Gold Rush

-WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! -WHAT'S GOING ON?

Narrator: ON THIS "GOLD RUSH"...

-THIS IS BAD. -I THINK WE SHOULD SHUT IT DOWN.

ALL I KNOW IS I'M NOT GETTING PAID, TODD.

CRAP!

IT'S A DISASTER.

RIGHT NOW IT'S A LOSING BATTLE.

-IT'S ALL FROZEN MUD. -TIME'S TICKING.

I THINK THIS MEANS SHUTTING RIGHT DOWN.

IT'S JUST BULL .

I JUST GOT WORD THAT MY GRANDPA DIED.

I GOTTA GO.

*

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

FIRST PAY OF THE BUCKLAND, RIGHT HERE.

Narrator: THE HOFFMAN CREW IS FINALLY RUNNING PAY DIRT

ON THEIR NEW BUCKLAND CLAIM,

STILL HOPING TO REACH TODD'S 5,000-OUNCE,

$6 MILLION GOAL.

Todd: THE SEASON STARTED ROUGH.

I HOPE IT TURNED AROUND.

WHATEVER HAPPENS, WE GOTTA KEEP RUNNING.

ONE LITTLE THING AND WE'RE DONE DONE.

COME ON, BABY.

Narrator: TO BE ON TARGET,

THEY SHOULD ALREADY HAVE 2,000 OUNCES.

THEY HAVE JUST 138.

I DON'T CARE HOW DEEP IT IS.

I WANT GOLD. I WANNA GET TO THE GOLD.

AND I WANT IT QUICK.

Narrator: THEIR ENTIRE SEASON NOW RESTS ON THE PAY DIRT

THEY'RE RUNNING THROUGH THE PLANT.

BOTTOM LINE IS, NOBODY GETS PAID UNLESS WE GET GOLD.

SO UNTIL THAT HAPPENS, EVERYBODY'S WORKING FOR FREE.

I HOPE IT'S GOT GOLD IN IT!

I DON'T LIKE THE WAY THAT LOOKS.

-TODD! -WHAT'S GOING ON?

IT'S NOT GOING THROUGH THE GRIZZLY BARS.

Narrator: THE CLAY RIDGE PAY DIRT

IS CLOGGING UP THE WASH PLANT FEEDER.

-LET'S SHUT IT DOWN! -DAMN IT!

HEY, SHUT IT DOWN. SHUT IT DOWN.

HE WANTS ME TO SHUT IT DOWN.

SHUT IT DOWN!

SHUT THE FEEDER OFF! SHUT THE FEEDER OFF!

TODD, IT'S JUST PILING!

THIS IS BAD.

TODD!

THERE'S TOO MUCH CLAY IN IT.

CRAP!

AH.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING? I GOTTA LOOK AT THIS CRAP, DAVE.

IT -- IT -- IT'S CLAY WITH PAY GRAVEL STUCK IN IT.

LOOK AT THAT.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.

-CLAY WITH GOLD IN IT. -GOSH.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?

NOW WHAT?

IT NEEDS WATER AND SCRUBBING TO BEAT IT UP.

THE SOLUTION IS A WET FEEDER IF YOU CAN FIND ONE.

Narrator: A WET FEED SYSTEM

TURNS THE PAY DIRT INTO SLURRY,

SO EVEN CLAY RICH MATERIAL

WILL PASS THROUGH THE WASH PLANT.

I'LL FIND WHATEVER WE NEED.

ALL I KNOW IS I'M NOT GETTING PAID, TODD.

DUDE, IF WE NEED THE MONEY I CAN TRY TO FIND THE MONEY.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WANNA DO.

THE SOLUTION'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE REAL CHEAP.

AND IT'S PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE REAL FAST.

Todd: WE'RE JUST TAKING ONE HIT AFTER ANOTHER,

AND I'M WONDERING JUST HOW MANY HITS MY GUYS CAN TAKE.

I DON'T WANNA HAVE A SEASON WHERE WE DON'T GET ANY GOLD.

IT'S HAPPENED TO ME TWICE BEFORE.

AND I DON'T WANT IT TO HAPPEN AGAIN.

Narrator: TODD'S TOTAL HAUL SO FAR IS JUST $165,000.

AND IT'S ALL THEY'VE GOT TO COVER BASIC RUNNING COSTS.

HEY, MAN. WHAT'S GOING ON?

HEY, DAD. THE WASH PLANT'S DOWN.

OH, GREAT. AH.

THE BELT FEEDER THAT WE HAVE IS NOT GONNA WORK.

WE NEED A WET FEED SYSTEM.

THE PROBLEM IS, I'VE PRICED A COUPLE OF THEM OUT,

BUT IT'S 80,000 BUCKS.

OH, MAN.

LAST YEAR WAS SUCH A HIGH. YEAH, I KNOW.

AND THIS YEAR IS SUCH A DOWNER.

NOW I'M THINKING ABOUT JUST --

MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST FRICKIN' SHUT IT DOWN

AND GO THE FRICK HOME.

UGH!

THAT'S THE WAY YOU THINK. THAT'S NOT THE WAY I THINK.

YOU KNOW, TODD, YOU CAN JUST PACK IT IN AND --

AND YOU LEAVE THE GUYS AND GO. THEY'LL SURVIVE.

BUT YOU DON'T COME OFF A WINNER WITH 130 OUNCES.

YOU DON'T QUIT. YOU GOTTA --

YOU GOTTA BE AN EXAMPLE FOR YOUR BOYS.

IT'S HALF OF OUR SEASON'S TAKE RIGHT NOW.

YOU SURE YOU WANNA DO THIS?

YEAH.

I KNOW YOU GOT A LOT OF EXPENSES TO BRING THE PLANT DOWN.

THIS, THAT, THE OTHER, FUEL.

YEAH. YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T, WE WON'T KNOW.

YOU GOTTA DO IT.

I HATE TO, BUT WE GOTTA DO IT.

THIS IS ADDING UP TO BE A HELL OF A LOT OF MONEY.

IT'S GONNA BE OKAY.

I HOPE YOU'RE RIGHT, DAD. I HOPE YOU'RE RIGHT.

YEAH, SHE'S DOING PRETTY GOOD.

Narrator: AT EUREKA CREEK,

TONY'S DREDGE HAS PRODUCED 913 OUNCES OF GOLD,

WORTH $1.1 MILLION,

ALMOST HALFWAY TO HIS 2,000-OUNCE

$2.4 MILLION SEASON GOAL.

BUT THE PAY STREAK THEY'VE BEEN MINING HAS RUN OUT.

AND THEY NEED TO CHANGE DIRECTION.

I FIGURE WE GO RIGHT,

WE CAN GET THAT SWIPE NEXT TO THE RIVER.

ALL RIGHT, BUT THAT MEANS WE

HAVE TO GO THROUGH THOSE TAILINGS THERE.

Narrator: TONY WANTS TO MINE AN AREA OF GOOD GROUND

THEY MISSED LAST YEAR.

BUT THERE'S A LINE OF TAILINGS IN THE WAY.

HIS PLAN?

ATTACH THE DREDGE TO TWO DOZERS,

HAUL IT FORWARD

AND DREDGE RIGHT THROUGH THE TAILINGS PILE

TO GET TO THE GOOD GROUND.

YEP, LET'S GO.

Narrator: WITH TONY AND KEVIN AWAY,

JASON IS LEFT IN CHARGE OF THE MOVE.

WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR THE GUYS TO FINISH UP ON THE DEAD MAN

SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THEY'RE READY.

UH, THE WINDS ARE STARTING TO PICK UP,

WHICH IS, UH, NOT AN IDEAL SITUATION.

WE'RE BASICALLY A BIG SAIL SITTING HERE IN THE WATER.

AND WE'RE GONNA END UP GETTING PUSHED TO

THE WRONG SIDE SHORTLY.

SO THEY NEED TO GET READY QUICK.

TYPICAL TONY.

MAKE A CRAZY PLAN AND WALK AWAY RIGHT WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH.

THIS IS REALLY TOUGH TO DO WITH A GREEN CREW.

KAHLE CAN START JUST STRAIGHT DOWN THAT ROAD.

KAHLE, YOU CAN START JUST GOING STRAIGHT DOWN THAT ROAD.

OKAY.

Narrator: KAHLE AND MIKE TAKE UP THE SLACK.

RADIO WE'RE GOOD TO GO.

WE'RE GOOD TO GO.

THERE WE GO.

THERE WE GO, COME ON.

HOLY . FEEL THAT?

WE'RE STUCK.

OKAY, STAND -- STAND DOWN. TELL THEM TO STOP.

KAHLE, STOP FOR A SECOND.

-MIKE, STOP. -MIKE, STOP.

-WE'RE BOTTOMED OUT. -OH, .

WE'RE ON THE BOTTOM SOMEWHERE.

GONNA BE A WHOLE RIDGE UNDER THERE THE DREDGE

IS SITTING ON.

Narrator: THE DREDGE IS STUCK ON A BEDROCK RIDGE.

IF JASON CONTINUES TO HAUL IT FORWARD,

HE RISKS TEARING A HOLE IN THE HULL

AND ENDING THEIR SEASON.

-I NEED TO GET OVER IT. -WE'RE GOING FORWARD SLOWLY.

SHOULD BE ABLE TO DRAG IT THROUGH.

MIKE CAN KEEP GOING.

HANG ON THERE.

PULL LIKE YOU'VE NEVER PULLED BEFORE.

THAT DOES NOT SOUND GOOD.

COME ON.

MILLION DOLLAR MACHINE RIGHT NOW IN MY HANDS.

WE'RE SLOWLY INCHING.

YEAH, WE'RE FLOATING.

THE WINCHES ARE OFF AND I'M STILL DRIFTING.

OH , THAT'S A RELIEF.

WE JUST CAME OVER THE HUMP.

DREDGE SETTLED INTO THE POND.

AND I CAN TELL THAT WE'RE FLOATING.

GOOD JOB, GUYS, I THINK WE'RE WHERE WE NEED TO BE.

UH, WAS A LITTLE MORE STRESSFUL THAN I WAS EXPECTING.

I'M GONNA START DREDGING.

AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN.

AND HERE WE GO!

Narrator: JASON CAN NOW CUT A PATH THROUGH THE TAILINGS.

Jason: WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE. WE HAVE TO DIG THROUGH

THAT TO GET UP TO WHERE KEVIN WANTS US TO GO.

ALL THAT MATERIAL RIGHT THERE IS WASHED,

IT'S JUST GONNA BEAT THE OUT OF THE TROMMEL AGAIN.

IT'S ALREADY BEEN THROUGH THERE ONCE.

THE NEXT 24 HOURS ARE GONNA BE ROUGH.

Parker: RIGHT NOW, WE'RE JUST PUSHING SOME DIRT BACK.

WE'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF EXTRA OVERBURDEN STACKED UP HERE,

BUT THAT'S ALL RIGHT, GET HER DEALT WITH.

WE'VE GOT A MUCH SMALLER CREW THIS SEASON,

WHICH MEANS THERE'S NOT A LOT OF MARGIN FOR ERROR, YOU KNOW?

EVERYBODY'S GOTTA PULL THEIR WEIGHT.

Narrator: AT SCRIBNER CREEK,

PARKER'S CREW IS PUSHING HARDER THAN EVER.

THE WASH PLANT'S RUNNING PRETTY GOOD HERE.

I THINK WE'VE WORKED OUT THE MAJORITY OF THE KINKS.