Original subtitles

♪

♪

‐Coming up on "Mountain Men"...

‐Just make sure I'm not gonna fall through that thing.

‐Yeah.

Stay on that side as much as you can.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

[ Howling ]

‐Oh, man. That cat's way the heck up there.

She's a big, mature female,

one of the biggest I've come across in a long time.

‐As I'm riding, the tracks are getting fresher,

the blood is starting to look fresher.

‐There's a frickin' wolf right there.

Ha! Get on out of here!

Ha! Ya!

Get out of here! Whoa.

[ Gunshot ]

Whoa, girl. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Whoa.

[ Wolf howls ]

♪

‐3,000 feet up

in Montana's Tobacco Root Mountains...

‐There's lots of snow on this north slope,

and I'm trying to find a spot

where that cat actually exited on me.

‐...lion tracker Jake Herak is on the hunt

for a cat that struck his team and ran.

‐Look at right here.

I've got old lion tracks in here,

and they've got lots of snow in them.

On the first hunt of the season...

Holy [bleep]!

Looks like that lion bit straight through that collar.

That lion got in a big fight with Henry

and ended up hurting him

and destroying one of my GPS collars.

So after that run in, I decided to name her Fang.

‐The fight with fang happened in an area known as Hell's Gate,

a narrow corridor between the mountains and the ranches below,

which is why Jake's returned to push her

back up into the mountains and away from the livestock.

‐This lion's definitely top priority.

We've kind of got, uh, revenge on our mind right now.

‐But to make the most of this run,

Jake needs a fresh track.

‐This is actually the second old track

that I've crossed just today.

‐His veteran dog Marlene

can pick up on scents that are several days old.

But he's still training 6‐month‐old Trixy

how to lock in on a lion and not get distracted.

[ Dog barks ]

‐Oh, [bleep].

Marlene liked that one.

Marlene and Trixy just lined out on this track.

I can tell it's definitely a fresh track,

so, uh, hopefully the girls can get it caught up and, uh,

hopefully this is the same cat we're after.

Kinda get a little payback and, uh, teach it a lesson.

♪

Oh, it looks like Trixy got lost

and she's coming right back down the backtrack.

Trixy, come on girl.

Oh, come on girl.

Get a little confused?

‐Just 30 minutes into the chase,

6‐month‐old Trixy returns.

‐It's not her fault.

She really doesn't know what she's after just yet.

‐But while it's a training opportunity for the young pup,

it's dangerous for her teammate Marlene

who is now speeding after an aggressive mountain lion

all on her own.

‐Come on, Trixy. Come on!

‐Marlene's running solo right now

and that's a big, big concern to me.

The last time I let go on this problem cat,

it actually attacked one of my dogs,

so I'm gonna kick it in high gear.

I want her to definitely have some backup.

♪

♪

‐In the foothills of Wyoming's Wind River Mountains,

a western icon is quietly making a comeback.

‐Here we go.

‐At an average weight of 2,000 pounds,

the American Bison is a force to be reckoned with.

‐Come on, now!

Come on, now! Yep!

‐35‐year‐old ranch‐hand Josh Kirk

manages a herd that's 200 strong...

and growing.

‐Right now, my number one job is keeping these calves alive.

This is my livelihood.

With snow on the ground, the grasses are going away,

and that means I've got to feed them,

I've got to make sure they're staying fed,

because as soon as that feed runs out, they're gone.

‐If the bison start to go hungry,

they'll get restless and wander, which is why after every feed,

Josh has to get close to the herd for a head count,

despite the personal risk.

[ Gear clacks ]

‐[ Sighs ]

I'm just gonna chill...

kinda remain where I'm at.

Watch my six a little bit. Watch my back.

Bison are not like cows or goats or horses.

They're dangerous. They're wild. They are not domesticated.

Things can go downhill really, really, really, really quick,

especially with that bull right there.

Better get on now.

So, I'm up on this kinda plateau here on this high point,

and it's a good time for me to do my herd count.

I'm‐a start with the ones at the bottom.

Counting bison is probably one of the most chaotic things

that you can possibly do.

You have to count and recount.

‐When the bison cluster in small groups

along the feed line,

it's easier and faster to get an accurate count.

‐That can't be right.

I'm coming up short.

I'm gonna do a fence check.

'Cause I'm definitely coming up short.

Ah, man.

[ Grunts ]

‐Each bison is worth $6,000

to the rancher who pays Josh to protect his assets.

‐I am the protector of the herd.

That's a huge job.

And when bison go missing,

then that's a huge loss for the ranch.

So, all the responsibility, all the stress

is on me to keep them safe.

‐The perimeter of the 3,000‐acre bison pasture

is lined with a wire fence

that's powered by 7,000 volts of electricity.

It's designed to keep the bison in...

‐Golly.

‐...and the predators out.

[ Car door shuts ]

‐Ugh!

There's definitely been a bison

that's come in straight through the fence.

You can see the tracks right here,

right where it went out and headed that way.

Judging by these tracks, could have been out for a day.

[ Sighs ]

‐After a quick fix to keep

the rest of the herd corralled...

‐All right.

Try to turn it back on here.

We're hot. [ Sighs ]

‐Josh needs to start tracking the lost bison

before it's too late.

‐These tracks are just going right outside this fence,

straight that way into no man's land.

I mean, you got wolves and mountain lions.

It's definitely a recipe for disaster.

I'm gonna get my horse saddled up

and I got to hit this range and just start trackin' him.

And somehow, hopefully, I can bring this beast back home.

♪

♪

‐In North Carolina,

keeping his corner of the mountains wild

has saddled Eustace Conway with a hefty debt

that he and apprentice, Raleigh Avery,

will be scrambling all winter to pay off.

‐We're gettin' it there, Raleigh.

‐Fortunately, when the weather turns

and the temperatures drop, they have a side business

they can tap for some quick cash.

‐Let's see if we can load up some of that.

‐In the Appalachian Mountains,

where many rural people still heat their homes with firewood,

a single cord can bring in as much as $400.

‐This is my personal stash, but my goodness,

I need the money to make that payment.

‐Yeah.

‐Part of my strategy for raising money

is to let the land pay for itself.

This firewood is coming off the land,

so the very land I'm paying for is paying for itself.

‐Every truck load will help Eustace chip away

at the $50,000 balloon payment that's due in the spring.

But for every buyer in the area,

there's usually twice as many sellers,

so Eustace has no time to waste getting to town.

‐Well, let's see if we can get this one out.

We'll come back and get some more.

♪

Startin' to get cold now that that storm's moved through.

‐Yeah, it is.

‐Speakin' of the storm moving through, look at that.

‐When heavy rains blew through the area two days ago,

it left a lot of damage in it's wake,

and a century‐old wooden bridge

that connects Turtle Island to the outside world

appears to have taken a major hit.

‐There's shingles everywhere, huh?

‐Yeah. It looks like that wind ripped up the roof a little bit.

‐High winds ripped dozens of shingles from the roof

and the swollen river ravaged the bridge's dirt roadbed.

‐Hit this bridge hard.

You can see all the way down through there.

This is sunk way down.

‐From where you're standing, to where I'm standing,

it's just sloping off down into the creek.

‐We just have to get through ‐‐ we have to get through today.

It looks like it might be safe enough to drive.

‐The condition of the bridge is not ideal

for Eustace's 2,000 pound load,

but it's the only road to town.

‐Tell you what, let's, uh...

[Sighs]...try it.

[ Engine revs ]

♪

Just make sure I'm not gonna fall through that thing.

‐Yeah. Stay on that side as much as you can.

Just ease on in.

♪

‐In the Blue Ridge Mountains...

‐Whoa, whoa, whoa!

‐...Eustace is on the edge...

‐This bridge is gonna give out under you.

‐...of a dangerous collapse.

‐Back up, back up.

[ Engine revs ]

Whew.

‐Raleigh stopped me right in my tracks,

'cause apparently, he saw it movin', like sinkin' down.

This bridge is my main way to civilization.

If I wanna sell some firewood,

I've gotta go through this bridge.

I wonder if that storm washed out the underpinnin'.

‐I see some supports down on this side,

but over here there's nothing under it.

And it looks like the log is cracked.

‐Does it look like if we jacked it up right there

and put something underneath it, it would bring it back up?

‐Right, even if we lift it up a little bit,

we can stick something up under there

and just keep it from going down any more.

‐To repair the broken foundation,

they need to lift the bridge at least a foot.

But weighing in at more than six tons,

it'll be difficult to do by hand.

‐We could try just gettin' a big lever

and just see if we can jack it up.

Like right there, that huge rock would make a good fulcrum.

‐A sturdy fulcrum is the first requirement

for a makeshift lever system.

‐Yeah, that's a beauty.

Put it on top of that one and that one.

‐Yep. ‐See how it will bridge that?

And that could be the foundation for our fulcrum.

All right, now wiggle it and see how stable it is.

That's pretty good.

Let's see if we can find a lever

up through here somewhere, Raleigh.

I just started looking for a straight section of a tree.

‐The straighter the tree,

the more effective the lever will be.

‐That one that's hanging up over there, up on that hillside?

‐Yeah. ‐It looks like it's got promise.

‐Okay.

‐And the longer it is, the more weight it will be able to lift.

[ Saw whirs ]

‐About ready? ‐Yeah.

[ Saw buzzes ]

♪

‐Tapering the ends of the 30‐foot poplar

makes it easier to slide under the bridge.

‐All right, maybe we can pull it into place.

Ready? One, two, three.

One, two, three.

We got it underneath there, but pick It up

and put it right over there just see what ‐‐ what we get.

Now go down...

‐Oh yeah, we got some movement here.

Yeah, it's movin' there, Raleigh. I can see it.

Keep goin'.

Start bringing it down.

There you go.

Perfect.

I think we're on to somethin' here.

Let me just put something solid under it.

[ Crack ]

Ah, God!

♪

‐Winter is in full swing across Montana's Yaak Valley,

throwing a wrench in the works

of Tom Oar's successful trapping business.

‐Trapping's been tough, man.

Bunch of sets out and...

‐This kind of weather just ain't good.

‐His apprentice and partner, Sean McAfee,

has come up empty for the last two weeks

on their most productive line.

‐Conditions, uh, changing pretty quickly now, Tom.

‐Yep, it's freezing up, isn't it?

‐Yeah.

‐And with subfreezing temperatures

soon to make accessing local ponds and rivers

more difficult,

Sean's seeking Tom's expert advice

to salvage their season before it's too late.

‐And here's that first set here.

‐Oh, well, there ain't nothing in it.

‐Nothing in it. ‐Nothing in it.

‐Just kinda been the story of that trap right there.

‐Let me slip down in this.

‐We can probably just pull it though, huh?

‐Yep. I think we ‐‐ it's gonna be froze in tomorrow.

The rivers and all the waters are starting to freeze over.

Once the water starts freezing,

well, now the beaver can't step on the trap anymore

because there's a layer of ice over the trap,

so he can't even get on it and step on it.

‐Let's do it then. Let's pull it and find something new here.

‐Yeah.

‐Trapping under the ice is possible,

but it requires different equipment

and a different strategy.

Plus, there's no point in doubling down

on an area that's not producing.

‐Another set right in here, Mr. Tom.

‐Oh yeah, I see it.

[ Sighs ]

‐Beaver pelts are one of Tom's biggest sellers,

which means if they don't drum up a plan B soon,

their whole season could be in jeopardy.

‐I know a place we can go. ‐Okay.

‐The biggest thing in our favor, Sean,

is that it's kinda spring fed...

‐Uh‐huh.

‐...so it's always the last thing to freeze.

‐Okay. ‐The only thing is... [Exhales]

...it's so far back in there we'll have to spend the night.

‐Okay. ‐There's a cabin, though.

‐Okay. Let's do it.

‐All right.

‐When you work for somebody like Tom

who has that kind of experience ‐‐

you know, he's been trapping beaver

longer than I've been alive.

So, it just helps to give you confirmation on

all ‐‐ all right. It's ‐‐ It's time to ch‐‐

change what we're doin' here.

‐It's been years since Tom's made the 15‐mile trek

to this spot, and it's a gamble to try and run a line

so deep in the woods.

But since it was high yield in the past,

he's hoping the journey will be worth the effort.

‐It'll be an adventure. ‐Yeah.

‐You stick with me, buddy.

I'll k‐‐ I'll keep you in lots of adventures.

‐[ Chuckles ]

[ Engines rev ]

♪

‐High up in the Montana mountains,

at Hell's Gate...

‐Oh, [bleep].

Ooh‐ooh.

Look what we got here.

Got us an elk.

Got multiple lion tracks all over.

‐Jake Herak and his youngest dog, Trixy,

are pushing deeper into the lion's den.

‐This thing's definitely freshly chewed on here.

I'll bet you Marlene came up and kicked this cat off this kill.

‐They're racing to catch up with Marlene,

Jake's 2‐year‐old lead dog,

who's now facing a killer lion one‐on‐one.

‐Come on, Trixy, let's go!

Let's go!

‐Lions are really resourceful animals

and they won't waste any meat, so...

And they'll come back to this multiple times.

So, we're definitely gonna need to push this cat up the mountain

and, uh, in hopes that she goes after some game up higher.

‐Jake's following Marlene's tracks up the mountain,

but there's no way to know for sure how far behind he is.

‐Holy crap, what a mess.

There's a bunch of dead fall all over the damn place.

Come on, Trixy.

‐Every minute Jake spends

navigating the treacherous terrain

widens the gap between him and Marlene.

‐You can see right here where this cat took one hop, two hops,

then it took about a eight‐and‐a‐half‐foot jump

before it touched down on the other side of the creek there.

These dogs can't jump six or eight feet like these cats,

and it's no surprise to me that it ‐‐

this water didn't stop Marlene.

She'll swim a river if she knows that cat's on the other side.

‐But with temperatures below zero,

he's not taking any chances with 6‐month‐old Trixy.

‐Go ahead, Trixy.

Oh!

That was close.

All right, I've just made it across that crick.

Fang's still on the loose, so we need to get up there with her.

Come on, Trixy.

[ Dog howls ]

‐In the Tobacco Root Mountains...

‐You can hear her right now, she's blowing up.

‐...Jake's finally closing in on his lead dog, Marlene...

‐She's definitely treed this cat.

‐...hoping she's treed the cat

that took a swipe at his dog Henry

in yesterday's encounter.

‐Get down, get down. There it is right there.

I can't tell what exact cat that is,

but she's definitely got a cat in the tree.

Oh, [bleep]. Look at that.

Trixy's lining out.

She definitely hears Marlene hammering down the head.

Um, this is gonna be pretty cool to see what she does.

‐6‐month‐old pup Trixy is still in training,

but her instincts are on point.

‐Oh, [bleep] yeah. There you go.

You can hear her right now. She's blowing up.

Uh, I need to get up here real quietly

and, uh, get to the tree.

[ Marlene howls ]

Good girl, Mar Mar!

[ Howling continues ]

Oh, man.

That cat definitely didn't like Marlene.

It's, uh, way the heck up there.

Good girl, Mar Mar!

Mar Mar.

Good girl, good girl!

Good girl!

Female!

You can definitely see that black dot's

right at the base of it,

so that means that it's a female.

‐In addition to a cat's relative size,

a black spot of fur directly under the base of the tail,

rather than several inches below,

is a sign that it's a female cat.

‐Good dog!

‐But she's not nearly as big as the one that injured Henry ‐‐

the one he calls Fang.

‐This is a totally new cat to me.

So, new cats mean more problems.

More problems means I got more work.

Marlene did a hell of a job today by herself.

I, uh, having high hopes of her and Trixy treeing this cat,

but she ended up solo, and, uh, she got it done.

Trixy.

Trixy didn't do bad today, it's pretty typical of a young pup.

Just, uh, it's all part of training.

It takes a lot of work and a lot of dedication

to make a good dog.

Come on, Mar Mar! Hey, let's go!

‐The day was a success, but with Fang still on the loose,

Jake's work in Hell's Gate isn't over yet.

‐There ain't no way in Hell we're leaving this job

until we get Fang pushed up off the mountain.

♪

♪

‐You ready for some coffee? ‐Yeah, sounds great.

‐From their Ozark Mountain forge,

Jason and Mary Hawk provide for their growing clan.

But the living is only as good as the work,

and so far, they're both on the upswing.

‐You know, we've been really fortunate.

The business is hoppin'.

We've got a ton of orders for knives.

So the goal this year, it's about producing.

‐To help keep up with the demand,

Mary spent the summer getting a crash course

in the basics of blacksmithing.

‐Will you grab me that, uh, little pad and paper?

And I'll show you something. ‐Okay.

‐Now it's time for her to prove her skills

with her first solo forge of a frontier belt knife.

‐Our frontier belt knife is one of our most popular models.

And if I can get this pattern down

and be producing them in a good way,

Jason can focus on his custom knives.

‐Jason is a master blacksmith with a reputation for quality.

Mary's work will have to measure up

before they're able to sell her blade under the Hawk name.

‐The forge is yours. ‐Ah, thanks.

I...I'm a little nervous because, uh, this is my first,

uh, knife build all the way through.

‐The first step is to heat the steel to 1,500 degrees,

hot enough to make it pliable and ready to be shaped.

‐So, I'm just drawing out the handle.

When it's thick is the best time to really pound on it

and move some metal.

And the faster you can get it back in when it loses the heat,

the faster it can heat up and the less fuel is wasted.

‐Honing the blade down to an eighth of an inch

requires an expert touch ‐‐

something Mary is still developing.

‐So, right now, I'm ‐‐ my blows are a lot lighter

because this steel is a lot thinner.

‐With the blade roughly shaped,

the next step is to create a beveled edge ‐‐

precision work that is even more difficult.

‐I just need to be able to... get this right.

We'll see.

It's...

Okay.

♪

Oh.

Um...

Jay?

‐It's twisted.

‐Is it fixable?

‐[ Sighs heavily ]

♪

‐Whoa. Whoa.

[ Clicks tongue ]

There's definitely some tracks over here.

‐Josh Kirk is 10 miles deep

into Wyoming's Wind River mountains...

tracking a rogue prized bison.

‐Looks like this bison's going right up in this canyon.

‐It's been three hours since Josh discovered tracks

headed straight into the high hills ‐‐

dangerous country for an animal without a herd.

‐This canyon goes into some of the wildest country

that's out here.

I mean, it just goes on and on for hundreds of miles.

It's just nothing but wilderness.

‐These mountains are home to wolves, black bears, and lions,

all powerful enough to take down a single bison

if given the chance.

‐Come on, girl. What is that?

We got somethin' right here. Hang on.

Oh, yeah.

There's a bunch of blood right here, and this is fresh.

Whoa.

Definitely a wolf track here.

This is not what I want to see.

[ Quietly ] Oh, man.

[ Normal voice ] [Bleep].

Come on, girl.

Come on.

As I'm riding, the tracks are getting fresher,

the blood is starting to look fresher.

At this point, I don't know what to expect.

Come on.

♪

There's a frickin' wolf right there.

Ha! Get on out of here!

Ha! Ya! Ya!

Get out of here!

Ya!

♪

♪

‐Ha! Get on out of here!

Ya! Get out of here!

There's a wolf right there.

Ya! Whoa.

Whoa.

[ Grunts ]

[ Gunshot, horse neighs ]

Whoa, girl. Ho, ho, ho, ho.

Whoa. Come on, girl.

Easy.

[ Breathes heavily ]

I missed him.

[ Horse snorts ]

‐Josh managed to scare off the lone wolf...

‐[ Pants ] ‐...but the damage is done.

‐God, I'm so pissed.

[ Sighs ]

[ Breathes heavily ]

This is a 3‐year‐old animal.

It's my responsibility to take care of them,

and when I lose a bison, it's tough.

It can be really, really tough.

Thousands of dollars just laying here.

‐With so much of the carcass untouched,

Josh changes gears quickly to salvage what he can.

‐I've got it semi‐away from this gut pile,

so, I'm gonna try to get this guy s‐‐ skinned up.

‐Bison meat is worth $10 per pound,

so every part that Josh is able to save is money in the bank.

‐I've got to get the skin off

because I've got to get this meat cooled down.

‐The faster Josh can break down the animal,

the less likely it will rot.

But just cutting through the half‐inch hide

is an hour‐long job.

‐The hide is thick.

These animals are made to go through winter.

‐It takes three hours to complete the salvage job,

and by the time he's finished... ‐[ Grunts ]

‐...Josh has run out of enough daylight

to make the eight‐mile trip home.

‐It's startin' to get cold.

I need to get a fire going. I need to get a camp started.

Last thing I wanna do is be stuck on a wolf kill

in the middle of the freaking night

without a shelter, without a fire.

I was not expecting to have to skin a bison

and have to salvage all this.

I'm gonna be here all night whether I wanna be or not.

I'm limited with my gear.

I have no sleeping bag.

I don't have no blanket.

So now I've got to improvise.

The wind's definitely starting to pick up.

It's gonna be getting cold tonight.

♪

♪

‐In North Carolina...

‐It's too dang heavy. It broke the f‐‐ lever.

‐...a feat of extreme heavy lifting...

goes south.

‐How bad is it? ‐Oh, it's bad.

‐But with only one way in and one way out

of Turtle Island, Eustace and Raleigh aren't giving up

until the bridge is repaired

and they're back in business delivering firewood.

‐It broke where I had it, like, sawed down.

We could just not saw it down.

That's what I'm thinkin'.

My best guess on the way to deal with this lever breakin'

is to make it stronger,

and the only way I can use it stronger

is just the full size.

One, two, three. [ Grunts ]

‐To wedge the full thickness of the log under the bridge,

Eustace has to reduce the height of the rock fulcrum,

giving him less leverage for the job.

‐Can you get it out of there? ‐Yeah, I got it.

‐All right, see if you can lift it up in there, Raleigh.

‐[ Grunting ]

‐Whoa, yeah. That's it.

All right. Now take him on down.

‐[ Exhales sharply ]

‐Let me just see what I can do by myself on this.

If I can stand up on this thing...

Whew.

Feel like I'm steering a ‐‐ a boat here.

But what I'm doing on the end of this lever

is putting as much weight as I can on it

and what Raleigh's doing at the other end,

is he's puttin' the rocks up underneath it.

What about now?

‐Oh, yeah. It went further.

Just keep on bouncin'.

‐[ Grunting ] ‐Every time you bounce,

this rock squeezes in.

All right, hold off.

It's there.

[ Sighs ]

‐I believe we've got it done, Raleigh.

[ Laughter ]

‐Reinforcing the bridge foundation

takes care of one job,

but the roadbed is still unstable,

with one side partly washed away.

‐If we can just get this shored up,

maybe throw some rocks in these big holes...

‐Uh‐huh. ‐...maybe build this up

a little bit,

then I think we can get through this.

‐A 12‐foot poplar log acts as a new curb

and locks in a fresh layer of rock and dirt.

♪

‐[ Grunts ]

♪

‐I believe we about got this thing, Raleigh.

‐Yeah, I'd drive over it.

‐Well, let's go deliver some firewood.

We're gonna get in the truck and drive on out on this bridge

and see what moves.

Well, you watch, and we'll see what happens.

‐Just come through slow. ‐Okay.

♪

♪

How's it lookin' there, Raleigh?

‐It's lookin' good.

Come on through.

♪

‐Yew!

How did it look?

‐Didn't move at all. ‐Right on.

‐That's what I'm talking about. ‐Yeah!

‐We fixed it.

At long last, we're gonna get this load of firewood delivered.

My life's mission is to keep this land

a wild and sacred place.

So I'm just gonna keep goin' and goin' at it till we get there.

♪

[ Engine revs ]

‐In the remote backwoods of Montana's Yaak Valley,

Tom Oar and Sean McAfee are racing against the deep freeze.

‐It's very rough country.

‐After having struck out on their local line,

they're on the hunt for better trapping grounds

in the high country.

And the only way to get there is to cross the Yaak River...

‐There be the river there, eh?

‐...if the ice is strong enough to hold them.

‐What do you think of that ice?

‐I don't know. It don't look real thick right there.

‐Some open water there, huh? ‐Yep.

Maybe we should walk out there first, huh?

We're a long ways from home.

This is gonna be a pretty dangerous situation.

‐Probing the ice assesses its thickness and strength,

but it's impossible to be sure that it's frozen over evenly.

‐I don't know about getting across anywhere else there.

This looks like the spot right here, buddy.

‐You don't want to go across on ice slow.

All right.

It gives it more chance to break out from underneath you.

So, big thing is, get on it and run across that ice

and shoot up that other bank on the other side to dry land.

You ready? ‐Yes sir.

‐Here we go.

[ Engine revs ]

♪

♪

‐Hold up!

‐Damn it.

‐In Montana's treacherous backcountry...

[ Engine revs ]

‐Ooh! Ah.

‐...Tom's been bested by the ice and snow.

‐She's stuck, isn't she?

[Bleep].

I thought I had enough speed

to make it up the other bank and ‐‐

but it was a little bit too steep.

Almost made it to the top of the bank,

and then that was it. I was stuck.

‐The snow machine slammed into the bank at full speed.

‐There's one ski.

‐And though it hasn't sustained any damage,

it's not going anywhere.

‐Ooh. Huh. That sucker's packed in there.

‐Yeah.

‐How in the Hell are we gonna get this out?

‐Without a reverse gear, the only way to move

the 500‐pounder is with muscle power.

‐I got the back. ‐One, two, three.

‐[ Grunts ] ‐[ Grunts ]

♪

‐[ Grunts ] ‐[ Grunts ]

‐Why don't we try again without the trailer

and I'll pull the trailer up there?

‐For his second run at the hill,

Tom's shedding the weight of the trailer

and circling around again to build momentum.

[ Engine revs ]

♪

‐Whoa. ‐[ Laughs ]

You made it.

‐[ Sighs ] Whew.

All righty.

‐Four miles deeper into the bush,

Tom and Sean arrive at their destination

with little daylight left

to find out if they've beaten the freeze.

‐These ponds are spring fed,

so the spring‐fed water is warmer.

This could be our last chance of being al‐‐

able to trap beaver before everything freezes.

[ Sighs ]

‐Looks promising, man. ‐Yep.

‐The river is still open water and not only flowing,

it's also teaming with signs of beaver activity.

‐Got to be a beaver around here somewhere.

See all the sticks sticking up out of the water there?

‐Sure do. ‐Yep.

‐Tom zeroes in on a beaver dam

that should be a high‐traffic zone for the animals.

‐Probably put in about three traps here.

‐Okay.

‐The first trap that I put in is a‐a foothold trap.

It's baited with beaver castor.

It's a‐a call lure to call them to that spot.

And just put it right there, and we'll have one set done.

All right.

Second set I thought

I'll put in the middle of the dam.

Ooh.

We're gonna put the third trap there...

‐Oh, okay. Yep, right ‐‐ ‐...right in that center.

‐Right there. ‐Got it.

Three sets.

I think you found us a little honey hole there.

‐We're not all done yet.

We still got a lot of work to do.

♪

♪

‐Let me see that. [ Sighs ]

‐I really muffed it up.

‐In the Ozarks, Mary's trying to prove

she's ready to join the family business...

‐Yeah you did.

That's a twist.

‐But she's run into trouble on her first solo job.

‐Okay, one of the things is... ‐Yeah.

‐...if you're gonna make blades

you're gonna learn to straighten them.

‐For me, and ‐‐ this is one of the most challenging things.

Everything going out needs to be perfect.

‐We don't want to spot heat this

as much as we want to get the whole thing rolling.

‐Yeah.

‐So we're just gonna kind of...

heat it and let it come up to temp for a minute.

If we can get this straightened out,

then it'll be fine.

But if we can't get it straightened out,

then we start over.

First thing we're gonna do is we're gonna take out

the majority of it.

Get it back to true. ‐Rather than hammering it?

‐Then we'll hammer it back true.

‐Okay.

‐The challenge is to straighten the twist

without overworking the metal,

which will make it too brittle to cut.

‐And bend it back this way. ‐Gentle, gentle.

Yep.

You can see right now the spine's there.

‐Mm‐hmm. ‐But that ‐‐ that edge is...

‐Oh, I see that. ‐...womp, womp, womp.

‐Could I get that out with the hammer?

‐You can.

A little bit better, but...

‐Okay. ‐...super gentle.

Not much on your strikes at all.

Not much on your heat at all.

Okay.

‐All right. ‐You give that a run.

I'll be right back. ‐Okay.

[ Door squeals ]

♪

I think it's good.

‐With the blade back on track,

Mary's next step is to file the metal and reheat it

to prepare for the quench ‐‐

the part of the process that proves

whether the steel will hold or fail.

‐All right, looks good.

Heel in first, get this all heated up.

All right, I'm‐a let that sit for a second.

Grab my oil out.

[ Sighs ]

‐Quenching steel in hot oil

brings the metal back to room temperature

and locks in it's hardness.

‐I'm a little concerned.

Sometimes when a blade is twisted in the forging process,

the crystalline structure sometimes remembers that twist.

And so, when I quench, we'll be able to see

whether or not that twist ruined the blade.

[ Door squeals ]

‐Hey, babe. ‐[ Sighs ] How you doing?

‐All right. Just, uh, about ready to quench.

‐Okay.

If she didn't get the twist out,

it'll amplify in that quench.

‐All right.

One, two, three.

[ Sizzling ]

‐In the Ozarks, it's Mary's moment of truth

to see whether or not she's single‐handedly

forged her first blade worthy of the Hawk name.

‐If something goes wrong with this quench,

we're gonna have to start from scratch.

‐Huh, yeah.

‐How's it look? ‐Looks pretty straight.

What do you think?

‐That looks good.

We want the true test.

[ Scratching ]

‐The teeth of a file will dig into softer steel,

but if they don't grip the blade,

it means the hardness is just right.

‐All right. ‐All right, oh.

‐It's looking good now.

‐All right. [ Sighs ]

It is a big relief to see that that knife survived.

I feel good. I feel confident.

I can do this.

♪

[ Banging ] [ Door shuts ]

‐Oh, it's getting cold out there. [ Sighs ]

‐You get it all together? ‐Yeah.

‐Let me see. ‐Check it out.

‐It's looking pretty good. ‐Is it good?

‐Yeah.

This is a milestone.

This frontier belt knife, she's got in the bag.

Now it's an opportunity for me to focus on some other things,

so that's huge.

That's a ‐‐ That's a hell of a job, babe.

This is a big deal.

‐Despite all of my setbacks today,

I really feel like I can do this.

I can forge this knife and finish it all the way through.

And I'm proud to see it go out the door.

♪

♪

‐This looks good, Sean. ‐All right.

‐Tom and Sean are using the last moments of daylight

to take full advantage of the beaver trapping grounds

they've just uncovered.

‐Conibear set? ‐Yeah.

‐All right.

‐Conibear, it's a 10‐inch square trap,

springs on both sides.

The beaver swims through it and it clamps down on them.

It goes off kind of like a mousetrap does.

‐They've already set three traps around a beaver dam.

Now, further downstream,

the conibear traps could snare another catch

as it travels up the river.

‐You gonna drive this one in?

‐Yep. Go ahead.

‐Their job done... ‐After you, mister.

‐Here we go.

‐...Tom and Sean head back to camp for the night

in the nearby trapper's cabin.

They will let their traps soak until morning.

‐Home sweet home. ‐Made her.

‐Though they've been lucky so far,

if the traps fail to produce tonight,

their prospects for a good haul this season will sink.

‐We ought to be able to pick up a couple beavers, anyhow.

‐I would think so.

‐Pulling beaver in the dead of winter

is especially difficult,

and they can use all the head start they can get

before this river freezes, too.

‐We've put out five traps and normally you,

with beaver, you usually catch about half.

‐Yeah. Half your sets?

‐Yeah. ‐Yeah.

‐I mean, so we outta catch two, maybe three.

But the only thing we can hope for is that ‐‐

from that warm spring water... ‐Yeah.

‐...if that spring water keeps it from freezing.

‐Right. Yeah. ‐Hopefully tomorrow at this time

we'll be skinnin'. Huh?

‐Hopefully.

♪

‐It's 30 minutes until sundown in the Wind River Mountains.

And with three hundred pounds of bison meat on the line,

Josh Kirk isn't going anywhere.

‐The temperature's dropping fast,

and I have no sleeping bag, I don't have no blanket.

All I've got is this bison.

Right now, my main focus is to get this hide off,

so I can make it through the night.

‐Bison hides are rare and valuable.

But in a survival situation like this,

they're also life savers.

‐This hide, it's gonna protect me.

It's gonna be my shelter from the storm.

It's what I'm gonna wrap up,

and it's what's gonna keep me warm

through this winter‐cold night.

Got the bison by the tail.

Ooh‐aah!

[ Grunting ]

I feel accomplished right now.

I was able to minimize a complete loss.

Tomorrow's another day.

I got to figure out how to pack all this meat out,

get it processed.

I'm gonna sleep with my pistol on me,

just to hopefully keep the wolves at bay,

any predators that come in.

Just wanna make it through the night.

If my eyes open in the morning,

then, uh, that's gonna be the first day's blessing.

[ Howling ]

‐Next time on "Mountain Men"...

‐She's got a lot of weight on her back.

It's like pilgrim's progress here.

Just trying to get home.

I'm tired, she's tired, but we have to get back.

We have to save this meat.

‐Welcome to your first day of school, bud.

Go! Yeah, yeah.

When they're young like this,

they're the most dangerous, just 'cause they don't know.

[ Horse neighs ]

‐Woah. Woah, woah!

Woah!

‐Hang on, Harry!

‐The goal this year, it's about producing.

Focusing on our most popular products that we're putting out.

‐Ah, [bleep].

[ Rumbling ] [Bleep] it!

Ah, [bleep].

‐You okay? ‐No. Ugh.

‐What happened?