All language subtitles for Life.Below.Zero.S10E07.720p.WEB-DL.x264-KangMus_track3_[eng]

(music)

ANDY: I really got to start
thinking about getting my
fish wheel operating and,

and start catching fish
because I only have about
another week of fish left.

Last year, when I was pulling
this fish wheel out, this whole
thing just kind of twisted away

and, and pretty much separated
from the rest of the fish wheel.

It's all rotten, you can see
right here, it's all kind of
caving in on one side here.

I've got to get this frame
off, get these barrels out.

It's going to be quite
a bit of work here.

It's just one of those projects
that you, you wish you had lots
of time and maybe even another
person.

It's going to be challenging
doing some of this stuff by
myself because it takes me about

eight days to
build a fish wheel.

I got about three.

I can't afford to
miss this fish.

If you don't get it when
it's here, you don't get
it for another whole year.

(theme song)

(theme song)

Look at this barrel.

You wonder why this is leaking.

You know, these were
filling up with water.

That's why I had to
put this barrel under
it a couple years ago.

Cause the whole fish wheel
was sinking on this side.

I've been using this fish wheel
for probably about 15 years now.

This one piece of equipment
probably saves me more
money and is more important

to my lifestyle than
anything else that I have
here because without this,

I don't put up the fish for the
dogs the way I would need to.

And this is integral to feeding
and taking care of and making
sure those dogs are really well

taken care of and
really well fed.

And it saves me a ton of money.

Right on.

Timber.

Maybe it's a good thing I'm
taking it all apart because
that's pretty worthless.

This whole project has now
turned into a complete rebuild.

(music)

Fortunately, for me, I have
the tools and the equipment
to make this job go easier.

If I didn't have a, a
tractor or a bulldozer, this
would be a daunting task.

And I'd probably just now be
maybe getting the thing apart.

Basically rebuilding
the whole fish wheel.

Holy crap.

This turned into a way
bigger project than I
thought it was gonna be.

SUE: I have a lot of
ideas and not a lot of
fear about trying them.

(music)

It's kind of a rainy day.

I've got a little
break in clients.

So, there's some projects
I wanna get started on.

Had an idea of taking the Argo,
putting a, making sort of a, a
pop-up tent if you will,

that I can, it'll fold and
just look like a flat cap
on the back of my Argo.

But if you go over and
open it like a child's
pop-up book,

boing, this wonderful
story of a tent pops open.

(music)

As I get older I'm less
enchanted with sleeping
on the hard ground.

I'm gonna make it a little bit
comfier on my booty, so I can
spend the rest of the time

getting the bounty.

NARRATOR: For Sue Aikens,
decades of living in the harsh
conditions of Kavik

have taken a toll on her body.

To protect herself, she's drawn
up a new contraption that will
improve her ability to camp

on the tundra, and secure vital
resources for her survival.

SUE: The rain makes me wanna
wear my sweatshirt, but to
me it's hotter than hades.

Let's take our little
four-by and see.

I need at least one board
grown-up size, which is, let's
say five feet, six inches.

That's an oddball measurement
now, isn't it for you?

(music)

This one.

Boom.

(music)

Part of the lifestyle
here is adaptability.

If you are creative and
you spend enough time somewhere,
you should be able to create

your own comfort level.

The hinge is long and
it needs to open well.

I only have an afternoon
to get it together.

I'm gonna call it my prototype.

It'll be a little bit Kavik
style, but I think I can do it.

JESSIE: Time management.

That's what it's
all about up here.

Make hay while the sun shine.

(music)

I'm getting ready to
head up the hill here.

I'm going to go out and
look for some chaga.

I'd like to go ahead and just
knock out getting my year supply
of chaga in one go out here.

NARRATOR: In Nenana, harvesting
the surrounding resources is key
to ensuring Jessie Holmes

and his sled dogs remain in peak
physical condition year-round.

Today, he'll travel into the
forest in search of chaga, a
potent fungus and anti-oxidant

that is vital for keeping him
healthy through the winter.

JESSIE: If I can come back
with a boatload of chaga,
that'll be a great day.

Who knows what else
I'll find out there.

(music)

Wow, I see some
awesome chagas already.

There's chaga all
over in these woods.

You can see it
throughout the forest.

Little black fungus
that grow on the trees.

Siberian people call it the
gift from God and it's an
amazing anti-oxidant source.

And drink that for tea
twice a day and keeps you
really healthy and strong.

I got some climbing spikes in
my bag here and a rope so I can
get up and start getting these.

(music)

A lot of the good chagas
that grow you can't really
reach off the ground.

Some of them are easy pickings,
but for the good ones you got
to be able to get up the tree.

(music)

(music)

I try not to take it all
so it'll keep growing.

So, what I do is I take
this home and I chunk it up like
this so it dries out real nice

in the sun for a couple days.

And then I vacuum seal
and package it in jars.

From there, I grind
it down to a powder that I
make tea out of every day.

On to get some more chaga.

(music)

What goes up must come down.

(music)

Staying healthy in two
different ways here.

Staying healthy by working
hard and staying healthy
by getting good medicine.

(music)

Time to go load this chaga back
up and get these boots off and
who knows what else I'll find
out there.

(music)

GLENN: The opportunities are
there, but they're fleeting.

When you see the opportunity,
you have to act.

(music)

It's fall time here now.

All the leaves are
changing color.

The temperatures are getting
cooler, and this is the time of
year when I can start hunting

for big animals.

The first big animal I can
go after is Dall sheep.

Dall sheep live on these
mountains and now is the
time of year to hunt them.

It's been a long time since
I got a sheep, but I've got
a skull from one I killed

years ago up here
on the platform.

This is the last
sheep I ever got.

It's hard to find sheep here
and I've only ever gotten two.

This was an 11-year-old
ram and he had what are
called full-curl horns.

(music)

Sheep don't have
antlers, they have horns.

And this horn stays
on the sheep for life.

Every year, it grows
a little longer.

The rule is, you can only
kill a ram if it's eight years
old, or has a full-curl horn.

Most of the sheep on
these mountains are
going to be younger,

smaller sheep that you
can't legally hunt.

Sheep hunting's not easy.

The sheep like to live
way up high on the mountains.
That's their natural habitat.

They need to be near
the rocks, steep cliffs.

That's how they get
away from predators.

The wolves are up there
hunting the sheep.

Grizzly bears hunt sheep.

And I'm going to
be hunting sheep.

And when those sheep
are threatened, they
head for the rocks.

See those cliffs up high?

It's six miles from
my cabin here.

That's where I have
to go to get a sheep.

I need to pack as
light as possible.

If I get a sheep, that's going
to be a lot of weight to carry
back down off that mountain.

So, I can't have
anything extra with me.

All I'm really bringing
are my clothes and
my tools for hunting.

I'll take my canoe to start
with, that'll save some walking.

I can get over to the base of
the mountain with a canoe.

Then if I'm coming home with a
heavy load of meat it'll be that
much less distance I have to
carry it on my back.

There's the mountain
right there.

It's already got snow up on top.

Hopefully there's some
sheep up there, too.

Not the best weather for
starting a sheep hunt,

but you got to deal with
whatever you've got.

Summer's short and
fall's even shorter.

I got to make the
best use of my time.

This is the time to get a sheep.

(music)

There. From here, it's all going
to be walking, and I got about
four miles to go

and 3,000 vertical feet just
to the top of the mountain.

Hopefully I can find
a sheep up there.

This has to be the absolute best
time of the year, right now.

Peak foliage.

No mosquitos.

Fall goes by fast, but it's my
favorite season of the year.

(music)

Visibility is definitely
deteriorating.

Higher I go, closer I'm
getting to the clouds.

If I'm lucky, the
weather's gonna pick up.

If it doesn't, I'm
gonna have problems.

Grizzly bear right here.

There's sheep on this mountain.

And there are bears
on this mountain, too.

I'm not looking for a
bear, I'm not hunting bear.

But I just ran into
one right here.

He sees me, he's
just checking me out.

Okay, and I do have a round
in the chamber, just in case.

I don't really care
to eat bears, so I'm
not hunting a bear.

But there's a bear right there.
And he's coming this way.

(music)

Hey, bear.

Out of here.

Go away.

Hey, out of here.

Hey, bear.

(music)

He's coming this way.

Hey, bear.

Out of here.

Go away.

Hey, out of here.

Hey, bear.

(music)

He went down over the ridge.

Could come back up.

(music)

Looks like he split.

That bear was kind
of bold, wasn't he?

Came right down to check me out.

Sometimes they're not
sure what's going on.

Only one time, in all the
years I spent out here,
I had to shoot a bear.

Most of the time, they'll
leave you alone if
you give them a chance.

That's the way I like
to deal with a bear.

I just talk to it, let
it know you're human.

Usually they'll leave you alone.

No need to shoot them
if you don't have to.

First big animal
I've seen today.

I got to keep going
up this mountain.

Hopefully there's
some sheep up here.

Wind's starting to pick up.

It's been raining,
it's getting colder.

Clouds are moving in.

This is one of the most
difficult conditions
weather-wise to deal with.

This is gonna be tricky.

Visibility is deteriorating.

Could be difficult
to see sheep up here.

But you never know the
clouds can come in like this
and then they can blow away.

I just got to keep going, keep
my fingers crossed, hopefully
the weather's gonna improve

and I'll be able to see
a sheep up here.

(music)

Wind's really picking up.

It's getting about
as bad as it can get.

Thirty-two degrees.

If I didn't know this mountain
like the back of my hand,
I'd be totally disoriented.

But there's a ledge
over here I know about.

I can get some shelter.

I can get out of the wind.

I got to get in there
and protect myself.

(music)
(breathing heavily)

Oh.

This is what I was looking for.

I knew about this little
place, sometimes I come in
here in the winter, too,

and get out of the weather.

There's a nice little
overhang here and this ledge
protects from the wind.

Oh, it's so much
better over here.

But you can see, I'm
right in the cloud now.

And it's just about
impossible to hunt.

I'm gonna take a
little break here.

My only hope today is
that the weather picks up.

If it stays like this, there's
no way I'm gonna get a sheep.

SUE: You got all the tools of
the trade to be successful.

Now, what are you
gonna do with it?

(music)

If I can make this, say,
cut it to the right length.

Just make it a little
bit above that.

I mean, 'cause I don't
want to overthink the
dang process either.

NARRATOR: Sue is fabricating
a pop-up tent attachment
for her all-terrain vehicle.

The contraption will allow
her to more comfortably
camp out on the tundra,

a requirement for
her to harvest resources to
survive at Kavik River Camp.

SUE: Weather is just rainy
and chilling a little.

I'm gonna put my
sweatshirt back on.

Brr.

The tundra is made up of
ice, rocks, and mosquitos.

I wanna get up off of it.

And this is a way to do that.

(music)

Handle works, legs are there.

Ah, it's a little long but
that's on the shop floor.

On the tundra, it'll
probably have a little give.

I don't wanna go downhill.

Let's get the tent out.

The most important part
of this portion is getting
the door where I want it.

It's gonna be a little wider
than I want, but that's okay.

This is gonna look goofy.

(music)

I'm not going for the,
uh, beautiful freaking
tent of the year award.

I'm going for the functional
tent of the year award.

Everything I like about being
out here, and everything I
like about living so remotely.

I bought a tent and I
wanna do something unique.

I don't have people telling
me you can't do that.

That doesn't make sense.

It just has to make me
happy, not the world.

(music)

I think the little Sue
pop-up is a success.

(music)

Oh, I'm so tired.

I've got to go to bed.

I'm gonna get to go
see my little area with
little red and have fun.

A home away from home.

Kavik on the run.

(music)

ANDY: That's just the way
it always is out here.

Two times the work for
one time the progress.

(music)

I really got to get
this fish wheel in.

It's been kind of
kicking my butt.

The fish are on their way and
I'm sitting here with a fish
wheel in about 30 thousand
pieces.

Managed to get these pontoons
put together yesterday.

Getting close to the point where
I can bring the, uh, actual fish
wheel in the baskets in between
the pontoons now.

The big challenge now is
getting this basket lifted
up, positioned correctly,

and then begin to attach
it to the fish wheel.

(music)

If I get this wrong then
the whole thing won't
function very well,

and I have the potential
of not having enough room
for the baskets to turn.

(music)

(music)

Damn that (bleep) bracket.

(bleep) (bleep) damn it.

(bleep) me. (bleep).

I'm going to (bleep)
your ass off, boy.

(bleep)

(bleep)

(music)

(music)

That went okay.

Uh, couldn't really lift it
up as high as I wanted so it
kept bumping on the bottom.

But it's in.

The next thing I need to do is
get these lifting towers on it.

(music)

Whoa.
(laughs)

I almost think it would
have been faster to
build it from scratch.

(laughs)

But it's in.

Now I can get, try and
get that other one in.

(music)

(music)

It's starting to look
like a fish wheel now,
so I'm feeling good.

SUE: Nature takes
care of itself.

If you have a problem, the
resolution is close at hand.

I am very, kind of, excited
to go on my trip. And

two things that are very
important that I'm hoping
to achieve is, one,

test out the
prototype pop-up tent.

And, uh, number two, I've missed
most of the growing season for
our medicinal plants

and flowers, so I'm going to
try to see if I can recapture
a little bit of that.

(music)

I do have this little
window of a few days to,
uh, see what's out there.

(music)

This over here caught my eye.
This is kind of new.

This is a soapberry.

Why is it so exciting?
It's a (bleep) berry.

But it's a berry that
shouldn't live here, it
should live 200 miles south.

They're called
soapberries because you
can make soap out of them.

Let it set, it makes
a mosquito repellant.

Some of the Native Americans,
they will take these soapberries
and they whip them and whip them

with a little bit of water and
it turns into a very frothy,
thick, uh, they call it, uh,

native ice cream.

Making soap from a plant,
that's a whole new thing
for me and very, very fun.

That's quite the little find.

I'm very happy.

Coming down this road going on
16 years, so to me it stands
out like a sore thumb

to see something new.

I'm gonna go back, get in, and
drive down a little bit further.

So, I think I found
my camping spot.

This is a beautiful
place to camp.

This whole area down
here should have a little
bit more fireweed in it.

These are fireweeds.

This is what I want.

This little flower
here is gonna turn into
some really good jelly.

When you do this and you start
bruising them, they start the
decomposition process.

There are no shortage
of mosquitos.

Holy cow.

(music)

I've done really well, I'm
really happy about the fireweed.

Yeah, it'll feel really good
to lay down and get some rest.

The bugs are chasing
me, I'm bent over.

So, it'll, it's gonna feel
good to get some rest.

The sun's going down
and I'm over and out.

It's been a good day.

(music)

JESSIE: I've never had a
choice but to work hard.

Starting out an underdog,
it's very good for a man.

That's how you find out
if you want it bad enough.

(music)

So, while I'm here
in the nice birch forest and
there's all these nice birch.

I'm gonna find a nice smooth
tree and start taking some
sheets of birch bark off of it.

Bring home for fire starter.

NARRATOR: To prepare for the
coming winter, Jessie is
gathering multiple resources

in the woods that
surround his homestead.

He's now searching for birch
bark to use as a fire starter.

When that task is complete,
he'll look for burls to
help him improve his cabin.

JESSIE: I got to start the
edge here and be able to
get a nice sheet of it off.

It's what I like to keep in
my kit for starting fires
when I'm on the trail.

And then I'm going to dry it and
use it for fire starter, just
a little small strip of this

will flame right up and give
you a really good fire.

A good collection of this on the
trail in a waterproof bag, in
case I fall through the water.

That way, I can get
a fire started quick.

Just trying to be
ahead for everything.

That's the motto of this,
this year, is to get ahead.

That way, I'm not having
to scramble for things
in the winter time.

And this is how you
do things up here.

I don't need no man-made fire
starter when I got birch.

And that's the freedom of
living up here in Alaska.

Alright. So I got myself
a lot of nice birch bark here.

I'm going to gather it all up,
load it on the four-wheeler,
head up the hill,

and start finding my
burls for my post.

Burls aren't everywhere,
that's for sure.

I mean, a lot of people
go out and hunt burls for
using for bowls and carving,

and different wood projects,
and they're highly valuable.

So, and a guy could make a
living off of selling burls and
I happen to know where there's
a lot of them at.

A burl is a lot like the chaga.

It's another kind of growth on
the tree that's not a fungus,
it's just from damage and it'll

grow out really big sometimes.

Oh, that one's
perfect right there.

I see one that'll
make a great piece.

It's nice and dry too.

It'll look really cool.

This is what I'm
looking for right here.

This thing wants to fall
that way, that's the
way I'm going to do it.

Get yourself a little
face cut going right
here, just like that.

And then you make your back cut.

Basically, like a
beaver would do it.

Just a lot faster.

(music)

Go.

Just to break the hinge, you got
to watch out for that dead top.

Make sure it don't
swing down and hit me.

Go.

Just to break the hinge, you got
to watch out for that dead top.

Make sure it don't
swing down and hit me.

Yup, just like I said, you
better watch out for that.
They call that a widowmaker.

I ain't got nobody to widow,
except my dogs, and I don't
want to be widowing them.

You got to pay attention
out here, cutting trees.

Piece number one there.

My porch is going to be
about eight feet tall.

It's the beaver cut because it
looks like a beaver chewed this.

It gives you quite a bit
of respect for the hard
work that a beaver does.

You gave a beaver a chainsaw,
he'd take over the forest.

Nice piece here.

That'll give some, look
really nice on the front
of my cabin for my posts.

(music)

My second piece here.
That's really all I need.

Pretty good trip up the hill and
got lots of things out here.

Pretty cool out here.

ANDY: Everybody in this
world has a view of what
independence is, but for me,

self-reliance is really,
really important.

Hopefully, I'll be able to fish
the fish wheel in a good spot.

Because it's really important
that it's in a good spot because
it's only a couple weeks

when the salmon come by.

By the time you realize it's
not a good spot, there's
very little time to move it.

Everything's fast and furious
when it comes to fishing
up here for fall chum.

NARRATOR: With his fish wheel
rebuilt, Andy must set out to
check on the wheel's usual

location before launch.

But receding water levels on
the Yukon River have changed
the region's geography.

If the spot is unusable,
it'll force him to
find a suitable current,

or risk losing out on chum
salmon to feed his sled dogs.

ANDY: Let's go sound the river.

I'll get over there, use my
depth finder to figure out what
the bottom's looking like,

and then, figure out where I'm
going to put my fish wheel.

If it's too shallow,
that's no good.

If it's too deep,
that's no good.

So, the hunt is on for the right
profile on the river right now.

So, normally, my fish wheel
would be right around here.

Wow, this changed.

What I'm looking for is to
be about six feet deep, 16
feet off the river.

If it's any shallower than
that, then I'm wasting my time.

I'm not fishing as much of the
river as I should be able to.

And this looks like it may
have changed because I'm 20
feet off the shoreline,

I'm only 5 feet here.

So, this, this definitely
flattened out.

Something changed around here.

This year, a break up,
the channel changed.

It's, uh, it's kind of
screwing me up here.

Because this won't work.

I think what I'm going to do is
just drive up the river, and
maybe I can find a new spot.

More work.

This is looking a little better.

It's dropping off right here.

Six feet.

So that's good right there.
I'm in the current.

I think this might work.

All right.

I'm going to go in
and set my cable.

I'm about 400 yards up farther
than I normally would fish.

And I don't know if the river
changed because of break up,

or if it's just that the
water's so low this year.

Right now, I got to get
this cable in so that when
I push my fish wheel across,

I have some place I
can hook everything up,
and then it's secure.

This cable is the kind
of cable they use around
telephone pole guys.

If I let go of this right
now, it's just going to turn
into a giant rat's nest.

I'm getting these loops in
it, which is kind of bad.

That's working, that's down.

All right.

I think I, I think I
just about have it.

Well, I avoided a rat's
nest, that's good.

And these are the stakes
that hold this cable.

And this cable holds
my fish wheel in place.

Okay. One stake in.

Should hold pretty good.

I always put a second stake in.

All right. I got my
cable secure, I think I
found a good new spot.

Time will tell once
I start fishing.

GLENN: The more knowledge you
have of the area, the better use
you can make of the resources.

If you know where to go,
and when to go to find
what you're looking for,

you're going to be
way ahead of the game.

(music)

This is a nice spot.

If I was out there in the open,
trying to put on more clothes,
I'd be getting all wet.

Getting even colder.

NARRATOR: Glenn Villeneuve
has hiked 4 miles up a nearby
ridge to search for Dall sheep,

elusive prey that could
provide needed fat and
protein for the winter.

But severe weather and
a lack of visibility
have stalled the hunt.

And if the storm continues,
Glenn will be forced to
return home empty-handed.

GLENN: That's all I needed,
some more insulation.

I can keep heading
up the mountain now.

And hopefully, by the time
I get to where the sheep
are, the weather improves.

(music)

Time to carry on.

Still got a long way to go.

(music)

Wind's really blowing up here.

Up on the mountain, conditions
can get pretty severe.

But this is where
the sheep live.

Right up in this country.

And even in this weather,
they'll be sheep out up here.

I just have to keep
looking for them.

(music)

What's this?

Sheep tracks.

These are sheep tracks
right through here.

This is the first sheep
sign that I've seen
on the mountain today.

(music)

There.

Sheep scat.

That's a sheep scat.

I've seen tracks,
now I've seen scat.

But I got a problem.

The signs leading me
up into these clouds.

If I go any higher, I won't
be able to see the sheep.

Wild sheep are incredibly wary.

They're used to being hunted.

They get hunted by golden
eagles. They get hunted
by wolves.

They get hunted
by grizzly bears.

It's the hardest animal
to get to, of all the
animals I hunt out here.

I can barely see 75 yards now.

I'm four miles from my
camp, right up on top
of this mountain.

I know there's sheep around.

But there's no way I'm going
to see them in these clouds.

The clouds are starting to lift.

(music)

The weather's improving.

This is good.

I need this visibility
in order to see sheep.

There.

I see two sheep.

(music)

They're rams.

One of them's looking
right this way.

I see two sheep.

They're rams.

One of them's looking
right this way.

I can't tell for sure if
they're full curl or not.

I can only hunt full curl rams.

I've got to get closer.

I can sneak around the
backside of the ridge here.

Come back around and then
come down on it from above.

That's my only chance.

(music)

(music)

Right down here is the
ridge where I saw the two
sheep in the distance.

I'm getting close now.

I have to be very quiet.

(music)

(music)

Right there.

There they are.

They're just 200 yards away.

That one doesn't look legal.

The other one's not either.

I don't see a full curl horn.

That's too bad.

Oh, they must hear me now.

They're taking off.

Yup.

Those two sheep, they
heard me up here, and
they're headed off now.

But that's okay, they
weren't quite legal rams.

They didn't have
full curl horns.

But two really nice rams.

Lots of fun watching sheep
on the mountain today.

I can't go any
further than this.

If I got a sheep any further
from home, I'd never be able to
get it back down to my camp.

It's time to turn around and
head back down this mountain.

What a day it was, climbing up
the mountain, I saw a grizzly
bear and it came in close.

Less than 50 yards away.

That's the reason
I like to hunt.

It's not just about
getting the animal.

It's all the adventures
you have along the way.

(music)

ANDY: Life out here
on the Yukon River is
all about experience.

As you gain more experience,
you learn the tools that
you need to live out here.

(music)

Going down the
home stretch here.

Getting pretty close to
pushing the wheel in.

When the fish come up the river,
you got to be ready for them, or
it's a missed opportunity

that you wait another
whole year for.

Not putting up salmons for
my dogs would cost me thousands
and thousands of dollars

in dog food.

And my dogs would not eat
and have the type of food that
they really need to live here.

It's, it's a lot of weight.

A lot of power going downhill.

I'm always really
nervous doing this.

Because if something
happens on the side of the
hill here, I'm screwed.

(music)

It's either victory or defeat.

(music)

So far, looking pretty good.

But I think I want
to try and get a roller
under the front of that.

It's still trying to dig in.

(music)

(music)

I did it!

Son of a gun.

Oh, man that was a lot of work
for the last couple days.

Holy crap. But it worked.

It's ah, it's in, it's floating.

I didn't tear anything
apart pushing it in.

Now I got to hook up my boat
to the back of it, so I can
push it across the river.

What do you think, Brigus?
We can go catch fish now.

Because we're about out.

You got about two days'
worth of food left, and then
you're going to get skinny.

The worse thing that can happen
to me in this whole deal is for
me to get this out there,

right in the middle of the
fishing season, and have
something catastrophic happen.

Then my whole fishing
season is ruined because
I'd have to drag it in,

spend a couple
days repairing it.

By then, the fish go
by and I miss out.

(music)

(music)

Let's see what happens.

(music)

Coming up on the
big drum roll here.

It's turning.

All right. The wheel's in.

Right now, well, it's
going to take a little bit
more work to fine tune it.

A couple of hard days of work.

And it's in the river, fishing,
and that's what matters.

Everything from this point
on is just icing on the cake.

(music)

SUE: I want to thrive.

I want to be more than
just a survivalist.

I want to be a thrivalist.

(music)

Good morning world!

It's pretty neat.

My little pop up tent
works really good.

Actually, I feel
pretty well rested.

It's not raining now, but
I can see it's headed in.

It's time to get everything
buttoned up and, and get back,
take care of my harvest.

It was a hell of a lot more
comfortable than sleeping on the
ground, I'll give you that much.

That's pretty quick
for taking down a tent.

What I am doing,
I've got the blueberries
here, soapberries there,

I've got the flowers there.

You can see where the
flowers are no longer
this beautiful purple?

The flowers are
losing their color.

But where is that color going?

Right into my mixture that
will become the jelly.

Now, I'm over here
with the blueberries.

You see there's a
couple of leaves.

There's may be some that
are a little greener.

I don't give a rip.

They're all good.

The leaves are edible,
the green ones are edible.

Smashing them up like this
helps me save some time
when it comes for cooking.

Mmm, it smells so blue.

I'm going to try, carefully,
strain the flowers out.

High in vitamin C.

The flavor, the scent, the
color, it's all in there.

So, you squeeze them out.

And this is what you have left.

From a big ol' pile of
purple, and get this on.

Poof.

Now we need sweetener in there.

A lot of people use sugar.

I'm not the biggest fan
you've ever seen of sugar.

But found a great product.

Dehydrated honey.

So, I'm going to stir.

(music)

All right. So,
blueberry goes in next.

Look at that.

That is some tundra
goodness right there.

One.

A saponification is the
process of creating soap.

This has saponin, saponin.

Which I can't pronounce
correctly, but that is
the key element in soap.

Pour some of this in here.

All that foamy
goodness, look at that.

Soapberries gave us soap and a
cleansing agent and a bacterial.

It's going to give us,
uh, mosquito repellant.

We got the fireweed jelly here.

I've got my blueberry jam there.

Twenty-four hours ago, I
finished doing some work,
got in my pop up tent.

Tested it, picked stuff
from the tundra, and look
at the bounty I've got.

The tundra only looks barren.

But it's not.

It's an excellent,
excellent day.

(music)

JESSIE: Death is
nothing to fear.

Not living is something to fear.

Just, uh, I got some
posts here to put up my
little porch overhang.

It's not going to be anything
very complicated,

but these burls will give us
some nice aesthetic value.

Looks like I can get an
eight-foot piece out of these.

That'll be way tall enough.

Yeah, I just want to get
a nice overhang, so the
snow's not piling up here.

I got some poles,
I got some pieces of
board that I milled up.

This is going to be a
straightforward, simple deal.

(music)

So, the first step's
going to be, I need to
get myself a headpiece.

Just got to grab my ladder.

(music)

I'm going to nail this up here.

That's really secure.

Good little job to make
use of some scraps.

(music)

Cool thing about this porch
is that it's built all out of
stuff around here in the woods.

Just a few nails and screws, all
that I had to invest into it.

(music)

(music)

Yup. This porch will
do me just fine.

It ain't nothing fancy, but it
gives me some shade, it gives me
some places to put things

out of the weather.

Simple, but functionable,
and looks classic Alaskan.

Got some nice little pieces
here that are already broke up.

Chaga is my main health stay.

I mean, drinking chaga is
the best way for me to not
have problems for my health.

It's what the doctor
ordered for me.

I'm going to sit out here
in my new porch and enjoy my
cup of tea with my puppies.

Mammoth, let's get your puppies.

(music)

Now come on. Let's
see if you can howl.

(howling sound)

That's the main priority
around here is the dogs.

Everything I do goes
around full circle and
comes back to the dogs.

I'm very happy to keep
a lifestyle that is very
simple and very pure.

I'm growing every
moment and every day.

I'm a high achiever.

I set my goals and I always
set out to do better this
year than the last year.

And you look at my life 10
years ago, and you see a
long, long path of growth.

I just kept pushing forward
up the mountain and I feel
like I'm on the ridgeline.

And I plan on not falling
down because it's a long
way up this mountain.

You got a dream, you got to
make that dream come true.

(music)