All language subtitles for Life Below Zero S11E10 Trial by Fire_track3_[eng]

♪ ♪

JESSIE: We're in Willow
right now,

on the starting line
of Iditarod.

(dog yelps)

I drove up from Anchorage
at 5:00 in the morning,

and I've been up since
4:00 in the morning,

taking care of the dogs.

So, getting in a good routine
and not getting much sleep,

which is gonna be
pretty important.

The Iditarod is
a thousand-mile race.

It starts down on the southern
coast, climbs the Alaska Range,

over through the Farewell Burn,
to the Yukon River,

out to the Bering Sea coast,
where there's nothing but wind.

This is a race where
you have to be self-sufficient,

and excellent at dog care.

Many people fail making it
to the finish line.

It's just a huge event.

It's like the Olympics
of dog mushing.

I spent the last 10 years
to get here.

Spent a ton of money.

I spent a ton of time training
for this, you know.

I mean, it's just
hugely overpowering,

emotional feeling to be here.

This is like the most meaningful
moment of my life,

to be here on the starting line
of Iditarod.

You're hearing all these dog
teams going crazy everywhere,

but there's just a bunch
of crazy commotion

going on around you.

Right now, I just got to
finish up bootying up the dogs.

Zeus is gonna be the dude

that's gonna take care
of business today.

Pretty much the front 12 dogs
are all gonna be leaders.

That way, you don't keep
too much pressure on one dog.

If you burn them out early,

you're gonna have
to pay for that.

Key thing about the Iditarod

is the race ain't won
in the first three days.

It's won on the last three.

I've never done the Iditarod.

You don't know what's gonna
happen out there.

You have all these
great ambitions

and desires and dreams,

but they can all be shattered
in just a moment.

I've been following this race
for 12 years.

And you watch a lot of people
broke down

on the side of the trail.

The worst-case scenario
is not finishing it.

Definitely was laying
awake last night,

thinking about those thoughts.

I think I have the typical
nervousness of a rookie,

I'm thinking
about everything,

and I want to be able to do
my dog team justice,

which is an amazing dog team.

My key thing is don't be scared.

Fear will make you mess up.

I'm just focused.

Even if I have to come in th p.

This is it.

Ice in my veins.

ANNOUNCER: Next in the chute,
please welcome bib number 41,

a rookie from Nenana, Alaska,
Jessie Holmes.

JESSIE: Everything I have
is put into this.

ANNOUNCER: Jessie,
you have 30 seconds.

JESSIE: There's no like 99% in,
I'm 100% in on this.

ANNOUNCER: Ten, nine,
eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one, go!

JESSIE: Alright, hike!

ANNOUNCER: There goes
Jessie Holmes!

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

ANNOUNCER: There goes
Jessie Holmes!

Iditarod rookie headed for Nome.

JESSIE: Yeah!
MAN: Good luck.

JESSIE: Leaving
the starting line,

it was just such
an emotional experience.

I just had tears in my eyes.

I couldn't stop crying
'cause it meant so much to me

to finally do this with my dogs.

Tears, man.

This is amazing.

NARRATOR: Jessie Holmes
and his dog team

have spent the last several
months training and preparing

for the Iditarod race.

The Iditarod began in 1973
to honor historical trails

and preserve the culture
of sled dog racing in Alaska.

The trail will be
unpredictable,

and managing himself
and his dogs

is key to Jesse's ability to
reach the finish line in Nome

and achieve his lifelong dream.

JESSIE: One more mile closer!

And I'm starting
in 41th position.

41 isn't the perfect draw
for me,

so I'm gonna probably
gonna use my speed

a little bit to my advantage,

to try to get in the top 20
by Rainy Pass.

It's 150 miles into the race,

and that'll probably be
the first place

I take a pretty
significant rest.

And the goal is to make it
to Nome as fast as possible.

RICKO: Living out here
in the woods,

you don't really go by Sunday,
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

You do what you gotta do when
you gotta do what you gotta do.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Looks like some rabbit
and ptarmigan.

Yeah, there's small game
moving around out here.

It's not very thick willows, so
they probably come out at night.

But where they're hiding
in the day

is that thick stuff over here.

I'm gonna get on my snowshoes
and start walking today.

Small game's always good.

It might not seem like much,

but it's a long ways
from geese coming in,

and salmon running,
moose, all that.

So, for now,
that's my opportunity

to get some fresh meat
on the table.

Today, I got snowshoes.

That's all I need for getting
in that brush over here,

right near camp.

I don't want to be making
a bunch of noise

like this snow machine does.

So, the goal is to get in there,
get some snares put in,

maybe see something,
maybe get a shot at something.

So, everything I need is
right here and out there.

Hopefully, bring something home.

For me to get out here
in my backyard

and just go hunt
very low-cost food

that I know where it came from,

it don't get better than that.

A little bunch of ptarmigan
went through, heading that way.

They're still soft.

They're probably, they're
probably still hanging out

across the river here.

I'm just gonna walk over here
and check it out.

If I don't run into anything,
I'll start putting my snares in.

Porcupine.

I don't know which way
he's going.

He's right around here, though.

Right here is his tracks.

There he is!

There you are, little boss.

They're good eating
in fall time,

but they're real skinny
right now,

so we don't get them
this time of the year.

But following an animal
like this,

sometimes it leads you
to more opportunity,

because this animal is
a smart, smart old animal.

He probably knows where
all the brush is at,

where all the good birch,
all the good alder and willow,

and that's exactly what all the
other small game is looking for.

Following him brings me
to another opportunity.

I'll leave him alone and
go walk around a little bit,

and see if I spot
anything around here.

There's a lot of tracks
down here.

I haven't seen nothing that
I could shoot at today,

but I do see a lot of ptarmigan
tracks going through here.

So, a lot of willows here
I could work with.

I'm just gonna build a big fence
through here,

and just drop in
a bunch of snares.

Should have a good chance here.

I just got to cut
a bunch of willows down

and basically make a,
make a fence

where they can't just
walk right through.

So, I'll have them walk along,

and then there'll be a place
where they can go through,

and hopefully have one of them
walk in through that door,

where there will be a snare.

Takes a little work
to get this thing up,

but once you have it up,

it can, you can keep
using it all winter.

The longer the fence,
the more the opportunity.

Now that I got my fence laid in,

I'm gonna drop some of these
snares in the doors I made,

want to get this in here.

Oh.

So, when something
that's coming along,

like a ptarmigan comes along
and starts eating off this,

he'll hopefully go
through those doorways

to get to the other side,

and that's where the opportunity
to catch him is.

♪ ♪

I got the fence made.

I got the snares put in.

I'm just gonna let them soak
overnight, come back tomorrow,

hopefully have some luck
with some ptarmigan,

or maybe even a rabbit.

SUE: Without the value
of making a mistake,

you can't learn from it.

Do it wrong, do it twice.

♪ ♪

Well, I got a lot of snow
last night.

These buildings here,
look at the snowfall.

Problem for me with that,

I'm getting ready
to shut everything down

here at the cabin
and get back to Kavik.

So, I'm quite worried
and concerned about this,

my little shed area here.

You probably have almost eight
tons of snow on this building.

The wood is bowing.

I'm about to get the most snow
of the season,

typically, in the next
three months.

If I'm already starting out
like this,

I'm gonna lose my buildings
before I ever get back to them.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Whoa!

Yikes.

Try and direct it.

♪ ♪

I can see a lot of glove changes
in my future here.

Okay.

About to try and figure out
getting up on this beast.

This is where my butt's
about to get real cold.

♪ ♪

Okay.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

I should be able
to slam this down

and get it to go off the edge.

My butt is wet and
freezing to the roof.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

That kind of worked!

Fixing generators and
dealing with wolverines,

I got that down.

Shoveling snow off a roof,
I might be a rookie yet.

But this is one of the most
important chores

I've probably done in eons,

because if I, if I don't do it,
I'm losing my investment.

I'm losing my cubby.

I'm losing my future.

I got this one done.

Gonna keep on going.

The wheel's turning.

Gotta get my job done.

CHIP: We have no roads up here.

Roads are what we make.

We have no fences,
no speed limits,

no stop signs,
no AAA road assistance.

Basically, we've got
to rely on ourselves,

and there's nothing wrong
with that.

You ladies want to hand me out
my 12-gauge and a bag of shells?

I'm gonna go rabbit hunting.

You want to follow?

CAROL: I'll follow.

CHIP: You'll follow?

CAROL: Ting says she will.

CHIP: Well, then we'll need to
take both snow machines, then.

There's a lot of rabbits out,
I'm telling you.

There's an absolute ton of them.

Their tracks are everywhere.

And before the flies come,

we can get up a bunch of
bunny rabbits and dry them up.

Munch some down ourselves,
save some for the dogs.

You want to follow, Agnes?

AGNES: Yeah, I'll follow!

CHIP: How about we just split
the river then, huh?

CAROL: Me and Ting,
and you and mom?

CHIP: Yeah. Oh, this'll be fun.

I like to eat rabbit.
It's a change-up.

I've got plenty of caribou,

but I've been eating caribou
for quite a while.

It's nice to get a change-up
every now and then.

AGNES:
Wow, a family rabbit hunt.

CHIP: I haven't done this
in a while, huh?

AGNES: Yeah.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

CHIP: Rabbits are on a cycle,

and there's years when
there's almost no rabbits,

and years when there's
lots of rabbits,

and this happens to be
one of those years

when there's lots of rabbits.

And for Carol,
it also happens to be

a year that she's out there
with a gun.

It's probably been
five or six years

since we've had
an up-cycle of rabbits.

AGNES: Nice day for
a rabbit hunt, yeah?

TINMIAQ: There should be
lots of rabbits out.

CHIP: Well, you stay
on your side of the river

and only shoot that way,

and we'll stay on
our side of the river,

and we'll only shoot this way.

TINMIAQ: I see lots
of tracks already.

CHIP: Yup.

AGNES: I seen
a lot of tracks, too.

Yup, there's definitely rabbits.

TINMIAQ: Yes, there's
definitely rabbits out.

AGNES: Rabbits for dinner!

(dogs barking)

JESSIE: This is like
a chess game;

one wrong move
and the game's over.

♪ ♪

Straight.

Straight.

Incoming. (dogs yelping)

Incoming.

Whoa, whoa, easy.

Stay.

JESSIE: Four, fifteen.
MAN: Okay.

JESSIE: How many people
leave here already?

JESSIE: Okay, cool.

JESSIE: No, I need to get one.
MAN: I didn't think so.

JESSIE: Yup, thanks.

I appreciate you reminding me.

MAN: Yup.

JESSIE: One of our mandatory
pieces of equipment

is our vet book,

and that's how the vets keep
track of what's going on

with each dog
at each checkpoint.

You know, the only dog I got
any concern about is him,

he's really thin, you know, but.

VET: Yeah, how's the appetite?

JESSIE:
Oh, he's eating good now.

VET: Yeah.

JESSIE: He was fired up
coming in here.

VET: Okay.

JESSIE: Everybody's eating good.
VET: Okay.

JESSIE: This is really a dog
management event, you know?

It's, and I love how
it's set up,

and how the vets are
just there on the dogs.

Everything's just gonna be
for the best of the dogs.

VET: Alright. Good luck.

JESSIE: Thank you very much.

Good boys.

I just want to get moving down
towards the trail.

Trying to get out
of the checkpoint,

because I gotta keep moving.

Haw!

Slow, slow.

Gee.

Oh.

Crap.

JESSIE: Slow, slow.

Gee.

Oh!

Crap.

Gee, gee, gee, gee, gee!

Gee, damn it!

Sorry.

JESSIE: I'm leaving.

Coming out of McGrath
was a little bit of a mess.

Coming around the corner
full speed,

and the dogs ended up running

right into a bunch
of other teams,

and it was a pretty tight spot
and position.

Can we get a few hands?

MAN: Yeah.

JESSIE: Here, let's just
kind of come back.

We're gonna have
to get back over.

It's a very difficult race
for a rookie.

There's a lot of nerves
that go in this.

Oh, man.

JESSIE: Easy.

MAN: Hey, can I get somebody
in between my dogs

and this dog team
coming through?

JESSIE: Yeah, let's get
as many hands on this as we can.

So, we all worked together

and snuck me through
all these dog teams.

Easy.

You know, that could've
been real bad,

end up with a dog fight,

could've ran over
somebody's dog, you know?

I make friends, not enemies.

Thank you.

Sorry about that.

I lost some time there.

Being a rookie that wants to
come back here continually

every year and get better,

I've got to do things right.

Oh, easy.

Stay.

Unfortunately, a lot of booties
come off on this run,

because there's a lot
of deep snow pulling them off.

(barking)
Hey, Roomba, it's okay.

I was in the top five for
a while, and I backed off,

and the race has
kind of left me behind.

So, this is my last attempt
to get position

before the 24-hour rest
that I'm gonna get.

If I pull this off,
it'll make me a real good chance

of getting in the top 20
and making a paycheck.

And the competition's fierce.

Alright, straight!

Got to do whatever I can
to try to position myself

for this 24-hour rest.

Got to do whatever I can
to trStraight ahead.yself

SUE: I don't want to be
taken care of by society.

I want to be a shepherd,
not a sheep.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

What I want to do now...

is this building.

It's not like here
on this building,

where I've got a ridge pole.

This is a whole flat area.

I want to make a rope harness

that's just gonna go around
my waist and legs,

and I can attach
a little carabiner to it,

and then I'm gonna tie
a rope around here,

and the knot on the end,
clip it together.

And if I--whoa!--
slide and fall backwards,

I'm not gonna slide
off the building.

Poomf! It's gonna stop me.

So, it's a safety measure.

See how I do on this one.

♪ ♪

Okay, this is where
it's gonna be

a little unavoidable
getting wet.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

If I can get enough weight
off of this,

then I can, should be able
to put my body weight on it.

Okay.

♪ ♪

Alright.

Since I first looked at the job

and made the decision
I needed to do it,

I felt pressure to get it done.

I've got bush flights all
arranged to get back into Kavik.

I got to get this done
and get on the road.

Woo!

My leash is holding me.

It's what it's supposed to do.

Okay.

It is a bit of peace of mind
having my carabiner belt on.

♪ ♪

(grunts)

I'm gonna call this one.

Done.

I've got another roof to do,

and then I got to get on
with my life.

I got people waiting
to show up at Kavik.

I got fuel to get in.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

JESSIE: I refuse to be hung up

on being competitive
in the race,

but I also refuse to give up.

♪ ♪

Ho!

WOMAN: Jessie?
JESSIE: Yup, Jessie.

WOMAN: Jessie,
are you staying or going?

JESSIE: Staying.

WOMAN: That's a good choice.
Gonna stay.

JESSIE: Keep them looking fresh.

WOMAN: For your 24?

JESSIE: Uh, no. I'm 24 at Ophir.

WOMAN: Okay, so they're staying,
but not 24-ing.

(dogs yelping)

This is the building.

That's judges, food,
all that kind of stuff.

JESSIE: Cool.
Oh, man, I'm so excited.

WOMAN: You should be!

JESSIE: Alright, boys.

You ready?

Let's go, boys. Straight up.

Easy.

I'm here in Takotna.

It's about 330 miles in,
so past the 300-mile mark.

NARRATOR: After three days
on the Iditarod trail,

and one third of the race
completed,

Jessie has arrived
at the Takotna checkpoint.

JESSIE: Hey, boys.

NARRATOR: Jessie's dogs
are performing well,

and with 646 miles to go
before the finish line in Nome,

taking a short rest now is
critical for their health.

JESSIE: Oh, you did it.

Yeah, let's have a nap, huh?

This race is all about dog care
and maintaining your dog team.

Truthfully, I ran a little
too hot in the beginning,

so I had to fall back
and do some extra resting.

Good boy.

You're doing good.

I have a lot of competitive
aspirations,

because I know how good
this team is.

But the number one priority
is to take care of my dogs.

I think I might be
in the top 10 teams,

but that's just a number.

It's a long way to Nome.

I'm not trying to get
caught up on numbers.

Trying to get caught up on
these guys and what they need.

(barking)

All those days riding the brake,
with no sleep,

got me pretty sore.

Three days into the race

and I've got, I think,
about three hours of sleep.

I'm gonna lay down for 30
minutes while this stuff dries.

I'm resting more than the people
I'm trying to beat.

Hoping to have more power
and speed in the end.

It's a long, long ways still.

(barking)

Alright, come alive, Zeus!
Straight!

Straight, Kors.

Easy.

When I was in Takotna,
I wanted to stay there,

because all the comforts,

but the thing is,
is the storm's coming.

All those teams are gonna
come off their 24

pretty early tomorrow,
breaking the trail through that.

That would put me
in a good position.

Killing it, boys, killing it.

Let's do this!

RICKO: I got to be able
to live off the land,

and I got to be able
to work with the land,

because the land die, you die.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Get out there today and
check that snaring fence.

I got out there yesterday
with the .22

and I didn't see
no rabbit or ptarmigan.

Saw a lot of tracks,
so I put in a snaring fence.

Today, I'm gonna go out there

and hopefully have
something in there.

It would be really good
to get some fresh meat.

Small game is essential
to survival.

My people depended on it
to get through the days,

hunting for the bigger game.

That's not something
I want to let go.

When I see opportunity
like this out my window,

I want to try to come away
with some fresh meat.

Kept my people alive
for thousands of years.

It's not something
I want to just let go.

I need to practice
that same thing.

Don't look like much action
around here.

Don't see no tracks coming up.

I'm feeling
a little disappointed.

I worked hard yesterday,

but I feel like the fence
is real good.

If ptarmigan came around
and ate off of it,

and I didn't catch anything,
I'd be questioning my method.

But nothing came around,
so I can't question it.

I'm just gonna leave it be,
the way it is,

and hopefully tomorrow things
will change in this area.

For now, I'm gonna head
a little further out,

look around with my .22,

if I don't see anything,
I'll just put up another fence.

Try to increase my odds.

So, a little disappointing,
but I can't give up.

I just got to work harder.

♪ ♪

Oh, some fresh
spruce chicken tracks.

If there was,
if this was yesterday,

they'd be firmed up,
but they're not.

They're soft in the snow.

So, they were here today,
moving in this direction.

Real good-tasting birds.

They travel in big flocks,

so you can definitely see more
landed here and they're walking.

I'm just gonna follow them
a little ways

and hopefully get some luck

and come out with
some of these birds.

They're real good eating.

Oh, right there is one.

(gunshot)

(gunshot)

RICKO: I got one,
but there's another one.

Try to get some more.

They're all sitting around here.

(gunshot)

About right there.

(gunshot)

Got another one.

♪ ♪

Nice spruce chicken.

Nice little bird.

Nice little spruce hen.

There's another one in a tree.

I can see him from here,
but I gotta get closer,

because if I try
to shoot from here,

I'll end up just
scaring him away

and probably wasting my bullet.

I think I have like
a handful left.

I got to try to make
every shot count.

Okay.

(gunshot)

Oh, I think I got him.

I got one shell left.

I might've got him,
but I don't know.

♪ ♪

Okay. I got a pretty good
clear view of him right here.

Try to get a shot in.

There's some willows
in the way though, so.

(gunshot)

Okay, so I got him.

I shot him.

Last bullet.

He's stuck like ten feet
up in the tree.

I got to use my axe,
try to knock him out of there,

and I'm done for the day.

It's been very good hunt today.

Oh, there we go.

Phew.

Nice. Nice spruce chicken.

I didn't have much luck
with my ptarmigan fence,

ended up walking out here.

Turned out to be a perfect day
for hunting spruce chicken.

Very happy to have
some fresh meat.

I'm gonna head home
and start cooking.

JESSIE: I just want to
soak it up and enjoy it.

I'm sure there's no Iditarod
like your first Iditarod.

♪ ♪

Haw.

Straight.

Get 'em, boys. Gee!

I can respect everybody
that does this

because I know how much
hard work goes into it.

So I tend to say hello
to everybody, you know, and...

Gee!

Gee, gee.

What's your name?

But I mean, I want to beat
them all, too, you know?

Boys, let's go.

People have no idea what
dedication and heart and drive

it takes to prepare a dog team
for a thousand miles.

We live on the trail all winter
long to prepare for this.

♪ ♪

I mean, I'm well-prepared
for this.

I've been preparing for so long,
but it's still,

there's things I see that
I can do so much better.

Don't get caught up in racing
in the beginning.

It doesn't matter
what position you're in.

It matters more about resting
your dogs right off.

♪ ♪

Easy.

Easy.

I'm here in Ophir,
it's about 350 miles in.

We're supposed to take
a 24-hour mandatory break

at any checkpoint along the way,

and this is where
I picked to take mine.

It's a nice, quiet place.

Right on. I think
we made it pretty fast.

We made it in
two and a half hours, about.

Here, I'll just be focusing on

getting a lot more meals
into the dogs, some massage,

keeping them limber,

and get as much rest
as I can myself.

Because the next section
of the race

is a really, really
long section.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

It's 12:54.

I got to be out of here at 1:31,

so I've got 37 minutes
to get booted up and go.

I'm resting up here.

I feel more rested than I did
the whole week before the race.

It's good, I'm gonna need that
energy, it's a long way to go.

Be out to Nome, and I'm a little
bit off the competitive pace,

but I'm right in there
in the top 30,

and I think I can move up.

(barking)

I think we're past
the emotional up and down part

of "Oh, my God, it's so long.
Will we ever make it?"

And we're just at the point
where we're committed.

Alright.

Steady. Easy.

I'm gonna be hopefully
making a lot of big moves

in the last two thirds
of the race,

and sleep is not
gonna be something

I'm gonna be getting
a lot of out there.

Easy, boys.

Looking forward to seeing what's
down the trail awaiting me next.

CHIP:
We're 21st century hunters.

Even though it's a modern age,
the animals haven't changed.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Well, I got up today,

and it looked like a good day
to go rabbit hunting.

So I asked the ladies while I
was getting ready to take off,

"Hey, you want to go
rabbit hunting, too?"

And sure enough, they wanted to.

CAROL: There's one
right behind it.

They were heading
into the willows.

No, I got it.

TINMIAQ: They're right there.
Right there.

(gunshot)

CAROL: I got the one I shot at.

TINMIAQ: One rabbit down.

Right on, the first rabbit
of the day.

I'll put it in the bag
and let's keep on going.

(bleep)

AGNES: Look!

CHIP: Did you see it?

Oh, I see it. I see it.

AGNES: Yeah.

(gunshot)

CHIP: Yeah, he's done.

He's going down.

I like to eat rabbit.

I'm not crazy for rabbit.

I love rabbit
when it's occasional.

There's lots here.

AGNES: There's just
so many rabbits.

They're just way deep
in the snow.

CAROL: Tinmiaq!

TINMIAQ: Should I shoot it?

CAROL: Shoot it.

(gunshot)

They're hiding.

(gunshot)

TINMIAQ: Ooh, I got it.

Yeah!

(gunshot)

Oh ho ho!

Okay, here, let me grab mine
and then we'll grab yours.

CAROL: I shot it right in the
head, right on the neck, I mean.

TINMIAQ: Ready?

CAROL: Real stuck.

CAROL: Real stuck.

Lift the back up with me
real quick.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

TINMIAQ: Okay, good enough
that I can pull the ski next.

Good.

You drive.

Ready?

CAROL: Bye!

(laughs) I'm joking!

TINMIAQ: Wait for me!

CAROL: Oh, we got stuck.

That was kind of fun,
it warmed me up

right when I was getting cold.

♪ ♪

AGNES: Lots of them there.
(laughs)

(gunshot)

CHIP: Got him.

Not really
a divide and conquer day.

We could have conquered it
all over, you know, time.

But what it was is a family day.

TINMIAQ: Go shoot him,
go shoot him.

(gunshot)

(gunshot)

CHIP: Oh, yeah, I got him!

AGNES: Bag is just about full.

CHIP: Yeah, I bet
the girls' bag is full, too.

AGNES: Yup.

CHIP: We'll go catch them up.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Yeah.

TINMIAQ: Fun day today!

CHIP: Yup.

AGNES: Good one.

CAROL: I had a lot of fun today.

I actually had
the funnest day here yet.

AGNES: Seven.

CAROL: Another one
bites the dust.

AGNES: Eight.

CHIP: Now that's 21.

AGNES: Wow, you girls
got eight rabbits.

Me and your dad got 13.

Good job.

CHIP: Yup.

TINMIAQ: Fun day.

AGNES: My buns can bunny hunt.

CHIP: Well, let's go have
something hot to drink

and go clean our guns.

AGNES: Right on,
lots of rabbits.

We had a real awesome day.

CAROL: Now we could
probably eat some, huh?

AGNES: Yeah.

CHIP: Yup, we'll deal
with the rabbits

and have ourselves a meal later.

AGNES: Yup. That was fun.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

SUE: I'm all about being
more efficient, not less.

There's never a problem,
there's only solutions.

Alright.

Time to get rocking and rolling
on this roof.

My extension ladder is
not gonna get me solidly,

safely up that center,
center area.

I'm gonna have to come at it
from the side.

For me to do that safely,

I'm gonna have to, boom, get
a rope all the way over here,

tie it to this side, loop it,

and get it attached to myself
on the carabiner,

and then be able to work
and pull myself.

NARRATOR: With Sue's
flight home to Kavik

pag tomorrow,

her window to finish the snow
removal is rapidly closing.

If she doesn't
complete the task,

her buildings could collapse

while she's away
from the property.

SUE: I think I can fling
this shovel pretty darn hard

and pretty darn far.

It's kind of as harebrained as
the using a ladder for a shovel,

but it worked.

♪ ♪

If I can't get this over there
and get a safety line,

it's game over.

I am not gonna be able
to do the roof.

♪ ♪

(bleep) hell!

My gloves are getting so bad now
I can't hold on (bleep).

♪ ♪

That one went sailing.

That step is complete.

So now I just got
to go secure it.

So this is already
attached to the tree.

This tree here is the main
anchor for my whole line.

And then I can hang on to it,
and then carabine this one on.

It gives me safety options, it
gives me options for climbing.

Back over, secure myself up,
get to shoveling.

Whoa!

Okay.

Set the knot, boom!

Ugh.

See how well this snow moves.

Sure, I'm tired.
There's no two ways about it.

This is a lot of snow
to be moving

in a very short period of time.

But I'm the, you know,
tick-tock, tick-tock,

I'm running up against the zone
of comfort on getting this done,

turning everything off,
locking it all up,

and making my bush flight
to Kavik.

Ugh.

Put a fork in me,
I'm done for the night.

Really cold.

I'd say probably more than
just a tad hypothermic.

I got the majority of this side
of the roof done.

Then I will go warm up, dry off,

and make a plan for getting
the other half done.

RICKO: When you do things right,
and you treat the land right,

you treat the animals right,

the land and animals,
they bless you.

That animal is giving its life
for you to continue life.

♪ ♪

There's some real good
eating birds here.

I'm about done plucking,

I'll gut him, chop him up,
and fry him up.

So, I'm gonna be
eating good tonight.

Spruce chicken is
good eating food,

nice, thick breasts here,
got the legs, the wings.

It's basically just
a wild chicken.

Out here when you're eating,

you know exactly what
your animal's been eating.

This is real organic food.

I want to cook it kind of fast,
keep the juices inside.

Feels good to be able
to cook something

that I got right out here.

This is the good life
right here.

Time to eat.

♪ ♪

So good!

I had to put in
some work out here.

Got on my snowshoes,
I had my .22,

and lucked out
with some small game.

I'm eating good now.

That's the best part of living
out here, working with nature,

and letting nature
provide for you.

There's no better feeling.

JESSIE: You know, I'm a rookie,
so I can't really lose,

because I'm gonna come
out of this year

knowing what to do next year.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Whoa!

I have a mandatory
eight-hour layover here,

which is a luxury
at this point in the race

where the real racing has begun,

and been getting like 30 minutes
of sleep here and there

if I could.

I went a couple days straight
without sleep

to try to get myself
in a better position, so.

I'm looking forward
to taking care of the dogs here

and taking care of my feet.

NARRATOR: Jessie's dog team
has arrived

at the White Mountain
checkpoint.

With the finish line
drawing closer,

Jessie's team must
power through

the physical
and mental obstacles

that remain in their way.

JESSIE: It's been a tough trail.

It's been one thing
after another.

There's been multiple storms,

lots of trail breaking,
lots of drifted snow.

So it is nice to only have
77 miles left to go.

I mean, I really just modestly
wanted to finish strong

with a good team, you know,
and in the top 20.

I mean, I ain't finished yet,
so I can't say nothing.

Well, I think being a runner has
definitely helped me out here,

because I've done
a lot of running

and a lot of not sleeping,

and I'm not feeling
too bad for that.

I'm pretty sore, though.

I'm not gonna lie,
I'm pretty beat.

Physically, my legs
hurt like hell.

Mentally, I had
a few low points.

I was thinking I'd never make it
a couple times, to be honest.

But I think that happens,
you know, around mile 200.

A thousand-mile race
is a daunting task.

Just to finish this race alone
is gonna be

the biggest challenge
I've ever met in my life.

One more run, baby.

One more run.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

This is it, guys!

One last run!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

Yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, yeah, yeah, boys!

Oh, Roombas!

Alright, get ready!

Get ready, yeah!

JESSIE: Oh, good, alright.

JESSIE: Alright!
Hike, hike! Straight!

Good!

Gonna take as much risk
as I can to go for it.

Get there as fast as I can.

Try to save some in the tank

to go from Safety to Nome
faster than anybody.

Straight!

Alright.

This is it, dream come true.

Heading to Nome.

(dog howls)

JESSIE: Alright, guys, straight!

Just keep moving
down the trail, boys!

Good dogs.

Good.

I built my team,
I built them strong for the end.

Not how hard you can push
or how tough you can be,

but how focused you can remain.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

I give you a signature, right?

WOMAN: I need your vet book.

JESSIE: What, right here?
WOMAN: Right here.

JESSIE: Okay.

Holy crap, only 23 more miles.

WOMAN: Woo-hoo!

JESSIE: See you soon.

Alright, guys, straight, gee!

This is it.

Final trip to Nome.

♪ ♪

SUE: I live by my wits, and
sometimes those are lacking.

But I rise to the challenge
every day.

It's a challenge
that keeps me going.

♪ ♪

Alright.

Time for the last run.

Got the other half to get done.

And then tick-tock, tick-tock,
plane's gonna take off.

Now, I've got very little time
to try and get my butt in gear

and catch my bush plane.

I'm gonna start on this corner
and go work my way back.

I need to work hard
or pay somebody else.

I just got to lock and run.

I've got to meet my plane
going to Kavik.

This time of year, there's
just not that many planes

that have full-time skis on,
willing to go up there.

Susie's gonna be there on time.

This job for me is done.

Well, roof, glad I got you done.

Good job, Susie.

I'm leaving, but
I'm going to be back.

This is the future,
future Sue casa.

I've had a great time here.

And I've done a lot of things:
made my own bed,

checked out the area,
made squirrel dinner outside.

I pushed the limits of my body
trying to get all this snow.

I did it and
I'm proud of myself,

but as much as
I'd like to reminisce,

I got to, I got to get
my butt on the road.

Time is a-tickin'.

Exactly what I arrived with,
one briefcase, one green case,

one monkey hat,
and my brown pants.

Boom!

It has been fun.

Sorry, y'all, gotta run.

JESSIE: It's not about the money
or the placement,

it's just about you
and the dogs.

♪ ♪

Good dogs!

For me, the feeling of the race
was just gigantic.

From the very moment,
it was a dream of mine

that I've been dreaming
about for 12 years.

And back then, it didn't
even seem possible,

and now here I am,

and I've had a lot
of emotional battles out there.

It wasn't always easy.

I went through some pretty hard
days on the trail

where I just didn't think
things were working

and they weren't going good,

and I just, you know, went back
to the base of what I know,

to stay positive, stay focused
on each run ahead of me,

each hour, one mile at a time.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

ANNOUNCER:
Headed towards the chute,

Jessie Holmes, 36,
was born and raised in Alabama.

He left Alabama 17 years ago
looking for an adventure.

He came to Alaska 13 years ago
to become a mountain man,

and is now a subsistence
resident of Nenana.

He started mushing in 2004

and became interested
in running Iditarod

after winning the Kobuk 440.

(applause)

Folks, Jessie Holmes,
rookie of the year!

(cheering)

JESSIE: I'm here
in 10 days flat, basically.

12 hours off tin pace,
which isn't a whole lot,

seeing as I made 24 hours'
worth of mistakes out there.

Boys!

ERIC: Yeah. Jessie.
JESSIE: Yeah?

ERIC: I got some steaks
over here in the cooler.

JESSIE: Nice. Oh, boy.

ANNOUNCER: It looks like fresh
steaks for some very happy dogs.

JESSIE: It's something
to really be proud of

to come in seventh place in
this race in a field like this

of you know, very experienced
veteran mushers.

I passed 23 teams
in the last three days.

I was in solid 30th place,

and all of a sudden
the dogs just turned it on.

ANNOUNCER: Ladies and gentlemen,
your rookie of the year,

with the time of 10 days,
39 minutes, and 40 seconds,

with 10 dogs, Jessie Holmes!
Congratulations!

JESSIE: I'll be back next year
to try to improve.

I won the rookie
of the year award,

which was given to
the highest-placing rookie,

and 10 years ago,
you could've never imagined

that I'd be, you know,
sitting in this position.

You know, I took good care
of the dogs,

and they took good care of me,

and we all finished
this race together.

Isn't that right, Roomba?

I feel like a totally
different person now.

I feel more confident
and I feel more secure.

I feel like part animal
right now.

♪ ♪

Captioned by
Side Door Media Services