Original subtitles

[tense music playing]

[Matty] Everything is tougher in the winter.

Oh.

[Emilie] We have to be really careful. Anything can go wrong.

Gilbert, do you need help?

You're working at heights, you're working with heavy, awkward things.

[grunting]

God, the nearest hospital is hours away.

[Margot] In the city, every little basic things are taken for granted.

Here, if I just want to be warm, it's not easy.

[chuckles] It's a mess.

The nature is not the enemy, okay, but it's not the friend.

I mean, without the kids here, it's not, it's not a home yet.

This will be the top, this way.

- Are you sure? - Yeah.

The measurements?

I haven't thought about it at all.

Fucked that one up good.

[Matty] This is Canada, winter's coming, so you may as well fucking enjoy it.

Whoo hoo!

[theme music playing]

[soft music playing]

[Margot] In the winter, it's very dark.

You just have a couple hours of daylight during the day.

It's a little gloomy.

[chainsaw buzzing]

I'm working on the windows, so I can have some more light in the cabin.

Making this place a little more liveable.

I don't come here to survive.

That's way better.

I just want to thrive and live here.

So, I'm trying to make this place a home.

[birds chirping]

[rhythmic music playing]

I'm putting some moss in the bottoms for insulation.

I can't mess this up because I have only one window with me.

So, if I break my window, I have a hole.

Every piece of wood is full of ice.

[lhuckles]

It is nerve-racking if I smash the window when I'm hammering it.

It's, it's over.

My fingers are pretty much frozen right now.

It's in.

Okay.

Would have been depressing living in there without the window.

The window adds a little bit of light inside, so it's great.

Just need to get a stove, so I can move in.

[soft music playing]

The Yukon is a pretty cold place in the winter.

It can drop to -50.

I'm going to check if Plunkett's stove is usable.

That would save me some time if I can just take it.

That's kind of sketchy.

Yeah, that's the roof falling apart.

All this part is rotten and everything is, everything is falling.

It's frozen, so it shouldn't fall on my head.

Hopefully.

[sighs]

Try to knock that down.

This stove is made out of a barrel.

Lots of people in the north

or just in the bush in general use those stoves.

They're very efficient.

They're very thick and they hold a lot of heat.

It's pretty rusty.

There's a couple of holes, so...

It's kind of falling apart at the bottom,

I don't think it would be too good to use.

It's too bad.

I have a backup plan, so I was hoping this would be good and save me some time,

but I'm just going to build what I had in mind, and hopefully, it works out.

I think it's the most important thing, being a problem solver,

because you don't have internet to check Google to help you,

or you don't have the neighbour to come help you.

You have to just figure shit out.

I'm looking for a barrel, so I can build a stove.

Those barrels are here since the mine closed in the 80s.

This one has a hole.

I'm looking for one where the metal is thicker

and where there is obviously no holes and, or it's in pretty good shape.

These ones are too rusty.

I know there is more over there, so I'm just gonna...

I'm going to keep digging around and find the perfect one.

[soft music playing]

This one is buried.

This one is empty.

Some are old fuel for planes.

Some are oil.

Pretty good shape. It's not rusty.

I don't see any holes so far, and it's pretty thick.

It should work.

Okay.

[soft music playing]

[Matty] Everything's a little tougher in the winter,

especially when it's cold and windy...

and it's very easy to be encouraged to stay inside.

One way to embrace the winter out here is get out ice fishing.

Framing up the walls here.

Newfoundland's windy a lot of the time and nobody wants to sit on a lake

in this kind of wind and go ice fishing all day.

That's the point of building this shack, to keep you out of this wind.

See how she's gonna fit.

Oh, yeah. Perfect.

Fishing season is a short window around here.

Been working so much lately, I'm ready to go relax and do some fishing.

This is going to be a real Dr. Seuss, Dr. Seuss shack, this one.

[sighs]

Oh, God, I'm an idiot.

This should have been all the way over to make these two walls one, right here.

[suspenseful music playing]

Now, I gotta jerry rig something up.

I don't even know what.

Fucked that one up good.

Not paying attention to what I'm doing.

What a dumbass.

That should have been right over there. Top, top plate.

Failures are a part of it. You just got to keep on going through it.

Like that.

Who fucking cares if you fail, there's no one to see,

especially out here living this kind of lifestyle.

It happens when you rush.

[upbeat music playing]

No one will ever know.

A word of wisdom for an aspiring carpenter,

don't make it too perfect, everyone makes shit too perfect.

You want to make something perfect?

Go work in the city, where building inspectors are.

Out here, perfection is just a word.

Perfection is this, that wind blowing across the lake,

that sun, not building.

Just do it and enjoy it.

Got to love work in the winter.

I think most people shy away from winter because of their situation...

being locked up in the city in the winter time, you know, is hell.

Going from house to a cold car to work.

When you're out living in the woods, wintertime is, oh my God, it's magical.

Just out here, breathing this cold, fresh air, oh, God, it's good.

[dog barking]

What's wrong, Ron? Too cold for Ronnie.

Go have a nap.

Big sook.

[soft music playing]

[Billy] You've got to take care of yourself here.

Sometimes, you get a chance to rest, but most of the time,

it's just work, work, work, work.

[chuckles] It's a mess.

Oh, man. It's so dirty.

I want a place, you know, just to clean up and to relax after a long day,

so I'm turning this whole shed into a bathhouse.

Years of dust.

Mice poop.

And that's about it.

Next step, the chimney.

My sledgehammer.

It's just so rotten, it's been there for, you know, more than ten years.

It's finished. It's done.

[upbeat music playing]

[grunting]

Three full days it took me to build this stick and mud chimney, and now...

those three days are gone.

Life in the bush doesn't need to be harsh.

And after all this work, I'm going to appreciate the bath.

You know, you can use the river, but in wintertime, man, that's, whew.

I don't want to freeze my ass, it's like, whew, too much.

I'm looking forward my happy moment in the woods.

[laughs]

All right.

A bathhouse, it needs to be homey.

I want very nice indoor walls with lights even.

You know, to make it like on Instagram.

[laughs]

It's not levelled at all, the walls are just this way.

Oh, well, that's the way it is.

13.

Oh.

Oh!

I'm losing daylight, so I've got to get my wood stove before it gets dark.

[rhythmic music playing]

All right. The wood stove must be somewhere in here.

Oh!

Shit!

Fa... ah.

It got rusty, and the feet are just...

[grunting]

It's just frozen with the ground...

and I don't want to knock it off, otherwise it will just crack and snap.

[grunting]

Always something new, always.

[soft music playing]

[Gilbert] This is my first time building a house.

I'm not freaked out because I know I can do it.

[Emilie] Whew! I'm getting hot.

Can just take off a layer and you're still good.

This is going to be our construction zone.

Start working on the walls.

Each wall should go up within ten minutes.

- Ten Gilbert minutes. - Yeah.

It only takes, what, about three hours to do walls?

Three hours? So ten minutes each wall and then three hours, we're done?

- Yeah. - Where's your math?

[Gilbert chuckles]

All right, let's do it.

Maybe you should do it? Want me to do it?

- Yeah, you might do it. - I need glasses.

There you go.

Safety first.

[laughter]

Okay.

All right.

Just practice one. Like that.

- All right, go slow. - Okay.

When you want to build something, you have to have a plan.

There isn't that much lumber.

We get our stuff on the winter route, it takes about a week to get here.

Whoa.

Yeah, that's good.

- I'm off. - But it's off.

It should still work, right?

[Gilbert] Maybe? Do another one.

Okay, maybe you should do it this time.

All right.

[Emilie] Gilbert's an amazing person to work with.

He'll take the time to show me things and not get frustrated with me.

Okay. I mean...

- Yours is better. - Mine is better?

[laughter]

- Mine is way better. - Yeah, we'll have to use that one.

- [Emilie] Is that the last piece? - [Gilbert] Yeah.

[Emilie] Oh, nice.

It's good. Oh yeah, it's good.

- It's really not that bad. - Sit it right there on the edge.

[Gilbert] Lift.

Gilbert is easygoing, laid back.

Just kick it.

Nice, we're done.

Next wall.

But, you know, sometimes, I do have to ask him

a couple different times, "Are you sure this?"

And it'll change.

He might say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's good, it's good." But it's not.

Hang on. We got to think about this for a minute.

- Where's the... - Top?

One of them is going to be the top.

This will be the top, this way.

- Are you sure? - Yeah.

Flip this way around?

No.

Are you sure? Oh, yeah.

Okay. Perfect.

You know, everyone has their negative points.

Like, I don't want him to change.

It doesn't annoy me, I would take that over somebody yelling at me

and being impatient with me any time of the day.

Oh, we're halfway done, Gilbert.

That's good.

Try to be a little bit more niche because that's where the, the stud is.

[Emilie] Oh, yeah.

So, am I going to have to redo it? I totally forgot about it.

No, no, no, it's okay.

Yeah.

[upbeat music playing]

- I can do that part. - Okay.

[Gilbert grunts]

[Emilie] Let's get it done. It's getting really cold.

- Whoa, we're going to flip it this way? - No, we're turning it this way.

Okay.

Isn't that what we talked about?

[laughs]

What are you doing?

I'm just putting this away.

It goes on the side.

All right. All right.

I feel like we don't know what we're doing right now.

I'm getting more impatient with this.

And when you're tired and it's the end of the day,

that's when you make mistakes.

- [Emilie] Ow. - [Gilbert] Oh, sorry.

- There you go. - Thank you.

[Emilie] I feel like before, when I was living in the city...

I was always trying to live according to standards.

Big house, big car.

- We're done. - Yeah.

- All right. - Yeah!

And then tomorrow, another wall.

Right? If you want a mansion loft.

[Emilie] I don't want a mansion loft.

I just want to have something with a roof over our head.

But here, I don't have to stress about living a certain way,

I get to do what makes myself feel happy.

And that's a really good feeling, when you're at that point.

[soft music playing]

[Matty] I definitely feel like a black sheep compared to my peers.

They're all focussed on career or family.

Sometimes, I can feel self-conscious about it.

But, at the end of the day, I do know this is what I want.

[Margot] I went to university in France, in the city,

and that was pretty insane for me.

I just felt dead inside.

[Billy] Everybody has their own path.

You just do your life.

Follow your choice, follow your heart.

In my life, what is important is just to follow my passion.

Whoo!

And enjoy the day to day, and do it.

It's strong. [laughs]

Whoo!

[soft music playing]

[Margot] Modern life is a little too easy or a little too boring, I don't know.

[chuckles]

I need hard work and something that makes you feel alive,

not just like I go to work and I come home and watch TV.

So, that's going to be the door of the stove.

I've used some stoves made out of barrels,

but I've never actually made one myself.

I'll just see how it goes.

I don't have any power with me here, so I'm only using hand tools.

It's not the most precise way to do it, but it's what I got.

I need to use my brain.

I'm going to try to start the hole with a nail.

Sometimes, nothing that you planned works, so, just gotta figure it out.

Instead of sometimes being a dumb strong,

you just want to use your brain and save some energy.

Almost through.

Little success.

It's not a fast process.

[sighs]

Ah, fuck.

Time is a precious resource in the woods.

It's hanging there.

Because when you come in the bush, it's not to rush around

and, you know, have a fast life.

You want to enjoy the slow life.

I'm just figuring out where the legs are going to be,

so the door is not all crooked.

But at the same time, there is so much stuff to do

and there's so much things that need to be done in one day.

All right.

So it's, it's a fine balance.

Legs are good.

Uh, next, I have to cut the hole for the pipe.

[metal clanging]

[rhythmic music playing]

Everything seems to be pretty airtight,

but I just got to light a fire in there to burn everything off,

and it's good to go.

That was a fuel barrel, so there is still a little bit of gas at the bottom,

and all the paint needs to be burnt.

Otherwise it's going to be pretty toxic if I light a fire in the cabin.

So, I want to burn everything outside and then put it in.

It's super satisfying to see this done.

Just being able to do it without much tools

and just with what I have, it's pretty cool.

It's gonna be a good stove for the cabin.

[soft music playing]

[Matty] One challenge of working out here in winter

is all the ice and snow building up on all the wood.

That one's really icy.

Definitely don't want to fall off up here.

God, the nearest hospital's hours away.

Oof.

All right, to start to work on siding.

Keep the wind out.

Keep it the ideal fishing tent.

Sweet.

Okay, window.

I really feel bad for people who are doing nine to five...

and they get their Saturday and Sunday off each week.

That's it?

[uplifting music playing]

God, that just does something for me.

It's... so natural looking.

So beautiful.

How the hell do you do anything with two days off?

Not enough time to get your shit together.

That's a nice fit.

It just looks so good to me.

Something a little boy would dream up,

like a little wooden shack, add some skis, pull your skidoo.

I mean, it's just so cool.

Can't wait to drag this thing up the pond.

Curious how it's going to pull.

I mean, it's windy out there.

Decent chance it could blow over,

a decent chance, but put her in first gear and see what happens.

[beeping]

Yeah, since we're on the hill here...

I'm worried about once this thing gets moving,

it's gonna keep, keep going and bang into the back of the slide

and get out of control. So, since I'm here alone

with no one else to help, I think, really, the thing to do is tie an anchor to it.

A heavy load.

[rhythmic music playing]

No idea what's going to happen here.

Here's the anchor.

That should slow down a bit.

You know you're a hillbilly when you're using ratchet straps this much.

Need more anchor.

All right, that's it.

Before we set off, I went to check the ice to make sure it was safe.

You have to be careful when you're alone in the wilderness.

It's been cold as hell lately,

but it's always good to have a check, you never know.

Oh my God, so many people out here...

you know, bite the bullet by going through the ice.

Growing up in Newfoundland, we would always hear these stories,

always be warned of the ice, and how many people drown,

and people do every year.

It's very sad to say it was true.

I really don't want to be one of them.

That's a lot of ice.

Well over a foot.

So, no worries about the ice and breaking through with that little fishing shack.

It's more this wind, she could roll over.

See what happens.

[Billy] This is winter.

It's beautiful, but it's hard.

Right now, it's just...

[clears throat] frozen.

Doesn't move.

The nature is not the enemy, okay, but is not the friend, friendly buddy.

It's there.

I've got something in mind.

Yeah. Gonna try it.

So, you just have to know how to accept, to go forward.

Oh, yeah!

[chuckles]

One leg at a time.

[rhythmic music playing]

Oh, this one is good also, oh my friend.

[grunting] Yeah. It's still heavy.

No, nothing is easy in this world.

[laughs] Oof.

Okay.

[grunting]

Okay.

There we go.

I'm just going to lie it here until I need it.

Got to finish the walls first.

[rhythmic music playing]

This is longer than I expected.

And it always takes more time.

Always.

And the wet snow today is not helping at all for the boards,

they're so thin, so they get, you know, twisted.

So, we'll see how, how I will be able to fit them into the wall.

Oh, it's so hard to get the tongue into the groove.

You see. Oh.

Do this one. Oh, yeah. [laughs]

Oh.

Okay, perfect. I'm just going to nail it down here.

It doesn't want to fit.

Oh.

[sighs]

Ah, ah, ah, ah!

After finishing this wall, I'm just going to do the fine work around the edges.

And then, that will be the woodstove.

Yeah. Planning to put the wood stove around here.

The chimney.

You know, I haven't... oh, my friend,

I haven't thought about the chimney yet, from the wood stove.

Okay, I haven't thought about it so far.

Oh, right.

I haven't thought about it at all.

[soft music playing]

Today, we're just going to slap on the walls, the plywood.

But first, I'm going to make a scaffold.

I'm thinking it's 12 feet, but you gotta always measure before you cut.

Take your time, instead of rushing.

Yeah, see, it's 10 feet.

See, I was wrong.

A nice, strong, sturdy scaffold coming right up.

[upbeat music playing]

There you go.

20, oh, it's nothing.

Comfortable for me.

I think we just get used to it, you build a higher tolerance.

It's done, it's ready to go.

Put in the walls first, and then, the roof.

All right. Emilie?

- [Emilie] Am I going up there? - Yeah.

I don't like heights.

[suspenseful music playing]

[laughs]

I can't. I'm too scared.

I can be in a trauma room and resuscitate a person, but I can't climb three stairs.

Okay. Hang on. Let me try again.

Wait, wait, wait.

There you go.

Ah. Oh my God.

[Gilbert] There you go.

Better, eh?

It moved.

Ah!

All right. That's good.

Do you feel like Romeo and Juliet?

[Gilbert] Yeah, yeah.

[Gilbert chuckles]

[Emilie] We've been together for seven years,

and we're recently engaged.

I was kind of wondering when that proposal was coming.

Man, I've given him three kids, how come he's not proposing to me? But, whatever.

I just stopped thinking about it.

But then, he chose the first full moon of the year.

He gets on his knee and he pulls out the ring,

and then, he just asked me to marry him.

And, of course, I said yes.

There you go. [chuckles]

We're going to need to put a stud right here.

- [Emilie] Oh. What happened? - [Gilbert] It's off.

Ah, so we messed up.

[Gilbert] Yeah. Every four feet, there's no stud.

Like here, here, but there's no stud.

There was a slap in the two by four, so we can put the boards up.

That means we need to use more studs that we didn't really account for?

Yeah.

So, hopefully, we'll be, we'll have enough studs to finish the project.

Oh, man, can this day be done?

[Gilbert] Here, right?

[soft music playing]

All right.

I mean, it's just, you know, it's expected.

I guess it's the first time we've built a cabin.

I can't believe we got this looking pretty good

when we had no idea what we were doing.

I'd say it's rewarding.

More importantly, though, Gilbert and I aren't married yet,

so I still got to prove myself.

You just got to roll with it. That's just how it goes in the bush.

In the bush, you just make it work.

[Margot] I don't like to give up,

and I don't have any other choice anyway.

I mean, it's just you.

You have to do it. There is no other way.

[Billy] There is a balance in the woods.

Like the angel and the devil, there is one voice that comes.

You're tired. There is too much.

And there is another thought that's come. Yeah, you can do it.

[soft music playing]

[Matty] In Newfoundland, when everything freezes,

that's when you can move through the country.

All the bogs, all the lakes are frozen.

I've always dreamed of having a little shack like this.

On the coldest windiest day, you'll still be able to get out.

Here we go.

I'm worried about getting down this hill.

Ooh!

Really, I'm trying to avoid this thing from slamming into the back of the skidoo.

[rhythmic music playing]

It's blowing, and we're, right now, protected in this little cove.

It'll get worse once we go down to the lake.

Ronnie. Sit in your seat.

Everyone thinks their dog is unique,

but I really do feel like Ronnie is a special, special cat.

He really is in tune with this place.

We're really threading a needle with this wind.

Definitely riding the line.

But that's why I built the thing,

I want to be able to go fishing on these windy days.

And it's one of those things, if she rolls over, it'll be a good test.

I wasn't sure, in this wind, if it was going to do it, but it pulls pretty well.

Must be 30, 40 knots right now.

If she can handle this, she can handle anything.

Just to be able to step off the skidoo, make five steps,

and then you're right back indoors, inside of a little mini cabin

with a wood stove and an ice fishing hole, what a great feeling.

Oh.

You like your new fishing shack, Ronnie?

Ready to start fishing?

Deep ass ice.

There you go, Ronnie. We got our hole.

What do you think? It's a good-looking hole.

All right, let's get our line hooked up.

[soft music playing]

Finally fishing after all that work.

Good, hey, Ron?

Once I got that fishing rod in my hand, looking out through the window,

howling, howling wind and being completely warm,

sitting beside Ronnie, worth every bit of effort to make this thing.

An ice fishing shack like this

really isn't about getting the fish for me,

it's just about being here, enjoying winter.

[rhythmic music playing]

Is it an element of suffering here?

Yes, but I'm trying to improve and rebuild to avoid suffering.

Ooh, so this is my last one.

[laughs] I'm very happy.

Whoo! This is amazing.

Can't wait to take my first bath.

I got this bathtub in a garage sale and, you know,

it's a very nice blue old-fashioned, would-be hipster look.

For 20 bucks it's still in good shape, you know.

Should be enough room.

Should be.

[grunting]

Yeah hoo!

Yeah, I've got enough room.

This is great. This is great.

[grunting]

I was thinking just to put a chimney just right through the roof.

I know there is a hole there because it was an old chimney.

So, the hole is here.

[grunting]

I cannot get through.

Yeah. It's frozen.

Okay.

Yeah, that's not easy work, but I need to do it.

More job than expected.

[suspenseful music]

Oh.

Oh.

[sighs]

So much ice.

[soft music playing]

This is the dirt that is on my roof.

So, it's rock.

So, I'm just going to build up a fire here.

You know, it's winter, everything is just frozen.

Every project, it's unexpected all the time.

At the beginning you think, "Oh, that would be easy project."

But at the end, it turned out like so much work.

But at the same time, the work needs to be done.

Maybe the wood from the hole stuck in my chimney?

Yeah, it will work.

Okay.

Oh, my friend, it melt very nicely.

Oh, yeah, that's so easy now.

[laughs]

I got it.

Almost done. Almost done.

[thudding]

[grunting]

Shit, man.

Success!

[upbeat music playing]

There we go.

[speaking French]

Ah, so happy.

But I'm not done yet. [laughs]

I'm gonna install some lights.

You know, there is a touch of luxury, just something nice to see.

Now, cover the hole here.

[grunting]

And I'm just going to put a tarp.

No wind will come in, and that's it.

I'm going to go and take my bath now.

[laughs]

I'm tired, man.

[sighs]

Oh, man, it looks so nice.

I wasn't expecting to look this good.

I wasn't at all.

You know, this bathhouse is just one step further

to my dream about this homestead.

I'm getting there. Slowly but surely, I'll get there.

In the middle of the bush and you've got a bathhouse.

[laughs] This is just great.

[water splashing]

[soft music playing]

[Emilie] Today is a really big day. Building a roof.

This is definitely, like, a more than two-person job.

Jason and Silas are here today.

Gilbert's cousin and nephew.

Jason, he's really good with making roofs.

Silas, he's here to learn how to get the job done

so he can maybe build one, one day.

[Gilbert] All right, we're just going to lift it here.

Keep pushing it this way.

Push it this way.

Push it this way.

Okay.

[grunting]

[Emilie] We have to be really careful. Anything can go wrong.

You're working at heights, you're working with heavy, awkward things.

Just got to move it a little bit.

It's good.

[Emilie] Looks good, though.

- Yeah, looks good. - Looks promising.

[rhythmic music playing]

Ah, it's going to look good.

You know, I always say it takes a community to raise a family,

and it takes a community to build a homestead.

And, you know, they're helping us now, but down the road,

we're going to be helping them as well, so it's we're always helping each other.

And I really love that about this community.

I did a lot of hard work to put that sheet up.

I'm just kidding. [laughs]

I didn't.

It's looking a lot like a home.

- [Gilbert] The last piece. - [Emilie] The last piece.

Yeah, the last piece coming up.

[Emilie] We have a roof. It's awesome.

Like, it looks so good.

And I can tell the kids, like, "I put a nail through this."

And the kids will be very proud of us.

[Gilbert] Our kids, once they see it for the first time,

the look in their eyes, that's why we do it.

[soft music playing]

[Margot] This place is not home just because I have a cabin built,

like the whole woods is my home.

It's not because I have a cabin, I want to be stuck in there

and just sew my socks all day,

like I want to go trapping and go play in the woods.

So, I'm trying to figure out where I'm going to cut the hole for the pipe.

Having this cabin ready for the winter

means I can focus on all the things I came here to do.

Okay.

[rhythmic music playing]

I need to make sure the pipe is safe and tight.

You don't want any carbon monoxide leaks.

Like, it has no smell.

If you're sleeping and you don't realize there's a leak,

well, you just don't wake up.

[chainsaw buzzing]

Perfect.

[soft music playing]

[sighs]

The cold is the most serious thing.

You know, if you don't wear gloves for more than ten minutes,

you'll lose your fingers. You know, it's just those other things

you have to, if you don't do it, you just don't make it.

Holy shit.

This stove is the only thing I have that really allows me to stay here.

It's the main thing I need just to survive.

A little more fucking around than I was hoping for, but...

Uh, that's it.

It's not very pretty, but it's going to be safe.

[soft music playing]

First fire of the cabin.

It's going to be a big new step.

I don't have to be camping anymore, I can just move in here, be warm.

I think my bed is going to be over there, next to the stove.

I'm going to have a table facing the window.

Have my little trapping corner for my pelts.

It's perfect.

[epic music playing]

Working outdoors in the cold all day definitely saps the life of you.

[Emilie] Out here, you never know what's going to come.

It could be bears, wolves, which is definitely a reality up here.

- [gunshot] - [Gilbert] Bullseye.

Living off grid, you have to find ways to make your life easier.

Oh! [laughs]

[Margot] Wolf trapping is definitely a little more tricky

because wolves are very smart animals.

I'm trying to catch them before they catch Cade.

Subtitling: difuze