ADRIAN_BROWN AISLYN_BROWN BRITTANY_ROWLAND CHEVIE_ROACH ELOVIE_ROWLAND GILBERT_ROWLAND JOHNNY_ROLFE KALEB_ROWLAND NATHAN_BROWN SAMANTHA_BROWN SONTA_ROACH CHEVIE ROACH All right Well, this looks like a good place to, uh, set a couple traps Huh? SONTA ROACH Yeah, it's a good spot CHEVIE ROACH Snow's getting a little deeper SONTA ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH My sleds getting full of, it's getting feeling a little heavy SONTA ROACH Yeah Dang Look at this Got really caked in here too CHEVIE ROACH I'm about tired of dragging around this moose head We want to get out a lot of traps today Set a trap, move on Set a trap Move on SONTA ROACH So, what are you thinking about putting this moose head? CHEVIE ROACH I think right back there between these two spruce trees CHEVIE ROACH I'll chop it up a little bit too back there just to get it smelling SONTA ROACH That sounds good Do you want me to grab any traps or we'll come back for that CHEVIE ROACH Uh, those number three This is new territory for Sonta and I CHEVIE ROACH We just decided to give our other lines some breaks and let the population of marten come back SONTA ROACH We're passing all these wolf tracks CHEVIE ROACH Yup Those wolves are all over in here SONTA ROACH Yeah These tracks are fresh CHEVIE ROACH I know It's crazy SONTA ROACH I wouldn't be surprised if something runs across that flat from all this noise we're making CHEVIE ROACH Yeah I gotta keep an eye on it for sure A lot of wolves running along this timber line SONTA ROACH In and out CHEVIE ROACH In and out And in and out SONTA ROACH Chasing moose Huh? CHEVIE ROACH Chasing moose SONTA ROACH There's some action in here though, for sure CHEVIE ROACH That's a good idea to set traps on wolf tracks SONTA ROACH Here, you want your axe? CHEVIE ROACH Yeah Predator animals Lynx, wolverine and fox tend to follow packs of wolves because they know that something is gonna be dead at the end of that wolf's trail Right here, I'm just get some bait out this moose head It's frozen and the more I chop into it, the smellier, it kind of gets on an animal to think that this is a wolf kill or something Wolverine, hopefully, or a Lynx, comes in here and thinks, oh, I hit the, I hit the gold mine I get, get a little free meal So, I'm gonna throw it inside, just a little clump of brush, set some traps around it, and, um, hope for the best SONTA ROACH Something will come through here CHEVIE ROACH That nice little white spot for it to step in right there SONTA ROACH Oh, man, that's perfect CHEVIE ROACH See any wolves running across the flat yet? SONTA ROACH I've been keeping my eyes peeled, but nope This is just the first trap out of many that we have to get done We'll be on the trail for a long time today CHEVIE ROACH This is just right for catching a marten Call this a natural leaner Marten comes and he runs up this and he's trying to get a piece of food that's hanging right here He gets caught in this trap hopefully, and then he hangs like that and off the ground, so mice and other animals don't try to eat him You got bait already? SONTA ROACH Yeah Little head Little wing CHEVIE ROACH What are you planning to do with a couple of these marten furs, who needs a new hat? SONTA ROACH I already have a list Thing is pretty long We have four kids, we gotta clothe and you have big feet Whenever I make Chevie anything, it's like CHEVIE ROACH Half a moose? SONTA ROACH Yeah KALEB ROWLAND To go out into the woods and harvest trees, make it into something square and usable is my kind of play KALEB ROWLAND I'm getting started to build a, uh, storage and woodshed out here from my Nizina River camp KALEB ROWLAND Now that I've gotten somewhat established out here, it's really important to start taking care of the things that I use out here, getting them out of the weather Closed in, firewood dried out It's time to get these boards assembled into a building Dig out all my footers This is my first one right here And then I go vertical BRITTANY ROWLAND Come on, Piper You ready for some help? KALEB ROWLAND Yup KALEB ROWLAND I want to dig a trough all the way around So, we can do our layout and make sure everything is nice and straight BRITTANY ROWLAND All right So, dig a line KALEB ROWLAND Yup All the way around the perimeter BRITTANY ROWLAND Hi Grab shovel and help You can dig that direction towards Daddy KALEB ROWLAND This building is gonna have a flat roof so I can put things on top too to keep away from bears BRITTANY ROWLAND Almost there ELOVIE ROWLAND Yeah KALEB ROWLAND And it'll be a great asset to this property BRITTANY ROWLAND Okay guys, I think we're done What's next, Kaleb? KALEB ROWLAND Next thing we gotta do is get our, uh, post bases set Anything that I build out here, I have to build knowing that heavy snows are gonna come every year You gotta hold it about like that so it's straight I have to make sure that my buildings can withstand Looking pretty good Thousands and thousands of pounds of snow on the roof It's always exciting going vertical on stuff All right When I told Brittany I was buying this property, she thought I was nuts This is exciting BRITTANY ROWLAND Yeah KALEB ROWLAND But now that she's gotten to spend some time out here, go up more She's starting to get the vision A little bit more This property was actually a really smart move Wowie That was a lot of work BRITTANY ROWLAND Are you ready to be done for the night? KALEB ROWLAND Yeah I'm whooped BRITTANY ROWLAND Kids How about you make us dinner? ELOVIE ROWLAND No JOHNNY ROLFE Living out here has taught me to trust my instincts I can't say I'm a master mechanic, but what I do have is problem solving skills JOHNNY ROLFE I don't learn as much relying on other people, their resources It's just me versus the wild JOHNNY ROLFE Okay JOHNNY ROLFE The temperatures, uh, got a little colder today than they were yesterday Unfortunately, that's not gonna make it easier to work on the snow machine JOHNNY ROLFE Yesterday I was coming back with a sled load of firewood and the machine was kind of acting funny It would die I'd get started, go a little bit more It would die again JOHNNY ROLFE So, I abandoned that sled of firewood Okay Made it about, I don't know, another half a mile [UNIT CONVERSION 804 meters], and then snow machine still died And it was late It was getting dark So, I figured, well, I'll just let it hang out on the cold lake I mean, what better place for a machine to cool off when it's over heating So come back today and try to fix it Right now, it doesn't want to turn The piston's frozen in there More than likely it didn't get the proper cooling that the engine needed And when it doesn't get proper cooling, the metal expands The piston gets the really wide inside the cylinder head and it can't continue to go up and down in the cylinder So, there's a chance this motor's just completely blown So, plan is, is to pour some kerosene down into the cylinder head, kind of lubricate it Use this little lid This is the lid to my little toolkit that comes with the machine and it's just easier to pour 'cause it's got a little point Kerosene is extremely thin Uh, If I use any sort of other oil, it's gonna be too thick and goopy I think that'll be enough for now to get some poles from the tree line right here and make that teepee frame and set that canvas up around it Get a little bit of wood burning in that stove and that's gonna thaw this machine It's gonna be hard to work on a motor barehanded You touch the metal, you get little burns It's a nightmare Let's throw it on the trail Probably just use shorter poles than I normally do Imagine I'll just be crouched over the machine And if I make it shorter, I might be able to kind of fold the top over or wrap it around a little bit tighter around, and, uh, ensure that the heat stays in instead of escaping off the top This way, uh, it's just kind of a quick makeshift shelter for this snow machine really is all it is Sick You know, I've gotten over the idea of trying to create shortcuts It's gonna be a lot of work, but, you know, set up the teepee Kind of like old technology needs new technology Teepee's a very primitive structure It's been around for God knows how long, and the snow goes have been around for 60 years Yeah, that'll do something like that What's cool about this stove is the pipes just live right inside it Okay Yeah, with this cold temperature, I'm not sure exactly how warm I'll be able to get it in here, but I think as long as I get it above freezing, I would be plenty happy That would be a lot easier to work on this machine SAMANTHA BROWN Living in a place like this we wanna be able to make the most of what we have around us, from the creek to the plants, to the animals SAMANTHA BROWN It's really important to us NATHAN BROWN All right, so everybody grab the shovels and follow me Yeah AISLYN BROWN Are we walking on ice? SAMANTHA BROWN Um, we're walking on top of snow on top of ice probably NATHAN BROWN What we wanna do is just make a big circle right here And we're gonna clear the snow out, and then that way we'll have a big, wide area ice out of SAMANTHA BROWN One of the things that we ran into this year is freezing pipes NATHAN BROWN We're right on top of the creek right now SAMANTHA BROWN But don't worry, the ice is really thick right now, so I don't have to worry about it Our back sink where we get the water for our animals has frozen multiple times AISLYN BROWN Ooh, I get to walk on ice I'm scared though of the ice SAMANTHA BROWN Having a backup plan is necessary, so we need to get some ice and store it for the rest of the winter SAMANTHA BROWN That'd be good NATHAN BROWN Got a pretty wide circle SAMANTHA BROWN I think it's big enough NATHAN BROWN We could probably start cutting SAMANTHA BROWN I think we need to be kind of careful I don't wanna make cuts so big with the dogs that are gonna fall in It's so close to the house NATHAN BROWN Yeah Well, we're only gonna be making like eight by eight squares We'll space them out enough, so we don't gotta worry too much SAMANTHA BROWN Cool NATHAN BROWN This creek here is actually downstream few miles from where we get our drinking water, where it comes up out of the ground, and it's the best water I've had on planet Earth This is gonna be the trick is getting them out ADRIAN BROWN It's like a giant popsicle SAMANTHA BROWN I might need to help him NATHAN BROWN Yeah, grab it and pull it out and just set it to the side Got it Look at that SAMANTHA BROWN That's really clean NATHAN BROWN Like a giant ice cube AISLYN BROWN For the ice house? NATHAN BROWN Yeah Hello Any fish down there? SAMANTHA BROWN Beautiful NATHAN BROWN One down Plenty more to go The chain froze Yeah, it's really frozen That's really frozen AISLYN BROWN We could put foot warmers on it NATHAN BROWN All right, that's leftover coffee Bit of coffee lubrication Living out here, Alaska throws so many different things at you and you just gotta improvise on the spot Oh, oh, it's going All right Let's start prying them up You got it? SAMANTHA BROWN Yeah AISLYN BROWN Lick it, just kidding NATHAN BROWN Put that in your water glass Oh man Those are filling up fast All right We have half a dozen garbage cans filled with ice A lot of ice SAMANTHA BROWN I'm stoked NATHAN BROWN Yeah Those are good backup plan If our water freezes again, SAMANTHA BROWN Should we load it up and take it home? NATHAN BROWN All right BRITTANY ROWLAND Kaleb doesn't quit If he doesn't bring in the wood, we don't heat our house If he doesn't haul the fuel, we can't use electricity BRITTANY ROWLAND And that has created this life for us KALEB ROWLAND I got my, uh, post all stood up, so I'm gonna cut a, uh, x brace that goes from up here down to there, and that'll hold this building in place and then I can get rid of this ratchet strap KALEB ROWLAND Storage shed is just the start of what I want to do with this property Having this property expands my portfolio of things that I can offer my kids when I get old and no longer can use this property BRITTANY ROWLAND How's it going? KALEB ROWLAND Good I got just two more boards to make here, and then we'll start raising up the, uh, purlins ELOVIE ROWLAND What are purlins? KALEB ROWLAND Purlins are horizontal framing members ELOVIE ROWLAND Mm-hmm KALEB ROWLAND For the roof ELOVIE ROWLAND Being short is sometimes difficult KALEB ROWLAND Hold that GILBERT ROWLAND Why didn't you grow six feet , feet tall like Daddy is? BRITTANY ROWLAND Uh, most adults stop growing by 22 KALEB ROWLAND Okay That's tight Okay, now we have to figure out how to get these darn beams up We're gonna make things for it to sit on, screw it to the side here BRITTANY ROWLAND Uh-huh KALEB ROWLAND And use it as a ladder to get the beams up You going up? BRITTANY ROWLAND Yup Here we go KALEB ROWLAND Perfect All right You ready to roll rafters? BRITTANY ROWLAND I am KALEB ROWLAND Plan is to just throw 'em up there I'll get 'em up over the top, and then if you can work off that snow pile in there, you can maybe get 'em to the other side Every time Brittany and I do a project together, she learns more and more And I have to tell her how to do things less and less BRITTANY ROWLAND Don't drop it on my head Oh dear KALEB ROWLAND Trying to make this more usable by making it so that not just the space under the roof can be used, but also the space above the roof can be used What I put up on the roof will be protected from bears and I won't have to worry about it Down I come BRITTANY ROWLAND Come on honey, I'll catch you Just kidding KALEB ROWLAND Piper tried to catch me CHEVIE ROACH Trapping's important to our way of life CHEVIE ROACH It gives you a good opportunity to learn the land CHEVIE ROACH And reap some sort of reward from it CHEVIE ROACH This looks like a decent little spot So, I was thinking about like one of these bigger willows, do those flip up sets SONTA ROACH Always wanted to try that CHEVIE ROACH Those willows look strong enough maybe to do that SONTA ROACH Yeah, that's nice CHEVIE ROACH Put it like right here maybe SONTA ROACH Wait where? Right here? Do you actually want to put it on there? CHEVIE ROACH No, I mean, just a, a weight test SONTA ROACH This is the question CHEVIE ROACH I think this is more for rabbits, but let's give it a little spring test SONTA ROACH Oh, okay CHEVIE ROACH Okay So, something comes in there SONTA ROACH Not that high CHEVIE ROACH Too much weight It's a heavy chain It's trying to lift too SONTA ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Not gonna work with this kind of trap It's gotta be with the snare And you hang that snare, and the animal comes, sticks, its head in there and it's just a lot lighter SONTA ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Benefit of them getting sprung up in the air is that they're unable to fight 'cause they don't have their feet on the ground to pull out of it Oh SONTA ROACH Oh, that's perfect The bird CHEVIE ROACH That's the perfect amount SONTA ROACH I think that'll work pretty good CHEVIE ROACH So, what we wanna do here is just make that bait right in line with this snare, and so it's just straight shot to that grouse SONTA ROACH Angle on the angle The majority of our traps that we're setting today are really for marten because there's so many of them in the woods right now But we're always hoped to get bigger game like wolverine, potentially a wolf CHEVIE ROACH Safety glasses are required SONTA ROACH Gee CHEVIE ROACH It's pretty fast though, isn't it? SONTA ROACH I mean, I'm totally into it Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Looking good SONTA ROACH That should do it Hopefully we'll catch maybe a Lynx or a fox CHEVIE ROACH Getting in this rhythm with Sonta, setting one trap after another is really fun Now I'll get onto my all fours and then you could just stand on my back and SONTA ROACH Oh, gosh CHEVIE ROACH I'm just joking It just reminds me of our youth and when we get out and go with no worries SONTA ROACH Onto the next trap CHEVIE ROACH All right, go to the next one And it was just so much fun to be there with her and able to set these traps one after another All right, let's hit the road SONTA ROACH All right CHEVIE ROACH It's fun to have you back out here SONTA ROACH It's good to be back NATHAN BROWN To be fully self-sufficient out here It's hard work, long days Get up in the morning and then do the chores even when you don't feel like it The animals have to have water They have to have food, so that takes priority over everything NATHAN BROWN So your kids' job, after I clear this top off, is gonna be to help us get all the snow outta the way so we can get in here NATHAN BROWN We have a little space, a storage building that we have, so we want to get it insulated, fix it up, and make it a, a good ice storage house Let's take a peek inside AISLYN BROWN Are we going in? ADRIAN BROWN Oh, oh, hooray NATHAN BROWN Yeah So, we got a whole lot of jugs to move, everybody SAMANTHA BROWN Yeah, we do Go ahead and go in Go in NATHAN BROWN Can only have so many in there at once For now SAMANTHA BROWN I'm gonna pass out, um ADRIAN BROWN You're gonna pass out? SAMANTHA BROWN No, I'm not gonna pass out I'm gonna pass out the bags and I want you to hand 'em to Dad and he will take them over to the butcher shop NATHAN BROWN Just get a little, uh, assembly line here Hazel will hand them to you You hand them to me ADRIAN BROWN I'm gonna grab them and hand them to you NATHAN BROWN A nice house is really just a backup plan AISLYN BROWN Hey, Dad ADRIAN BROWN Um, just throw them on side or something NATHAN BROWN You gotta have those contingencies because you just never know what's gonna go wrong AISLYN BROWN It's like a factory NATHAN BROWN You know? You solve one problem and you got five more all of a sudden Hey, don't just throw 'em AISLYN BROWN Fine I'll do nothing NATHAN BROWN Having that ice on hand, that's gonna resolve not having to go and haul water back from the creek when our water freezes inside Okay So, I'm gonna have you just hold the tape measure right here, and I gotta grab my marker So, we're gonna try to wedge in there what we can See if we can make, uh, nails work just to hold 'em against the wall We're gonna insulate the walls so that it, uh, maintains the temperature a little better, especially as the weather gets warmer That way we can utilize it as long as possible ADRIAN BROWN I hate that sound so much NATHAN BROWN So Adrian, we got a little bit to go Let's lift it in that corner, what we're trying to do is wedge this right underneath that two by four right there That is tucked in Maintaining livestock, you add the Alaskan elements into it It makes it 10 times as hard It's definitely a labor of love, and if we didn't love these animals, I don't think we could do it All right Looks insulated enough to me Should hold some ice, get wood chips on the floor JOHNNY ROLFE This far from town, I don't have the options to just jump and skip to a store Or order of a part or product JOHNNY ROLFE I'm forced to rely on myself JOHNNY ROLFE So that snow machine's been marinating in there and that nice warm teepee for a while JOHNNY ROLFE So, I'm gonna go check it out and see what kind of progress we've made JOHNNY ROLFE Oh, it's toasty in here You can see this like, uh, frost coming off the motor, that means it's warming up So, what I'm gonna do is mess with this clutch, and I'm gonna take this drive belt cover off That exposes my belt and my primary clutch What I need to do is get this primary clutch moving This is what's frozen And I don't mean cold frozen I mean that it's seized because, uh, it, it overheated It's got a little play See, I just need to break it free It's wiggling a little bit There it goes See if I can get to spin another rotation There it is That's awesome You can hear the piston in there I don't know that it's gonna start because you know, I still worry that the piston inside here, it has damage I think I'm gonna gamble I think I'm gonna put this back together Start it up All right, pop the choke Let's check out this compression Yeah, it's got some compression Doesn't feel great to be honest [Laughs] Oh my God JOHNNY ROLFE Let's do that again Come on It wants to start I might end up flooding it Come on, baby I can smell a different smell It could be that kerosene kind of burning off I, I hope it's not a bad smell I mean, I'm, I'm ecstatic that it's running But that doesn't mean it's necessarily operable You know, there's a lot of smoke coming out there that's not coming from my smokestack I think I'm gonna come out tomorrow and give it different tests Once I pass those tests, I think I'll really be jumping for joy I made a lot of progress today I really did, and I think the ultimate test is just gonna be, it'll come back tomorrow and if it passes all those tests, I'll feel safe taking this machine out on the trap, line out hunting KALEB ROWLAND Convenience isn't a term that applies to our life out here I have to work for resources that we need I think it's important that my kids learn that lesson KALEB ROWLAND Come on darling BRITTANY ROWLAND Are we ready to throw her in there and walk away, or should we put siding on first? KALEB ROWLAND I think we need siding first because if we don't have siding on the building, the doors don't do us a lick of good KALEB ROWLAND So guys, we have this big pile of siding over here See that pile right there? GILBERT ROWLAND Mm-hmm Yeah KALEB ROWLAND You guys are gonna carry the pieces to mom and I and we're gonna start screwing it on the back of the building here KALEB ROWLAND So, does that sound like a good plan? BRITTANY ROWLAND There we go KALEB ROWLAND And we'll make some rustic siding It's really amazing to me to be able to include my whole family in this building project GILBERT ROWLAND Ellie, I need your help KALEB ROWLAND Gilbert Just grab one or two at a time GILBERT ROWLAND I want Ellie to help me with the other side KALEB ROWLAND Oh, that's a brilliant idea I think it's very important to teach kids that hard work always pays off BRITTANY ROWLAND Look at you guys Good job KALEB ROWLAND That section over there is our woodshed We want our wood to, uh, be able to dry out and be well ventilated BRITTANY ROWLAND Uh-huh KALEB ROWLAND So, all the air will flow out through the walls, and that'll help us to have nice dry firewood here GILBERT ROWLAND And is the other side is where the snow machine would go? KALEB ROWLAND Yup My vision for having this building is to be completely self-sufficient and to have firewood closer to the cabin and cuz it's been undercover when I come out here, my equipment works and the bears haven't terrorized my machines BRITTANY ROWLAND There we go Turn it upside down ELOVIE ROWLAND Or sideways BRITTANY ROWLAND Or sideways That's a good idea KALEB ROWLAND My kids are getting to the age where they really need to start learning how to do the things that make life possible out here We're almost there, Ellie ELOVIE ROWLAND Okay KALEB ROWLAND They're to the age now where they can actually soak in the information Keep going, keep going You gotta get it tight And they can do the things that need to be done Perfect Last screw right here Right there Good job, Ellie This building is done BRITTANY ROWLAND Look at that SONTA ROACH My identity is so closely tied to the land That's who I am And I know that this land means so much to Chevie also SONTA ROACH Nothing in there CHEVIE ROACH No bait's still there SONTA ROACH Check it out though There's some tracks back here Something's sniffing around CHEVIE ROACH Something's coming in, huh? CHEVIE ROACH Marten maybe SONTA ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Surprised he didn't eat it Maybe something spooked him SONTA ROACH Yup He'll come back though He knows it's here CHEVIE ROACH Maybe he worked his way back around in the woods to that, uh, moose head Let's go back there and see what that snare looks like Looks like we got one marten here, huh? SONTA ROACH Oh yeah Good size CHEVIE ROACH We gotta pay attention to what other tracks we have around here SONTA ROACH Look at those tracks CHEVIE ROACH Wolverine, maybe Look, it stepped on my snare It scared it and then it jumped, jump, jump SONTA ROACH You can see its tracks jumping? CHEVIE ROACH Yup, took off Damn, man, he stepped right on this Wolverine are so fast Those are pretty fresh tracks SONTA ROACH It's in the area, that's for sure CHEVIE ROACH Yeah SONTA ROACH What's that little discolored snow right there? CHEVIE ROACH I don't know I was wondering if he was bleeding a little bit Oh, that's, that's [bleep] piss SONTA ROACH Oh, yup Freaking got freaked out CHEVIE ROACH Freaked out Doesn't look like he chewed onto it at all Huh? SONTA ROACH No Huh uh That's pretty CHEVIE ROACH First one on this new line, huh? SONTA ROACH Yeah Pretty good CHEVIE ROACH That size looks pretty healthy SONTA ROACH Mm-hmm Got its paw just right Stepped in there just right CHEVIE ROACH Pull that thing out, reset it and keep on moving down the line here and uh, see what else we got SONTA ROACH Get this guy packed up, back on the trail CHEVIE ROACH Keep rolling Oh, we might as well check this moose head It doesn't look very promising though No marten tracks there or anything I was hoping that little wolverine would find it, but he might find it eventually SONTA ROACH What about any of the other tracks? Oh, little tracks here What's that? CHEVIE ROACH Oh, we got ourselves another little marten here SONTA ROACH Oh really? Oh, it's alive CHEVIE ROACH Nice dark one SONTA ROACH Pretty CHEVIE ROACH Well, we'll kill it and, uh, put him in our bag So as a trapper and a hunter, it's up to you to be able to take it out of its misery as fast as you can, keeping the fur in the best shape as you can I thought we'd have a Wolverine here Best way that we do it is we just grab a stick that's big enough to be able to put pressure on it, control its head and its teeth, squeeze that marten behind its front legs and then lights out real quick SONTA ROACH This is a big trap for big game It's nice to get something I'm not complaining Any fur in the trap gonna be put to use, that's for sure CHEVIE ROACH That's a nice dark one SONTA ROACH Nice one It'll make Chevelle a nice little hat It's really early in the season and we got, we're off to a good start with just these couple marten and we have Wolverine on the trail You know, things are looking pretty promising CHEVIE ROACH Yup This has been great I'm happy to be out with you again SONTA ROACH Yeah I feel like I'm sneaking away from the kids CHEVIE ROACH I know SONTA ROACH To go enjoy myself out on the line CHEVIE ROACH All right, well we got a little bit of daylight left Let's head home and see what the kids are up to SONTA ROACH Sounds good NATHAN BROWN There's definitely a closer connection to nature out here Closer connection to the elements You know, one day we're working with ice, the next day we're working with fire, and both are crucially important NATHAN BROWN This smokehouse was on the farm when we moved in We have not used a smokehouse before It's more of a cold smoker NATHAN BROWN So just imparts flavor into the meat that you're smoking It doesn't quite cook it as much, and what I want to do is convert it to a hot smoker I'm kind of testing it out right now, seeing what the smoke does, and we got some vents up top and the smoke just kind of pours out 'em It's not being held in here And so first step will be to get some sheets of plywood covering the, uh, vents up here And so it holds more of that smoke in I don't wanna stay up here too long cuz I don't want to be the smoked meat We get to cutting first I've been pretty excited to try out this smokehouse ever since we got here This is really beneficial to us that when we're out fishing or hunting great to have something easy to eat So, if we make some smoked fish, some smoked jerky should be great to carry along with us NATHAN BROWN I think one of the things I've done the most since we've been up here is take gloves off, put'em back on, take'em off, put'em back on I need that dexterity, but gotta keep my fingers warm Trickier than I thought Being up here in Alaska has opened my creativity It allowed me to flourish in a way that I hadn't been able to flourish in the lower 48 All right Three more to go I can wake up one day and in the ice house, wake up the next day, work on the smokehouse It just feels really boundless It allows me to accomplish a task in ways that maybe you didn't think you could before So I got the vents covered So the smoke's gonna go up instead of just going straight up to the ceiling up here and out the vents, it's gonna have to hit that false ceiling and go around And in doing so, it's gonna move all through the meat And there we go I'll throw the poles up and we'll start hanging meat Got some lake trout, rainbow trout, silver and red salmon Good eaten This beef was our, our own cow that we raised and slaughtered, and it's really crucial for us to, you know, live off the land as much as we can and make as much use out of what we have and waste as little as possible I've got all the meat hanging, uh, now we're gonna get this smoker fired back up and uh, get it smoking Nice little snack for me and the family in the morning JOHNNY ROLFE Relying on myself to problem solve keeps me healthy out here I don't have the internet I don't have people to lean on When I teach myself how to problem solve I grow a lot more JOHNNY ROLFE Well, I had good, uh, success last night, so I suppose I'll see what I'm working with today JOHNNY ROLFE Oh, come on Come on, buddy JOHNNY ROLFE I got worried there for a minute I'm noticing it's idling pretty low, and I'm gonna see if that'll change once it's warmed up Get the parts moving properly before I open up the throttle and you know, bang it out to high RPMs All right It's pretty warmed up, so it's gonna kind of coax the machine to life It likes to freeze, you know, to the ground I just want the initial test run to be as easy on the machine as possible All right Give it a go It seems like it's taking a lot of energy to, to get it moving Like I should be moving right now Uh, I think I'm gonna prop up the back end of the machine here and get it up off the ground and just watch that track spin freely without my weight on it All right Let's see if this'll work I've come too far with this machine to be reckless and just jump on it I just gotta be mindful and take my time Hey, look at that I'll fire this [bleep] up Doing fine so far Take it up a little bit higher It's at 25 miles [UNIT CONVERSION 40 kilometers] an hour right now I think it's ready to give it a real test run with me on it now All right, here we go JOHNNY ROLFE I'm just, I'm just so thrilled right now Brought this sucker back to life Come on, baby That sucker ran good I was pretty impressed I'm just kind of smelling around, you know, to see if there's any unusual smells or sights or just anything that's kind of grabbing my attention And, uh, I don't see anything This machine's gonna help me get around It's gonna help me continue being a hunter and explore and everything else I do out here I feel really, really good about this So, I think, uh, what's left to do is go fetch that load of firewood NATHAN BROWN Who wants to try some of the smoked salmon? Great to sit back at the end of the day and just kind of reflect on all the things you've accomplished As the farm gets more and more honed in, we're finding a lot more time to spend together as a family SAMANTHA BROWN This is awesome AISLYN BROWN I can munch on this forever SAMANTHA BROWN I'm very impressed Very good work, darling NATHAN BROWN What we're eating is the rewards of our hard work SAMANTHA BROWN Being able to work as a team is the most important thing Having my kids rally up around us and, and help us with the things and having my husband and I be a team together is one of the most valuable things that we have out here because without each other's help, we wouldn't be able to do this place NATHAN BROWN Wanna try the jerky? AISLYN BROWN Yes NATHAN BROWN Smells really good Take that SAMANTHA BROWN This is a beautiful life to have and I, I would like to nourish it as much as I can NATHAN BROWN Norman's pretty tasty, huh? SAMANTHA BROWN We'll just sit here and munch all day ELOVIE ROWLAND Is it okay if we start a fire? KALEB ROWLAND You wanna go get the torch Gilbert? We're gonna light this puppy up I think a big thing that this camp is doing for us is helping us to make memories as a family Brittany and I, tackling a project together, getting the kids involved There you go Light it up We got fire BRITTANY ROWLAND Is that fun? ELOVIE ROWLAND Yeah BRITTANY ROWLAND Yeah KALEB ROWLAND These are all things that we can remember as a time that we really enjoyed Well guys, thanks for the help building our first structure out here on the river camp BRITTANY ROWLAND I think it's a pretty nice one KALEB ROWLAND Snow Machine's under cover, protect our tools and equipment out here So, I'm pretty happy BRITTANY ROWLAND I think that everything we teach our children will help them do better in life Whether it's survival out here, whether it's how to build something, whether it's how to be a good human, I hope that everything that we do teach them takes them wherever they want to go JOHNNY ROLFE So, I got the engine running and now it's just gonna run it, pulling a load I have this machine out here for one purpose and it's to be a workhorse, and if it can pass this test, then the machine's good to still be in my holster of tools out here I think what I'll do is head toward the teepee, load that up on here as well I'm glad I took my time to fix this machine In a situation like this, it's easy to be frustrated and think, well, what do I do now? But when you keep your head and stay on track, what you can get done, the possibilities are endless CHEVIE ROACH Old school, they always skin head first I don't know why Just Grandpa Ray told me that back in the day, he said� SONTA ROACH Never ask questions when those old guys tell you that CHEVIE ROACH They tell you do something, you say, okay SONTA ROACH Because you know that it's been tried and you know, tested and then eventually you'll figure it out Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Yeah SONTA ROACH I think being out here has such significant value to me, and just to know that Chevie has that same understanding and value as well of this land really means something It's a deeper connection that we have now because of this land CHEVIE ROACH The interesting thing is the stuff that you learn out there, watch those animals tell the story through their tracks, you know? I like that SONTA ROACH Oh yeah Me too CHEVIE ROACH You know it's like once you get good about being out there, it's like reading a book, you know? SONTA ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Instead of reading that book by myself, I get to read it with you and talk about it and discuss SONTA ROACH I enjoy that a lot CHEVIE ROACH The land has CHEVIE ROACH Everything that you need to live and grow There's a spiritual connection to everything that's living and breathing on it To be able to use the trees to be able to build how we want When you're able to take advantage of all your natural resources, it's special It's a freedom that we grew up with And it's the reason why we live in Alaska SONTA ROACH Yeah There's some action in here though These ones are wolf tracks SONTA ROACH Yeah, these are, just this morning probably They must have killed something back here, though There's a whole pack of them on this other trail And these ones are from this morning You can even see the snow is still light where it was, it just was kicking up snow as it went CHEVIE ROACH They're all going back that way, huh? SONTA ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH We run across a fresh set of wolf tracks Probably seven to ten wolves running right through where we're gonna trap This set right here is fresh Really fresh No snow in there, not even hard at all It's always good to see activity in the beginning of the year, but you also know that those wolves are your competition Because anything that you catch in your traps, they may eat So cool Look at how they, when they're in the shallow snow in the middle of the plat They kind of spread out and do dog stuff And they just kind of do their own little thing And then as soon as they hit right here and the snow gets deep and they're starting to go through the woods in a drip, they automatically just file back up again And just go like that It's like a, like a freaking machine, man SONTA ROACH Yeah What really has me curious is the really old ones, like they've been back and forth a few times, you know? There's a bunch of them on this trail that just packed down hard Compared to this one where they're right up on top CHEVIE ROACH Yeah Probably seven to ten wolves Be good to just to follow it just a little bit, or we could just keep on setting our traps What do you want to do? SONTA ROACH I say let's just keep setting and then as we check it every day or so, maybe we'll come across them That's probably not what you want to hear CHEVIE ROACH Just a voice of reason SONTA ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Everybody needs one Sun's just getting lower and lower in the sky SONTA ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH We don't have a whole bunch of daylight We might as well capitalize on the sure thing Get our sets out SONTA ROACH Yup CHEVIE ROACH So, I was thinking about like one of these bigger willows, do those flip up sets SONTA ROACH Always wanted to try that CHEVIE ROACH Those willows look strong enough maybe to do that SONTA ROACH Yeah, that's nice 1