BRITTANY_ROWLAND CHEVIE_ROACH CLARE_MORRISETTE_CALVERT ELOVIE_ROWLAND GILBERT_ROWLAND JOHNNY_ROLFE KALEB_ROWLAND MARIO_QUEZADA SYDNEY_ROACH CHEVIE ROACH With whiteout like this CHEVIE ROACH You always have to try to remember CHEVIE ROACH There's all these bumps right here Pretty darn rough conditions to be out looking for moose CHEVIE ROACH You can't see anything SYDNEY ROACH Yeah, definitely So foggy CHEVIE ROACH Sometimes you could use this bad weather to your advantage a little bit We can't see them, but they can't see us either See that fresh overflow? SYDNEY ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Let's check it out Come on SYDNEY ROACH Okay CHEVIE ROACH See that little dot? SYDNEY ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH That's the back of its foot, okay? SYDNEY ROACH Uh-hmm CHEVIE ROACH So that means it walked over here It broke through the overflow right there So, it came straight across the river from over there SYDNEY ROACH Uh-hmm CHEVIE ROACH And then it'll go straight back that way SYDNEY ROACH Okay CHEVIE ROACH I've only seen these tracks, but I've seen that overflow Today, is the last opportunity to get a moose until next moose season in September, so I need to get food for my family One of these wintertime moose is about six, seven hundred pounds [UNIT CONVERSION 272, 317 kilograms] of meat, and that'll feed our family until next moose season Sydney has already filled her yearly tag with last year's hunt, so she's just my sidekick She's my extra set of eyes See 'em? CHEVIE ROACH See�em? CHEVIE ROACH Okay, oh, okay, I see one I see it walking now Another one behind it, smaller They're turning around Definitely a cow and a calf, huh? SYDNEY ROACH You can't shoot those, can you? CHEVIE ROACH No No, no Always good to see a cow and a calf, that means there's a lot of moose next year and the year after Ow, ow, ow, ow A single bull They're not going to come into a call But if you like, call or whistle SYDNEY ROACH Uh-hmm CHEVIE ROACH Get it to stop in its tracks, look, its ears will go up, it'll look at you, boom So, we'll only have that two seconds or so to touch it off, squeeze the trigger We'll keep on looking, okay? SYDNEY ROACH Okay MARIO QUEZADA Out here, animals adapt and change MARIO QUEZADA Their behaviors to suit their needs for survival MARIO QUEZADA You have to adopt a new mindset MARIO QUEZADA If you aren't willing to put the hard work in to succeed� MARIO QUEZADA �you're just not going to last Looks like a good spruce patch and some good willows Do you want to grab the box trap and we can set it here? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah, yeah MARIO QUEZADA Hopefully we can get that set up in one of these trees and get on to the next trap CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Great MARIO QUEZADA This looks like a good spot CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yes MARIO QUEZADA You want to just kind of hold it up there while I secure it? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yup MARIO QUEZADA Clare and I have a running trapline, but we're looking to set some new traps with the intent of making her some fur cuffs So, we're really hoping to get at least two marten We might not be going to the movies and eating popcorn together, but I think it's important to do things like this, you know? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Mm-hm, I agree MARIO QUEZADA There's different ways that we can bond out here We learn to build trust with each other in doing these things CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Uh-hmm MARIO QUEZADA You know? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT How do you think you want to position the, the bait in here? MARIO QUEZADA Let's kind of hang it out right in front Right there CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Nice Whoa! MARIO QUEZADA Perfect Yup Most dangerous part of trapping is setting the trap, you know? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Oh, I know MARIO QUEZADA Can't just CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT I'm the one sticking my finger in there MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, yeah, yeah All right, there you go MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, yeah, I'm all good, honey There you go Oh CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Oh MARIO QUEZADA Nope, you got to hold that and then once you say you got it, I'm gonna start releasing a bit or else it just falls like that CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay MARIO QUEZADA Just hold it right there All right Nope Do it again, right, right there Nope You, okay? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah MARIO QUEZADA Yeah? You scared? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT No MARIO QUEZADA Okay So, what needs to happen, you push it, you hold it, and as I come up, that tension keeps it tight CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah MARIO QUEZADA I'm not just gonna go poof in your� CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah, I know MARIO QUEZADA So, all right There you go CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay MARIO QUEZADA Just barely All right Good job CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay MARIO QUEZADA You have to have a really healthy respect for these things and really take your time when setting things Your mind can't be anywhere else It has to be right there with that trap Here we go All right You're safe, honey CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT You're solid? MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, I'm solid All right, great Let's keep going down the trail CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay MARIO QUEZADA And set another trap CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay MARIO QUEZADA All right? KALEB ROWLAND I can't predict what's going to happen trying to survive in a place that we don't belong KALEB ROWLAND It's the great unknown KALEB ROWLAND Get me back on the snow again where I can glide This icy stuff is horrible This weirdness here happens when the creek starts freezing and damming up and flowing through all the snow It makes all this like popcorn ice Then the waters recede, and it leaves this garbage But this should be fairly safe to cross GILBERT ROWLAND I hope not KALEB ROWLAND But we have to watch that we don't step on hollow ice and fall through Fish like to run up the stream down there, so I think we'll keep going See if we can find a bear Gilbert and I are out at the Nizina River Camp on a hunting and fishing expedition Get to cross this next spot Grizzly bears are the top apex predators in this valley And they are not to be trifled with Here, I just fell through Both feet even What I want Gilbert to learn is an aspect of bear behavior so that he can be at the top of the food chain See what I see, Gil? This might be bear tracks in the snow Look at this So, this is a really good sign, Gilbert Means we're in the right place Big old monster bear His front feet are almost two feet [UNIT CONVERSION 60 centimeters] apart Yeah, they're just like, whoa, whoa, whoa, down through the snow, just like this They got big, broad shoulders They'll walk right through a piece of brush like that, and it scratches their belly, and they like it Wow, Gilbert, this is actually a full blown trail There's older tracks intersecting, and then there's more tracks over there GILBERT ROWLAND Wow KALEB ROWLAND There's probably like four sets of tracks right here And they just cruise back and forth between the fishing spots GILBERT ROWLAND How fast can a bear run? KALEB ROWLAND Uh, faster than me And you JOHNNY ROLFE You never know where the animals are going to be when you're hunting JOHNNY ROLFE You never know when they're going to present themselves There's only so much I can do as one individual out here I don't have help I don't have another set of hands JOHNNY ROLFE So, what I use is nature I just hope it's not frozen JOHNNY ROLFE I put the skis on top to keep anything wild away from it It's just impressive the insulating value that the snow has Its neck is still limber I'll be able to butcher this Sometimes I find myself out late and the caribou present themselves at a not so perfect time I was on my hunter skis, caribou popped out of the woods right in front of me Took it down It was an opportunity I just couldn't say no to And I wasn't able to bring it back with me, so I buried it It was about 10 o'clock at night by the time I made it back Sometimes you make decisions that, are quick You don't have a choice Burying a carcass under the snow is something I've learned from indigenous cultures It's a practice that's been used for thousands of years I need this meat right now My cache is completely empty, so I gotta take risks It's not always ideal, but having my scent, my urine around it, having my hunter skis laid up on top of the buried caribou, that keeps the wolves away This isn't sport recreation hunting This is living off the land This is subsistence Hunting gets me out there It creates relationships With land, with these animals I've learned more about these animals through hunting than any literature I've ever read It's about time There's a bunch of caribou out there They're far away They're really far away They're over a mile away I'm gonna just walk in the snow I'm gonna see if I can get them to just start walking toward me if they see me Usually, they're curious They think I'm another caribou JOHNNY ROLFE They're out in the middle of a frozen lake Probably over a mile I can barely see them in my scope They're far, man That's so far There's always that one in the group And in this case, the one in the group is smarter He's trying to take the herd to safety I don't like that guy The caribou don't come around every day You don't get to pick where the caribou pop out, you don't get to pick what time they pop out It's honestly just a gift to have this thing right now They're on their own program, I'm on my program And when they come out and present themselves, you gotta capitalize BRITTANY ROWLAND Winters in Alaska are unpredictable BRITTANY ROWLAND Whether you're going to get wind, cold temperatures, rain You just have to be prepared for everything BRITTANY ROWLAND Come on, girl Hop up here Let's get this thing measured We're gonna take PVC piping, four pieces sitting in the bottom We'll grab that up ELOVIE ROWLAND Like Little House on the Prairie? BRITTANY ROWLAND Yeah, it'll be like Little House on the Prairie We're basically making the modern-day wagon with a six wheeler I'm hoping this canopy will keep the dirt out, as well as when it rains, it keeps the rain out, and when it snows, it keeps the snow out All right, let's get to work Come on up here ELOVIE ROWLAND Yes, scablurbber BRITTANY ROWLAND Blub, blub, blub ELOVIE ROWLAND I know where to cut BRITTANY ROWLAND Where to cut? ELOVIE ROWLAND Uh, here BRITTANY ROWLAND You think there? What do you think? ELOVIE ROWLAND Yeah Whoa BRITTANY ROWLAND No, I think that we should shorten it just a smidge What do you think of this setup that we're doing, Ellie? ELOVIE ROWLAND I think that it needs to be cut a little more! BRITTANY ROWLAND A little more, huh? ELOVIE ROWLAND Hopefully it won't be too small BRITTANY ROWLAND I wonder if this is, uh, not good to do in the cold ELOVIE ROWLAND Maybe BRITTANY ROWLAND Huh That can be a piece that goes like that Shall we go ahead and bring it in? ELOVIE ROWLAND Sure BRITTANY ROWLAND Warm it up inside Try again ELOVIE ROWLAND Yeah, Mom Let's try again BRITTANY ROWLAND Come on little one ELOVIE ROWLAND Where's Gil? BRITTANY ROWLAND Uh, with Daddy KALEB ROWLAND Getting close, Gil Here's some old bear tracks GILBERT ROWLAND Oh KALEB ROWLAND Oh, yeah I think we're going to be able to get across this, Gilbert GILBERT ROWLAND Good KALEB ROWLAND It's going to take a little bit of, uh, roundabout hiking, but I think we can do it You're going to wait here I'm going to go across, and then I'll come back and get you GILBERT ROWLAND Are you okay? KALEB ROWLAND Yup Good way to tweak my back Huh Well, this ain't happening Now my feet are wet Well, that's a no go Well, Gilbert, this creek has changed a lot since last year I crossed it and it was only about two inches [UNIT CONVERSION 5 centimeters] deep Now it's a foot [UNIT CONVERSION 30 centimeters] deep It's running really, really fast GILBERT ROWLAND Then let's go up KALEB ROWLAND We can't The water's too deep It went over the top of my boots GILBERT ROWLAND Oh KALEB ROWLAND I think the creek coming out of the mountain might be flowing into it now Oh well We'll just head back to camp Dry everything out Try again tomorrow No hunt worth frostbit feet GILBERT ROWLAND Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Out here, as a hunter, there's no real opportunity to spot and stalk CHEVIE ROACH You're at ground elevation zero There's thick brush, no visibility There's nowhere where you could gain advantage on these moose CHEVIE ROACH See how there's just a little bit of snow on that poop? Just a tiny little bit Frozen hard, okay? If it was soft, it'd be real fresh This area right here, is where your great grandpa always hunted Always moose in there We're not gonna put on a million miles or anything, but let's get our snowshoes on and follow these tracks They're fresh It's a single moose My friend's dad made these for your mom CHEVIE ROACH You can't cross your feet, you just gotta walk straight, okay? Okay, stick your foot in here SYDNEY ROACH What do you mean, cross my feet? CHEVIE ROACH You'll see Only one way to learn It's one of the key things of this trip that I really want to help Sydney understand is that if you're on a hunt, you need to be there mentally, whether you're the one with the gun or the one that's just helping watch Slow go at it, okay? SYDNEY ROACH Okay CHEVIE ROACH And try to stay in my track so we can have a good trail on the way out, it'll be all packed Make sure you don't step on your own snowshoe because that'll break them SYDNEY ROACH Okay CHEVIE ROACH There you go SYDNEY ROACH Like this? CHEVIE ROACH You'll figure it out Sometimes if you listen you can hear 'em breaking branches with their mouth Crack, [chomping noise] Crack, [chomping noise] There's its fresh trail going right there So, we know it's on our right side SYDNEY ROACH Okay CHEVIE ROACH Trying to pay attention to what direction the tracks are going and where the animals are heading It's fresh tracks right here, see? See if maybe it turns around when it comes back 'cause it wants to feed Pay attention to me, if I whistle at you or something, that means come If I put my hand up and go like this, that means come You're not a kid out here with me hunting, you're my hunting partner hunting with me, okay? SYDNEY ROACH Okay CHEVIE ROACH So, use your eyes and your instincts too to help SYDNEY ROACH Okay CHEVIE ROACH What's that look like? CHEVIE ROACH There's a dark spot there, but I don't see it moving Now at least we know that there's a moose in here, okay, but let's walk out I don't think we're going to see him today He's out in front of us pretty far and he's just steadily moving JOHNNY ROLFE You know, currency comes in a lot of different forms out here Sometimes it's in meat Sometimes it's in other resources But when my cache is empty� JOHNNY ROLFE I feel poor Oh, someone's excited JOHNNY ROLFE Who's excited? Last night, I made it home real late She could smell the caribou on me She didn't see any caribou Never a good feeling walking under the cache and seeing it empty But now, to get this caribou home, it just makes me feel good It makes me feel proud So, a nice young bull These are my, what I hang the meat off of Up there It's crazy, I have this many poles So that means at one point I had meat hanging off all these poles It's the first time I've experienced not having just like a nice supply of protein and meat Okay Yeah, it's starting to freeze And that's the original spreader From the first caribou I ever took out here It's really cool All these, just memories that I have looking at all this stuff I never looked at possessions like that, that I buy in town You buy from the store, you don't really appreciate them that much But when you make them They just mean so much more to you She freezes quick It was negative 50 today Everything just freezes as soon as you expose it to the air Yeah, it's a challenge, but it's just part of it It's all part of it We like to have a bounty of food We like to have a bounty of fat, bones, marrow So, this is the stuff we thrive off of This is the stuff that fuels us out here All right That's the first leg there The beautiful thing is these suckers will just freeze up real nice Then set 'em right in the clean snow I think I gotta get moving Something's firming up pretty quick on me I need to get my headlamp on, I can't see I think it's just game on I think it's just hunt mode from here You know, if I want to feel like a rich man out here, I need to get more caribou hanging from my cache One caribou is going to last me a handful of weeks, and then what? It's just the start, it's not the finish CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT There are huge costs to living on our homestead, mentally and physically This all very demanding We're bringing in our own water, fuel, food Out here, you need to be prepared for anything at any moment MARIO QUEZADA Gotta put your shoes on Gonna get out on the dogs and we're gonna check the trap line See what we got CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT All right All right, here we go MARIO QUEZADA Clare and I haven't really been out on this trapline with this manner of travel before CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Here we go MARIO QUEZADA It's the dog's first time with her in the driver's seat and me on the snow machine in front CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Whoa Good dawgs MARIO QUEZADA It's like the city folks way of having two cars in their garage CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Nothing? MARIO QUEZADA Nothing at all CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT No? Let's keep checking MARIO QUEZADA Let's keep playing CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah All right All right I never pictured myself running dogs on, on a trap line Here we go I'm not just driving a vehicle It's six other living beings that I need to keep safe Whoa, whoa What do we got? MARIO QUEZADA Hey Clare, we got one CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Ah, excellent MARIO QUEZADA Yeah CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Wow MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, he's big Ah Nice one CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Great Good little size MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, good enough for a calf CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Beautiful Yeah MARIO QUEZADA Maybe two calves CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Beautiful, nice fluffy tail MARIO QUEZADA Yeah CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Wonderful MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, let's go check the next job CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Let's keep on checking Good job MARIO QUEZADA Thanks CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Taking an animal's life is never easy, um, but it is a way of life here in Alaska [inaudible] To accomplish our goals and our lifestyle that needs to happen at some point MARIO QUEZADA Hey, Clare I'm going to check the trap real quick, okay? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay A subsistence lifestyle is not something I ever thought I would be doing Shush, shush, shush My mom passed away a year ago And, you know, I was feeling very lost, and I needed a lifestyle change Alaska seemed like the right fit MARIO QUEZADA Hey, Clare! CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Yeah? MARIO QUEZADA We got one! CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay! MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, but it's still alive! CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT That's good MARIO QUEZADA That's not good All right, I'm gonna dispatch it CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay MARIO QUEZADA [bleep] this thing [bleep] [bleep] this thing is scary CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT It's definitely mad Oh! MARIO QUEZADA I'm sorry MARIO QUEZADA I'm sorry, I'm sorry CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Oh MARIO QUEZADA Okay, it passed CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT That didn't sound too good MARIO QUEZADA Yeah CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Sorry you had to do that MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, that's unfortunate I don't really like doing that, but things are gonna happen and we just gotta keep a good attitude out here So, we got some fur and we have to acknowledge the positive with the bad CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Right MARIO QUEZADA All right, let's get, yeah let's get home CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay, baby Heel, get ready Go! It's just a hard pill to swallow to have to dispatch an animal like that I want to be humane as possible with our trapping, and you know, respect the animals and the wildlife out here All right, all right We're definitely pushing our boundaries What we're comfortable with, but you know, we move on and hopefully we won't have to do something like that again There you go, guys JOHNNY ROLFE The best time to go hunting is when you do have meat in the cache When you see signs of animals you capitalize on that JOHNNY ROLFE It's not easy tracking a migrating animal JOHNNY ROLFE Caribou are transient, they're gone just as fast as they come around JOHNNY ROLFE You can see their old tracks, and it snowed a bit last night No caribou, I don't see any caribou I might just kind of bide my time and set some hare traps I put all my eggs in one basket, now I'm kinda just stuck in one aisle of the store I want to check out all the different isles There's a lot of hare tracks right here A whole highway of them That means that they've gone that way but they haven't come back, so if I put snares up more than likely I'm going to catch them on the way back Picture wire These make great snares Don't need any tools, don't need anything fancy While I'm doing this I'm looking for caribou It's kind of a perfect little combination Hunting, trapping, all in one package deal So, I just attach this to the bush here Put it right over their trail All right, I'm gonna go set like maybe, four or five? Six more? There's a lot of tracks back in these trees There's a lot of damn caribou tracks, too There's a pretty rich area right now Caribou are like, they're like truckers They're long distance, they're just passing through your town The bunnies are locals They stay here They can see the bunny bounce, bounce, they see bound and a bound right here, and then it's gonna try to go through there A good way to make sure that the bunny doesn't jump is to kind of make a little bit of a ceiling So now it knows it has to slow down, so it has to bound, bound, it's gonna land and be like oh I gotta kinda just walk underneath this And that's when it's gonna get caught Either direction works This is multidirectional, so I feel good about this one If you stick to one food source you're gonna limit yourself in life Especially in the wilderness SYDNEY ROACH Do you have to have a turn to put in crib? CHEVIE ROACH Yeah, everything's fifteens, remember? Okay, ready? SYDNEY ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Ten SYDNEY ROACH Thirty CHEVIE ROACH Really You got it SYDNEY ROACH Yay CHEVIE ROACH I'm ready to eat some fresh moose meat SYDNEY ROACH And moose meat steak CHEVIE ROACH Moose meat steak, you ready for some? SYDNEY ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH Me too, man Whatever that was this morning when we tried to eat, that was like dogfood of some sort, wasn't it? SYDNEY ROACH Yeah CHEVIE ROACH All right, we're a little bit better visibility than yesterday When you learn to hunt at a young age you have to do it with the team All good? SYDNEY ROACH Mmm CHEVIE ROACH Snow machine's ready, we're ready to go And if you have a team that have different skillsets, it allows you to be able to go out and do things that you might not be able to do all by yourself CHEVIE ROACH These tracks look kind of old, Sydney I think they're the same cow and a calf that we seen over that way CHEVIE ROACH Those were just their track, they were bedded down in the hills overnight, then they came across and they're just working their way down So, I think they're the only two moose in this little section Go up in there and head back down, see if we see any fresh tracks The wintertime when all that swamp land and that wet country turns hard, it gives us the ability to access areas we will never hunt in the fall, and that's where we get our moose from in the winter Moose See it step out right there? That a bull? It's right in an opening Pretty far shot, there's some little brush between me and him Such a big animal, it's amazing how well they blend in I didn't want to take a bad shot, I could see its head just a little bit too but don't want to be just popping stuff off It's better just to be patient Here in Shageluk you're waiting for the perfect opportunity to get that moose And sometimes you only have one or two opportunities, and if you don't you go empty handed It's the difference of getting a moose or not getting a moose SYDNEY ROACH Dad? What is that? CHEVIE ROACH Good job seeing him Gonna get a little better shot because it's out in the open Still about the same distance, but a little bit better Cover your ears SYDNEY ROACH Do you think you shot it? CHEVIE ROACH Yeah We'll turn around, go the other side okay? SYDNEY ROACH Okay CHEVIE ROACH What should we do? SYDNEY ROACH [unintelligible] CHEVIE ROACH That's right, now cover your ears SYDNEY ROACH Do I go with you? CHEVIE ROACH No, you stay right there, baby SYDNEY ROACH Okay CHEVIE ROACH Steaks tonight I guess, Sydney SYDNEY ROACH Yay! CHEVIE ROACH You seen that one and he was up against the hill I sure wanted to shoot it, but when you just be patient that the land with provide We'll get this thing cut up and we'll get it loaded up Having a freezer full of meat is something you can never take for granted It's like having a savings account to be able to know that you can get through a rough time SYDNEY ROACH I never worked on a moose in the winter CHEVIE ROACH Never have, huh? SYDNEY ROACH That is very satisfying CHEVIE ROACH It's really nice to have your help, Sydney SYDNEY ROACH Thanks CHEVIE ROACH Boy, it makes a big difference on my back and how fast I could go SYDNEY ROACH Remember not to destroy the hide CHEVIE ROACH Go ahead and lift that leg up, put it on your shoulder There you go That's good, that looks really good, Sydney SYDNEY ROACH What's that weird part? CHEVIE ROACH I think that's where the bullet tried to come out It wanted to go for the sure deal, get some lead in it As your papa would tell me when I was a little boy, papa would be marching around like I do, just full-blown hunt mode I'd be looking and all of a sudden he'd be like Chev, there's a deer right there He'd say shoot it right behind the shoulder and I'd say it's just looking at me And he'd say just get some lead in it Just knock it down And so boom grab this right here and just pull on it Being out with my dad hunting goes with the memories that I have for a lifetime, and I'm making those same memories with Sydney We've been doing this now for seven or eight years, which pretty much makes you a veteran SYDNEY ROACH A veteran? CHEVIE ROACH Yeah, old pro Next thing you know I'll just be handing you the knife For my little girl to understand the value of why we're doing it is super important She knows that she's touching the meat, it's gonna feed our family Let's go home and have some steak, huh? SYDNEY ROACH Definitely KALEB ROWLAND Most important thing to pay attention to KALEB ROWLAND When I'm out in the wilderness with my kids is that they're warm and dry Getting wet is death KALEB ROWLAND Ooh, Gilbert, look at this There's otter tracks You see how they run and slide? It looks to me like they go fishing here There must be a good reason for it Since the water's high than I anticipated and I can't get to my hunting area KALEB ROWLAND We don't have to cross any water to go fishing, we just toss our hooks out in it Fishing on this river, we've only been successful once, Gilbert Let's see if we can change that today GILBERT ROWLAND With our free, go back to the wild KALEB ROWLAND Well, let's see if the otters have any wisdom to bestow upon us Wow Apparently it's been a while since I went fishing, I chucked it down the ice Let's try this again Last year this time I'd see groups of six or seven fish swim by every five minutes Just steadily coming by, by the hundreds Come here, fishy, fishy, fishy I want to eat you Well, I'm starting to see why the bears aren't out anymore Keep thinking I catch something but I think all it is, is rocks Maybe I was catching the otter, wouldn't that be something BRITTANY ROWLAND All right ELOVIE ROWLAND Is it cutting better inside? BRITTANY ROWLAND The warmer temperatures are definitely helping It goes like that, do the four corners first ELOVIE ROWLAND Four corners? BRITTANY ROWLAND Yes We're building this little canopy over this six-wheeler just to keep things dry Honey that's not a corner But also it's just Ellie and I learning together It's extra bonding for just us girls ELOVIE ROWLAND It's bigger than me already BRITTANY ROWLAND When I come up with a plan I'm very excited about it I can sew, I can stick things together and I can cut things ELOVIE ROWLAND How's it going, mommy? BRITTANY ROWLAND Almost two Gonna need to stop But in reality it is a lot more steps than I had planned We're gonna flip this over There we go, like that Okay ELOVIE ROWLAND Oh, it's a little fort BRITTANY ROWLAND Hold that, and then reach up and hold this There you go Stick it back in there, if you stick it in there it'll hold it better ELOVIE ROWLAND Okay, why are you just join this? BRITTANY ROWLAND Does it look like a wagon yet? ELOVIE ROWLAND Not even a little bit BRITTANY ROWLAND Find the corner that's not attached ELOVIE ROWLAND Found it BRITTANY ROWLAND And then attach it ELOVIE ROWLAND Attach BRITTANY ROWLAND Now look at that This little modern-day wagon ELOVIE ROWLAND It's done? BRITTANY ROWLAND It's done enough to try on the six-wheeler You wanna go for a ride with me? Come on, let's go Keep going All right, lift it up That's very light but awkward Dun da, da, dun It doesn't fit Bummer BRITTANY ROWLAND Huh I need to put my gloves back on It's cold What'd you do with my other glove? ELOVIE ROWLAND Nothing! BRITTANY ROWLAND I was asking Piper ELOVIE ROWLAND It was probably that part that was being mean BRITTANY ROWLAND Here we go We got it in there ELOVIE ROWLAND There it goes BRITTANY ROWLAND I don't think I'm going anywhere, but we're gonna go ahead and tie up just with some bungees right here We probably drive a little bit faster than they did in the olden days Just like that, I need to make sure that this is sound enough to last even Kaleb driving Okay, this thing's coming on Ready to go? Okay MARIO QUEZADA Got a nice fire going CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT All thawed out, ready to, to skin MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, they look pretty, pretty pliable, so let's just clip the paws off, right? CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Sounds good MARIO QUEZADA So, get these out of the way, just makes it a little easier to process, right? There you go CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Day-to-day, city life and having my mom pass away brought a lot of big life changes I'm just gonna snap these Alaska's provided new perspective It just kinda, just cut around here just to kind of clear this space MARIO QUEZADA Right, and now you need to cut down to the middle, and just like with the, way down into the groin area CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Okay Living out here in Alaska, I've gained a lot of confidence I didn't know I had Every day is a new challenge, every day is something I haven't done before MARIO QUEZADA For your first marten that's a pretty damn good job CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT It's not bad so far MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, it isn't JOHNNY ROLFE I'm gonna check my hare traps Check it out He was here for a good minute He ate away all the little branches It's cool to see them out again, you know? When I first moved here there was no hare Cool, gonna check the rest of these snares I'm just like, so tuned in right now to the land My senses are just on fire, you know, they're just activated It's a damn good day out here Got another one This hare is really producing Gonna make some good rabbit soup I'm gonna go to the snow house and cook one up, have a nice, tasty meal and probably hunt right after 'Cuz hunting doesn't stop Guess you could say I'm having a pretty good hare day KALEB ROWLAND I don't know, Gilbert, I haven't seen a single fish swim by This place used to be called Hungry country, and this is kind of why You miss the salmon run by even just a couple of days and they're gone It might be best to just cut our losses Even though we didn't harvest a bear or catch any fish, looking at tracks, trying to envision what's the otter doing? What's be bear doing? Those are all life lessons you can't learn in a classroom They can only be learned on the river bar [inaudible] MARIO QUEZADA Yeah, it's looking great CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT These will fit perfectly right over the sleeves MARIO QUEZADA Perfect, yeah CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT These are gonna be one of a kind of my jacket MARIO QUEZADA They tell a story, you know? If you go and buy something from the store I don't think it really tells a story CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT I think my purpose living here at Hayes Creek is to find my independence This is never something that I thought I would be experiencing in my life Living at this cabin with you I'm not quite sure what my future holds This has been a once in a lifetime experience, and who knows how long it'll last MARIO QUEZADA Do you want to try it on? Alaska has more opportunity than you could peruse in a thousand lifetimes CLARE MORRISETTE CALVERT Ah, so cool MARIO QUEZADA If you have a singular purpose I think you're gonna find yourself quite challenged JOHNNY ROLFE Peel the hides right off There's just so many ways to skin a hare, you know? I harvested these hares, I got some caribou meat hanging in the cache I made this snow house, it's paying off It's cool to be able to be here and enjoy a really nice meal This sucker's ready for the pot CHEVIE ROACH When you put that first piece of meat in your mouth, fresh off the animal, there's just nothing like it JOHNNY ROLFE Mm, mm, mm I like to think all the work I put in to getting food is the seasoning And you can taste all of that hard work, all that effort CHEVIE ROACH It's coming full circle through the hard work and adversity and long days It's the fun, it's the comradery, it's the love that you feel between each other that makes this so valuable I love eating moose meat but the thing I love here the most is being with you and you being out there in the woods with me It means more to me than you'll know Thanks for these great memories SYDNEY ROACH Sure thing CHEVIE ROACH Now prepare yourself to lose at Crib SYDNEY ROACH Hey! No My turn to win [SNAP-IN] JOHNNY ROLFE There's one in the lead that's very skittish There's always one that's skittish And that one's dictating the herd mentality right now I'm gonna do an old technique You bounce echoes off of the mountains And if I can echo, hit that mountain, that echo will bounce off that mountain, hit the caribou, and they'll think the noise is coming from that mountain and bring them to me Indigenous people have done it for thousands of years They didn't have snow machines, so they had to rely on echoing to scare the caribou toward them Woo! Woo! You hear it echoing It bounces off the mountains Woo! Woo! Come on, do something That dude in the front is pretty scary He's kind of trotting He's the brains of the group It's just that one, one of them, that's going off this way, and the group is starting to come toward me And if they can break away from that mentality, forget about this guy, I have a chance The herd instinct, one skittish, scared, the rest follow that kind of energy Woo! Woo! They're making their way to the lake shore It didn't even phase them And so far, I just don't think that the sound can travel, like, that efficiently It doesn't even seem like the sound's even reaching them, let alone hitting a mountain and bouncing off of it