ADRIAN_BROWN CHEVIE_ROACH CLARE_MORRISETTE_CALVERT JOHNNY_ROLFE MARIO_QUEZADA NATHAN_BROWN SAMANTHA_BROWN JOHNNY ROLFE This is the big lake that I'm on It's really hard to pull fish outta here in the winter When you have such a large lake, it could be challenging to pinpoint exactly where they're at Actually, it's not even that deep Look at that It's just ice on top of water on top of ice Maybe I need to get a jet ski out here I've never seen it like this The entire outlet of this lake is completely open and flowing It's usually frozen two months before this I'm usually walking on that, like, late fall I just went through right here I should probably not walk there It's been the year of just different patterns of weather that I haven't experienced out here yet There's no animals It's been like ultra-hungry country this year I'm just trying to go fishing And we got open water You can't take the snow machine through it It's an interesting winter Winter from hell JOHNNY ROLFE But it's not gonna stop me because I want to figure this lake out I think it might be better to try to find a path to my snow machine around these little chunks of open water, 'cause as I test it, it's getting softer and wetter Muscling around a 300-pound [UNIT CONVERSION 136 kilograms] machine It's just pushing down on the lake ice JOHNNY ROLFE But luckily there's no overflow here I got ice JOHNNY ROLFE The goal isn't to be a hero out here; it's to play it safe Nice black, solid ice This is good All right First hole's chipped out It's a big lake to cover It could take years to figure out JOHNNY ROLFE So, I can cover a little bit more ground with set lines It's a passive type of fishing, the set lines, do the fishing for me, drop a line down with some bait on the hook and put a stick across the hole Pretty much nothing out in these cold temperatures above water or below water passes up easy meal The first hole's done There's several more to make It's always been so difficult on this lake It's not a place where it's like, "Oh, man, let's go fishing" It's looking for some challenge So, I'm gonna go to the big lake and probably have my ass handed to myself, but once I do crack that code, figure out where the abundance of fish are Then boom, it's a steady, you know, variety to my diet This little fish overnight and in 24 hours I'll come and check it and see what's down there My mouth's not even watering over fish right now It's more like a boxing match Just hopefully I can win this round SAMANTHA BROWN Farming in Alaska, especially in the winter, it's a huge challenge SAMANTHA BROWN You face a lot of different hardships, and you never know what's gonna come at you SAMANTHA BROWN Hi, babies NATHAN BROWN She's underneath there Let's pull her outta there SAMANTHA BROWN Come on, Banana Hey, Banana Come on She didn't come out Usually, she comes out to greet and which concerns me too Wherever you have animals, you're gonna face some potential diseases Because especially like goats are really susceptible to just random illnesses and things that can just take him out I know you don't like this, but I gotta check on ya And when they go downhill, they go downhill very, very quickly Tail's down She's been kind of hunched over I saw her limping earlier, like, kind of lame on one foot So, I'm thinking NATHAN BROWN Yeah She's using it right now I mean SAMANTHA BROWN Right Which is good NATHAN BROWN I hate to lose her though SAMANTHA BROWN No NATHAN BROWN These animals aren't our pets They're our livelihood This is what keeps our farm going So basically, we've gotta separate some goats to eliminate the possibility that there may be disease in our herd And we found that our goat, Professor, is really sick I don't really know what's going on He's all sunken in a little bit in the stomach SAMANTHA BROWN When I found him earlier, he was kind of like laying there and he couldn't really get up or do anything, and so I gave him a piece of hay like that Um, in the pen with all the others, the sheep were kind of kicking at him, like with their front They, they were like pawing at him, kind of scooting him out of the way over the food So, I'm wondering if he's not getting bullied NATHAN BROWN The sheep are pretty aggressive when it comes to the hay They'll barge right through, they'll plow me over just to get to the food SAMANTHA BROWN They'll plow me over too Yeah And I can't help but wonder maybe she was being starved out or bullied or something by the others NATHAN BROWN One thing that could help, is a vitamin B injection SAMANTHA BROWN Yeah NATHAN BROWN So, we'll just do a subcutaneous injection, which is just under the skin Good for, you know, anytime they're ill, it'll give 'em a little boost It's a really difficult scenario Could be a malnutrition issue As much as I don't want that to be the case, disease will certainly kill our entire flock Didn't seem to notice SAMANTHA BROWN A little bit NATHAN BROWN We'll monitor 'em tonight And if we feel we need to give him another vitamin B injection tomorrow morning, we can do that We just wanna keep 'em inside and SAMANTHA BROWN Hang out NATHAN BROWN All right SAMANTHA BROWN See you dude NATHAN BROWN It's the farm life SAMANTHA BROWN It doesn't always have a happy ending MARIO QUEZADA You ready to get to the campsite? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah MARIO QUEZADA All right, good girl CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Hey, come here, Stinky MARIO QUEZADA You notice Birdie gets the shakes before we run? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yes She gets so excited Good girl, baby MARIO QUEZADA My name's Mario Quezada I live in the interior of Alaska near Hayes Creek MARIO QUEZADA I live on 15 acres with my wife Clare, 13 dogs, and one cat Being a subsistence lifestyle, especially in Alaska, it's pretty easy to die out here But the opportunity here is boundless We're out here to train our dogs and live the lifestyle that we want to live up here in Alaska It really is the last frontier It's the last place that offers you the opportunity to really live as free as you want All right Go right go right There you go MARIO QUEZADA There we go Woo Nothing like a little sleigh ride that makes you feel alive MARIO QUEZADA Clare and I and the dogs are going up to the White Mountains to go hunting MARIO QUEZADA There we go MARIO QUEZADA See how the dogs behave camped out somewhere in the mountains MARIO QUEZADA Woo MARIO QUEZADA Whoa Good job, guys MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, the dogs are doing great CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah, they're doing good MARIO QUEZADA They're pulling a good heavy load CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah MARIO QUEZADA I say we just get to camp and feed the pups CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah MARIO QUEZADA All right Alright, alright, alright There's just about two big hills, you know? Mush on, baby, let's go At this point, we're exhausted, we're tired, we're cold, but we feel like we're at the level of training that we need to be There we go Huh? Huh? You can't get into the top of the mountain and enjoy the view if you don't share in the pain that it takes to climb that mountain Woo We're at camp now They ain't never done that before I'm gonna figure out a place to put the picket line for the dogs to bed them down for the night Yeah, I'm thinking maybe somewhere right here All right, well, let's get to work CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Up here, please? Come on MARIO QUEZADA Clare and I are gonna have to work really efficiently because once the sun sets up here in Alaska, things can go from really enjoyable and beautiful to really dangerous, and I don't want to potentially get in a bad situation out here So right now, I'm just getting the picket line set up This helps the dogs stay in place overnight, so they're not hooked up to the sled We gotta give them a good place to rest so that we can get on with our hunt tomorrow and they can take us down the trail CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT How's it going up there? Do you need some help? MARIO QUEZADA We got a nice little wind block so that they can be out of the wind 'cause this wind might get fierce on this mountain side CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT That looks like a good idea MARIO QUEZADA Yeah And then we'll just walk right here with the snowshoe pack down and put a little bit of straw on there CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT I'm gonna grab the straw MARIO QUEZADA Okay, great CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Well, the straw is super insulating for the dogs They'll make their own little bed and they'll curl up right next to each other and, and they put off a lot of body heat MARIO QUEZADA The doggie Next to you, right here CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT They're gonna do just fine MARIO QUEZADA We can put up our tent and get our stuff ready while we get the dog food cooking CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Light 'er up MARIO QUEZADA I could use a little thawing out myself CHEVIE ROACH Sometimes in life, you do get knocked down, you get hurt, you get injured CHEVIE ROACH And the way I've always looked at it is� CHEVIE ROACH You just never wanna let that old man in The harder you go and the more you do, the more resilient you stay CHEVIE ROACH This is a trail that people in our region use to travel in our village, and you do your due diligence CHEVIE ROACH If you're the first one on the trail, you cut it out and other people could travel it better and not have to deal with it It's just something that we do It's gonna benefit me right now But it's gonna benefit a lot of other people in the future I gotta get out 17 miles to this cabin I built with friends and get it fixed up and further my trap line I just gotta continually be cleaning my trail and I got a lot of steep banks and rough country Uh, I want to get this material out there before I'm dealing with a bunch more snow It's been two years since I've seen this cabin It was still standing then I hope it's still standing now There's just a number of things that could happen after not maintaining it and seeing it for multiple years All right I can see my cabin I'm in, uh, a lot bigger timber here You don't have near the visibility as you do in the flats when you get into these woods, and I'm not the only thing that likes to live in cabins Take off my fur hat so I could hear Early in the year like this brown bear have been known to go into cabins Right there You always gotta stop and listen Definitely some fresh moose tracks There was something here What the hell is digging around like that? I bet money there's been a bear in this cabin It's one of those things Is it there now or was it just staying for a little while? Looks like my door's not wide open But you can't just start making all sorts of great assumptions You gotta, you gotta have a look My gut's telling me to be real careful CHEVIE ROACH I think we're all clear, but something's been in this place Geez It looks like, uh, a little bit of a war zone in there If you were cold and wanting a place to, to go to, you would be kind of disappointed to roll into here with all these holes in the walls and in the ceiling and, and everything else Hey, we're smart enough at least to leave ourselves some firewood At least you got that going for you That's better than nothing As they say around here, better than a poke in the eye Me and a couple buddies came out here and built this thing in two weekends I think, and, uh, all these logs came right from the land right around here Lot of work to do now We gotta get this all filled in, put on a new roof, put a new door in it, maybe even a window It'll be as good as new That's really my motivation for getting this cabin fixed up for Sonta and I to be able to extend our trap line, and it's nice to be able to pay back and build something that maybe somebody else could use also No time to pat myself on the back So, I got a lot of material I gotta get out here SAMANTHA BROWN We got this farm with no foreknowledge Things are gonna happen And it's gonna hurt But if we let that stop us, then what did we come out here for? To quit? Not a chance SAMANTHA BROWN Sorry, bud I checked on him every few hours and whatnot and he was fine The first two times I checked on him and then three hours after the next, he was taking a nap He was acting He looked like he had been taking a nap and just didn't wake back up He was just, he was just dead Any weak animal isn't gonna make it through this year, and I think we just kind of have to brace ourselves for that one 'cause anything that is not optimal health isn't gonna survive All I want to do at this point is figure out what exactly is going on and how to fix it NATHAN BROWN First and foremost, I think we'll get 'em scanned, you know, start pulling his organs out, seeing if uh, we could find any evidence of worms or SAMANTHA BROWN Yeah NATHAN BROWN Anything unusual SAMANTHA BROWN And then I guess probably butcher him for dog food NATHAN BROWN Either that, or trapping bait, one of the two Make the best of a bad situation Let's get 'em hanging SAMANTHA BROWN Okay NATHAN BROWN You know, we love raising our own meat But losing Professor was really sad He was one of our favorite goats, but that's just a harsh reality of farming up here The animals are gonna point out to us where our weaknesses are in our methods and strategies, and we're just gonna have to overcome that NATHAN BROWN This is his lung It's a little, little funky SAMANTHA BROWN I'm not seeing anything that even resembles like a parasite or anything in here, so I don't think he had lung worms That's good Nothing in his heart NATHAN BROWN His heart looks fine SAMANTHA BROWN That's good I think one of the things too is to check the liver Nothing NATHAN BROWN I don't see anything SAMANTHA BROWN One of the, um, typical goat diseases might be the answer, or he might have just been bullied out of getting the proper nutrition NATHAN BROWN I think we need another feeder, first and foremost SAMANTHA BROWN A second feeder or a whole separate feeding space for the, the younger animals NATHAN BROWN That's gonna be a step in the right direction SAMANTHA BROWN I don't want this to happen to any of the other goats, like, it's, it's top priority JOHNNY ROLFE I'm so in tune with my surroundings and all the sounds of nature JOHNNY ROLFE All times of the day my hunting instincts are in tune They're ready to roll Any noise I hear or any movement I see, I'm just always on point JOHNNY ROLFE It's always the question is like, how much ice has grown on top of this? It wasn't that cold last night, so it probably should only be a few inches That's why I put these on elevated platforms so I can move this out of the way while chipping JOHNNY ROLFE Burbot's the one species of fish that I haven't pulled out of this lake yet, they're very tasty I know they're here It's just a matter of finding out exactly where they're at JOHNNY ROLFE There's no fish on them And I'm not surprised at all I'm getting to know this place So, handful more to check JOHNNY ROLFE There's bait right there Little fish head Yeah Bummer JOHNNY ROLFE It's, uh, it's starting to become like a personal situation for me more than, uh, than a food source I like the challenge and I don't like giving up I wouldn't even be in Alaska right now if I gave up Onto the next hole JOHNNY ROLFE I've been through a lot in life and all I know is survival Not necessarily even surviving in the wild, but just surviving with not being a part of the rat race Hey, I feel something tugging on this guy Hey, look at that JOHNNY ROLFE Lake trout Nice, man Heck yeah Got a big belly too It's got eggs in it Not huge, but now I know where the lake trout are and that's awesome to know It's freezing quick, huh? Okay I'm actually just resetting this one This is the one that caught the trout on if there's a fish here, see if we can get another fish This is great I'm hands down, excited to eat this thing I love eating trout, but there's more to this than just catching a fish to eat The goal is to learn about this lake, so I'm not done learning I still haven't caught a burbot out here I want to reset all these lines at the same depth that I got a lake trout, 'cause I've caught the trout in shallower water My deeper lines didn't catch anything I don't know, fish should be super shallower in the winter Um, but this lake has proven to teach me all kinds of stuff that I didn't know So, if I'm catching fish in the shallows, then let's fish shallow and let's just see what happens CHEVIE ROACH It's always dangerous hauling heavy loads early in the year 35-mile round trip, thin ice CHEVIE ROACH Rough assed country There's no room for mistakes Here I am at the cabin Got all my stuff, maybe get some rafters up if we're lucky Hopefully everything runs, saws, and this�s, and that's, and my hands CHEVIE ROACH First step is, uh CHEVIE ROACH Getting that roof off The whole cabin's gonna be exposed, got limited daylight, so I want to get as much done as I can in a short window So I'm just gonna start getting some of the snow off This roof isn't insulated It, it doesn't hold heat real well, and it's not real waterproof either If we get six, eight inches of insulation, it's gonna be a world of difference Rip off section of ice and water All right I'm warming up Take off a layer Knock the rest of this foam off I love being out here, getting stuff done When you work by yourself, it allows you to appreciate people more, keep you grounded At the same time, you don't want to get hurt You're boundless enough being out at this cabin by yourself You gotta know your boundaries All right, I got all the foam off the top of the roof Now I gotta start peeling these slabs up I really want to get the roof off and then back on before it starts snowing I don't want the whole cabin to fill up with snow and all over my lumber So, time is kind of the essence here [bleep] old guys say, "Just give her hell" It'll be a lot of pounding and whacking Whacking and pounding and pounding and whacking to, uh, get all these slabs off Catching it in the [bleep] chin would be a bad day Just a big kid playing with Lincoln Logs, I guess Build stuff and knock it down and rebuild it better My fingers crossed no snow tonight or tomorrow And, uh, just keep on working CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT I moved to Hayes Creek one year ago with my husband Mario, to live freely as we choose and live a subsistence lifestyle People might think that's crazy, but this is one magical way to live CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT They�re jonesin� to go MARIO QUEZADA Yeah MARIO QUEZADA Once we get down into the valley, there's a lot of willow patches and I think there's gonna be ptarmigan down there Get some good dinner for tonight You ready? All right All right All right CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT This has been my first real winter here in the interior of Alaska, and it has been the hardest obstacles I've ever had to overcome CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Ahh Ahh Woah! MARIO QUEZADA Stay on your right runner, Clare CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT I am Me and Mario work 24/7 together to make sure that both of us are safe and prepared for anything CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT [yells] MARIO QUEZADA Whoa! MARIO QUEZADA Whoa! You okay? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah MARIO QUEZADA That's what's gonna happen CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Tight turn MARIO QUEZADA You want the front? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT No MARIO QUEZADA Okay All right All right All right Keep your eye out for ptarmigan The one thing that really concerns me is being out in tough terrain The snow can be deceiving We don't know how the dogs are gonna handle it, but they're excited to be out in new territory, and we're hoping for a great outcome and a lot of good lessons All right Here we are CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay MARIO QUEZADA Okay CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT All right MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, this looks like a good little slew right here There's a little bit of overflow, and then there's some willow patches And the ptarmigan love willows here CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Uh-hmm Yup Uh-hmm MARIO QUEZADA So, I'm gonna go ahead And if you can stay with the dogs and yank them down, maybe even pull their taglines so that they CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Sure Yeah, yeah, yeah MARIO QUEZADA Stay for a little bit CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Good idea MARIO QUEZADA It'd be really great CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Good MARIO QUEZADA This weather really changed overnight It was pretty sunny yesterday, which in Alaska, the sun brings about extreme cold temperatures Today, it's pretty cloudy and snowy These are all ptarmigan tracks You can kind of see them through the willow patches I see tracks and if there's smoke, there's fire I first came up to Alaska when I was stationed here after graduating from West Point This land has put me in my place sometimes, it's humbled me It's made me cry, it's made me bleed, and it's made me really work for everything that I not only need, but kind of want out here Whoa There's a part deep, deep inside of you as a human being that just knows that this is the right way to live It is starting to snow, so it could be fresh as yesterday I'm looking for a white shape with black eyes in the snow You've just gotta kind of find their little eyes because they like to burrow in the willows and they're pretty hard to spot Oh, it's so deep CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Hey, no MARIO QUEZADA Damn, that sucks CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT High potential that the dogs have kind of scared off some of the, some of the birds in the area They're not necessarily being very quiet right now MARIO QUEZADA So, I didn't see any ptarmigan here CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT They could be hiding or maybe could have flown off from the, from the noise MARIO QUEZADA Yeah We might have just come in way too hot with these guys CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT They're not exactly quiet right now MARIO QUEZADA Yeah That's all right Let's turn 'em around and get going Check on the other slew on the way back CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah MARIO QUEZADA Okay CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Oh MARIO QUEZADA [bleep] [bleep] All right, it's all right I'm okay CHEVIE ROACH The laws and the rules and the boundaries in the city weren't designed for us CHEVIE ROACH Where we live, if there's boundaries that just don't make sense, we push 'em CHEVIE ROACH Twofer Gotta go for the twofer every once in a while I'm happy with my progress Now it's time to start stacking rafters and getting the shell of the roof back on We got a lot of [bleep] to do here, like I'm standing on three feet of lumber that all needs to go from underneath my feet to above my head Before I get any type of weather, the first thing I've gotta do is get this stove pipe out of here Oh, yeah She's a beauty I'll reuse this Doesn't look like it's too rusted out Something just feels good about driving a nail with a hammer You know, I just think about my dad and my grandpa when my dad tell me like, "I built that first house with a skill saw, a hammer, and a tape measure" And I always thought, "Man, you're crazy" This kinda stuff I think about when I'm out here by myself is people that have done it this way for a long time It's good to be able to appreciate the modern day that we live in now, but always be able to fall back and be able to swing a hammer, you know? Getting closer Let's get this old stove out That thing's seen a few fires, that's for sure You've got holes right here You can see daylight through there That's no bueno, not up to Innoko River Code It doesn't do you any good to have a cabin that doesn't have a good wood stove in it This one's gonna be a lot better It's three quarters of a 55 gallon drum It's nice and tall, not sitting right on top of that plywood [bleep] could get pretty hot in here And this is all rough-cut timber You gotta realize it's pretty flammable You don't want to come home and have your cabin burnt up or have it light on fire in the middle of the night while you're sleeping hard or something Somewhere right in here is gonna be a good spot for it I'm gonna take a little bit of this log right here That's a pretty good fit I'm just gonna cut it a little bit bigger 'cause I don't want my, uh, stove pipe too close to the wall Once you start cutting holes in the ceiling, it's kind of, it's kind of it You're committed to that spot See if it fits Somewhere right in there 18 inches is kind of what the bare minimum is with logs And that's 13 inches right there This is just too close to the wall, so no good CHEVIE ROACH You always wanna save as much space as you can on one of these small cabins and get everything right and tight, but no reason having the stove too close to the, to that wood, once it gets, once it gets hot in here, you know? Gonna cut this hole just a little bit bigger I think from doing a project, you gotta mentally be focused on getting it done There's gonna be some things that don't go your way There's gonna be some things that you didn't plan, and you can't let it discourage you You wanna get through 'em and keep on working That's a pretty good fit I got a lot of room between the back I'm gonna put my flashing up on the roof All right Call it a win I'm running outta daylight here, and I got a window I need to put in I really want to get this cabin warmed up, so I just find myself cutting more and more holes in it Everything's working my way so far Here's my firewood Gonna come out of here and into my wood stove I'll just, uh, frame it in I got a lot of two by six left and it'll fit in there pretty good Get it nice and tight as I can and go from there Looking pretty good Now I got some natural light inside the house I'm gonna pull this old door off and build a new door outta wood, right from this area You know, I learned a lot of this stuff from my dad My dad built his first house when he was 19 years old, and I kind of always just helped him on remodels and projects and stuff like that growing up So, all OJT, all on the job training Off with the old door There's something that's refreshing about bringing new life to this place This whole cabin came from this area This door is gonna go right back up once again in this area It's a big, bold circle with those trees You take care of the land You use the land to take care of your family, and then you give back That's the way it works Good looking door Time to go in here and clean up I'm gonna get that damn fire started sooner or later I tell 'ya NATHAN BROWN The winter's tough It's brutal We have a farm where we're constantly trying to keep animals alive NATHAN BROWN It's unforgiving out here It's a little uneven That's probably good enough, Adrian We're gonna just build a whole 'nother feeder like this NATHAN BROWN I think we'll just line it up directly against the water, so they have a little space between them We really just need to get something together that's gonna work so it don't have to be pretty ADRIAN BROWN As long as our animals use it NATHAN BROWN Oh, they will If we throw half the hay there, half the hay here, that'll make it a lot easier on 'em ADRIAN BROWN Yup NATHAN BROWN And then some of 'em won't get kind of bullied out of getting as much hay And then we can eliminate one of the possibilities as far as what happened with Professor ADRIAN BROWN Professor was like a brother to me NATHAN BROWN He's a good goat Adrian helped us quite a bit and he's a really bright kid Hold it right there It's important that Adrian learns the lifestyle up here and how to provide for himself even in the most brutal conditions Okay I'm just gonna get those even and I'll just cut both those at the same time The daylight is short right now We don't have a lot of time, but we have a farm with a whole bunch of animals to worry about Okay, this thing is not working We got our roof now You just gotta screw it in ADRIAN BROWN It's the last stretch We can do it NATHAN BROWN Grab it ADRIAN BROWN Okay All right, I got it NATHAN BROWN Alaska teaches you some really hard lessons I'm gonna switch spots Animals that you didn't intend to pass on, pass on One more for good measure You just gotta overcome and keep moving forward All right ADRIAN BROWN You did it JOHNNY ROLFE The cold is a stressor, but when you manage to deal with the cold, then you're managing to deal with stress That's one thing that I really like about this place is that I've become stress-free JOHNNY ROLFE So, a new day to check these, uh, set lines JOHNNY ROLFE See what's on the end of 'em Hopefully some burbot That's the plan So, these are all the shallower sets that I made JOHNNY ROLFE Nothing I still haven't caught a burbot outta here and, um, I don't give up easy In the fall and summer, you can see the small, like minnows of burbot swimming along the shore, pulled lake trout outta here That part I'm starting to get a good grasp of, but it's the burbot that just got me cornered I think there's one more on the end I got another one I can feel it Burbot! JOHNNY ROLFE Get outta here Target, burbot, burbot found They do exist in this lake, man Finally Been targeting these fish since the day, literally, the day I landed on this lake That plane dropped me off on the shoreline, way back on that shore It flew off and I was like, wow, this is a big, vast, quiet, empty, desolate place and sweet That's, that's what I like So, I grab my fishing rod, and I start casting, casting Several years later, here it is This is the most shallow hole Both of these shallow holes, I got fish, I got a trout, and I got a burbot Yes, I'm trying to catch fish to eat, but more importantly, I'm trying to gain knowledge So, when I do want this food source right away, I know where to go and get it I like to invest my time into things that kind of kick my ass Things that are challenging If you're persistent, stubborn like I am, you're gonna focus on the prize and you're gonna do whatever it takes to get there MARIO QUEZADA Come on, all the way up There we go There we go Good job Whoa That was rough Let's get these guys better back down and start making some food for 'em CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah MARIO QUEZADA Kind of go through and look at all their claws and everything Make sure everything's okay with them CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah Sounds good MARIO QUEZADA All right This was an incredibly successful camping trip, but it just wasn't a successful hunting trip Gotta take the good with the bad and the bad with the bad As a hunter, it can be really frustrating, but you know, the success of this day doesn't depend on ptarmigan We came out here with the intent and having a good experience and having these dogs have a good experience At the end of the day, we can just try our best and maybe things will be a little bit more promising the next time around I can literally count on my hands like how many times I've just been beat down by Alaska Like this place is a place of extremes There's like nothing in between It's like either really great or really bad It's just like, it's like just a rollercoaster here, thirty below and sunny, and now it's warm and cloudy Tomorrow might be a really great day too, so it's okay CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT That's the spirit MARIO QUEZADA Yeah Should we get some dog food started? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT That's great MARIO QUEZADA Okay SAMANTHA BROWN I really like it I think you guys did a really good job NATHAN BROWN It's fairly sturdy SAMANTHA BROWN Yeah ADRIAN BROWN Hi-yah! SAMANTHA BROWN There you go NATHAN BROWN You can separate it anyway SAMANTHA BROWN Yeah Tell me about it NATHAN BROWN Right after the feeding SAMANTHA BROWN They all look very happy right now, which makes me happy NATHAN BROWN Chomping down We got about half at one, half at the other SAMANTHA BROWN Yeah, it works out great NATHAN BROWN So they're not pushing each other outta the way SAMANTHA BROWN We can just switch over to the next feeder So, hey, jerk God But see, she's like, "Oh, okay, well I'm gonna go eat over here instead," which works out perfect 'cause everybody has their own space It's a huge deal to have the second feeder It's easier for me to actually see each and every one of their faces, look for any signs of illness So, this is just one step towards making sure our animals have the best life possible This is a job well done you two, and I think we can probably just let them eat in peace Maybe go eat something ourselves NATHAN BROWN Chow down SAMANTHA BROWN Yeah, enjoy JOHNNY ROLFE Yeah, that's the sound of success right there It's amazing how well you tolerate the cold, Java, when there's food involved, huh? This is, uh, burbot liver Wow That liver is fantastic Very, very fatty You know, they've evolved to live out here in these cold temperatures, and that fat allows them to stay warm and survive Sometimes, I'm bringing fish home, and sometimes, I'm bringing lessons home Wanna try it? And every time I fish this lake, I'm bringing a lesson home Life is good, huh, Java? Life is good Oh, good girl CHEVIE ROACH Heat is life out here, that's for sure It's a really nice setup if people need it It's like walking into a five-star hotel All right, all done here Hang up an ax Somebody needs it If it's gonna be a trapping cabin, it's gonna need a couple traps up here It's only right Well, it's been real I really appreciate this cabin, but it's time to head home Someone who travels throughout Alaska JOHNNY ROLFE The only way you could get to know an area is to be out in it The land and the country is our resource, and the further you could get out in it, the more you could benefit from it It just allows us to just expand and reach further out into the country and to get to know more areas like the back of our hand That's super important for the lifestyle that we live CHEVIE ROACH But first thing's getting this insulation up This is all my scraps from different jobs in the past, and I'm hoping that I could tuck it up in there I didn't run any numbers on if I have enough or not The main thing I'm trying to do here really is just to make this place warmer, hold heat better Keep the wind and the rain out of it Making the most outta my little pieces I'm just hoping I have enough I was talking to my grandma moved to [inaudible] in the late '60s My grandpa trapped there a long time I was telling her I was working on my trapping cabin She said, "Oh, I stayed in one with your grandpa one time I'm pretty sure it was only 10 by 10 " And I told her, "Yeah, this one's 12 by 12 " And she wrote back and said, "Oh, good size" See, no big upgrade Oh yeah, look at that beauty piece That'll get us some distance there Small steps, you just gotta keep after it Got the insulation done, got my sheeting on the inside Plastic helps keep that draft down Just got to, uh, throw up a couple boards, start low, work my way up high one board at a time and be looking really good in here That's the tightest board I've had so far Keep the warm air in Whoo! My shoulders and my arms feel like there's a little fire going in them Looking mighty homey Before you know it, I'll be able to enjoy it but right now, more work