blanket. 333 00:17:04,283 --> 00:17:05,285 I like it. 334 00:17:08,992 --> 00:17:11,665 SUE: It's all good fuel for my personal fire. 335 00:17:11,932 --> 00:17:14,303 Susie gets to keep on burning her way through life. 336 00:17:25,025 --> 00:17:26,394 What I'm gonna do, 337 00:17:28,031 --> 00:17:29,133 is, uh, 338 00:17:29,935 --> 00:17:32,339 I'm gonna go down this way into the riverbed, 339 00:17:33,308 --> 00:17:36,114 and just hopefully fill up my bucket with ptarmigans. 340 00:17:36,815 --> 00:17:38,719 But I know the animals here, 341 00:17:38,919 --> 00:17:40,355 there is a pattern, the sun is out, 342 00:17:40,422 --> 00:17:42,359 they're doing good, we're supposed to get a blizzard, 343 00:17:42,426 --> 00:17:43,428 they're gonna be here and gone. 344 00:17:43,862 --> 00:17:46,000 I'm gonna back up, get in there, 345 00:17:46,534 --> 00:17:48,872 and hopefully have a case of Ptarmageddon today. 346 00:17:49,641 --> 00:17:51,310 Foxy! Coming with? 347 00:17:51,611 --> 00:17:52,613 (MAKES KISSING NOISES) 348 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:53,682 Dum-Dum! 349 00:17:56,053 --> 00:17:59,894 My biggest worry right now is zeroing in on a flock of ptarmigan. 350 00:17:59,961 --> 00:18:03,067 It's one of the only food sources out here for a lot of the year. 351 00:18:03,134 --> 00:18:05,005 You don't exactly see a whole lot of food 352 00:18:05,072 --> 00:18:06,908 running around out here on the tundra. 353 00:18:08,177 --> 00:18:10,282 I got one up over there, I think. 354 00:18:10,349 --> 00:18:11,685 Got a lot more up there. 355 00:18:11,752 --> 00:18:13,488 That whole bush is covered in 'em. 356 00:18:14,123 --> 00:18:15,358 What I see up here 357 00:18:16,060 --> 00:18:18,732 is more ptarmigans, the little white cotton balls. 358 00:18:19,166 --> 00:18:20,168 (COCKS GUN) 359 00:18:28,519 --> 00:18:29,521 (BREATHS HEAVILY) 360 00:18:31,457 --> 00:18:32,760 Hunting's pretty good. 361 00:18:34,697 --> 00:18:35,733 In the end, 362 00:18:36,668 --> 00:18:37,670 you know... 363 00:18:38,739 --> 00:18:42,479 Yeah, I could spend the day going after a caribou. 364 00:18:43,380 --> 00:18:44,416 But right here, 365 00:18:44,985 --> 00:18:48,725 I'm expending energy but I've got instant benefit. 366 00:18:50,629 --> 00:18:52,967 All I'm gonna do is angle back that way, 367 00:18:53,034 --> 00:18:55,739 and if I see something, take some more shots. 368 00:19:02,118 --> 00:19:04,790 It is good to know, where does your food come from? 369 00:19:04,857 --> 00:19:08,130 It is good to know how to be responsible 370 00:19:08,197 --> 00:19:10,569 for your own carbon footprint on this planet. 371 00:19:10,636 --> 00:19:12,640 I know where this ptarmigan's been. 372 00:19:13,174 --> 00:19:14,811 I know what it's been eating. 373 00:19:15,178 --> 00:19:20,021 It doesn't have anything to do with injections, antibiotics and growth hormones. 374 00:19:20,088 --> 00:19:23,427 That's something that I want my grandkids and my kids to be able to do 375 00:19:23,494 --> 00:19:25,265 and then pass on to their families. 376 00:19:33,013 --> 00:19:34,483 So what I'm gonna do, 377 00:19:35,284 --> 00:19:36,320 is try to get... 378 00:19:39,192 --> 00:19:41,497 Try to get the breast and I take... 379 00:19:41,564 --> 00:19:43,969 Put my thumb underneath this portion, 380 00:19:44,403 --> 00:19:45,405 lift it up... 381 00:19:47,844 --> 00:19:49,379 Find that nice little pumper, 382 00:19:50,415 --> 00:19:52,318 toss 'em in, that's a keeper. 383 00:19:52,385 --> 00:19:54,256 And I'll finish cleaning it off inside. 384 00:19:54,489 --> 00:19:56,527 I've got lots of nice little breast meat here, 385 00:19:56,594 --> 00:19:58,732 I'm gonna make myself some soup stock, 386 00:19:59,501 --> 00:20:01,236 I'll get the meat, 387 00:20:02,172 --> 00:20:03,609 I love the little hearts. 388 00:20:05,278 --> 00:20:10,054 I mean, I may take a fair amount of bullets doing it, but I had a lot of fun today. 389 00:20:15,699 --> 00:20:17,537 CHIP: I think I see it as all being really good. 390 00:20:17,737 --> 00:20:20,341 Because even the worst day of fishing is better than being at work. 391 00:20:23,648 --> 00:20:25,118 Whoo, that wind, huh? 392 00:20:25,285 --> 00:20:27,389 Whoo! It's cold out here this morning. 393 00:20:28,591 --> 00:20:30,595 It ain't so cold as it is the wind, girls. 394 00:20:31,931 --> 00:20:34,102 If I were you, I would just stay inside and work in there, 395 00:20:34,169 --> 00:20:37,008 'cause your hands are gonna get chilly out here. 396 00:20:37,075 --> 00:20:38,244 AGNES: Is there a wind? 397 00:20:38,410 --> 00:20:39,914 CHIP: There's a wind for sure. 398 00:20:40,448 --> 00:20:41,918 It's, uh, it's cold. 399 00:20:43,154 --> 00:20:44,757 This morning's just starting. 400 00:20:45,391 --> 00:20:46,595 Had some coffee, 401 00:20:47,062 --> 00:20:50,401 and right now I'm gonna gas up and make sure that the ladies can 402 00:20:50,769 --> 00:20:52,239 do a little bit of fishing out here. 403 00:20:52,306 --> 00:20:54,276 They're getting some fish jiggers put together. 404 00:20:54,343 --> 00:20:55,946 We came down here to see what the fishing's like. 405 00:20:56,013 --> 00:20:58,317 We don't know how good it'll be or how good it won't be. 406 00:20:58,652 --> 00:21:00,856 But, um, you don't know till you try. 407 00:21:06,300 --> 00:21:08,070 (MACHINE BUZZING) 408 00:21:08,437 --> 00:21:10,274 I know the channel's fairly deep right here, 409 00:21:10,341 --> 00:21:12,345 and, uh, since we got a new camp going on here, 410 00:21:12,846 --> 00:21:15,586 the best thing we can do right now is find out what resources there are. 411 00:21:16,053 --> 00:21:17,956 The only thing up against us today is this wind. 412 00:21:18,992 --> 00:21:21,631 If the wind gets stronger, we might not fish long. 413 00:21:21,698 --> 00:21:24,637 You just simply get chilled sitting still jigging, you know, in the wind. 414 00:21:24,704 --> 00:21:25,906 But, we'll see. 415 00:21:36,561 --> 00:21:38,331 This is basically what we call a jigger. 416 00:21:38,398 --> 00:21:39,900 I'm gonna sit there and put this through the hole 417 00:21:39,967 --> 00:21:41,905 and I'm gonna jig it up and down in the hole. 418 00:21:42,239 --> 00:21:44,644 The folks up here have been using these things for thousands of years. 419 00:21:44,911 --> 00:21:47,115 They don't have any fancy spinning device to break. 420 00:21:47,182 --> 00:21:48,885 Don't have any eyelets to go through. 421 00:21:48,952 --> 00:21:50,889 The method is to just jigger up and down. 422 00:21:51,858 --> 00:21:52,993 Any luck yet? 423 00:21:53,060 --> 00:21:54,830 CHIP: (LAUGHS) Just got it wet. 424 00:21:56,968 --> 00:21:58,337 Hey, babe. You look ready. 425 00:21:59,573 --> 00:22:01,276 It's nice to come down here and, uh, 426 00:22:01,343 --> 00:22:04,884 check out the new properties we acquired. 427 00:22:05,118 --> 00:22:08,457 The time to go fishing is now, so, uh, except for the wind, 428 00:22:08,524 --> 00:22:10,395 it just started to get a little breezy here, 429 00:22:10,462 --> 00:22:14,402 and these rivers has never failed my mother and her mother, 430 00:22:14,469 --> 00:22:17,743 so I don't see why they should fail me and my girls. 431 00:22:17,810 --> 00:22:19,513 CHIP: And just keep it moving. Just gently. 432 00:22:19,580 --> 00:22:21,551 And when you feel a weight, then you really have to lift. 433 00:22:22,052 --> 00:22:23,053 Just keep it moving. 434 00:22:23,755 --> 00:22:26,995 AGNES: And not make movement by your hole too much. 435 00:22:27,062 --> 00:22:28,097 No. 436 00:22:29,266 --> 00:22:32,673 I'm just pretty much just taking some of the, um, 437 00:22:33,140 --> 00:22:38,150 snow away from her ice so the snow don't just keep filling her ice hole, 438 00:22:38,217 --> 00:22:42,258 so we just try to pile it up and make a little wind block. 439 00:22:43,060 --> 00:22:46,199 Keeps us a lot warmer that way while we're standing here. 440 00:22:48,805 --> 00:22:49,840 CHIP: You feel something? 441 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:55,618 Don't be too discouraged if we don't come up with nothing here. 442 00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:58,457 That's why it's called fishing, Bun, not catching. 443 00:22:58,525 --> 00:23:01,463 AGNES: Fishing takes a lot of time once you get under the ice, 444 00:23:01,531 --> 00:23:03,333 and then you sit here for hours and hours, 445 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:06,841 and sometimes days and days just, um, jigging. 446 00:23:06,908 --> 00:23:10,047 We're just gonna give it a try and see how our luck is. 447 00:23:11,116 --> 00:23:12,719 CHIP: This wind is picking up, ladies. 448 00:23:12,786 --> 00:23:14,055 AGNES: Yes, it is. 449 00:23:14,824 --> 00:23:16,561 Come on, fish! 450 00:23:21,003 --> 00:23:22,939 GLENN: I was looking all over the world 451 00:23:23,006 --> 00:23:25,579 for a place to kind of live close to nature like this and I ended up, up here. 452 00:23:30,656 --> 00:23:32,826 I have to keep hunting. And the caribou are around us. 453 00:23:32,893 --> 00:23:34,495 I've seen signs of them, I've seen a few caribou 454 00:23:34,563 --> 00:23:35,965 just a couple days ago across the lake, 455 00:23:36,032 --> 00:23:37,301 so I'm gonna keep hunting today. 456 00:23:38,003 --> 00:23:40,274 Go out there and see if I can connect with another caribou. 457 00:23:41,042 --> 00:23:43,681 Whenever I'm hunting for caribou, I start right at home. 458 00:23:43,748 --> 00:23:46,386 I'm always watching, right here from the front yard. 459 00:23:46,453 --> 00:23:49,258 Right from the lake just in front of my camp, I get a good view. 460 00:23:49,325 --> 00:23:52,231 I can look all around and see if there are any caribou to go after. 461 00:23:52,298 --> 00:23:54,335 If I can't find any caribou from here, 462 00:23:54,402 --> 00:23:55,905 then I have to walk further and look. 463 00:23:55,972 --> 00:23:58,110 But I always start looking right here in my yard. 464 00:23:59,980 --> 00:24:01,483 I like to keep my hood down as much as I can 465 00:24:01,551 --> 00:24:03,119 just so I can see better and hear better, 466 00:24:03,186 --> 00:24:05,558 but right now, it's about 50 below. 467 00:24:05,625 --> 00:24:07,529 And that's extremely cold. 468 00:24:07,596 --> 00:24:10,602 It's cold weather to hunt in but I can hunt in these temperatures when I have to. 469 00:24:11,336 --> 00:24:13,173 There I see some caribou tracks. 470 00:24:13,608 --> 00:24:16,714 They're real hard to make out because of this flat grey light. 471 00:24:16,781 --> 00:24:18,785 The sun isn't up above the horizon yet. 472 00:24:19,754 --> 00:24:22,593 If I keep looking I might find the caribou themselves. 473 00:24:24,262 --> 00:24:26,032 Two important things to know about caribou. 474 00:24:26,099 --> 00:24:27,268 They're gregarious, 475 00:24:27,335 --> 00:24:29,172 if you find one, you'll often find others. 476 00:24:29,507 --> 00:24:31,309 And they're long-distance migrators, 477 00:24:31,376 --> 00:24:34,148 they travel hundreds and hundreds of miles over the course of the year. 478 00:24:34,550 --> 00:24:36,019 So just because you see caribou, 479 00:24:36,086 --> 00:24:37,589 doesn't mean they're gonna be here tomorrow. 480 00:24:37,656 --> 00:24:39,827 You gotta take advantage of opportunities when they come. 481 00:24:42,833 --> 00:24:44,936 You can never have too much meat out here. 482 00:24:45,003 --> 00:24:47,809 You got a couple months of meat stored up on the cache, 483 00:24:48,343 --> 00:24:51,617 but two months later, there might not be a caribou in sight. 484 00:24:52,085 --> 00:24:53,353 Or anything else to eat. 485 00:24:58,565 --> 00:25:01,671 I don't see any caribou on these mountains that I can see from this spot. 486 00:25:02,940 --> 00:25:04,976 There are a lot of places I can't see from here. 487 00:25:05,177 --> 00:25:06,713 If there are caribou in the forests 488 00:25:06,780 --> 00:25:09,118 or if there are caribou on other lakes down the valley, 489 00:25:09,418 --> 00:25:11,757 I won't know unless I walk down there and look. 490 00:25:26,219 --> 00:25:27,522 I think I see some. 491 00:25:28,658 --> 00:25:30,427 Hey, caribou! Caribou! 492 00:25:37,007 --> 00:25:38,076 (GLENN SPEAKING) 493 00:25:40,014 --> 00:25:41,650 It's not. But there are caribou around. 494 00:25:41,717 --> 00:25:43,320 I've seen caribou tracks already, 495 00:25:43,387 --> 00:25:45,257 but I'm gonna go a little further along on the edge of the lake. 496 00:25:47,361 --> 00:25:48,363 Look at this. 497 00:25:51,571 --> 00:25:54,475 These are caribou tracks and they're fairly fresh. 498 00:25:55,679 --> 00:25:57,481 By looking at the tracks, 499 00:25:57,549 --> 00:25:58,651 the feeling of 'em... 500 00:26:00,221 --> 00:26:01,323 I can get an idea 501 00:26:02,191 --> 00:26:04,062 about which way these caribou are moving. 502 00:26:04,395 --> 00:26:06,199 When I see some tracks like this, it's exciting, 503 00:26:06,266 --> 00:26:08,069 'cause I know the caribou are moving through this area. 504 00:26:08,136 --> 00:26:09,472 There's still caribou around. 505 00:26:10,041 --> 00:26:14,683 But, I also know that caribou move a long ways in a short time. 506 00:26:14,950 --> 00:26:17,789 And the chance of me catching up with these caribou right here is minimal, 507 00:26:17,856 --> 00:26:19,392 so I'm not gonna follow them. 508 00:26:19,459 --> 00:26:20,995 I'm gonna continue along the lake. 509 00:26:21,062 --> 00:26:24,135 They're long-distance migrators, and there are times 510 00:26:24,202 --> 00:26:25,839 when there are caribou passing through the valley 511 00:26:25,906 --> 00:26:27,474 and then times where months will go by 512 00:26:27,542 --> 00:26:29,011 and there are no caribou at all in the valley, 513 00:26:29,078 --> 00:26:32,218 so this is encouraging to see that there are caribou around. 514 00:26:32,285 --> 00:26:35,491 So, I'm gonna keep going, see what I find up ahead. 515 00:26:41,837 --> 00:26:43,439 CHIP: It's really cool getting things done 516 00:26:43,507 --> 00:26:45,745 in the same way people have been doing for thousands of years, 517 00:26:45,812 --> 00:26:47,281 simply because it's abundant, 518 00:26:47,348 --> 00:26:49,820 it's there, it's healthy and it's the right thing to do. 519 00:26:57,201 --> 00:26:58,704 AGNES: Did you all's get nibbles? 520 00:26:59,674 --> 00:27:01,410 No nibbles? Darn! 521 00:27:02,245 --> 00:27:03,848 Here, Agnes. Why don't you take this one? 522 00:27:03,915 --> 00:27:05,351 I'm gonna jump on the snow machine 523 00:27:05,552 --> 00:27:06,887 and I'm gonna go check that trap. 524 00:27:06,954 --> 00:27:08,490 We got about half an hour of sunlight. 525 00:27:08,558 --> 00:27:10,194 And the wind is really picking up. 526 00:27:12,832 --> 00:27:14,937 That's quite possible. We'll go see. 527 00:27:15,170 --> 00:27:16,940 Anyway, I'll be back in about a half-hour. 528 00:27:17,007 --> 00:27:18,042 Before sundown. 529 00:27:18,443 --> 00:27:19,813 I hope you guys catch something. 530 00:27:22,017 --> 00:27:25,423 NARRATOR: The Hailstones are spending their first day at the new camp in Emonakrov, 531 00:27:25,490 --> 00:27:27,428 to harvest the area's resources. 532 00:27:27,896 --> 00:27:30,936 While Agnes and the girls look for sheefish under the ice, 533 00:27:31,336 --> 00:27:32,772 Chip must check his traps 534 00:27:32,839 --> 00:27:35,878 before the sun sets and conditions become dangerous. 535 00:27:35,945 --> 00:27:38,918 Well, the sun's gonna be going down in about half-hour, 45 minutes, 536 00:27:38,985 --> 00:27:41,122 and I've got a couple of traps set about 537 00:27:41,189 --> 00:27:43,762 a couple miles away from here on a dead moose carcass. 538 00:27:44,028 --> 00:27:45,296 The wind is really picking up, 539 00:27:45,497 --> 00:27:47,067 and these ladies are continuing to fish 540 00:27:47,134 --> 00:27:49,338 but, um, right now it's probably zero, 541 00:27:49,405 --> 00:27:52,779 but the wind is picking up like 15 with gusting to 20, 25. 542 00:27:52,846 --> 00:27:55,985 And it makes it a little too cold to wanna stick around, so... 543 00:27:56,353 --> 00:27:58,757 So if that's the case, you know, we wanna keep it enjoyable. 544 00:27:58,824 --> 00:28:00,929 We'll just go home. It's an hour-and-a-half from here. 545 00:28:25,410 --> 00:28:27,882 Well, we got one trap that's sprung 546 00:28:27,949 --> 00:28:30,053 and another trap that has the safeties on it. 547 00:28:30,822 --> 00:28:32,659 I don't really understand what happened here. 548 00:28:34,730 --> 00:28:36,199 Now, this one was set off. 549 00:28:37,401 --> 00:28:39,038 I don't know what snapped it off. 550 00:28:39,105 --> 00:28:41,643 I would assume either a weasel or something smaller than this trap 551 00:28:41,877 --> 00:28:43,179 to set this trap off. 552 00:28:43,547 --> 00:28:45,316 But this one I don't understand at all. 553 00:28:45,818 --> 00:28:48,858 Oh, well. It's not for me to understand everything in this world. 554 00:28:48,925 --> 00:28:52,799 The fact is, I set these, I probably almost had something. 555 00:28:53,467 --> 00:28:54,803 I couldn't tell you what the tracks are 556 00:28:54,870 --> 00:28:57,341 because the wind is blowing in a ground storm right now, 557 00:28:57,642 --> 00:28:58,778 and it's starting to fill in, 558 00:28:59,145 --> 00:29:00,915 and even if I left these traps here, 559 00:29:01,149 --> 00:29:02,752 set, they would fill in. 560 00:29:03,353 --> 00:29:06,059 And I would probably not catch anything, so... 561 00:29:07,261 --> 00:29:08,698 Well, basically, the sun's going down, 562 00:29:08,765 --> 00:29:10,434 so I'm gonna go home and see what kind of decision 563 00:29:10,502 --> 00:29:13,473 the ladies have made. They might wanna, um, stay another night here 564 00:29:13,541 --> 00:29:16,045 if the fishing's any good right now or they might wanna go home. 565 00:29:16,479 --> 00:29:19,085 Me myself, I'm, uh, I'm gonna take these traps with me. 566 00:29:19,152 --> 00:29:20,721 If the ladies wanna stay the night out, 567 00:29:20,821 --> 00:29:22,390 maybe I'll put 'em in a different location 568 00:29:22,457 --> 00:29:24,161 or maybe I'll put 'em back here again. 569 00:29:24,228 --> 00:29:27,000 But for myself, I just gave it a try. 570 00:29:41,964 --> 00:29:43,399 ANDY: I try and keep positive. 571 00:29:43,466 --> 00:29:45,470 Positive thoughts bring positive results. 572 00:29:46,673 --> 00:29:48,042 -All right. -(DOGS BARKING) 573 00:29:48,544 --> 00:29:49,613 (LAUGHS) 574 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:52,753 Oh, boy. Let's go check traps. 575 00:29:53,386 --> 00:29:55,925 I've had traps out for a few days now and... 576 00:29:56,694 --> 00:29:58,697 And hook up the dogs. I've got a fairly good day, 577 00:29:58,764 --> 00:30:01,102 it's kind of socked in a little bit, but not too bad. 578 00:30:02,271 --> 00:30:04,008 We'll go see if we can find some fur! 579 00:30:04,643 --> 00:30:05,645 Come on, Foge. 580 00:30:06,445 --> 00:30:07,949 (DOGS BARKING AND WHINING) 581 00:30:10,353 --> 00:30:11,389 Hup! 582 00:30:13,661 --> 00:30:14,763 Attaboy, Carb. 583 00:30:23,981 --> 00:30:25,183 I never get tired 584 00:30:25,250 --> 00:30:27,689 just walking through these open woods like this. 585 00:30:28,389 --> 00:30:29,926 This is beautiful back in here. 586 00:30:29,993 --> 00:30:32,197 Even if you don't catch any fur, you... 587 00:30:32,264 --> 00:30:33,499 You kind of feel like... 588 00:30:34,703 --> 00:30:37,976 You've had a really nice experience in the woods. 589 00:30:39,478 --> 00:30:41,816 All right. Let's go see if we got anything. 590 00:30:42,685 --> 00:30:44,990 That almost looks like a place where the lynx were 591 00:30:45,257 --> 00:30:47,629 chasing after rabbit. 592 00:30:50,300 --> 00:30:53,306 You gotta have the prey if you wanna get the predators. 593 00:30:58,082 --> 00:31:00,554 Well, it doesn't look like anything in this Conibear. 594 00:31:02,257 --> 00:31:04,027 That's kind of disappointing. 595 00:31:04,094 --> 00:31:05,798 Everything I do out here is just, 596 00:31:05,931 --> 00:31:07,467 a little bit here, a little bit there, 597 00:31:07,535 --> 00:31:09,773 a little bit over here to make this life. 598 00:31:12,879 --> 00:31:14,916 You don't make your living all on one thing 599 00:31:15,483 --> 00:31:17,353 but if you lose one of those components 600 00:31:17,420 --> 00:31:19,324 it can really impact your life a lot. 601 00:31:19,992 --> 00:31:21,495 Looks like I'm skunked again. 602 00:31:22,965 --> 00:31:24,334 No marten in this one. 603 00:31:24,401 --> 00:31:27,007 No fresh tracks around, no critters in the traps 604 00:31:27,074 --> 00:31:28,109 and, uh, 605 00:31:28,744 --> 00:31:31,583 it's a little demoralising, a little frustrating, but 606 00:31:32,251 --> 00:31:33,821 I just have to go to the next place 607 00:31:33,888 --> 00:31:36,492 and hopefully I'll get a little bit of fur, but... 608 00:31:37,394 --> 00:31:38,931 That's the game this is. 609 00:31:38,998 --> 00:31:41,335 Let's go check the rest of the trap line, guys. 610 00:31:42,304 --> 00:31:43,640 Ho! Let's go! 611 00:31:46,345 --> 00:31:47,414 Easy. 612 00:31:48,149 --> 00:31:49,184 Easy. 613 00:31:49,752 --> 00:31:50,754 Easy. 614 00:31:51,155 --> 00:31:53,025 Easy. Ho, ho. 615 00:31:53,092 --> 00:31:54,830 I'm coming up to an area that 616 00:31:55,330 --> 00:31:56,633 I've got quite a few sets... 617 00:31:56,700 --> 00:31:59,371 Couple of marten sets and a wolverine set. 618 00:31:59,438 --> 00:32:01,610 Ah, these guys are picking up. They smell something. 619 00:32:01,943 --> 00:32:03,514 You guys smell something, huh? 620 00:32:04,047 --> 00:32:05,182 Ho, ho, ho! 621 00:32:05,249 --> 00:32:06,318 Hey. Look at that. 622 00:32:07,087 --> 00:32:08,022 Yee-haw. 623 00:32:09,058 --> 00:32:10,427 Got a little bit of fur! 624 00:32:11,395 --> 00:32:12,431 Everybody stay. 625 00:32:12,965 --> 00:32:13,967 All right. 626 00:32:14,703 --> 00:32:15,905 We've got some fur. 627 00:32:16,974 --> 00:32:18,242 Nice little marten. 628 00:32:19,278 --> 00:32:21,783 He's not a giant but I'll take it. 629 00:32:23,854 --> 00:32:24,956 Yeah. 630 00:32:26,125 --> 00:32:28,496 Well, that made my day. 631 00:32:28,564 --> 00:32:30,132 I was beginning to get pretty... 632 00:32:30,867 --> 00:32:33,440 Pretty bummed out here not catching anything, 633 00:32:33,507 --> 00:32:36,913 so... At least we got one. Right, Shilling? 634 00:32:39,552 --> 00:32:40,554 Hup! 635 00:32:43,526 --> 00:32:44,562 Let's go, boys. 636 00:32:46,733 --> 00:32:48,336 Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa. 637 00:32:49,104 --> 00:32:51,075 We almost missed that one, you guys. 638 00:32:51,275 --> 00:32:52,277 All right. 639 00:32:52,845 --> 00:32:53,881 Number two. 640 00:32:55,818 --> 00:32:57,487 Bush economics trip was... (CHUCKLES) 641 00:32:57,555 --> 00:32:59,592 ...looking pretty poor 642 00:32:59,659 --> 00:33:01,830 but it's starting to pick up a little bit. 643 00:33:04,902 --> 00:33:06,472 Yeah, boys! 644 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:08,376 (CHUCKLES) 645 00:33:08,977 --> 00:33:09,979 There we go. 646 00:33:10,380 --> 00:33:11,683 I'm liking this day. 647 00:33:13,920 --> 00:33:15,156 Feast to famine. 648 00:33:16,559 --> 00:33:17,594 Oh, yeah. 649 00:33:17,661 --> 00:33:19,331 Hey, that's a nice-size marten, too. 650 00:33:20,668 --> 00:33:22,237 That's two on the bottom and... 651 00:33:23,339 --> 00:33:24,676 That guy's a nice-sized marten. 652 00:33:24,743 --> 00:33:27,180 He barely fits in my tote. 653 00:33:27,247 --> 00:33:29,952 Turn around and head on home and 654 00:33:31,088 --> 00:33:34,094 get these marten thawed out and do some skinning. 655 00:33:34,596 --> 00:33:36,933 Won't be able to do that tonight, they're all frozen. 656 00:33:37,601 --> 00:33:39,338 All in all, this was a good effort. 657 00:33:40,039 --> 00:33:41,475 That's life in the wilderness. 658 00:33:41,543 --> 00:33:42,545 (LAUGHS) 659 00:33:43,412 --> 00:33:44,414 All right. 660 00:33:46,686 --> 00:33:47,922 Let's go home, boys! 661 00:33:51,295 --> 00:33:52,297 Ho! 662 00:33:54,468 --> 00:33:57,608 SUE: You achieve success by jumping back on that horse 663 00:33:57,908 --> 00:33:59,879 not by selling it and buying a kitten. 664 00:34:11,837 --> 00:34:13,707 Hunting is a part of what I do 665 00:34:13,774 --> 00:34:17,413 and it's a very important part of my lifestyle. 666 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:19,953 However, it does not define me. 667 00:34:20,020 --> 00:34:21,288 I need the food 668 00:34:21,589 --> 00:34:23,994 but I don't lose sight of saying, "Thank you, birdies." 669 00:34:24,662 --> 00:34:25,698 Without them... 670 00:34:26,967 --> 00:34:27,968 I wouldn't be here. 671 00:34:31,441 --> 00:34:32,645 Some spices. 672 00:34:33,614 --> 00:34:35,717 I'm gonna let 'em just kind of marinate. 673 00:34:36,084 --> 00:34:38,724 I put the spices on 'em, I put the oil on 'em, 674 00:34:39,091 --> 00:34:42,196 and I am going to cover up those ptarmigan breasts, 675 00:34:43,165 --> 00:34:46,105 let all those spices make out with the meat... 676 00:34:47,407 --> 00:34:49,377 So that that flavour soaks in. 677 00:34:49,645 --> 00:34:51,749 Today was just a really good day. 678 00:34:51,816 --> 00:34:53,219 I went after the caribou, 679 00:34:53,286 --> 00:34:55,122 didn't get 'em, 680 00:34:55,189 --> 00:34:57,661 but in the process of trying to get the caribou, I saw all the ptarmigan. 681 00:34:57,728 --> 00:34:59,097 I changed gear, 682 00:34:59,164 --> 00:35:02,237 went over and went after the ptarmigan 683 00:35:02,304 --> 00:35:04,475 and now I have several week's worth of food. 684 00:35:04,809 --> 00:35:08,215 The bird, the land, the air, the snow, 685 00:35:08,282 --> 00:35:10,520 everything that makes up the beauty of the Arctic 686 00:35:10,587 --> 00:35:12,423 all in a little bitty bite. 687 00:35:15,964 --> 00:35:17,367 Ptarmigan soup, even better. 688 00:35:23,112 --> 00:35:25,116 GLENN: In order to take advantage of opportunities, 689 00:35:25,183 --> 00:35:26,852 you have to learn the country and you have to learn 690 00:35:26,919 --> 00:35:28,890 where things are happening and when they're happening at. 691 00:35:33,934 --> 00:35:35,436 NARRATOR: Glenn is searching for caribou, 692 00:35:35,704 --> 00:35:38,042 a crucial food source in dark winter. 693 00:35:38,476 --> 00:35:41,750 But tracking the animals requires him to cross the frozen lake 694 00:35:42,050 --> 00:35:45,289 and any mistake while walking on the ice can be fatal. 695 00:35:45,891 --> 00:35:48,028 I can see some spots where there's water 696 00:35:48,095 --> 00:35:49,632 coming up under the snow. 697 00:35:50,232 --> 00:35:52,638 It's called overflow and it's very dangerous. 698 00:35:53,072 --> 00:35:55,644 Since the last time I went out at camp, it's snowed a lot. 699 00:35:56,713 --> 00:35:58,182 And this deep snow, 700 00:35:59,017 --> 00:36:01,722 pushes the ice down into the water. 701 00:36:02,156 --> 00:36:03,860 Water works its way out through the ice 702 00:36:03,927 --> 00:36:06,198 in certain places, it actually will melt holes 703 00:36:06,265 --> 00:36:08,570 right through the ice, even when it's 50 below zero. 704 00:36:09,003 --> 00:36:10,907 Those holes are called spider holes 705 00:36:11,274 --> 00:36:13,178 and looking down here with binoculars, 706 00:36:13,580 --> 00:36:16,318 I can see some places where there's spider holes on the lake. 707 00:36:16,385 --> 00:36:17,387 That's not good. 708 00:36:17,855 --> 00:36:19,792 I gotta be careful crossing the lake. 709 00:36:19,859 --> 00:36:21,829 Make sure I do not get into the overflow 710 00:36:21,896 --> 00:36:23,733 and do not fall into a spider hole. 711 00:36:24,467 --> 00:36:27,140 If I get my feet wet, I'm finished out here. 712 00:36:35,389 --> 00:36:36,391 Whoa. 713 00:36:36,458 --> 00:36:37,728 I can feel something... 714 00:36:39,064 --> 00:36:40,199 That's dangerous. 715 00:36:40,868 --> 00:36:44,007 I'm on snowshoes, so it's holding me up on top of the snow, 716 00:36:44,174 --> 00:36:46,879 but under this snow it's not solid ice. 717 00:36:46,946 --> 00:36:48,115 There's overflow. 718 00:36:48,650 --> 00:36:50,988 It's a layer of slush and it can be pretty deep. 719 00:36:51,055 --> 00:36:52,423 It's 40 below zero. 720 00:36:53,492 --> 00:36:56,632 If I fall into that overflow, I can freeze my feet. 721 00:36:56,699 --> 00:36:58,536 It'll build up all over the snowshoes, 722 00:36:58,603 --> 00:37:00,807 you can get totally stuck in it, it's very dangerous. 723 00:37:01,274 --> 00:37:04,447 The water has spread out all under the snow here ahead of me. 724 00:37:04,915 --> 00:37:07,286 I gotta move off the lake here. It's too dangerous. 725 00:37:12,565 --> 00:37:15,069 I have to leave the lake here and go through the forest for a ways 726 00:37:15,136 --> 00:37:16,404 because of the overflow. 727 00:37:17,106 --> 00:37:19,310 Normally, it's easier travelling on the lake. 728 00:37:19,377 --> 00:37:21,114 Much easier because it's flat. 729 00:37:21,181 --> 00:37:23,452 In the forest, the ground is rough and uneven. 730 00:37:23,519 --> 00:37:24,822 It's harder to travel. 731 00:37:25,122 --> 00:37:27,326 But the lake's too dangerous with that overflow. 732 00:37:35,577 --> 00:37:37,614 From up here I can see 'em a little bit. 733 00:37:38,282 --> 00:37:40,821 When you're down on the lake, they're very hidden. 734 00:37:41,255 --> 00:37:43,024 If I fell on a spider hole, I'd be dead. 735 00:37:43,091 --> 00:37:45,362 If I step in the overflow in these temperatures, 736 00:37:45,664 --> 00:37:46,799 I'll freeze my feet. 737 00:37:52,912 --> 00:37:54,481 I might be past the overflow. 738 00:38:06,438 --> 00:38:07,741 Right here it feels all right. 739 00:38:09,578 --> 00:38:12,249 It doesn't feel like there's any overflow under my feet. 740 00:38:12,316 --> 00:38:14,020 I'm gonna try and hug the shoreline. 741 00:38:14,087 --> 00:38:15,557 But it's a lot easier 742 00:38:15,624 --> 00:38:17,494 out here on the lake than it is in the forest 743 00:38:17,561 --> 00:38:19,197 where the ground's so irregular. 744 00:38:30,486 --> 00:38:31,488 There. 745 00:38:31,923 --> 00:38:33,458 We made it over to the far side of the lake. 746 00:38:33,526 --> 00:38:35,496 Broke out about a mile-and-a-half trail today. 747 00:38:36,633 --> 00:38:38,368 I didn't find any caribou today. 748 00:38:38,770 --> 00:38:39,939 But that's typical. 749 00:38:40,239 --> 00:38:43,779 I'll go out hunting 10, 12 times before I find caribou. 750 00:38:43,846 --> 00:38:46,284 It's not uncommon. I just have to keep watching, 751 00:38:46,351 --> 00:38:48,822 take advantage of opportunities when they come up, 752 00:38:48,889 --> 00:38:50,593 and now I've got a trail that I can utilise 753 00:38:50,660 --> 00:38:52,129 to get more quickly to the other side 754 00:38:52,196 --> 00:38:54,100 of the lake when I see caribou over this way. 755 00:38:59,779 --> 00:39:02,483 ANDY: For me, it's all about being utilitarian, 756 00:39:02,851 --> 00:39:05,456 using the product for how it was intended to be used. 757 00:39:17,681 --> 00:39:19,718 I've got my, uh, day's catch here. 758 00:39:19,785 --> 00:39:20,953 I had a really good day. 759 00:39:21,020 --> 00:39:22,591 I was getting skunked and then 760 00:39:22,658 --> 00:39:25,061 the last four or five sets on my, uh, 761 00:39:25,128 --> 00:39:27,533 check on my line, I nailed, uh, 762 00:39:27,600 --> 00:39:30,706 four really nice marten here, so, it's time to skin 'em. 763 00:39:30,773 --> 00:39:32,711 I brought 'em inside and thawed 'em all out. 764 00:39:32,844 --> 00:39:36,017 They're gonna make some really nice fur products for me. 765 00:39:36,084 --> 00:39:39,023 I'll probably end up making a nice marten hat out of this. 766 00:39:39,658 --> 00:39:41,028 Fur is king 767 00:39:41,228 --> 00:39:44,033 and there's nothing better than fur to keep you warm 768 00:39:44,100 --> 00:39:45,737 up in these northern climates. 769 00:39:45,804 --> 00:39:47,975 And fur is a great skill to know 770 00:39:48,042 --> 00:39:49,811 if you're gonna live up north, because it's something 771 00:39:49,878 --> 00:39:51,749 that nature can provide for you. 772 00:39:55,255 --> 00:39:56,825 So once I get 'em to this point, 773 00:39:56,892 --> 00:39:58,394 a lot of times I like to hang 'em up, 774 00:39:59,096 --> 00:40:01,100 so I can work on 'em a little bit better. 775 00:40:01,669 --> 00:40:03,171 Very little goes to waste. 776 00:40:04,742 --> 00:40:07,514 You wanna kinda take your time and get it started pretty good. 777 00:40:08,315 --> 00:40:11,455 Then you can pretty much just pull straight down on 'em. 778 00:40:11,522 --> 00:40:13,526 I'll just drop 'em on the board. 779 00:40:15,229 --> 00:40:16,999 The way they grade these furs is 780 00:40:17,066 --> 00:40:20,105 the length from the nose here to the base of the tail. 781 00:40:20,172 --> 00:40:21,742 That's what you get graded on. 782 00:40:22,711 --> 00:40:24,213 So the longer it is, 783 00:40:24,648 --> 00:40:26,518 within reason, the better. 784 00:40:27,219 --> 00:40:28,555 First thing I like to do is 785 00:40:28,622 --> 00:40:30,527 once they're on the board like this, 786 00:40:30,760 --> 00:40:31,963 I'm just taking 787 00:40:32,831 --> 00:40:34,869 the lower legs, stretching 'em out. 788 00:40:35,670 --> 00:40:38,776 You're just trying to expose the flesh 789 00:40:39,143 --> 00:40:40,279 so it'll dry out. 790 00:40:42,383 --> 00:40:46,090 I like to just tack 'em on gently first. 791 00:40:46,157 --> 00:40:49,632 The final thing you do is take a 792 00:40:50,199 --> 00:40:52,203 stretcher here, you stick that up in there, 793 00:40:52,270 --> 00:40:54,106 if you don't do that the skin dries so tight 794 00:40:54,173 --> 00:40:56,044 that you won't be able to get it off the board. 795 00:40:56,445 --> 00:41:00,285 This allows you to have something you can remove, leaves a little bit of 796 00:41:01,354 --> 00:41:02,757 slackness in the fur. 797 00:41:04,060 --> 00:41:07,099 Just needs to dry tonight, I want this to feel like paper. 798 00:41:07,332 --> 00:41:10,205 Tomorrow morning, I'll probably come in with a cup of coffee, 799 00:41:10,506 --> 00:41:11,942 turn all these marten around 800 00:41:12,009 --> 00:41:13,880 and put 'em back on the board, 801 00:41:13,947 --> 00:41:15,416 let 'em dry for a couple more days 802 00:41:15,483 --> 00:41:16,586 and then they're ready for tanning 803 00:41:16,686 --> 00:41:18,589 and making a hat out of. 804 00:41:19,423 --> 00:41:21,928 If I can take fur and make something out of it, 805 00:41:21,995 --> 00:41:23,666 it has a much higher value, 806 00:41:23,733 --> 00:41:26,304 not only monetarily but personally for me. 807 00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:29,110 The fur I trapped today 808 00:41:29,177 --> 00:41:31,549 is gonna keep me warm for many years to come. 809 00:41:35,556 --> 00:41:37,860 AGNES: Every day's a learning experience for these girls. 810 00:41:37,927 --> 00:41:39,564 Even me, I try to tell them, 811 00:41:39,631 --> 00:41:42,704 even though I'm old I still learn something new every day. 812 00:41:49,183 --> 00:41:51,121 Getting pretty windy out here. 813 00:41:52,023 --> 00:41:54,928 Even though we keep trying, we ain't catching any fish. 814 00:41:54,995 --> 00:41:56,865 We're lucky we built these, uh, 815 00:41:56,932 --> 00:41:58,569 little wind breaks for us, 816 00:41:58,636 --> 00:42:02,176 'cause this wind is really whipping it up. 817 00:42:08,021 --> 00:42:09,924 CHIP: No fish? AGNES: No fish! 818 00:42:09,991 --> 00:42:10,993 CHIP: Ah, shucks. 819 00:42:11,528 --> 00:42:14,100 -That's fishing! -How about the trap? 820 00:42:14,167 --> 00:42:17,840 Oh, I don't even think I had a good time with that one. 821 00:42:17,907 --> 00:42:20,546 You guys wanna stay another night and try to keep fishing? 822 00:42:20,613 --> 00:42:21,781 Or do you wanna call it a weekend 823 00:42:21,848 --> 00:42:23,853 and just head back and go eat dinner at home? 824 00:42:25,089 --> 00:42:26,658 I think we're about done here. 825 00:42:26,725 --> 00:42:28,763 This is get... The wind is starting to get 826 00:42:28,830 --> 00:42:30,767 strong enough to blow in our face. 827 00:42:30,834 --> 00:42:31,969 CHIP: Well, let's go home. 828 00:42:33,506 --> 00:42:34,641 Well, you know, we came down here, 829 00:42:34,708 --> 00:42:35,943 we wanted to show the girls this camp 830 00:42:36,010 --> 00:42:38,081 that their grandmother once owned this place. 831 00:42:38,148 --> 00:42:40,653 And that her mother and grandmother had once fished here. 832 00:42:40,720 --> 00:42:42,255 I mean, these are Inupiats right here 833 00:42:42,322 --> 00:42:44,728 and these folks have been on this land for 10,000 years. 834 00:42:44,795 --> 00:42:48,034 And to see my wife and kids flow in that direction, 835 00:42:48,101 --> 00:42:49,170 I think that's pretty cool. 836 00:42:49,871 --> 00:42:50,974 Well, let's go home. 837 00:42:51,709 --> 00:42:52,844 What we're taking out of here today 838 00:42:52,911 --> 00:42:54,781 isn't gonna be fish, it isn't any fur. 839 00:42:54,848 --> 00:42:57,052 We're gonna take out of here a little bit of story, 840 00:42:57,119 --> 00:42:59,657 a lot of culture, and family connection between my wife 841 00:42:59,724 --> 00:43:01,461 and the daughters and the actual ways 842 00:43:01,528 --> 00:43:03,131 that they make a living around here. 843 00:43:03,866 --> 00:43:06,605 Someday, when me and Agnes are dead and rotting in the ground, 844 00:43:06,672 --> 00:43:08,542 their grandkids will be down here. 845 00:43:08,609 --> 00:43:09,611 I hope so.