1 00:00:04,206 --> 00:00:09,586 ♪ ♪ 2 00:00:12,689 --> 00:00:13,965 ALEX: Getting through the winter here, 3 00:00:14,034 --> 00:00:15,241 it's always a process of buying yourself time 4 00:00:15,310 --> 00:00:16,448 against the cold. 5 00:00:18,206 --> 00:00:20,827 You know the cold's always circling you and squeezing in. 6 00:00:22,172 --> 00:00:23,482 I mean I knew it was going to be a little risky 7 00:00:23,551 --> 00:00:25,172 coming out here in the winter like this, 8 00:00:25,241 --> 00:00:28,517 but I, you know, it's a risk I was willing to take. 9 00:00:28,586 --> 00:00:29,931 But the thing is, 10 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,551 all this wood I got here is basically useless. 11 00:00:33,620 --> 00:00:35,413 It was a dead tree that had fallen down, 12 00:00:35,482 --> 00:00:38,413 but I think it got waterlogged and then it froze. 13 00:00:38,482 --> 00:00:40,034 So it's almost like I have no wood at this point. 14 00:00:43,241 --> 00:00:45,448 Well, except for my very first winter here I've never been 15 00:00:45,517 --> 00:00:47,310 in a situation where it was like, 16 00:00:47,379 --> 00:00:49,827 get firewood or die. 17 00:00:49,896 --> 00:00:52,379 If we do get a cold snap, that's it. 18 00:00:55,758 --> 00:00:57,724 We're gonna freeze to death. 19 00:00:59,413 --> 00:01:00,689 Yeah, see? 20 00:01:00,758 --> 00:01:02,000 Feel how hollow it is? 21 00:01:02,068 --> 00:01:04,448 Um, This I can tell is really rotten. 22 00:01:04,517 --> 00:01:06,379 So, the hunt goes on. 23 00:01:09,068 --> 00:01:11,206 Having a hard time finding firewood. 24 00:01:11,275 --> 00:01:15,241 This is a situation I was afraid of before I came out here. 25 00:01:15,310 --> 00:01:17,517 This one might be good. 26 00:01:17,586 --> 00:01:20,137 Although it's wedged between these trees so good, 27 00:01:20,206 --> 00:01:21,862 maybe it's gonna help me, maybe it's gonna hurt. 28 00:01:21,931 --> 00:01:23,413 I'll just have to start cutting it and see. 29 00:01:26,068 --> 00:01:27,482 I, I'm thinking those trees will pretty much 30 00:01:27,551 --> 00:01:30,896 hold that half of it. 31 00:01:30,965 --> 00:01:35,137 This is super dry, about as good as it gets. 32 00:01:37,310 --> 00:01:39,275 There we go. 33 00:01:39,344 --> 00:01:41,000 I came out here and I didn't bring, 34 00:01:41,068 --> 00:01:43,000 you know all of the advantages of the modern world 35 00:01:43,068 --> 00:01:47,965 with me so that I could take a risk to live life more fully. 36 00:01:50,241 --> 00:01:51,517 Whatever the situation is, 37 00:01:51,586 --> 00:01:53,689 I always tell myself that this is just my life. 38 00:01:53,758 --> 00:01:56,275 I'm putting myself right into the most dangerous situation... 39 00:01:56,344 --> 00:01:57,793 Alright. 40 00:01:57,862 --> 00:01:59,517 So I have to do the work to be ready for the 41 00:01:59,586 --> 00:02:00,758 worst possible outcome. 42 00:02:00,827 --> 00:02:02,241 And if I don't, 43 00:02:02,310 --> 00:02:04,241 and I freeze to death then it's just shame on me. 44 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:07,551 At Bear Creek, 45 00:02:07,620 --> 00:02:11,275 like one log like this split up in like four pieces? 46 00:02:11,344 --> 00:02:13,586 That's enough to like heat my cabin up, you know? 47 00:02:13,655 --> 00:02:15,103 And then the cabin will stay warm. 48 00:02:15,172 --> 00:02:17,689 You know, at least half the day. 49 00:02:17,758 --> 00:02:22,655 Here, it's just enough to make breakfast and dinner. 50 00:02:22,724 --> 00:02:24,965 But I mean that's just kind of part of the new 51 00:02:25,034 --> 00:02:27,068 lifestyle and adjusting to living in a tent. 52 00:02:27,137 --> 00:02:29,206 I cook breakfast, I cook dinner with fire. 53 00:02:29,275 --> 00:02:31,068 Other than that, I just bundle up and, 54 00:02:31,137 --> 00:02:33,241 and that's just how I'm gonna have to live. 55 00:02:36,689 --> 00:02:39,241 Got plenty more firewood here for the future but this is 56 00:02:39,310 --> 00:02:41,620 enough to get started with. 57 00:02:43,758 --> 00:02:45,103 I just gotta think about getting myself through this 58 00:02:45,172 --> 00:02:47,172 winter in this tent. 59 00:02:50,103 --> 00:02:51,965 It's only a few more months. 60 00:02:53,413 --> 00:02:55,137 ALEX: But you know, when it's cold enough that you can 61 00:02:55,206 --> 00:02:58,482 freeze to death in one night 62 00:02:58,551 --> 00:03:00,827 then a month's a pretty long time. 63 00:03:08,827 --> 00:03:10,965 JOHNNY: Living in the city I didn't feel challenged because 64 00:03:11,034 --> 00:03:13,896 everything I want and need is at my fingertips. 65 00:03:13,965 --> 00:03:16,724 Being out here I strive for challenge. 66 00:03:16,793 --> 00:03:20,586 I look for challenge I like to be challenged every day. 67 00:03:24,689 --> 00:03:27,034 I'm in what I call my lumber yard. 68 00:03:28,655 --> 00:03:34,517 I'm looking for two boards, uh, 69 00:03:34,586 --> 00:03:38,344 that I can use for making hunter skis, 70 00:03:38,413 --> 00:03:41,379 so I can kind of travel a little bit faster, 71 00:03:41,448 --> 00:03:45,413 farther and a little bit quieter than, uh, snowshoes. 72 00:03:45,482 --> 00:03:47,931 Like this. 73 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,310 I knew you guys were in here hiding. 74 00:03:51,517 --> 00:03:54,103 Cool, looks like I can make skis today. 75 00:03:55,655 --> 00:03:59,586 The first thing I'm gonna do is make them about a half inch 76 00:03:59,655 --> 00:04:02,310 to an inch, uh, narrower. 77 00:04:02,379 --> 00:04:05,931 I think if I have them 78 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,758 with my feet on them just a hair 79 00:04:09,827 --> 00:04:11,793 narrower it's gonna be better. 80 00:04:11,862 --> 00:04:14,241 Alright, time to start cutting. 81 00:04:14,310 --> 00:04:17,689 So, the hunter skis are gonna allow me to move more 82 00:04:17,758 --> 00:04:21,275 efficiently and faster on top of the snow. 83 00:04:21,344 --> 00:04:24,275 The idea behind making skis originated from wanting to 84 00:04:24,344 --> 00:04:25,965 stalk down caribou a little bit easier, 85 00:04:26,034 --> 00:04:28,275 because caribou is my main food source. 86 00:04:28,344 --> 00:04:31,310 You know the caribou; they move around a lot so if I'm 87 00:04:31,379 --> 00:04:33,344 gonna chase them down for food it means I gotta move 88 00:04:33,413 --> 00:04:35,310 around a lot. 89 00:04:35,379 --> 00:04:37,517 So, the next thing I need to do 90 00:04:37,586 --> 00:04:40,931 is plane the tip and the tail down. 91 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:43,517 The reason I have to do that is: in order to bend the tip, 92 00:04:43,586 --> 00:04:45,655 it has to be very thin. 93 00:04:45,724 --> 00:04:48,103 I want it to be a little bit light weight as well. 94 00:04:50,551 --> 00:04:54,344 Now I'm taking off just paper-thin shavings, 95 00:04:54,413 --> 00:04:56,827 it's a long process. 96 00:04:56,896 --> 00:04:59,793 Should keep me warm out here though. 97 00:04:59,862 --> 00:05:04,344 Today was another record breaking cold. 98 00:05:04,413 --> 00:05:07,482 Woke up to negative 69 degrees. 99 00:05:07,551 --> 00:05:10,793 Uh, every day seems to get colder and colder. 100 00:05:10,862 --> 00:05:13,310 Building these skis is pretty straight forward, 101 00:05:13,379 --> 00:05:16,793 except when it comes to bending the tip of the ski. 102 00:05:16,862 --> 00:05:19,241 And that part's gonna be a little bit tricky because uh 103 00:05:19,310 --> 00:05:21,344 wood doesn't want to bend, it wants to break. 104 00:05:21,413 --> 00:05:23,379 Especially out here in these cold frigid temperatures. 105 00:05:23,448 --> 00:05:26,103 I've never tried to bend wood before, 106 00:05:26,172 --> 00:05:27,551 so it's gonna be a challenge and I just gotta 107 00:05:27,620 --> 00:05:29,689 hope that it doesn't crack. 108 00:05:33,068 --> 00:05:35,206 Oh yeah, it's looking good. 109 00:05:35,275 --> 00:05:37,758 That's awesome. 110 00:05:37,827 --> 00:05:39,965 I'm ready to soak these in some water. 111 00:05:40,034 --> 00:05:42,655 Um, I don't have any more wood so I pretty much have 112 00:05:42,724 --> 00:05:45,448 to make these work, make these bend. 113 00:05:45,517 --> 00:05:47,448 If not, I'm gonna have a tough time making skis 114 00:05:47,517 --> 00:05:48,758 out of something else. 115 00:05:48,827 --> 00:05:50,896 So, just gotta get it right the first try. 116 00:05:53,068 --> 00:05:55,172 CHRIS: I'm an adrenaline junkie, it's all about adventure and 117 00:05:55,241 --> 00:05:58,206 it's about living a lifestyle that no one else can live. 118 00:05:58,275 --> 00:06:01,000 I'm not worried what other people think of my life. 119 00:06:01,068 --> 00:06:02,482 This life is what Jess and I love, 120 00:06:02,551 --> 00:06:03,724 and we love doing it. 121 00:06:03,793 --> 00:06:05,931 We're here to stay. 122 00:06:10,137 --> 00:06:11,448 CHRIS: That's the big tree right there, right? 123 00:06:11,517 --> 00:06:12,827 JESSI: Yeah. 124 00:06:12,896 --> 00:06:15,241 This one right there and then right next to 125 00:06:15,310 --> 00:06:17,275 me is that secondary birch. 126 00:06:17,344 --> 00:06:18,793 CHRIS: Okay, I'm gonna start walking into the 127 00:06:18,862 --> 00:06:20,931 woods and I'm gonna use you as my sight of reference. 128 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,068 JESSI: Okay. 129 00:06:23,137 --> 00:06:25,758 Chris and I travel the Cosna River a little bit different than most. 130 00:06:25,827 --> 00:06:28,482 We actually cross the river on zip-lines. 131 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:31,655 They're just a lot more safe than trying to cross 132 00:06:31,724 --> 00:06:34,206 the treacherous river. 133 00:06:34,275 --> 00:06:37,482 CHRIS: All right, straight back. 134 00:06:37,551 --> 00:06:39,793 Right there, right through here. 135 00:06:41,551 --> 00:06:43,413 JESSI: It'd be really great if we could install a 136 00:06:43,482 --> 00:06:46,965 couple more zip-lines in some different spots. 137 00:06:47,034 --> 00:06:48,586 It would make everything a lot easier, 138 00:06:48,655 --> 00:06:50,689 a lot faster, a lot more efficient. 139 00:06:52,034 --> 00:06:53,517 CHRIS: So, we're coming right down in the 140 00:06:53,586 --> 00:06:55,689 middle of two trees, that's perfect. 141 00:06:56,689 --> 00:06:59,551 Right around 280 to 290 feet, 142 00:06:59,620 --> 00:07:03,034 so hopefully we got enough cable to make that work. 143 00:07:03,103 --> 00:07:05,896 All right, back to the other side. 144 00:07:05,965 --> 00:07:10,310 Cool. Long distance. 145 00:07:12,034 --> 00:07:14,068 All right Jess, I found the tree we're gonna use 146 00:07:14,137 --> 00:07:17,689 over there, and it looks like 290 feet. 147 00:07:17,758 --> 00:07:19,965 JESSI: Ha! That's far. 148 00:07:20,034 --> 00:07:22,896 CHRIS: Yeah, we'll have to test it out or something, 149 00:07:22,965 --> 00:07:26,172 but it is a straight line straight through here and 150 00:07:26,241 --> 00:07:28,068 there's just four big spruce trees that I want 151 00:07:28,137 --> 00:07:29,517 to take down. 152 00:07:29,586 --> 00:07:31,000 Once we take those spruce trees out, 153 00:07:31,068 --> 00:07:32,758 we're gonna have a nice line of sight. 154 00:07:32,827 --> 00:07:34,068 We're gonna take 'em down anyways. 155 00:07:34,137 --> 00:07:35,275 JESSI: Right. 156 00:07:35,344 --> 00:07:36,448 CHRIS: Can you bring my chainsaw over? 157 00:07:36,517 --> 00:07:38,206 JESSI: Sure, I gotcha. 158 00:07:39,620 --> 00:07:41,310 CHRIS: Awesome. 159 00:07:47,655 --> 00:07:50,000 JESSI: Here you go. All right. 160 00:07:50,068 --> 00:07:51,172 CHRIS: Come check it out. 161 00:07:51,241 --> 00:07:53,000 JESSI: Get to cutting. 162 00:07:54,551 --> 00:07:56,620 CHRIS: All right, so these are the trees we need to cut down. 163 00:07:56,689 --> 00:07:58,517 I think we should start with this one. 164 00:07:58,586 --> 00:08:01,758 Drop it out across the river, then we'll drop this one, 165 00:08:01,827 --> 00:08:03,793 and we'll drop the big one. 166 00:08:03,862 --> 00:08:05,689 We'll take this tree down right here, 167 00:08:05,758 --> 00:08:08,379 open up some view, it'll look good. 168 00:08:10,965 --> 00:08:12,551 Gotta be perfect. 169 00:08:15,034 --> 00:08:16,827 I think we're going on five years now that 170 00:08:16,896 --> 00:08:18,931 we've had our zip-lines up. 171 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:20,758 The first time we put a zip-line up we had no idea 172 00:08:20,827 --> 00:08:24,655 what we were doing, it was simply utilitarian. 173 00:08:24,724 --> 00:08:29,379 It's not leaning the way I want to, so keep an eye on it. 174 00:08:29,448 --> 00:08:32,517 JESSI: Okay, I'm gonna move. 175 00:08:32,586 --> 00:08:33,965 CHRIS: We have these like, 176 00:08:34,034 --> 00:08:35,586 40 foot riverbanks our river goes up and down, 177 00:08:35,655 --> 00:08:37,103 and in the winter, there's overflow, 178 00:08:37,172 --> 00:08:38,517 but if you got a zip-line you're up above it all and you 179 00:08:38,586 --> 00:08:40,517 just zip on over. 180 00:08:41,724 --> 00:08:43,068 Awesome! 181 00:08:43,137 --> 00:08:46,448 JESSI: Looking good. CHRIS: That worked out well. 182 00:08:46,517 --> 00:08:48,034 The zip-line isn't just for today, 183 00:08:48,103 --> 00:08:49,413 it's for tomorrow. 184 00:08:49,482 --> 00:08:50,793 When hunting season gets here, 185 00:08:50,862 --> 00:08:52,241 we're gonna get out all over the place, 186 00:08:52,310 --> 00:08:55,620 our hunting ground is going to expand a lot bigger. 187 00:08:55,689 --> 00:08:57,620 If we're going out and getting two or three grouse a day, 188 00:08:57,689 --> 00:08:59,068 and then we put these zip-lines up and can come 189 00:08:59,137 --> 00:09:01,206 home with four or five grouse in a day? 190 00:09:01,275 --> 00:09:03,172 There it goes! 191 00:09:03,241 --> 00:09:05,689 It's gonna last well into the winter. 192 00:09:06,793 --> 00:09:09,000 Looks good. 193 00:09:09,068 --> 00:09:11,172 I'm just gonna go down and check the water out, 194 00:09:11,241 --> 00:09:12,482 see what we're working with, okay? 195 00:09:12,551 --> 00:09:15,137 JESSI: Right here? CHRIS: Yup. Solid. 196 00:09:15,206 --> 00:09:16,862 JESSI: Yeah, if this tree isn't going to take it out, 197 00:09:16,931 --> 00:09:18,344 you're not going to. 198 00:09:18,413 --> 00:09:20,344 CHRIS: Yeah. 199 00:09:20,413 --> 00:09:22,758 It's amazing that that's like an hour walk from the house. 200 00:09:22,827 --> 00:09:24,068 JESSI: I know it's right here; 201 00:09:24,137 --> 00:09:26,862 we can see the house yet it's an hour away. 202 00:09:26,931 --> 00:09:29,620 Next step we'll go get the ropes and sling them across. 203 00:09:29,689 --> 00:09:31,000 CHRIS: Cool. 204 00:09:32,517 --> 00:09:35,344 KALEB: A willingness to try is far better than any success 205 00:09:35,413 --> 00:09:37,344 you could ever have out here. 206 00:09:37,413 --> 00:09:41,344 Just trying, just doing in my book 207 00:09:41,413 --> 00:09:42,862 is the most important thing. 208 00:09:45,965 --> 00:09:49,448 BRITTANY: All ready to go? KALEB: Yup, all ready to go. 209 00:09:49,517 --> 00:09:51,344 Maybe while we're gone you can clear a spot for us 210 00:09:51,413 --> 00:09:53,034 to stack some wood on the deck. 211 00:09:53,103 --> 00:09:55,413 BRITTANY: Yeah, I think Gil and I can do that. 212 00:09:55,482 --> 00:09:56,896 KALEB: Awesome. Heat our house. 213 00:09:56,965 --> 00:09:58,448 BRITTANY: It is a chilly day, 214 00:09:58,517 --> 00:10:00,379 so make sure you keep our girl warm. 215 00:10:00,448 --> 00:10:01,896 KALEB: Will do. 216 00:10:01,965 --> 00:10:03,793 ELOVIE: I'm ready to go, Dad. KALEB: You're ready to go? 217 00:10:03,862 --> 00:10:05,275 ELOVIE: Yeah. 218 00:10:05,344 --> 00:10:07,034 KALEB: All right. Love ya. BRITTANY: Love you, too. 219 00:10:07,103 --> 00:10:09,103 KALEB: Have fun. BRITTANY: You too. ELOVIE: Can I start it? 220 00:10:09,172 --> 00:10:10,344 KALEB: Will do. 221 00:10:10,413 --> 00:10:11,896 BRITTANY: Bye, baby. Love you. Have fun. 222 00:10:24,896 --> 00:10:28,758 KALEB: Today we're heading out to find a new firewood spot. 223 00:10:30,965 --> 00:10:34,068 In the bush here I don't just have a gas pipe that comes 224 00:10:34,137 --> 00:10:36,379 from the city center that a furnace runs off of 225 00:10:36,448 --> 00:10:38,620 that I never have to think of. 226 00:10:38,689 --> 00:10:41,241 I have a wood-stove and a little oil drip stove, 227 00:10:41,310 --> 00:10:42,931 and that's what heats my house. 228 00:10:46,137 --> 00:10:48,896 I haul that fuel, without being responsible and going 229 00:10:48,965 --> 00:10:51,034 out in the woods to get the firewood. 230 00:10:51,103 --> 00:10:54,137 All of that goes away in about six hours. 231 00:11:03,241 --> 00:11:06,034 I tried to go to my old firewood lot and the rivers 232 00:11:06,103 --> 00:11:09,034 dictated that I couldn't make it, 233 00:11:09,103 --> 00:11:12,206 so I decided to just abandon that lot and 234 00:11:12,275 --> 00:11:14,586 start something new. 235 00:11:14,655 --> 00:11:18,034 I scouted this new firewood lot from the airplane. 236 00:11:18,103 --> 00:11:21,724 I have a general idea of where I want to go. 237 00:11:23,034 --> 00:11:24,517 I have not been there on foot though; 238 00:11:24,586 --> 00:11:27,000 I don't know what it looks like from the ground. 239 00:11:27,068 --> 00:11:30,000 I don't know what challenges are gonna await me. 240 00:11:34,413 --> 00:11:35,689 Uh, oh, we're stuck Ellie! 241 00:11:35,758 --> 00:11:38,517 ELOVIE: Oh, we're stuck! 242 00:11:42,103 --> 00:11:43,793 KALEB: Uh, oh, we're stuck Ellie! 243 00:11:43,862 --> 00:11:46,586 ELOVIE: Oh, we're stuck! 244 00:11:46,655 --> 00:11:48,965 KALEB: We're on a bank right here. 245 00:11:49,034 --> 00:11:50,517 Oof. 246 00:11:50,586 --> 00:11:55,103 Whoa, yeah, we might wanna do some shoveling here, Ellie. 247 00:11:55,172 --> 00:11:56,724 ELOVIE: Why? 248 00:11:56,793 --> 00:11:58,344 KALEB: Because we can go off this bank, 249 00:11:58,413 --> 00:12:00,310 but we'd never get back up it with a load of firewood. 250 00:12:01,965 --> 00:12:03,206 And I got stuck! 251 00:12:04,413 --> 00:12:06,344 [muffled talking] 252 00:12:06,413 --> 00:12:08,310 KALEB: Alright, I'm gonna get my parka off, 253 00:12:09,241 --> 00:12:11,793 we're gonna do some work. 254 00:12:11,862 --> 00:12:13,896 Yeah. 255 00:12:13,965 --> 00:12:19,482 So, we gotta make a trail down onto the river where no one else has been 256 00:12:19,551 --> 00:12:24,482 and in order to access our firewood. 257 00:12:24,551 --> 00:12:27,241 So, we're gonna learn how to build a ramp today. 258 00:12:27,310 --> 00:12:29,206 Shovel some snow. 259 00:12:31,413 --> 00:12:35,241 We'll just shovel it right out from under the snow machine and that'll help us get unstuck. 260 00:12:35,310 --> 00:12:39,379 I have to figure out a way to get from the bank onto the creek, 261 00:12:39,448 --> 00:12:42,000 and it's a good four, five-foot-tall drop. 262 00:12:42,068 --> 00:12:47,793 I have to be thinking how am I gonna get up onto the bank with a heavy load behind me, 263 00:12:47,862 --> 00:12:53,000 when the best thing to do is just stop before the problem arises and build a ramp? 264 00:12:54,344 --> 00:12:55,655 Pull that shovel! 265 00:12:55,724 --> 00:12:58,275 Whoa, it buried you! 266 00:12:59,137 --> 00:13:00,413 ELOVIE: Whoa! 267 00:13:00,482 --> 00:13:02,689 KALEB: So, this is just part of trail making. 268 00:13:02,758 --> 00:13:07,034 You build ramps and we got the snow machine stuck so we gotta get the snow machine unstuck. 269 00:13:07,103 --> 00:13:09,275 So, we're accomplishing two tasks. 270 00:13:09,344 --> 00:13:10,482 ELOVIE: Dad! 271 00:13:10,551 --> 00:13:12,241 KALEB: You can turn the skis? 272 00:13:12,310 --> 00:13:14,448 ELOVIE: They can go up and down. 273 00:13:14,517 --> 00:13:16,068 KALEB: Alright Ellie. 274 00:13:16,137 --> 00:13:17,517 ELOVIE: What? 275 00:13:17,586 --> 00:13:18,551 KALEB: You wanna help get the snow machine unstuck? 276 00:13:18,620 --> 00:13:20,310 ELOVIE: Yeah! 277 00:13:20,379 --> 00:13:24,172 KALEB: I'll have you run the throttle and I'll pull on the ski. 278 00:13:24,241 --> 00:13:26,172 Hopefully I've shoveled this out enough. 279 00:13:26,241 --> 00:13:30,896 Let me pull my, let me pull my gear off. 280 00:13:30,965 --> 00:13:36,620 You just push the throttle until the track starts moving and I'll pull on the ski. 281 00:13:36,689 --> 00:13:39,827 I'll tell you when to go, and when I tell you to stop you just let go. 282 00:13:39,896 --> 00:13:41,965 Kay? 283 00:13:42,034 --> 00:13:43,724 Alright Ellie, give it some throttle! 284 00:13:43,793 --> 00:13:45,448 I'm pulling on the ski! 285 00:13:45,517 --> 00:13:48,482 All the way until the track goes, more! 286 00:13:48,551 --> 00:13:50,551 More throttle! More! 287 00:13:50,620 --> 00:13:54,827 Come on, more throttle! 288 00:13:54,896 --> 00:13:57,586 Just hammer on it! 289 00:13:58,551 --> 00:14:00,344 There you go, we're moving! 290 00:14:00,413 --> 00:14:02,655 ELOVIE: Did it! KALEB: You did it! 291 00:14:02,724 --> 00:14:05,034 ELOVIE: Yay! KALEB: Good job! 292 00:14:05,103 --> 00:14:08,586 You got me unstuck and you got to be first tracks on the ramp. 293 00:14:08,655 --> 00:14:10,344 How exciting is that? 294 00:14:10,413 --> 00:14:14,068 ELOVIE: So excited. Yes! 295 00:14:14,137 --> 00:14:16,241 KALEB: Alright, this ramp is done. 296 00:14:16,310 --> 00:14:18,586 Continue on down the creek. 297 00:14:20,241 --> 00:14:21,758 JESSI: There's a feeling out here that 298 00:14:21,827 --> 00:14:24,379 I've never felt anywhere else in the entire world. 299 00:14:24,448 --> 00:14:27,275 When I succeed out here it's a celebration. 300 00:14:27,344 --> 00:14:31,689 It means that much more, and there's just, there's no other feeling like it. 301 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,379 CHRIS: Wow. 302 00:14:42,448 --> 00:14:44,379 JESSI: The, the tree directly behind you, 303 00:14:44,448 --> 00:14:45,862 is that the tree that we picked? 304 00:14:45,931 --> 00:14:47,137 CHRIS: Yeah, this is the one. 305 00:14:47,206 --> 00:14:49,586 I'm gonna clear a little brush real quick. 306 00:14:49,655 --> 00:14:51,620 Damn, whew it's cold. 307 00:14:57,413 --> 00:14:59,172 CHRIS: Oh. Ah! JESSI: Oh, no! 308 00:15:00,586 --> 00:15:02,965 That's Chris's first hatchet that he's ever gotten, 309 00:15:03,034 --> 00:15:06,103 and he just lost the whole head in the snow. 310 00:15:07,724 --> 00:15:11,137 CHRIS: That's a bummer. It's straight down. 311 00:15:11,206 --> 00:15:15,000 It's, it's gone. That's my first axe. 312 00:15:15,068 --> 00:15:16,862 JESSI: I know. 313 00:15:16,931 --> 00:15:19,586 CHRIS: Well, hopefully this is the only thing bad that happens today. 314 00:15:19,655 --> 00:15:24,103 I'd rather lose an axe head then lose it going across on a zipline. 315 00:15:24,172 --> 00:15:25,344 JESSI: I guess. 316 00:15:25,413 --> 00:15:26,586 CHRIS: Well, I'm gonna start tying ropes. 317 00:15:26,655 --> 00:15:27,586 I'll be over in a minute. 318 00:15:27,655 --> 00:15:29,275 JESSI: Okay. 319 00:15:29,344 --> 00:15:33,310 I'm not even allowed to use that axe when I'm chopping wood. 320 00:15:33,379 --> 00:15:37,448 So, Chris and I's plan is with one zipline to go all the way 321 00:15:37,517 --> 00:15:40,172 across the river to the peninsula, 322 00:15:40,241 --> 00:15:43,793 and then across the river again right to our cabin. 323 00:15:43,862 --> 00:15:46,413 CHRIS: Ooh, I'm breaking through the overflow down here. 324 00:15:46,482 --> 00:15:48,344 JESSI: Okay. 325 00:15:48,413 --> 00:15:52,103 So, what we're gonna do is we're gonna string a rope across first to tell 326 00:15:52,172 --> 00:15:54,586 exactly what the distance is, 327 00:15:54,655 --> 00:15:58,000 because we only have 300 foot of cable. 328 00:15:58,068 --> 00:16:00,275 CHRIS: Nice. 329 00:16:00,344 --> 00:16:03,724 JESSI: So, if this zipline is over 300 feet... 330 00:16:03,793 --> 00:16:05,965 CHRIS: Oh, that's stretchy. JESSI: Yeah. 331 00:16:06,034 --> 00:16:07,551 We're not going to be able to do it. 332 00:16:10,310 --> 00:16:12,620 Moment of truth! 333 00:16:13,793 --> 00:16:17,448 15-feet, ten feet, five feet! 334 00:16:19,448 --> 00:16:23,275 Yeah! We made it! 335 00:16:23,344 --> 00:16:24,275 I'm trying to. 336 00:16:24,344 --> 00:16:25,551 CHRIS: I'm coming. 337 00:16:25,620 --> 00:16:28,379 JESSI: Get it. Look at all this extra rope! 338 00:16:28,448 --> 00:16:29,551 CHRIS: Wow. 339 00:16:29,620 --> 00:16:30,724 JESSI: We're gonna make it! 340 00:16:30,793 --> 00:16:32,103 CHRIS: We'll tie the cable on, 341 00:16:32,172 --> 00:16:33,551 and I'll start pulling it to the other side. 342 00:16:33,620 --> 00:16:35,931 JESSI: Oh, my goodness. 343 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,137 ALEX: This isn't me going out on a weekend to do something to blow off some steam, 344 00:16:39,206 --> 00:16:43,689 this is nature compelling me to do something for fear of my life. 345 00:16:43,758 --> 00:16:47,689 Alaska winters doesn't give a crap about your, um, your comfort. 346 00:16:47,758 --> 00:16:48,793 You know? 347 00:16:50,482 --> 00:16:52,551 It's really nice and, and warm in here. 348 00:16:52,620 --> 00:16:54,517 Sixty degrees. 349 00:16:54,586 --> 00:16:57,827 I usually by this time of day I would uh, I would have let the fire die out. 350 00:16:57,896 --> 00:17:01,310 I still got a fire going because I've been melting ice. 351 00:17:01,379 --> 00:17:05,551 Um, just this ice here I gathered from the lake. 352 00:17:05,620 --> 00:17:07,482 First you gotta melt this down to water, 353 00:17:07,551 --> 00:17:10,586 and then bring the water up to a boil so it's safe to drink. 354 00:17:10,655 --> 00:17:12,724 But I was thinking if I go to the lake, 355 00:17:12,793 --> 00:17:15,241 then I can drill down and just get to the water. 356 00:17:15,310 --> 00:17:18,793 Then I won't have to use near as much wood just to, just to melt it. 357 00:17:20,517 --> 00:17:23,965 A lot less wood I gotta cut and just help me be more efficient. 358 00:17:24,034 --> 00:17:27,034 Grab a few tools like my shovel and load up my sled. 359 00:17:28,275 --> 00:17:30,413 Head on down to the lake. 360 00:17:36,137 --> 00:17:39,275 ALEX: And when I came out here and I only came with, 361 00:17:39,344 --> 00:17:42,000 you know, manual tools instead of bringing gas tools. 362 00:17:42,068 --> 00:17:43,620 It was for a reason. 363 00:17:46,068 --> 00:17:49,000 So, I'm just gonna test here. 364 00:17:51,068 --> 00:17:54,689 I wanted to put myself in a situation to where the work would be kind of daunting and 365 00:17:54,758 --> 00:17:58,689 insurmountable enough that I would have to find new ways to think, 366 00:18:00,172 --> 00:18:03,241 and new ways to, uh, adapt to the situation. 367 00:18:06,344 --> 00:18:09,586 You know I could say oh yeah, it's about the journey not the destination but that's 368 00:18:09,655 --> 00:18:12,620 just kind of meaningless words if I don't actually do the work. 369 00:18:16,413 --> 00:18:18,965 Okay, I think that's good. 370 00:18:19,034 --> 00:18:20,586 I got a few tools. 371 00:18:20,655 --> 00:18:24,172 I've used this auger a bit and I found it kind of hard to use. 372 00:18:24,241 --> 00:18:27,034 Uh, I'm going to try it again. 373 00:18:30,482 --> 00:18:34,413 The good thing about the auger is it drills a hole and I can just go straight down. 374 00:18:36,137 --> 00:18:39,413 Should be the most efficient tool for cutting a hole. 375 00:18:45,758 --> 00:18:48,586 Doesn't seem to be making any progress at all. 376 00:18:50,551 --> 00:18:52,862 It's mostly just moving wider and wider. 377 00:18:52,931 --> 00:18:55,275 It's not really getting deeper. 378 00:18:55,344 --> 00:18:57,068 You know what, what could be wrong with it, 379 00:18:57,137 --> 00:18:59,241 that would make it not cut efficiently. 380 00:18:59,310 --> 00:19:01,482 I don't know. 381 00:19:16,482 --> 00:19:19,172 Yeah, this thing's just not making any progress. 382 00:19:20,379 --> 00:19:22,517 I don't know about this [bleep] thing. 383 00:19:26,586 --> 00:19:30,172 ALEX: I don't know about this [bleep] thing. 384 00:19:30,241 --> 00:19:35,172 Maybe I gotta keep kinda making a hole in the middle or something? 385 00:19:37,413 --> 00:19:41,379 The only time I ever use any of these tools and really do anything with ice was 386 00:19:41,448 --> 00:19:44,000 a couple months ago when I was at the Teklanika River. 387 00:19:46,137 --> 00:19:50,137 So, you know this is outside of my, you know, experience. 388 00:19:51,793 --> 00:19:54,068 Do these things always take that much effort? 389 00:19:54,137 --> 00:19:56,103 Is it always this slow? 390 00:19:56,172 --> 00:19:57,275 Is ice usually this thick? 391 00:19:57,344 --> 00:19:59,793 I don't know. 392 00:19:59,862 --> 00:20:04,862 So, I just gotta slow it down, take my time and, uh, just try to learn here. 393 00:20:04,931 --> 00:20:08,896 Otherwise, I'm going to start blowing steam out my ears, you know? 394 00:20:08,965 --> 00:20:11,896 I just try to, try to be patient with it. 395 00:20:15,689 --> 00:20:19,965 I didn't come out here to Deadman Lake just to, uh, do the same old same old, 396 00:20:20,034 --> 00:20:22,758 I came out here because I wanted to grow, I wanted to change myself. 397 00:20:24,758 --> 00:20:27,137 I knew I wanted to challenge myself. 398 00:20:27,206 --> 00:20:32,206 So, if I want to do something I just throw myself into the situation headfirst 399 00:20:32,275 --> 00:20:35,137 and you know, face real dangers. 400 00:20:39,586 --> 00:20:42,241 Because, to me, that, that's the full experience of life. 401 00:20:55,344 --> 00:20:57,862 [bleep], how deep are we? 402 00:21:02,655 --> 00:21:04,413 Yeah, I'm just thinking, 403 00:21:04,482 --> 00:21:08,034 I'm not really making any, any progress down anymore with the bar. 404 00:21:08,103 --> 00:21:11,551 It's getting real narrow and I just don't have a lot of room to really get at it. 405 00:21:11,620 --> 00:21:15,206 In order to get deeper I'm really gonna have to make it twice as wide so 406 00:21:15,275 --> 00:21:18,241 I can get my whole body down in there. 407 00:21:18,310 --> 00:21:22,896 And, uh, I'm also like, pretty, pretty exhausted. 408 00:21:25,758 --> 00:21:30,206 It's a battle of me versus the ice but um I'll come back with more energy tomorrow. 409 00:21:30,275 --> 00:21:32,551 Bring the reinforcements. 410 00:21:35,241 --> 00:21:38,448 JOHNNY: What interests me is being one with nature. 411 00:21:38,517 --> 00:21:40,206 Getting back to the basics of life. 412 00:21:40,275 --> 00:21:41,689 You know I admire the ways of the past. 413 00:21:41,758 --> 00:21:44,068 I admire the simplicity. 414 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:53,482 JOHNNY: Okay, that's a lot of ash build up. 415 00:21:53,551 --> 00:21:58,482 The last time I used this was when I boiled my traps and went trapping last year. 416 00:21:58,551 --> 00:22:00,758 Today I'm not boiling the traps, 417 00:22:00,827 --> 00:22:07,172 I am boiling and steaming the tips of skis so I can bend them. 418 00:22:07,241 --> 00:22:11,724 So, out here in the middle of nowhere I don't have motorized vehicles. 419 00:22:11,793 --> 00:22:15,482 Snow machines, I don't have four wheelers, I don't have side-by-sides. 420 00:22:15,551 --> 00:22:18,000 It's easy to take for granted methods of transportation, 421 00:22:18,068 --> 00:22:21,068 you know when you compare the city to living out here. 422 00:22:21,137 --> 00:22:22,551 Uh, it's simple, 423 00:22:22,620 --> 00:22:24,275 you get in your car and drive to your store. 424 00:22:24,344 --> 00:22:26,034 But I don't have that luxury. 425 00:22:26,103 --> 00:22:29,758 So, I need to make something efficient to get to my food source. 426 00:22:29,827 --> 00:22:33,413 Skis are soaking, fine line between steaming and boiling. 427 00:22:33,482 --> 00:22:35,275 I'm gonna let these soak in the water 428 00:22:35,344 --> 00:22:38,137 for a while and kinda let that water penetrate the wood. 429 00:22:38,206 --> 00:22:43,034 And while they're doing that I'm going to step out and make a frame. 430 00:22:43,103 --> 00:22:46,000 JOHNNY: Thatta girl! Yeah, get it! 431 00:22:46,068 --> 00:22:49,758 Get it girl! Come on, come on! Thank you. 432 00:22:49,827 --> 00:22:52,206 This frame is essentially just a mold, 433 00:22:52,275 --> 00:22:56,103 and this mold is what's going to allow me to bend the tip of the skis. 434 00:22:56,172 --> 00:22:59,379 What I do is I take the ski after it's been steaming, 435 00:22:59,448 --> 00:23:03,551 I stick it in between here and slowly bend it, 436 00:23:03,620 --> 00:23:05,655 and that will create the tip of the ski. 437 00:23:05,724 --> 00:23:07,482 When it comes to caribou hunting, 438 00:23:07,551 --> 00:23:09,689 you know the caribou are my life out here. 439 00:23:09,758 --> 00:23:14,034 They provide me with, you know over 90% of my food. 440 00:23:14,103 --> 00:23:17,586 I need to be able to track them down, 441 00:23:17,655 --> 00:23:21,103 catch up with them 'cause they're always on the move. 442 00:23:21,172 --> 00:23:23,206 They're always staying one step ahead of the wolves. 443 00:23:23,275 --> 00:23:25,551 And um, I need to think like the wolves, you know? 444 00:23:25,620 --> 00:23:27,862 Be able to move fast and efficient. 445 00:23:29,137 --> 00:23:31,482 This is the mold now, that's complete, um, 446 00:23:31,551 --> 00:23:33,000 it's going to be pretty tricky. 447 00:23:33,068 --> 00:23:35,517 It's both cold and very dry, 448 00:23:35,586 --> 00:23:38,931 and when I take that ski from the steaming water if I don't bend 449 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:43,586 it in seconds, um, it's going to stiffen up and it'll crack. 450 00:23:43,655 --> 00:23:48,206 It's a very all or nothing process. 451 00:23:48,275 --> 00:23:53,206 Uh, I wanna see where these are at in terms of flexibility, 452 00:23:53,275 --> 00:23:55,793 and the only way to figure that out is to toss it in the mold and 453 00:23:55,862 --> 00:23:58,586 start to see if it wants to give, if it wants to bend, 454 00:23:58,655 --> 00:24:00,689 and just kinda see where we're at with it. 455 00:24:05,965 --> 00:24:10,793 The more I move this piece here the more of a camber I'm going to make in the ski, 456 00:24:10,862 --> 00:24:14,827 the more likely it is to break so I have to move it up very slowly. 457 00:24:14,896 --> 00:24:19,137 Because this is what's giving me the opposite pressure to these two pieces. 458 00:24:19,206 --> 00:24:21,965 So, it's a delicate balance of how steep you want it and 459 00:24:22,034 --> 00:24:24,689 how big of a risk you want to take before the ski cracks. 460 00:24:32,689 --> 00:24:34,965 Don't break, don't break. 461 00:24:38,034 --> 00:24:40,275 JOHNNY: Don't break. Don't break. 462 00:24:45,620 --> 00:24:46,758 JOHNNY: That's amazing. 463 00:24:46,827 --> 00:24:49,482 Wow, this worked out really well. 464 00:24:49,551 --> 00:24:51,206 Yeah, they got a lot of character on them right now. 465 00:24:51,275 --> 00:24:54,896 You can see the red from the rust that was in the cauldron, 466 00:24:54,965 --> 00:24:56,896 and you can see burn right here. 467 00:24:56,965 --> 00:24:59,448 That's when the flame came up and hit this canvas 468 00:24:59,517 --> 00:25:02,344 and, uh, kissed that ski when I wasn't here. 469 00:25:02,413 --> 00:25:03,413 But that's character ya know? 470 00:25:03,482 --> 00:25:04,931 That's the stuff I like. 471 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:06,827 Every time I see that, I'm gonna remember this moment and 472 00:25:06,896 --> 00:25:09,758 I'm gonna remember being right here and making these skis. 473 00:25:09,827 --> 00:25:12,689 If I bought a pair of skis in the store, they wouldn't have that character. 474 00:25:12,758 --> 00:25:14,068 Anything I buy in the store, 475 00:25:14,137 --> 00:25:15,758 if they get burned or scratched, 476 00:25:15,827 --> 00:25:19,068 I get upset because I worked hard to make money 477 00:25:19,137 --> 00:25:22,827 to pay for those and that's very upsetting to pay for something, 478 00:25:22,896 --> 00:25:26,482 doing a job you don't really care for and then to, to lose out on it, 479 00:25:26,551 --> 00:25:29,275 so that's a benefit of making your own stuff. 480 00:25:29,344 --> 00:25:31,931 The benefits to self-reliance. 481 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,034 So, in order to do the second ski, 482 00:25:34,103 --> 00:25:36,965 I have to put it in here, but I have to remove this 483 00:25:37,034 --> 00:25:42,482 fulcrum, and when I do that this ski is gonna come back and relax. 484 00:25:42,551 --> 00:25:45,793 So now when I put the second ski in, I have bend both of them. 485 00:25:45,862 --> 00:25:47,241 So, it is a little tricky. 486 00:25:47,310 --> 00:25:48,758 I risk not only breaking one, 487 00:25:48,827 --> 00:25:50,931 but I risk breaking both of them. 488 00:25:53,551 --> 00:25:55,448 Ooh, that was close. 489 00:25:55,517 --> 00:25:57,482 Starting to hear some pop. 490 00:25:57,551 --> 00:25:58,758 I've gone too far. 491 00:25:58,827 --> 00:26:00,655 That's as far as I can go. 492 00:26:00,724 --> 00:26:01,931 It looks pretty good. 493 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:03,655 I don't think I need to push it anymore. 494 00:26:03,724 --> 00:26:06,103 I'll leave it as is, and that's that. 495 00:26:06,172 --> 00:26:09,137 What I gotta do now is I gotta get these inside because they're gonna freeze. 496 00:26:09,206 --> 00:26:12,344 These are soaking wet, uh, it's negative 35. 497 00:26:12,413 --> 00:26:15,482 These are gonna freeze out here so I gotta take this thing inside ASAP. 498 00:26:19,482 --> 00:26:21,586 CHRIS: I remember when I first started out here, 499 00:26:21,655 --> 00:26:23,448 I couldn't plan for tomorrow. 500 00:26:23,517 --> 00:26:25,275 I just took care of today. 501 00:26:31,862 --> 00:26:33,310 CHRIS: We're hooking up the cable to the rope, 502 00:26:33,379 --> 00:26:34,724 and then I'm just gonna pull the rope from 503 00:26:34,793 --> 00:26:36,758 the other side and bring it all the way over. 504 00:26:36,827 --> 00:26:40,137 The cable's gonna hang out here with Jess and then once it gets to the end, 505 00:26:40,206 --> 00:26:43,379 we'll loop it around the tree, and we'll pull it tight with the come along. 506 00:26:43,448 --> 00:26:46,413 Okay, I am gonna head to the middle. 507 00:26:46,482 --> 00:26:48,310 And then start taking it down to the river. 508 00:26:48,379 --> 00:26:51,344 Once I get it down to the river, I'm gonna let go of the rope. 509 00:26:51,413 --> 00:26:54,310 I'm gonna climb up the hill, and then continue pulling it. 510 00:26:54,379 --> 00:26:55,655 JESSI: I want you to be vocal. 511 00:26:55,724 --> 00:26:57,068 CHRIS: Yeah. I'll keep hollering. 512 00:26:57,137 --> 00:26:59,172 I'll let you know, make sure everything's safe. 513 00:26:59,241 --> 00:27:01,689 Okay. I'm headed over. 514 00:27:04,448 --> 00:27:09,137 JESSI: Neither myself alone, or Chris, we do not go alone down to the river. 515 00:27:10,931 --> 00:27:12,827 It doesn't matter if it's the summer. 516 00:27:12,896 --> 00:27:15,068 It doesn't matter if it's the winter. 517 00:27:15,137 --> 00:27:16,931 The river's always the most dangerous place to go, 518 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,965 so you don't wanna go there alone. 519 00:27:20,379 --> 00:27:22,551 He's got the cable. 520 00:27:22,620 --> 00:27:24,275 CHRIS: That's good! 521 00:27:24,344 --> 00:27:26,931 JESSI: Doing this, Chris has gotta go alone, 522 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:31,344 however, I can see him so that makes me feel a little bit better that I can see him. 523 00:27:31,413 --> 00:27:33,517 Okay! 524 00:27:33,586 --> 00:27:36,275 CHRIS: These are gonna hold everything so I'm just gonna do a quick visual inspection, 525 00:27:36,344 --> 00:27:39,137 make sure there's no breaks. 526 00:27:39,206 --> 00:27:43,206 JESSI: This is double the length of any zipline that we've built before. 527 00:27:43,275 --> 00:27:47,241 I mean this is a long one and it crosses the river twice. 528 00:27:47,310 --> 00:27:49,827 Last time that we put in a zipline... 529 00:27:49,896 --> 00:27:52,310 CHRIS: Now I'm just gonna pull it tight. 530 00:27:52,379 --> 00:27:55,103 JESSI: He did not double-check the clamps. 531 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:01,344 And he almost lost our snow machine down into the icy river, 532 00:28:01,413 --> 00:28:05,482 so just double-check this this time. 533 00:28:05,551 --> 00:28:08,517 I still have a couple feet left. 534 00:28:08,586 --> 00:28:10,689 CHRIS: Not much though. Just enough. 535 00:28:10,758 --> 00:28:12,275 JESSI: Just enough. 536 00:28:12,344 --> 00:28:14,758 CHRIS: Just pull it off there. 537 00:28:14,827 --> 00:28:17,275 JESSI: Alright, let's put it around a tree. 538 00:28:26,206 --> 00:28:28,137 CHRIS: One, two, and heave! 539 00:28:28,206 --> 00:28:30,206 Oh, I see it's stuck right there in the middle. 540 00:28:31,896 --> 00:28:34,034 JESSI: Hey, there you go. CHRIS: Will you pull on it? 541 00:28:35,793 --> 00:28:37,034 Awesome. 542 00:28:37,103 --> 00:28:38,344 JESSI: Alright, I'm letting go? CHRIS: Yup. 543 00:28:38,413 --> 00:28:39,827 JESSI: I'm letting loose. 544 00:28:39,896 --> 00:28:41,206 CHRIS: Wow. JESSI: What is that? 545 00:28:41,275 --> 00:28:43,034 CHRIS: That took a lot. 546 00:28:43,103 --> 00:28:44,551 I think we should pick this up tomorrow. 547 00:28:44,620 --> 00:28:45,758 We're losing light pretty quick. 548 00:28:45,827 --> 00:28:47,379 JESSI: Yeah? 549 00:28:47,448 --> 00:28:48,862 CHRIS: My plan for the morning is, I'm just gonna come out. 550 00:28:48,931 --> 00:28:52,517 I'm essentially gonna hook this come along on here, 551 00:28:52,586 --> 00:28:54,551 hook it up to that birch tree that's back there, 552 00:28:54,620 --> 00:28:57,793 and then we'll pull it and we'll start sticking some shims up underneath it. 553 00:28:57,862 --> 00:28:59,655 JESSI: Cool. 554 00:29:02,793 --> 00:29:06,965 KALEB: What speaks to my heart is being able to get outside and adventure. 555 00:29:07,034 --> 00:29:10,896 KALEB: To go out and come home rejuvenated and your soul is happy. 556 00:29:10,965 --> 00:29:12,379 I thrive on that. 557 00:29:13,827 --> 00:29:16,068 Alright Ellie. 558 00:29:16,137 --> 00:29:17,689 I think this is the spot. 559 00:29:17,758 --> 00:29:19,827 I see a bunch of dead trees. 560 00:29:19,896 --> 00:29:23,275 We got a good bank here on the ice where we can work. 561 00:29:23,344 --> 00:29:25,344 So, I think this'll be a great spot, what do you think? 562 00:29:25,413 --> 00:29:28,034 ELOVIE: Yeah. KALEB: Yeah. 563 00:29:32,310 --> 00:29:34,655 I'm gonna get some trees cut down, Ellie. 564 00:29:34,724 --> 00:29:37,379 I want you to sit on the snow machine. 565 00:29:37,448 --> 00:29:40,344 I'll get three or four of them down and then we'll start processing 'em. 566 00:29:41,241 --> 00:29:44,103 30 below this morning. 567 00:29:44,172 --> 00:29:46,689 I don't know what it is now, but it's cold. 568 00:29:46,758 --> 00:29:49,551 Face all frosty. 569 00:29:53,172 --> 00:29:55,172 You're clear, Ellie? 570 00:29:55,241 --> 00:29:57,103 I'm knocking this tree down. 571 00:30:08,655 --> 00:30:10,586 Oh man, this is a nice tree. 572 00:30:10,655 --> 00:30:12,034 No rot in it. 573 00:30:12,103 --> 00:30:13,931 It fell in the right direction. 574 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:15,517 This is awesome. 575 00:30:15,586 --> 00:30:18,965 Just working on getting myself a bit of a trail back here. 576 00:30:19,034 --> 00:30:23,310 I'm gonna drop this tree down and then I'll skid it out with the snow machine. 577 00:30:23,379 --> 00:30:25,206 The leaner's a potential health hazard. 578 00:30:25,275 --> 00:30:27,724 If it was to fall when I was underneath, 579 00:30:27,793 --> 00:30:29,448 there's no more Kaleb Rowland. 580 00:30:29,517 --> 00:30:31,724 Game over. Lights out. 581 00:30:38,586 --> 00:30:41,517 And there are some trees that are ready to fall over. 582 00:30:48,103 --> 00:30:53,448 The easiest thing to do at a woodlot is just get all the easy stuff fallen first, 583 00:30:53,517 --> 00:30:54,931 and I did that. 584 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:56,448 I felled a tree. 585 00:30:56,517 --> 00:30:59,517 It fell right now onto my turnaround staging area. 586 00:30:59,586 --> 00:31:01,758 I was able to cut it, split it, buck it up. 587 00:31:01,827 --> 00:31:04,896 Get it ready to go without having to do any extra work. 588 00:31:04,965 --> 00:31:06,000 There we go. 589 00:31:06,068 --> 00:31:07,689 But, as the easy stuff goes away, 590 00:31:07,758 --> 00:31:10,689 I have to start yarding the trees out with the snow 591 00:31:10,758 --> 00:31:13,793 machine where I have good ground to split things. 592 00:31:13,862 --> 00:31:16,724 Gonna get this strap under here and yank this log out. 593 00:31:18,379 --> 00:31:20,413 See if she goes anywhere. 594 00:31:23,137 --> 00:31:26,241 [reverse beep] 595 00:31:26,310 --> 00:31:30,172 But all these limbs and stuff that are stuck in the ground and frozen in, 596 00:31:30,241 --> 00:31:32,517 they don't like to give up. 597 00:31:34,068 --> 00:31:37,206 Come on you stubborn bugger, don't make me cut you in half. 598 00:31:41,827 --> 00:31:46,344 ♪ ♪ 599 00:31:50,931 --> 00:31:54,172 ♪ ♪ 600 00:31:57,172 --> 00:31:59,068 ELOVIE: Nice! 601 00:32:00,586 --> 00:32:02,620 KALEB: Big old spruce's got bad attitudes and 602 00:32:02,689 --> 00:32:05,000 they don't like doing what I tell them to. 603 00:32:05,068 --> 00:32:08,413 Fortunately, I have a badder attitude. 604 00:32:08,482 --> 00:32:12,413 I think it's time for a fire, a nice big pile of slash. 605 00:32:12,482 --> 00:32:14,862 Time to torch it. 606 00:32:14,931 --> 00:32:18,793 Out here in the woods, you take every moment you can get with your kids. 607 00:32:18,862 --> 00:32:20,344 You know it's cold out. 608 00:32:20,413 --> 00:32:22,965 It's a big whoopty-doo to bring your kids out in the cold. 609 00:32:23,034 --> 00:32:25,000 Gotta make sure they're warm, 610 00:32:25,068 --> 00:32:27,655 their gear's tucked in just right, 611 00:32:27,724 --> 00:32:29,172 all this stuff and it, 612 00:32:29,241 --> 00:32:32,241 it makes it complicated to bring 'em out. 613 00:32:32,310 --> 00:32:33,896 So, when they are able to go out, 614 00:32:33,965 --> 00:32:38,551 when the weather cooperates and everything's good then, 615 00:32:38,620 --> 00:32:41,379 something to be enjoyed. 616 00:32:44,793 --> 00:32:46,724 ELOVIE: Oh baby! 617 00:32:48,137 --> 00:32:50,344 KALEB: That's a fire now, Ellie. 618 00:32:50,413 --> 00:32:53,517 ELOVIE: Yeah, that's a fire baby. 619 00:32:53,586 --> 00:32:55,517 I had so much fun. 620 00:32:55,586 --> 00:32:57,103 KALEB: Oh, good. 621 00:32:57,172 --> 00:33:01,137 I have enjoyed being here in the woods with you too, Ellie, 622 00:33:01,206 --> 00:33:05,793 and we have the start of a new firewood lot going. 623 00:33:10,758 --> 00:33:12,827 JOHNNY: I don't necessarily measure growth. 624 00:33:12,896 --> 00:33:15,241 Any situation I encounter, I'm gonna grow from it. 625 00:33:15,310 --> 00:33:20,931 There's no measurement of time or wealth or success or even failure out here. 626 00:33:29,448 --> 00:33:32,793 ♪ ♪ 627 00:33:32,862 --> 00:33:35,103 JOHNNY: So, I'm pretty sure these are dried enough. 628 00:33:35,172 --> 00:33:36,793 They look good. 629 00:33:36,862 --> 00:33:40,379 The moment of truth to see if they hold their shape. 630 00:33:40,448 --> 00:33:41,862 What do you think, Java? 631 00:33:41,931 --> 00:33:43,724 Is it gonna work? 632 00:33:43,793 --> 00:33:45,068 Alright, let's try it. 633 00:33:54,172 --> 00:33:56,034 JOHNNY: Yeah, they look pretty good. 634 00:33:56,103 --> 00:33:58,068 They're, they're not going anywhere. 635 00:33:58,137 --> 00:34:00,551 They have dried into that position and it, it seems like they're there to stay, 636 00:34:00,620 --> 00:34:04,275 but they have a very obnoxious squared off edge. 637 00:34:04,344 --> 00:34:07,241 So, what I need to do next, is to make a point. 638 00:34:07,310 --> 00:34:11,586 That way when I'm traveling through snow that point's gonna make it break through the 639 00:34:11,655 --> 00:34:14,689 snow a lot easier, versus having this flat edge. 640 00:34:16,793 --> 00:34:18,827 Traditional ski-makers, when they would shape the tip, 641 00:34:18,896 --> 00:34:21,551 they would make some sort of bulb or ornament 642 00:34:21,620 --> 00:34:24,103 on the end and that's what made it their ski. 643 00:34:24,172 --> 00:34:25,413 It's their signature. 644 00:34:25,482 --> 00:34:26,827 I'm not gonna get fancy with these out here, 645 00:34:26,896 --> 00:34:28,862 because these are gonna get a lot of abuse, 646 00:34:28,931 --> 00:34:33,344 but one thing I'm noticing, on the end of my ski here I have the rust-color red. 647 00:34:33,413 --> 00:34:37,862 It just kinda happened to work out that way and, uh, that's gonna be my signature. 648 00:34:37,931 --> 00:34:42,310 So, these are the caribou shin-hides that I'll be putting on the bottom. 649 00:34:42,379 --> 00:34:44,724 I have to make sure that they're the right direction, 650 00:34:44,793 --> 00:34:47,758 so I slide forward and not backwards. 651 00:34:47,827 --> 00:34:51,379 I harvested a couple caribou this winter and it's my responsibility 652 00:34:51,448 --> 00:34:53,482 and my duty to use all parts. 653 00:34:53,551 --> 00:34:57,586 So, if I can use these shin-hides for the bottom of my skis, 654 00:34:57,655 --> 00:34:59,448 you know that's something to take advantage of. 655 00:35:00,689 --> 00:35:03,103 I'm going to make two holes in the ski. 656 00:35:03,172 --> 00:35:05,827 I'm going to countersink around the hole and that means it'll be a little 657 00:35:05,896 --> 00:35:08,965 hole for this nut to live in. 658 00:35:09,034 --> 00:35:11,965 And this'll actually work better too because the nuts 659 00:35:12,034 --> 00:35:13,551 will sit flush with the bottom of the ski, 660 00:35:13,620 --> 00:35:16,275 and they won't catch any snow, they won't be hitting the hides. 661 00:35:16,344 --> 00:35:18,068 They'll be nice and flush. 662 00:35:18,137 --> 00:35:21,551 They'll live embedded in the wood of the ski, versus sticking out. 663 00:35:24,517 --> 00:35:29,275 It all starts with an idea, and I take the idea and then I craft it and I build it. 664 00:35:29,344 --> 00:35:31,103 These are skills you can't take from me, 665 00:35:31,172 --> 00:35:33,103 you know these aren't possessions, 666 00:35:33,172 --> 00:35:37,103 and being able to take a piece of wood that was gonna be a shelf in my cabin and 667 00:35:37,172 --> 00:35:39,241 make skis out of it, 668 00:35:39,310 --> 00:35:43,172 and something that I can transport myself all around this beautiful landscape, 669 00:35:43,241 --> 00:35:45,103 that's a really-really good feeling, 670 00:35:45,172 --> 00:35:46,965 and it's satisfying knowing that I can make 671 00:35:47,034 --> 00:35:48,758 something from nothing. 672 00:35:51,068 --> 00:35:52,586 But they look awesome, I think they look great. 673 00:35:52,655 --> 00:35:53,758 They got a lot of character. 674 00:35:53,827 --> 00:35:55,068 Oh hey. What do you think? 675 00:35:55,137 --> 00:35:56,586 You think these look good? 676 00:35:56,655 --> 00:35:57,965 Huh? 677 00:35:58,034 --> 00:36:00,241 You just like the hides on the bottom? 678 00:36:00,310 --> 00:36:03,448 Yeah, you like those hides don't you? 679 00:36:03,517 --> 00:36:05,000 I think these look awesome. 680 00:36:05,068 --> 00:36:06,793 These are gonna be a lot of fun. 681 00:36:06,862 --> 00:36:10,482 They're gonna get me around, moving around faster in snow. 682 00:36:12,103 --> 00:36:14,793 ALEX: No matter what. Nature's demand is clear. 683 00:36:14,862 --> 00:36:18,448 I gotta burn some calories to get what I want from this place. 684 00:36:18,517 --> 00:36:20,689 Uh, that's just the way it is. 685 00:36:26,862 --> 00:36:28,793 ALEX: Down as far as it goes. 686 00:36:28,862 --> 00:36:31,965 I was so tired after the last day I was out here digging, 687 00:36:32,034 --> 00:36:34,103 I took an entire day and just pretty much slept all day. 688 00:36:34,172 --> 00:36:35,413 I was beat. 689 00:36:35,482 --> 00:36:37,103 So, I'm just gonna pick up where we left off, 690 00:36:37,172 --> 00:36:39,620 I think I've got probably two more feet of ice to dig through. 691 00:36:39,689 --> 00:36:42,275 It's getting harder now because, uh, 692 00:36:42,344 --> 00:36:45,068 it's, as it gets further down, I have to bend over more. 693 00:36:45,137 --> 00:36:46,551 But yeah, I think it'll be worth it if I, 694 00:36:46,620 --> 00:36:48,793 'cause, um, I'm just burning so much wood to uh, 695 00:36:48,862 --> 00:36:52,862 to melt ice, and, and also in the future I wanna fish here. 696 00:36:52,931 --> 00:36:55,620 Uh, I mean this lake is gonna be kinda my primary resource. 697 00:36:55,689 --> 00:36:59,517 It's, it's the big reason I moved here, ya know? 698 00:36:59,586 --> 00:37:02,172 And I don't wanna just let a little bit of ice stop me. 699 00:37:02,241 --> 00:37:04,517 I want to, uh, dig through it, get to the water, 700 00:37:04,586 --> 00:37:07,551 be able to use that water so that it's kinda like I do a bit 701 00:37:07,620 --> 00:37:10,413 of hard work, ya know, yesterday, today, and then it 702 00:37:10,482 --> 00:37:13,275 should pay me back big time, I expect, ya know? 703 00:37:13,344 --> 00:37:15,620 A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. 704 00:37:23,965 --> 00:37:27,137 Yeah, I, I thought getting water here would be, be a no-brainer, 705 00:37:27,206 --> 00:37:28,551 it'd be pretty easy. 706 00:37:28,620 --> 00:37:31,551 We're digging through, ya know, five feet of ice. 707 00:37:31,620 --> 00:37:33,241 That's pretty tough. 708 00:37:33,310 --> 00:37:35,206 So much chipped ice in there. 709 00:37:35,275 --> 00:37:38,137 I don't know if I'm doing any damage or not. 710 00:37:45,344 --> 00:37:47,310 Yeah, I'm just digging this hole, and digging this hole and it's getting 711 00:37:47,379 --> 00:37:50,448 to a point where I feel like I'm not making progress anymore. 712 00:37:52,344 --> 00:37:54,206 It's pretty disheartening. 713 00:37:57,965 --> 00:38:00,448 So, it's getting pretty personal ya know? 714 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:04,862 And when it starts feeling personal for me, 715 00:38:04,931 --> 00:38:07,689 then I feel at war. 716 00:38:07,758 --> 00:38:10,103 Man, how [bleep] deep is it? 717 00:38:10,172 --> 00:38:12,448 It just keeps going and going. 718 00:38:14,586 --> 00:38:19,241 [ice chipping] 719 00:38:19,310 --> 00:38:20,655 Oh, there's water, there's water. 720 00:38:20,724 --> 00:38:21,965 Oh my God. 721 00:38:24,275 --> 00:38:25,551 ALEX: Oh, there's water, there's water. 722 00:38:25,620 --> 00:38:27,137 Oh my god. 723 00:38:29,103 --> 00:38:32,000 Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes. 724 00:38:32,068 --> 00:38:34,620 Look at that beautiful water. 725 00:38:34,689 --> 00:38:38,689 I just dug through um, I think technically it was about five feet of ice. 726 00:38:38,758 --> 00:38:42,275 Uh, but my muscles are telling me it was about 200 feet. 727 00:38:42,344 --> 00:38:43,758 Man, that was a lot of digging. 728 00:38:43,827 --> 00:38:45,241 Finally broke through. 729 00:38:45,310 --> 00:38:46,758 I got water. 730 00:38:46,827 --> 00:38:48,448 I'm gonna get five gallons. 731 00:38:48,517 --> 00:38:50,482 I mean five gallons will last me for, for weeks. 732 00:38:58,241 --> 00:39:02,172 Oh yeah, already the top the, uh, it's starting to ice. 733 00:39:02,241 --> 00:39:04,896 I guess that water's probably just right at 734 00:39:04,965 --> 00:39:08,310 like 31 degrees or whatever, 735 00:39:08,379 --> 00:39:10,103 31.9. 736 00:39:10,172 --> 00:39:13,551 Now that I know how long it'll take to dig, 737 00:39:13,620 --> 00:39:15,310 what tools I'll need to use you know what I mean, 738 00:39:15,379 --> 00:39:18,310 then I'll, it won't be such a big deal 'cause I just know you know 739 00:39:18,379 --> 00:39:21,000 okay it's gonna take a couple hours, ya know? 740 00:39:21,068 --> 00:39:24,551 But again, I'm kinda using a hodgepodge of tools here. 741 00:39:24,620 --> 00:39:26,689 If I get my corkscrew thing working better, 742 00:39:26,758 --> 00:39:29,517 that'll probably be the fastest way. 743 00:39:29,586 --> 00:39:32,413 Probably one of the big things I've learned living off grid so far is that the 744 00:39:32,482 --> 00:39:35,206 only thing I really have to change is my mind. 745 00:39:35,275 --> 00:39:37,310 Society always wants us to become something. 746 00:39:37,379 --> 00:39:39,689 But to me that's all nonsense. 747 00:39:39,758 --> 00:39:44,000 Kinda my big mission is to not become something but just be what I am. 748 00:39:49,689 --> 00:39:53,551 I wanna do the things that my instincts tell me to do, 749 00:39:53,620 --> 00:39:56,172 and I wanna just know life fully. 750 00:39:56,241 --> 00:39:59,241 I wanna know all the ups and downs of life. 751 00:39:59,310 --> 00:40:03,206 That way when it's time for me to leave, I can say I did it all. 752 00:40:07,862 --> 00:40:11,000 CHRIS: The way on the Cosna is your always working forward. 753 00:40:11,068 --> 00:40:12,448 We like to push ourselves. 754 00:40:12,517 --> 00:40:14,344 We like to be challenged, 755 00:40:14,413 --> 00:40:16,931 but out here on the Cosna we're always being challenged with everything. 756 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:18,758 You've got it. Push it up. 757 00:40:18,827 --> 00:40:21,310 Alright. Roll that one into place. 758 00:40:21,379 --> 00:40:23,379 JESSI: Awesome. CHRIS: Okay. 759 00:40:30,827 --> 00:40:33,586 This dang zipline is super high up in the air. 760 00:40:33,655 --> 00:40:36,517 Gonna have to build some kind of ladder on the tree to get up there. 761 00:40:37,620 --> 00:40:39,379 Today we got the zipline up. 762 00:40:39,448 --> 00:40:42,137 It's all about expanding territories, expanding the hunting area, 763 00:40:42,206 --> 00:40:45,862 putting our foothold here and learning and living the lifestyle on the Cosna. 764 00:40:45,931 --> 00:40:50,551 JESSI: Alright, here Chris goes across the biggest zipline we've ever made. 765 00:40:50,620 --> 00:40:53,689 CHRIS: See you soon! 766 00:40:53,758 --> 00:41:00,068 JESSI: We did it, our first 300-foot zipline across the river twice. 767 00:41:00,137 --> 00:41:03,206 This is something that we are gonna get some much use out of. 768 00:41:05,793 --> 00:41:07,551 CHRIS: Awesome! 769 00:41:11,137 --> 00:41:13,206 JESSI: It definitely sags a lot. 770 00:41:13,275 --> 00:41:16,103 CHRIS: But it got me across in, how long did it take? 771 00:41:16,172 --> 00:41:17,758 JESSI: I don't know, fifteen seconds? 772 00:41:17,827 --> 00:41:19,793 CHRIS: Yeah, that's a lot better than a 45 minute walk. 773 00:41:19,862 --> 00:41:21,689 JESSI: Yeah, you only have to do that. 774 00:41:21,758 --> 00:41:23,241 CHRIS: Two steps across the center? 775 00:41:23,310 --> 00:41:25,379 JESSI: Yeah. 776 00:41:25,448 --> 00:41:28,068 I'm so grateful that I can have a partner out here that's willing to do anything to make 777 00:41:28,137 --> 00:41:30,655 things better out here like this is our home, 778 00:41:30,724 --> 00:41:33,241 this is where we wanna spend all of our time. 779 00:41:35,517 --> 00:41:39,724 Everything that we build out here for ourselves is making this place better. 780 00:41:42,241 --> 00:41:44,965 KALEB: I think fire is a magical thing. 781 00:41:45,034 --> 00:41:47,931 We take this cold, dead wood. 782 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:51,931 We split it up, a little bit of spark and it warms your body. 783 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:56,137 It warms the soul and it's something that is often taken for granted. 784 00:42:01,965 --> 00:42:04,413 BRITTANY: You're back! KALEB: Yeah! 785 00:42:04,482 --> 00:42:05,931 ELOVIE: What's up? 786 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:07,965 BRITTANY: So obviously you guys were successful. 787 00:42:08,034 --> 00:42:10,517 GILBERT: Let go Elovie! KALEB: Yup. 788 00:42:10,586 --> 00:42:12,413 We have the starts of a new woodlot. 789 00:42:12,482 --> 00:42:14,103 BRITTANY: Oh good. 790 00:42:14,172 --> 00:42:15,793 KALEB: So, I'm pretty jazzed. 791 00:42:15,862 --> 00:42:17,793 BRITTANY: It's a little bit closer than the other woodlot too? 792 00:42:17,862 --> 00:42:21,034 KALEB: Just a wee bit. 793 00:42:21,103 --> 00:42:26,689 So, we got stuck going out there and Ellie ran the throttle to get us unstuck 794 00:42:26,758 --> 00:42:28,172 while I pulled on the skis. 795 00:42:28,241 --> 00:42:29,931 BRITTANY: Did you really? ELOVIE: Yeah. 796 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:31,931 BRITTANY: Was that so fun? ELOVIE: Yeah. 797 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:35,793 BRITTANY: Yeah! So, all in all it was a success? 798 00:42:35,862 --> 00:42:37,689 KALEB: Oh yeah. We had a good day together. 799 00:42:37,758 --> 00:42:40,310 BRITTANY: Good. 800 00:42:40,379 --> 00:42:42,448 KALEB: In the bush, fire is important. 801 00:42:42,517 --> 00:42:44,137 Fire is everything, 802 00:42:44,206 --> 00:42:46,655 and it's not just my house I'm keeping warm, right, 803 00:42:46,724 --> 00:42:49,482 it's a warm, safe, loving environment for my 804 00:42:49,551 --> 00:42:54,172 kids and my wife, so it's more than just a chore. 805 00:42:54,241 --> 00:42:57,137 It's almost a life calling to make sure that the 806 00:42:57,206 --> 00:43:00,965 firewood is always stocked up and ready to go. 807 00:43:01,034 --> 00:43:05,000 BRITTANY: Well, we lost the kids. 808 00:43:06,379 --> 00:43:09,620 KALEB: Alright. Let's go try this stuff out. 809 00:43:09,689 --> 00:43:11,344 BRITTANY: Go find those children. 810 00:43:11,413 --> 00:43:14,379 KALEB: I imagine we'll find them right in front of the wood stove. 811 00:43:17,068 --> 00:43:20,620 JOHNNY: Maiden voyage on the hunter skis, and I am thoroughly impressed with them. 812 00:43:21,862 --> 00:43:23,241 They glide right up on top of the snow. 813 00:43:23,310 --> 00:43:24,551 I don't sink too much. 814 00:43:24,620 --> 00:43:26,275 I got a ton of surface area, 815 00:43:26,344 --> 00:43:29,344 and it keeps me afloat and I'm super excited that I was able to 816 00:43:29,413 --> 00:43:33,517 add something to my arsenal of transportation and it's something that I made. 817 00:43:33,586 --> 00:43:34,931 So, it means a lot to me. 818 00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:36,655 These have character. These have soul. 819 00:43:36,724 --> 00:43:39,379 They're a part of me. 820 00:43:39,448 --> 00:43:40,655 When people ask me, 821 00:43:40,724 --> 00:43:43,413 why do you choose to be that secluded, 822 00:43:43,482 --> 00:43:45,172 why not live in the city? 823 00:43:45,241 --> 00:43:48,586 The city is a place of limits and boundaries. 824 00:43:48,655 --> 00:43:50,931 And I'm a rebel at heart. 825 00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:54,068 You know I like to live wild. 826 00:43:54,137 --> 00:43:57,793 It's not normal to be this alone, to be this isolated. 827 00:43:57,862 --> 00:43:59,137 But if you look at it differently, 828 00:43:59,206 --> 00:44:01,931 you can grow from it and become a better person, 829 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:03,793 and that's why I choose the arctic. 830 00:44:07,586 --> 00:44:09,413 Captioned by Cotter Media Group.