1 00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:10,520 NARRATOR: Earth's great rivers... 2 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:17,600 ..make extraordinary journeys. 3 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,160 Carving through continents. 4 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,160 Feeding and connecting life. 5 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:31,280 Nurturing culture. 6 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:38,640 Providing a place for adventure. 7 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,440 From the frozen wilderness of the Yukon... 8 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:52,840 ..to the tropical heat of the Zambezi... 9 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:00,360 ..and the magical, hidden worlds of the Danube. 10 00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:11,240 Great rivers are the lifeblood of planet Earth. 11 00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:32,680 At the top of North America is a legendary river... 12 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,800 ..flowing through some of the wildest country on Earth. 13 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:44,200 Relentless. 14 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:49,400 Immense. 15 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:57,240 For the First Nation people, it's seen as the Great River. 16 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:02,080 The Giver Of Life. 17 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:09,640 Its natural riches have long sustained all those 18 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:12,720 that live along its banks. 19 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:18,600 It gathers its waters... 20 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:22,840 ..from vast ice fields... 21 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:26,880 ..and great lakes... 22 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:30,760 ..from mountain streams... 23 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:36,400 ..and tundra plains... 24 00:02:39,480 --> 00:02:44,560 ..and brings life wherever it touches. 25 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:52,920 It seems all-powerful, but another force is at work here. 26 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:57,400 The cold of the Arctic winter. 27 00:03:03,520 --> 00:03:07,840 When it strikes, this river is transformed. 28 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,520 It becomes a river of ice. 29 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:22,440 A frozen highway, upon which many will depend, 30 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:26,720 during the long, dark winter. 31 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:32,800 From icebound lifeline... 32 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,320 ..to free-flowing giant. 33 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:40,320 This is the Yukon. 34 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:46,000 North America's great frozen river. 35 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:55,760 For 3,200 kilometres, the Yukon flows in a great arc 36 00:03:55,840 --> 00:04:00,120 through northwest Canada and central Alaska to the Pacific Ocean. 37 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:09,520 Along the way, it gathers water from 800 square kilometres of wilderness, 38 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,080 an area four times larger than Great Britain. 39 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:20,320 But its story begins deep in the coastal mountain ranges 40 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:21,920 of British Columbia. 41 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:27,120 The Juneau Icefield, 42 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:32,680 3,800 square kilometres and over a kilometre deep. 43 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:38,440 The flood of summer meltwater from these glaciers 44 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:41,920 fuels the Yukon on its journey to the sea. 45 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:48,040 But this far north, the seasons change quickly. 46 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:52,800 As autumn temperatures plummet below zero, 47 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:56,640 the Yukon's tap turns off. 48 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:09,040 Soon, the entire river is hidden beneath a shield of ice. 49 00:05:14,840 --> 00:05:16,600 Despite the October chill, 50 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,000 one of the Yukon's remote tributaries remains ice-free. 51 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:25,840 In Fishing Branch River, 52 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:29,800 thermal springs percolate from deep underground, 53 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,360 warming the stream just enough to keep it flowing. 54 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,720 It creates an opportunity for some of the Yukon's toughest characters. 55 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:48,440 For weeks, 56 00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:54,320 chum salmon have been battling their way upstream from the Pacific. 57 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:02,440 Racing the freeze, they have swum over 2,400 kilometres, 58 00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,480 following a long-remembered scent to reach their spawning beds. 59 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:13,200 On arrival, the females excavate shallow scrapes, 60 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:15,680 or redds, in the gravel. 61 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:26,640 Around them, the hook-jawed males tussle for prime position. 62 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:37,800 They need to be close to fertilise the thousands of eggs 63 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:40,800 the females release into their nests. 64 00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:51,640 But spending so much time in the shallows leaves them vulnerable. 65 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,720 Up to 40 grizzly bears visit the creek 66 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:10,560 during the brief spawning season. 67 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,480 With air temperatures at 30 below, 68 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:24,840 wet fur quickly freezes, coating the bears in frost. 69 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:35,280 These are the Yukon's ice bears. 70 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:41,200 Unique, because the late salmon run means they can still hunt 71 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:44,840 when other grizzlies are already hibernating. 72 00:07:48,600 --> 00:07:51,360 These cubs may lack the pioneering spirit. 73 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:55,560 Their mother certainly does not. 74 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,480 She keeps the first catch of the day for herself. 75 00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:23,160 Her cubs are hungry 76 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:26,600 and determined not to miss out on breakfast. 77 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:38,160 They just need to find a way across the river. 78 00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:44,360 Too slow. 79 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:48,480 Mum's straight back in the stream... 80 00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:53,200 ..chasing a second breakfast. 81 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:06,560 When her direct attack doesn't work, she gently paws the water, 82 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,240 encouraging the salmon into the shallows 83 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:11,360 where they can be picked off. 84 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:24,520 If the fishing is good, she will eat 30 kilos every day... 85 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,520 ..feasting on the juiciest, energy-rich parts, 86 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,200 like eggs and skin. 87 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:41,920 But as the salmon run dwindles, 88 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,680 even old fish heads start to look appetising. 89 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:51,520 The bears need to put on enough weight 90 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:53,880 to see them through the long winter. 91 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:15,040 After a hard day's fishing, a good scratch helps them defrost. 92 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:33,200 Once the fish are gone, 93 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,720 even these tough ice bears will retire to their dens 94 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:38,680 to bed down for hibernation. 95 00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,120 As the northern hemisphere faces away from the sun, 96 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:55,080 an intense cold now settles along the Yukon. 97 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:01,600 Across northern Canada and Alaska, 98 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:06,040 the Yukon is locked away beneath several metres of ice. 99 00:11:09,520 --> 00:11:13,440 It will stay frozen for six months or more. 100 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,720 Temperatures tumble to -50. 101 00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:26,560 As winter blizzards sweep along the Yukon Valley... 102 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:32,840 ..the hard river ice is blanketed by snow. 103 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:40,920 In a land with few roads, 104 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:44,240 the frozen river becomes a highway through the forest. 105 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,400 DOGS BARK AND HOWL 106 00:11:49,320 --> 00:11:52,640 And the skills needed to run these ice roads 107 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,000 still flourish along the Yukon. 108 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:02,880 KYLA BOIVIN: I've been travelling on the river my whole life. 109 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,600 NARRATOR: Kyla Boivin is a dog-sled racer 110 00:12:06,240 --> 00:12:09,120 and the frozen Yukon is her racetrack. 111 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:14,720 KYLA BOIVIN: I like how it all changes from mile to mile. 112 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:17,640 The land is so big. 113 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:21,680 It's the highway of the north, right? 114 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:25,960 NARRATOR: She's putting her top team through their paces 115 00:12:26,080 --> 00:12:29,160 along a section of the Yukon Quest challenge... 116 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:33,240 ..a sled race billed "The Toughest on Earth". 117 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:39,440 It's a 1,600 kilometre test of endurance and teamwork, 118 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:44,040 run between Whitehorse in Canada and Fairbanks in Alaska. 119 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:51,280 Kyla has tackled this marathon seven times... 120 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:55,680 ..the first when she was 18-years-old. 121 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,760 But now she rides just for the thrill of it. 122 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,520 The race harks back to a time when the frozen Yukon 123 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:11,240 was the only link between isolated settlements and the outside world. 124 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:14,240 KYLA BOIVIN: Temperatures can be 50 below. 125 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,000 You can have a blizzard where it drops eight inches of snow 126 00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:20,440 and the trail is gone. 127 00:13:21,680 --> 00:13:24,120 There are spots that are just windswept 128 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,520 and it's barren and it's like the moon down there. 129 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:36,480 NARRATOR: Kyla is following the same call of the wild 130 00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:39,840 that drew the early pioneers to the Yukon. 131 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:45,600 KYLA BOIVIN: You're only going to have six hours of daylight in the winter, right? 132 00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:47,160 In the deepest winter. 133 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:54,640 And when it's dark you only see your head lamp beam. 134 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:58,000 That's not very far to spot trouble. 135 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,280 You are completely relying on the dogs 136 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:05,360 and they are completely relying on you. 137 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:11,520 And they're such wonderful creatures. 138 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:17,120 They're my favourite creatures on this planet, the sled dogs. 139 00:14:17,560 --> 00:14:18,760 Definitely. 140 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:30,880 NARRATOR: Even today, life for a musher and dog team out on the ice 141 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:35,360 is much the same as in those pioneering days. 142 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:37,440 DOG BARKS 143 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:42,560 Some straw for the dogs and a fire to melt snow for coffee 144 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,120 can make life a little more comfortable. 145 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:51,440 It's bitter, 25 below. 146 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:53,480 Ooph. 147 00:14:58,080 --> 00:14:59,080 They're good dogs. 148 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:02,480 Once they see the straw, usually, these guys have camped a lot, 149 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:05,480 so they know straw means we're staying awhile. 150 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:18,880 NARRATOR: Despite the cold, 151 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:23,960 the frozen river is a lifeline through these northern forests. 152 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:32,400 Even in deep midwinter, lynx are on the prowl. 153 00:15:35,240 --> 00:15:37,640 Using the windswept ice river 154 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,520 means they can avoid deep, energy-sapping drifts. 155 00:15:47,600 --> 00:15:51,520 Their huge furry paws act as snowshoes... 156 00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:56,800 ..helping them move effortlessly across soft snow. 157 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:06,560 Lynx are top predators... 158 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:13,520 ..but a half-ton moose is way out of their league. 159 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:20,760 They have something much smaller in their sights. 160 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:30,360 Snowshoe hares can make up to 90% of their winter diet. 161 00:16:34,400 --> 00:16:38,360 But being a specialist hunter brings its own problems. 162 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,280 Hare numbers rise and fall dramatically 163 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:45,440 in regular 10-year cycles. 164 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:53,360 In years with few hares, many lynx starve. 165 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:02,440 Even in good years, 166 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:08,520 pursuing such elusive prey means covering many kilometres every day. 167 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,640 As they wander these well-travelled highways, 168 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,120 lynx mark out their territories... 169 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,040 ..with a squirt here... 170 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:28,400 ..and a squirt there... 171 00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:35,400 ..leaving scent to help stake their claim to a stretch of frozen river 172 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,520 and to advertise for a mate. 173 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:44,280 These chemical signposts are the only way these loners 174 00:17:44,360 --> 00:17:47,840 can keep in touch in such remote country. 175 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:53,800 And this really is North America's wild frontier. 176 00:17:56,880 --> 00:18:00,960 Along the Yukon, there are no big cities and few roads. 177 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:06,440 Only four bridges span its 3,200-kilometre course. 178 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:13,880 Just 125,000 people live in the entire Yukon Basin. 179 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:21,640 Close to the Alaska-Canada border, 650 kilometres east of Anchorage, 180 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:26,760 is one of the few riverside towns - Dawson City... 181 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:36,000 ..where the Yukon is joined by its most famous tributary... 182 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:39,600 ..the Klondike River. 183 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:46,760 Dawson sprang up almost overnight 184 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:51,160 after gold was discovered here in 1896. 185 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:54,400 By the following year, 186 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,880 gold fever had lured 30,000 fortune hunters 187 00:18:59,120 --> 00:19:00,880 to this remote river bank. 188 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:04,360 A lucky few struck it rich. 189 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:06,920 Most left empty-handed, 190 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:10,040 defeated by the Yukon's crushing hardships. 191 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:14,240 In just a few years, the gold petered out 192 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,360 and the rush was over almost as quickly as it started. 193 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:24,080 But Dawson lived on, 194 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:28,760 a beacon of light in a sea of wilderness. 195 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:41,080 One of the strangest reminders of those wild times 196 00:19:41,520 --> 00:19:44,400 can be found in the Downtown Hotel saloon, 197 00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:48,720 where the preserved frostbitten toe of a Yukon prospector 198 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,800 has become the key ingredient in a unique cocktail. 199 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:58,720 Taking the Sourtoe challenge has become a rite of passage 200 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:01,520 for anyone who visits Dawson today. 201 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:06,320 And if you dare, we can serve the toe. 202 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:08,000 Are you ready? 203 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:09,720 I guess so. 204 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:12,160 MAN: You'd better be, cos here we go. 205 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,720 You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow, 206 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,320 but your lips must touch this gnarly toe. 207 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:21,000 Just your lips. 208 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:24,600 No teeth, no tongue, no tonsils. 209 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:34,520 Slainte. 210 00:20:37,840 --> 00:20:39,640 Should I just do it? — Oh. 211 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:46,760 MAN: You got it. 212 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:48,240 WOMEN GROAN 213 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:49,760 MAN: That was well done. 214 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:51,200 That was well done. 215 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:55,520 Perfect. 216 00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:57,880 THEY LAUGH 217 00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:05,520 NARRATOR: Just when it seems the cold 218 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:08,160 will never release its grip on the Yukon... 219 00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:14,080 ..there's a sign in the heavens that change is coming. 220 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:17,440 The Aurora Borealis. 221 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:19,880 The Northern Lights. 222 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:25,240 These atmospheric light shows often reach their peak 223 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:27,120 just as the Earth's orbit 224 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:31,080 swings the northern hemisphere back towards the sun. 225 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:39,880 It marks a moment of transformation, 226 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,080 as new energy pulses along the Yukon. 227 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:56,520 Rising temperatures and the stirrings of long-dormant currents 228 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,480 open the first breaches in the frozen river's defences... 229 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:09,200 ..just in time to greet thousands of noisy migrants to the Yukon. 230 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:26,360 Trumpeter swans have flown over 1,600 kilometres from southern Canada, 231 00:22:26,800 --> 00:22:29,320 en route to their breeding grounds further north. 232 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:38,360 Marsh Lake gives these huge birds a chance to rest and refuel, 233 00:22:39,120 --> 00:22:41,320 but only if their timing is spot on. 234 00:22:46,760 --> 00:22:48,440 If they arrive before the thaw, 235 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:52,800 ice stops them feeding on the sedges that grow on the lakebed. 236 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:55,960 Arrive too late, 237 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,600 and spring floods put these plants beyond reach. 238 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:04,880 They've got it just about right, 239 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:09,120 although the cold April nights still glaze over the open water, 240 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:12,600 so the early risers must help break the ice. 241 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,240 Even for these long-necked birds, 242 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,440 it's a stretch to gather the vegetation a metre down. 243 00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:35,640 Unable to reach the plants for themselves, 244 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,880 smaller migrants like wigeon stick close to the swans, 245 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:43,360 scooping up any leftovers. 246 00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,640 After a short stay, it's time to move on, 247 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:59,040 chasing the spring thaw as it moves north. 248 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:27,480 The Yukon gathers its waters from across a vast backcountry... 249 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:30,640 ..and it may take many more weeks 250 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,680 before the thaw reaches its Arctic tributaries. 251 00:24:35,120 --> 00:24:38,440 Even in May, these are still frozen solid. 252 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:42,320 Rivers like the Porcupine. 253 00:24:42,760 --> 00:24:48,040 800 kilometres long, its course takes it north across the Arctic Circle, 254 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:51,200 then back south to join the Yukon. 255 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:54,920 At its most northern point 256 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:59,040 is the First Nation Vuntut Gwitchin village of Old Crow. 257 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:04,680 Here, life revolves around subsistence fishing and hunting. 258 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:10,400 PAUL JOSIE: Winter in Old Crow can be harsh, it can be cold. 259 00:25:11,120 --> 00:25:13,000 Being above the Arctic Circle, 260 00:25:13,360 --> 00:25:19,280 we experience earlier winters and later springs. 261 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:25,040 The Porcupine River is the last, 262 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:27,840 one of the last large rivers to break up 263 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:30,760 and that's where we're at right now. 264 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:37,240 NARRATOR: Every day, Paul Josie climbs the bluffs above the village 265 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,880 to scan the frozen river, watching and waiting. 266 00:25:45,200 --> 00:25:49,200 PAUL JOSIE: As I stand and witness the changes in front of me from the river 267 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:51,800 and you hear the geese in the sky, 268 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:54,480 and the water trickling down the mountain 269 00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:57,880 and you can feel the warm air on your face, 270 00:25:58,160 --> 00:26:01,120 it gives me a sense that spring will be upon us. 271 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,840 NARRATOR: There's one sign above all that means spring is close. 272 00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:13,200 The arrival of the Porcupine caribou herd. 273 00:26:15,200 --> 00:26:18,880 Over 200,000 animals on the move. 274 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:24,880 A 2,500-kilometre migration, 275 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:28,160 the longest by any land mammal on the planet... 276 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:35,280 ..taking them to their calving grounds on Alaska's Arctic coast. 277 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:43,640 Early arrivals at the still-frozen Porcupine River, 278 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:47,800 mainly pregnant cows, walk across the ice. 279 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,400 But temperatures are rising rapidly. 280 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,040 Melting ice eases away from the banks 281 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:09,440 and starts to break up. 282 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:13,800 As more caribou arrive... 283 00:27:15,120 --> 00:27:19,200 ..they face a dangerous, shifting patchwork of unstable ice 284 00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:21,560 and open water. 285 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:27,360 There's no way through. 286 00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:50,360 They are forced to wait as a growing mass of ice 287 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:54,120 surges downstream towards Old Crow. 288 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:06,480 Slabs of ice jam against one another, blocking the river. 289 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:11,000 Some caribou get caught out, 290 00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:14,720 marooned as the ice breaks up around them. 291 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:22,440 The lucky ones are carried back to shore, 292 00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:24,880 kilometres further downstream. 293 00:28:36,600 --> 00:28:39,480 Ice continues to build around Old Crow 294 00:28:41,360 --> 00:28:44,080 until the pressure can no longer be contained. 295 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:52,040 Kilometres of river ice stream past, 296 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:54,400 heading for the Yukon. 297 00:28:55,240 --> 00:28:58,840 PAUL JOSIE: Ever since I was young, the break-up of the river 298 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,000 has always been an exciting time for my community. 299 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:09,320 Watching the break-up is literally watching winter wash away. 300 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:20,960 NARRATOR: The remaining caribou now take their chances with the ice. 301 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:28,600 PAUL JOSIE: Watching the Porcupine caribou swim across the river, 302 00:29:28,680 --> 00:29:31,040 navigating through ice chunks... 303 00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:42,600 ..you get a sense of worry for this animal, 304 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,600 as you want them to succeed, you want them to cross 305 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:48,560 and you want them to be safe. 306 00:30:01,280 --> 00:30:03,800 As the ice moves off downstream, 307 00:30:04,400 --> 00:30:07,000 the stragglers make their way across the river... 308 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,080 ..playing catch-up with the rest of the herd. 309 00:30:13,200 --> 00:30:15,520 Winter is finally letting go. 310 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,480 Now that the river has broken up, um... 311 00:30:19,560 --> 00:30:23,560 it's actually just waiting for more ice to clear, 312 00:30:23,880 --> 00:30:26,480 waiting for it to be a little safer to travel. 313 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:31,120 And then I can put my boat in 314 00:30:31,200 --> 00:30:34,040 and start travelling on our highway again. 315 00:30:37,800 --> 00:30:39,560 NARRATOR: After months of isolation, 316 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:44,320 the inhabitants of Old Crow can now reconnect with the Yukon. 317 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,440 As the great frozen river turns its back on the Arctic, 318 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,640 it starts to come alive. 319 00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:09,760 Now bathed in near-continuous summer daylight, 320 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,320 temperatures continue to rise. 321 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,960 The snow and ice that brought the Yukon to a winter standstill 322 00:31:23,640 --> 00:31:25,600 Now re-energises the river. 323 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,200 With every stream and tributary adding its own pulse of meltwater, 324 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:42,640 the Yukon's power steadily grows. 325 00:31:46,800 --> 00:31:50,920 With the flood comes something just as important as the water. 326 00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:02,360 An ever-growing cargo of rock dust from distant glaciers... 327 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:06,840 ..and mud from eroded valleys. 328 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:19,240 This meltwater flood 329 00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:24,480 turns the Yukon into a formidable and relentless mud-filled giant. 330 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:30,080 Over the short summer, 331 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:34,600 the river will shift more than 70 million tonnes of sediment. 332 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,480 Most of it carried all the way to the ocean. 333 00:32:49,320 --> 00:32:51,600 This unique mineral signature 334 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:55,400 now helps guide waves of salmon back to the Yukon. 335 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:04,560 Runs of chum, coho, pink and king salmon 336 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:07,880 battle their way thousands of kilometres upstream 337 00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:10,200 to spawn in the river's headwaters. 338 00:33:14,400 --> 00:33:16,000 For thousands of years, 339 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:19,600 the indigenous First Nation peoples harvested the fish. 340 00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:24,040 A summer bounty that fed them through the winter. 341 00:33:26,560 --> 00:33:28,320 It's still a tradition for families 342 00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:33,520 to head to remote riverside fish camps to catch and prepare salmon. 343 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:44,480 Sisters Faith Peters and Kathleen Peters-Zuray 344 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:46,680 from the Athabaskan First Nation 345 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:50,440 are heading to their camp at Rampart Rapids. 346 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,560 FAITH PETERS: I'm middle of the river clan 347 00:33:54,800 --> 00:34:00,280 and we've been surviving on king salmon all our life. 348 00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:07,840 We've been coming to fish camp here for, like, 35 years. 349 00:34:10,720 --> 00:34:12,080 NARRATOR: Over those years, 350 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:15,680 the sisters have witnessed dramatic changes along the river. 351 00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:23,360 Recently, the Yukon's many salmon runs have gone into steep decline... 352 00:34:24,840 --> 00:34:29,520 ..victims of a shifting climate and over-fishing in the Pacific. 353 00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:34,760 Strict limits are now placed on catches 354 00:34:35,280 --> 00:34:38,080 and if numbers of returning salmon are very low, 355 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:40,280 no fishing is allowed. 356 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:44,280 The family wait for this summer's decision, 357 00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:47,200 relayed via the local Mukluk radio station. 358 00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:50,800 RADIO: The pre-season projection does not meet the threshold 359 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:54,760 of 300,000 fish needed to allow subsistence fishing. 360 00:34:55,160 --> 00:34:58,520 Therefore, subsistence salmon fishing will be closed 361 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:00,040 to begin the fall season. 362 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:03,800 Subsistence fishermen should prepare for continued closures. 363 00:35:04,880 --> 00:35:08,520 NARRATOR: Despite this bad news, the sisters are determined 364 00:35:08,600 --> 00:35:12,440 to keep up the traditional knife skills they learnt as children. 365 00:35:14,360 --> 00:35:18,720 KATHLEEN PETERS-ZURAY: It's hard for us to not to come to fish camp and to cut fish, 366 00:35:19,720 --> 00:35:22,160 cos this is what we've been doing all our life. 367 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:25,040 NARRATOR: With no fresh fish to cut, 368 00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:28,680 Kathleen retrieves what's left of last year's catch 369 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:29,840 from the camp freezer. 370 00:35:38,360 --> 00:35:40,640 Ooh, there you go. 371 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:42,480 We're ready. 372 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:53,080 This is one of salmon that was in the freezer from last year, 373 00:35:53,160 --> 00:35:55,680 so it's a little soft, but it's still beautiful. 374 00:35:56,120 --> 00:36:00,320 FAITH PETERS: It's not even a job for us to do this. It's a happy vacation. 375 00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:05,560 NARRATOR: The strips are hung in the breeze to dry. 376 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:09,760 It's amazing that we're using frozen fish... 377 00:36:13,040 --> 00:36:15,160 ..and it's turning out pretty good. 378 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:19,800 It's going to taste like gold. 379 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:24,360 After a day in the sun, 380 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:28,200 the oil-rich strips are moved into the smokehouse. 381 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:38,800 The smoke helps preserve the fish 382 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:42,720 by creating a coating that slows decomposition. 383 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:49,680 In past years, 384 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:53,360 this smokehouse would be full to the rafters with salmon. 385 00:36:55,440 --> 00:37:00,440 These few strips are a sad reminder of how bad things have become. 386 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:05,720 KATHLEEN PETERS-ZURAY: So there was no summer chum, no king and no fall chum. 387 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:08,520 That is... 388 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:10,560 ..unprecedented. 389 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:12,520 We've never seen that. 390 00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:17,760 It makes me sad. It really makes me sad, cos... 391 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:26,680 ..for us to have a dinner without king salmon, 392 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:28,760 it's almost like starving. 393 00:37:30,960 --> 00:37:33,200 KATHLEEN PETERS-ZURAY: It hasn't really hit me, really, 394 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:36,520 but we're losing a part of our culture. 395 00:37:37,640 --> 00:37:38,680 It's... 396 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:41,480 It's devastating. 397 00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:44,840 NARRATOR: The sisters can only hope 398 00:37:44,920 --> 00:37:47,920 next summer brings more salmon back to the Yukon, 399 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:52,680 so they can fill the smokehouse once again. 400 00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:06,680 By September, autumn is colouring the Yukon's banks. 401 00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:20,760 Bull moose are putting the finishing touches to something remarkable. 402 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:28,600 Every year, they grow a new set of antlers. 403 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:36,120 In older bulls, these can be two metres across and weigh 25 kilos. 404 00:38:40,600 --> 00:38:44,400 Bulls need top-quality grazing to grow these huge racks 405 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:46,280 and lots of it. 406 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,800 Over 15 kilos every day. 407 00:38:52,080 --> 00:38:55,360 Up to half their summer diet consists of water plants, 408 00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:59,840 rich in protein and vital bone-growing minerals. 409 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:07,040 At their peak, the antlers are growing at two centimetres a day, 410 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,640 making them the fastest-growing organ in the animal kingdom. 411 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:19,640 All this effort is for just one thing - to get noticed. 412 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:26,200 And this bull's eye-catching headgear has already done its job. 413 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:35,200 All he needs to do now is dig a pit and soak the soil with his scent, 414 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:40,160 releasing pheromones that add to his already impressive allure. 415 00:39:55,800 --> 00:39:57,600 He's irresistible. 416 00:40:11,720 --> 00:40:17,600 Now over a kilometre wide and still over 1,000 kilometres from the sea, 417 00:40:18,240 --> 00:40:21,160 the mud-filled Yukon swings southwards... 418 00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:26,880 ..into some of the wildest country in Alaska. 419 00:40:33,760 --> 00:40:35,760 With no roads or rail links, 420 00:40:36,160 --> 00:40:39,520 the few isolated villages here rely on the Yukon 421 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:42,280 to stay connected to the wider world. 422 00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:51,560 Bush pilots can make some deliveries... 423 00:40:55,160 --> 00:40:58,600 ..while anything bulky must be carried by barge. 424 00:40:59,080 --> 00:41:01,360 CAPTAIN LESTER HAKEY: This is the last run of the season. 425 00:41:01,720 --> 00:41:05,840 We do about between 13, maybe even 14,000 miles, 426 00:41:06,040 --> 00:41:10,120 river miles, transporting cargo for customers. 427 00:41:10,720 --> 00:41:15,360 NARRATOR: Captain Lester Hakey has worked the Yukon for 26 years 428 00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:19,160 and knows this autumn voyage is risky. 429 00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:23,280 Most of the challenges are the river depth. 430 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:25,040 That's the biggest challenge. 431 00:41:25,720 --> 00:41:28,520 It's only September, but the headwater streams 432 00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:31,760 that feed the Yukon are already starting to freeze, 433 00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:34,880 slowing the flow of water into the main channel 434 00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:37,800 and river levels are dropping. 435 00:41:39,760 --> 00:41:42,360 LESTER: You got big river, you got wide river. 436 00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:44,720 But you still have channels 437 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:51,720 where the river will go from 35 feet to six, seven, eight feet, you know, 438 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:54,520 and then you can get yourself stuck down there. 439 00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:57,520 NARRATOR: The currents are incredibly powerful... 440 00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:01,160 ..making navigation tricky 441 00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:04,520 through constantly shifting bars and mud banks. 442 00:42:12,440 --> 00:42:15,720 And the barge doesn't stop just because the sun goes down. 443 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:18,680 They are on a tight schedule. 444 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:24,280 Lester shares the piloting with Sean Wright. 445 00:42:25,800 --> 00:42:31,520 It's six hours on, six off, around the clock, seven days a week. 446 00:42:32,200 --> 00:42:34,360 There's really nothing that we won't move. 447 00:42:35,160 --> 00:42:38,760 If it's got wheels or if it can be picked up by heavy machinery, 448 00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:42,800 we will haul just about anything that you can bring us. 449 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:45,000 We've got excavators, loaders, 450 00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:48,920 we've got 70-foot long conveyor-belts on trailers. 451 00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:52,560 LESTER ON RADIO: Yeah. Keep on rolling, Sean. Looking good. 452 00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:56,120 NARRATOR: And with no docks or piers in the village, 453 00:42:56,240 --> 00:42:59,240 deliveries are unloaded down make-shift ramps. 454 00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:05,600 SEAN WRIGHT: We've got people's personal vehicles. 455 00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:08,680 Thanks a lot. All right, dude. 456 00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:11,360 Alll dois get it from point A to point B, man. 457 00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:13,040 Oh, yeah. - Yeah. Here you go. 458 00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:14,920 BOAT HORN TOOTS 459 00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:23,200 People's food, groceries, soda cans. 460 00:43:25,080 --> 00:43:26,240 Building materials. 461 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:28,840 Yeah, just about anything you can think of. 462 00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:32,000 NARRATOR: If anything has been forgotten, 463 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:36,280 it's eight months before the spring thaw allows deliveries again. 464 00:43:39,480 --> 00:43:42,000 The barge's most precious autumn cargo 465 00:43:42,280 --> 00:43:45,040 is 700,000 litres of fuel. 466 00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:50,240 It's what villagers rely on to warm their homes 467 00:43:50,520 --> 00:43:53,000 and run their vehicles once winter comes. 468 00:43:55,440 --> 00:43:57,080 LESTER: I love the challenge. 469 00:43:57,800 --> 00:44:00,120 I love the challenge of the whole thing. It's just... 470 00:44:00,880 --> 00:44:04,680 It's awesome because when you get done, and you're, you know, 471 00:44:04,760 --> 00:44:05,960 you think you've been beat, 472 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:10,800 and then all of a sudden you get it done, and everybody's happy 473 00:44:10,880 --> 00:44:14,040 and you got the freight off to the people and they're happy... 474 00:44:15,240 --> 00:44:18,840 ..you feel a sense of accomplishment, you know? Yeah. 475 00:44:19,720 --> 00:44:22,360 That's part of the reason why I love this, you know. I mean, 476 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:25,480 you can't beat this office to work in, can you? 477 00:44:25,760 --> 00:44:28,040 I mean, really. 478 00:44:32,120 --> 00:44:36,440 NARRATOR: After the last delivery, it's an eight-day battle back upstream 479 00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:39,200 to their winter quarters before the river freezes. 480 00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:48,440 Meanwhile, the Yukon, now at its widest, and most remote, 481 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:52,520 forges westward into a very different world. 482 00:44:57,160 --> 00:44:59,000 With the mountains far behind, 483 00:44:59,680 --> 00:45:04,400 there's now almost no gradient left to drive the river forwards. 484 00:45:06,760 --> 00:45:12,480 Across this flat, exposed landscape, the Yukon slows and spreads, 485 00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:17,080 splitting into a tortuous network of meandering channels. 486 00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:26,200 Breaking up this maze of waterways is an endless boggy tundra... 487 00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:31,640 ..pockmarked with thousands of ponds. 488 00:45:33,800 --> 00:45:36,280 This is the Yukon Delta... 489 00:45:37,920 --> 00:45:43,600 ..covering over 130,000 square kilometres, larger than England, 490 00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:46,880 and one of the largest deltas on the planet. 491 00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:53,640 At the very end of its journey, the Yukon has one final surprise. 492 00:45:55,320 --> 00:46:00,520 Rising out of the waters surrounding the southern delta is Nelson Island. 493 00:46:02,080 --> 00:46:04,440 Here, at the very edge of the continent, 494 00:46:04,800 --> 00:46:07,120 live some remarkable creatures. 495 00:46:10,440 --> 00:46:11,840 Musk ox. 496 00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:25,600 With their fine woolly coats, these relics of the last Ice Age 497 00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:28,480 can shrug off the very worst delta weather. 498 00:46:30,640 --> 00:46:33,760 Days are spent gathered in small family groups. 499 00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:37,800 A tight-knit sisterhood of cows with their calves 500 00:46:38,720 --> 00:46:40,680 and one very large bull. 501 00:46:42,480 --> 00:46:45,640 He's trying his best to corral the wandering females... 502 00:46:47,240 --> 00:46:50,400 ..constantly checking if any are ready to mate. 503 00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:56,840 It's the rutting season 504 00:46:57,680 --> 00:47:00,480 and his harem has caught the eye of a young bull, 505 00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:03,160 who fancies his chances. 506 00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:09,880 As the herd drifts over the hills... 507 00:47:12,320 --> 00:47:17,040 ..the hopeful youngster follows, slowly getting closer. 508 00:47:21,200 --> 00:47:25,640 Finally, his presence forces the resident bull to react. 509 00:47:32,200 --> 00:47:34,760 This is all about intimidation... 510 00:47:35,920 --> 00:47:40,120 ..as rivals assess each other's size and strength. 511 00:47:46,360 --> 00:47:48,000 A few tentative shoves 512 00:47:48,880 --> 00:47:53,120 and this youngster quickly realises he's more than met his match. 513 00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:03,560 During the rut, 514 00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:07,680 contests like this are kicking off all over the tundra. 515 00:48:09,760 --> 00:48:11,600 If rivals are evenly matched, 516 00:48:12,480 --> 00:48:15,880 things can escalate into full-blooded confrontation. 517 00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:33,280 Thick skulls and ten-centimetre horn bosses act like helmets 518 00:48:33,400 --> 00:48:36,640 protecting them from these earth-shaking collisions. 519 00:48:46,840 --> 00:48:48,560 Intruder seen off. 520 00:48:50,400 --> 00:48:53,720 The victor has won the chance to father next year's calves. 521 00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:01,160 But now, across this wilderness, 522 00:49:02,080 --> 00:49:06,000 all musk ox turn to face the greatest challenge of the year. 523 00:49:14,440 --> 00:49:17,480 After the freedom gained during the intense summer... 524 00:49:20,040 --> 00:49:24,160 ..the Yukon must once more yield to the power of an Arctic winter. 525 00:49:26,800 --> 00:49:30,200 The first snows already blanket the high country. 526 00:49:32,680 --> 00:49:36,160 Cold is silently creeping back along the valleys. 527 00:49:39,080 --> 00:49:41,920 This year's salmon runs may have been poor... 528 00:49:44,240 --> 00:49:47,760 ..but some fish have made it back to their spawning streams. 529 00:49:53,040 --> 00:49:56,080 As life along the Yukon turns full circle... 530 00:49:57,320 --> 00:50:00,520 ..this is where their journey will ultimately end. 531 00:50:08,040 --> 00:50:11,240 Their deaths will help others to survive the winter. 532 00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:16,440 And this is not the end of their story. 533 00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:25,280 Nurtured by the Yukon's waters, salmon eggs pulse with life. 534 00:50:30,360 --> 00:50:32,160 For the salmon... 535 00:50:33,480 --> 00:50:35,960 ..and all those living in this wild country, 536 00:50:36,720 --> 00:50:39,120 the river holds the key to the future. 537 00:50:42,360 --> 00:50:46,880 The Yukon will always be the natural and spiritual heart 538 00:50:47,360 --> 00:50:49,120 of this great wilderness. 539 00:50:54,480 --> 00:50:58,280 North America's legendary frozen river. 540 00:51:15,800 --> 00:51:17,680 For the Earth's Great Rivers team, 541 00:51:18,080 --> 00:51:20,040 the challenge of filming in the Yukon 542 00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:24,560 was in finding ways to access one of the most remote regions on Earth. 543 00:51:27,320 --> 00:51:30,520 A mission that took them on many intrepid adventures. 544 00:51:33,560 --> 00:51:36,560 But it all started with an old school bus. 545 00:51:40,720 --> 00:51:42,840 Once an ordinary school bus, 546 00:51:43,240 --> 00:51:46,200 now it's on the ultimate field trip for the BBC. 547 00:51:49,280 --> 00:51:52,240 LOUISA GILBERT: So our small crew is completely self-sufficient 548 00:51:52,320 --> 00:51:53,840 when we're out in this bus. 549 00:51:54,040 --> 00:51:56,280 As well as making all the power from the solar, 550 00:51:56,440 --> 00:52:00,360 we are kitted out with VHF radio, satellite phones. 551 00:52:00,880 --> 00:52:02,320 We also have a cell booster, 552 00:52:02,400 --> 00:52:06,080 which will help amplify any cell service that might be in the area. 553 00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:09,280 I think if I just park in here. 554 00:52:10,080 --> 00:52:11,920 NARRATOR: Travelling with everything they need, 555 00:52:12,320 --> 00:52:15,720 the crew head into the river's far-flung headwaters region. 556 00:52:17,720 --> 00:52:19,960 They have set themselves the challenge of capturing 557 00:52:20,040 --> 00:52:23,160 a series of dynamic shots of creeks throughout the year, 558 00:52:24,360 --> 00:52:26,000 with the camera moving fast, 559 00:52:26,160 --> 00:52:28,920 just a few centimetres above the water's surface. 560 00:52:31,520 --> 00:52:35,400 Camera operator Ollie is adapting a First Person View Drone, 561 00:52:35,480 --> 00:52:37,360 or FPV, for the task. 562 00:52:37,440 --> 00:52:38,840 OLLIE: These are the FPV drones. 563 00:52:38,960 --> 00:52:40,520 These allow us to see 564 00:52:40,600 --> 00:52:42,240 from the perspective of the drone 565 00:52:42,320 --> 00:52:43,760 as we're flying, which allows us 566 00:52:43,840 --> 00:52:45,760 to get much tighter shots, 567 00:52:45,840 --> 00:52:47,320 go through smaller gaps, 568 00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:50,800 which we just wouldn't be able to do safely with these bigger drones. 569 00:52:54,160 --> 00:52:56,720 Not only does the drone need to be waterproof, 570 00:52:56,800 --> 00:53:00,640 but we need to be able to retrieve it and it not sink if it does crash, 571 00:53:00,720 --> 00:53:04,880 so we've got these quite high-tech pool floats 572 00:53:04,960 --> 00:53:06,560 with ping-pong balls in them. 573 00:53:06,640 --> 00:53:08,440 So I'm just going to test them out. 574 00:53:12,480 --> 00:53:14,680 Success. It floats. 575 00:53:15,760 --> 00:53:20,280 NARRATOR: Having survived the bathtub test, it's time to try it for real. 576 00:53:21,240 --> 00:53:22,680 LOUISA: Let's give this a go. 577 00:53:24,040 --> 00:53:28,040 NARRATOR: Using a headset, Ollie can see from the perspective of the drone. 578 00:53:32,160 --> 00:53:34,160 NARRATOR: It's a process of trial and error, 579 00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:37,640 which the crew will perfect through their time filming. 580 00:53:39,800 --> 00:53:42,400 And different creeks present different challenges, 581 00:53:43,000 --> 00:53:46,080 both for flying and for retrieving the drone. 582 00:53:46,160 --> 00:53:48,080 OLLIE: Fingers crossed. What could go wrong? 583 00:53:52,240 --> 00:53:53,960 OLLIE: 584 00:54:04,840 --> 00:54:06,440 NARRATOR: As winter draws in, 585 00:54:06,840 --> 00:54:09,040 the task becomes increasingly difficult 586 00:54:09,720 --> 00:54:13,240 and drone recovery becomes even more nerve-racking. 587 00:54:26,800 --> 00:54:28,680 OLLIE: 588 00:54:34,840 --> 00:54:37,960 NARRATOR: Despite the mishaps, Ollie's drone has worked, 589 00:54:38,200 --> 00:54:40,720 delivering a completely new perspective. 590 00:54:42,200 --> 00:54:45,000 Dramatic low-level shots along some of the wildest 591 00:54:45,080 --> 00:54:47,720 and most inaccessible parts of the Yukon. 592 00:54:53,200 --> 00:54:56,320 To capture the final chapter of the Yukon's story, 593 00:54:56,800 --> 00:54:59,040 the crew have to leave the bus behind 594 00:54:59,120 --> 00:55:01,760 and embark on their most challenging journey of all... 595 00:55:03,680 --> 00:55:07,320 to film musk ox herds that roam a remote island 596 00:55:07,400 --> 00:55:09,880 where the Yukon empties into the Bering Sea. 597 00:55:11,360 --> 00:55:18,160 Standing in their way is the Yukon's vast roadless delta. 598 00:55:18,960 --> 00:55:21,240 The only way across is by plane. 599 00:55:23,080 --> 00:55:26,080 Waiting for them in the remote village of Toksook Bay 600 00:55:26,160 --> 00:55:29,000 is local Yupik guide Jackie Cleveland, 601 00:55:29,320 --> 00:55:31,840 who has organised some unusual accommodation 602 00:55:31,920 --> 00:55:33,920 in this rarely-visited community. 603 00:55:35,120 --> 00:55:38,320 JACKIE: It's very remote here. There are no hotels. 604 00:55:38,600 --> 00:55:42,520 So this is the Nelson Island School, where we will be sleeping. 605 00:55:44,880 --> 00:55:47,560 NARRATOR: Jackie introduces the class to the crew. 606 00:55:47,640 --> 00:55:50,800 JACKIE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE 607 00:55:52,320 --> 00:55:54,440 THEY CHATTER 608 00:55:56,520 --> 00:55:58,480 JACKIE: So here is the library, 609 00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:02,800 which we've turned into a sleeping space slash office. 610 00:56:04,680 --> 00:56:07,840 This is one bedroom. Cosy. 611 00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:13,440 And then another bedroom is down here. 612 00:56:17,320 --> 00:56:18,320 Neat. 613 00:56:19,640 --> 00:56:21,320 NARRATOR: With their base camp set up, 614 00:56:21,600 --> 00:56:25,320 the team set off on the next leg of their wild journey... 615 00:56:26,600 --> 00:56:29,600 ..this time taking to all-terrain vehicles. 616 00:56:31,080 --> 00:56:34,680 The best way to navigate the island is to follow the coastline. 617 00:56:36,320 --> 00:56:38,440 The flat beaches make for faster going 618 00:56:38,520 --> 00:56:41,760 than the dense tundra that cloaks the interior of the island. 619 00:56:43,200 --> 00:56:45,360 But this route has its own challenges. 620 00:56:45,600 --> 00:56:47,760 LOUISA: We're in a bit of a race against the tides. 621 00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:51,280 We have an hour to get there and if we don't make it back, 622 00:56:51,360 --> 00:56:52,600 we're stuck there. 623 00:56:52,840 --> 00:56:55,480 So time's on. Pressure's on. 624 00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:04,240 With the tide coming up, the crew's travel corridor is shrinking. 625 00:57:07,360 --> 00:57:09,640 And they still haven't seen any musk ox. 626 00:57:17,200 --> 00:57:19,200 With the way ahead disappearing fast, 627 00:57:19,400 --> 00:57:22,040 they have no option but to head inland. 628 00:57:24,440 --> 00:57:28,800 Up here, it can take an hour to cover just a couple of kilometres. 629 00:57:33,440 --> 00:57:35,400 After hours of bumpy travel, 630 00:57:35,720 --> 00:57:39,120 the team reach areas where even the ATVs struggle. 631 00:57:41,920 --> 00:57:44,040 The only option is to send a drone up 632 00:57:44,480 --> 00:57:47,080 to help scope out the endless rolling hills. 633 00:57:51,640 --> 00:57:55,800 They spot a herd, sheltering in one of the island's hidden valleys. 634 00:57:58,560 --> 00:58:02,480 Thanks to the drone, the crew can at last start filming. 635 00:58:16,720 --> 00:58:19,440 Spending time with these magnificent animals 636 00:58:19,520 --> 00:58:23,320 makes a fitting end to a journey that has taken the crew 637 00:58:23,600 --> 00:58:28,600 to the wildest parts of one of the wildest rivers on Earth.