All language subtitles for Life.Below.Zero.S15E01.Bare.Bones.720p.WEB-HD.x264-Pahe.ph

[dramatic uneasy music]

There's someone checking
a fish net right here.

The king salmon are running,

so everybody's out trying to
get their food for the winter.

Me, Skyler, and Skarlett, we're
taking a 700-mile boat ride

from the Yukon River
Bridge to the family cabin.

It's a journey we
start on the Yukon,

we get onto the Koyukuk
River, then the Huslia River.

So, passing a lot of villages

and using a lot of
different waterways

to get to the family cabin.

We had a real cold winter.

It was -50, -60 below weather.

And now it's summer, and all
the snow, all the ice is gone,

and the only way we can
get around is by boat.

The rivers are our highways.

There's a lot of dangers
when we travel this river.

If I was to hit like a sandbar,
a gravel bar on the side,

it could wreck your boat, it
could turn your boat over.

See, like that thing
floating over there?

That's what you got
to watch out for

when you're travelling.

Did you see it?

[Skyler] Yeah.

There's big sticks in the water
that's sometimes floating.

You got to watch for those,
and also looking for snags

that are stuck to the bottom
and coming up to the surface.

They'll wipe your whole family
out if you hit one of those.

Even the most experienced

get killed out here
on these rivers.

[uneasy music]

[boat rattling]

[eerie music]

What happened?

Was coming around the corner
and we hit that gravel bar.

We hit pretty hard, it
shut the motor right off.

Let me check out this prop.

Oh, man. Look at that prop.

This is all mangled.

I got one more spare prop.

If I hit again,
I'm out of props,

but I just got to be more aware.

I'm travelling and
it's getting like,

it gets kind of monotonous
after a while, doing this.

And if I'm not paying attention

and trying to take
shortcuts too.

A shortcut is not always a
shortcut, as you can see.

We got to go over to the
beach and switch out the prop.

It's a very dangerous river.

Easy to become complacent
travelling this river.

It's either trying to lull
you to sleep on the Yukon,

or it's trying to
take your life.

Man, this is chopped up.

Look at that, Sky.

[Skyler] I wanna
see. I wanna see.

I'm getting closer.

[Skarlett] What happened?

[Ricko] Busted the prop.

Okay, let's drop the new one on.

This is crazy.

Okay. Looks good, I
don't see it wobbling.

The only thing left
to do is try it out

and see what happens.

You guys ready to go again?

Okay, let's go.
Let's try it out.

The moment of truth.

Feels good, feels smooth.

Oh, yeah.

Back on step again.

Oh, yeah, we're good.

Just got to stay
off the gravel bars,

that's what I got to do.

Change is common here.

Every year, you don't
know what you're gonna get

until you wake up and find out.

[sombre airy music]

There's that north wind again.

I would say that it's
been a brisk summer.

But it's been downright cold.

Welcome back to Kavik.

This is summertime here.

Everybody's being
affected by things

that are happening on the globe.

My business is as well.

[Narrator] After spending
time at her property in Chena,

Sue Aikens has returned
to Kavik for the summer.

With no clients in camp due
to pandemic regulations,

Sue will use her time to
know her survival needs.

Without a meat-supply,
her first task

is to check on her food
stores from the garden.

Done, done, done.

Even though it's
24-hour daylight,

in those wee hours I'm
going into the 20s and 30s.

I'm not allowing enough
time for anything

to grow successfully.

So I'm kind of concerned
about my own food source.

These aren't surviving.

The tundra is a larger
garden than this is.

The tundra's had more experience

succeeding in this
environment than I have.

So I wanna get my
supplies together

and get my butt out there

and see what I can get
that nature provides.

The clock is ticking, and
I'm worried about winter.

Winter is coming, winter is
coming, winter is coming.

I don't have clients right now.

That means no revenue.

What can I do on my own,
using my own resources,

and fill my freaking freezer?

Forage, hunt, go out, and
check out what's in the field.

Let's call this a
big shopping trip.

I wanna get my fishing gear.

I wanna get my hunting gear.

The goal is not to
get tonight's supper,

the goal is to get
the winter food.

Let's go.

[Andy] I busted my
butt for 20 years

to live a sustainable lifestyle.

It's paying off now because
the quality of my life

hasn't changed and
everybody else's has.

Ready to go for a
boat ride, Tope?

Just in time for the rain.

Denise and I are
gonna make an attempt

to go get some firewood today.

We had a really hard winter.

A lot of wind and a lot of
snow, made it almost impossible

to collect the firewood

that we needed for
this coming winter.

Maybe all this rain will
bring some high water.

And then if that happens then
we can work on loading boats.

Let's just see what happens.

I'm 63-years-old and we work
our asses off around here

and so everything
we do around here,

we're trying to minimise
the amount of work.

And so I'm gonna build
another porch out

that connects up
with the back porch.

And that's what all the
wood's gonna be stacked on.

Having it on the same
level as where the stove

and the floor is, is gonna take
a tremendous amount of work

out of keeping ourselves
warm this winter.

[Narrator] For Andy
Bassich and Denise Becker,

the endless days of summer
are used to gather resources,

improve their lifestyle, and
prepare for the seasons ahead.

They will build
storage at their cabin

for easier access to firewood
during the brutal winters.

But first, they must contend

with the unpredictable
Yukon River

and retrieve a cache
of harvested trees.

[dramatic music]

Where this wood is located

is in a back slough
of an island.

And when the water is high,

I have access to be able to
go through the back sloughs

and get to the islands.

Once the water level
drops on the Yukon River,

it's too shallow to
get into those sloughs.

Especially with a very
heavily-loaded boat.

Get, get the bow over before
we get pushed downriver,

because that looks really
shallow right over there.

[Denise] Okay.

[Andy] I don't think we're
gonna get it to shore.

I don't, I don't wanna
get us stuck up here.

I'm just gonna tie
us off with a rope.

Yeah. The water levels
are changing fast.

We need to get in, see
what we need to do,

get on with it, and
get out while we can

with the level of the river.

Oh, and there's all the wood.

Just waiting for us.

We could start stacking
at the top of the hill.

And after the
water does come up,

at least we can get another
quart into the house,

and that'll kind of get
us by until winter, maybe.

I would like to be
able to carry the logs

through the water into the boat.

There's no way we can do that

because the bottom of the
river is silty, sandy,

and it's sucking mud.

[Andy] You ready?

[Denise] Yeah.

A lot of living out here

is just lifting,
carrying, moving.

It works.

One down, 432 left.

Good.

I'm really fortunate:
Denise is probably one

of the most highly motivated
people I've ever met.

She drives herself
really hard all the time,

and pushes herself.

So, having a partner
like that has really,

really changed the
equation for me.

Having someone that I
can really count on to,

to really kick in and help,

and get a lot of the
physical work done.

Last one. All right.

That's a pile.

[Denise] We have all our
wood piled up, ready to go.

If we get the slightest
opportunity of higher water,

we will just get down
there and get to Calico.

At least we got
something done today.

I mean, it wasn't
kind of what I thought

as far as loading boats
and bringing wood back.

But for us to try and get this
wood into boats way out there

and get upriver isn't
worth the effort.

But I think if the
water comes up.

[Denise] We're ready to go.

Yeah. So.

Just need water.

[Chip] I just know where to be,

and when to be, and what to do.

[uneasy music]

Let's put together a, a reel
and a rod and we'll go fishing.

[Wade] I'm gonna fish with mine.

We should probably
just take one.

Leave that one
behind for the girls.

The girls will put
that one to use

when they come around to it.

Right now at camp there's me,
Carol, and Qutan, and Wade.

And we're babysitting Wade
for his mom, Itty-Bitty,

because she's having a baby
and she's waiting in Kotzebue.

My wife's in Noorvik,
Tinmiaq's in Noorvik,

and Mary's in Noorvik.

Because of COVID, the town's
on a lockdown right now.

And they're requesting
everybody to stay home.

This place ain't got no people,

so this is the best place to be.

This is the best quarantine.

All right now, follow
me. Let's go fishing.

This is the best
way to babysit ever.

There's lots of fish going by.

See all the, the tails and the
backs going by of the salmon?

[Wade] Yeah.

They're going upstream,
they're gonna lay eggs,

they're gonna spawn.

And they're gonna have babies.

Right now, in the
Kiwalik River here,

we've got chum going by, and
we've got pinks going by.

And pinks will take
a hook right now.

So, I think it'd be a lot of fun

to go show Wade
Kelly how to cast.

Oh, there's fish over
there, right there.

I see fish right there jump.

[Chip] It's just fish
just jumping all over.

Yeah, there's lots.

Sure beats watching a movie,
or playing on a computer,

or I don't know what
people do anymore.

But I go fishing.

Crazy fishes there. Oh!

[Chip] Yeah. They're really
jumping out of the water, huh?

Yeah. It spin like this.

[Chip] Yeah. They're
flying fish almost.

[Wade] Look, I
show how to do it.

I don't want to take long time.

[Chip] Sometimes it
does take a long time.

That's just part of fishing.

You have to be patient.
You got to be persistent.

[Wade] I know.

It's the suspense of fishing.

Oh, got one on, grandson.

Oh, yeah, come on
boy. Come here.

Come here, stand up, stand
up. I got one hooked.

Carefully stand up.

Okay, you remember
how to do this?

[Wade] Yeah.

[Chip] Okay, grab up here.
You're going the wrong way.

There you go. Okay,
keep, keep going.

He still kind of got
some fight in him.

Oh. Shucks, it came out of
his mouth and it hit me!

[Chip laughing]

[Wade] Yeah.

[Chip] Here. Let's try and
hook another one up, huh?

[Wade] Yeah.

[Chip laughing]

Shucks!

A great thing about
fishing is it's fun.

I'll just keep casting,
it's like gambling.

You're like I got to
try one more time.

Because you know what,

there's that chance you can
get a fish that next chance.

You know what's a good
thing? There's more fish.

So, we just keep fishing.

This is kind of fun.

[Wade] Yeah.

[Andy] In the world
most people live in,

money is security.

If you wanna be a
millionaire out here,

you better have lots of skills.

[tense music]

[Denise] Okay, let's do this.

Let's see what we can do

for getting some
wood back in anyway.

One of the big issues
that we're having

with getting wood
off of our island

is that it's completely
water-level dependent.

We had quite a bit of
rain in the last day.

I noticed the water
level came up,

so I'm kind of cobbling
together a little contraption

with my go-devil boat, which is
a really shallow draught boat.

And then I'm coupling that
with an army pontoon boat

that I use for freighting.

[boat engine rumbling]

Perfect.

[dramatic music]

This is kind of a
one-shot deal today.

The water's probably as
high as it's gonna be,

so we might as well just
try and do what we can.

And if we can't get enough in,

then we're gonna have to
scramble come fall time

and find another
place to get wood.

[Denise] The moment
of truth. Dead ahead.

Why don't you hop
out and grab the bow?

My biggest concern is that
the water's not deep enough

that we can get the boats close.

Because the last thing
I wanna do is carry wood

20 feet out into
a shallow slough

and then put it into a boat.

Looks like the shallows
I'm at right here

is only like knee deep.

[Denise] Yeah, I'm on the same.

It's a ridge right along here.

Yeah, so we're good.

I think we'll be able
to load that thing up.

[Denise] Let's get to it.

That's a pretty
rotten-looking wood,

hopefully it'll hold.

I brought some boards with me.

Some plywood to bank ramps,

because I didn't
want all of our wood

to get full of silt and dirt.

With Denise at the top
of the hill rolling

and pushing the
firewood down the hill,

me at the bottom
end receiving it.

[Denise] Looks square,
here we go. First one.

[Andy] Not very good.

[Denise] Andy, you have
to catch it. [chuckling]

This is like some kind
of Yukon River bowling.

Next one.

[Andy] Yeah.

[Denise] Okay, this
is a bigger one. Whoa!

[Andy] Good.

[Denise] What is involved
is moving those logs over,

getting them in position
to go down the slide.

And as, then at the bottom,

they've got to get up off of
the ground and into the boat.

[energetic music]

There's a lot of manpower
involved in that easy task.

Last one. Okay.

[Andy] Hit me with it.

[Denise] It's a heavy one!

Come on. Right between
the legs, right there.

I'm gonna give it my best shot.

[Andy] All right!

Yay!

[Denise] Yay!

[inspiring music]

You're good.

Today became a pretty
efficient operation.

Oftentimes out here,
you have plan A,

and then there's plan B,
and sometimes even plan C.

Today, plan A worked.

All right. The wood's
at the property anyway.

[Denise] I know.

I feel like I'm very
comfortable out here,

but I also wanna watch
out for complacency.

You become very comfortable
and you start ignoring danger.

-[wind swooshing]
-[uneasy music]

We're almost to the boneyard.

This is where all the
mammoth bones are at.

I know there's a lot of mammoth
tusks in this stuff here.

[Narrator] Ricko and his
children, Skyler and Skarlett,

are on a 700-mile journey
to their cabin in Huslia,

travelling southwest
on the Yukon River.

They have arrived at an
area known as The Boneyard,

a landmark in the
Alaskan interior.

Although the bones
cannot be taken,

it's a chance for the youngsters

to explore the region's past.

But they must use caution,
as the terrain can be deadly.

There's a place to
stop right here.

We'll hike up in there a little
bit and just check it out.

This place here doesn't
say "Boneyard" on the maps,

but this place is known
by elders, everybody.

It's basically a huge
landmark for us out here.

Get this boat tied
before we float away.

[Skyler] Oh, my gosh.
This is so crazy.

[Ricko] Because if our
boat floats away out here,

we're as good as mammoth.

We don't wanna go extinct

looking for things
that are extinct.

Okay. There's a
little canyon here.

[Skyler] Yeah. This is
what I wanted to check.

This is where we're
gonna find one.

Is this one? No.

There's a lot in here,
but they're hard to find.

They blend right in.

Oh, look at that,
above us on this side.

If that thing goes,
we'll be good as dust.

This is such a magical place
but I also wanna be careful

because it's dangerous,
there's a lot of hanging,

caving clay and dirt.

Okay, we're boldly going

where nobody's gone
before, right here.

Oh, damn. Look at up here.

Ooh. Oh, damn.

t's looking kind of
dangerous over here.

Okay. Let's go a little further.

If it gets too bad, we
got to turn around though.

See, look at that.
That's kind of dangerous.

Yeah. This thing can
all come down at once.

I mean, look above us.

[Skyler] I know.
Doesn't it look scary?

[rock rolling]

[Ricko] Did you hear that
one fall over there? Holy.

[Skyler] That hit hard.

[Ricko] Scary.

[Skyler] I'm very
scared right now.

[Ricko] Let's get out of
here. It's kind of dangerous.

Watch above you. Try to move
fast so it doesn't cave on us.

Oh, shoot. Come on.

[boulders rumbling]

Holy fuck.

[Skyler] Dang!

[Ricko] A big old
chunk came off.

[Skyler] That's where we were.

I know. Let's get out of here.

[Skyler] We're dead.

[Ricko] That shit scared
the crap out of me.

[Skyler] I'm freaked
out right now.

[Ricko] Let's move.
Let's just keep moving.

That thing really hit, huh?

[Skyler] Yeah.

[Ricko] You kids ran quick, huh?

I didn't even had to say it.

You guys are faster than me.

This place is a magical
place but dangerous ground.

We're being curious
and going back,

that's how you
get hurt out here.

But that was fun, huh?

Yeah.

As the saying goes,
curiosity kills the cat.

I got to get my
kids out of here.

Keep moving down the river,

we don't wanna end up like
the mammoths out here.

Woo. Let's get out of here.

[Sue] There's nobody that
tells me to punch a time clock.

So, I'm gonna take all the
cards and punch them all.

This is the natural
garden. Nature's bounty.

[Narrator] Sue Aikens is
without a meat supply.

And unusual summer temperatures

have thwarted her
ability to grow food.

She's journeyed into the tundra
in search of thriving plants

that can be harvested
this time of year.

But if she's unsuccessful,

she would be gravely unprepared
for the winter ahead.

This is has been a
very cold summer.

My garden was doing very well

and I went to 20 in
the middle of June.

Killed it.

I've only got a month,
maybe six weeks,

and I'm back to
freezing temperatures.

I don't have a fourth try.

This now, the tundra,

is where I've got to
look for my greens.

All right. I'm seeing a
little bit different colour.

I'm gonna stop and look, that
may be fireweed out there.

Doesn't look like the
biggest patch I've ever seen,

but I am a betting gal

and I'm betting you
that's fireweed out there.

If the fireweed is in bloom,
it's a 100% edible plant.

I can take the greens, put
them away for some vegetables.

I can take those flowers,
I can make jelly out of it.

I can eat them, dry
them, make tea out of it.

There's a lot I can do,
and it's healthy for me.

Right here is the plant that
I'm talking about. Fireweed.

I can chew 'em right
now, and they're good.

As one part of my food source
alters and becomes less,

I have to adapt, and change,

and collect something different.

Okay. That's something
we don't have here.

The grasshopper!
Don't you bite me.

Hope you don't bite.

If that little
grasshopper can make it,

this grasshopper can.

Has my weather changed?

Has my climate changed?

Have my plants
changed? Absolutely.

Mother Nature throws a
curve ball at the globe

and we all scrape.

So, this is me scraping.

I've got nice half
a bucket or more.

I don't wanna
deplete any one area.

So, I've got to keep going.

[uneasy music]

Do I have enough fireweed to
last me the entire winter? No.

But I've got quite a bit.

I can make several meals
out of what I've got now,

and I've got variety.

Caribou. There's caribou.

I've got a caribou that just
jumped out of the ditch.

And he's crossing the road.

He's crossing the road.

[tense music]

Okay.

And he's definitely a bull.

Okay.

[gun shoots]

He's done.

I have zero meat in the freezer.

And in one day,
I've got vegetables,

and now look at this.

There he is. Fuck yeah.

Thank you, buddy. Thank you.

Man. Thank you for your gift.

You're a beautiful animal.
Lots of beautiful meat.

I will not let it go
to waste, my friend.

Very emotional. I have
zero meat in my freezer.

Totally unexpected, absolutely
159 million percent.

Was not expecting it.

It makes me emotional to think
about the gift I just got.

It was unexpected.

Here's his little heart rock
to tell you thank you, buddy.

Get the rest of
my stuff together,

and get him taken care of.

[rhythmic music]

This is one out of four
caribou I'm allowed.

And it's one of many steps

on the way to me being healthy
for the next 12 months.

I don't know that
I'm gonna get four

just because I'm
entitled to them.

I'm not entitled
to four animals.

I'm entitled to the opportunity
to get four animals.

Humans, like anything,
are opportunists.

Whether you've got two legs,
four legs, or flippers,

you're using the opportunities
in your environment.

It's a nice bit of meat.

One caribou isn't gonna
make an entire winter,

but it's a start.

What a day.

I'm just still in shock.

What a fine, fine day.

It takes a lot of
passed on knowledge

to get where I'm at today
and I think it's important

my kids learn all these
tricks of the trade.

[boat engine humming]

We're going to a cabin
similar to the one right here.

It's really important to
have these cabins out here

because if you're
tired, you're hungry,

you're hurt, or anything,

these cabins can really
save your life out here.

The importance of cabins
is even higher now

that there's Coronavirus.

When I was travelling, I broke
the prop on my boat motor.

That could be a
situation where I'm stuck

and broken down with
a busted lower unit,

and a lot of villages
are quarantined.

They don't want no
outsiders coming in,

no village-to-village travel.

So, having nice cabins out here

is more important
than ever before.

It's right over here.

If you look up here,
you'll see the cabin.

Did you see it?

[Skyler] Yeah.

[Ricko] It's so grown in now.
Let's check it out, though.

Just got to make sure
ain't no bears around here.

Try to look for any kind of
tracks, any kind of sign.

Oh, look at the cabin.

Aw, look at that porcupine.

It's eaten away at it.

[Skyler] Right now?

No. You see all those
holes all over around it?

Porcupine will ruin
your whole cabin.

Not only do bears destroy
cabins, the smaller critters do.

And looking at this
cabin right here,

I could see that there's a
porcupine just tearing into it.

Once they start
chewing on your cabin,

taking the insulation out,
and eating at the walls,

you can easily lose a
cabin in one summer.

I wanna fix up this cabin,

but I also wanna
get some firewood.

That smoke when you
put it in the air,

it clears the bugs out,

and it also lets the
bears in the area know.

Just makes it a lot safer.

[Skyler] Can I try the chainsaw?

You wanna do it right now?

Uh-huh.

Put some safety glasses on.

I'm not really good
at handling tools,

but I like using tools,
like, helping out.

I'm, like, kind of into that.

[saw humming]

See, look, put your finger here

or your thumb, your finger.

Dad.

You're good. Just hold it, huh?

This is a tiny chainsaw.

Yeah, it got power though.

You got to respect it. Okay.

Okay.

Don't saw your knee, your foot.

Put this out here,
yeah. Little more power.

Before you touch
it, hold it back.

This is really helping me.

Like, I'm learning a lot
here, like, in the woods.

I'm learning all
my survival skills.

I mean, I'm having
a lot of fun, too.

Yeah. You're a pro!

Good job. Flip that
up then turn it off.

Awesome. Good job.

Now I don't have to
cut wood no more.

It's all you.

Okay. I'm gonna cut some brush.

My turn to have fun
with the chainsaw.

There's a little quip about
insanity's hereditary,

you get it from your kids.

It's true.

I can tell you seven times
over, they drive me nuts.

[pensive music]

Too fast, you have it
on the top. Go slow.

There you go.

This slow?

Yup. Keep going.

[Narrator] In Kiwalik,
the summer salmon run

is in full swing.

And Chip is teaching
his grandson, Wade,

to fish with a rod and reel.

Capitalising on these
seasonal harvests

is a vital lesson for Chip
to impart to his grandson,

and to reinforce to his youngest
daughters, Qutan and Carol.

[line swooshes]

[Qutan] Oh, whoa!

You lose it?

[Qutan] No, it just went.

Too bad the water's so dark,

they're probably having a hard
time seeing our lures anyway,

unless we get it right
in front of their nose.

[Wade] I wanna do it by myself.

[Chip] Go ahead, grandson.

Wade wants to do everything.

He wants to shoot things.

He wants to gut things.

He wants to pluck things.

He wants to clean things.

He wants to hang things.

He wants to start fires.

He wants to cook.

He wants to wash dishes.

Anything we're doing.

[Carol] Go like this, you got
to go over this one, okay?

[Wade] Okay.

[Carol] One, two.

See? You did it.

Can you reel it in?

[Wade] I'll do it.

It's just really enjoying

when I watch Wade
learning new things.

Learning how to rod
and reel on his own,

actually wanting
to try on his own.

Throw hard. One, two.

[Chip] I got a hit.

Wade, I got one on
the hook. Look, Wade.

[Carol] Wade, look.
Dad will get a fish!

[Chip] Come on over here,
look! Let's land this guy.

Look at it. Oh, pink.

[Carol] Awesome. Oh,
I caught one also!

[Chip] You got one on?

Wow.

[Carol] Oh, it went away!

[Chip] Oh, I haven't
landed this one yet.

[Carol] It let go.

Oh, no. Look, I got it again!

[Chip] Oh, look,
I got mine landed!

Come on, Wade. Check it out.

Carol, you're still
fighting that one?

Keep it away from
the grass, bud.

That grass will mess you up.

[Wade] Ha! Another
one right there!

There you go. Oh, she got it!

My little sweetie pie
caught herself a fish.

[Wade] I want. I want.

[Carol] Okay. Go ahead.

Yeah. Whoa!

[Carol] Don't be
scared. Awesome.

[Chip] How you like that, Wade?

[Wade] I like it, very pink.

[Chip laughing]

[Chip] That, yeah,
that's pretty cool, huh?

[Wade] Yeah.

[playful music]

I caught another one!

[Chip] Oh, you got
another one on?

Yes, I do.

Here, Wade, you wanna catch it?

[Chip] Yeah. Come on, grandson.

Let him, let him reel it in.

[Carol] Here, reel it in.

[Wade] I wanna get the fish.

[Chip] Well, let him play out.

Let him play out
so he gets tired

and doesn't break your line.

[Wade] Is there a fish on it?

You don't have it
till it's landed.

-[fish splashing]
-Whoa!

Oh! Whoa!

Hold me.

[Chip] Go ahead. Let it run.

Let it get tired.

You're still reeling
him in, there you go.

[Wade] I see it.

[Chip] Okay. It's coming here?

Yeah. I think it's tired.

It's tired. I'm pulling him off.

Oh, look at that. That's
a nice little female peak.

That's a good job
you did there, Wade.

The pinks put up a wonderful
fight for their size.

And it's good for a little kid,

and those are pretty
lightweight tackle

that we're using there.

So, you know, he got
to really fight him.

Now there's three!

Yup!

Wade's loves fishing.
He sees the reward.

He's also knows that we're
killing animals for food.

We're doing it
quite a natural way.

[Qutan] Smell it,
Wade. Smells good.

[Chip] There you go. Yum.

This is really good. Here, Wade.

How do I look?

[Qutan chuckling]

[Qutan] You sure like fish?

You had fun today?

Do you like it?

[Wade] I like it well,
well done so much.

That came out of the river, huh?

You catch that on the,
on the fishing pole?

Think someday you'll
be cooking it?

Then you'll know how
to catch it, clean it,

cook it, and eat it.

Ew! No, bug doing here!

[Qutan] Where?

Right here. [laughing]

[Chip] I don't mind
babysitting you out here.

You can stay with me
all summer long, Wade.

This stuff is fun.

[Wade] Yeah.

[Chip laughing]

There's a lot of work to do

every single day around here.

Anything you can do to
minimise that work later on

is money in the bank.

[tense music]

This is eight foot by
eight-foot, right here.

Four-foot high is
two cords of wood.

So, hopefully we just have
to fill that up one time

and that'll be it for the
winter, if we're lucky.

We got the job done

getting some wood back
up to our homestead here.

And now we're gonna be adding
kind of a porch addition

onto the house
that's gonna house

all of our wood for the winter.

Instead of building a
woodshed away from the house

where we have to carry
all the wood to the house,

the idea is to build
a deck onto the house

for the wood so that it's
all at the same level.

All right. I'm gonna
go mill floor joist,

and we're gonna start
our clock right now.

We're gonna see
who finishes first,

me building the deck or
you bucking and splitting-

And splitting all that wood.

Okay, I'm winning this.

[Andy] We've got a stack of
wood for Denise to buck it up

and split it up.

It's time for me to
get the deck done

that we're gonna put it on.

[saws buzzing]

I'm kind of a hare.

And Denise is kind
of a tortoise.

You know, she's very methodical.

She's very focused
on what she does.

I tend to be kind of a
rabbit where I come in

and just go like crazy like a
buzz saw and work really fast.

[energetic music]

Two very different
styles of doing it.

That's why we find
a lot of times

it works really well for
us to just work alone

at our own pace, and
get the job done.

[hammer knocking]

Hey, Andy!

[Andy] Uh-oh!

Denise is the
winner. I'm a loser!

[Denise] There
something I can do here?

[Andy] We're about ready

to start stacking
wood now, I guess.

Well, it feels good to
get this project done.

[energetic music]

[Denise] Duh-duh-duh!

Well, that was a lot
more work than winter,

but it's a good start.

Now, all we gotta do
is just 14 more times.

Oh, that's cheery.

Can we just enjoy
this for a moment?

[Ricko] A man can do anything

with just food and
water and sleep.

That's all you need
to get by in life.

[saw buzzing]

What'd you see, Skar?

[Skyler] A dang porcupine.

It was under there?

[Skarlett] I think.

[Ricko] Skarlett said she
sees a porcupine under here.

Let me see. Where'd
you see it at?

[Skarlett] It's already gone.

We're in a cabin.

We saw some porcupine
bites on the house,

and my Dad was
saying that, like,

if the porcupine
keeps on doing that,

the whole cabin
will be destroyed.

[Ricko] Let's go walk around
this area and look for him.

So, we're gonna look
for that porcupine

and we're gonna capture it

and put it on the other
side of the river.

Spread out back
here. Spread out.

Great, Sky. Look over here,
spread out over that way.

Skarlett, just keep
going where you're going.

Look around.

He might be hiding behind,

like underneath a
tree or something.

He's gonna try and hide.

[Skyler] Oh, I see
it! It's right there!

I see it! He's hiding
under this tree!

It's so cute!

Don't touch him!
Don't touch him.

He might hit you with his tail.

Holy! That has a lot of quills.

Yeah, don't get
slapped by that thing.

Look at him. He's a little guy!

I'm gonna capture him and then
we'll bring him down river.

I don't wanna get
slapped with it, though.

Here, Sky.

Try to get him to
come towards me.

Poke him just a little bit.
Not, not too hard, though.

There you go. Keep
him going this way.

[Skyler] Come on.
Come on, buddy.

[Ricko] There you go.
Just keep poking him.

[Skyler] Whoa! It's tail!

[Ricko] He tried to slap at you?

[Skyler] Yup. Look at the stick.

[Ricko] Jeez.
Dangerous little dude.

[Skyler] He's slapping a bunch.

[Ricko] Oh, he's moving.

He's on the move. Hold on.

[Skarlett] Dad, he's
coming towards me.

[Ricko] Stay right
there. Just don't move.

When I pull this out,
he's gonna go in the thing

and I'm gonna tip him up.

Okay, hold on, hold
on. Just don't move.

Okay, get him in
there. Get him in.

Get the cover. Get the cover!

Cover it, Sky! Cover it.

Okay, we got 'em.

I'm keeping this stick.

Good job. Don't hit me
with those quills, though.

Okay. Let's put him in
the boat and relocate him.

We caught a porcupine
in the woods.

It was, was it fun, Skar?

Yeah.

Yeah, it was pretty
fun kidnapping it.

I wonder if there's any laws

against kidnapping porcupines.

We put it in a box.

We're gonna put it on
a different island,

so it doesn't chew
up this cabin.

[Ricko] I wonder
if this porcupine

ever been on a boat ride.

I'm gonna try to land right here

and then we'll carry
him up on the beach

and you guys could let him go.

You guys ready?

[Skarlett] Yeah.

There you go, little buddy.

Dump him out.

[Skyler] It's so cute!

Just stay calm. Let
him go, let him go.

He wants to go to
the willow line.

Run. Run to the forest.

Porcupine chase
was a lot of fun.

A lot more fun having the
kids with me out here,

because for the kids it's fun,

so that makes it
real fun for me.

Run away, little porcupine.

[Skyler] It's so little.

[Skarlett] And cute.

[Ricko] Okay. We got the
porcupine out of there.

And now we have to
fix up the house.

Yeah, let's put some
sheet iron on the cabin.

That way, next porcupine
that come along

can't just eat it up.

[uneasy music]

Okay. Just, just push
against it like that.

We got rid of the porcupine.

Now I wanna make sure any
other porcupine that come up

can't chew on the cabin
like this one was doing.

Don't drop it on your toes.

[Skyler] Oh, we're gonna
put it like right here?

Yeah. You can just
go all the way down.

[hammer knocking]

There you go. And
then at the bottom.

Oh, yeah. Pound
it all the way in.

There you go. You got it.

Hold it right there.

This is the best way for me
to bond with my children,

because they learn a
lot and it's hands-on.

And sometimes, I
think, in the city,

they can almost become,
like they don't need me.

They have everything at hand.

Do you think a porcupine
can climb up this metal?

[Skyler] Uh-uh.

[Ricko] No way.

When they're out here
in the environment,

they can sense the danger
and they're reliant on me

a hundred percent so they
kind of become sponges.

They soak in all the
knowledge real quick

when we're in an
environment like this,

travelling and that's
how they learn.

Get them out in the field.

You're gonna do
the last one, Skar.

And expose them to it.

And they learn the right
way to survive out here.

There you go.

I'm real proud of you guys.

We came in, we did our business,

when we leave, we
leave a better place.

But I'm tired.

[Skyler] Yeah, me, too.

[Ricko] Let's go get some rest.

No quills in the den.

We become the
hunter, the butcher,

the processor, the consumer.

You're all parts
of the spectrum.

[uneasy music]

For me to give myself the treat

means I take care of
him the right way.

So, here's the meat I harvested.

And here's some of the veg,

even some of the
flowers I was gonna make

some of the syrup with.

The stems might be just a
little on the tough side.

So, I'm gonna
saute it in butter,

with a little bit of onion.

Some dill that I grew
in the garden last year.

I am going to start putting
in some of the fireweed.

Gonna put in some of the onions

till I got a little couple
pieces of grass in there.

Grass isn't gonna hurt me.

Let me get these steaks on.

This whole meal is going
to be sort of a blessing,

sort of a thank you.

It's going to be my
version of a wish

for the next gathering session,

and a thank you for
the one I just did.

This is a moment
of tundra harvest.

Does it take effort to
procure? Absolutely.

But is it worth it?
Positively, yes.

Yum.

It's absolutely perfect.