All language subtitles for Life.Below.Zero.HDTV.720.S02.E05

NARRATOR: On this episode
of Life Below Zero...

Unwanted predators
have Sue on high alert.

Boom!

NARRATOR: Andy and Kate
welcome a newcomer

with dreams
of living in the bush.

I think I might have
some rough days ahead of me.

NARRATOR: Erik prepares for
the spoils of hunting season.

ERIC: I'm gonna head out
through the woods
and find a suitable meat pole.

NARRATOR:
And in Noorvik, a wrong step
puts Agnes on the edge.

AGNES: Jon, get off that!
Get in the fucking boat.

ANDY: That a boy, Iceberg.

ANDY: There. Good job.
You stay right there.

When I came here to Eagle

there was a whole network
of young people
in their 20s and 30s

living out here,
and they're all gone.

We're a dying breed,
we're an endangered species,

and we need young people
to come out.

People are losing the ability
to develop these skills
and live this way,

and this is a fundamental way
of human existence.

NARRATOR: Andy and Kate
are determined
to teach the next generation

how to survive in the bush,

but learning these skills
doesn't come easy.

Nice clear day.
Beautiful day to fly.

ANDY: We run a camp
where we teach people
bush skills,

and we have a client
coming in today

who's here to learn
about subsistence living.

-Hey, buddy!
-KATE: Well, hello, Cody.

CODY: My name's Cody Allen,
and I'm from
Beaverton, Oregon.

When I was, uh, living in
Oregon I spent a lot of time
doing construction sites,

and, uh,
working in restaurants,

and dealing with people
and bosses all the time,

and it was not fun at all.

Oh! Gimme a hug.

I give handshakes.
Hugs come later maybe.

-Yeah. You don't look like
the hugging type sometimes.
-(CHUCKLES)

CODY: Coming out into a place
like this,

it's, uh, extremely dangerous.

And if I would've
came up here without
Andy and Kate's assistance

I'd die probably within a day,
two maybe.

I mean,
you're gonna run out of food,
and I don't know how to hunt.

I don't know how to trap.

I've never really
shot an animal.

KATE: The one thing
you gotta always remember

is be careful where you put
your feet, and your hands,
and your body.

Because there's no
emergency room.

So, safety first always,
and think about
what you're doing.

Lot to learn. Lot to do.

So let's go do it.

(HUSKIES YELPING)

CODY: I've always wanted
to come out here and do this,

exactly what I'm doing now.

And it's always been
this impossible mission

because you have to have
so much knowledge.

ANDY: Just keep your arms
inside the sled.

CODY: You have to have
so many skills,

and if you try
and come out here
on your own...

There's people who've done it,
and they're dead.

(HUSKIES BARKING)

ANDY: Gee, gee! Whoa!

KATE: I won!

(LAUGHS)

CODY: I just got here,
and I find myself

just staring off
into the wilderness,

and realise
I'm in serious country
out here.

SUE: To recognise
the possibility of
something bad happening

is to be prepared for it.

But if you're never
prepared for it

and it happened,
six feet under. Bye.

That's not me.

Kavik can be a very, um,
dangerous place to be.

NARRATOR: This winter,
Sue moved from a cramped space
in Kavik's dining hall

to a new building.

SUE: My feeling of security
is always tenuous,

but those who are prepared
tend to have less damage.

When I was in the dining hall,
it was very cut and dry.

When I'm in bed
and laying here,

first thing my hand does
is grab the pistol.

The next the thing
the other hand does
is grab the gun.

But this is
an all-new building
for me this winter.

So, one of the things
I have to do

is choose which weapons
that I'm gonna have
in this building.

So if I'm lying in bed,
this gun is always here.

This gun
is the next one I grab.

I don't know
when something's gonna come
crawling around.

I have a history, um,
was attacked by a grizzly
some years back,

and, uh, while it played
tonsil hockey with me
a little bit, um,

I did come out okay.

NARRATOR: By moving,
Sue's gained more space,
but it comes at a price.

Living at the edge of camp
puts her bed
on the first line of attack

for incoming predators.

SUE: The predators
tend to be nocturnal.

So it's very important

that I have point
and click weapons
close to the bed.

I need to be able to reach it,
point it, shoot it,

not worry
about some stupid scope.

So, this is my pistol.
It's a .44.

It's gonna leave
a pretty good hole.

This one I wear
when I'm outside doing things,

but when I go to bed at night
that's where it lives.

This is simple.
This is actually
my grandson's little gun.

This is a .410 for birds.

This, .30-06, if you lift it

and the caribou
is only 10 feet away,

through your scope
you're just gonna see
a patch of fur.

When you see a scope
on a weapon,

it's meant
for a longer distance.

This is something that
there is no scope on it.

It's called open sights.

You pull it,
and I'm just looking
right down the barrel.

You sight it in.

Boom.

This is a .45-70.

It's gonna leave
a pretty massive hole
on the other side.

But the biggest predator
is my bear population.

So for several years
I have done what I call,
"Passive Bear Safety."

Meaning, if they cross my path
I will deal with it.

But, I now own the camp.

I need to have
a little bit more aggressive
bear safety.

So this is a AR-10.
20 round clip.

So if I pull the trigger
as fast as I pull it,

20 of his little friends
are gonna make sure

that whatever I'm shooting at
goes down.

This is strictly
for those situations

where the final outcome
is one of us is gonna die.

I would rather it not be me.

I have 20 friends that agree.

So, yeah.
I've got the .30-06, AR-10,

.45-70, the .44 pistol,

and last but not least,
Louisville Slugger.

Boom.

ERIK: When I lay on
my deathbed, the moments
that I'll reflect on

are sitting up on a ridge,
watching the midnight sun
come down below a mountain,

and come back up
with 100 pounds
of sheep meat on my back.

Just fuelling up
my snow machine.

I'm gonna head out
and find a suitable pole
to use as a meat pole.

A meat pole is a piece of wood
that you hang up
in between two trees

that you're able to
hang meat on and keep them up
off the ground,

so nothing can chew on them
and they get plenty
of air flow around them.

In the fall time,
there's a lot of meat
coming into the camp

and I need a lot of space
to hang meat.

There's a lot of independence
and freedom associated
with living out in the bush.

But at the same time,
you need to kick your own butt
up out of bed in the morning.

I don't have a boss,
and it's all just
being self-motivated

and getting done
whatever needs to get done.

(CHAINSAW STARTS)

This tree here
will, uh, work well
as a meat pole.

Pretty simple tools.
Just chainsaw
and snow machine.

But hard part is throwing big,
heavy pieces of wood around.

I'm gonna use this pole both
for hanging moose in the fall

and hanging caribou meat
any time of year.

AGNES: We like to be outdoors
the majority of the time,

and every week
there's always something
different to go after.

Weather looks awesome, ah?

Clear and cold?

NARRATOR: Seal meat and oil
are central

for the Hailstones during
the long winters in Noorvik,

but unusually
warm temperatures
are forcing them to fly

to the neighbouring village
of Kotzebue

just for an opportunity
to hunt.

CHIP:
The river is just frozen,

and it's not thick enough
to walk on,

and it's driving the seals
out of the river
because they can't breathe

unless they bust
up through the ice.

And the seals
are leaving the river
right now,

and it's gonna concentrate
the seals down towards
the Kotzebue area.

So it's actually
the prime time to go
get them is right now.

Good luck. I wish I could go.

I just can't
legally hunt seals.

I'm not a native Alaskan
that resides on the coast.

Hungry for a seal.

Hopefully the harbour's
not totally frozen,
or if it is, not too thick.

I can see nothing, but ice.

Ice, ice, ice.
It froze overnight.

I can't believe that.

We'll go check it out
at least.

I'm borrowing
my cousin's boat today,

so he's gonna let me
use his boat,

and I'm gonna be able
to go do a little hunting,

and hopefully I'll get lucky,

and I'll be able to work
and process my seal

and exchange him, seal oil,
for the use of his boat.

Pull us!

Come on, Ting!

Whoo!

TING: Go ahead. You guys turn.
I'm gonna push you guys
that way.

AGNES: We're not turning.
We're going that way.

I'm serious Ting.

When we're out there
in the water

you have to have
all your senses.

You have to fucking
pay attention.

When I say something,
don't wait,

or don't ask a question
or try to correct me,

because it's gonna be
kind of scary out there.

NARRATOR: Agnes is no stranger
to losing family members
to the ice.

It's been 21 years
and three weeks

since my mother fell
through the ice,

and I've never been
the same since.

I don't fuck around
when it comes to ice.

Let's go like this.

Jon, get off that!
Get in the fucking boat!

Jon! Quit it!

We're not gonna do this
if you're gonna act stupid.

When you pull
and put your whole boat
on your weight,

you're just gonna go "doing!"

No doing anything
outside the boat.

-It's deep enough there.
-It's deep enough. Let's go.

There's a lot of things
that can happen up here.

The best way to do is
have common sense
and always play it safe.

(ENGINE STARTING)

Once we get going,
son, it'll go.
It'll bust through real easy.

Especially the farther
out we go.

I'm rocking back and forth.

That gives the boat
a better chance

to keep going over the ice
and it won't just stop.

Then it'll also let the ice
break up a little,

just so when we get back here

we'll still have a path
if we need to turn back.

And we might have
just about an hour, maybe two,

to actually do
the seal hunting,
and then come right back.

I see open water.
We're almost there, mom.

AGNES: Okay. You can mostly
watch that side, bun.

I'll try to keep my eyes
on this side.

Oh, look!

Jon, 3:00!

(CHUCKLES) Check it out!
Look in front of us! Forwards!

TING: Yes. Yes, yes, yes.

JON: Harpoon, Ting!
AGNES: I got it, Jon!

Look straight, 12:00, Jon.

-(COCKS RIFLE)
-12:00.

TING: Where's the seal by?

Where'd it go? Where'd it go?
Where'd it go?

AGNES: It's gonna be anywhere
in front of us.

It's gonna come up again.
It didn't stay up that long.

TING: I know.
It came up and went down?

Keep going then, mom?

Well, there's more.
I'm just gonna keep ready.

Oh!

(GUNSHOT)

Aw, man! Almost!

What the heck?

It's getting too dark.
We're gonna have to
head back soon.

AGNES: I think you're right.

We did
a lot of, uh, work today.

We did a lot of busting
through the ice

and, uh, we saw
quite a few seals out there.

So looking good for tomorrow.
We know the seals are here.

It might be an easier hunt
if the ice
is a little thicker too,

with the seals being able
to get on top of the ice.

ANDY: That's the thing
that I've noticed about
the computer age.

It's creating
a large group of people

that don't have
a very long attention span.

And to really learn a skill
you have to
dedicate time to it.

KATE: When your feet get cold
your whole body's cold.

-Yeah.
-So I'm glad you changed
your clothes and...

-I don't think my boots...
-Now you can get to work here.

NARRATOR: Carving out
a life for oneself
in the Alaskan bush

is tough at best.

Cody will have to master
the most basic skills
if he's going to survive.

-All right guys, have fun.
-CODY: Thank you, Kate.

All right babe,
go easy on the boy.

(BOTH CHUCKLE)

NARRATOR: Lesson one.

Master the essential tools
for survival.

ANDY: With these tools,
you pretty much have
everything you need

to live out here.

I moved to Alaska
when I was 22 years old,

uh, from Washington DC area.

I didn't know shit
when I came here.

I had been doing construction.

Had a great job.

But, uh, something in my heart
told me

I just had to come up
to Alaska and check it out.

So basically what I had
was I had
a high-powered rifle.

I had a .22 rifle,
for shooting squirrels,
rabbits, ducks, whatever.

I had a small Hudson Bay Axe,
and it also doubles
as your hammer.

One thing I'd really like you
to get in the habit of

is find a place on your person

where you can always have
matches and some birch bark.

CODY: Okay.

'Cause if you ever get wet,

this is the one skill
you're gonna have to learn
to be very good at out here,

and that's building a fire.

A butane lighter
will not light
at thirty below zero.

Okay.

When I came out
into this country,

everybody had their bowl that
went everywhere with them.

-Okay.
-The advantages to wood

is when it's really cold,
your food doesn't get cold
in them really quick.

-But it's light, too.
-Yeah.

You know? And they're durable.

-They're pretty darn strong.
-What kind of wood is it?

-This is birch.
-Birch. Mmm-hmm.

CODY: I think I got
a plastic canteen
and a metal tin

that goes around it
that I brought with me.

And that works fine.
But you know what?

At 20 below zero,
your lips stick to that metal.

(CHUCKLES) Oh, shit.
I didn't even think
about that.

CODY: I'm guessing
his brain has gotta be
like a super computer

when it comes to
outdoor living.

Because just right over
in that little 10 minute spiel

about the tools
and everything,

I learned more than
I would have in, I don't know,
10 years down in Oregon.

As you spend more time here
you'll learn
what the dangers are.

The sounds will become
more familiar.

The alarm bells
will still be there,

but you'll be able
to quickly say,
"Oh, that's just this."

All right.
So let's get this stuff out,

and this is gonna be
a little bit stiff.

The main goal
is to learn fundamentals.

Build that base of experience
as broad as we can build it.

First day, shelter.

Shelter and warmth, that's all
he's got to figure out.

Enthusiasm, self-motivation,
if he's got that,
he'll do fine.

All right.
So why don't you go ahead
and unfold that.

CODY:
This place is freaking cold.

Got off the plane here,

and I think within 30 minutes
my face was already ice,

and right then and there
I kind of realised
this is a whole new world.

I mean, it's literally like
I just landed
on a different planet.

I'm just still
anxious, nervous.

Getting out here
and not knowing
how to do something

it's like you want to
take it slow no matter what.

ANDY: I'll hand the pipe in.
You can run that up through.

If you're an arrogant person
living out here,

and you think
you can do everything,

it's gonna come back
and bite you every time

and you'll get
yourself in real trouble.

So you have to be humble.

You have to realise
that you're gonna screw up,

and, you know, learn from it.

SUE: If you have one foot
in yesterday,
one foot in tomorrow,

you're not living in today.

But part of my footstep
has to be in tomorrow
so I can survive today.

I've got inside of my dwelling
going for protection wise
and security.

Now I need to secure
the exterior.

NARRATOR: With nothing
but wilderness surrounding
her home for many miles,

Sue has to keep away
the predators
by any means necessary.

Bears, all your predators,
keen sense of smell.

I use my leftover coffee
grounds get repurposed
and sprinkled out.

Even though
there will be more snow,

it is such a keen,
strong odour

that it is arming
camp from the outside in.

I've been doing this
for years, and years,
and years now.

Over time, it is just,
sort of, like you taking

your morning coffee, and eggs,
and bacon

and going and sitting
in a really ripe outhouse.

Are you gonna go,
"Mmm, this is the place
I wanna eat?"

My concern is the bears,
they are around.

They've got, you know,
well over 83 tagged

that have the possibility
of walking
right through my camp.

They're up.
They're looking for food.

And I happen to be
the only SOB that is cooking
in a, in a huge radius.

What was that?

That's one of my foxies.

I forgot what I was saying.

Oh, yeah,
if you have an animal

that is raging,
charging, fixated,

no, it's not gonna stop them.

But for the ones that are
ambling through going,

"Hey doesn't that chick
live here?

"She'd make a tasty snack."

They get close and go, "Whoa!"

It burns
the heck out of their noses
and it smells like a sewer.

You know?
No. I don't want to go there.

The next thing I do is bleach.

So, with the bleach,
put my thumb over,
this is what I do.

Everything.

Gonna hit it
a little bit heavy here.

Now you can see,
this building here,

all these marks are
where I've had to repair it.

Um, a bear came through here.

That's a wolverine
on the corner.

So, I just, uh,
try to deter it,

try to keep that exposure
to a minimum.

I'm basically ready for winter
to come knocking.

If a few animals come knocking
at the same time,
I've got it covered.

Two-legged or four-legged.

This chick
ain't going down easy.

I'm ready.

ERIK: I really enjoy
running my guiding business.

You get to
fly around in planes,
and take people hunting,

and set up tents.

It's a great thing to do
for a living.

I couldn't be more fortunate.

Skidded this green log
in earlier today,

and I'm gonna fix it
between these two trees,
and make a meat pole.

NARRATOR: Erik Salitan is in
the final phase of securing
a safe place for his meat,

but to do it, he's got to work
in snowy conditions,

12 feet off the ground.

ERIK: A meat pole is a pole
that hangs between two trees
that you hang meat off of.

Keeps little animals
and stuff from
chewing on the meat,

and keeps nice airflow,
and meat hanging
nice and clean.

Got my pole lifted up.

Now I'm just gonna attach it
here to the tree,

just with tension
and some simple knots
on this chain.

I need this pole
to be able to withstand,

at least 1,000 pounds of meat.

That side should be good.

Sure beats lifting it by hand.

Looks pretty level.

Test her out for strength.

Seems pretty solid to me.

I'm happy with it.

Should be able to hang
quite a bit of meat up there.

Didn't take long
to cut this pole and hang it.

I should be able
to use this pole
for a few years.

When it gets kinda brittle,
I'll take it down,

cut it up for firewood,
and make a new one.

Looks good.

I got the meat,
I got some ropes up there
in the bucket.

I'm gonna climb up there,
and tie it up,

and see
how this new meat pole works.

The lifestyle that I get
to live up here
as a hunting guide

and a subsistence hunter
and trapper is pretty unique

and, you know,
there's a lot of work
associated with it,

but I think
there's more pros than cons.

It's a really
beautiful place to live,

and I really enjoy
what I do for a living,
and it's a great life.

It's pretty wholesome
and, uh, it's what I choose.

This is a moose shoulder.

This is a rack of moose ribs.

And this is also
a rack of moose ribs.

Now that this meat is hung
on the pole,

I can bring in
each piece individually,

and thaw it out,
and butcher it,

and, kind of,
spread the work out

rather than having it
just be a whole ton of cutting
all at once.

So, got a several
hundred pounds of meat
right here.

I have a lot of meat already.

I'm sitting pretty
for the winter.

Should have plenty of meat
to make it through
till next hunting season.

Life is good.
I'm living fat on the hog

and plenty
to keep my belly full.

AGNES: You really have to know
what you're doing...

When you want to go
do something
in extreme weather

and extreme cold,
because sometimes it can
get pretty dangerous.

Nice weather, all right.

Warmer than yesterday.

Less ice.

NARRATOR:
After yesterday's failed hunt,

the Hailstone's
have to make today count

or go home to Noorvik
empty handed.

-JON: All set?
-Let the hunt begin.

I just hope we can get
a real good shot

and score a seal or two.

If I catch at least one seal,
that'll carry us all the way
until the frozen winter.

And then, then we can have
another opportunity
to go hunting again.

Just be ready
to follow my shot.

9:00.

-Did you get it?
-Nope. No blood.

Come on.

(SIGHS DEEPLY)

-JON: Did you get it?
-Nope.

JON: Right there.

Ah, damn.

(AGNES SIGHS)

(COCKS RIFLE)

AGNES: Three o'clock.

I see three of them.

JON: All right, mom,
birdshot them seals.

Son, I got it!

JON: Harpoon him, Ting!
AGNES: Harpoon, Ting!

-It's right there!
-TING: Where?

You got it, bun!

You were supposed to let go.

JON: Harpoon!
AGNES: Here, Jon!

JON: I can't see.

Ugh, I missed. I missed.

AGNES: It's real deep.

It should come right back up.

Man, we ran over it.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

There's blood.
It was a sure hit.

JON: I think we have a sinker.

Ting, you can't be scared
to throw a harpoon.

You have to have
your mind set.

AGNES: When Ting was doing
her first harpooning,

instead of throwing it
and let it go,

she threw it and held it,
and tried to just poke it
and pull it back in.

But, uh, she's just...
She's just learning.

Show her
how to position her hand.

The first step
is your fingers.

Make sure
your tip is straight.

JON: Don't just try to go up
to it and do that.

You have to lift it
as high as you could,

arc it, and then just
right into it anywhere.

Right through the middle,
dead centre, anywhere.

She's still got quite a bit of
practising to do.

Uh, she still has
to figure out

how hard she should throw,
or how to hold her hand.

Let it go even. Throw it.

You see how when I throw it,
it came back up?
This'll float.

Yup, and once
this one gets stuck,
it'll come off.

And it'll, this one will
let it come back up.

-TING: Okay.
-Okay. You got it Ting?

TING: Yeah.
AGNES: We know
what we're doing now.

We're in the game.
Let's go play.

Where'd they all just go?

All hunts aren't successful.

Sometimes you have to take it
for what it is.

If we don't get anything,

hey, at least the kids
got a chance to come out here

and get some experience,
and come back and try again.

ANDY: When you live alone
for a little while,

you learn a lot
about yourself.

There's only
a few basic things
I need in life,

and actually
life is really good.

(HUSKIES HOWLING AND BARKING)

CODY: That looks like
it'll be some good firewood.

NARRATOR: As the sun falls
and temperatures dip

far below what Cody is used to
in Oregon,

he scours the forest
for the timber that will
keep him warm tonight.

CODY: It's mixed emotions.

I'm nervous, scared,
and really excited
at the same time.

Using that saw,
it's almost kind of more
refreshing than a chainsaw

'cause you're not so worried
about cutting your leg off.

I don't know
how much wood I'm gonna need,

but I figure 12 foot sections
are kind of easy to carry
and manoeuvre through here.

Although I think
after about 20 pieces of log

I'm really gonna wish
I had a chainsaw.

Little haw. Little haw.

Ho, ho.

-How goes it?
-Good boy.

-Hey, Blitzen.
-Hi, buddy.

-I have a present for you.
-Oh, yay.

(CHUCKLES)

Couple of birch,
pieces of birch here.

You can just get them out
and throw them on your pile
for right now.

CODY: All right.

ANDY: Birch trees are probably
one of the best resources
out here

for a lot of different things.

Build sleds, axe handles,
and birch bark on the outside
is really flammable.

Birch bark when it's wet
will burn.

CODY: That's amazing.

Oh, come on.

There we go.

ANDY: Keep holding it
straight vertical.

-Hold that heat up.
-Oh.

ANDY:
You gotta watch that wind.

It's challenging
to build a fire
in the wind out here.

It doesn't take much wind
to lose it.

CODY: Yeah.

Back in Oregon
starting a fire is no problem,

but out here, you know,
might not have
a lighter on you,

and how you gonna start
a fire when
everything's frozen?

ANDY:
Cup your hand around it. Yup.

All these things
are just really
subtle techniques.

There you go. You got it.

You got it going now, and then
keep that birch vertical.

There you go,
and then just move it around.

CODY: That's amazing. Ooh!
(CHUCKLES)

He's gotta learn
not to be afraid of fire
when he strikes a match.

It's pretty hard to burn skin
at 50 below zero.

(ANDY LAUGHS)

CODY: I can already tell
how frustrating it can be.

ANDY: (LAUGHS) Working outside
in zero degrees,

or below zero temperatures,
is never easy to begin with.

You're doing this
in some of the tougher
conditions right?

It's not nearly as hard
when you got a stove going
and you're inside a place.

It's just outside,
but I just wanted you
to get a feel.

There you go.
Grab another piece
of birch bark,

put this pile of birch bark
on top of it now.

It's a waterproof
kind of a bark

and that's why they were able
to use it for canoes.

Okay. Now what I want you
to do is grab some of that,

I call that squaw wood.

Grab a big handful of it
and break it in half,

and then
break it in half again.

Okay. Now lay that
whole pile right on this.

Okay. Then just wait.

What you're gonna see is,
this is gonna flair up
really big

and then it's gonna go
to coals really quick.

So you have to be ready
to then put the next size
piece of wood on it.

And while you got it
going good like that...

That's all right.
Just throw it on like that.
They'll catch.

And it's always a progression.
You know, smaller to bigger.

And the other thing
that helps is keep them
fairly close,

so once they start
they create heat
in between each other.

CODY: Okay.

-Yeah.
-But that's the one skill

that you really wanna know
well up here.

When you come out
into this environment
with this kind of cold,

if you do the wrong thing,
it can take your life.

Why don't you go on inside,
get your stove going.

-Use the same principle.
-Yeah.

And then when you come back
just keep cutting wood,

'cause tonight I'd say
you're probably gonna burn
at least half of this tonight.

-Okay.
-The idea
is not to survive out here,

the idea
is to thrive out here.

You know, you can come
into this situation with all
the knowledge in the world,

but it kinda seems like
you're gonna have stuff thrown
at you, you'd never expect.

And I think that's
one of the reasons
I'm happy to come out

and learn from Andy,
is 'cause he's probably

been through just about
everything you can imagine.

I'll see you in a bit.

-Thank you much, Andy.
-Yup. You're doing great.

I got a good teacher.

ANDY: Sometimes I try
and instruct too much.

If I try and tell him
everything to look out for,
he'll never retain it.

So there's really no point.

You know, make a mistake,
you learn from it.

Just don't get hurt
making the mistake.

Well, right here
is the first official fire

out here in Eagle,
Calico Camp.

This kinda feels, uh,
ceremonial I guess.

I might have put myself
in over my head a little bit.

I think I might have
some rough days ahead of me.

SUE: Yeah, I hear some people
say, you know, "Life's just
knocking me down."

No it's not.
It's just having fun with you.

Ermie?

(WHISTLES)

You wanna go for a walk?

NARRATOR:
With her camp secured
inside and out,

Sue turns her attention
to the safety to her
sole winter companion.

A retired sled dog.

Big storm's coming, chickie.

So you're gonna be
on the leash today.

I've got
horrible storms coming,
horrible conditions.

She'll die
if she doesn't listen.

You will learn.

If you don't learn
to come when I call,

you're gonna end up dead
little one.

And this is no place
for naughtiness.

One day this leash
won't be here if you behave,

but I gotta know
you understand.

There's things
that are gonna hurt you
out here.

A big old black wolf
tried to come in,

and whether mating
or eating her,
was his interest.

Yeah, you were scared.
You went under the house.

Guess what?
There is no under the house
this winter.

It's gonna be covered
in snow, man.

I want you for my friend.

Not to be
somebody's breakfast.

If I wanted you just to be
food for something,

I'd call you Elsie
and put a cowbell on you.

AGNES:
I enjoy teaching my girls.

Being real young,
my mother passed away,

so I try to teach them
as much as I know,

before anything happens to me.

JON:
It's such a beautiful day.

AGNES: One seal,
it took us a few days,
but, uh...

Because it's got to
cost a bit much to fly
down this way to Kotzebue,

and get in a boat,
and go out hunting.

We need to at least get
one seal
to make up for the money

that it costs me
to fly down here.

Something on top the ice.

We're way far.
Half ways to land.

That's like six miles
and two bends away.

AGNES: Oh, son.

(GUNSHOT)

JON: Where'd it go?

Harpoon, harpoon, harpoon!

AGNES: Harpoon, Ting.

You gotta be ready.
It's still swimming.

JON: Gotta be ready, Ting.

AGNES: It's wounded.
JON: Coming right back up.

It has no air.

AGNES: Oh, son, I got it!

(GUNSHOT)

Ooh!

JON: Harpoon it! Harpoon it!

Oh!

I see him. He's floating.
He's floating.

Didn't go far though.
Looks like a young one.

Mom, harpoon it!

Harpoon.

There we go.

Now let's go and grab him.

AGNES:
Hurry up before it sink.
It got a hole in it.

JON: Ting that was
a little bit early
when you tried to harpoon it.

A little bit early.

AGNES: Where's that hook?

You gotta go below, below.

JON: There we go.

AGNES: Up this way.
Up front. Up front.

-JON: There you go.
-(AGNES GRUNTS)

JON: Ready?
AGNES: One, two, three, go.
(STRAINS)

JON: Whoa.

AGNES: We did it.

JON: Friggin' awesome.

AGNES: I'm real grateful
for this seal.

I'm glad it gave itself to us.

I paid it my respects
and gave it
a last drink of water,

and so, uh, hopefully
I'll have some more good luck.

Okay, kids ready?
Shall we head home?

Yep.

AGNES: Well, I managed
to pull off a successful hunt.

I got one seal in the boat,

and I managed to keep
everybody safe and alive,
and we're all still happy.

Not too small.

Not too big.

Just perfect.

One seal. Took us a few days,

but, uh, Chip's gonna be
real happy.

A bloody mess.

The mess of success.

One, two, three, go!

Yee!

CODY: The number one concern
for me out here
is gonna be hurting myself.

I think the idea of 9-1-1
back in the city

or having an ambulance
being able to come
and get you,

people don't realise
how comforting that can be.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

ANDY:
See you got your stove going.

So why don't we go out
and collect some
spruce boughs.

-Get a bed made.
-Okay.

And we'll go back in the woods
a little away from the house

so we're not deforesting
the area around the house
right now.

What you're gonna wanna do
is just come in here

and just start
going down the tree.

-Take the boughs off.
-Yeah.

Sometimes you can even
just take down
a whole tree like this.

Right? When I was out trapping
that was my base.

-That would get laid down
like that.
-Mmm-hmm.

As I laid down on it,
it just kind of scrunched
all those down.

And then you take
these smaller, finer ones

and you start building
a good bed.

Build it up in a mound.

'Cause as you sleep in it...

-It's gonna sag down.
-It's gonna sag down.

It creates
a nice little nest for you.

-Okay.
-Just go through.

You can just start
taking stuff down
wherever it's convenient.

I would suggest try
and get as much snow
off of it,

because as soon as you bring
it inside...

-It's gonna melt.
-It's gonna melt,

and then
everything will be wet.

So just make it as comfortable
as you can tonight,

and we'll see how you are
in the morning.

-Sounds good.
-All right.

-Thank you, Andy.
-Yeah.

You're doing good.

ANDY: So what's gonna
be interesting for me to see
in the next couple of days

as we get into more
challenging things is,
what's his gut instinct?

You know,
is he the kind of guy

that goes charging up
to the edge of the river
and looks over?

Or is he the kind of guy
that, kind of, walks up
and kind of tests the ice?

And those are the
little subtle things
that I'm gonna look for,

and that'll tell me
a lot about him

and, uh,
where his headspace is at.

Definitely did not think
I'd be sleeping on a tree

when I, uh, got off
that plane today.

But I don't think I can assume
anything out here.

Guess we can call
this part of the woods
the mattress store.

Definitely gonna be a change
from the Tempur-Pedic.

I think people have gotten
really content with living
in the lower 48

and don't really
take into consideration

how much you can appreciate
the stuff you have around you.

Kind of takes coming out
somewhere like this,

and realising that,
uh, a computer game
isn't that important.

Basically the idea of it is,
if you're gonna be taking
the dogs out somewhere,

and spending somewhere
out away from the cabin
for a night,

you would make a bed like this

in order to keep yourself
from laying just on snow.

Because that would be
the equivalent of laying
on an ice cube,

and nobody wants to lay
on ice.

Throw a tarp up over it.

I think this is nature's way
of making memory foam.

Let's give it a try.

Oh, yeah. (EXHALES)

This is probably
the most uncomfortable bed
I've ever made,

but it's definitely better
than sleeping on a
plank of wood or on snow.

(HOWLING)