All language subtitles for Life.Below.Zero.S06E03.Running.on.Empty.720p.WEB-HD.x264-KangMus_track3_eng

GLENN VILLENEUVE:
I like to come up here

and look around
at this time of year.

Gives me a good view,
gets me up
above some of the trees,

I can see further.

Up in these mountains
several miles from camp,
there are Dall sheep.

And in a couple of months
from now,

I'll be hunting those sheep.

There's a lot of
country up there,

and the sheep are spread out,
all over it.

So what I need to do
at this time of year,

in preparation to hunt
for 'em,

is to go out
and scout for them.

I'm not looking
for just any sheep,

the ewes, the young rams,
the lambs,

those are left,
to reproduce to maintain
the population.

I'm looking for a big ram
like this one.

This is the last sheep
I killed in these mountains.

But to find a big sheep
like this

is a real challenge.

Whenever I go out
this time of year,
I always carry my rifle.

Without a rifle,
I'd be defenceless,

and there are bears
around here.

(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

NARRATOR:
For Glenn Villeneuve,

scouting animal behaviour
in the Brooks Range

is key to harvesting meat
and protein for survival.

In the fall,
Dall sheep hunting season
will be open,

and locating them
now is a priority.

VILLENEUVE: I'm gonna head up
into the mountains
this morning,

spend a few days
walking around,

finding a promising area
to hunt a couple of months
from now.

Hunting sheep is the most
physically demanding hunting
I do.

I have to walk further,

in more difficult terrain,

and spend more time
seeking out sheep
than any other animal I hunt.

Sheep like to stay up high,

where there are rocks
they can escape to when
the predators are around,

that's how they get away
from wolves,

that's how they get away
from me.

I'm gonna head up this ridge,
see what I can find up there.

I'm getting up above
tree line now,

I got to start
thinking about being quiet.

I gotta start thinking about
the direction of the wind.

How it's carrying my scent.

And I got to start using
terrain to conceal myself,

'cause the sheep are
very cautious animals.

This is a sheep trail,
right here.

There's sheep scat.

There's a beautiful sheep
track right there.

This is a path the sheep walk
regularly on this mountain.

(SOFTLY) Scouting for sheep
is the same thing
as hunting 'em.

The only difference is,
I'm not gonna shoot it
when I get there.

But I'm trying
to stalk as close
as I can to any sheep.

And anytime I'm out,
I'm gaining experience.

These are all sheep beds
right here. This is where
sheep has laid its scat.

There, here.

This is more of a summer scat,
when they're eating
more succulent vegetation.

In the winter,
it'll look more like this in
the wintertime.

We're seeing lots
of sheep sign
on this mountain.

So, I'm hopeful I might find
some sheep up here.

Things are looking good.

JESSIE HOLMES: To me,
living out in Alaska

is all about
being able to take
care of yourself.

Just got done having
my morning cup of coffee

and down here I can see
the river really start
dropping last night.

Dropped a couple feet.

I'm gonna head upriver,
make sure my fish wheel
is not high and dry.

I can't afford to just

let a functionable fish wheel
go to waste, so...

The water's been high
for about two weeks now,

it just kind of like,
planed out
in the last couple of days,

and just dropped overnight.
Just like that.

And that's how this river is.
It's constantly changing.

NARRATOR: Jessie Holmes
relies on the resources
along the Nenana River

to maintain
a subsistence lifestyle.

Getting his fish wheel
up and running is crucial
to feeding himself,

and his team of sled dogs
for the year ahead.

So, fish wheel is made out of
spruce log rafts

and it floats out
in the river.

What we do is,
we take it with big logs

and push it far out
into the river,
into a deep channel.

We drop the axel down,
and the big baskets
dip through the water.

It's turning with the current,
as it scoops down,
the fish have no place to go,

so they swim right
into the scoop.
Scoops 'em up.

Now, the purpose of
a fish wheel is to put up
a large amount of fish.

I can put up 900 fish
in a day,
if the fishing's going good.

I need to be catching fish
and feeding the dogs fish
right now

because it's the most
cost-effective way for me
to be able to keep these dogs.

This could be a real big deal
to me to not be able to use
that fish wheel.

My main goal
is to not fall in the river.

It's one of the fastest
navigable waters in the U.S.,
the Tanana River is.

And there's just tons of silt
in here.

The minute you're in there,
the silt starts
filling your pockets,

filling your clothes,
filling your boots.

Little things can become
big things, quick.

This thing's definitely
up on the sandbars.

The river's dropped
a couple feet here.

Yeah, it definitely looks like
I got my work ahead of me.

If I don't get this thing
out here on
the water current soon,

it's gonna get a lot worse,
'cause the river's
dropping fast.

If I wait any longer on this,
it could put me
out of the season.

It is stressful.
The stakes are high.

And like,
it's very easy to mess up
with a fish wheel,

there's a lot of things
going on.

You got the current,
thousands of pounds,

I mean,
this is gonna be
one hell of a job.

Every minute that goes by
is a minute wasted,

and another couple of inches
of water lost possibly,
so, it's time to get to work.

Bust this thing out.
Get onto the next process.

It's a lot of work,
but it provides a lot of food
for the dogs.

There we go,
she's moving.

SUE AIKENS: Your creativity,
your ingenuity,
and your ability to improvise.

The mind is the most important
tool any of us carry around.

Not feeling 100%.

Just pushing it too hard.

And it's showing.

I'm exhausted,

all of my stitches hurt.

All of the things
I've been lifting,
pushing and pulling,

the body is kicking my ass,
saying that I shouldn't.

NARRATOR: Kavik River Camp
serves as a remote
fuelling station

and bed and breakfast
for bush pilots.

PILOT: Thank you.

To sustain her business during
the busy summer months,

Sue Aikens takes on
a heavy workload.

AIKENS: (EXHALING) All right.

NARRATOR: But an injury
has restricted her ability
to run Kavik on her own.

And with clients
set to arrive soon,

she must call for
reinforcements,

or risk losing
crucial revenue.

This is my windsock,

and it's just
another one of those things

that I can't do right now,
by myself.

Part of being successful
is being brutally honest
with yourself.

And to be brutally honest
with myself is to look at
my abilities and disabilities.

Acknowledge them,
and work with them.

It's summertime.
These tracks have to come off.

These are 500 pounds
or so each.

I do something this heavy
over my limits,

and I'm gonna be
back in the hospital.

There's just so many things
I can't do on my own.
I've got to get help.

All right,
this is where I decide to

throw up the white flag,
and go from tough to fluff.

I'm gonna call my nephew,

and see if he wants to come up
and help out his Auntie.

There's way too much to do,
and I am incapable
of doing it right now.

Hey, Jesse, how's it going?

JESSE MOORE: I'm doing good,
how about you, Auntie?

Um, well that's kind of
why I'm calling, uh...

I'm trying to get everything
running up here,

but there's just so much
stuff that I can't do.

You wanna come help a gimpy
old woman out this summer?

Yeah, that sounds perfect.

Just let me know
when you want me
up there and I'll go.

Can you be ready by tomorrow?

Yeah, give me a couple hours
to pack up all my things,
and I should be up.

All right, love you.
Thank you so much.

-I love you too, Auntie.
-All righty, bye-bye.

AIKENS: I have
a nephew, Jesse.

He is one of
my brother's sons.

He's a good young man.

Maybe untried,
he's a little green
around the edges,

when it comes to
remote camp life.

He knows how to work
on machinery,

but this is gonna be
a test for him.

The world of Sue is tilting.

People need this camp,
people need this service.

It's an important dream
to keep alive,

but I'm only gonna
keep it alive
if I bring on help.

CHIP HAILSTONE: Some people
are about quantity.

I'm about quality.

I want quality food.
I don't want numbers.
I want results.

AGNES HAILSTONE:
Jon and his oldest daughter
should be coming in soon.

This is kind of exciting.
We haven't seen our grandbaby
since winter.

NARRATOR: The Hailstone family
has a limited opportunity
to hunt for seals,

a vital resource for
the long winter ahead.

Seal hunting is
a native tradition

that has been passed down
for generations.

AGNES: Hi, Avery!

You made it. (CHUCKLING)

(INDISTINCT CONVERSATION)

AGNES: (KISSES)
I love you, Avery.

CHIP: Jon's purpose here
is that he is an
excellent seal hunter.

(GRUNTING)

And, we have a very
brief time to go hunting.

Usually, less than a week.

Because pretty soon
this ice is gonna go out.

Well, the importance
of getting the seals
right now,

is that Ugruk that are here

have migrated in
while the ice is apart,

because they follow
the edge of the ice pack.

And so,
when it's really solid,
they're not here.

When it's starting to
break up, they come in,
they feed, they hang out,

and when the ice goes,

and follows
the end of the ice pack
as it recedes to the north,

the Ugruk leave with it.

They're only here for
a brief time.

Usually less than a week.

But when you do get one,
you get 900 pounds of meat
and blubber.

And it's a huge factor
in the wintertime.

And since winter's here
eight months of the year,

seal oil's a pretty important
thing to have.

(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)

It's always good for one of
the boys to come in
and go hunt with me,

because my husband's not able
to do the seal hunt with us,
'cause he's non-native.

Hi, Avery.

CHIP: We sit down
and we'll get the guns clean,

and we'll get
everything sharpened.

It's very important to get our
stuff sharpened.

All our gear ready,
everything prepared,

so that when we're out there,
there should be no mistakes.

Everything we do now
is setting up for this hunt.

(AGNES SPEAKING)

I just want to make sure
it's nice and clean
and oiled up,

because when salt water
go on it,

it'll start to get
rusty real fast.

CHIP: That's why these preps
are important.

If we don't have
everything clean,

all these hooks,
sharp and ready to use,

just the first and only time
maybe this year,
it's not worth it.

-(CLICKING)
-I think it's ready.

CHIP: The three of us need
to know most importantly
is the way in and the way out.

'Cause all that stuff
is only three feet deep,
and it freezes solid,

and every year
it makes a new channel.

Basically a river under water.

And a lot of people have
no clue where that channel is.

'Cause if you want
to go in that place,

and you want to go
out of the lagoon down there,
you need to know.

It's best if we all three go
together the first time,
and we go find the channel.

And we go see where
it carves itself this year
after breakup.

AGNES: Yeah.

JON: Well, we've got
all of our gear ready.

We're gonna go do
a little scout,
go look around.

I gotta learn the channel,
it changes every year.

We need this meat,
we need this oil.

And once we get it,
we'll all be happy.

AGNES: We're heading
down to the ocean.

We're gonna go see
the ice conditions,
and go check out the channel.

Just preparing for a hunt,
and if we're successful,

then we should be able
to eat all winter long.

We're at the mouth
of the Kiwalik River Lagoon,

facing Kotzebue Sound ocean.

And we're having a look here
at the ice,

but the ice is at least
two or three miles away
and the wind is up.

This is no day for us to hunt.

When we try to go out hunting,
we usually wait
for the wind to stop blowing

so that seals can
actually go on top the ice.

(AGNES SPEAKING)

Now that we figured out
the channel,

and we figured out the tide,

and we're out here scouting,

we know what to expect
when we come back
the next time,

so we're just gonna
head back to camp.

CHIP: Whoa!
AGNES: What was that?

I hit something.

(ENGINE SPUTTERING)

(CHIP SPEAKING)

NARRATOR: The Hailstones
are surveying the waterways
to hunt for seal,

a key resource for the family,

but a stalled motor
has them dead in the water,

and the tide is getting lower.

(CHIP SPEAKING)

JON: One, two, three.

We broke our motor last year,

and this was
the only replacement we got.

And it's probably
gonna kill us.

(CHIP SPEAKING)

(JON SPEAKING)

CHIP: Just the wrong
kind of motor and mount
for this kind of boat.

Instead of the motor
being able to pop up,
it has a hydraulic lift,

and it basically broke
the back of my transom
back here.

I think I damaged my prop
a bit too,

'cause I'm not getting
quite the push I was.

We were trying to stay
in a channel that's
underwater in the lagoon.

It's not always easy to do,

it changes a little bit
every year,

and I probably,
instead of making a curve,

I probably cut it
a little bit on the inside,

and I hit a stump
that's sitting out here.

There's not much we can do to
repair it here and now,

but we can repair it
back there.

The water's about that deep

and it's only
getting shallower

'cause the tide is going down,
so what you want
to try to do is

get into the river
before the tide gets too low.

We beat the tide back,
so we're not stuck in the mud.

Pretty happy for that alone.

We're back! (LAUGHING)

(TING SPEAKING)

(CHIP SPEAKING)

CHIP: We've gone
and checked it out.

We've seen where the ice was.

We've gone and found
the channel,

and that was
what we needed to do first.

When the ice goes,
the seals go with it,

and we really have
to be able to get out there
and give it our best effort.

'Cause if we don't then,
we miss out on hundreds
of pounds of meat,

and we'd have to
make up for it some other way.

But, tomorrow,
one of the best
seal hunters around

is going out in the boat
with his mom, so,

they should have some fun.

AIKENS: As I get older,
I'm finding that I break
instead of bend.

I mean that's just natural.
But it's inconvenient.

I don't feel too terribly
well, right now.

I am feeling mostly rundown.

Honey is in here.
Powdered honey.

But I got honey in there.
It's antibacterial,
antimicrobial.

I'm gonna get fresh
water from the river.

And then get the willow,
stuff it full,

let all this stuff make out,
and, uh...

See if I can't get myself
healthy from the inside out.

NARRATOR: As Sue waits
for her nephew
to fly into Kavik,

she battles the pain
from a recent injury

by using a tundra remedy.

AIKENS: I am not
a pup any more.
I'm a full-grown dog.

My body parts hurt.
But my little sun tea here,
should be helping that.

I'm gonna score up
a little bit of this,
so I can get the benefits,

just kind of crush 'em up.

And all this in here,
all that wetness,

this plant has natural
salic acid.

This right here,
is juvenile fireweed.

So, toss a little bit of
that in there for some
added vitamin C.

Nice, fresh river water.

And I'll carry it back up.

It's gonna take a while for it
to leech out its goodness,

but, that's what
I'm hoping it does.

(EXHALING)

It's pretty tasty.
I just set it out.

You know,
it's the fresh river water,

it's not contaminated unless
you count fishy poop.

I'm gonna take
a little bit of this,

and go sit down,

rest a little bit of that.

VILLENEUVE: It isn't really
so important what you do,

but it's important
how you feel about
what you do,

and I feel good about
what I'm doing out here.

Takes a lot of time and energy
and a lot of understanding of
their habits.

That's why I'm out here
scouting now. To learn more.

To see how the sheep
are doing,

and to prepare myself for
hunting in a couple of months.

NARRATOR: In order to hunt
Dall sheep in the fall,

it's imperative for Glenn
to scout them now.

But finding the illusive
animals in the steep
and deadly terrain,

is a challenge.

Every time I come up here
I discover new areas,

new places
where sheep are hanging out.

That's a big part of being
up here,

just to learn more
about the animals.

Get to know better
their behaviour,

how they react
in different situations.

Every time I go out
and spend time around sheep,
I learn something new.

Look at this.

A ram's horn.

Sheep don't shed their horns.

They're on for life.
That ram died
right around here.

They've been here a long time,
but it shows that rams
are in this area.

At least in the past,
there was a ram
right here at this lake.

And that's where he died.

The hunting regulations
only allow

hunting of full-curl rams.

The full-curl rams
tend to hang out
at steeper terrain.

I've often found them
on steep rocks,
like cliffs, right here.

They'll be up
on little ledges
on these cliffs.

That's where I have to go
to find a full-curl ram.

I wanna take a look over here.

There! I see some
sheep right there.

(SOFTLY)
There's a sheep trail,

and right on the skyline,
a sheep was coming over it,

and now there have been
eight sheep

that have come into view,
following the same trail.

Sheep will follow
the same trail for centuries.

(VILLENEUVE SPEAKING)

Right now, what I'm doing is
scouting around and just
looking for what areas

are the most used by sheep
and where the sheep are
living up on this mountain.

'Cause I wanna come back
in a couple of months
and hunt here.

So, it's really
important to me.

There are actually
a couple of sheep
just around this corner.

I wanna try and sneak up
closer and see what I can see.

Even when I'm scouting,
not hunting,

it's really good practise
sneaking up on sheep,

because they're so wary,
and they have such
keen senses.

The more time I spend
around them,
the more I learn,

the better my chances
are when I'm hunting.

It's good to see
sheep this close.

A little snow squall's
blowing through.

You gotta be prepared
for any weather
this time of year.

I never know what to expect
up in these mountains.

(BREATHING HEAVILY)

I'll get right up here on top,
pitch my tent,
spend the night right up here.

The most dangerous thing
I do out here,

is coming up in the mountains,
by myself.

If I were to slip,
break a leg,

or even just
twist an ankle badly,

I wouldn't make it home.

It's really blowing up here.

I gotta find a place to camp,

set up my tent
before this storm kicks up
even worse than this.

Storms can blow in
fast like this,

and won't necessarily
last too long,
but you never know.

This time of year,
the weather could
just be about anything.

(SIGHS)

(SIGHS)

Once I get my tent set up,
I'll be able to get
a little rest, then go out,

look around on
the cliffs for sheep.

Yeah, this is the place
to camp out,
right up above the sheep,

then I have an advantage.

One of my favourite ways
to stalk sheep is actually
to be up above 'em.

When I get up on top of
the mountain,

and they're
on the cliffs below me,
that's really ideal.

It's good just to get in here,
out of the snow
and out of the wind.

I'll just ride this snow storm
out in here.

When the weather clears up,
I'll go back out,
looking for sheep.

AIKENS: You prepare for
the worst and be pleasantly
surprised by the best.

(ENGINE HUMMING)

Hey, buddy, how you doing?

PILOT: Uh, good.
I'll be on the ground there
in just a minute, Sue.

NARRATOR: Sue's injury
has left her struggling to
get Kavik fully operational.

With more clients
arriving soon,

she's called in
reinforcements to help
with essential camp tasks.

This is uh...
My nephew, Jesse...

Is coming in on the flight.

I just had to man-up
and admit that

I don't have the beans
right now to get
the job done on my own,

and, so I'm bringing
the young gun in.

Hey, Jesse, how's it going?
(CHUCKLING)

-How you doing? Mmm-hmm.
-Thank you for helping me out.

I am Jesse Moore.
And I am from
Fairbanks, Alaska.

I am here because, um,
my Auntie happened
to get into an accident,

and I am here to help her
with anything she
happens to need.

AIKENS: I'm not at
full service, yet.

So that's what I'm working on.

And I know you're
probably tired,
you're probably hungry,

but, I've got bigwig people
coming in,

in the next few days,

so we gotta get
that water line.

-Okay.
-Get it rolling.

And I know I wanna hug you
and be the Auntie

-and be all cool,
but, you know...
-(LAUGHING)

(GRUNTS) Let's get to work.

-Yeah, okay.
-There'll be play time later.

Hold this, while I undo this.

AIKENS: Gotta do what I can,
try to keep Kavik going.

There is absolutely
zero running water in camp,

the only water running
in camp is in the river.

So this absurd system
is how I get my water.

We're gonna suck it
out of the river,

up through this piping,

pump it through the filters,

into the water house.

Take this side in,
it's gonna go in here.

And it's sent around camp.

You have a choke
that you can see?

(ENGINE HUMMING)

Okay, rev it up a little bit.

(ENGINE REVVING)

(ENGINE SPUTTERING)

What is wrong with you?

(ENGINER SPUTTERING)

NARRATOR: In Kavik,
Sue and her nephew Jesse
are racing

to get water flowing
through the camp before
more clients arrive.

Without it,
she could lose
critical revenue.

AIKENS: You got water?
You feel it here
you got water.

Jesse!

You level that out,
I'm gonna check
the other side of it,

see if there's
water coming out.

All right.
I can already hear it.

I got me some water.

All right.
I've got everything.

Got everything done in there
that I can do.

The big test is,
will it come out of the spout?

Yeah!

(SIGHS)

I've got water.

Hell, yeah!

* We have water

Better go tell Jesse.

We got water, yeah.

VILLENEUVE: It's all about
taking advantage
of opportunities.

And in order to take advantage
of opportunities,

you have to learn the country,

and you have to learn
where things are happening,

and when they're
happening there.

Wind's really picking up.
It blew the tent right down.

(SIGHS)

I don't think I can
set it back up. Not here.

I got to pack this tent up
and get down this mountain.

I got to find a better place
to camp.

It's nice sheep hunting area
up here,

but, this isn't
a good place to camp.
It's too windy.

This is an awesome
spot to hunt.

It's got great sheep habitat
and lots of sign.

I found tracks, trails, scat.

I wanna hunt on this mountain
in a couple a months from now,

so what I want to do
is build a camp,

that way when I come back,
I'll have less work to do.

Right down here it looks like

there's a little creek
right over there

where I'll be able to
get some good water,

if I just want water
for washing,

I can get it out of
this little puddle right here.

There's some flat ground.

And there's plenty
of spruce trees around
to build a camp with,

so this looks like
a good spot right here.

Most important thing,
I want to have some
firewood here

when I come sheep hunting,
'cause it takes time
to cut firewood.

When I come back here,
if I'm cold and wet,
who knows, maybe it's raining

and 40 degrees,
there's nothing like having
a woodpile waiting.

-(CREAKING)
-There it goes. Yeah!

Got a little woodpile all set
to go when I get here.
Got some kindling.

I could probably spend
50 years out here
walking around,

and still find new things
to learn every time
I went out.

And this trip has
been like that.

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

Being closer to nature.
Seeing what's going on.

I'm not interested in living
where I don't have that
kind of contact.

That's why I like it out here.

I like all the contact
with the world around me.

Got my three poles,
just about ready to tie
together and stand up.

I'll be able to put my canvas
tent right over these

when I come back in
a couple months to hunt here.

(WHISPERING) I just tie this
around like this.

Like to get it nice
and even. Yeah.

And then I'll just spread
out the legs, there we go.

That's like a nice, little
tent frame. Look at that.

Got a nice little camp here
right at the bottom
of the mountain.

I'll be back
in a couple of months
to hunt these sheep.

Time to head home.

If I don't come out here
and scout around,
and keep track of the animals,

I just wouldn't know
what was going on.
I wouldn't be prepared.

It's all about being prepared
and understanding,
and learning more every year.

And taking advantage of
the opportunities that exist.

More time I spend out here,
the more I learn.

CHIP: It's knowing
when to be there,

what you're targeting,
and how to get it.

We take the opportunity
that presents itself.

Well, we prepared ourselves
for days and, uh,

we did a scout trip
and now it's time for us
to go do our seal hunt.

The weather has actually
calmed down, considerably,

looks like a good day
for a good hunt.

So, hopefully,
we'll be successful,

and we'll just
take it as it comes.

NARRATOR: After repairing
a damaged engine,
Agnes, and her son Jon

are ready to embark on
their native hunt for seal,

a crucial source
of meat and oil

to help them survive
the brutal cold
of dark winter.

So what we do,
besides camouflaging
ourselves,

we also camouflage our boat.

'Cause whatever we're
coming to,

we want to look
like a piece of ice,

and that's what
we're gonna be doing,

we're just gonna be acting
like a piece of
ice out in the ocean.

-A hard hunt,
but yet it's a good hunt.
-JON: Necessary hunt.

AGNES: It's a necessary hunt.

AGNES: The bearded seal is one
of the most important foods

that we have to hunt for
this time of the year.

It keeps us warm,
it gives us energy,

it's something we all enjoy,
rely on.

It's a delicacy of
the whole entire area.

AGNES: Ready?

Let's go find that canal
out into the sea.

As I grow,
and I'm part of this family,
and part of this land,

it feels pretty good to be
able to go out
and hunt some Ugruk.

Hunt some seals.

It feels really good
to be a native

and able to hunt on our land,

which we've always done
for thousands of years.

(AGNES SPEAKING)

AGNES: Man, rotten,
we got to go way out
to find good ice, eh?

This is rotten ice.

And we can't really
stand on it or work on it.

Or the Ugruk aren't gonna
be able to go on it

and rest on it.

So what we're looking for is,

a real big sheet of ice,
that can hold a lot of weight.

So what we're gonna do is
we're gonna go
probably out more

and go look for better ice.

JON: This is one of
my absolute favourite times
to go hunt.

It's beautiful weather.
It's a beautiful country.

There's beautiful animals.
We've got all our guns ready.

Get your hunt on and succeed.

Once we have our food
set for the winter,
I'll be happy.

(GUNSHOT)

(JON SPEAKING)

Go back to the boat,
try and see if I can sneak
on some other ones.

Just gonna take it slow
and keep putting
around the edges

and, hopefully,
we'll come across more seals
close to the edge of the ice.

(AGNES SPEAKING)

(GUNSHOT)

AGNES: Too high!
JON: Way too high up.

AGNES: Yeah.

JON: I don't see any more
seals close by.

AGNES: Doesn't look like
there's any seals
around this area.

So we're slowly gonna
move our way back in.

The tide is coming in
and the ice is starting
to go against the shore,

so we just wanna make sure
we have our way
to get back into the channel

to the mouth of the lagoon,

before all the ice blocks us
and we can't make it.

You really have to watch out
for ice you can't see
under the water

because if you happen to go
and tip your boat over,
over an ice,

it's cold water
and you'll just freeze
or die instantly.

(JON SPEAKING)

-We're in the channel?
-Yeah.

AGNES: Lucky we learned
the channel, eh?

(SPEAKING)

(GUNSHOT)

(EXCLAIMS)

-All right.
-Hey, we got it.

Right on, at least,
we got something in
the boat. Awesome.

Perfect.

Nice red-throated loon.

Got past the shallows,
got a loon.

Heading home. Right on.

AGNES: We didn't get a seal
and we had quite
the experience

and knew when to come back,

and it just worked out
pretty good.

AGNES:
It's always worth a try.

Better luck next time.

CHIP: Hopefully,
there will still be
another hunt.

If not, in August,
the seals will be back.

HOLMES: I love getting out
on the river,

but this isn't
recreation to me.

This is something
I just had to do
to maintain this lifestyle.

(LEVER CREAKING)

If I can just get this thing
out to some deeper water...

I only moved it
quarter of an inch.

I've seen the water drop at
least a couple inches,
so it's rapidly dropping.

I have no choice.
I got to get this
thing off here now.

If I mess around here,
this thing's gonna be
really stuck.

I'm not gonna give up.

NARRATOR: For Jessie
to harvest enough fish
to feed himself

and his sled dogs
for the year,

he must get his fish wheel
unstuck from the mud,
and back into the water.

Starting to gain a little.

It's a lot of physical labour
whenever you're doing
things on your own.

Especially,
when you're working
with a fish wheel.

Gonna go ahead and start
rigging a pulley up to this,
into some trees over here.

My dogs gotta eat.
I gotta eat.

I have to do these things.

Especially,
when you're coming at it

from a subsistence
lifestyle like I am,

not a lot of money.

I had to make up for that
in drive and determination.

So when I start
a task like this,
I'm gonna finish it

because that's what I'm gonna
do with every task I start.

This is looking good.

It's going pretty hard
at first,

but getting it now.

Still got a long way
to go, though.

Oh, man.
This should have a pin here.

The pin must have fell out.

I don't have one here.

So I'm just gonna use a nail.
See if that works.

This is just
how it is out here,
you know?

If something goes wrong,
you improvise.

Find something else to use.

All right, there it's going.

Fuck! Man.

Oh, the nail just broke.

I'm gonna have to figure
something else out, for a pin.

Those nails
aren't very strong.
Go over to the boat.

I got some Allen wrenches
or something that could be
harder steel

and hold for that.

This should work a lot better.

This is more harder
than steel.

There we go.

Just about to give this thing
a little bit of a push,

and let the current start
building up against it.

Glad to see it's not going
fast and that it's going slow.

That's better, safer, thing.

It's pretty shallow
right here, still.

(CREAKING)

Can't tell if it's moving.

With a fish wheel

there are so many dangers,
like, when you're rising it up
out of the water,

you're rising 1,000
pounds out of the water,

against the current.

There's a lot of weight
sitting on this.

If like, you aren't careful
with the way you do things,

like this whole thing
could collapse.

And I mean,
if that collapses on you,
in the river,

against the current,
you wouldn't stand
much of a chance.

My key thing is
to respect nature.

Respect the river,
I want to work with the river,
not against it.

Don't disrespect
Mother Nature,

and, hopefully,
she's gonna take care of me.

You never know
what's gonna happen,
you gotta be prepared.

Yes! All right.

Push it on out in
that current so it will break
up some of that stuff on it.

There she goes.

Get it up here.
That'd be perfect.

I'm excited to, you know,
have this where it is now.

I'm tired
and it's a good tired, though,

you know, I like being tired
at the end of the day.

Feel rest, you know, that way

whenever I wake up
the next morning,
I feel really rested.

It's like, take a lot of pride
in getting the job done,

and keeping
a positive attitude.

Now I just got to do
some minor repairs,

get this thing
a little bit further upriver,

and I feel good that I can
get this wheel running
and catching lots of fish.

That's my goal.
So, I'm this much closer
to my fishing place.

AIKENS: Remote people,
we have a vested interest,

we put our backs into
our existence every
step of the way.

JESSE: How heavy
are these tracks?

Tracks are hundreds
of pounds each.

But these tracks
have to come off.

It's for winter only to add
traction and stability
when you're on snow and ice.

But in the summer,
you got to have
the flexibility of the tyres.

(DRILLING)

I would say my mechanics skill
is above average.

It's better than most, I mean,

if anything has wheels
and a motor,
I can fix it, definitely.

Or I can point out
the problem really fast.

Good.

The Bobcat tracks were
really heavy actually.

I'm surprised that
she did 'em for
all those years by herself.

There we go.

Yeah, it's pretty crazy,
Auntie.

It seems
like a two-person job.

Not a one-person.

-It's a one-person job
when it has to be.
-(CHUCKLING)

AIKENS: The winter storms
were bad enough this year,

that it took my old windsock
and blew it to kingdom come.

This part will slip
over and down,
over that part, the very top.

That sock will blossom out,
depending on what direction
the wind is coming from.

Pilots can see from
a distance what direction
the wind's going,

even if my radio
isn't working.

So they can adjust
how they're gonna land.

Really, no plausible way
for me to get up there
and do it.

Typically, it takes two people

and a running piece
of equipment.

My nephew Jesse,
he's a sharp young man

and knows
how to figure things out.

And I can watch him
problem solve.

It's like watching your babies

when they first
learn to crawl.

And that's what I want to see.

It takes
a problem-solver out here.

AIKENS: I'm gonna have you
take me up,

just a few feet,
and then level it out.

Okay, stop. This way.

Hold it there.

My nephew Jesse ended up
taking me up on my offer.

Hold it still.

I had to admit I hit the wall.

I'm not able to do the chores
that I should be able to do,
that I used to be able to do.

And if I try to,
even want to keep Kavik open,
I have to get help.

Well, you did a good job.
I appreciate it.

-AIKENS: You big lug.
-(JESSE LAUGHING)

If I don't stay in the black,
Suzy doesn't come back.

(FLAPPING)