Life Below Zero

THIS IS HOW I STORE MY WATER FOR THE WINTER.

I FILL UP MY LITTLE BARRELS.

I HAVE ROUGHLY 300 DAYS OF WINTER THAT I HAVE NO RUNNING

WATER BEFORE THE RIVER STARTS BREAKING UP AND

IT'S CLEAR ENOUGH THAT I CAN PUMP AGAIN.

I GIVE MYSELF ROUGHLY ONE GALLON OF WATER PER DAY.

BASICALLY, I'M HOVERING RIGHT ABOVE DEHYDRATION.

AND I GET NINE MONTHS OF WINTER AND

I'M HALFWAY THROUGH THAT.

AND IF YOU LOOK AROUND, I'VE GOT ROCKS.

YOU'VE GOT A REALLY DIRTY PRODUCT.

IT'S NOT GOOD FOR DRINKING.

BUT YOU CAN SEE ALL MY BRUSH HANGING UP.

WHAT I'M NOT GETTING IS SNOW.

THERE'S NO DRIFTING GOING ON RIGHT NOW.

THAT'S WHAT I GET FOR MY DRINKING AND MY WASHING WATER.

IT HAS ME CONCERNED.

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST VALUABLE RESOURCES I HAVE.

WATER IS THE GIFT OF LIFE.

I'VE GOTTA FIND IT.

TODAY I'M GONNA GO DOWN A COUPLE OF PLACES THAT I

USUALLY, EVERY WINTER, HAVE SOME OPEN LEADS,

AND SEE IF I CAN GET GOOD, SAFE DRINKING WATER.

ALWAYS BRING MY LITTLE BACKPACK.

I'VE GOT A SHOVEL THERE, I'M ALSO GONNA USE IT FOR THE SNOW.

I CAN GET IN THE ARGO.

IF I GET TOO COLD, I HAVE A QUICK LITTLE STOVE THAT I CAN

TAKE SNOW, MELT IT, MAKE MYSELF A CUP OF

SOMETHING TO DRINK.

I GOT LITTLE SNACKS.

EXTRA GLOVES.

OUT HERE, TEMPERATURE CHANGES ARE PRETTY AMAZING,

AND THEY HAPPEN WITH NO NOTICE,

SAME WITH THE BLIZZARDS THAT COME IN.

THIS IS WHERE, DOWN HERE IS WHERE I GET

MY WATER IN THE SUMMER.

IT BEHOOVES ME TO JUST LOOK AND SEE.

IF I HAVE AN OPEN LEAD RIGHT HERE, PROBLEM SOLVED.

THEN I DON'T HAVE TO RUIN A WHOLE DAY DOING SOMETHING.

BUT LET'S SEE WHAT I'M DEALING WITH HERE.

COMING DOWN, ALL'S I DID WAS DRIVE OVER IT,

AND I'VE GOT GRAVEL SHOWING.

YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS ONE OF THE AREAS HERE, THAT I WILL,

EVERY YEAR HAVE SNOW AND SNOW DRIFTS.

VERY LITTLE SNOW AND PRECIPITATION COMING DOWN

THIS WINTER, BUT WE DID BOTTOM OUT, FORTY,

FIFTY BELOW ZERO FOR TWO, THREE WEEKS.

WHAT DOES THAT DO TO YOUR WATER TABLE?

POPS IT TO SMITHEREENS.

YEAH, DEFINITELY A SOURCE OF CONCERN.

THERE'S NOT A CLEAN SOURCE.

THERE'S NOT A DEEP SOURCE.

I'VE GOTTA KEEP LOOKING.

OUT HERE, WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT

INSURANCE COMPANIES.

IF I WANNA TAKE A RISK, IT'S MY BUSINESS.

I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT.

FIRST THING I NEED TO DO TODAY IS GET MYSELF SOME WATER.

I'M ALL OUT OF WATER.

I DON'T HAVE ANY WATER TO DRINK RIGHT NOW.

IT'S BEEN A FEW DAYS SINCE I OPENED UP

MY WATER HOLE HERE IN THE ICE.

I KEEP IT BURIED IN SNOW TO INSULATE IT.

THIS IS WHERE I GET ALL MY WATER FOR DRINKING.

COOKING.

CLEANING.

BATHING.

DOING MY LAUNDRY.

FORTY BELOW ZERO.

COLD WEATHER TO GET WATER, BUT THAT'S WHAT I GOTTA DO.

THERE WE GO.

NOW, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET WATER.

ONCE I GET THIS HOLE OPEN,

I HAVE ACCESS TO UNLIMITED WATER.

I CAN TAKE AS MANY BUCKETS OF WATER AS I WANT.

IF I MELT SNOW, THAT TAKES A LOT OF TIME,

THAT TAKES A LOT OF ENERGY.

THAT'S TIME AND ENERGY I DON'T HAVE OUT HERE.

IT'S A LOT OF WORK LIVING OUT HERE,

JUST TO GET BASIC THINGS LIKE WATER, AND HEAT, AND FOOD.

BUT LOOK AT THE ENVIRONMENT I GET TO LIVE IN.

LOOK AT THE BEAUTY I'M SURROUNDED BY.

THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS TO SEE OUT HERE.

AND TONIGHT, THERE'S GONNA BE SOMETHING SPECIAL IN THE SKY.

THERE'S GONNA BE A SUPERMOON.

THAT'S WHEN THE FULL MOON IS A LITTLE CLOSER

TO THE EARTH THAN NORMAL.

AND IT'S BIGGER AND IT'S BRIGHTER THAN AT OTHER TIMES.

I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT.

I LIKE THIS KIND OF JOB.

YOU KNOW, IN MODERN SOCIETY, YOU DON'T GET A CHANCE TO DO

STUFF LIKE THIS.

OUT HERE, IT'S MORE PRIMAL.

YOU GET TO REALLY USE YOUR STRENGTH,

AND TAKE OUT SOME AGGRESSION.

I MEAN, LOOK AT, IT'S LIKE, MM, IT'S PERMANENT!

I HIT WATER.

YEAH!

AH, YEAH.

OH, LOOK AT THAT WATER.

THAT'S A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT.

AFTER I GET MY WATER TODAY,

I WANNA GET SOME ICE FROM THIS AREA, TOO.

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, I DUG A HOLE IN THE GROUND

TO USE AS A REFRIGERATOR.

IT WORKS REALLY WELL.

IT KEEPS MY FOOD COOLER.

BUT IN THE SUMMERTIME, EVEN UNDERGROUND IT WARMS UP.

AFTER I GET MY WATER OUT OF MY WATER HOLE HERE,

I WANNA TAKE PIECES OF ICE FROM THE LAKE,

BRING THEM UP TO MY REFRIGERATOR HOLE,

AND PUT THEM IN THERE.

THAT WAY, NEXT SUMMER, WHEN IT WARMS UP,

THAT ICE UNDERGROUND WILL KEEP MY FOOD COOL.

OKAY, I GOT MY WATER, I'M GONNA BRING IT IN,

THEN I'M GONNA COME BACK OUT AND GET MYSELF SOME ICE.

I'VE PUSHED IT ABOUT AS HARD AS YOU CAN UP

HERE, AND BEEN BLESSED BY THE LORD TO SURVIVE.

OVER HERE, I GOT THIS SLED THAT I'VE BEEN LIMPING ALONG

FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS FOR DOING MY WORKLOAD.

BUT IT'S KIND OF JUST DESTROYED.

BARELY HANGING ON, THE STANCHIONS ARE BREAKING.

FOR AS MUCH AS I USE THE SLED, THIS ISN'T REALLY ACCEPTABLE.

TODAY, I'M GONNA START FROM SCRATCH AND

START BUILDING A NEW SLED.

IT'S GONNA BE GOOD FOR WORKING.

BUT IT'S ALSO GONNA BE GOOD FOR TRAINING MY RACE DOGS.

JESSIE HOLMES DEVOTES HIS LIFE ALONG THE

NENANA RIVER TO TRAINING AND RACING HIS SLED DOGS.

TO PREPARE THE DOGS FOR RACES AND ENSURE HIS SURVIVAL

DURING WINTER, JESSIE USES THE DOGS TO HAUL VITAL RESOURCES.

I'M GONNA BUILD A KIND OF A HYBRID SLED THAT I

CAN USE TO TRAIN MY RACE DOGS, BUT I CAN ALSO HAUL HEAVY

LOADS WITH IT THAT I NEED TO DO CONSTANTLY AROUND HERE TO

KEEP FIREWOOD SUPPLIED, HAUL THINGS OUT TO CAMP,

TRAPPING, HUNTING.

I MEAN, THIS IS GONNA BE THE SLED THAT CAN DO IT ALL.

FIRST THING I NEED TO DO IS GATHER UP ALL MY MATERIALS.

I NEED TO GET SOME WILLOWS FOR MY TOP STRINGERS,

SO I'M GONNA HEAD BACK INTO THE WOODS AND DOWN THE SLOUGH

AND LOOK FOR SOME NICE WILLOWS.

THIS IS A NICE PIECE.

SO, A DATE FOOTMARK IS GETTING A LITTLE THIN,

BUT THAT MIGHT WORK.

THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD PIECE ACTUALLY.

ONE OF THE MAIN THINGS I'M LOOKING FOR IS THE CORRECT

DIAMETER THAT I CAN ACTUALLY COUNT ON THAT WILL BEND.

WILLOW IS PRETTY STRONG WOOD.

A LOT OF THE PIECES THAT I'M USING ON THE SLED ARE ALREADY

GONNA COST QUITE A BIT, SO TRY TO USE WHATEVER I

GOT OUT HERE TO LOWER THE PRICE OF BUILDING THIS THING.

ALL RIGHT, I GOT MY WILLOWS FOR MY STRINGERS,

AND NOW I GOT TO GO OVER AND DIG OUT SOME WHITE SPRUCE

LUMBER THAT I MILLED UP THIS FALL WITH MY SAWMILL.

THE WHOLE REASON FOR GETTING THIS THING SET UP IN THE FALL

IS SO I COULD USE IT COME SPRINGTIME.

BUT I ALSO WANTED TO ENSURE THAT I HAD SOME LUMBER WHEN I

NEED IT, AND RIGHT NOW IS THE TIME WHEN I NEED IT.

AROUND HERE, IT ALL GOES BACK TO THE TREES.

TREES PROVIDE THE WAY OF LIFE THAT WE LIVE OUT HERE.

FROM HEATING THE HOUSE TO BUILDING THE HOUSE,

FROM THE START OF THE GROWING TREE TO THE BEGINNING

OF A SLED THAT CAN PROVIDE ME WITH LOTS.

THAT'S PRETTY COOL RIGHT THERE.

THAT'S THE KIND OF LIFE I'M TRYING TO ACHIEVE OUT HERE.

ALL RIGHT, THAT'S AN EXTRA PIECE THAN I NEED.

SO THAT GIVES ME PLENTY OF PIECES TO WORK WITH HERE.

THAT I GOT EVERYTHING ALL TOGETHER,

MY NEXT THING TO MOVE ON TO IS STARTING

TO PUT THE BED TOGETHER.

I VALUE HAVING PEOPLE IN MY LIFE,

BUT I ALSO VALUE MY TIME ALONE.

AND I REALLY VALUE MY TIME IN THE WILDERNESS.

OH, TOOPY.

WANNA BE A PACK DOG?

I KNEW YOU WOULD.

SUN'S JUST UP.

I'M PLANNING ON GOING OUT AND PUTTING IN A WALKING TRAPLINE.

BASICALLY, THE YUKON RIVER TAKES A GREAT BIG TURN LIKE

THIS AND I LIVE ABOUT RIGHT HERE.

AND THERE'S A REALLY NICE RIDGELINE THAT GOES ALL THE

WAY AROUND THIS BEND HERE.

SO, I WANNA MUSH ALL THE WAY AROUND AND

PUT IN A BIG GIANT LOOP.

I'M PRETTY CONFIDENT THAT THERE WILL BE MARTEN,

WOLVERINE, AND POSSIBLY SOME LYNX ALONG THIS LINE.

FOR ANDY BASSICH, LIFE ALONG THE YUKON RIVER

REQUIRES HIM TO HARVEST THE AREA'S RESOURCES TO ENDURE

EXTREME ARCTIC CONDITIONS.

IN DARK WINTER, ANIMAL PELTS PROVIDE HIM WITH

CLOTHING FOR WARMTH, AND INCOME TO BUY NECESSITIES,

SUCH AS GAS AND PARTS FOR HIS MACHINERY.

WITH TEMPERATURES FALLING, SECURING FUR IS URGENT.

FOR ME, MARTEN IS A DOLLAR BILL.

BOTTOM LINE, YOU DEFINITELY GOT TO MAKE SOME

KIND OF MONEY OUT HERE.

HUP.

THERE'S NO REASON TO GO OUT IN THE WILDERNESS AND SUFFER.

IF YOU JUST PUT THE WORK IN AND YOU PUT THE PLANNING IN,