All language subtitles for Life.Below.Zero.S06E01.1080p.WEB.H264-EDHD

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

SUE AIKENS: There's
the Kavik airstrip.

All right, there's home.

Roughly four months since
the date of the injury.

Boneheaded myself
on the snow machine.

Broke the collarbone, bad.

I've had some surgeries,

I'm still carrying a
bunch of stitches,

but the doctor said,
if you behave yourself,

I will trust you to go home.

It all looks, uh, slightly
different than when I left.

It looks like it might be,

might not be quite
as nice out at Kavik.

PILOT: Why don't we
just go down here?

SUE AIKENS: Yeah.

This has been almost four months
since anybody has set foot

in Kavik.

I don't know what
I'm walking into.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

NARRATOR: Sue Aikens has
spent the past four months

in Fairbanks recovering
from surgery.

As Kavik River Camp's
sole proprietor,

her absence has left the site
uninhabited and unprotected.

SUE AIKENS: I have to
visually check everything.

Behind any corner, any trailer,

it's the things you don't
see that bite ya in the ass.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

I got injured, in the winter,

and it was very cold
and very snowy in winter.

I've been down
through the flooding.

Four months have thawed out.

It has gone through the
awakening of the bears.

There's 83 bears tagged
within so many miles a camp

that can walk through.

I can't go in unarmed in
case something decides

to take me out of the equation.

You got a scratch here.

That's been torn.

How do you know it's new?
Well, it's a different color.

It's bright yellow.

All the other wood is
weathered, this is yellowish.

Can't say if it's a bear,
can't say what it is.

It's just that, I don't see
where the building isn't,

it has been, uh, the integrity
has not been compromised

on the building.

But you can see
something pushed.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

Okay, I don't see any
breaks in the material.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

Time to go in the Twinkie.

Dark in here, man.

The door back here
is still shut.

So, that's good.

All's I'm looking for,
did something open a door?

Is there a problem?

I don't care if the bears come
scratch, scratch, scratch,

I care about open, open, open.

So, everything's
looking pretty good.

And uh, silly as it
seems, this right here.

The coffee grounds that
I spread everywhere.

What it does, a bear's
nose is so sensitive,

that mild acidic scent
is just like an outhouse.

They don't like it.

It is a miracle that I was able
to be gone and no bears came in.

They scratched and
they didn't destroy it.

Um, that is,
it's pretty amazing.

I feel proud of myself for that.

I'm one lucky bitch in camp.

Nothing ate it.

But I got a lotta cleanup to do.

CHIP HAILSTONE: To us,
this is living rich.

This is adventure and
time with my family.

Ain't no amount of money
can ever get to hold that.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

AGNES HAILSTONE: My
name is Agnes Hailstone.

I am married to
Edward Hailstone.

We call him Chip.

CHIP HAILSTONE: I'm
Edward Hailstone.

I'm a subsistence hunter.

I'm a subsistence
gatherer, fisherman.

I'm married to Agnes, and
I have five daughters.

I try to get 'em all involved
in everything from caribou,

to seals in the ocean,
to fish in the river,

to birds flying overhead, to
digging stuff out of the ground.

We gotta be kind of nomadic,
and change our camps,

and go where the animals are.

Or we have to go
where the fish are,

or we have to go where
the plants are blooming,

or the berries.

And sometimes we have to go
where the weather tells us to.

So, we're spending the
spring here in the Kiwalik.

'Cause this, to us,
is the place to be.

IDI HAILSTONE: Hi, Dad.

CHIP HAILSTONE: Hello, Bun.

NARRATOR: Warm temperatures and
long days allow the Hailstones

to live off the land in Kiwalik.

They'll spend the summer
harvesting the area's vast

resources, in order to survive
the harsh winter ahead.

CHIP HAILSTONE: We've got
some important things to do.

We're gonna have to
set up the tents,

we're gonna have to
set up our kitchen.

Gonna have to go get some
willows and grasses

to make our beds.

Just generally set things
up the way we like 'em

in the summertime and be
here 'til August.

AGNES HAILSTONE: Okay, we got to
start moving before the weather

come.

Towards evening it's gonna get
cold and start getting moist.

CHIP HAILSTONE: One,
two, three, let's go.

Altogether.

TINMIAQ HAILSTONE:
Should I push?

CHIP HAILSTONE: Uh, up to you.

AGNES HAILSTONE: Well,
your back will get tired.

MARY HAILSTONE: I need like, uh.

CHIP: You need, you could.
IDI: Hold onto the rope.

CHIP HAILSTONE: Yep,
hold onto a rope babe,

that's all you gotta do.

Yep.

It's bulky is what it is, okay?

Okay, stop you guys.

QUTAN HAILSTONE: Oh
wait, dad, you see that?

CHIP HAILSTONE: Oh,
those are Caribou!

[Bleep], look at that.
We missed 'em!

It's a pretty tough sell.

I think we probably should just
stick with the job we're doing

and hope they come
a little closer.

Let's keep going,
one, two, three, go.

If I wanted to go
after a caribou,

that would be a considerable
effort and a considerable

amount of time.

And to go up there,
to run something down,

carry it back here
would be exhausting.

And then, to have to put
up the teepee and the tent,

that'd be even worse. So,

the whole idea is that once we
got the teepee and the tent up,

then I can run off.

I can go get firewood,
I can go chase caribou.

I can go do all that stuff.

Keep going for it, love.

QUTAN HAILSTONE:
Oh, it's far away.

CHIP HAILSTONE: Be careful, it's
deep over here on this side.

CAROL HAILSTONE: Ah!
CHIP HAILSTONE: I warned ya.

Getting our tents up is
the number one thing.

If we have our tents up, then
we're able to operate, stay dry.

Without a good place
to stay, ain't no fun.

There we go right there.

Okay.

Well, it's gonna rain you guys.

Let's get this up and let's make
a place to cover our stuffs.

CAROL HAILSTONE: Okay.

AGNES HAILSTONE: Underneath,
Carol, grab a pole.

IDI HAILSTONE: Pull towards Mom.

CHIP HAILSTONE: I know we
gotta, we gotta fix 'em.

It's important to have
shelter, as fast as you can.

We've got rain coming.

And we have tons of work to do.

But what we do is we
cover our bases first,

so that if anything
happens, we got a home.

AGNES HAILSTONE:
Pretty good job, girls.

Look like you all be, secure.

It's gonna hold for
the rest of the summer.

CHIP HAILSTONE: So,
we're gonna just, uh,

knock off for the night and
we'll start out in the morning

and see what we come up with.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

JESSIE HOLMES: I can't
live this lifestyle

if I don't work my butt
off, to make it possible.

My name is Jessie Holmes.

And when I was young, things
just weren't working for me.

I was a real rambler.

I couldn't stay still, I
couldn't stay in one town.

I got myself into
a lot of trouble, and

I realized I needed to turn
that around quick and go back

to the genuine thing in me that
was just like calling for like

quiet, peace, and wilderness.

So, like, I directed my life, to
correcting that and going back

to what I knew I
needed and wanted.

And, you know, now,
I just strive to live

a simple lifestyle here
on the Nenana River.

Running my dogs, trapping,
hunting, fishing.

Doing whatever it takes to
maintain this lifestyle.

I'm a lucky man to
live the way I do,

and I thank God
for it every day.

Polar Bear.

You ready for me
to cook for you?

I'm gonna cook up some
dog food for my dogs.

I'm gonna add a bunch
of meat in here.

Now, I'll throw a couple
of this fish in here,

just to give that
good fish flavor.

This is the last of the
dry fish that I had.

This was put away last fall.

Running out and, uh, it's
time to start catching

some more fish.

NARRATOR: For Jessie Holmes,

getting his fish wheel in the
water for the chum salmon run

is crucial.

If he's not able to catch fish,

he won't be able to
feed his dog team.

JESSIE HOLMES: It's really
critical that I do this,

because I can't afford to,
like, feed these dogs

through the winter.

I have almost, close to 40 dogs.

If you were feeding them
a dry commercial kibble,

it'd be, like, you know,
45, 50 dollars a day.

I'm gonna close this lid tight.

It'll all steam and cook
together and make a nice meal

for the dogs.

Getting my protein, and
my fat, and my water.

[BARKING DOGS]

How you doing, Randy?

Sled dogs are probably what
held me to the land in Alaska.

I usually do about four to five
races a year, with the dogs,

and, uh, that's one of the
ways that I subsist up here

with my dog team.

Try to see my dogs make me as
much money back that I spend

and put into them as
they possibly can.

That's just to help
me maintain this.

Tates, what you doing, huh?

Yeah.

You hungry?

Oh, yeah, look at that.

I try to kill two birds with
one stone with everything I do.

So, when I'm feeding my dogs,

I want to give them that
positive attention.

Let 'em know I care
about each one of 'em.

I don't wanna just do it
like it's a job, you know?

It's like going to work and
not getting an honest day in.

You know? Like,

if I'm here, I want 'em
to know that it's for them.

Good boy, Copper.

If I'm having a bad day, I come
out here and feed these dogs

in the evening and
whenever it's done,

I feel like I just
went to therapy.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

I love seeing my dogs and I
love feeding them the best food

that I possibly can.

I think when you
got this many dogs,

your life needs to
revolve around them.

They need constant care and
attention, and they deserve it.

Labor of love,
that's what this is.

GLENN VILLENEUVE: Different
experience of time,

different experience of space.

It's a very different
consciousness living out here

than it is living in town.

My name's Glenn Villeneuve.

I've always enjoyed living
out in the wilderness,

so I moved up to Alaska
15 years ago to live out

in the Brooks Range.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

I was looking all over the
world for a place to live

close to nature like this,
and I ended up up here.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

What a beautiful day.

Springtime.

Lake's already
starting to thaw out.

I hear all the little songbirds
out there singing this morning.

Heard some ducks quacking.

Birds flying into the valley.

The leaves are coming out,

what a great time of
year it is out here.

A lot of the animals
aren't available to me.

The caribou have
headed further north.

I probably won't see any
more caribou this year.

The only caribou meat
I have, I had to dry.

So, I'm just eating dry caribou
meat because I can't keep it

frozen anymore.

But at this time of year, I turn
my attention to smaller animals.

Things that I can consume
faster so that preservation

isn't such a problem.

And that's what I'm gonna
be looking for today.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

In the spring, when the
lake starts to melt,

the first ice to go
is around the edge.

A moat opens up.

And that concentrates the
ducks, 'cause the first ducks

coming in are gonna have to land
in this narrow channel of water,

right along the
edge of the lake.

That's where I'm
gonna hunt today.

No ducks.

Just got to keep looking.

It's not uncommon for me
to walk a couple of miles

and not see a duck.

So, it's nothing
out of the ordinary.

It's the same with
all the other game.

Way up here in the Arctic,
there's less life that the land

can support, so you have
to travel more country

in order to get it.

There's some ducks right there.

I stay behind this spruce tree
and they won't see me, but

there's several
ducks right up here.

About 75 yards from
the ducks right now.

I got to get closer to 'em
in order to get a shot.

If I just go straight over this
hill I think they're gonna

see me really quickly and take
off before I get close enough.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

[GUNSHOT]

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

[GUNSHOT]

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

[GUNSHOT]

GLENN VILLENEUVE:
That duck's been hit.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

I just got to kill
him and get him back.

[GUNSHOT]

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

[GUNSHOT]

My strategy is to keep a
very close eye on that duck.

Try and recover it.

Trick now is gonna be
not to lose sight of it.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

I got it!

Got the duck.

That one almost got away.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

Nothing like sitting out
here beside the lake,

plucking a duck.

It's more than just
getting the ducks,

it's just being out here and
enjoying this time of year.

Listening to all the new sounds.

Winter's very quiet.

The springtime it gets
noisier, the birds come back,

the wind just rustling in the
grass, and the vegetation,

that's different.

Everything's moving again.

Water's moving.

It's a different pace of life.

Oh!

There's some more
shovelers right up here.

[GUNSHOT]

[GUNSHOT]

Three shovelers just came in.

I got one of the
drakes right here.

It flew right in
here in front of me.

Got another northern shoveler.

Turning out to be a good day
of duck hunting out here.

SUE AIKENS: You have
an opportunity to say,

this will define me
or I will overcome it.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

NARRATOR: For Sue Aikens,
maintaining her food supply

in Kavik is critical to keeping
her camp up and running.

Any loss of food stock or
equipment will cost thousands

of dollars to replace
and transport.

SUE AIKENS: For me,
I look around camp.

And it's mind blowing the
amount of work I have to do.

I'm back after four
months in town.

The land was frozen when I left.

It has gone through the thaw.

I have nine freezers, four
refrigerators that I should have

been there running electricity
as it got warmer to keep it cold

and frozen.

I wasn't.

Uff. [bleep] hell.

Yeah, this is gonna
be the travesty.

Gone.

Gone.

Gone.

We got one, two, three,
four, five, six, seven,

eight freezers, three
of the fridges are bad.

It's rotten, I want that
food out, away from camp.

What the state wants me
to do, take all the, um,

biodegradable products.

Take it to the end
of the airstrip,

cut it out of the
packaging and dump it.

Get it in the water,
it'll dilute the scent.

Now that I've opened it, I
have to, I must, priority,

keep going.

That scent is going to alert
the animals in the area.

They can't help it,
that's what they do.

They're animals, and, and this
is a possible food source.

This is personally, the
most heartbreaking area.

This is the food
that I hunt for.

The total revenue probably,

probably lost around
18,000 in food.

This is all my, all my
hunting from last year.

I'm gonna get up on the
roof and just do a visual,

I wanna know if something's
coming at me or it isn't.

That's where the
scent is being blown,

so that's where I
really wanna see.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

All right, I don't see
any ominous threat.

AGNES HAILSTONE: We plan ahead,
we think of the next season.

We think of the other
opportunities

that are heading our way.

Ah,

hey. Look like a good day eh?

CHIP HAILSTONE: As long
as the wind stays up

and keeps the mosquitoes
away, it's a good day.

AGNES HAILSTONE: But we
still got lots to do, eh?

CHIP HAILSTONE: We got to
make this mess into a home.

NARRATOR: The Hailstones have
arrived at their summer

hunting grounds in Kiwalik.

It is imperative that the family
secures meat for the days ahead.

AGNES HAILSTONE: We just
got here yesterday and, um,

there's a lot of action here.

There's caribous
crossing the rivers,

there's birds flying over.

So, we just wanna keep building
up camp, try to get done.

Get all our wood and our water
and everything set up here,

so we can just go and do our
hunt and go get some food.

Everybody's excited and wanting
to hurry up and get done,

and just, go play.

TINMIAQ HAILSTONE:
You too, Mary.

Grab that bucket over there.

We are getting water.

We call it Imatauk.

We go get our water.

Go get it from the river.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

Here we don't have sinks, and
a water system, and all that.

So, this is our water
system, is this river.

We're gonna get water while it's
early since we all just got up,

and then later on, like,
when we're cooking,

or when we want to drink it
later on, it'll all be settled,

and it'll all be crystal-clear.

MARY HAILSTONE: That's
enough water, let's go.

CHIP HAILSTONE:
They're getting water.

They're looking for firewood.

The girls are keeping their
eyes open for, caribou,

for any other game
animals around, and, um,

we just keep the
day chugging along.

IDI HAILSTONE: Mom!

Mom!

See?

AGNES HAILSTONE: Mud creek side?
IDI HAILSTONE: Yeah! They're,

they're on the other
side of, right there.

They're like right where their
backs meet the willow line

perfectly, you could
just see their backs.

CHIP HAILSTONE: We're
not shooting calves.

We're not shooting cows.

But the one in the
back is a young bull.

The young bull is on this side.

But if you aim at him, you'll
have to aim mid-stomach,

so the bullet drifts
into his chest.

Oh, he's close, Ag.

AGNES HAILSTONE: Okay, goodie.

CHIP HAILSTONE: Just let
out your breath and relax.

[GUNSHOT]

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

[GUNSHOT]

AGNES HAILSTONE: Ooh!
CHIP HAILSTONE: Just over him.

Move aside.

AGNES HAILSTONE: Now?
CHIP HAILSTONE: Down.

Down lower.

[GUNSHOT]

AGNES HAILSTONE: Yee!
CHIP HAILSTONE: Dang.

AGNES HAILSTONE: I got it!
This is a good first hunt.

We don't really have any meat
in the camp right now, so, um,

we'll be able to haul this
back to camp and have

some good dinner.

Heart and tongue, and
some other good stuff.

IDI HAILSTONE: Tongue
is the best part of,

or one of the best piece
of a kid's choice piece,

as they call it.

AGNES HAILSTONE: Every
day's a learning experience

for these girls.

Even me, I try to tell them even
though I'm old I still learn

something new every day.

CHIP HAILSTONE: See the ribs
where I'm getting 'em

on the knuckles?
IDI HAILSTONE: Yeah.

CHIP HAILSTONE: Then I
can open the chest up.

I can get to the heart
and stuff easier.

It hinges right open. See that?

I want my kids to know how
to take care of themselves.

It's more, and more, and more
options actually for them,

through the education
we give 'em.

It's all along the lines
of not giving them the fish

but teaching them to fish.

IDI HAILSTONE: Yeah.

CHIP HAILSTONE: I got
to catch up the girls,

looks like they're
doing all the work.

You know, we've got our camp
up, we've got our stuff out.

We're sorting through things,
we're putting camp together and

making it a better place every
day, and this is part of it,

is having fresh food on hand.

JESSIE HOLMES: And you pretty
much just have to pay attention

all the time, 'cause it's
always the unforeseen

that's gonna catch
you off guard.

Just getting my morning started
here with a cup of coffee.

Gonna get out here, start
working on this boat.

I got some holes in
it I need to repair.

Gonna try to get it in the
water here in next couple days,

so I can get out, and to
build a new fish wheel.

So I can start putting away
some fish for my dogs this fall.

I try to live very simple, that
way I can afford to put most

of my money into my dogs and
racing sled dogs in the winter.

Hi Tobias.

What you doing?

Ready to go to work?

This is my boat, it's a
twenty-four-foot long,

four-foot wide,
narrow riverboat.

If I don't get this boat
fixed and in the water,

there's like no way that
I'm gonna be able to afford

to have these sled
dogs this winter.

The goal is to catch
about 3,500 to 4,000 fish.

I'd have to like sell at least
half of my dogs if I had to just

afford to do this without fish.

So I have a hole here
and a hole on the side.

So I had to patch those holes,

get this thing ready
to get on the river.

One thing that's important
to me about living out here,

fixing my own boat and building
my own boat and my own sleds,

it's just my belief system and
like being self-sufficient.

I learned carpentry skills
when I came up to Alaska.

Just started taking every job
I could and dove right into it.

Making progress.

I need to flip this boat up on
the other side so I can start

working on patching my hull.

This is kind of a
challenging thing,

'cause I don't have help and I
gotta figure out how to do it

by myself. So,

I'm really hoping this
will work pretty quick.

The main thing you want
to do is not get hurt.

And the other main thing I
wanna do is not break my boat.

I mean, if I were to buy
a boat that was built,

it'd be like 3,000 dollars,
4,000 dollars.

Built this one out of a thousand
dollars' worth of material.

It's a subsistence boat for me.

I use it to get logs,
build fish wheels with it,

I fish for my dogs with it.

It's very important for me
to be able to put away food

for the winter for
my dogs and myself.

I don't necessarily
know how to do this.

I don't necessarily know how
to do a lot of things. But

I'll feel pretty proud of
myself if it works out

and be pretty frustrated
if it doesn't.

My idea is to just keep
tightening this up as I lift up,

so it can't come back down
too far on me and crush me.

Oh [bleep].

I can't afford to get the
materials to build a new one,

or to buy one.

Sometimes you're just against
it and you got to figure it out.

I'm just gonna have
to pick this thing up.

I think I got it.

I hope this rope's gonna catch
it so it doesn't go over.

Ugh!

Sometimes you just got
to go for it. [Bleep].

Hope it works out.

Okay.

Holy Mother.

Oh.

It's holding, it seems
like it's holding.

Oh, [bleep].

JESSIE HOLMES: Oh, [bleep]!

Yeah!

Worked!

Whew.

That was scary.

Now that I've got the boat
flipped up on this side,

I'm gonna get to
patching these holes.

Just gonna be in the
water soon, I hope.

NARRATOR: Jessie relies on the
returns from his fish wheel

to feed his team of sled dogs.

With the summer chum
salmon run approaching,

it's crucial for Jessie to get
his boat into working condition

and into the river.

JESSIE HOLMES: So
what I'm gonna do is,

I would like to haul my
boat down with my truck,

but I don't have a
ball hitch on my truck.

I'm thinking I'm gonna
attach this bicycle to it,

so I give myself a
front-wheel steering system.

It's pretty much the best
option I got at this moment.

I don't quite know how
I'm gonna do this yet but,

this is the challenge about
doing things by yourself.

It's somewhat dangerous.

I gotta get this boat down on
the Nenana River to launch it,

and it's only about a hundred
and fifty yards from here, so

I just have to make
this work to there.

All right. Here goes nothing.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

Ugh!

Ugh!

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

Oh! Whoa!

Ah, [bleep]!

All right.

Whew, this poor bike.

Okay. It feels like
I'm going kind of.

The best feeling for me at the
end of the day is, you know,

knowing that I worked hard, feel
tired enough to go to sleep,

you know.

It took me three days of
work to finish up this boat,

and now the reward is a
couple summers on the river

doing what I love.

All right, that
worked just good.

Actually turned out to be
perfect 'cause I had brakes,

I had steering.

I really didn't think
it'd go that good.

Today's been a long day.

It's already late in the day.

It's been a lot of work
getting this boat flipped over.

I had to do it all by hand.

Once this boat's in the water,

this is really the start of
summer for me.

It's time to really get a lot
done out on the river and,

hopefully put up a lot of
food for me and the dogs.

Still got to get this
boat in the water.

AGNES HAILSTONE: We're able to
live together, work together,

and it just makes
us even stronger.

Take a shovel, Mary.

Let's go, Qutan Irene.

CHIP HAILSTONE: The ladies here
are gonna go pick some of

a root called mashua.

And they grow all
over through here.

A little bit of
something sweet, like,

kind of like a sweet potato.

I think they call
'em Eskimo potatoes.

NARRATOR: After harvesting
a caribou for camp meat,

the Hailstones turn their
attention to gathering

another Kiwalik
resource: mashua root.

CHIP HAILSTONE: The
time to do it is now.

If we don't get 'em now, all
that good nutrients and stuff

that's in the root, or that's
inside these little branches

are gonna go into
building the plant,

'cause it's starting to grow.

And then it'll be really chewy
and it'll taste terrible.

And what we need is Vitamin C,

and we need to have
a change of diet.

We need to have some starches
and we need to have some fiber

in our diet.

And that's exactly what
this stuff will provide.

AGNES HAILSTONE: There should
be mashua above the sandbar,

so we're gonna go
target that area first.

The mashua is gonna be
all along these edges,

right along the edges.

If you start to see like, you
see the light, brownish peeled,

um, roots, then those
would be mashua.

Okay, kids, go on ahead
and start looking

for roots and stuff.
QUTAN: What's this stuff Mom?

AGNES HAILSTONE: Let me see, did
you find some already, Qutan?

AGNES HAILSTONE: Let me get out.

MARY HAILSTONE: It's not.

AGNES HAILSTONE: Yup, that is.

See, you'll find them like this.

This is what we're looking for.

They have a plant like this,
and this is why we come here.

This is, uh, mashua tuk, and
this is why we come to go pick

these mashuas here.

It's because this
bank is full of 'em.

Right now they're, um, real
good, they're like, uh,

potato and they're really good
to eat, and they're sweet. So,

this is why we're here.

QUTAN HAILSTONE:
Oh, my God. Mashua.

AGNES HAILSTONE: It takes some
effort but once you hit a real,

um, big patch, usually it's
easier to start picking

a whole bunch after
but you just gotta...

AGNES HAILSTONE: Oh,
that's all right.

Oh, that's yummy,
that's a good one.

Look how big.

You got bigger than mine.

Right now, uh,
Qutan's just learning.

So she's just getting
familiarized with the plant.

We've pointed them out for her,
but this year she's actually,

um, looking for the plants
to know where to dig so

it's kind of fun watching her.

CAROL HAILSTONE: Move your butt.

QUTAN HAILSTONE: Oh look,
I just chopped it off.

Oops.

TINMIAQ HAILSTONE: Keep
going, I see it still.

AGNES HAILSTONE: The days like
this are why I love being

out here. Just
getting family time.

Looking for food that we can,
you know, thrive on and just,

it's good to get out of camp for
a little bit and go do something

different.

This is awesome, just being out
here watching the girls find

this root and knowing the
difference between one root

from another and, um, just
playing in the mud.

Okay, girls we've got
quite a bit actually,

and this is probably
what we need.

Let's get back to camp
and go have some dinner

and show your guys'
Dad what we found.

TINMIAQ HAILSTONE: Yeah.

SUE AIKENS: You don't prepare
for your best day in life,

you got to prepare
for the worst.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

NARRATOR: Without electricity in
Kavik for the past four months,

Sue's food supply
has turned inedible.

To keep predators
away from her camp,

Sue has been advised by the
state to dispose of the spoiled

food down river.

SUE AIKENS: The
visual says it all.

That's not a healthy
freaking product.

But the quality of what I buy,

is just outstanding.

So it just hurts, hurts,
hurts, financially. But,

you know I put a lot of me.
Kavik is me.

You know, I am Kavik.

Synonymous.

But I take a lot of pride
in offering people the best

of the best when
they're out here.

But I mean every single little
bit of this is loss, loss, loss.

I mean, besides the
disgusto factor, um,

I mean it's an incredible
amount of revenue.

How do you put a price
tag on the caribou?

Or the fish that I bartered for.

Hard to put a value on that.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

You know, if there's
anything close,

it's gonna start
getting interested.

Bears, wolves, they don't
mind eating rotten food.

And I just put up
the dinner bell.

Just gonna be continuing
the process of getting

all of the rotten goods.

Even though we're getting it
in the water so it distills

the scent, it's
gonna go downstream.

There's no way they
won't smell it.

That's why once I
start this I gotta,

the fact that I opened 'em
up and looked at it today,

I got to finish it today.

Boom.

Boom.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

I'm gonna get up on top.

It was a little chilly, so
I threw on my sweatshirt.

And we've got a wolf
on the runway. [Bleep]!

SUE AIKENS: And we've
got a wolf on the runway.

That's the area I got to go to,
that's the area the wolf is at.

Looks to me maybe a juvenile
female wolf, on the runway,

headed towards where I
had to dump all that food.

Little wolfie on the spot there.

Wolves are a pack animal.

They don't generally
travel alone.

Doesn't mean they're not there.

Not even 30 minutes from when I
tossed the last rotten biscuit

out, and here's a wolf. Boom!

On it.

And that's exactly
what we were hoping,

is get everything
away from camp.

Now imagine if I had families
here with little kids

and your predator-human
interaction is, is right there.

That's how quick it can happen.

Nine times out of ten the
interaction with a wolf,

I'll go out there and he'll,
it'll get skid away

and then come back in.

If it were a whole pack, I'd,

I'd probably just hold
off on my activities now.

The sun doesn't set so
that works in my favor.

I'll just be tired and sore.

CHIP HAILSTONE: You know I want
to show my kids every season.

And there's a different
skill and a different way

of doing things each time.

Just making heart
and tongue soup.

This is the first meal
usually off of an animal.

The tongue and the heart,
are organs that are small,

full of fat, really
good tasting,

different kind of
quality of meat.

Throw some potatoes
and an onion in there.

Now we can let this all
cook for quite a while.

And then for dessert my wife
and my daughters picked a bunch

of mashua.

We've had an all-around
profitable day I'd say.

Ladies really socked it in with
the food and it's gonna be

a big, hearty meal.

And it's by their own hands.

The girls may not have shot
the caribou but they helped

work him, and drag him, and
participated in everything

but pulling the trigger.

This is like food
of the season to us.

This is kind of like having
turkey for Thanksgiving,

or having a ham at Christmas.

AGNES HAILSTONE:
Pretty good, eh?

TINMIAQ HAILSTONE: Pretty good.
CHIP HAILSTONE: Yup.

We've got firewood,
so we've got heat.

We got our tents up.

We got, uh, meat.

Now we're secure.

We've got all the
basic things we need.

The best thing is that some
day when me and your mom

aren't here, you girls know
how to do all of this,

no matter what the job is.

And the best part of
that is that you get

all hands-on experience.

We don't just sit there and
tell 'em what we've done,

we talk about what we've
all done, and done together.

It's adventure, it's
family time, it's just, uh,

being together.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

We're in the right spot.

We're at this spot for a reason.

This is a, this is home to us.

We keep coming back here.

AGNES HAILSTONE: Nothing
like Kiwalik, yeah?

CHIP HAILSTONE:
Nothing like Kiwalik.

GLENN VILLENEUVE: You have to
learn the cycles and the times

where things are happening so
that you can take advantage

of the opportunities.

In the spring when the
lake starts to melt,

it's the time of year when the
ducks are gonna be concentrated

along the shoreline because
they got nowheres else to go.

Ducks need water, and
this is where it is.

Right in this moat
along the shoreline.

But conditions
are changing fast.

With that sun beating
down on the ice today,

it'll get up into the 70s.

And the lake ice right along the
edge, the moat's getting wider,

it's starting to break up.

Little pieces are breaking
off when the breeze blows.

It's gonna change real fast.

If a breeze comes up, this
can all disappear in one day.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

I see four so far.

Let's see if I can get
close enough to get a shot.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

[GUNSHOT]

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

[GUNSHOT]

I hit one.

I shot, it took off, and
I kept shooting when they were

in the air and got one of 'em.

Thankfully, a breeze
blew the duck back in,

but it got hung up in some
grass out here off the shore.

The bottom here is
really soft and muddy,

so I'm gonna make something to
throw out there and retrieve

the duck.

I don't wanna walk out there
and get stuck in the mud.

Here we go.

We'll see what happens.

It might work.

I might be able to throw it that
far, I'll see. I don't know.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

GLENN VILLENEUVE: No.

Didn't make it.

Give it another shot.

I just missed it.

Broke a few more braches off.

Lighten it up a little bit.

See if I can get it
out over the duck.

Yes!

I'm gonna get it this time.

There it goes.

Snagged it.

Got my duck.

Another shoveler.

A male.

That's what I wanted.

Duck hunting's good today.

Couldn't ask for a better day.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

Got my three ducks.

Looks all right for now.

Cook 'em kind of long and slow.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

Look at those beautiful ducks.

Oh, yeah, those are done.

The only meat I've had
for a while has been

dried caribou meat.

This is the first fresh meat
I've eaten in some time.

Mmm.

I mean what better
place to have dinner,

than right beside the lake
that I walked around

to find these ducks?

Mmm, it was a beautiful day.

SUE AIKENS: The world is a
circle and it turns around

and round.

Things change, things
evolve, things rotate.

The journey of getting
Kavik back up and running.

I want to get the mass done
rather than all the tiny

little chores.

Finished getting all
the freezers out.

But now, I've got a whole
winter's worth of garbage

to burn.

This is, uh, this is just
another chore on the list.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

I mean it's like
anywhere, you know,

sweetie baby honey do-list.

Take out the garbage.

Only problem is I'm my
own sweetie baby honey do.

This is the Sue-do list.

The honey-Sue list.

So these are the cigarettes.

Um, to do the work the doctor
did, I had to quit smoking.

So, and he told me the
gravity of the situation.

And that it was a, the
necessity of the surgery

was life or death. He wouldn't
do it if I smoked.

Put out the cigarette before
I walked into his office,

haven't had one since.

C'mon.

I'm serious about quitting.

So I'm burning all the
cigarettes that I had.

Bye cigarettes.

You're gonna have
to smoke without me.

Oh, the foxy.

Who's my little foxy.

Who is that? Is that Slinky?

It took Slinky a day to
figure out that I was here.

C'mon. Slinky and Ermie
were best buddies.

Um, they would, Slinky would
beak on the side of the tent

every morning. And Ermie
would beak back on the window.

And they'd come out and play.

Because of Ermie's
health conditions, um,

she's got to stay in town.

And is now living
in town permanently.

So, I don't have a little
friend here anymore.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

Don't wanna get emotional, but

it means a lot to me
to have the foxes.

Yuck. C'mon dummy, c'mon.

C'mon.

C'mon.

It's good to be back.

I mean, that, the amount of
work I have to do is astounding.

Um, I'm gonna have
to be creative.

Uh, I have a ten-pound
weight restriction,

for the foreseeable future.

Honestly, I need to
take this entire summer,

and assess how well
I can do my job.

Am I done?

And the answer is, I don't know.

JESSIE HOLMES: When
you're in Alaska,

you work until
the sun goes down.

NARRATOR: After repairing his
boat and successfully getting it

to shore, Jessie must launch
his vessel into the water

and test its durability

before he can begin his
summer fishing season.

JESSIE HOLMES: Ow-ooh! Yeah!

Time to get the summer started!

Yeah, we really got
it easy you know?

These old timers, they just
figured everything out.

Poling up rivers, pulling their
dogs, boats out with dogs.

When I do this kind of stuff,

it's like I'm
living in the past.

I think I was born a
hundred years too late.

I hadn't been out on the river
since the ice flowed, you know?

So, I'd been out with other
people in their boats,

but this is my boat. And

now I can go take care of
my jobs I gotta do out here.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

I'm gonna start putting up some
food for my dogs and myself.

I miss that taste
of that fresh fish.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

I guess this is the bonus of
living right next to the river.

All my stuff's close
for getting down here.

Get to take the pleasure of
doing a lot of this stuff

by hand.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

The motor's running.
That's a good sign.

Go upriver, see how
the boat's running.

Woo!

Wow, it's absolutely
beautiful out here.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪

Getting on the river is pretty
much the peak point of happiness

for me in the summer.

You just feel so free when
you're out on the river.

It's an indescribable feeling.

Words don't really
do justice to it.

Now I got a lot of work to do,
but it's all work I wanna do.

If you're out here,

it's hard for it to
seem like hard work.

♪ [MUSIC] ♪