Got my stuff packed.
North to Alaska! Here I come!
[narrator] On this episode of Alaskans Bush People.
Guys, here we are!
[woman] It's been so long!
It feels great to be back in Alaska.
They're all ground-bound.
- Hey, guys! - Hey!
What are you, lost?
You know, it's definitely nice to see an old bush friend.
I whipped out my pliers and if you need a doctor at home.
Is he giggling in there?
The most urgent thing is fixing the roads.
It took a long time to get one load of gravel.
Turning the farm truck into a dump truck, pretty sound logic.
There's not much to look at.
I want to prove to myself that I can still survive in Alaska.
I can smell it. I can hear it. It's definitely there.
One of the biggest battles that I have, is answering that do I want to move back?
The boy scout motto is to always be prepared.
So, it's one thing I want to be, is prepared.
Paper towels are handy for, like, fire starter, stuff like that, you know.
So, it's always good to have.
There we go!
[narrator] It's early fall on the Brown's Mountain homestead.
Siblings, Bird and Rain, with the late edition of brother Bear,
gear up for their long-awaited return
to the place they once called home.
North to Alaska!
Here I come!
All my wildness, my extremeness, really began in Alaska.
It just really has made me want to go back
and to, like, just go to where, like, I was when I was a kid,
and to discover something new about myself.
Alaska, to me, will always be home,
and it holds a special place in my heart.
I am going to take this with me.
It was my late hamster's best friend.
Practicality is a big thing for me.
I'm definitely an under-packer.
I'll get somewhere and have to buy things
just to be able to live.
I think I'm done.
Being that I'm almost 18,
I am looking forward to going to Alaska with, kind of, a new perspective,
because when we were there, I was a kid.
No!
You know, my childhood was free,
but it wasn't quite free in the way that everybody else was.
I wish I could take you, honey bunny.
I could just take your hair instead.
So, I'm going to take this.
It's not as much as I would like, but it is from all of you.
Get a little wet, fold it up,
then a nice little kitty-hair ball.
So, you all can come.
Oh, it does smell like you all.
Now, you have everything packed, right?
- Everything you're gonna need. - I think so, yeah.
I want to take some glass jars,
so we can bring back dirt, pressed flowers...
- Shells. - shells.
[narrator] Although the Browns have high hopes for their voyage...
heading to the remote Alaskan bush this time of year is a risk.
Unpredictable storms threaten to devastate the south-eastern coast,
and can even shut down small towns for weeks.
It is a horrible time of year to be doing this.
Alaska weather, it can come out of nowhere.
Especially just before winter, the temperatures are changing,
and I'm really not a worrier,
but it can be very dangerous up there.
I'm a little nervous to go.
Why is that? Because of the plane, or--
Yeah, that's one of the reasons, yes.
And, like, I don't know.
Like, I'm nervous to leave here,
and to leave mom and dad and all.
The way that we grew up is, you never know,
when you see someone, if that's gonna be the last time.
So, going back to Alaska,
there is that weighing the option of something could happen when we were gone.
[coughing]
Dad hasn't been feeling good, and that's one of the main reasons
that I don't know if I should go, even though I want to.
But dad definitely knows how it feels to be lost.
Because when he was 16, is when he lost his family,
and he walked just trying to find himself.
We call it, like, a walk-about,
and it helps you think,
and it helps you get back to feeling yourself.
And I think dad sees that.
There's just something magical about the Alaskan mountains,
and the breeze, and the smell, and just all of it.
I'm hoping I come back with, like, an idea of what I wanna do.
I'm hoping going to Alaska it will just--
- Click. - You know?
Yeah.
Hopefully.
As far as Washington, it's great, it's a great place,
but that feeling that I have when I'm in Alaska
isn't necessarily there for Washington.
What?
I'd drag you, I'd drag you up here.
If you...?
"Forget me" is what I said.
I feel like this trip will help answer some questions,
and honestly, a lot of the Alaska questions are hard.
And I think that's one of the biggest battles that I have with myself,
is answering that do I want to move back?
I don't think Bear and Rain fully know how much is riding on this trip.
I'm thinking about Alaska for more a long-term thing.
- Pick or a shovel. - So, I start off with a shovel.
You know, I thought you were going to get that.
What was that, even man?
I thought you were ready to catch it, then you started.
No, we're way too close to throw something to each other.
[narrator] Back on North Star Ranch,
Bam and Gabe attempt to solve an urgent problem
created by last month's wildfire.
Look at this, man. It's will be washout central.
Becomes bad in the winter,
and everything that was holding it together, which wasn't much.
Is gone now.
The root burn didn't just hit around the trees,
it also hit several spots on our road.
Now that's dangerous for two reasons,
it makes it harder to drive over or where you can't, until you repair it.
And also, when winter hits, and then all that snow melts,
it's just going to destroy everything,
because there won't be anything to hold it together.
So, the idea will be to put a couple culverts, if we can find them somewhere.
I'm thinking, you have a couple culverts going across the road here,
and then you build up on top of that with the gravel?
- Right. - So, what we need to do
roll this log,
and maybe that log over there.
That gives us at least the marker starting point
of what will be the retaining wall.
A culvert is basically just a tube
that the water flows through instead of flowing on top of the road.
That stops it from having wash out.
It gives the water somewhere to go,
instead of trying to dig ditches on the other side,
because the water is basically going to do what it wants to do.
You want to do the driving or you want me to do the driving?
- Pull the truck up. - Yeah?
It's necessary to reinforce the side before really putting in the culvert,
because anything you put to give added stability for the force coming against it,
is going to help hold it together.
Alright! You ready?
Do I have to wear my seatbelt?
Always.
Hit it!
Slowly! Slowly!
A little surprised Bam's giving me the keys.
Definitely hoping to get everything done this time,
without sending the truck through his mountain,
or a tree, through him, or anything like that.
Slowly! Slowly!
I have to make it up the hill.
This way! This way! We want to pull it out.
Doing good! Doing good!
Just keep it coming.
And stop.
Alright.
That was just about perfect.
It's definitely refreshing to be back on the mountain.
Even if it's a little bit charred,
you just have to take it one day at a time,
one wave at a time.
Yeah!
Bad, bad, bad!
- You know what helps with that? - Bam?
Gloves.
I'll get my first aid kit.
Gaby's not just the most clumsy of all my siblings,
he's the most clumsy person I think I've ever met, seen, or heard of.
You know, there are easier ways to get out of work.
He tries not to be, and that's what makes it kind of funny,
because he will try so hard,
and then just trip on his own two feet.
Will I be able to play piano?
Could you before?
- How's that feel? - Good. Let's get back to work.
Stop! You're going to go back and do the exact same thing?
What, what are you missing?
A little bit of flesh.
Besides that.
- A pair of gloves! - Oh, I knew that.
[hooting]
[narrator] After a 14-hour journey from North Star Ranch,
and more than three years since they last left,
the Brown siblings take to the sea in Alaska.
Surrounded by mountains again, we've got the ocean.
Yup.
My dad coordinated with Trapper,
to get some of his friends to give us a lift,
from Juneau to Hoonah.
Yeah, thanks. We're just about there, guys.
Yeah, we are. That is Hoonah!
I haven't been on this dock since I was 13 years old.
It's nice to be back.
It feels good to be back,
but it definitely feels weird that it's only three of us.
I definitely wish everybody could have come,
but I'll hold them in my heart,
and I'll enjoy it for them.
Guys, here we are!
Hoonah town!
Oh, my God!
Kiss the ground.
- You guys excited? - I'm excited.
Bring it.
- Oh, you already got a shell. - You got the first shell!
I had to find one.
I was the first one to kiss the dock.
I saw that.
Gosh, this place!
We're back!
[narrator] Coming up.
Hey, guys! What are you, lost?
The siblings re-unite with old friends in the bush.
Check this bad chicken out!
And later...
- Are we there yet? - Almost.
their emotional return to Browntown.
Look how old it looks.
- Ready? - Let's go home.
Welcome back to Hoonah, guys! Welcome back!
[narrator] It's the first time in over three years
that members of the Brown family have stepped foot in the Alaskan bush...
Yeah, this is it, for sure.
and in the small coastal town of Hoonah,
siblings Bear, Bird, and Rain,
are hoping to find a way back to Browntown.
Our plan is to go to Browntown,
and we're going to try and get a hold of our old friend, Trapper.
Hopefully he has some sort of mode of transportation that we can get to Browntown with.
- Hey! You remember us? - Hey, guys!
- How's it going, man? - Good! What are you, lost?
Not exactly. Not exactly.
We're pretty sure your boat was named the Jamie.
We were hoping you still owned it.
So far, so good.
It's definitely nice to see a familiar face like Trapper.
Good to see you, man!
He's one of the oldest friends we have from back long, long time ago in Alaska.
Trapper can always help us out, and always will,
so it's really good to see him again.
Dad actually wanted us to tell you, "Hi!
Wish I could be here."
Yeah, well, I was, I was hoping. I really was.
But, you know, I had heard he was feeling poorly.
Yes, dad's been a little under the weather, so it's only us guys.
- So, what do you need? - We need a skiff.
We're trying to make it back out to Browntown.
Well, I don't. All I've got is my canoe.
But Kenny, I would go hunt him up.
I think he's the, the house across on Main Street.
You see all the, all the gear out front.
Perfect!
Trapper gave us a lead to track down Kenny.
- Roger down here. Over! - Over, over!
Kenny is an old friend of the family,
and he's helped us in the past with quite a few things.
Oh, yeah!
He's helped us with some destruction jobs.
He's actually came out to Browntown.
What's up Sabrina girl?
This is the right house?
You tell me, man. I've never been here.
So, we're really hoping that he has a way for us to get back to Browntown.
We don't really have a backup plan.
I hear something.
- Hey! - Yeah, we found it!
- Yeah! - Hey!
How you doin', man? How you doin'?
You guys are still alive and kicking?
We are! We are!
You know, I heard you guys almost burnt out.
Yeah. You heard that, eh? Yeah, it was pretty bad.
We had a massive wildfire. We lost almost everything.
[grunts]
What have you been up to, man?
Man, just sitting here, surviving in the bush.
Working at the dump. I'm just freelancing, do whatever I can.
There's nothing else, you know, to do.
How's mom and pops doing? Are they...
A couple of health issues, but they're still okay.
They wanted to come up, too, but they just couldn't make this trip.
As we say, that saltwater, man, that's a cure-all.
- Keep your life forever. - Literally!
We actually, we were just talking with Trapper,
and we asked if he had a skiff or something he might, could loan us,
something to get us out to Browntown,
and he pointed us in your direction.
Not to put you on the spot or anything, I know we literally just showed up,
"Oh, can we have a favor, man"?
That's, this is what it's all about.
That's true! That's true!
You need something and you came here, I'll make it happen.
- You help me, I help you. - Yeah!
So, what would you need help with?
I got some rounds sitting over here in a wood splitter.
You help me cut up some wood,
you scratch my back, I scratch yours.
Yeah, for sure! We're definitely willing to help out.
Bush people are really a special breed of people, like Trapper and Kenny.
Without them, this trip wouldn't be possible.
They're always willing to lend a hand,
because bush people have bush hearts.
Teamwork makes the dream work.
[laughing]
Make you work for it!
Heck, yeah man! I love it!
Yeah, yeah! Something happened?
- Schmacko! - Oh, man! Ouch!
You're in pain? You're good?
It's not there anymore.
- That's true. - You know what I mean? Yeah.
It hurt me and I was, like, oh!
I whipped out my pliers and I'm the tooth fairy.
If you want to see it, I'll go get it.
- I'm goin' into the house. - Yeah, if it's no trouble.
I wouldn't mind seeing it.
That's not a problem. I'll, I'll show.
- Yeah! Cool, man! - Cool!
I don't know if seeing Kenny's tooth specifically will help us get a skiff to Browntown,
but hopefully, just entertaining him will help.
- Check this bad chicken out! - Look at that thing.
Oh, man! You weren't kidding.
- That was a good tooth. - Yeah, it was.
Oh, man!
Birdy, you want that for your bone tree?
If you need a doctor at home.
Just so you know.
Gaby, what are you doing?
He's lucky I don't roll him down the hill.
I can't do that. I'll throw up.
- Bam, roll him down. - I'll throw up.
Damn it!
Is he giggling in there?
[narrator] The next morning, after obtaining culverts from a local,
the Brown brothers work to repair a crucial part of their mountain road.
That's comically high up.
First, they'll need to dig a four-foot trench,
allowing the drainage system to lie even with the terrain.
To make what we have work,
we're going to have to dig it down a little bit.
Oh, yeah!
It's very, very big.
As long as we can get the road to a point where we can drive over it,
we can fine-tune with as much gravel as we want, as we go.
I want you to come in with your backhoe and dig out a ditch.
You know, it's basically this line I'm putting in.
Okay.
Doing it this way will make the road more functional right away, is the idea.
Because with everything we have to do,
with how far behind we are because of the fire,
we don't have time to be, like, really working on just this, and just this area.
Bam, you should get alligators for your pond.
More a koi fish kind of guy.
I think we're about there? You want to take a look?
I think we're good.
It's important that we fix this road.
One, it's the entrance to Bam's property
and he can't do anything up there without it fixed.
Alright!
Two, this is the road to our back exit,
and if this isn't open, and another fire starts up, then we are stuck.
So, why don't you start hauling gravel?
And we'll take care of putting this culvert together.
Okay.
At least you guys have a good day on the water.
Coming as late in the season as we did,
I did expect worse weather.
[narrator] Back in Alaska,
the Brown siblings have finally procured their ticket to Browntown.
There she is.
Battle tank.
Check it out!
- Hey, nice! Oh, it's sealed! - Yeah, pretty!
- Right? - Fancy!
Cover on her. Love it!
- Thank you. - Thank you.
You know where I'll be.
I don't know a lot of things, but what I do know is,
in the bush, your friends, your family need help,
and that's what you do. You do what you can.
Without a boat, you ain't walking, or hiking.
Take good care of her. She'll take care of you.
People got to get out and explore.
Breathe the good air.
- We're underway! - Browntown!
Let's do this!
I'm definitely excited to go back to Browntown.
That's not a secret.
But as far as weather and bears, it's not the ideal time.
There are a lot of storms, and all the bears are getting ready for winter,
so they're eating anything they can.
Got to love the way the clouds
and the mists just inlay on the mountains.
They move slowly by the wind does that
- Yeah! - It's magical!
Guys, we have a whale.
Welcome us back to Browntown.
Honestly feels unreal,
that we're in a skiff headed to Browntown.
I didn't think it was going to happen ever again.
[chatting indistinctly]
Being on the water with Bear and Rain definitely makes me nostalgic,
because a lot of my earliest memories are on the water,
and it reminds me of when we all first arrived there as a family.
It looks like a bear on the shore.
Right! I think you're right.
Being back on the water, it definitely makes me nostalgic,
just makes me think back to all those times that I had childhood,
teen-hood, in my 20s, it really just takes me back.
Feels like everyone's going to be there.
It feels like we're going home.
I'm so excited, though, just to see it,
to walk the beach again, and drink from the creeks again.
I'm who I am today, partially because of Browntown.
You know, I definitely want to just get back to nature completely.
To be honest, it almost doesn't feel like we ever left.
The little voice inside, calling me back to Alaska, has been there since we left.
It's always just something that I push away,
but it'll never go away.
And a part of me doesn't want it to.
One of the biggest battles that I have with myself is,
do I belong in Washington?
And maybe this will, you know, answer some of that for me.
Wow! Tiffany Rock!
And it's been a long time since we've seen that.
I'm most nervous about going back to Browntown is,
what if we get there and it's not as magical as I remember it?
What has changed? What is there?
I really don't want to cry.
There she blows, guys! There she blows. Look at it.
It's beautiful!
It's been so long!
[narrator] After days of travel, siblings Bear, Bird, and Rain,
are approaching their final destination, Browntown.
[Bear] So close to stepping on Browntown now, guys.
Browntown, to me, it says home,
it means family, it means freedom.
The wind, the seagulls, all of that,
it takes me right back to childhood.
There are just so many memories here, great, great, great memories.
- You smell that? - Yeah.
It smells almost sweet. Love it!
Good old ground hounds!
This was home to us for so long.
And there's just so much that we did.
Garden with mom, the swinging.
We've a lot of memories here, a lot of good times.
Remember, we had that big bench swing?
Dang!
Look at it. Look how old it looks!
Ah, man! My tree house!
She still stands, guys.
I'm going to check around the house.
[sniffling, sobbing]
I know first impressions is hard...
because I'm just thinking about all the things that we did.
It's definitely hard to look around
and to see so many things from, like, so long ago,
and imagine how it was, and seeing how it is now.
And one of the hardest things is knowing that we can,
and never even live here if we wanted to.
A little piece of paradise.
It is.
There's just so many memories around every corner,
every porch, every beam, it's just a memory.
Every trail...
God dang it.
all the things that we did, and how much it felt like home, and...
how much it still does.
Look what we've done.
You know, we hauled every piling up here, we dug every hole.
Brown way to do it!
It's good to have faith.
It's like everywhere I look, there's a good memory.
Someday, we'll have grand babies around this table.
- Oh, good Lord! - Let's eat.
Man! Look at that, man!
How could you not appreciate that view?
The same way that the forest takes things over,
this is somebody else's home now, not ours.
It feels good to be back.
It feels good to be here again.
I've wanted to come back since we left, and here we are.
Oh, it's so overgrown! It's musty.
Oh, should we take these nails?
No! No!
- Bird. I saw that. - I know that.
I'm not going to take 'em.
Wow!
Ready?
Let's go home.
Oh, wow!
It looks so much the same.
Oh, the table!
Dad and I worked really hard on this.
Main thing, just keep it with the grain.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! - [giggles]
Bring it still back.
- A little bit more, though. - Bring it in.
- A little further. - Perfect!
What do you think, kiddo?
You've helped me on this one, you'd help on anything, I think.
First time walking into the Browntown house is strange.
-This wasn't the only one. There were a bunch. -Mm-hm.
Everywhere you look,
there's a memory, and there's a story behind it.
I don't remember when we put the wood stove in
because we came back that one was just here.
You're right, because the guys surprised mom.
Yeah!
The main thing that makes me emotional is
every one of those stories has to do with my mom and dad.
My dad's not sitting at the table and my mom isn't upstairs,
and that's, it's more painful than I thought it would be.
This seems so much smaller than it did before.
Yeah.
First, we should probably buckle this guy together.
Ohh!
- What? - Snug as a bug in a rug!
[narrator] In Washington, the Brown brothers are ready to bury the culvert
with its first load of gravel.
With how much Bam wants to build up the road over the culvert,
it's going to be quite a job.
We're gonna need a lot of gravel.
That's a lot of trips, which means it's a lot of time.
- Oh, Noah's coming back. - Yeah.
It took him a long time just to get that one load of gravel.
Well, not when you factor in how far he's going.
Seems to be a slow go.
You know, even with Noah helping us with the tractor,
we don't have time to spend a week on any project.
You know there's so much we have to do.
We're spreading ourselves so thin.
It's a little time consuming.
So, the faster we can do it, the better.
We might have to make a thousand trips.
Professionals do not haul a bucket load at a time,
regardless of the size of the bucket.
So, if we had some way to move more of the material at a time say, the farm truck?
If it has the, the hook-ups for it,
we could just throw some plywood, and some two-by-fours together
and build a box on the back of it to fill with gravel.
It does have a spot for two by fours.
You know, turning the farm truck into a dump truck is pretty sound logic in my mind.
You know, utilize a lot more space.
You know, this is definitely Bam channeling his inner Noah.
Because it's, it's pretty smart.
Y'all can be offloading shovels while I take more trips.
Then, when you all run out, you just drive down,
I'll fill it again and continue doing that.
Just getting moved as much as we can, as fast as we can.
Why don't you start making gravel loads,
Gabey and I will see about turning the flatbed
into more of a large pickup or maybe a dump truck.
Okay. I'll go get the farm truck.
Can I get a "whoa", team?
No.
[narrator] Coming up.
You go left here, I'll go right.
Bear and Bird stalk on dangerous ground.
[whispering] There's been a bear here. A big bear.
There is something moving around up there.
I'm gonna brush my teeth.
Normally, you think you have your morning routine, oh, boy,
you know, I have to do some laundry, this and that.
But in Alaska, you get to go to the creek.
You know, it's something to look forward to.
[narrator] It's the first morning in Browntown
as Bear, Bird and Rain start the day, reliving old routines.
Right now, I'm checking out my tree house.
This was my dwelling in Browntown. It's where I lived.
I used to have a ladder that was nailed up there.
It seems to have been, since, taken down,
so I'm just going to see if I can't skim me up the back side of it.
See that view again.
It feels really great to be back in my tree house.
Whoo!
It's been a while since I've been in cold water so, here goes nothing!
Oh, my gosh! It's so cold!
What does Bear say? If your hands aren't numb, you're not having fun?
I'm definitely there so.
Look at me now, mom!
Now that we're in Browntown, the real work begins.
We have so much we want to do.
We're just going to set a game plan,
make a list of all the things we want to make sure we get done, and then go.
The mud just helps exfoliate the pores,
just like, like those soaps that have the little tiny things in it.
Except that it's super natural,
and tastes good, if you get it in your teeth.
You know, honestly, not many places have felt like home like Browntown, Alaska has.
The mornings like this, they make it hard to not want to stay.
A part of me definitely just wants to, like, give myself to the wild,
you know, just jump back in.
I want to hunt, I want to fish,
I want to, you know, do all those things.
There are an awfully lot of deer.
I was going to, say, go out for an afternoon.
I think that that would be a very good idea, Bird.
I'm trying to remember the last time I went on a hunt in Alaska.
I don't remember.
I feel like that's just more reason to do another one.
I can't remember the last one.
If I get a deer, which I'm hoping I do,
the plan is definitely we want to eat a little bit in Browntown.
But we want to bring some back to everybody else.
I haven't seen you all so excited and your smiles seem a lot bigger.
For sure, you all, kind of, have that twinkle in your eye.
So many times, in Browntown, I came back with a deer.
And now I want to do the same thing in Washington with an Alaska deer.
Let's get on it, guys! Let's go waste some time!
We're burning daylight.
Okay, let's start doin' it.
So, we got two-by-fours, some plywood.
Bring all the material you can find to the truck and we'll go from there.
[narrator] Fifteen hundred miles away, brothers Bam and Gabe,
rig up a makeshift dump-truck to save time hauling gravel.
What height?
Whatever height this comes to, unless that's really short.
Let's see how quickly we can build this thing.
Well, we don't need to make it exactly perfect,
wonderful, and varnish it, and carve our initials.
Is that the only sheet of plywood you have?
Nope, I have another one back there.
Alright, go get it.
We just need it to hold gravel,
so it just makes sense to just use whatever scrap is lying around.
Actually, no, let's put the angle at the back, I think, right?
But for aerodynamics, let's go ahead and turn around the other way.
We're not shooting for the land speed record,
but if we happen to get it, we will be happy.
You know, when you grow up in the middle of nowhere
with pretty much nothing, you learn how to use what you got.
We never had the, the luxury,
or very rarely, of having like fresh, new lumber.
Make sure the wall's pulled in
and the 4x4 is flush against the bed of the truck.
Let's get that plywood up here.
On it.
We're just nailing boards on there as fast as we can,
because we don't want to take time away from the project.
It's only held together with like goodwill, bubble gum,
and, and very old lumber.
Alright!
It's a box, on the back of the truck.
It's not very pretty, but it will work.
You're gonna hunt in that?
That's all I have, actually.
I have this and my really loud coat.
Well, just so happened, Birdy,
I happened to bring along one of my nice black sweaters.
[narrator] Later in the day,
Bear and Bird suit up for their first Alaskan deer hunt in four years.
I, kind of, feel like I want to, like, climb a tree.
Yeah? Yeah? You're making that bear transition?
- I feel like I slowly am. - It finally happened.
I love your style, Bird. That is pretty awesome.
Bird, you look pretty extreme today.
I think a good hunt is definitely a way to, like,
show myself that I could still survive even in the wild of Alaska.
I'm trying to not take, like, any shortcuts while we're here.
And so, if I don't get a deer, I don't want to eat tonight.
We don't even need a gun, Birdie.
Yeah.
Yeah, let's try to stay out of the water.
So, you go left here, I'll go right.
- Okay? - Meet in the middle. Good!
- Let's do it! - Yes!
It was like, hunting is definitely
one of the most important things to surviving in the bush.
Dad's the one that taught me that.
He is where I learned you can be with your thoughts
when you're hunting.
It doesn't just have to be about getting the animal.
Right here's where the beaver that, actually, has flooded where this creek used to be.
I, kind of, wish I'd see him.
And dad has worked through a lot of his things,
especially when he was younger, with hunting.
This time of year, in Browntown,
you know, the bears are hungry.
And they are also trying to hunt to get all that fat before a winter.
They seem to be hunting on the path I'm hunting,
which is never good.
[narrator] Chichagof Island is home to the densest bear population per square mile,
of any place on Earth.
And with Browntown uninhabited for years,
the bears have had full reign of the land.
Found some deer bones.
This guy was killed quite a while ago,
most likely from a bear.
Essentially the forest and the bears have re-taken over this area.
They're not used to seeing any humans, they're not used to smelling humans.
The wind is right on our back, technically.
So, it's blowing directly in that direction.
So, he may smell us, if there's one up there.
I just heard a, like, a smash.
You don't really want to run into a hungry bear out there.
All I have on me is a darn deer rifle, that doesn't do anything to a bear.
I can smell it. I can hear it, it's definitely there.
Howdy!
Come on in.
Pardon the mess.
I, I've just been doing some clean-up, trying to get ready for the winter.
But yeah, this is the living area.
I got this new stove.
It's a real nice stainless steel propane stove.
And these are my, my wine-making barrels.
The thing I've discovered about my alcohol-making is
it lubricates social interactions.
It's a great barter material.
This is going to be the workshop.
It's also my guest room.
This is a queen-size bed right here on top of these things.
This is what was the old bait shed,
when this was a trawler, and that will be the hot tub.
Because I have found, when you do the kind of stuff I do,
if you can get a couple hours in a hot tub at the end of the day, you recover a lot faster.
Plus, it's a great place to drink.
There's something moving around up there.
I can smell it, I can hear it. It's definitely there.
[narrator] Bear and Bird are on a long-awaited Alaskan deer hunt.
[Bird whispering] There's been a bear here.
A big bear.
[narrator] But Chichigof Island's most dangerous predators
are too close for comfort.
Mamma mia!
There is some heavy bear activity right here,
where they've been searching for grubs.
So, I'm going to go back just a little ways,
and cut to the side, and just let the bear have this area.
With the amount of bear sign that I'm finding,
I'm not even sure if there any deer out here anymore.
Either they've run away, or the bear ate them.
I don't think we're going to get anything.
The last few weeks have definitely not been ideal.
And so, I was hoping that this hunt would kind of be the turnaround for all of that.
But didn't get a deer.
Everything I, kind of, wanted for this trip,
I just feel like it won't necessarily happen,
if I don't get a deer,
because I'm trying to prove to myself that I can.
If I don't get one, I don't know. What was the point?
But you never, you never give up.
If you want something, you go for it.
So, I want to try again.
It's been, kind of, slow doing this bucket-load by bucket-load.
So, if their truck thing worked out well enough,
it'll definitely be a reprieve to get more done at one time.
[narrator] The Brown brothers are working to fix a vital section of their access road,
and with months of mountain restoration still ahead,
they're hoping they've found a way to speed up the process.
I was under the impression they'd be here by now.
Wait.
[car horn honks]
What do you think?
Nicely done.
Is it sturdy enough to hold up to everything?
- We'll find out. - Okay.
Gabe and Bam, did really well on the flatbed dump-truck,
but the dump-truck bed looks a little rickety.
- Ready? - Go for it.
[truck engine starts]
Gabe, don't let me hit the truck.
Yeah, I know.
The one concern, of course, is overloading the truck,
because I don't know what all she can handle,
or how much she can handle.
I'd rather take smaller trips and get all the gravel over there in a few trips,
than break the truck, trying to overload it.
How does the suspension look?
That's the thing we need to worry about.
Hasn't moved much.
I think we should go ahead and take it with what's in there,
see how she does, and if it handles this really easily,
then we can come back and pack her up a little bit more.
Okay. That works.
I'll grab a bucket and meet you up there?
Alright, we'll see you there.
Every time we've brought in this old truck,
I have definitely been pleasantly surprised at what she could do.
I mean, you can haul quite a bit more gravel in the truck
than you could if Noah was just doing it with his bucket.
I think it's definitely safe to say this truck is saving us some time.
How much is left?
Quite a bit.
Keep goin'! Keep goin'! Keep goin'! Keep goin'!
And stop!
Now this is definitely a good start to all the rebuilding we have to do ahead of us.
It definitely gets us, kind of, planned and pointed in the right direction.
You know, if we just have every project go as smoothly as this one,
I think we'll be sitting pretty in no time.
Alright, a few more loads and we'll have the culvert anchored,
and then we can focus on just building it up.
Let's just keep it rolling.
- Okay! - Sure!
It's actually sometimes harder to start a fire inside a stove, I've found.
- You set it just right. - Yeah!
[narrator] Temperatures are rapidly dropping in southeast Alaska,
and as night begins to fall on Browntown,
the siblings prepare for an incoming storm.
Weather in Alaska can totally turn in a moment.
It can be sunny one second, and then all of a sudden,
it could be wind, and then it can be snow, literally.
We weren't expecting to have a super bad storm and it's a bit of a concern,
because it's just the girls and I.
So, it is best if we just stay inside all together right now.
I'm hoping it's not that bad.
[Bear] Bedtime?
[Bird] I have your sleeping bag. Take it away.
Stormy night in Browntown.
It's time to get some shut-eye.
Even when there's a storm in front of you that's predicted to be bad,
you can't help but think about the ones you've had before.
And we've had some doozies.
The weather in Alaska, it was tough. It could get downright nasty.
It can get life-threatening.
It is bad out there.
[narrator] On the next episode of Alaskan Bush People.
The Integrity is in town.
- Yes, it's her, guy! - She's red?
My fingers are just crossed she drives straight and isn't broken.
Oh, man!
One of the big concerns with Bird going to Alaska is all the cats that she has here.
Feel it in the eyes.
This guy is my war horse.
It's not going as smooth as Noah wanted.
Wild stallion!
[horse neighing]
Everybody's on?
I've never run the Integrity by myself.
There's quite a bit of reef.
Hold on!
There you are!
I need to do this for myself, to finish what I came to do.