Life Below Zero

CARIBOU, THAT'S A GOOD SIGN.

THEY'RE NOT ALWAYS HERE THIS TIME OF YEAR.

SOMETIMES THEY DON'T SHOW UP FOR MONTHS FROM NOW.

LOOK AT THAT, HUNDREDS OF THEM.

THEY CAN BE HERE ONE DAY AND GONE THE NEXT,

I GOT TO GO OUT.

I GOT TO SEE IF I CAN INTERCEPT SOME.

THIS COULD BE MY CHANCE TODAY.

TYPICALLY, CARIBOU MAKE UP ABOUT HALF THE MEAT

I EAT IN A YEAR.

THEY COULD SHOW UP NOW AND I MIGHT NOT SEE ANOTHER

CARIBOU FOR MONTHS.

THOSE CARIBOU ARE A FEW MILES AWAY.

THERE MIGHT BE CARIBOU DOWN LOWER IN THE TREES,

EASIER TO GET TO.

SOME OF THESE CARIBOU LOOK LIKE THEY'RE COMING

DOWN INTO THE FOREST.

I GOT TO GET OVER THERE AND SEE IF I CAN INTERCEPT THEM.

CARIBOU, THEY'RE MOVING THROUGH THE AREA.

THEY'RE BIG MIGRATORS AND THEY TRAVEL LONG WAYS.

THEY CAN BE HERE ONE DAY AND GONE THE NEXT,

SO WHEN I SEE 'EM I HAVE TO GO OUT,

TRY TO INTERCEPT THEM.

HEY, THERE'S SOMETHING.

THERE, RIGHT THERE.

CARIBOU RIGHT THERE.

PERFECT SHOT.

PERFECT SHOT.

BUT THAT'S A BIG BULL.

RIGHT NOW.

I DON'T WANT TO SHOOT A BIG BULL CARIBOU.

THIS TIME OF YEAR WHEN THEY'RE MATING.

IT TASTES TERRIBLE.

IT WOULD NOT BE GOOD EATING.

BEAUTIFUL CARIBOU, THOUGH.

I'M GONNA GO SEE IF I CAN FIND OTHERS.

IF IT FLIES, SWIMS,

GROWS UNDERGROUND, OR TOWARDS THE SUN,

WE'LL PROBABLY PULL IT UP,

HUNT IT DOWN, OR FISH FOR IT.

OH, I'M GONNA GET READY TO GO DOWN TO EMONAKROV TODAY.

I WANNA BREAK A TRAIL DOWN THERE,

CHECK OUT THE CONDITIONS, AND BASICALLY MAKE IT READY

TO DRAG THIS DOWN THERE.

MY WIFE HAS SOME NEWLY TITLED LANDS TO HER.

IT'S BEEN IN HER FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS.

THIS LAST SUMMER, ME, MY SON, MY WIFE,

MY KIDS, WE PUT UP SOME POSTS, AND WE PUT UP SOME CROSSBEAMS,

AND, THIS'LL BE THE NEXT THING THAT GOES DOWN THERE.

WE NEED TO BREAK A TRAIL SO THAT WE HAVE

A REALLY GOOD STEADY TRAIL TO TAKE THIS THING DOWN,

SOMETHING THAT'S NICE, KNOCKED DOWN, AND SMOOTH.

PRETTY NICE DAY FOR A LONG RIDE.

NO SHORTCUTS, BECAUSE THIS THING'S GONNA

HAVE TO GO DOWN EVERY BEND OF THE RIVER,

WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO DOWN EVERY BEND OF THE RIVER TODAY

IF YOU CAN HANDLE THAT.

YEAH.

WE JUST WANNA CHECK OUT THE ICE CONDITIONS.

WE HAVE TO BE IN A TRAIL WIDE ENOUGH FOR THE TENT FRAME

ON THE SLED TO MAKE IT DOWN ALL THE WAY.

WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, RIGHT THERE.

THERE IT IS.

WELL, WE DON'T NEED A CHAINSAW.

WE DON'T NEED TO BUILD A RAMP,

BUT WE SURE AS HELL NEED A SHOVEL.

WE'VE GOT A PERFECT RAMP ALREADY PUT UP HERE

BY MOTHER NATURE.

SO THE BEST BET IS GONNA BE IF WE LAY DOWN A COUPLE

SHEETS OF PLYWOOD TO KEEP THE RUDDERS FROM SINKING INTO

THE SNOW AS WE START TO MAKE A LIFT UP HERE AND

GET IT UPLIFTED.

IT LOOKS LIKE MOTHER NATURE'S DONE US A GOOD FAVOR.

WE GOT SOME PRETTY GOOD, STIFF SNOW,

WE CAN WALK ATOP THIS STUFF.

YOU COULD BUILD A HOUSE UNDER IT IF YOU WANTED TO.

WE'LL USE A SHOVEL, WE'LL FILL THIS IN,

AND WE'LL LAY THE PLY BOARDS DOWN AND IT'LL COME

RIGHT UP, I BET.

YEP.

WELL, SHALL WE GO HOME?

YEAH.

TOMORROW IS GONNA BE A DIFFERENT DAY

WITH DIFFERENT TOOLS AND A DIFFERENT FRAME OF MIND.

IT'S ALWAYS A MATTER OF THINKING,

PLANNING, AND HAVING YOUR BACKUP PLAN.

THERE'S ALWAYS A PLAN A, PLAN B, PLAN C.

I NEED TO DO SOME CHAINSAW REPAIR BECAUSE IT'S TIME TO

CUT AN OVERLAND TRAIL IN TO BYPASS A REALLY BAD PART

OF A SIDE RIVER.

I LIVE IN A PLACE THAT I'M SURROUNDED BY THE YUKON RIVER

ON THREE SIDES.

SO I HAVE TRAIL THAT GOES FROM MY HOUSE,

OVER THE MOUNTAIN RANGE, TO THE YUKON,

BUT WHAT I NEED TO DO IS I NEED TO PUT A TRAIL IN THAT

GOES OVER THE MOUNTAINS,

FOLLOWS THE BASE OF THE MOUNTAINS,

AND THEN TIES INTO ONE OF THESE BENDS IN THE RIVER.

BECAUSE THIS WHOLE SECTION FROM HERE,

TO HERE, WHICH IS ABOUT THREE AND A HALF MILES,

IS REALLY BAD ICE.

EVERY ONE OF THESE BENDS IS VERY DIFFICULT TO

GET AROUND AND BY PUTTING THIS TRAIL IN,

THIS IS GONNA ALLOW ME TO TRAVEL ON SAFER ICE,

AND GET ME INTO BETTER DOG MUSHING TERRITORY UP HERE

EARLY IN THE SEASON AND THAT'S WHAT I NEED.

SO DURING THE EARLY PART OF THE YEAR,

WHEN THE RIVER'S MAKING ICE,

WHEN IT'S IN ITS FREEZING UP PROCESS,

I'M REALLY LIMITED TO WHERE I CAN GO.

I CAN GO FOUR MILES IN ONE DIRECTION AND FOUR MILES

IN ANOTHER DIRECTION.

THAT'S EIGHT MILES A DAY.

BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH TO REALLY GET YOUR DOGS IN SHAPE.

MOST DOGS, AREN'T REALLY IN GOOD SHAPE UNTIL

THEY HAVE ABOUT 1, 000 MILES ON THEM.

THERE'S NOTHING HARDER ON A CHAINSAW THAN CUTTING TRAIL.

YOU'RE FIGHTING COLD TEMPERATURES,

PRETTY HARSH CONDITIONS.

IT'S TOUGH OUT HERE AND I WORK MY EQUIPMENT PRETTY HARD.

WE'LL GO OUT AND BURN SOME DAYLIGHT AND BURN SOME

CALORIES AND HOPEFULLY HAVE A PRODUCTIVE DAY.

LET'S GO CUT SOME TRAIL.

EXPERIENCE TEACHES YOU NOT TO GO OUT UNPREPARED.

EXPERIENCE IS ONE OF THE BEST TEACHERS ON THE PLANET.

TIME TO GAS UP AND GO.

I HAVE GOT SOMETHING VERY, VERY UNIQUE THAT I DISCOVERED

YEARS AGO, UP HERE.

I HAVE A LITTLE PLACE THAT I CALL THE KAVIK FOREST,

AND IT'S A BIT AWAY FROM ME HERE,

BUT AT ALMOST 70 DEGREES NORTH,

I HAVE 40 TO 80-FOOT TALL BALSAM POPLAR TREES.

THEY ARE OF A VARIETY THAT I CAN MAKE A PRODUCT,

A MEDICINE CALLED BALM OF GILEAD.

YOU MAKE A BALM OF GILEAD FOR SORE,

ACHING MUSCLES, JOINTS, DAMAGED MUSCLES.

THE DOCTOR IS A LONG WAYS AWAY,

AND I THINK LAST YEAR I HAD ENOUGH OF SEEING THEM TO

LAST ME UNTIL THEY HAVE TO PUT ME UNDER.

THE GOAL THIS YEAR IS TO BE AS HEALTHY AS I CAN BE.

TIME TO LOAD UP THE SLED AND GET GOING.

GET THE HECK OUT OF DODGE, GO FOR A NICE LITTLE RIDE

IN THE SUNSHINE, AND GET THE INGREDIENTS TO MAKE SOMETHING

WHICH IS GONNA HELP ME PROGRESS IN MY HEALING.

THE BEAUTY OF BEING AND LIVING IN AN AREA LIKE THIS

IS WHEN IT'S NOT 80 BELOW ZERO AND BLOWING NUTS,

YOU GO ENJOY IT.

THIS IS THE KAVIK RIVER, AND I'D LIKE TO DROP BACK DOWN

ONTO IT, BUT I'M SEEING AN AWFUL LOT OF SHINY MESS,

WHICH MEANS WATER ON THE ICE.

SO I WANNA LOOK AND SEE HOW BAD IT IS AND GAUGE WHETHER

I CAN GET DOWN ON IT OR HAVE TO KEEP GOING AROUND IT.

WHAT I'M SEEING LOOKS AWFUL WET.

IF I WERE TO TAKE A BIG OLD SPILL,

IT WOULD HURT.

THERE WOULD BE NOTHING SOFT ABOUT THAT LANDING.

I'VE ALREADY CHOSEN NOT TO BE ON THE RIVERBED BECAUSE

OF THE OVERFLOW, AND THE WATER, AND THE ICE.

BUT THAT MEANS I'VE GOT TO TRAVERSE AROUND AND OVER AND

THROUGH ALL THESE LITTLE STREAM GULLIES THAT ARE UP.

THIS IS GONNA ADD A LOT OF MILEAGE TO THE TRIP

BUT I'M GONNA FEEL SAFER.

I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN DO THIS.

I DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THIS AT ALL.

WHOA.

WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA.

WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA.

WHOA.

WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA, WHOA.

SHOOT.

THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE VERY GOOD.

I'M GONNA END UP KILLING MYSELF AGAIN.

I CAN DO IT!

WHOA!

WELL, WHAT HAPPENED IS, TRYING TO GET ACROSS,

IT'S NOT MUCH, BUT IT IS A STEEP LITTLE RAVINE.

THERE'S A LITTLE, LITTLE STREAM,

AND SOME OF IT RUNS THERE.

BUT IT'S STEEP.

SO FOR ME TO TRY AND CROSS IT,

THE MACHINE'S WANTING TO FALL OVER,

FALL OVER AND I'M JUST NOT THAT BRAVE YET.

I DON'T WANNA GO HEAD OVER HEELS.

I DON'T WANNA GET HURT.

IT'S VERY SCARY, BUT I DID IT.

ONWARD AND UPWARD.

WHAT'S 18 MILES AS A CROW FLIES IS NOW ALMOST

40 MILES OVER LAND.

I'M NOT READY TO GIVE UP YET.

IF I CAN CROSS THE RIVER, I CAN FIND MY TREES.

THE THING ABOUT MY DAUGHTERS

IS ENABLING THEM.

THEY HELP OUT, THEY PUT THEIR HANDS ON,

THEY WORK WITH US.

IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY.

AFTER BREAKING A TRAIL THROUGH EMONAKROV,

THE HAILSTONES WILL NOW HAUL THEIR TENT FRAME

TO NEW GROUNDS.

BUT TOWING A HEAVY CARGO FOR 40 MILES ON FROZEN TERRAIN

IS A DAUNTING TASK.