All language subtitles for Life Below Zero S11E22 Cost of Winter_Subtitles01

RICKO: Perfect time of
year to go moose hunting.

The moose are real
fat right now.

(animal call)

My main thing is just try to
walk like a moose and talk
like a moose, and hopefully

get one to respond.

And, hopefully have some luck.

NARRATOR: Ricko DeWilde
lives nomadically in
the Huslia region,

hunting and trapping game
for his family's survival.

Taking care of those who can
no longer fend for themselves

is the Athabaskan way of life,

and today he'll embark
on a proxy moose hunt for a
respected elder and her kin.

RICKO: The term proxy hunt is
basically hunting for elders.

But for me, it's
more than that.

IRENE: Hi.
RICKO: Hi Irene.

I'm hunting for my Auntie
Irene and her daughter, Sofie.

IRENE: Good luck.

RICKO: Thank you.

They've been there
for me in the past.

So, I'm more than happy
to be there for them.

To get moose meat is real
important, because that's what
carries us through the winter.

That's how we get
meat on the table.

We got to look out
for each other.

This is tough country out
here, a long winter ahead.

And some of the people
out here, they can't go out
and get moose on their own.

So, it's really important
that I do my part.

(theme music plays)

(animal call)

(animal call)

It's heartbreaking in a
way to see it walk away,

especially a
huge one like that.

There's a lot of meat.

I just got to let it go.

Be patient, I'll
have another chance.

SUE: It's the nature of life
to tear down and build up.

Tear down and build up.

Tear down and build up.

It's a cycle.

It's a beautiful day today.

Ah, it has not been such a
beautiful day all summer.

The weather was not with me
in any way, shape, or form.

But, I also had a 6.5,
6.3 earthquake out here.

I can see from here,
it pulled up some of the
metal and it popped some of

the wood that keeps my
arctic entryway sealed up.

At each point of entry in or
out of your buildings up here,

you want to have
an arctic entryway.

And, what is that?

It's a protection measure
for me blocks the wind, blocks
the snow, and it gives you one

area to keep the animal
out of the way, to keep the
weather out of the way before,

you enter your main dwelling.

The earthquake, it shook
it and it's broken there,

is broken here,
is broken here.

When I'm inside, when it
rains it leaks like a sieve.

In the winter, it's going
to leak snow like a sieve.

I have to go see exactly
where the leaks are, fix them,
see if there's anything else I

need to deal with,
and get it done.

Winter is barking at the door.

This is a rubberized,
very, sticky sealant.

Looking down here, I can start
lifting this other plastic.

The forces of nature
carved the Grand Canyon.

I think, I'm probably
not going to win.

So, I need to protect it.

So for this portion, I'll need
to really seal it up well.

I'm going to hit
anything that looks like
it's not tight sealed.

Paint down the corner.
Paint down the corner.

Move on to the
entryways down there.

Here, if you don't maintain
your properties, the weather
is going to eat them up.

But, um, I'm 55 going
on 56, not 26 going on 27

I've got to think about
my personal comfort,
my personal safety.

So, things break,
things snap,
things need to be fixed.

I've got a lot
of forces trying to
knock me to my knees.

And it doesn't
matter, I'll crawl.

But, I'm still going forward.

This is gonna be what's
gonna hold the seam.

What it does, is it gets in
there and then expands, dries,
and turns into a harder foam.

This is not going to make
Better Homes and Gardens,

but it might make
cool tundra and arctic.

That really is pretty
much all I can do here.

I've got some good
goopy on there.

So, I'm pretty much done here.

The next thing that I
really like to do is, I'd
like to get on building an

arctic entry on the other side.

That's the side that
I take my two K.W.

Generator, put it out there,

let it run, but
it's exposed to the
elements all of the time.

It's time to be a grown
up, and build another
arctic entryway.

JESSIE: I live for
adventure and excitement.

What some people think is
crazy is just another day in
the life of Jessie Holmes.

Yeehaw

All right, this is it.

NARRATOR: Jessie Homes
has spent the past several
years improving the lives

of himself and his sled dogs
along the Nenana River.

He's begun construction
on a new home that
will better withstand

the elements of the arctic.

But with winter approaching,
he only has a brief window
to complete it before harsh

conditions return to the land.

JESSIE: I've been busy
fishing, and hunting, and
all my other summer projects.

The weather is starting
to come in soon, and it's time
to get this project closed in.

I'm going to go ahead
and go two stories.

I left it off at one story.

I got all my lumber right
here ready for the rest of my
framing of the second story.

Those logs are getting pretty
heavy going up that high.

The rest of it,
I'm going to be using
conventional framing for.

I don't have enough logs
to go up that high, and I
don't have enough strength

or technique to get
them up that high myself.

Out there, raining cats
and dogs, and I'm up here
dry on my second story.

Winter is coming,
and it's coming fast.

You can smell it in the air.

This is the last chance
to make a surge at getting
a lot of stuff done.

I'm living in my trailer
right next to it right now.

But I've transitioned
away from that, to where
I had to get this done.

You can't live in a
trailer this winter.

Got to get this cabin
done and move in.

This is like the biggest
moment in my life, other
than racing the Iditarod.

Is having my own beautiful
log home to live in.

I built many log homes
and worked on many projects,

building very nice
homes for other people.

This is for me, and it's
time to put all that
knowledge I gained towards

building my own home.

All right.

Got my second
story floor done.

It's going to be really
nice to enjoy it once
everything is capped in.

But right now, I'm going to
enjoy the fact that I can work
up here and safely build my

second story walls and
my rafters above here.

ANDY: A lot of people probably
look at the way I do things,
or how I do things, and they

wonder why I work so hard.

But, it works for me, and
I don't consider it work.

Let's go look at our jungle.

Man, oh, man. Oh man.

This is pretty disappointing.

DENISE: Yeah.

NARRATOR: After an
injury forced Andy Bassich
to seek medical aid in

the lower forty eight,

he's returned to Eagle
with his girlfriend Denise.

But with Andy's lack of
mobility, they must find a way
to clear the land and plant

much needed crops
before the growing
season comes to an end.

ANDY: When Denise and I
got here, the entire
property was completely

overgrown with weeds.

They were basically chest
high everywhere in the yard,
and in our garden, and in our

greenhouse, and we
manage to weed out the
greenhouse a little bit,

get that to where we
could plant it a little
bit for this year.

So, what we're kind
of thinking is maybe,
heading up to Eagle and

getting a big pig.

Pigs are really good
at digging up and
eating everything.

They're a pretty useful animal
to have out in the woods.

They eat everything.

So, you have to spend a
lot of money on feed, and
you can eat just about every

single part of a pig.

So, we can get some
land cleared, get the garden
fertilized, get the weeds up,

and when we're done with
that, butcher the pig up.

And, have some meat to
get us through the early
part of the winter.

One of the things that
I'm not really sure about
is how we get a 450 pound or

a 500 pound pig from
Eagle down to here.

We will probably have
to build a crate.

Build a pen.

We're going to put a
day or two's worth of work
into building a big crate,

building a pen for the
pig that we can move around.

All right, so we're
gonna just cut some
two by fours right now.

DENISE: Okay.

ANDY: We've got to spend
the next day trying to build
a crate three-foot wide,

four-foot tall, by
seven-foot long.

Big enough to get
this giant pig into.

The sawmill, it's kind of
a two-legged operation.

It's gonna be a real
advantage to have a second
pair of hands right now.

DENISE: I love this.

Look at that.

Incredible.

It just slices it,
it's like butter.

It just...

ANDY: Yeah.

Denise has never been
around the sawmill.

So, I showed her every,
every aspect of it.

Showed her where the safe
places are, and where the
not so safe places are.

This is the thing that
cut my finger off.

DENISE: I was
going to ask you.

ANDY: So, I was turning
the log, and when I turned
it over it came down and so,

mind your fingers.

DENISE: Uh-huh. Okay.

ANDY: They pinch them so
easy on this, this thing.

DENISE: Ay-ay-ay.

DENISE: I cut a
couple of boards, and
that was invigorating.

ANDY: Oh, one, one,
two, three, four.

That's one side.

One two, I think that
we're going to have
to be darn close.

Yeah, I think that
we'll make it.

I think that's pretty good.

I think, I'm, I'm starting
to get pretty sore.

So, why don't we
just quit for tonight,
and we'll hit it again

tomorrow when we're fresh.

DENISE: All right.

CHIP: This is the Kiwalik.

This river has taken care
of my kids, and my kids
are raising their kids, and

they're bringing
their kids here.

So, it's pretty incredible.

AGNES: Look right there.
My nephew is trying to
go pick this one out.

So, that we can go fishing.

CHIP: Oh, there you go.
Isn't that the one that
you put together with Ting?

AGNES: Yeah.
CHIP: Oh, excellent.
AGNES: It's ah...

CHIP: Wow, that's
gonna be a good one.

That'll get medium sized
salmon right there.

AGNES: Yeah, I'm
hoping for silvers.

This is the time of the
year that we're going to
be silver salmon fishing.

The silver salmon is
coming in with the high
tide, and we're hoping to

throw the nets out today.

Now, you got to put the wood
on the sled and bring it
over there to the indisack.

So, we could smoke the fish.

CHIP: This guy right
here, always helpful.

AGNES: Yup, now you go
help that to pull it up.

CHIP: You want
to help me pull?

Grab the rope let's go.

Yes, right here.

We're going to take it
all the way over here.

AGNES: Teamwork.
Team Wade.

Usually with the silver
salmon we catch this time of
the year, we smoke and dry.

So, we're going to be building
up a bigger fish rack.

Where we'll be smoking them.

CHIP: That should do, huh?
AGNES: Yup.
CHIP: Okay.

This is our first time
this year that we have
decided to smoke fish.

But before you start fishing,
you need a fish rack.

I'm basically making
this thing bigger.

AGNES: While you slowly
working on this project,
I'm just going to go

check if there's berries
right over here.

CHIP: Oh, excellent!

We'll have something to munch
down on and maybe a nice,
cranberry drink tonight.

Oh, I'm just getting this
done while the ladies are busy
with other things, you know.

They keep busy by
attacking berries.

It's almost a
nonstop onslaught.

AGNES: Oh, you like
to pick them a lot.

What did you do?

Sour?

CHIP: This is all
a lot of work.

There's no doubt about it.

But, it's fun work.

So, it is not like
monotonous or crazy work, but
you got to have things right.

You don't want to
have fish first, and
then have to build the rack,

and then go get
the smoking wood,

and then go get
all the other little things
that you want to put together.

No, it has to be ready
to receive the fish.

WADE: Look. Look.

AGNES: Look what?

Yeah, geese.

Look, look, look.

Look, look, look.

CHIP: I always keep
my eyes open here.

And, I mean you
always look around.

You keep your head turned.

You keep looking
different places.

There's always, there's
something approaching
you all the time.

Keeping my eyes open.

Maybe, I'll add a
goose to that rack.

Look at these geese coming
in towards us right now.

CHIP: Just knocked
a goose down.

He fell pretty hard
over there, and now
I got to go get him.

I ain't got him yet.

Ain't yours until they're
in your hands and home.

I see him over there.

There he is.

Oh, it's a white-front.

Sorry about that goose.

Dinner.

Oh, I got exactly what I
wanted, a nice fat goose.

And, my wife and
my daughter will
be really happy, and

maybe my grandson
would check it out too.

And, I got to go back
to what we call work.

Which is going to be
making my wife a
nice little fish smoke.

And then, we'll go put
out nets, and get the
rest of this day going.

That won't take too long,
we'll get there.

SUE: No matter who you are,
no matter where you live, if
you're still are able to get

out of bed, admire the
person you see in the mirror.

You've got it licked.

Come on fatty.

There's lots of twelve
gauge slugs here.

Ah, bears, wolves, wolverines.

Many times, I'm here and
I'm inside when you hear,

(growling)

you come out,
boom, boom, boom.

You get them critters running.

So, it's time to build
something to make
myself a little safer.

The first step is to go into
the shop, get a four by four
sheet of plywood and start

building a floor.

NARRATOR: Sue is building
an arctic entryway
for her living quarters.

The structure will
protect her from severe
weather and dangerous predators

when dark winter returns.

And, completing it before
conditions worsen is vital.

SUE: It's a good day to
be outside doing stuff.

Ah, I am a bit concerned.

The, all those clouds right
there are bumping up onto
my mountains over here.

That snow low temps,
and then even some rain.

It's common sense, if you got
raw wood you'll want to build
it where it's at least dry.

So, I need to, time is
really of the essence and no
matter what you do out here,

uh, weather is king.

Got to work with it,
not against it.

This is, ah, one
solid chunk of wood.

Nothing is lifting.

I got enough metal in
there to hold it through,
ah, the next earthquake.

So, good job.

Now, I just need to
start building walls.

I haven't done this kind
of stuff in a while.

I do it as I need to.

But, I am not somebody
who really pays that much
attention to the ninety-degree

angles and the
square edges of life.

I'm more like a splat the
paint all over the place and
finger with it a little bit,

and then go.

First wall going up.

All right so,
there's one wall up.

Now, to get the next wall up.

When you're wanting to
do a project, you have
to figure out the price.

How much do I need this thing?

Does it mean I have one more
level of added security?

Yes.

It's extremely important
for me to have this.

Therefore, the
cost is what it is.

So, that's just tacked in.

So today, I managed to
get the base built, the
framework on the walls in,

and the door just toe nailed in.

But, I do see that I've got
weather starting to move in.

No way am I going to
finish this today,
and get it in place.

I wanted to beat the weather,
don't have that opportunity.

So, I'll move this inside.

The rest of it will
be done in the shop.

But, it's a hell of a good
start for a single day.

JESSIE: If you wait for the
weather to get better in
Alaska to get things done,

you'll never get
anything done.

All right, I got
my second story up.

The next thing to do
is start moving up some
materials and tools.

Standing my second story
walls up is going to be
a challenge by myself.

As it's going up, I
got to make sure it
doesn't go too far out,

fall down,
and there goes all your work.

We'll see which
part is harder, the
beginning or the end.

I got my back wall built.

That was a straight
forward, cut every
board the same length.

This is going to have a lot of
different size boards in it.

This will be a lot more
challenging, and it's also
going to be a heavier wall.

And with these winds coming
up like it is, it's going to
be pretty hard to lift it up.

I'm gonna have to really make
sure this beautiful wall that
I build, can take more time

than any wall in the
whole house doesn't
end up down there.

This is several hundred
pounds, this wall right here,
and I'm one person having to

lift it up there.

I'm gonna have to do it
safe and, ah, the only person
who's gonna watch after me

out here is me.

So, I'm hoping this will work.

Only one way to find out.

Time to put it up.

Here we go.

(grunting)

JESSIE: Come on.
Nice and easy, going slow.

Easy. Okay. Got it up.

Whoo!

Got to hang onto this thing,
because the wind's blowing.

I don't have it anchored
off too much right now.

And, the bracing is nice but,
you only trust it so much.

Once I get a couple
of these spikes in,
I'll be feeling good.

So, I got this wall up.

I've got it braced off.

I've got it spiked
in many places.

Just two more walls, and I'm
going to have this tied in.

And, I'll be able to
start putting a roof
on my new cabin.

ANDY: The beauty of living out
here is that it's sustainable,

and it's all about
being self-reliant.

Let's set the sawhorses up.

Just give me a little
bit of space in between
these boards, maybe.

Just start the sawhorse
like right here.

DENISE: Okay.
ANDY: All right.

Today, Denise and I are
going to work on building
a pen to hold the pig.

We're trying to design a pen
light enough that we can pick
it up and move it around.

So, the pig can easily
eat, and dig up all the
ground around it and be

contained and safe.

Uh, grab another one of those.

Stick it under it.

DENISE: Yeah.

ANDY: I'll go through
and I will nail them
just straight on.

DENISE: The first nail.

ANDY: Hold on.

This life is really physical,
every day you're doing things.

You don't really think
about it, like lifting
weights or whatever.

But, just walking through
tall grass, pushing your way
through the brush, carrying

buckets of something.

If you don't push yourself to
the limit then you'll never
know what your limits are.

Now, the big question is,
"Can we move it?"

(laughter)

All right.

DENISE: Holy (bleep).

ANDY: This is going
to be little ones.

DENISE: Okay, just a minute.

ANDY: Little movements.
DENISE: Okay.
ANDY: Yeah.

It's not that bad, I just,
I can lift it up and
everything I just can't take

steps with it every
well, you know.

DENISE: Yeah, I mean
we just have to go slow,
and we'll figure it out.

ANDY: Yeah.

Yeah, there are
some really basic things
to living here that when

you're missing one leg,
um, it's a problem.

It's a real problem.

Having a strong back, and
having balance, and
having the ability to walk and

at least carry something with
one arm is essential
to living out here.

When you're walking
around on crutches.

(bleep).

All of those things
become a major obstacle.

Okay, four nails
in each one there.

DENISE: Okay.

I just really feel like
Andy and I were in synch.

We just vibe off
of each other well.

And I think that's what
got us through, you know,
the challenge, the physical

challenge of pushing
through till the end.

ANDY: It's good
enough for now.

DENISE: Big project done.

ANDY: Yeah. It's good.

We got a crate done
and got a pen done.

I think that we're
ready to go get a pig.

RICKO: You're using the land.

The land is providing
for you, and that's
how we're here today.

So, just respect the
land, respect the animals,
and respect their habitat,

and you'll keep having
food every year.

There's the rain.

See a little light up ahead.

That brings my hopes
up a little bit.

I don't want to be
hunting in the rain.

That makes it real difficult.

NARRATOR: Ricko is
hunting for bull moose to aid a
village elder and her family.

After missing his chance
at a bull moose yesterday,
Ricko has returned to the

same place in
hopes of success.

But severe weather will
hinder his chances.

(animal call)

I'm starting to feel a little
bit desperate you can say,
which is not a good feeling.

Because it's getting close
to the end of hunting season,
and If I don't come through

for my auntie,
I'm a failure, man.

(animal call)

(animal call)

(animal call)

(grass rustling)

Hey, hey, hey, hey!

(grass rustling)

RICKO: Hey, hey, hey, hey.

(bleep), I almost
shot that cow.

(bleep) cow almost charged.

I almost shot it.

I didn't want to shoot
her, but she came that
close to getting it.

(bleep).

They are quiet.

They come right up on you.

My heart is like...

I heard a stick break.

And that usually
means only one, two things,
there is a bear or a moose.

And when I looked in there,
I've seen this brown thing
coming straight at me.

And then when it comes
out, it's a cow moose.

So, I'm thinking, time
kind of slowed down.

So, I'm thinking, this cow
moose thinks I'm another bull.

I'm walking, talking,
smelling like a bull moose
maybe she don't want me

messing with her bull.

That's why I said,
"Hey, hey, hey!"

So close. Thank God.

That thing happened just
in a blink of an eye and I
don't want to kill a mother

moose or a cow that's gonna
have babies eventually.

♪ ♪

(saftey click)

(gunshot)

Kind of a scary dangerous
moments out here tonight,
but got some meat now.

So, I got to take care of it.

It is getting kind of dark
on me, and these grizzlies
come out at night.

I'm happy to have this.

I'm blessed to have a moose.

(speaking in native language)

That' thank you
moose, real good food.

Every year,
thousands of years.

So, I'm blessed again
this year, and I'm really
appreciative of it.

But, now the work begins.

This is a big boy.

(grunting)

Takes a lot of body
strength to do that.

These moose weigh about
1500 pounds, but it takes a
lot out of me when I do that.

I got to get this head
lamp on, because it's
starting to get dark.

And, um, not only does it
make it easier to see, it can
be real dangerous out here.

The grizzlies come in on
you sometimes out here when
you're cutting up moose.

So, I got to make
sure I'm ready.

For Irene, she's going
to be eating on this
moose all winter long.

So, I am going to take
my time and do a good job,
do it nice and clean.

Not only respect
the meat and respect
the land in that way,

but also respect for my Auntie.

I don't want to bring her
home a bunch of dirty meat.

Being out here
alone allows me to really
interact with the land,

interact with the animals.

I get to see the sun
come up, and I get to
see the sun go down.

And I want to move around
with these animals.

I'm out here alone,
but I'm far from alone.

It's like I got a million
friends around me, because
there's like a communication

there that's not even spoken.

I got what I needed
done tonight.

So, I'm going to basically
lay a tarp over this,
throw some willows on it.

I am going to tie a couple
of willows in a loop
just to look like a snare.

I'm going to hang a shirt
up on the antlers just to
make it smell me basically.

And the best chance of a bear
not coming in is to make them
think you're still on a kill.

Kind of keep the ravens
and the bears off this thing
and come back tomorrow and

haul it back.

AGNES: Pretty nice place
to raise up children and
it's a real big open country

if you know what you're doing
out here, and lucky
us our work is play.

CHIP: Maybe we have goose.

IRIQTAQ: Come, look.

CHIP: Maybe we have fish.

We got choices.

This is my Kiwalik
river right here.

We come down here every year.

We like to fish for
salmon if we can.

It's later in the season.

Been doing a little bit
fishing here and there but
nothing really serious.

Um, we've been waiting
for silvers to come.

We're going to set
different sizes of nets.

We're in for the long haul.

We got the smoker made.

We got the nets taken care of.

So, they have the
net all repaired.

I will put them out.

And hopefully, uh,
we'll catch some fish
and we'll call it good.

AGNES: This net is
about ready to be set.

CHIP: Wade, were you going
to help me put out the net?

IDI: Hurry up,
(inaudible) is waiting for you.

CHIP: Hey, I
caught a grandson.

The main runs of
chum have gone by.

There's a few
still trickling in.

The main runs of pinks have
gone by, but there might
be one or two coming in.

But right now, we have
silvers and there's
kings in the river.

So, we have a variety.

So, we've got three
nets to put out tonight
during the high tide.

Hopefully, uh, these fish
will blunder into the nets
and we'll have some good luck.

AGNES: Good job.
Good job, Wade.

You're putting net.

Go get the other net.

I have my grandson here.

He hasn't been out
setting nets before.

This is his actually
first time fishing.

So, it's kind of
fun and exciting.

So, we have to really,
you know, make him tired.

Our plan is to make him tired.

So, he will let us rest.

Okay, Idi.

Good job, now, we need a fish.

It's good to see
his expressions.

The excitement he is when
he comes up with like going
in the water in a boat,

throwing a net.

Even though he don't know
what the net is right now,
I'm sure that later on when we

start to pull in the fish he's
going to be happy he's
actually threw the net.

Even though he don't
even know what that is.

So, it fills my heart
to see him happy.

So, I just want to keep
doing new things for him.

(makes noise)

Go put net.

Look, you put net.

Me and Chip had five
daughters, so it's a blessing
to have a little boy here.

CHIP: I finally got a guy
in camp to hang out with.

My sons grew up
and moved away.

This guy is a lot of fun.

Well, you know,
he's a little boy.

Throwing rocks and everything.

Every bird is interesting.

Mud is interesting, and the
kid is just having a ball.

In this place, he can run,
and he can scream, and he
can get muddy, and sandy,

and he can throw
rotten fish at people, and
nobody gives a rat's ass.

He's the latest.
He's not the last.
He's not the first.

He's the latest, but he is
right now, he's the greatest.

Now, it's time to
let the net soak.

Now, we just got to let the
fish come with the tide.

JESSIE: I plan on
making big moves.

Some people say
go big or go home.

I'm going big and going home.

Oh, this is doable.

It's heavy, but it's not as
heavy as I was afraid it was.

So, I'm hoping the rain
will hold off today.

And we'll have a
pretty decent day.

Next step, get up there and
start putting my rafters up.

I got to get this roof on.

Protect what I've built
from the coming winter.

Yesterday, I got
my floor built.

Got all four walls framed.

That's a great day of work.

I mean, I really went
hard yesterday, and now
I'm moving in to building what

my roof structure is
going to be on.

I just got nine
more to figure out.

I'm running out of energy.

There it goes.

Not usually too scared
of much, but this
scares me right here.

These have got to be over
100 pounds and I got to get
it all the way up there.

Not just one, all of them.

So, the next step is going
to take some intense focus.

I'm going to have
to be real careful.

I ain't going to down
over these rafters.

It's getting snagged on
something, (bleep), (bleep).

Ah, (bleep), (bleep).

(bleep).

JESSIE: Damnit.

This is going to be
the job that kills me.

I would have had it, but
something was snagging on
this log, on the rafter.

Let's see what the
hell was catching me?

This damnit.

This spike is what
caught the log there.

And, I just couldn't get
it to keep sliding up.

I almost had it.

This is so frustrating.

Oh, man.

But, uh, it looks like there's
no real damage to the rafter
other than a little bit of a

separated board.

I can fix that
here really quick.

I got to get this
guy back up there.

Where the mind goes,
the body follows.

So, I got to keep a positive
attitude and it's like
being gun shy, you know.

If the gun kicks too hard,
it makes you a little shy
to shoot it the next time.

Right now, I'm a
little bit nervous.

I need to get this one up
here and have it go good.

So, I can build
some confidence.

Because, I got six
more of them to go.

Once I get it to this point,
I can pivot it.

I got it up.

I really needed that
after what happened.

I needed the
confidence to know that
I could get it up here.

This is the last one.

Feeling pretty beat.

The last one is going
to be the hardest
one to get up there.

(grunting)

Going to really have to
muster up some strength.

It's really taking
its toll on me.

It's been a hard
couple of days.

I just got to get this one
up here and oh, come on.

Thank you. Oh god.
Thank you god.

Oh, god, I got it.

It's the last one.

There we go.

All right, got it up here.

It's time to get to work.

This is one of the most
risky things I've had
to do in a long time.

And I didn't really enjoy it,
but I got it done.

And now, it's time to
make this into something.

SUE: Winter is coming.

The only thing that you can
troll about it is nothing.

Stay up (bleep).

All right.

NARRATOR: Sue is building
an arctic entryway to protect
her living quarters from severe

weather and tundra predators.

She must finish the project
quickly or she'll leave
herself vulnerable to the

perils of dark winter.

SUE: This is the last
piece before painting, and
then I got a little finish

work to do.

But, the most important
finish work I can do is

getting the paint
on it at this point.

I've had a few
snowflakes flying.

Is it real great conditions
for doing the paint right now?

Anywhere near freezing is
not really where you want
to be to start flopping paint

on a building.

But, it's just time is
staring to be of the essence.

If you want somebody to paint
your house, and make sure that
you got all those nice cuts,

and there's nothing on your
trim, hire somebody else.

I am not your gal.

If you noticed, I'm
really trying to lay it
pretty thick in the seams.

Anytime that you have a seam,
the wind is going to reach
up to 100 miles an hour.

The snow is going
to get ground into a
talcum fine powder,

and it's going to get in
through any crack.

I have very little
time to get this done.

So, I've got to slap
on as much as I can in
a short period of time,

and get past this project,
and onto the next.

This is a, it's
a good project.

But I've got a lot of stuff
to do before winter hits.

And winter is at the door.

It's snowing today.

This weather here is exactly
why it was a really good
idea to bring the

whole project inside.

It's snowing.

Now, it doesn't make it
the best weather to paint in,
but if it's the only

weather you got,
you gonna do it.

All right.
We got one big brown box.

I got it on pretty,
pretty thick.

It's going to take a
lot to dry anyhow, but
I've got to have the water

proofing on there.

It's got to dry.

So, first things first, got
to start shutting doors and
getting this place warmer.

RICKO: Something is going to
try to take you out in Alaska,

and you have to
be prepared for it.

Don't think it's
a cake walk.

You come out here,
you better be ready.

I'm pulling up where
I got the moose last night.

So, I'm just going to try
to walk in slow and make
sure there's no bear on it.

That's my main concern.

NARRATOR: Ricko has
successfully harvested a
moose while on a proxy hunt

for a village elder.

He's returned to the
kill site to haul the meat
back to Huslia if nothing

else has gotten to it first.

RICKO: See, there's
bears around here.

A large black bears,
a small grizzly.

And definitely shows
that it's in the area.

Coming in, I try
to move slowly.

I mean, some people say
move loud bear, bear, bear.

But if you're doing all of
that and the bear decides to
sneak on you a little closer

to make its first move, then
you ain't gonna hear him.

If he's on a meat pile,
he doesn't want to
move, it's me or him.

So, it's the name of
the game out here.

So, this moose has
been laying out
about I'd say eight hours.

It should be nice and tender,
the meat is still warm.

It's a slow cooling
process doing it this way.

It tenderizes the moose.

It's an old native trick
I guess you could say.

Now, I'm just going to
skin this side first,
take some of the quarters off,

maybe pop the ribs a little bit,

and then just gonna
take my time to keep
this meat real clean.

Because, when we
take our time.

We do it right.

We eat it for four
to six months.

Having to kill an animal
might seem barbaric or
savage, but it's just simple

way of life, and you have to
work with the animal, work with
the land, and respect it.

I don't just go out
and looking for antlers
and feeding my ego.

I'm feeding myself, and
I'm feeding my family.

That's how I came to
this part in life.

So, I have to continue it.

It keeps the animals strong.

It keeps the land strong.

And, it keeps putting
food on my table.

We're not rich people.

We're rich with land.

Done butchering, skinning,
all that hard stuff.

One more hard job is bringing
it out to the boat, getting it
to Huslia, and getting it into

my Auntie's smoke
house, and I'm done.

Okay, looks good.

Oh, there we go.

Hunting moose is not easy.

It's a lot of work especially
when I'm by myself.

There is a lot of meat.

This moose head here makes
good moose head soup.

And, also the
antlers are sold like ten
dollars a pound out here.

So, that will help my
auntie out a lot too.

I always wanna do this
without gouging myself.

So, I got to be careful.

(grunting)

All right, so, I'm done here.

It's a beautiful spot here.

I was real lucky.

Got a moose.

Now, it's time for the
animals to take what's a
little bit that's left.

For me to get out here
and accomplish the
things that I wanted to do,

it has a lot of
meaning to me because,

you use this old knowledge
that I learned and to put
food on the

table, it makes me feel
peace at mind just to be
back here and be able to

thrive the way I am right now.

It's a good feeling.

ANDY: When you live out
here you have to learn how to
give up that fear of failure.

Even if you don't know
what you're doing, do it.

You'll figure it out.

Let's get going.

DENISE: Okay.

NARRATOR: Andy and
Denise are heading
into town to retrieve a pig

they recently purchased.

The animal will weed
their overgrown
vegetation and fertilize the

soil for future crops.

After building a mobile
pen to transport the pig,
they must now get it back

safely to the homestead.

ANDY: Pig, pig, pig,
pig, come on up.

DENISE: Who's
coming to Calico?

ANDY: Come here, little girl.

Come here, double duty.

That's a lot of pig.

DENISE: Yeah.
CHARLEY: That's
a lot of bacon.

ANDY: That's a lot of
bacon, a lot of ham.

One, two, three, go.

Right now, Denise and
I are at the farm where
the pig is, and we are

gonna attempt to
get the pig up a trailer ramp,

into an open trailer, and
then take her down river to my

homestead at Calico Bluff.

It's about a 450 pound
fully grown sow pig.

So, we're not really sure
how this is gonna go.

DENISE: There you go.

ANDY: Pig, pig, pig.
Pig, pig, pig.

DENISE: She's pigheaded.

ANDY: I mean,
she's calming down.

She's smelling that food.

I think she's just trying
to make up her mind
what's going on here.

You liking that anukshuk?

DENISE: She eats
one at a time.

How long does it take?

She chews her food
very thoroughly.

ANDY: That sniffer
is pretty good. Attagirl.

Pig in the crate.

Yay.

DENISE: I know.

ANDY: Nothing like hugging
a muddy, pig-stinking woman.

DENISE: She's in the crate.

ANDY: Right now, when we
are gonna take her about five
miles down the road, come down

to the boat landing,
back my trailer up to the
boat, and then the real

work's gonna begin.

I really don't know how to get
a big seven-foot by four-foot
crate that weighs probably

600 pounds from the
trailer into the boat.

That's gonna be
quite a challenge.

Put it on the other
side of Mac's.

So, we have it as
wide as it can.

So, the pig crate
don't fall over, right?

Once we are on the front
of the boat, we're gonna
have to have some kind of a

jerry-rigged ramp to get
it down in the boat.

All right, let's
let her down, Mac.

Oh hell, that was good.

All right.
Let me get a
strap around this.

I always keep a tow
line on my boat.

It's kind of a bridle
that works off the back.

I was able to connect
a come-along to it.

And, that's kind of our
method of towing the
crate into the boat.

All right, go ahead
and crank a little bit.

There you go.

Okay, hold on a minute.

Let me put another
board under here.

Pig, stay in the back.

I think we're just gonna
have to keep going.

DENISE: Okay.

ANDY: And, hope that this one
two by right here don't break.

CHARLEY: This thing is wanting
to go down in the boat now.

ANDY: Denise!

Those two, two by
fours try and get them
under this right here.

There you go, right there.

Perfect. Okay.
That's perfect.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Stop, stop!

ANDY: Whoa, wh

CHARLEY: She shifted.

ANDY: Yeah, I know she's
gonna move around a lot.

DENISE: Fear of all of
that weight coming at me and
looking like it was going to

topple over was a very
precarious spot to be in.

ANDY: Okay, here we go.

There we go.
That's perfect.

Keep going forward.

Good job, Denise.
Just keep going.

Little more, Denise.

See if we can get
another foot here.

Perfect.

I think that's as good
as we're gonna get.

That's what you call a,
um, organized (bleep).

See, walking her would
have been a lot easier.

There's absolutely no way
that I could be doing this
without Denise being here.

Absolutely no way.

I'm glad that you made it.

I was given a second
chance, because I had the
right person in my life.

DENISE: Look at,
it's right there.

ANDY: She takes the time
to notice the beauty
of nature around here.

I'm really looking forward
to our future together.

DENISE: Well, hi, Dickle.
We brought a new friend home.

ANDY: There you go.
You like that?

DENISE: That's a good piggy.
That's a good piggy.

There, what's that?

That's the good stuff.

Yup, water, water,
water, water.

ANDY: Close that gate.

DENISE: Andy, the
gate is locked.

ANDY: Yay.

DENISE: The pig is in the pen.

I've always believed that
you have to go with what
you love; what feels right.

That you have to take
the time to, to know
that within yourself.

Where you feel good.

How you feel good.

And, for me that's here.

ANDY: What are you doing?

You think you're hiding.

We all see you.

DENISE: Yeah, I know.

ANDY: Having the accident
and the situation that I had.

I mean, it almost killed me,

and when you
finally realize that you're
getting a second chance,

it kind of changes
your perspective on
things a little bit.

We got a pig here.
We're in good shape.

DENISE: Mission accomplished.
ANDY: Yes, ma'am.

Who knows why we
get second chances.

I don't know, you know.

But, I'm not gonna give it up.

CHIP: It is like a
big circle you know.

Dog eat dog, eat cat too.

Fish eat frog.

And, I eat you.

We'll go check
that net, grandson.

We're in the Delta here
on the Kiwalik river.

So, it's time to check
the nets, and since we're
targeting fish for smoking and

preserving, we wanna get
them as fresh as possible.

We wanna have them stay as
fresh for as long as possible.

By the time fish gets to
a lot of people in the
interior of the United States,

they're probably
quite a few days old, but
with us they're hours old.

And then, by the
time we got them smoked,
they're still really fresh.

So, we got that
advantage on salmon.

AGNES: Wow, look.

CHIP: One zombie fish.

This time of year, there
is a lot of rotten salmon.

We call them zombie fish.

They're alive, but they're
spawned out and they're dying,

and they've been
flushed downstream.

And, we don't use those kind.

But, they have teeth that
are sticking out, because
they've burned up all their

fat and a lot of their muscle.

We don't want these
ladies to get injured,
and then cut their fingers,

and then have to
go process fish.

You see these teeth,
will cut your fingers slice
and dice pretty hard.

Oh, look she's
blowing eggs all over.

Try again.

AGNES: Next one.

Look, grandson, fish.

CHIP: Right there.
This is a very nice silver.

This is the exact targeted
fish we want, right here.

AGNES: Look, we caught
a silver fish, grandson,

CHIP: So, we wanna expose
it to him at a young age,

develop an interest.

Later in life, you
know, he can reflect on
what we're up to, maybe.

If we can we'll give this
kid some good memories
and teach him something.

These are wonderful fish.

Someday, boy, you'll
be fishing too.

This has everything I want,
everything I need,
everything I can work,

and enough work that I can stay
busy all day every day.

And, it's also
stuff I like to do.

It's fishing.

It's hunting.

It's camping.

Be with my wife, my family.

We got some daughters,
a grandson here.

There's just everything
you could think of.

I know I just love this place.

Think about this.

Your mom's father's
father was from back here.

And, so your grandfather
worked back here for about
forty, forty-five years and

lived back here.

And your mom comes down
here, and she's been
hunting seasonally.

And, you were raised up down
here, and now Wade's here.

That's an unbroken chain of
five generations at least.

Yup, there is a fifth known
generation right there.

Little Kiwalik kid.

Go on, Kiwalik kid.

Have fun.

SUE: The word success
wouldn't be there if
you didn't have failure.

You know, you don't have
black if you don't have white.

In order for me
to bring my whole
arctic entry way this way,

I'm sitting in the machine,

and alls that I can see
is a big ass piece of wood.

So, I need to mark
where I have the studs,
and that is where I need to be

to drill it in.

NARRATOR: With her arctic
entry way completed.

Sue must now connect it
to her living quarters.

She's prepped the area where
the structure will attach.

But with the weather
quickly worsening,
failure is not an option.

SUE: All right.

I think that it is time for
me to go get the building.

The weather is not improving.

So, I got to get it on there.

I'm gonna bring the forks
and set it underneath
as far as I can.

I'm not really too sure what
I need to do to attach it.

It's just such an uneven load.

It's about a half a ton.

Maybe a little bit over that.

I do not know if
this is gonna work.

My thought is to try and
get ratchet straps around
the building, get it high,

and then ratchet it
from the other side.

Forks only go to here,
and I'm still picking up 60%,

55% of the weight.

It's a lot on an old machine.

We'll see.

It feels very precarious
from back here.

I'm not sure I'm gonna be able
to see anything of my marks.

The weather's not
getting any better,
it's time to rock and roll.

Unfortunately, this
ground is a little bit soft.

It's gonna be difficult
to bring it dead on.

I can't see anything,
not a thing.

All in all, I'm a little off.

But, I think that I
need to get my pry bar, and
then try to get it in place,

and shoot a few screws in.

All right.

What I need to try and
do, is maybe get this
two by four out of here.

So, I can release
that pressure.

If I can.

Damn it.

I don't wanna
move the building.

Son of a bitch.

(bleep), (bleep),(bleep).

SUE: Okay, I g

Let me see if I can jimmy
it a little bit more.

Try to rock it forward.

Release the kraken.

There.

Well, for all purposes,

I have an
arctic entry way.

I've still got work to do.

But, it's a start.

Swore like a son of a
bitch, but I got it on.

It's not perfect yet,
but (bleep) it's here.

And, all inside
of the first blizzardy
blizzard of the season.

There's always
circumstances in our lives.

Doesn't matter who you are.

Doesn't matter where you live.

Whether it's divorce,
disease, taxes, jobs,
there's something.

And, there is quite a
bit that happened this
year that I'm dealing with.

It's not in my
nature to give up.

I have a plan for how I
want things to go out here,
but I also started working

on a cabin and
getting that set up.

And, why is that
important to me?

I don't own the
land here in Kavik.

Which means
that I have a very
precarious existence here.

But, I'm also getting older.

What I'm willing to do
at twenty, thirty, forty,
and fifty can't be the

same at sixty, seventy,
eighty, and ninety.

But, I don't worry about
my future, because it's
gonna be whatever it is.

Life turns out exactly
how it's supposed to
seldom how you think it will.

So, live each day
really (bleep) well.

Because, it's all unfolding.

JESSIE: Close to the land.

Close to the water.

Close to the wild animals.

To me this is my church.

This is where I come to
be spiritually fulfilled.

All right.

I've got the most important
part of my project done.

I have structurally
tied my whole roof in.

All the framework
in my roof is done.

That's a hard job.

I've got the walls done,
the second story floor in.

I got these super
heavy rafters up there.

I'm done with all
the heavy stuff.

Now, it's time to cap
it off with my roofing.

I'm gonna have a metal roof,

and I'm gonna be able
to hear the rain since
there's plenty of rain,

and that's going to
be a peaceful sound to me.

Love a metal roof.

This where we're gonna go
pretty quick here I think.

You know, as long as I
don't run into any problems.

And, that's good.

Because, I got dogs
to start training.

But, I have to get this on.

I cannot be working up
there in the snow and ice.

This is not something I
wanna be doing in winter.

I laid this first piece
out nice and square.

So, I should be able to
run off of that for the rest,
and now I just got to put

all the other pieces
and overlap them.

And, uh, soon I'm gonna
have a roof over my head.

This is the most important
part of this cabin right here.

This is what protects
everything form rain, and
moisture, and snow, and wind.

Once I got this roof on, my
structure is protected from
the coming winter and it's

gonna last for years
to come, because of this
roof that I am putting on.

I've been waiting to have
this home for a long time.

I'm going to cap it off right.

All right.

I got my last
piece of metal on, man,
this is a beautiful roof.

This is a huge job
done right here.

Now, I got my own
home that I built.

My dream home by the river.

This is a new start for me.

Here's to the first of many
awesome campfires right here,

in front of my
cabin by the river.

Man dreams really do come
true, if you're willing to
work your ass off for them.

Twenty years back in my life,
I was in a pretty rough place
and I didn't have much hope,

and I came to Alaska.

I don't even know that
person before I came up here.

I can't believe how far
that I've come, you know?

Every day, I wake
up with passion and
drive for something.

Winter was just so incredible.

Training my dogs better
than ever, taking better
care of them than ever,

and just growing as a person,

getting out and having the
adventures of a lifetime.

ANNOUNCER (over PA):
Folks, Jessie Holmes.

Rookie of the year.

JESSIE: I'm ready for winter.

Let's do this.

RICKO: The way we survive
dates back thousands of years.

And, if we don't
keep practicing it,
it's gonna disappear.

Man, it feels good
to be at this point.

It was a lot of work.

I mean, it's exhausting
after a while.

But, I love doing it.

I love getting out there.

But, it's a journey just
to get to the point to be
able to harvest the moose.

Hi.

SOPHIE: Good job.
RICKO: Thank you.

I really appreciate my Auntie
Irene and her daughter Sophie.

Makes me feel good to
be able to help them.

Because, they have
helped me in the past.

SOPHIE: Huge.
Good sized one.

RICKO: Yeah, big boy.

SOPHIE: I like it.
I like it.

RICKO: It's a big animal.
It's a lot of meat.

I mean that's the
one that puts food on
the table all winter.

IRENE: Perfect timing too.

Some moose are really
humungous, and some
are really small.

So, this is just the size
I need for my freezer.

Very good.

RICKO: Okay.

We are Athabaskan Indians,
and it's a family structure,
and it's part of our

Athabaskan culture is
to help each other out.

That's how we survived
all these years.

We rely on each other.

I think Alaska is
challenging, just simply,
by being so remote.

But not only that,
there is extreme weather
and extreme animals.

I'm, kind of, am a
one-man band here.

I'm on a solo mission.

So, it's a lot harder.

I got to work harder,
and I got think smarter.

But in a way, that helps me
to really find myself, and
helps me feel independent.

This winter was
challenging, but I was
able to accomplish a lot.

I made it out here to my
cabin by snow machine.

Get some beaver,
get ptarmigan, spruce chicken,
marten, a beautiful wolverine.

I was able to get
my A.M. radio running,

my one-way
communication out.

I did a lot of fun
things with my kids.

I got out, did
a lot of fishing.

Did geese hunting.

And, I was really able
to bond with my children.

It's just being able to
share this whole experience
with my kids was the most

beautiful accomplishment of all.

I'm just real happy
with this season
the way it went.

I really don't think there's
any other way to learn this
lifestyle other than

being in it or born into it.

Alaska doesn't belong to me.
I belong to Alaska.
That's my identity.

Captioned by Cotter
Captioning Services.