All language subtitles for Life Below Zero S11E04 Arctic Harvest_track3_[eng]

♪ ♪

SUE: I got hit with a
decent amount of snow.

The thing that happens here
is, you get a bunch of snow,

but then the
wind sends it all the way
out to the Arctic Ocean.

Next time, the north wind
comes in and sends it
back down to Fairbanks.

You don't know when a
blizzard's going to come up.

But this right here,
this is why I got to get
the tracks on everything.

On the Argo, the tires
don't make it through
snow like this.

My clearance isn't that much.

You reach a point,
even though it's
got a powerful engine,

the tires will just
start spinning on this,
this wet, heavy snow.

As the temperature
and the conditions change,
your vehicles have to

morph with the times.

Welcome to the next
eight months up in Kavik.

It can be a desolate,
harsh climate.

But it's teeming with
its own forms of life.

If I don't get this done,
I won't be one of them.

(theme music plays).

The tires have to drive on
track and then somehow, I got
to get it to curl back over.

I'm, I just, I'm, I'm
unclear how to do that.

I've been extremely worried.

Spent all night awake,
trying to figure out
how the heck I'm going to

do this because I know
it's, it's a two-person job.

It's not a one-person job.

I enjoy problem solving.

Sometimes, I can get
a little frustrated.

It doesn't stop me from
getting my job done.

Because I'm the only
one here doing the job.

Oh, yeah, right.

Seriously, seriously?

So, how far off am I?

Several inches.

So, I just need to
think how I'm going to get
these two pieces together.

There's slack, if you look,
you've got a little dip here.

A little dip there.
A little dip here.

But if the tires are full,
I might be able just to
take air out of the tires.

Is it key for me to
get my tracks put on and
winterize these vehicles?

Absolutely.

As the planet changes,
I'm getting more snow.

I went and had three foot
of snow and down below
zero temps early on.

Now, it's warmer temps, make
hay while the sun shines.

Get the chores
done when your fingers
aren't going to freeze.

I have more viable time to
work without a glove at 20
above than I do at 20 below.

See if it's making
any difference yet.

It's coming together.

That fits really well now.

Moving, and voila.

Once you get one,
boom, boom, boom, boom.

It's like a zipper.

It, it'll start coming
together better.

Ratchet in a little
tighter on that side.

Okay, there we go.

One side done.

The second one, I'm going to
do just like I did the first.

I might have made
it a little harder than
it needed to be by being

inexperienced at doing it.

But guess what, I got it done.

I guarantee you, by the time
next winter rolls around,
there's a whole new game plan

for how to do this.

It's never about being
stagnant, it's about
using your time wisely.

Work smarter, not harder.

Today, uh, getting
these tracks on, took
up all of my day.

All of my chore allocation
time went on that.

But overall,
a job only takes as
long as it's supposed to.

But for tonight, it's
lights out, and mama's
putting her feet up.

CHIP: This kind of
life is healthy.

You're not overweight,
you're not struggling.

This is just like
a good workout.

Yeah, we got about two
hours of sunlight left.

We can go get this done.

NARRATOR: For the Hailstones,

trapping furbearing
animals this time of
year is a way of life

in northwest Alaska.

The hides can be used to make
clothing that will combat
the brutal winter weather.

Or they can be sold for income
to purchase vital resources.

CHIP: Right now, the
ice isn't very thick and
we've got a ton of snow,

which we usually don't have.

And, um, I'm thinking, just
go put out a few traps.

Maybe I can get ahold of a few
foxes or something right now.

I've got, um, body hold traps.

I got leg holds, and
I have snare wire.

So, we're going to have
plenty to do today.

The trap's I've got
are in bags right now.

I dyed them, and I've
boiled them, and gotten rid
of all the scent and, um,

basically I don't use my
working gloves on them.

I wouldn't want them smelling
like gasoline or like myself,
or something I've touched

around the house.

And, um, they're pretty
much scent free and they're
pretty much ready to go.

I'm going to go to a
lake over here, it's about
2 miles away, 3 miles away.

The best thing I could get it
would probably be a wolverine.

What I'm really kind of
just looking for is some
foxes because foxes tan

quickly and easily, and make a
really great hat.

When you're out at 40 below
and you got a nice fox
hat, then you stay warm.

You can't have too
many furs right now.

It's just one of those things.

It's like a commodity to us.

AGNES: You see those
fox tracks over there?

CHIP: I'm going to go have a
look and see what's doable.

AGNES: Is that a good spot?

Should I untie the sled?

CHIP: Yeah, would you, please?

I've got one good
spot right here.

I'm going to put leg holds.

AGNES: I'm glad we brought
this whole skin so we
can just pick and choose,

and let the hairs
fly as you cut it and
set it for your bait.

CHIP: Oh, yeah, some of
the best bait there is.

AGNES: We've seen a few
tracks and that's why we
decided to trap this area.

CHIP: I'm putting up
some bait right here.

I'm going to put a couple
leg holds underneath it.

Well, I like this spot
because I see a regular
trail going by it,

and I know an animal's
going to pass by here.

Particularly one I want.

And I want a fox right now.

Usually, I set
these in tandem.

Set two of them together.

I've got twice the
luck that way, I guess.

The animal can't really,
uh, go anywhere with them.

He gets two of these on
his legs and he's done for.

And I'm using the caribou
hair to kind of make
a scent or something,

something the animal can pick
up on, thinking that there's
probably something buried here

that it can dig up and eat.

Okay, that's as good
as it gets, I guess.

Think we'll go down here and
get inside the slough, and
take ourselves up the slough.

You want to put a
trap right here?

We might as well go
with the leg holds.

AGNES: Yup.

Are you going to
use the fish trap?

CHIP: Yeah, cause we're by
the water, we should use fish.

AGNES: Yeah.

CHIP: I am putting a leg
hold trap into place.

I'm making like a little
place here where I can
snuggle the trap into.

AGNES: This is the, going to
be a fun ride every other day.

CHIP: It's probably going to
be every day, not every other.

With leg holds, you got
to check them every day.

AGNES: What are those
tracks over there?

CHIP: Those are
ptarmigan and fox.

There's a heavy traffic
of fox coming around
this little point here.

AGNES: Next time, I'm going
to bring a .22, so when
we see those ptarmigan,

we can stop and try
to take a few shots.

Good spot, ah?

CHIP: Yup, we'll
be back tomorrow.

AGNES: Yeah,
I'm glad we got done
before it get too dark,

and we have a good trail blazed.

ANDY: One of the
things I've learned over
the years around here is you

don't fight
Mother Nature when she
decides to do something.

Never pays to force
things out here.

Oh, this sled's
seen better days.

Time to build a new sled.

I pretty much destroyed this
one this year on the ice.

So, I'm going to salvage
pieces and parts off of this
sled and build another one.

I've heard that there
is caribou in the area.

And I'm real anxious
to get out and get some
meat because I didn't get a

moose this year.

This is the first
year in many years I
haven't gotten a moose.

And, uh, it left a lot
of anxiety in me for how
am I going to feed myself

through the winter.

Hearing that the caribou are
around right now is really
picking up my spirits and

making me want to get out.

They are kind of a
ghostly type of animal.

They're either here
or they're not.

So, when they come through
the country, you got to go
get them as quick as you can.

It's all driven by
the clock right now.

And the clock's ticking.

I'm feeling pretty
up against the gun right now
to try and get out there and

hunt some of those guys
before they disappear.

The biggest challenge
you always struggle with in
the wintertime is the darkness.

Our days are only four to
five hours of daylight.

It doesn't give you a
lot of time to really
get out and hunt.

You pile on top of that
that this is the time of
the year the Yukon River

is really unpredictable.

Uh, icing happens
really heavily.

The water levels can
fluctuate really quickly.

Overflow can come in
and, uh, cut you off.

Makes for, uh, a lot
of challenges to overcome,

just to get to where
the caribou are at.

All right.
All that for a piece of metal.

I've got all the
raw materials to build this,
between salvaging the skegs

and brand new plastic,

I want to, I want
to run chain all the
way along each one of

these bolts here so that
any time I have a load,

I've got something I
can hook into with my tie down

strap, that's really
strong and firm, and isn't
going to fray and break.

This sled's going to
be able to haul probably
800, 900 pounds at a time.

So, I want to have my tie down
points really, really strong
so I don't have to worry about

things busting when
I'm hauling a load.

Get these things
sharpened up a little bit.

Try and make these to
where they dig into the
ice a little better.

This country's really
hard on your equipment.

Freighting a lot of heavy
loads over rough conditions.

If you get two or three
years out of a sled,
you're doing pretty good.

That's just the way it is, you
have to plan on building new
equipment from time to time.

You have to plan
on maintaining your
equipment all the time.

I'm going to bend this
plastic back up so that I have
a curve here in the front.

Three quarters.

One twelve and three quarters.

All right.
Let's see if I can hit
this thing with some heat.

So, the idea here is just
to heat all this plastic
so that it takes this bend.

Basically, what I'm
doing is I'm relaxing
the plastic right now.

I'm heating it up, spreading
the molecules, and then when
it cools they should stay

right where they're, pretty
close to where they were at.

All right, that
should be hot enough.

Looking good.

I got the sled built,
it's a long night.

And, uh, I think I got
a really good rig here
for multiple purposes.

I'm hoping my first use is
to put some bloody caribou
in it and haul it home.

JESSIE: It's very
easy to be here in the now,

but it's all about
thinking the next
step, the next stage.

Well, we had a good
little cold snap, and, uh,
followed by a bunch of snow,

so we got some ice built
up down here on the
slough and the river.

I'm going to go down there and
look about putting in myself
in a permanent water hole,

that I'll be able to get
water out of all winter.

I don't really have a way
of getting water right here,

so I have to
go down to the river,

which takes a lot of time.

Water is the most
important thing.

Having so many dogs, I use
at least 40 gallons a day.

That dog food cooker
is full of water.

There's broth
for my race dogs.

There's washing
water for everything.

A lot of people think it's
romanticized to live without
electricity or without running

water, but that's not
an option out here.

The only reason I'm able to
afford to do this with my dogs
is because I don't have those.

I got my chainsaw and
my ice pick, that's all
I should need right now.

I'm going to go down
here to the slough and I'm
going to look at what it's

going to take to
get out on that ice.

This year, I got
a snow machine.

The main reason I got the
snow machine is so I can
use it for utilitarian work

that I usually do with the dogs.

Cause usually I'm hauling
all my wood with my dogs.

All the water with my dogs,
the snow machine gives me a
way of doing things faster and

more efficient, while leaving
the dogs out of that picture.

While I like doing
those things with dogs, I'm
trying to be faster and more

efficient, and my, training
my dogs is going to be way
more focused on racing now.

Hopefully, haul a lot
of water in a couple hours
to where I have enough water

for the whole week.

That way, I can
stay ahead of it.

Well, it looks like what
we got going on here
is a lot of overflow.

This was all froze
up pretty good, but all
this snow came and pushed a

bunch of water up.

If you're out in
the wilderness and
you're running dogs,

and you go through overflow,
it can be really dangerous.

Whoa.

JESSIE: Whoa.

Definitely won't be
able to get the snow
machine over this.

Damn that's deep.

So, I need to get out
here and check this ice,
and see how that is.

Uh, hopefully, it's
not as deep here.

See if I can't use
this plywood to disperse my
weight when I walk out there.

And see if I can see how deep
it is out towards the middle.

I had to be careful, you never
know what to expect with ice.

Oh, man (bleep).

Not good.
Not (bleep) good.

Nope, too deep.

This is a pain in
my ass right now.

I can't get the direct
way to the river I wanted.

This has been something I've
been envisioning a long time.

Being able to shoot
right out of my dog yard,
right onto the slough here

with the dogs or
with the snow machine
to haul water and wood.

This isn't going to work out.

I'm not going to be able
to get out on this safely.

I can't risk going out
there and getting wet or
sinking my snow machine.

I'm going to go the longer
way around to the river and
go ahead and start working on

putting my hole in down there.

Cause I need water,
I got to get this hole in,

and I can't wait
for this to freeze up.

CHIP: We spend a lot of time
together, me and the family.

To us, it's just, uh,
another part of living here.

NARRATOR: The Hailstones
are checking the
traps they set in hopes

of harvesting animals
for their fur.

The hides are a
valued product.

As they can be sold
or made into clothing that
will help the family endure

the extreme elements.

CHIP: Wonderful.

Look like lot of
little tracks here.

Oh, ravens.

Look, ravens got the bait.

There's a trap under here.

And there's a trap right
here, and you can see where
the raven took off with it.

I don't know if it was
the wind or just my poor
construction techniques,

but the little, look,
these things aren't
keeping the ravens off.

We need to build a
little hut here and the
ravens won't be able to,

the ravens won't go into it.

Well, I want to put the bait
under the willows, where the,
where the ravens won't see

them and kind of as a way
to guide an animal into
a place I want him to be.

They must have really
come around here and
had a good, fine meal.

Next one, I guess.

AGNES: All kinds of tracks.
This might be a perfect spot.

CHIP: Well, we got one last
use for this wolf carcass.

This is a conibear,
these kind right here,
kill an animal outright,

deader than dead when
they get ahold of them.

And these springs probably
have about 80 pounds
of push on them each.

And they're not an easy
deal to get down with the
chains swinging into them,

and all this other
(bleep) getting in my way.

Flip it up for me.

That sure would be nice
if you would do it, soon.

AGNES: Missed.
CHIP: Yeah.

I'm really glad you're
helping me, and if I'm
sounding frustrated,

it's only because I'm
holding down 80 pounds
of trap against my palm.

AGNES: And if I won't
put my finger there, that's
just because I'm afraid

I'm going to get caught.

CHIP: Conibears were
developed a long time ago.

People were using
them, but a lot of people
wanted live traps because

when you catch an animal,

and he's alive, the
ravens won't ruin the skin.

If I catch an animal
in this, and I don't catch
it before the ravens come,

they'll ruin your skin.

You'll have to reset
them, kill another animal.

And you don't want to
do that for nothing.

So, our plan is to build a
nice cubby here around this
wolf carcass, and hopefully,

the ravens won't
see it and come in.

And hopefully, the ravens,
when they see other animals
at it won't bother them.

Ravens are really smart.

They're our number
one competition when
it comes to good fur.

AGNES: Now,
that's an entrance.

CHIP: My little
fence in place.

I got a good double set
and a good double set.

We check our
traps and if we have
more traps to put out,

every day we put
out a couple more sets
and a couple more sets,

and a couple more sets.

And it's called
building a line.

SUE: I don't want to
anticipate trouble.

Trouble just seems to find me.

Storm was just starting.

But it's ramping up now.

And it's going to
continue to ramp.

So, what I'm going
to do, I'm going to
go look at the shop.

Make sure everything's
buttoned up well.

And then I'm probably
going to change activities.

NARRATOR: With a storm
in Kavik, Sue has prepared
her all-terrain vehicle

for travel in deep snow.

She's now ready to head
out and test a new piece
of equipment that will help

protect her from the dangers
lurking in the tundra.

SUE: I've got a beautiful
blank, white canvas.

Perfect opportunity, not
to go hunting, but to see
who's traveling in my area,

what do I need to be aware of.

Well, I've got some game cams.

I've never used one.

And they take pictures
of an area without you
having to be present.

Each time I walk out in the
frigid temperatures to see
what's out there, number one,

I may scare it away
and never find out.

It can attack me.

I can get hurt doing it.

If I put a game
cam out that takes
the pictures for me,

I can either determine
it's just doing its own thing,

or it's coming in
religiously and I got to,

I got to deal with that.

Areas that concern me,
where my incinerator,
I burn garbage.

That is a total dinner
bell to anything that
might be in my area.

What this is
going to give me is this
whole panorama here.

So, if it's coming
from the East, the West, the
North, my incinerators there.

Even though food and
garbage gets burnt, it's
still a source that they

tend to look at.

Let's see how I
want to do this.

It's going to sit like this.

Why do I use wire?

It's a lot harder for
an animal to chew through
the wire than it is some

kind of a leash material.

Some paracord or something.

Okay. So, I've got
it where I want it.

I've got it attached so
nothing can run off with it.

So now, I'm going to open
it up, and turn it on.

Catch something
good for me, buddy.

All right.

Uh, the next spot
that I'd like to go to
is further down this way,

maybe half a mile.

It's a deep ravine and
I've gone in it before
to get to the water.

It's a widely used area, and
I want to see who's using it.

I'm just trying to warm
everything up a little bit.

It's having a
hard time turning.

See what do I already see?

I see footprints.

Decent sized prints.

So, I'll take a little
look see, and see where I
can maybe put another cam.

That's not good.

It's not wanting to
turn to the right.

Why are you not wanting
to turn (bleep)?

to the right.

It's, uh, it's a,
it's a steering lock.

It's just loose.

The other hand is holding
onto the steering line.

It's not tight, so
it's giving me (bleep).

So, I'll have to figure
out how to tighten that.

But for right now,
I'm going down here.

This is a good little
highway for the animals.

The caribou love it,
there's lots of feed.

The moose that
are here love it.

Lots of feed.

The foxes have
their dens here.

It's a good,
well-traveled area.

Okay, armed and dangerous.

It is on.

And I think I'm
happy with that.

This one is on, so it's
going to catch this.

Anything going by.

All right, onto
the next location.

In this area, I always see
the big wolverine tracks.

I always see the
big wolf track.

This is just the highway.

This is a beautiful little
draw, so this works for me.

I wanna kinda make this tight.

It's actually
fairly secure there.

I was blessed with
a pair of eyes and they
don't have night vision.

This is four or five more sets
of eyes that can see just as
well in the day as it can at

night and it's only
gonna clip those things
when something's moving.

So knowledge,
knowledge, knowledge.

I'll know what's in my
neighborhood, how often
they're coming close,

what direction
they're going in.

I'm not anticipating one
or the other, but what's
in my big backyard.

So all my cams are out.

And, uh, it's time for
me to head back and
let them do their job.

JESSIE: I'm no stranger to
doing things the hard way.

NARRATOR: Jessie and
his sled dogs rely on the
Nenana River for water

they need to
survive dark winter.

But thin ice blocked his
access to the river and
he must find a new path to

harvest the lifeblood
of the Arctic.

JESSIE: You always
need a backup plan when
it comes to something

as important as water.

I'm gonna go figure out
a trail through the woods
to go down to the river.

All right. Well,
here's the end of the line.

Here's where I'm gonna have
to punch a trail in through.

This is, uh, the reason
I'd like to be using the
slough, so I don't have to

go through all this stuff.

But until this freezes up, I
gotta come up with a solution.

So I got about 100 yards
of trail I'm gonna have to
cut to get to the river.

These are the kind
of challenges that you run
into out here just trying

to get some water.

It's a lot of work to
get water but there's no
other choice around here.

You can't just turn on a tap
and fill up your buckets.

Once I do this, I'll have two
options, to get down to the
river to get my water and, uh,

that's gonna make things go
smoother in the future, which
is the whole point of this,

is getting ahead of
everything so I can get
my water efficiently.

So right here is
the Nenana River.

It's looking pretty rough
and jumbled ice there.

So hopefully the ice
is nice and strong.

I can get out there and
put my water hole in.

I can surely make it
down this, I don't know
how I'd make it back up

with a bunch of water.

So I'm gonna have to
build a ramp here.

Dig a bunch of snow
and brush and make a nice
little bank going up here,

kind of an angle so I can
make it up with my water.

Some of this brush and
build this up a little bit.

Well, I'm figuring if I
can get this snow and this
brush and some water on

it that it'll hopefully
firm up tonight.

What started out looking
like a big major setback,
I just figured out a way

to work my way around it.

But sometimes you just
got to muscle through it
and do it the hard way.

Trying to go real nice
and slow and let the weight of
that snow machine set that in.

Got to pay for water,
other places here, you
just pay for it in work.

It's getting late here.

It's clearing off the sky.

It's gonna get cold tonight.

So I wanna get this built
up here and I'll settle that
snow right down and ice it up.

This isn't the easiest
way to go about it but
that's what you got to do

out here to get by.

You got to work late into the
night, early in the morning.

Never give up.

Just keep thinking,
innovative.

Use what's at your
fingertips like snow,
brush, water, and ice.

I'm gonna let the cold
temperatures do its
work on this tonight.

This will firm this ramp up.

I'll come down here with all
my supplies in the morning,
ready to build a permanent

waterhole that I'll
be able to get water out
of for the whole winter.

I'm almost there.

Just one more night
I got to wait and let the
temperatures do its work

and we'll be in the
water business tomorrow.

Time to head home.

ANDY: This life up here is
nothing but work, work, work.

Plan, plan, plan.

And, uh, quite a bit of
struggle thrown in between.

NARRATOR: In Eagle, Andy
is searching for caribou.

A food source he
desperately needs after not
harvesting a moose last fall.

But caribou herds
migrate quickly.

And he must locate
them before the animals
disappear from the region.

ANDY: Everything out here
is about doing things
with proper timing.

When the timing's right,
things go good.

When the timing's wrong,
you work twice as hard.

I'm hoping the timing's
gonna be right.

And, uh, I can go
find some fresh meat.

Oh, okay.

Well, looks like
the water took out my
entire trail downriver.

I managed to find a
little bit of snow tight
to the bank coming up.

But I gotta get across this
'cause I'm at a pinch point.

I can't stay against
the shoreline any
longer right now.

And it gets too steep
to run along that, I'd
just tip over sideways into

a bunch of overflow.

So, the only thing between
me and caribou right now is
little bit of overflow and

some thin ice.

So I think I'm just
gonna take a chance.

I think I'm just gonna
try and cross right here
and hope that this ice is

strong enough to support me

until I can get
out to that jumble ice.

Whenever I'm a little bit
nervous, the best thing to do
is drive where there's some

jumble ice 'cause
that's where the ice is
gonna be the thickest.

Your best friend when
you get in overflow
is speed and momentum.

Without speed and momentum,
that's when you get stuck.

Woo. The hunt is on.

This is the one
time of year when I'm
traveling the river,

when it's forming new ice,

I always have this
kinda burning gut, really
nervous feeling whenever

I'm on the ice.

I'm always alone when
I'm traveling so I gotta
be extra cautious here.

I can't be stupid but
at the same time I don't
wanna give up too easy.

Caribou, dead ahead.

I think they heard me
coming this way, they're
kinda looking this way.

I'm gonna draw back down
this way and try and
get into the willows.

And walk through those
willows and try and
get closer to them.

Caribou, right up on the bend.

ANDY: Caribou,
right up on the bend.

That sounded like a hit to me.

I didn't see him go down but
it sounded like it hit him.

We'll see where he's at.

Oh, yeah, there he is.

All right. He's down.

Down and dead.

Oh, that's a
nice-looking caribou.

That's a nice one.

Looks like a front
shoulder into the heart.

That's why he was
bleeding out so good.

Even though I've
been hunting for 30 years,
it's still exciting as hell

when you know you
got some meat down.

It's a good feeling.

This is what you
call dead weight.

For a lot of people,
a 401(k) is security.

For me, dead animal on
the ground is security.

It means I'm gonna eat
and I'm gonna eat good.

Ah, get this baby
loaded up and get home.

Two of the most important
things that I do all
year is fish for my dogs and

get meat for myself
for the year.

Not getting the moose
this year, it really weighed
heavy on my mind because

that's security for me.

And so, when I heard
that there were
caribou in the area,

I got pretty excited 'cause
it was getting pretty important
to get some more meat.

I don't think
that'll go anywhere.

I was up all last night
building the sled.

I only slept an hour or two.

Got up about 4:00 A.M.

so I could start
getting upriver.

So I've been at it
for about 24 hours right
now and I'm feeling

pretty tired so, good day.

Time to get home.

SUE: As long as
you can take the time, the
tundra's going to provide.

Everywhere you go,
life finds a way.

What I wanna do, I
got a storm coming in.

So I wanna check
these game cams, see
if I caught anything.

I got these to be extra eyes.

It's not always that I'm
looking for something
and expecting something

to jump out at me.

I'm looking for anything
that doesn't belong.

Anything out of the ordinary.

And then animal patterns.

Let's see what we got.

I see prints right there,
there, there, there, there.

This one says eight.

So it didn't get much action,
but it did get action.

All right. This
is my furthest one out.

So now I'll make my way
back in getting the rest.

Oh, there's wolverine track.

The snow is starting to cover
it but it's not there yet.

Here we go.

What I saw wolverine
tracks coming in, all
manner of tracks in here.

I hope I got a lot.

There it is. All right.

Now I can get out
and get that one.

Wanted to park a little back,
see if I could see any tracks.

I don't see any
obvious tracks here.

And just like I had hoped,
it's protected from the
snow and whatnot in here.

Twenty-three hits.

So again, that's a
pretty good amount.

I got my game cams,
so let's see what they
saw that I didn't.

What's that?

Oh, look at that!

That little foxy.

Well, little foxy certainly
is curious about it.

Oh, he is messing with it.

Look at, he's bouncing it.

You leave that camera alone.

What are you getting?

Oh, he's getting snow.

He's getting snow for water.

I was unaware that they
would stockpile snow.

It's not like it's a real
limited commodity out here.

Interesting.

Okay, I see an image here.

Look at that.

I almost didn't see
it, it's a ptarmigan.

How well hidden is that?

And he's just sitting there.

Hi, ptarmy.

Look at them all.

Well, this definitely
looks like maybe where I
wanna set up a blind and be

waiting for the ptarmys.

Oh, look at him.

What is he doing?

Scuttling around.

He says, "Yup, I'm going over
here." I'm very pleased with
what I'm catching so far.

It did exactly what
I asked it to do.

They were sensitive enough
to catch a lot of the birds.

They got the foxes.

It's a welcome addition
to the perimeter check.

JESSIE: Opportunity
is something you got
to seize up here.

You wait one second,
it's one second too late.

Dog food, will get one
last stir and that'll
be done when I get back.

It's about the last of the
water I got so the timing
is now to get some more and.

It takes about 40 gallons
a day for me to run the
homestead around here,

and most of that water
goes into keeping my dogs
hydrated and feeding them

good, moist, warm food.

Very good hydration
is critical to
a healthy sled dog.

Time to head down
there and see how the
ramp's doing and, uh,

check the ice and start
getting some water.

All right.
This is the ramp
I put in last night.

There was a drop off here.

There was no way I could
have possibly got the water
buckets up there safely on

the sled but, uh, this
thing is froze up and
set up nice overnight.

Super hard, super gradual.

Gonna head over here and
fill up my water buckets
and give it its first try.

That's hard.

That's soft.

Damn, that's pretty deep.

No way that snow
machine's going over here.

So, I'm gonna put the water
hole here pretty close
so I can carry the buckets.

Right now, I'm just trying to
cut it out without punching
through so I don't spray a

bunch of water over myself.

So I'll get the
outline of the cut.

All right.
So that was pretty easy
to get through right there.

Gotta pop this big
piece of ice out.

Take my gloves off for this
so I don't get my gloves wet.

Enough ice to hold my weight,
but not enough to hold
the snow machine's weight.

Now I just gotta go get my
buckets and fill them up and
take them back to the sled and

then take them home.

You're either working for
water one way or another.

You're either going to work
to pay the water bill or
you're working to come get

it out of the river yourself.

This is the kind
of work I enjoy.

It's not what I had
planned necessarily, but
you got to work with what

the conditions are.

And the ice is still
pretty thin, so I'll
be thankful to have this

waterhole right here.

I don't really wanna
go any further out.

All right, so I got
my sled loaded up.

Now, I just gotta get
it home and get it unloaded
and get back down here and

get some more and, uh,
put a little lid over my
hole so it won't freeze.

Just take it nice
and easy, that way, I
don't spill nothing.

CHIP: There's everything
you possibly need
that we can make a living

from around here.

AGNES: Today, Chip and
I is out here checking
our traps and, uh,

it's just a lot
colder of a day.

We have a stiff wind
going and, uh, it's kinda
chilly out here actually.

AGNES: Oh, look!

CHIP: Yup. Behind the
bush that's a fox.

Right.

You need to aim about
a foot above him.

He's getting ready to run.

CHIP: Oh, man that was close.

You can't do a 200-yard
shot with a .22.

AGNES: Yeah.
CHIP: That's not
going to work.

AGNES: Yup.
CHIP: Way too far for a .22.

AGNES: Hopefully, it'll just
go get stuck in our trap.

That way, I don't have
to put a hole in it.

CHIP: She got pretty close,
but we've got traps to check.

Let's get to going, huh?

Nothing in that one and
nothing in this one.

AGNES: Hmm?

CHIP: But the ravens
are following us.

I saw two of them just
a little while ago.

And this is just
the beginning of it all,

so I need to go get more
traps and I need to go make

more sets and more
sets and more sets.

Well, you wanna go home?

AGNES: Yup.
CHIP: All right.

I'm pretty happy with
the sets I've got.

Pretty soon the
animals will find out
where these things are.

And, uh, they'll
start to produce.

It may not happen today, it
may not happen tomorrow but
I'm just gonna keep checking.

And this is just
the beginning of it all so,

we've got a lot
to look forward to on
this trapping season.

We just gotta give it time
and um, time's gonna happen.

JESSIE: I have to get out of
my comfort zone and get more
into the technological era.

I mean I'm kind of a
primitive dude, you know?

I like the simple
things in life.

Just putting the finishing
touches on my door here.

It's just basically
an insulated box.

If I can keep the
air temperature from
getting into the ice,

then it's gonna keep
it from freezing
so much underneath,

so I don't have to do
as much maintenance.

Less time chipping ice,
more time running dogs.

That's what I'm
trying to accomplish.

Thing I like about this,
it's very nice and simple.

Just like that, my water hole
is protected from the cold.

Now I can go home and,
uh, feed the dogs and
have plenty of water.

Good day to get this done
because I was out of water.

I used the last of the water
this morning for the dog food
cooker and now I'm gonna have

plenty of water, 250
gallons' worth of water.

That's a lot of water,
last me all week.

So I can tell you,
I've had to work way harder
to get water in the past and

I'm pretty happy with,
uh, the new system, with the
snow machine, really helps.

I don't have to bother
hooking up the dogs for that.

We can focus our efforts
more on our training.

For me, the snow machine
is just a tremendous resource
and it's gonna really help me

maximize on the most important
things in my life like
getting wood, getting water,

packing down trails,
breaking trails, going setting
up camps ahead of the dogs

instead of using the dogs
for these things.

That way, I can get
more time and focus on
just running the dogs.

The snow machine's
really gonna unlock a
lot of things for me.

'Cause I mean it's endless
what I can do with that.

I'm all about bettering
my process so I can get more
efficient and I can do more.

ANDY: You learn the
timing when you live
out in the woods.

Oh, there's my lucky caribou.
And the only way you
learn that is by failure.

Ah, what a long day.

I built this sled last night.

Slept about two hours.

Got up, went down the river.

I was out on the jumble ice
and I spotted a bunch of
caribou and I was able to

knock down this girl.

I got a lot of
processing to do.

I'm gonna turn this into,
uh, steaks, jerky, sausage,
ground meat, trapping bait.

Pretty much every part of this
animal is usable whether it's
something practical for me to

use for a tool, uh, my dogs
to get some extra nutrition.

Everything on a caribou
is really usable.

It's a great, great
resource out here.

Well, this year,
I didn't get a moose so this
caribou is probably more

important this year than it's
been in many, many years.

It's a lot of work to do all
this, to build a sled, to go
out there to fight overflow.

But this meat is the payoff.

This is just the tip
of the iceberg for me.

This is just my first of many,
many meals from this caribou.

Living out in this country,
caribou, moose, salmon, none
of that gets delivered to you.

The only reason you get
what you get out here
is you put the effort.

The perseverance.

Sometimes the suffering.

I have to think, plan,
and work for the food
in a different way

than most people do.

Most importantly the
satisfaction of knowing
that I can go out,

I can get what I need to
live the life that I wanna
live here at Calico Bluff,

this is the payoff
for all that work and I'd do
it 100 times over to get a

good piece of meat like this.

So, there's nothing
better than fresh meat
after a hard day's work.

Oh man, it's so good.

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