All language subtitles for Life.Below.Zero.S10E02.720p.WEB-DL.x264-KangMus_track3_[eng]

♪ ♪

CAROL: We'll be down there.

CHIP: Yup.

AGNES: We're planning to go
on a little hunt boating trip,
our very first one

this season now
that the ice is gone.

CHIP: These rivers here,
they're our roads.

So now, it's time
to travel this road.

But do it in a boat rather
than a snow machine.

There's a lot of hunting
to be done right now.

It's the breakup.

Birds coming in,
there's fish coming in.

There's muskrats and
beavers to be had.

And I don't know how
well we'll do, but we
got to go give it a try,

so the time to go is now.

You guys ready?

-Sure.
-Ready and willing.
-Let's go.

It's the last fur
hunt of the year.

We wanna get out here and get
behind where these ice jams
are flooding everything up and

getting to lakes and sloughs
that we can't normally access.

And just ride around and
see things, and catch them.

-Right there!

-Oh, it's right there,
Chip. Stop.

-Oh, wow.
That's our target.

-There's a muskrat, Carol,
you're the first shooter.

(theme music plays)

♪ ♪

(gunshot)

-Good job, Carol.
-Man, hook, hook, Qutan.

-Good one. There you go.

-Our first muskrat.

-All right. Good job.

This is the last fur
hunt of the year.

The animals that live
in the water, they don't
shed till next month.

So, their fur
is really, really good
still prime right now.

And they're pretty
good-tasting.

And we can use their furs
for making stuff out of.

You can make blankets.
You can make clothing.

It comes down to,
you know, feeding your
kids, feeding yourself.

None of it goes to waste.

-12:00. You see it?
-I see it.
-There's another one.

-Right there, dad.
-It's right there, Chip. Stop.

Right there, Carol.

-That's him underneath
there underneath the log.

He's right underneath
the log right there.
Right in front of us.

-It's right in here, Carol.
-It's just right there.

-Grab it, Qutan.
You got it.

-Just grab it by its tail.
-I can't reach it.
-Here you are.

-There you go. There you go.
-Perfect, Carol. Perfect.
You're doing great.

-Now grab it and bring it in.
Be quick!

-By the tail, Carol. Smack it.
-There you go.
-Well done.

We got a shooter
and a grabber.

-We haven't even gotten a
mile down this channel yet,
and we're doing pretty good.

-There it is, Carol.
-Right there!

-One, two, three, go.

(gunshot)

-You're a little high.
You need to bring that
front site down a little bit.

-Go, Carol.

(gunshot)

Yee! You got it.

-Carol's getting
used to using a .22,

and she's in a boat
doing this while the
muskrat's doing this.

So, when you're doing
this, it's not easy.

Not easy at all.

-Way up there. 12:00.

(gunshot)

-You led it too much.

(gunshot)

-Reload.
One more time,
get it ready.

By the fifth muskrat,
you'll be just dialed in.

(gunshot)

-Good job, Carol.
-That's a big one.
-Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Right here, right here.

-Whoa. It's coming
right to you.

(gunshot)

-That one is dead!

-Nice shot!
-Wonderful!
-You got it!

-There you go.
-You girls are awesome.

I love this.
Now I know how my
parents used to feel.

So exciting, fun.

(gunshot)

-Good one.
-Deader than dead.

-Now you're learning that
rifle a bit, aren't you?

-We got eight.

-Whoa.
There's number nine.

(gunshot)

Good job.

We haven't even made it a
mile down this channel yet,
and we're getting plenty.

I think we're gonna do
pretty good tonight.

We just got a long
night ahead of us.

ANDY: We all go by seasons,
and there are certain times a
year we do things not by the

hour and the day, but by
the day on the calendar.

(barking and howling)

I just wanna walk back to
Ford Lake today and see what
the ice conditions are like.

See if there's any sign of
ducks or muskrats or any
food to eat that's fresh.

NARRATOR: Along
the Yukon River,

Andy Bassich survives the
winter by relying on big game
meat he harvests each fall.

Now that the freeze has
passed and the river
ice has broken up,

Andy must seize the
opportunity to get fresh meat
for the first time in months.

-This has been kind of
a bizarre, or different
I should say, spring.

I, I'm just not seeing
the birds I normally see.

Normally, there'd be lots
and lots of ducks around.

Lots of songbirds.

I'm seeing almost
no songbirds.

Most years, my porch,
my yard is just full of juncos.

So, I'm just gonna
go do a recon with the
dogs back to Ford Lake,

see if there's anything worth
hunting back there yet.

Okay, let's go.

Let's go to the lake.

Come on.
Let's go to the lake.

Just seems like everything
is late this year.

And that kind of goes
along with what I'm seeing
with climate change.

Winters are just protracting
longer into spring, and so
the migrations

seem to be shifting

a week or two later
in the spring, and a week
or two later in the fall.

Climate change is impacting
the way we live up here.

There's just all of
these big question marks,
all these big unknowns.

It's a feeling of always
wondering what's coming around
the next corner at you.

'Cause we just can't do
things the way we did it
for the last 20 years,

and that leads to a little
bit of apprehension.

All bets are off.

Lots of ducks.

Lots and lots of ducks here.

Holy mackerel.

This looks like it's just
about perfect conditions
for duck hunting.

Looks like the bottom
of the lake is still frozen,
so I'll be able to

walk around without it
being too soft and mucky.

I'm seeing lots of
mallards back there.

Ducks are being held pretty
close to the shore by the ice.

So, time to go ditch the
dogs, go get my shotgun,
practice a few rounds,

and then go duck hunting.

All right, let's go, guys.

Got a launcher here so
I can hopefully launch
a few skeets and,

there's a big difference
between shooting a static
target on the ground and

shooting at something
that's moving.

If I can hit a few
of these, maybe I'll be
able to hit a few ducks.

Practice, practice, practice.

(shotgun blast)

(shotgun blasts)

Dang.

Miss and a miss.
I better stick with one at
a time until I feel better.

(shotgun blasts)

Second shot got him.

I don't really hunt with
a shotgun very much.

I really don't
hunt waterfowl except
during the springtime,

this time of the year
when they first come back.

The rest of the year,
I usually have big game.

I prefer killing the
fewest animals I can for
the food that I need.

(shotgun racks)

(shotgun blasts)

Got it!

I'm starting to feel a
little bit more confident.

It was a little bit
shaky at the very beginning,
but I'm starting to feel like

I'm getting my range and
my motion in a little bit.

So, I think I'm just gonna
head on back to the lake and
see if I can't shoot a couple

ducks and put some
meat on the table.

JESSIE: My life revolves
around these dogs.

When I started doing this,
there was no success.

There was nothing
but struggle.

But I'd do anything
for those dogs.

Those dogs are my family.

(grunts)

This is absolutely
gross around here.

This is about the worst
time of year in a dog yard.

You just kind of
dread breakup.

Breakup's no fun.

Breakup's just muck and
work and work when you got
a dog yard and a dog team.

Ground starts thawing
like we're getting now.

Every night's
starting to warm up.

This is just a big swimming
pool in the summer.

I wouldn't wanna live in
this, so my dogs ain't
gonna live in this.

NARRATOR: In Nenana,
Jessie Holmes has devoted
his life to training and

racing his
team of sled dogs.

Maintaining his kennel is
a year-round job and today,
he'll begin work on the most

essential labor of the spring.

-I'm building a new dog
yard over across away.

It dries out early,
drains good, so I'm thinking
my best option is to put a

dog yard in over there.

I got 20 dump truck loads
of gravel and sand mixture.

I'm having my friends
come over and we're
gonna spread it all out.

I'm gonna do a bunch
of manual work ahead of,
I got them coming tomorrow.

It's a challenge constantly
to keep these dogs healthy.

Wet ground like this, dogs
are gonna get sick, you know?

They're gonna get colds.

They got moisture.

They need to be on
fresh, dry ground.

Over here is where the
new dog yard's going in.

And some of the driest ground
I was able to find this year.

My vision for this is to
have a really expanded,
like, gravel, flat pad.

And it's got to be a healthy
environment for the dogs.

I haven't had this
opportunity in the past,

financially, to bring this
kind of gravel and filling.

It's not cheap, but
the dogs won some races this
winter and placed highly and

that purse money that
I've made, I'm putting it back
into the dogs always first.

Whoo.

The future of this dog team
continuing to have the success
that it does and grow upon

that, this is essential
to get this done.

This is my number one
priority this year.

But right now, the next thing
to do is, I got a lot of trees
I need to take out over here

before my friends come
over with the bobcat.

It's a lot of work, but
it's gonna be worth it.

Every day I wake up, I know
that there's lots of stuff
that needs to be done.

And the only way I
can do it and make it and
be ready for winter and

make the things I wanna

have happen next winter
is to just consistently,
steadily work towards winter.

I'm not really
thinking about
summer as like,

"Ah, it's summer,
this great time to relax.

Get a suntan."
No, I'm thinking

"Summer, man,
I got a lot of (bleep)
that's got to get done.

And I got a limited
timeframe to do it."

All right. Now I got all
the perimeter cleared out and

everything's ready
for the guys to come
in with the equipment

and spread out
all the gravel evenly.

And then I can start
setting up my dog yard.

GLENN: There's a
potential for things out
here to go very wrong.

It's important to
take things slow.

Be mindful and learn
as much as you can.

Springtime.

It's a special time of year.

Most of the year,
this lake is just
frozen right over.

There's snow all over the
ground and it's freezing cold.

But every year, things
thaw out for a short time.

For about four months.

That's all we have out here
for the snow free-season.

Just yesterday, there
was still quite a bit
of ice on this lake.

But it's all open
now and I'm gonna put
the canoe in the water

for the first time this year.

And I'm gonna go explore.

NARRATOR: Isolated
in the Brooks Range,

Glenn Villeneuve
relies on his knowledge
of the landscape to survive.

Scouting new territory to
gain a better understanding
of his surroundings is vital.

And today,
he will journey 20 miles
to Through Creek Pass,

an area he's only
seen from a distance.

-I haven't paddled this
canoe for eight months.

This is gonna be
exciting today.

17 years ago,
I first came to this lake.

17 years ago,
I built my camp here.

But there's a lot of country
I've never set foot in still.

I'm gonna cross the
lake with my canoe.

I have to get over to the
other side of these mountains.

And then I wanna climb
up into a pass through
the mountains that I've

never explored before.

I've seen it from the air.

I've looked at it on a map.

But I've never set foot
in that pass before.

It's time to go explore.

The Earth is diverse.

There are deserts.
There are icecaps.

There are rainforests.
There are oceans.

But, for me, this is my world.

These mountains,
these forests, these lakes,
that's the world I know.

There's something
floating right there.

Is that just a piece of wood?

We don't usually have pieces
of wood floating around.

That's weird.

It's not like you never see
driftwood in this lake.

Ice.

Up ahead it's all ice.

The wind's blowing the ice
over on this side of the lake.

It's all ice.

Clear across here.

This water's 32
degrees right now.

You could get tipped over.

If you got stuck up
against the ice, and the
wind comes up and waves,

you could tip the canoe over.

I don't wanna tip
over and freeze.

I don't wanna die.

I'll have to get
around this ice.

You got to be careful.
This is a little tricky.
Whoa. Ah.

GLENN: I'll have to
get around this ice.

You got to be careful.
This is a little tricky.
Whoa. Ah.

There's no way I can
get through this.

I'll have to go over to shore.

Then I'm gonna have
to walk from there.

Okay. There's
ice all around.

I got to get through here
before that closes in.

Because the wind's blowing.

I don't wanna get stuck
between the ice out here.

I got to get over to
shore here where there's
still open water.

That's as far as I'm gonna
get with this canoe today.

I'll have to walk from here.

But that's okay.

That's what I'm out here
for, have adventures.

And adventure means
you never know what's
gonna happen next.

Thought by now I was
gonna be sleeping on the
gravel by the north fork of

the Chandalar River, but no.

The ice stopped me.

New plan.

You got to go with the flow.

You got to adapt.

It's all gonna be on foot now.

I'm gonna go where
I've never gone before.

CHIP: There's only so much
you can talk about to your
kids and there's only so many

stories that they can
read and see and hear.

The best you can do is just
take them out there with you.

AGNES: It's about
to come up right in front
of you, Carol.

(gunshot)

Yee!

-Good one.
-Good shot.
-This is fun.

NARRATOR: The Hailstones
are taking advantage of
the newly thawed waterways

to hunt muskrats
for meat and fur.

But their window for
the hunt is brief, as the
animals will shed their

valuable coats
in the coming weeks.

-Throw these ones back there.

-Oh, yeah.

-There isn't always years
of lots of muskrats but
it's a pretty good year.

The girls are having a ball.

And, uh, it's kind of
valuable, you know?

We got a little bit
of food for ourselves.

And, uh, skins to
make parkas out of.

So these ladies are getting
some good, raw material and
we're going to progress.

-There's one right there.
-Right there.
-Hey, can I try to shoot?

-Carol, pass the gun to
Qutan, let Qutan shoot it.

-Here Qutan, you can see it?

-What? I don't,
I can't see it.

-Point at it, Qutan.
You can see it.

-Okay.
-Right there.

(gunshot)

-Use your sight.
Even it out.

(gunshot)

You got it.

-She got it.
-Good job, Qutan.
-Good job, Qutan.

I'm glad you got a muskrat.

Now, get 100 more.

-I'm gonna pop it.

(gunshot)

-Oh!
-Qutan got her second one.
So exciting!

That's how I grew up hunting
and my dad was driving
just like these girls.

They're doing the
same thing I did.

They're being the shooters,
they're getting the muskrats.

They're brave enough and
they really want to go and
try to take a shot at it.

And they're comfortable with
their guns and we're doing a
real good hunt here.

And this is usually
how we teach our children
and pretty soon I won't have

to do any shooting anymore.

-Look, right there.

(gunshot)

Good shot!

-You got it!
-Oh, my god, Qutan!

I can't believe
your proficient shot.

-Okay, Mary, you're up.

-You see it, Mary?
It's right there.

(gunshot)

CHIP: You should try aiming
at the middle of his neck.

(gunshot)

-Almost.
-It's in the
same spot as the (inaudible).

-Go ahead.
-Go ahead.

(gunshot)

-Oh! Better than dead.
-Good job, Mary.

Takes a lot of getting
used to shooting in a
moving boat, doesn't it?

It's not easy when you're
sitting here doing this
with your rifle, is it?

Anybody who says this is
an easy hunt is foolish.

It's getting a little
too windy here, girls.

It's about time
to call it a day. Sound good?

-Yup. Besides our, um,
muskrat tote is full.

-Our muskrat tote is full.

And to think, we didn't
even burn five gallons
of gas getting all this.

-And I didn't even
have to shoot.

You girls did a
real awesome job.

-Yup, and that was the best.
-Yup.

-We've done well.
So let's get going.

-Sounds like a good idea.

JESSIE: The one thing
I've learned, there ain't
no wasting time up here.

Springtime is the
time to be setting up
plans for the winter.

I know, Flash, you're gonna
get a nice new kingdom, huh?

The Bobcat's here.

It's, uh, already
moving gravel into
all these low points.

NARRATOR: With the
help of his friends,

Jessie is building a new
dog yard on higher ground
to avoid flooding and

provide a healthier
environment for his kennel.

Today, they'll be
leveling the area that
will house the new lot.

A critical phase of
the construction.

-This is the foundation
of the dog yard,
this gravel and sand.

This is what's gonna give
them a nice high, dry ground,

be way high up
off this wet ground.

I'm never going to
have wet dogs again.

(grunts)

I'm just moving all the
doghouses and dogs, keeping
ahead of the Bobcat.

Now that he's here,
spreading the gravel.

I'm just going to make
sure I stay ahead of him,

moving anything he needs
and for next few hours,

he's just gonna
be moving all this dirt,
making a nice level path.

My dogs are going to
be so happy on there.

It's a big upgrade
for the kennel.

The dogs mean the
world to me, you know.

Not only do I rely on
them for our income,
but they're my family.

I love taking care of them.

I'm going to do whatever
I got to do to keep the
dogs happy and healthy.

Not only is that what helps
us do well in races, that's
just what I like doing.

I wouldn't do this if
I didn't love every aspect
of taking care of the dogs.

Got this all smoothed
out and ready to go.

Now I got start stringing
out my chain and pound
some posts to attach it to.

It's gonna be some
work but when I'm done,

all the dogs are going
to be all in here
and happy and dry.

First post.

Hard work.

So I'm going to set it
up in rows to where I got
five, six dogs on each row.

This is three times
harder than it is in the
middle of summer to do.

Ground's frozen.

You can only pound
them in so far.

Well, that's one in.

Dang good thing I
ain't trying to drive
one for each dog.

One of the nice things is
gonna be about this system,
that I'm trying to design this

with in mind is the
interaction between
the dogs, you know,

where they can interact
but they can't tangle
and they can't fight,

but they're all
around each other.

Feeding off each
other's energy.

Plenty of social fun time.

Dogs, they're like kids.

They wanna have fun.

Can't be work all the time.

Now I'm going to
extend the chain out.

Try to let the
machinery do as much of
the work as possible.

We're just going to
make sure I pull out all the
slack out of the lines before

I get too far ahead
of myself here.

'Cause I don't want them
flopping around like this.

I want them nice and tight.

I want to make my life
easier with this setup.

Easy to hook up the dogs.

Easy to run them.

That way it's
not such a chore.

I need to make more
efficiency so I can spend
more time with the dogs,

training the dogs than
laboring, laboring,
doing things the hard way.

There, I got my first long
section of chain anchored off
here, up here to this stump.

Strong enough stump.

To me, this is where
the excitement starts.

The excitement
of getting the dogs in
their fresh new dog yard.

Time to get some more
chains and start stringing
out some more spots.

ANDY: Timing is so much a part
of how things work out here.

When the timing's right,
when the conditions are right,

then it's time
to just go do it.

Burning daylight.

I'm going to take a trip
back to Ford Lake for the
day and see what I can do

for putting up some
ducks for some food.

Try and get some fresh
meat after a long winter of
good meat, but not fresh meat.

NARRATOR: Still weeks
away from the return of
bears, caribou, and moose,

hunting small game is
a priority for Andy
this time of year.

After spotting several
flocks of ducks on Ford Lake,

Andy's on the prowl
to secure his first fresh
meat since last fall.

-I've got a whole
bunch of ducks.

There's quite a few in the,
in the lake right out there.

If I can get right up by,
by that shoreline over there,
um, I'll probably be able

to get quite a few with
just one or two shots.

My best strategy right
now is just to sneak
through the woods,

try and get as close as
I can undercover and then,
uh, jump up and blast away.

So, uh, the hunt is on.

I'm going to leave my
pack here so I can stalk
a little bit better.

Go hide behind these
trees and figure out where
the ducks are out here.

And then I'll try and
put the sneak on them.

I got to get within about
20, 30 yards of them.

That's not easy in
this wide-open stuff.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

(shotgun blast)

(shotgun blast)

(shotgun blast)

ANDY: Payday.

Ford Lake is one of
the really important places
for me to spend a lot of my

time whether
it's training dogs or
getting food back here.

It's kind of a
dual-purpose lake for me.

It's a grocery store and
a playground all in one.

It's a beautiful
place to come back to.

I feel fortunate that
I have this, uh, behind my
property and there's just a

lot of life back
here on this lake.

All right. Well,
what a nice big canvasback.

That's a good duck.

This one's okay.

A little bit smaller but
they'll all make a good meal.

So all in all, I'm
feeling pretty good.

I think I'll head back home
and see what the rivers doing
and cook up some ducks.

GLENN: The forces of
nature are very strong.

You're very small out
here in the wilderness.

And if you forget that,
you can get too cocky and
you can get yourself in

a lot of trouble.

I'm gonna go as
far as I can today.

When I wake up tomorrow,
I want to be in new country.

There's no plan.
There's no schedule.
It's up to me.

NARRATOR: For Glenn,
exploring his surroundings
increases his knowledge and

ability to endure in
the vast Brooks Range.

He is on a 20-mile
trek from his cabin
to Through Creek Pass,

an unexplored
area that could yield
untapped resources.

-I left the cabin
this morning.

Over on the other side
of the lake, I took my
canoe, crossed the lake,

now I got to go on foot.

I can walk as far as
these legs will carry me.

Look at the creek.

There's still ice on it.

This is good.

It's already June but
there's still a lot
of ice on this creek.

This ice is going
to help me a lot because
it's much easier to walk

on this smooth ice than

it is to walk through
the forest and over this
boggy ground that I've got

to deal with now.

I'm going to use this
ice highway right here.

It's very important when
you're traveling through
this country to find the

path of least resistance.

And right here, this is the
path of least resistance.

Look at how clear
the water is here.

Down there, the water
looks pretty dirty but up
here on top of the ice,

it's crystal clear.

This is perfect,
snowmelt water.

Mmm.

This is overflow ice.

This creek is only this deep.

But it froze right
to the bottom.

Over the course
of the winter, the water kept
getting up on top of the ice.

And it kept freezing
thicker and thicker
and thicker layers.

And now this ice
is this thick.

It's gonna last through
a big part of the summer.

When the creek undercuts
it, big chunks fall down.

I got to be careful.

Whoa. All this
ice has crashed in.

It was undercut by the creek.

It washed the ice
out from underneath.

And it was just
a big air pocket.

When the weight
of the ice was too much,
boom, down it came.

That's what you have
to watch out for.

Because when you're walking
on this, you don't wanna be
walking where the ice has

nothing but air underneath it.

That can come down suddenly.

You don't wanna
be on top of that.

Right here, this is
what I'm talking about.

You see?

It can go down fast.

You got to be careful.

This ice is all breaking up.

It's thawing out fast.

This is as far as this
overflow is gonna take me.

Back onto the stones now.

Look, a duck.

It acts like it's wounded.

Oh, look at that.

A little duckling.

See those little duckling,
there's the mother.

And she's trying
to lead me away.

She's trying to divert
my attention by acting
like she's injured.

Four little ducklings,
there they go with their mom.

I love seeing stuff like that.

Out here, in the woods,
it's a new surprise
around every corner.

She's leading them away.

You know what I really like
about traveling out here?

There are no trails.

There are no signs.

When I was a kid,
I was growing up in Vermont
I remember hiking in the

woods and you follow a trail.

And they even painted little
markers on the trees.

But here it's different.

You can just go
wherever you want.

If I see a mountain
that looks interesting,
I can go climb it.

If I see a lake I want
to try fishing in,
I can go over there.

And there's nobody around,
as far as I can see.

There's not another
human in sight.

JESSIE: You get an idea.

You put it into action.

And then you adjust it
and you make it work.

You don't settle for mediocre.

Boo-yah!

Post number five.

NARRATOR: Jessie is building
a new lot for his sled
dogs that will improve their

health and well-being.

Separating the dogs by
age and experience is key.

But to do so, Jessie
can't afford to make a
mistake in his planning.

JESSIE: I have 25 dogs that
are above two years old.

So from this point on, it's
gonna be dogs that are under
one and a half years old.

Now I'm going to go through
the yard, look at what I got
left to put in here so I can

wrap my head around
making enough room and
leaving enough room to maybe

do some other things.

26, if I could
fit in that many here.

I think I can fit
13 more in around here.

I'm getting down to where
I need a few more poles for,
finish out the lower dog yard

for the puppies.

I got a pole here that's
in my way in the trail.

This right here is a very
useful tool for, say you need
to jack your truck up and

change your tire or push
your fish wheel out or lift
something vertically out of

the ground like I'm
about to do here.

This should work.
I would imagine it would.

I've actually only put
the post in the ground,
never pulled them out so,

I think it's going to pop
it right out of there.

It doesn't help that the
ground's frozen that it's in.

Come on you (bleep).

Dammit.

♪ ♪

(snap)

(bleep) this.

(snap)

JESSIE: (bleep) this.

It didn't go as planned,
trying to get the
post out of the ground.

Ground's frozen,
cinched onto them.

I should've figured
that out ahead of time.

This is a frustrating
situation.

I'm not gonna to be
able to get this pole
out of the ground.

I'm gonna to have to come
up with another plan.

This isn't summer,
this is still spring.

The ground's still frozen.

It's just making a struggle
to put these posts in and it
definitely ain't gonna be able

to pull one out that I put
four feet into the ground.

I can't get that darn
post out of the ground.

This is just gonna have to do.

Anchor this down low to
this tree and it'll hold.

Gonna have to come
up with a solution.

I'm gonna put a
come-along to this tree.

Crank it tight and then this
should function very well.

That's what you do
when you got a problem, you
just find another solution.

If maybe one thing ain't
working then come up with
something that does work.

All right, I got the chain
set up, get my few last dogs
that I got strung around

all in one area.

This is gonna be really
nice, I'm looking forward
to getting this job done.

All right, this
is the last dog.

Got them all together.

Everything's going so good.

So far, there's a little
bit of testosterone.

So I got a bunch of males
and a lot of bristling
and they'll get along.

This is good for them.

Just keep them all together
and they'll realize
that they got to be a team.

So this is awesome.

It's really cool just to be
able to look around and see
all the dogs right here.

Now I got to get these
dogs some houses.

We got 40 dogs that
need houses, so it's
time to keep working.

CHIP: With every change of
weather, with every change
of season, you know,

even the moon.

There's always some
new opportunity.

AGNES: Now this is
where the work begins.

So what we do first is
we go around the legs.

NARRATOR: After the
Hailstones harvested muskrats
from the local waterways,

Agnes is teaching
her daughters to
process the animals.

The family will not only
be able to use the meat
but the fur can be made

into clothing for
the cold winter months.

-You can tell where the
back, it's dark and where
the stomach part, the light,

comes together right
here between that.

Like in the tail you,
take your knife and
you follow that line.

And you go straight down.

You go to the tail.

Yup, just like that.

And that's where we'll
start to peel from.

I done a lot of these when
I was your girls' age.

I feel like this has been
a real successful hunt.

We got quite the collection
of muskrats and pretty
soon we'll have quite the

collection of muskrat skins.

I'm so glad you
girls are real good and
patient with our hunting.

And now you girls know how it
is to shoot at small, moving
targets from a moving boat.

I'm glad I get to just sit
there and watch you girls.

That was the most
fun I've had hunting.

CAROL: That was a
lot of fun, huh?

-It was a lot of fun with
all of us especially.

This is a hunt I don't
think you girls will forget.

-Yup, we caught a whole bunch.

You sure did some
pretty good shooting.

Even you, Qutan.

Boy, I was impressed
with your shooting.

Your dad back into swing
of things driving and
you girls right up front,

our teamwork pays off.

It's just awesome.

So once you really figure
it out, it should take
you less than ten minutes

to do one muskrat.

We got 57 to do, so if we
work together, we should
get them done fairly soon.

CHIP: You guys wanna
eat some muskrat?

I got some with some rice.

-Muskrat, you say?

-'Skrat and rice.

-Right on.
Awesome, thank you. Wow.

Qutan, you ever
try muskrat before?

It's pretty good.

Muskrats have its own flavor.

-Well, these girls
know from beginning to
end just what it takes to

get everything working.

The girls all
learned something.

They all took their turns.
They had their fun.

-How many did
you catch, Qutan?

-25.
-25? And you too, Carol?
-31.

-I think Mary just
caught a few, huh?

Right on.
We all worked together.

Reloaded.
Good driving.

-Even Qutan.
-Yup. That's what it takes.

The best thing to do is
just sit back and watch
your kids succeed.

I really like doing that.

One thing, you know,
even over time this river
doesn't change that fast.

The animals ain't changed,
the food ain't changed.

Taste hasn't changed.

People here a couple
hundred years ago were
tasting the same stuff at

this time of year.

Kind of like having
hotdogs on the 4th of July.

-Well, muskrat is the
flavor of the season.

-Yeah, it is.

GLENN: I just wanna explore.

I just wanna find new places.

Look at things I
haven't seen before.

Think I might've
taken the wrong route.

NARRATOR: Glenn is nine
miles into the trek from his
cabin to Through Creek Pass.

With his destination
on the other side of
an untraveled mountain,

Glenn must summit the ridge
if he's to explore the new
landscape for the first time.

GLENN: This is a big mountain.

I wanna get to these lakes
I've been thinking about.

Hopefully I can get
to the other side.

I wanna camp on the
other side tonight.

I'm getting up close
to the tree line.

I just love this feeling.

When I get up above the trees.

I remember when I was a little
kid growing up in Vermont,
I used to just go climb the

mountain near there
over and over and over.

I've always loved
climbing mountains.

It's just a lot of fun.

Get up here, what a view.

I can't imagine living
in flat land myself.

I just love these mountains.

The beauty out here,
it's just astounding.

Hey, there's Seventy Forty.

That's the mountain I
climbed last summer.

Look how cold it
looks up there today.

Amazing. Look at the view.

This is the highest
mountain anywhere in
this whole area out here.

Amazing. I was standing
right there last year.

On top of that mountain.

It's getting steeper.

When I came
out here the first time,
I really did my homework.

I spent a lot of time
just talking to people and
learning as much as I could.

And still, that's
my attitude today.

To always be learning
and paying attention.

It's important because
I don't wanna disappear.

I don't wanna be the one
that doesn't come home
at the end of the day.

Whoa.

♪ ♪

GLENN: Whoa.

I got to get around this.

Whoa.

There's a lot of
loose rock here.

Whoa.

There, made it.

There it is. Amazing.

This is the pass I've
been trying to get to
through the mountains.

Right down here,
this is the country
I want to explore.

Look at the lake down there.

I can camp right on
the side of that lake.

There's a lot of nice
country around here.

I'll bet there's sheep
on these mountains.

I'll bet there are
bears around here.

I can see game trails
off in the distance.

There are probably fish
down there in the lake.

There'll be a lot to
look for around here.

There'll be a lot of
territory to explore.

It's just been a great
journey these last days.

Twenty miles walking
through these mountains
completely free.

Just to get out and
travel a path you've
never traveled before.

Maybe make a path no one's
ever traveled before.

Follow your own path.

I feel alive out here.

You can do it
wherever you are.

For me, it's out here
in these mountains.

JESSIE: Dog mushing to me
is all about camping out with
the dogs, exploring new places,

testing ourselves
against the most rugged
terrain imaginable.

So far, you know, I got these
lines all tightened out,
I got the dogs all in here.

Using these wood chips
in the yard just kind of
helps keep it even drier,

more healthy environment.

They're loving it, they're
socializing, they know that
I'm working for them and they

know that something
good's coming.

Now I just got to get
the dog houses out.

Lot of hard work moving
these houses around all
the time but I won't have to

move them no more.

Everything's ready.

Nice, neat, organized.

Got plenty of room
between the rows to come
in with the four-wheeler.

Bring in food, water.

It's gonna make everything
so much easier and make
the dogs so much happier.

All right, this looks awesome.

This is great.

All right, now all the
hard work's done, it's time
for us to have some fun.

Get out and do what we
love doing the best.

Who wants to go for a run?

I know, it's going to be fun.

These dogs are bred to
run, they love to run.

Sun's starting to go down now,
this is about perfect time.

All right, time to
harness up the dogs.

These dogs know
something's up.

They know we're
going on a run.

They see the
harnesses coming out.

There seeing me mess
with these lines.

They see the four-wheeler.

They know exactly what's up.

They wanna do this.

Straight ahead.

The dogs love to run and
keeping them in shape
and conditioned is what

this is all about.

Gee.

My goal throughout the
summer, especially now that
I have this efficient system,

is that in the evenings
I can spend some
time running everybody.

Keep them mentally
healthy and happy.

I mean, we worked
really hard this winter.

We put on thousands of miles,

I don't wanna see
that just go back to
zero come fall time and

have to start from
zero again, I wanna be
able to maintain that

throughout the summer.

Straight.

Whoa, good dogs. All right.

Now I got an efficient
system and that's just
gonna make life better

for me and the dogs.

Every year, we're just gonna
keep stepping the operation
up and doing the best

we can and doing
better every year.

This is just the
beginning, not the end.

ANDY: In the other world,
the outside world, you
have to have money to live.

In this world, you have to
have skills and initiative.

Good day.

Bagged four ducks.

Yee-haw.

I'm gonna, I'm gonna
pluck that one because
that's a nice big duck.

This guy here
would probably be worth
putting him on the grill and

stuffing him up
and making him into
something pretty good.

Take the wings off.

Sometimes I save these wings,
they make really good bait for
marten the next year because

I hang them up and they
just kind of float around
in the trees and it really

is good trapping bait.

So the reason why I really
like hunting moose and bears
is because for the amount of

effort that you put into
it, time-wise and all that,
your payoff of meat is

tenfold what it
is to go out and do this.

But it's always good to just
have a little bit of variety
out there in your diet.

See what this duck is like.

Should be ready.

Steaming calico duck.

Hey, buddy, I got a big
old duck for you and me.

Check this out.

Look at that, can
you smell that thing?

Look at that.

Here, one piece for you.

It's hot, whoa, that's hot.

That's hot stuff.

Mmm.

Okay, you can have
the bones, hold on.

Very tender.

That was worth it,
worth a good day's walk.

Bit of a stalk.

Little bit of shucking,
a little bit of plucking.

This is why I live out here.

Good food.

It's always a bit of an
adventure to go get your food,
so it has a lot more meaning.

This is the first fresh meat
I've had in seven months.

After a winter of
big game, I get to have a
little bit of small game.

How many restaurants in this
world have a view like I got
of breakup on the Yukon River,

eating calico duck
with their best buddy?

Not too many.

Right, Berg?
Not too many.

We're pretty
lucky living here.