Not many people get to live their dream.
I have.
[narrator] In a season finale...
[Todd] We're gonna run it till there's nothing left.
[narrator] ...the Hoffman crew races to beat 1,000 ounces...
[Todd] I just need a win.
I got to get this last bit of gold.
[narrator] ...to put a gold bonus in each man's pocket...
[Sparky] Got some flakes, boys.
[narrator] ...and earn a profitable final season
from mining pioneer, Jack Hoffman.
[Jack] Gold mining has been a way of life.
[Sterling] You're the real deal.
I hope I never let you down.
[indistinct]
We have to keep pushing until winter pushes us out of here.
[narrator] But with a season-ending snowfall in the forecast...
[Sparky] That's termination dust.
That's a sign that it's our time to go.
Ooh, that's sucker's cold.
[Hunter] Fuel trucks won't make it over the pass anymore.
I have no idea where to find any more pay.
[narrator] The rich pay dirt they need
may be in the last place an old-school miner
would ever look.
[Rob] I have no idea if this is gonna work.
[Hunter] Grab the tag line.
It is very dangerous.
- [Sparky] Oh... Oh... - [Todd] Hey, whoa.
[Sterling over radio] Hey, Spark, you got a copy?
Yeah, you got me. Go ahead.
[Sterling] I don't know.
We're pulling up the road and coming up against winter.
[Sparky over radio] Ridiculous.
Hey, guys, I know we're getting to the end of the season,
but do not give up now.
[grunts]
This is a code-red situation.
Winter is about ready to shut us down,
and we're all busting our asses,
running the last bit of this dirt from the road
before that happens.
But if I don't at least get 1,000 ounces,
which is my break-even point,
I'm gonna be coming home with debt
and possibly not mine again.
I can't let that happen.
[over radio] Okay, guys, I appreciate
everything you've put into this.
So keep up the great work
and finish this season up strong as we can.
Every ounce over 1,000
is going straight into your gold bonus.
Hey, you hear that, boys?
We're going home with some gold.
Let's go get it.
[Sparky] Woo-hoo! Thanks, Todd.
We'll keep busting ass for you.
I want to say thank you in a good way.
No better way than yellow in a jar.
[Andy over radio] Sterling, hold a few seconds.
I'll let Sparky first.
Just get in behind him
and then just pull alongside and then I'll load you.
- Okay? - [Sterling] You got it, Andy.
[Sparky] You know, it's important
that everybody gets a gold bonus
because this season's been so far a [bleep] show.
I really think that having a gold bonus
just reassures that, you know, you did your best.
[Andy] You know, we get to this point
every year, it seems like.
We're scrambling to find pay dirt
to run before the season ends.
So we've dug every bit of pay out of the road that's there,
and we're gonna have to figure out our next move.
I don't know where we're gonna find any more now.
[Sparky over radio]
[Sterling over radio]
[chuckles]
[Todd] It's funny, as soon as we get told
we're getting a gold bonus,
this is the final rock truck load from the road.
So we're down to our last bit of pay again.
[over radio] Last load. Good job, Spark.
And let's hope that his has got a little bit of yellow in it.
Hey, man.
Really hope this pay is loaded because,
honestly, man, I really don't want
to get out of here without a gold bonus.
Let's hope it's a good payday.
I was hoping that the dirt from the road
would last a little bit longer.
It's been like this all season.
One step forward, two gigantic steps back.
But we're not gonna give up.
[Andy] There it is.
Last, Sparky.
[Todd] We cannot let the guys down now.
I'm going to need to figure out
this pay dirt situation fast.
Andy, Hunter, Sparky, meet me at the dump.
[Hunter over radio] Copy that.
Hey.
Snow's coming, but it's not here yet,
so it's given us a little bit of extra time
to find some pay dirt to run.
Ran the road, Plateau's frozen up,
obviously Lost Cut's... gone.
You guys got anything?
Any other ideas on pay dirt?
I'm all ears.
I mean...
Don't you think Upper Dahl's done?
I think Upper Dahl's done.
I think the Narrows are done.
Ancient Riverbed's done.
I don't know of anything else off the top of my head.
- So... - [Todd] Nothing.
What do you think out there, North Fork?
It's too late to really get into it.
Anything's gonna now be frozen for the most part.
I mean, what about underneath Jack's plant?
It might be thawed by now.
Jack's wash plant is over at North Fork.
You know, one of the mining spots
we've mined last season,
but didn't completely clear it out.
Since Jack's wash plant is sitting right on top of it,
it hasn't frozen yet.
How big of an area?
- Just a small... - I don't know exactly how much,
but, you know, maybe a few days.
Well, I guess that sounds like the last of it, then.
- Yeah. - Because we literally don't...
I have no idea where to find any more pay.
And it's too late.
That'll be the last pay, period.
At this point, I'm open to any ideas for pay dirt.
I don't care how crazy they are.
'Cause I'm not only doing this for my crew,
I'm doing this for my dad.
And to be honest with you, my dad is my hero,
and it's his last mining season.
I cannot have it end in a loss.
All right. Let's hurry up.
We've got snow coming.
Got to get the sluice off.
Hey, just grab that wrenches
to undo the sluice.
[narrator] The Hoffmans have mined all the pay dirt
from the Lost Cut, The Plateau and the road at Upper Dahl.
Now they have just one final spot left to dig.
Underneath the Jack Rabbit.
[Todd] Think about it. For years and years,
the Z Plant was positioned over here and it ran here,
and it spilled gold all over the place.
The dirt should be pretty rich.
It doesn't hurt that a bunch of concentrates
were actually ran right on top of this ground.
[Rob] He's gonna have it over there.
There's a lot at stake for me.
If I don't hit 1,000 ounces by the end of this week,
I'm gonna go home on a loss
and probably go home with a whole bunch of debt.
Now, I'm only 35 ounces short,
so somehow, some way,
I got to get this pay dirt and get it ran.
I think we ought to pick it just on the front here,
and then just kind of turn it like this.
[Hunter] Right now what we're trying to do
is pull the Jack Rabbit off the hill,
which can be a little bit of a nightmare.
Any time you're moving a piece of machinery like this,
it is very dangerous.
So obviously it weighs thousands and thousands of pounds.
We're basically rigging it with chains
and straps and things that could fail.
Hopefully, we get this thing off the hill in one piece.
[engine starts]
[Rob] I have no idea if this is gonna work.
At this point, I guess it's a Hail Mary.
It could be good.
There could be gold in it. It could be bad.
I guess we'll do it and we'll see what happens.
[Todd] Hey, you're hanging in the air.
Take it out.
[Hunter] How about I grab the [bleep] tagline?
[Todd] Not the tagline.
[bleep] this.
I think it's our first time [bleep] doing everything.
[mouthing]
[Todd] Oh, you want to set it on his rack?
[Hunter over radio] I figured that's why the truck was right behind.
[Todd over radio]
Just scooch to your right. Perfect.
Pull, Thurb.
I think we're clear.
Wheel her out here.
Hey, Hunter.
[over radio] Right up in here.
We're gonna lift the front, back it out.
Where do you want to hook? Around here?
That was my thought.
- [man] We clear. - [Todd] Heads up.
Here it goes.
We gotta turn it and walk it back.
Thurber, grab the blocks.
Leave it. Leave it.
Oh, my [bleep].
[Todd] For the tires.
Let it roll.
Sparky, grab the block.
You're the emergency brake with a block.
There you go.
[man] Hey. Hey, Hunter.
You might want to get your stick out
as far as you can away from you
so that [indistinct].
Let's have more [bleep] guys directing.
Hey, this thing is gonna roll. Like...
[over radio] So why is everybody standing so close?
Just everybody back up,
and I will get it off the hill.
[Todd] Stay by the tires.
- Why? - [Todd] Because you can block them
if it starts rolling.
No, he's not gonna be anywhere around it
if it starts rolling.
[man] I would let it boom down and stick out
and get away from you as far as you can.
No!
I know.
I got it.
It's a little bit of a cluster right now
because we've got four people in charge,
and not a lot of clear directions.
So I'm gonna kind of keep my distance.
[Todd] Hunter, swing it out to the right side of you
so this doesn't come right at you.
And you'll be walking alongside of it, you know?
So it'll be right here alongside you.
I'm not worried about how to get off the hill.
I'm worried about everybody standing right next to it.
[over radio] This is dangerous.
Why don't everybody stand back and I'll just pull it down?
[Todd] Okay. You got it. Let's go.
Everybody clear out.
You guys, clear out.
Clear out.
[over radio] Yeah, that'll work good.
Drop it, son.
[Sparky] That was... [laughs]
[chuckles]
[Todd] You can't go that way. You gotta come your way.
Don't drop it off this cliff.
- There you go. - [Sparky laughs]
Probably a Jack Rabbit down the hill, dude.
Oh. God. [chuckles]
What could go wrong?
That's called walking the dog, baby.
[Sparky] That's walking the dog, dude.
This is nuts.
Where do you want it?
Are we gonna grab onto it with something else?
Or what's the plan here?
[Todd] Hey, you gotta take it back that way.
We've got to get it out.
We've got to get the lay down yard.
[Hunter over radio] Yeah, but I gotta tow this thing down a hill
with it facing towards me
with two little, tiny chains on it?
[Todd] Yeah, that's why you got to
keep it dragging in the front.
[Hunter] I really don't like the way
that we rigged my grandpa's plant.
This thing is so heavy,
and it's literally on a trailer with wheels.
One wrong move and this thing comes
straight through the windshield and kill me.
You could say that I'm pretty clenched.
[Sparky] [bleep] Oh... Oh...
[Todd] Hey, whoa!
[Todd] Let's get it there.
- [Sparky] Oh, no. - [Todd] Hey, whoa!
Oh, [bleep] jeez.
[Todd] There's really no options left.
I've got to use that pay dirt underneath my dad's plant.
We don't have a lot of time.
We've got old man winter coming quick.
The sooner we can get the Jack Rabbit off this hill,
the sooner we can get this pay dirt to the plant
and start mining again.
That little patch of ground
can make or break me this year.
[over radio] Hunter, wait. Just stop.
This is kind of dangerous how we have this set up.
[Todd over radio] I'll do it if you don't want to do it.
[Hunter] I'm not gonna do it with it rigged like that.
[Todd] I got it. I'll take it.
Get in here, master.
[over radio] Master excavator.
[Todd] Here, hold this.
Don't lose it. Thank you.
Junior didn't feel super comfortable
doing the dangerous stuff.
He hasn't done enough
stupid stuff, like me, in his life,
so I have to do all the dangerous stuff.
[Sparky speaking]
[Hunter speaking]
[Sparky] I know. I know.
[Hunter] I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.
I would stay way back, seriously.
[Todd] We're moving this off. It's real tricky.
You don't want this thing to take off,
come smashing right through the cab.
So you've got to kind of keep it
just above the ground here
to kind of use the tongue as my brake,
trying to keep yourself from getting smashed into.
This is the most dangerous part
as it comes down the hill right at me.
[Sparky] Yeah, I'm staying way back.
That's way too sketch, dude.
[Hunter] The reason I'm not doing it is it's sketch.
[Sparky] How are we looking on that side, Jack?
[Jack] He needs to slowly start going to that way.
[Sparky] To the right.
All right, Todd, you're looking good so far.
Start tracking toward you right now.
[Jack] Slowly, slowly. He's too fast.
[Hunter] Oh, [bleep].
[Sparky] Oh! Whoo! Dude.
Start tracking towards your right.
There you go. All right. We're home free from the hill.
You're doing good, man.
Just straight back.
I'm glad we didn't break your baby, man.
[Jack] Ah...
[Sparky] Old Jack Rabbit.
Perfect.
[Todd over radio] Yeah, just clear it out. I'll get her.
[Sparky] Operation get rid of the Jack Rabbit is a success.
Yeah, we're doing this whole thing
for one thing and one thing only.
And it's to get that gold from underneath Jack's plant.
And it's our last-ditch effort to scrape up anything we can
in hopes that we can bring home something.
'Cause Todd said anything over 1,000 ounces is ours.
Keep going, keep going.
Whoa!
[Todd] Okay, we got everything off the hill here.
We're just gonna pick up this last few hoses.
We're gonna take this dirt to the plant,
run it, see what we get.
I feel like there's 100 ounces right here.
I'm getting there. I'm gonna see the technique.
Hey, Sterling, I want to teach you this table.
Okay.
Okay, so we're gonna start from the very start.
- Okay? - Perfect.
I'm going to be done after the season,
so it's my responsibility to teach somebody my position.
So what we do is we go over here to this side,
we turn the pump on.
This is filtrated water.
We have the filter down there.
We've changed that, okay?
Turn this on and let it run.
You know, I have spent so much time
in the cleanup room with Thurber,
that it just seems like my second home.
- Well, we'll find out, huh? - [Jim] Yeah.
[Jack] Gold mining, to me, has been a way of life.
We're doing it.
All I ever wanted to do was mine with my family.
[people cheering]
[chuckling]
[Jack] I've gotten to mine with my grandsons
and my son.
- [man] Look at that. - Holy crap!
That's it. We got our first real nugget.
[Jack] And I put all my money on the line.
- I put my guts on the line. - [all cheering]
I'm going to do everything I can
for all these people.
I want them to be happy.
I want them to have gold.
You know, put it in their pocket,
pay for their houses.
[all cheering]
That's what I want it for.
It's been a real blessing, but now it's my time
to turn loose the reins completely.
You just got to take your hand.
Don't scratch the table, you know?
- Mmm-hmm. - Just get it wet.
Why don't you do that side?
[Sterling] The accumulated knowledge of my grandpa
in that gold room is unique to him.
And to have him pass that to me,
I'm just honored.
[Jack] You just take one little scoop.
You put one scoop in.
Don't put more than that.
[Sterling] You know, he's retiring,
and that really brings it to reality for me.
It's gonna b odd for him
to be at home while we're all here.
He is the backbone and the anchor
of this whole dream.
And that's that.
I don't want to experience this life
without my freaking grandpa.
This is the only one I got.
[Jack] This table, I think it's $27,000,
so it's really important to protect this table.
I'm used to being careful counting the cut, so...
I know. I know that.
[Jack] You've got to protect every little flake.
And try to get it into that jar
and keep it there.
Sterling has rose to the occasion.
And I trust him.
[Sterling] If I can carry the torch of gold mining, I will.
I really enjoy it, and it's a lot more exciting
than just about everything else.
Well, I think you have a future in it.
All right, man.
[over radio] Let's hope this dirt
has got some promising gold in it.
I'm hoping so. I'm hoping it's rich.
Well, we got Jack's plant pulled off of the hill,
and this is kind of our last little spot
that we're gonna try to scrape some pay out of.
So I don't know how much gold is gonna be in here,
but right now we just need enough gold
to try to get us, you know, at least over 1,000.
I'm hoping that it's pretty rich, so we'll see.
All right, Todd, coming at you live
with some of this Jack Rabbit pay dirt.
[Todd over radio] Okay.
The dirt we're pulling from under Jack's plant
could be enough pay to be everybody's gold bonus.
[over radio] I want to go home with a pocketful of gold.
Let's hope this pay dirt
can get Jack a new pair of boots.
[Jack] Let's do it.
Now that it's getting to the very end of the season here,
it's hard on my grandpa 'cause, you know,
this is probably the last time he's gonna be up here.
It's kind of bittersweet.
I don't really know what the future looks like,
but it's something that we're never gonna forget.
[Todd] This season's been a little crazy.
We came in with high hopes,
thinking we're coming out here blinging.
But at this point,
I'm really just doing this for Jack.
I love Jack with all my heart.
He's like a grandpa I've never had.
And this guy has given me a leg up in life.
I'm really blessed for it.
And let's hope we reach our goal.
I'm glad we got to run your plant.
Let's hope this pays a little bit of gold, huh?
[Jack] Been fun.
[dramatic music playing]
We've set a goal at 1,000.
So if we make 35 more ounces,
we'll break even.
And then we'll be able to give the guys some gold.
If we don't,
it's going to be a dud.
We're taking a gamble.
And this is our last stand right now.
[tense music playing]
[Sparky] Mountains are freaking snow-topped right now.
That's termination dust.
That's a literal sign that it's our time to go.
When the snow comes,
it's over.
It's getting real cold.
Like, you get to a point
where if you're wearing steel-toed boots,
it's not the rocks rattling in your shoe.
It's your toes.
[sighs]
It's pretty cold.
[name] Ooh, that sucker's cold.
She don't want to pop open.
[Sparky] You see this ice right here
it's 25 degrees.
This is what shuts down pumps,
and this is what shuts down mines.
[Caleb] Definitely getting colder and colder.
It's not negative 20 yet, at least.
You jinxed it.
Tomorrow morning, we're going to wake up,
everything's going to be froze.
[Dakota] Just got all the equipment fueled up,
and fuel trucks won't make it over the pass anymore.
Things are starting to get cold and freezing up,
so it's going to be the last one.
[Todd] We all knew this was coming.
If we want to beat last year's goal,
we have to keep pushing
until the winter freeze just pushes us out of here.
[blues music playing]
[Todd] We just topped off all the machines
with our remaining fuel,
and with snow coming,
you know, we thought we had a couple weeks left,
but now we got maybe a couple days.
You know what, the guys are tired.
I just want to get everybody together
and maybe just celebrate my dad. And...
hopefully that'll give them a little bit of energy
for that last big push.
[Jack] Hey.
- [chuckles] - [all cheering]
Hey, that's pretty cool.
Where'd you get balloons?
We got a cake and we got some cupcakes for you.
First thing I want to say is that
all of this mining and all that started with you.
You didn't grow up in this.
This was just a dream that you read about in a book.
Yeah.
You've never given up on that dream.
A lot of us have bought into that dream.
So I just want to say thank you.
[Andy] Well, I'd like to say thank you.
Because of you is why I'm here
and my son's here. So...
You know, that's pretty awesome.
I appreciate that.
Thank you.
You know, these guys taking time out of their day
to celebrate my birthday,
[chuckles]
it really does mean that much to me.
You know, everybody seems to be stressed
at the end of the season
to basically hit the goal.
But, you know, this is a win for me.
I spent a lot of birthdays with these guys.
[all cheering]
And I just can't believe
that this is the last one
on a gold mine.
This mining has been
[voice breaking] a dream
that I've had,
and I just grabbed onto it.
But really, what I want
to impart to each and every person is
just do your best,
you know, and go as far as you possibly can.
I've known you for 30 years.
[Jack] Yeah.
Yeah.
Don't cry. You'll make me cry. [chuckles]
[man] He already started.
So it's your fault.
It's all right.
[Hunter] You know, me and Cub have grown up
really spending a lot of time with you and Grandma, and...
I just think you're...
a really good role model for me
about how to do what's right,
but stand up for yourself
and be fearless.
I think you've given us all a lot of wisdom and motivation
to persevere when...
we all wanted to give up.
So.
[Jack] You're all millionaires.
You just have to get it out of the ground.
It's just absolutely insane to me
that you have just this divine drive.
You're the real deal.
I hope I never let you down.
[Sparky] Jack's my biggest motivation,
not as just a man, but his work ethic is steel.
That guy's the hardest worker I've ever met in my life.
That's straight facts.
[all] ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
[man] You old fart.
♪ And many more
Thank you. All right.
[Sparky] I want to get out there
and kick some ass
before Mother Nature kicks ours,
just for Jack.
[Hunter] Happy birthday, Grandpa.
You bet.
[man] Let's get back to work.
[Todd] Last push. Come on, guys.
[Todd over radio] Last push, we got it.
Let's go.
[Anderson over radio] Beat that...
Beat it into submission.
There you go. Nice to throw in some alpha energy. I like it.
[Todd over radio] Keep going, guys.
Harvest every ounce of gold we can.
Good job.
We got a cold front coming in.
We're almost out of fuel.
And so you know what,
I'm trying to push the Holy Roller
to run as many yards as it can.
It's kind of a race against time.
We're running the North Fork dirt
underneath my dad's plant.
Hopefully, there's gold in it.
And hopefully, we come out on top.
I need to get 35 more ounces of gold to get to 1,000
so I don't go broke.
But everything I make over 1,000 ounces,
we're going to break it up and give it to the guys.
It's going to be their bonuses.
[over radio] Okay, guys, let's go get that gold bonus.
We're going to run it till there's none left,
or Mother Nature sends us packing.
[name over radio] Damn, it's only 5:30.
It's already dark.
[Sparky over radio] It's cold,
but this gold is going to warm us up.
[Hunter] We're down to the final push.
You know, everybody's worn out.
It's freezing cold.
So right now it's crunch time just to get to our goal.
- [radio beeps] - [name over radio] unclear
[Hunter] Yeah. Bet they're good.
[Todd] Our final weigh-in is right around the corner,
and we just don't know how much time we have
till our season is over.
So we're going to run late tonight.
We're going to get up early and hit it hard.
We're going to hit it hard every day
until the snow comes and pushes us out of here.
[Todd over radio] No guts, no glory.
[pensive music playing]
[Siri] Primary forecast for Seward Peninsula.
Today, 21 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wind chill at 16 degrees Fahrenheit.
Up to 8 inches of snow expected
over the next 48 hours.
A low of 13 degrees Fahrenheit.
[Todd] We all knew this was coming.
You start getting ice across the pond, it's...
you're there.
It's the end of the road right here.
I think it's...
time to head out.
[melancholic music playing]
[Todd] I need to gather up the guys,
and then break the news to them.
I just came down from the ponds
just a little bit ago. They're frozen over.
You know, the old rule,
"You can't mine without water",
and I think our water's done.
And then you know what happens next is
all of our stuff starts breaking.
Also, the forecast is calling for snow.
So, I say we call it
if you guys are good.
[Andy] I don't think we have much choice.
- [Todd] Yeah. - I mean, we knew the end was coming.
All right, Dad, why don't you guys get ready
for the very last cleanup.
We're going to be pulling mats,
bring them up here, and...
this will be it. Last cleanup, then winterize.
Okay.
That's the way it goes.
[blues music playing]
[upbeat rock music playing]
[Nick] Oh, yeah, here we go.
We're seeing some flake action at the bottom.
[Tater] So you see how these bottom corners are?
[Hunter] Yeah.
[Tater] Pans are going to be the same way.
- [Hunter] Oh, really? - They're going to be gold
in the corners of the pan.
You'll just have to work from the top to the bottom.
The final cleanup of the season isn't
like normal cleanups.
This is more of a detail than a wash.
We're going to start up here in the pan.
If you guys need anything, just holler.
[Nick] Oh, I see a nut already.
[metal clanks]
The guys are going to shovel out the bulk of it.
Get the bulk.
First bucket's coming in hot.
[Tater] Throw it in the bucket.
Then we're going to wash it out,
'cause gold will find every nook and cranny it can.
It'll be in the pan. It'll be in the splitter.
And then what we'll do is
clean out the bottoms here
and right down into the riffles.
And then they'll just wash the riffles out like normal.
I mean, we've already captured the gold.
We might as well take it with us.
[blues music playing]
Got some flakes, boys.
Got a good little amount that just poured out.
[Andy] Good.
We've had a lot of struggles this season,
and the last thing we want to do is
leave any gold...
anywhere.
So this is just the last finishing touch
to make sure that we get every speck that we get.
So scrape every little bit.
That right there, if Thurber put a pan on it,
it would be a lot of gold in it.
This could be some of the...
richest dirt that we have
for Jack and Thurber to clean up, so.
You know, there could be 10 ounces in there.
There could be 50 ounces in there.
You just don't know.
But there's definitely gold in it.
[Nick] Saw a couple flakes.
[Andy] Finish it up, guys.
Next step, the boys and I are going to put this trough
onto the skid steer,
and we're going to head to the gold room.
Fingers crossed
that it's actually going to be a good cleanup
in hopes that we can reach our goal.
Never leave nothing behind.
[Jim] Hey, Jack, I can't [chuckling] believe you're...
gonna retire,
but it's been a great run, [chuckling] and...
you know, you and I have some of the best stories ever.
Remember our first season
in Haines?
I'm still going to therapy, don't...
Yeah, we didn't get much gold there either.
[Jim] You know, it's bittersweet.
It's our last cleanup of the season,
but it's also the last [quivering] season
that I'll be with Jack.
God.
[Jack] You know, Thurb,
I had no idea
that the jackrabbit was coming up here.
Now we're running that dirt that's under it.
Here we go. Here it is.
Crazy.
Maybe that'll take us over our goal.
[Jack] I've worked in the gold room
for so many years
with Thurber that...
I'm really going to miss it.
He's more like a son than he is a friend.
I made it to be a test plant.
I had no idea it was going to get used.
Everything about it just worked out perfect.
I don't know what to say
other than this season, it's been tough.
- And I-- - No, it's tough,
- and we've been through tough. - Yep.
[Jim] We're trying to get to 1,000 ounces, and...
[breathes in and sighs]
...it's going to be a squeaker.
We won't know if we made it until it's all said and done,
dried, and put on the scale.
Scale doesn't lie. [chuckles]
[Todd sighs] Well, we got snow,
so the first thing I want to say,
I cannot believe how many setbacks
that we've had
after such a phenomenal start.
With the amount of gold we were getting in there,
I thought this was going to be an easy season.
It's actually been our hardest season.
We ran into huge water issues.
My gosh, look at it.
Wow.
And then weather issues.
[thunderclap]
[Todd] This is an absolute mess.
And then the inspectors come in,
tie our hands, and we're done.
What's going on?
[woman officer] You cannot open
any more of that cut.
[Todd] That's going to cost me millions of dollars.
You guys all stuck with me,
stuck with Andy,
and we really appreciate it.
It's unbelievable.
And you guys are unbelievable.
- Thank you, Todd. - [Todd] Yeah.
Thank you.
[Todd] All right, Dad.
Let's see what we got.
[narrator] The Hoffmans' season goal is
1,023 ounces.
They are just 58 ounces away
from hitting that goal.
If we can beat last year's total,
we're going to go home a winner.
And then any ounce of gold over 1,000
is going to go into your guys' gold bonus.
Ten.
Fourteen.
Twenty two.
Twenty seven.
Thirty two.
[Todd] Hey, yeah.
The guys got together,
and we wanted to give you a little gift.
Wanted you to open it up.
Okay.
All right.
I am blessed because of mining.
I will forever feel like
my dream has been met.
I stepped out on faith
and just went for it.
Oh. [chuckles]
[all laugh]
[Jack] That's pretty cool.
A picture of you by your wash plant, Dad.
All right.
[Todd] And it's got
pretty much the way you've
lived your life right there, Dad,
on your helmet.
"No guts,
- no glory." - [Jack] Yeah.
This dream has been a lot of fun.
But I'm getting on that horse,
and I'm riding off into that sunset.
- Well, I appreciate it. - [Todd] Yeah.
[Jack] Now I got to figure out how to get this home.
[tense music playing]
[narrator] The Hoffman team is just 58 ounces away
from their season goal of 1,023 ounces.
[Todd] Fourteen.
[narrator] Anything over 1,000 ounces
goes to the crew as a gold bonus.
[Jim] Thirty five.
[Andy] Ooh. Thank You, Lord.
[Jim] Forty three.
Forty seven.
Fifty one.
Fifty six.
Fifty nine.
- Sixty one. - [man whoops]
- Yes, sir. - [Jim] Sixty two.
[Tater] That's awesome.
Sixty four.
Sixty five.
Sixty seven...
point four.
- [exclaiming] - [Jim chuckles]
- No way. - [Jack chuckles]
[Jim] Is that right?
- Yeah, it is. - [Jim] Oh.
We might have moved the bar down a little bit,
but we went over the bar,
- okay? - [all chuckling]
For a fat kid, that's actually pretty good.
[all laughing]
[Todd] Thurber, what's our total?
1,032.3.
[man whoops]
- Good job, guys. - Good job.
- [Tater] Good job. - Everybody.
Everybody's going to get a gold bonus, and that's good.
[clapping]
There you go, boys.
[all clapping]
[narrator] For their final weigh-in,
Team Hoffman pulls in 67.4 ounces of gold,
bringing their season total to 1,032.3 ounces,
totaling almost $2 million
and providing each miner
a gold bonus worth over $5,000.
[Todd] So, at the end of the day,
- this has been a really rough summer. - [Sparky] Yes.
[Todd] You guys stuck with it.
I'm thankful for that.
And, hey, we're going to be back with our families
before you know it.
All right. Let's go.
All the difficulties
that we had to go through this season,
maybe it's preparing us
for something bigger and better.
Even though we didn't win as big as we wanted to,
we're still here.
And we get to live to fight another day.
[dramatic music playing]
[wind blowing]
[Jack] Listen, you know how the season went.
Kind of a bummer,
but we got some extra gold,
and so...
we're gonna
share it with you guys.
You guys worked really hard this year,
and everybody appreciates it.
Show them what we got there, Jim.
- [Todd] Wow. - [man 1 whistles]
- [man 2] All right. - [Jim] There we go.
[Jack] Yeah.
You know what, man? It's like we fought tooth and nail
- hand-in-hand this whole season. - [Jack] Yeah.
And it's nice to get a reward for it.
[Jack] You guys did it.
It wasn't us.
We hit 1,000 ounces,
meaning that Todd broke even.
And the guys are getting everything
that we made after that.
These guys are going home with 3 ounces of gold,
over $5,000.
I know that I'm not going to be here next year.
The gold room is going to be with Jim and Sterling.
And hopefully, it's going to be
about 10 times what that is.
Hey, one day, we're going to find the crazy gold.
- Who knows? - [Jack] Yeah, yeah.
- You never know. - [Jack] Yeah.
[Sparky] Honestly, I was not anticipating to get
this amount of gold in my pockets.
But I think the hard work and efforts that we put in,
it was all worth it.
[name] Thank you, Jack.
- [Jack] Okay. Love you. - [Cub] Thanks, Grandpa.
- [Hunter] Thanks, Grandpa. - [Jim] We love you.
[Andy] Good job.
[Hunter] It's nice standing around the fire
being able to just hang out
with each other for a little bit
because, to be honest with you,
the way this season went,
we didn't even have time to really get to hang out.
[name] Dear heavenly father, we're thankful for the season.
[Hunter] I know everybody's relieved and ready to go home
because the season's been a complete nightmare
and you know it's tested
every single one of us.
[Todd] I'm thankful for everything in life. Amen.
- [Nick] Amen. - [name] Yeah.
[Hunter] So I hope these guys, you know, are happy
that they get to take home some gold.
Because there was many moments this summer
where we could have left empty-handed.
So I'm glad that we got to this point.
And, you know, all these guys deserve it
and even more.
[Todd] All right. See you later, guys.
[Jack] I love gold mining.
And not many people get to live their dream.
I have.
How many more years I have,
I couldn't tell you.
But...
I'm going to spend them
remembering
what I did here.
[melancholy music playing]
No guts, no glory.