Gold Rush

Parker: It's been 2 weeks.

But it still hasn't really, um, hit me.

Been psyching myself up for the day.

You know, it's a big day.

It's probably one of the biggest days in my life, so far.

My grandpa's always told the story.

You know, he showed up in haines at jones point.

And he'll leave there at jones point.

So, um, that day's come.

The search for gold has always meant everything to me.

This season's gonna be different.

I lost my grandpa, the man who taught me how to mine.

And honestly,

I don't know what it's gonna be like without him.

Todd: This year, I'm taking the biggest gamble of my life.

I'm asking my team to walk away

from the guarantee of millions of dollars

in the klondike in the hopes

that we can do even better in oregon.

And it's all on me.

These guys have been with me for years.

The trust they've put in me is a privilege.

And let me tell you, it's also a burden.

Any miner who tells you they know for sure

what's in the ground

is either a liar or a fool.

Now, it's up to me to deliver to my guys

to repay their loyalty

and get them gold.

captions paid for by discovery communications

roger: Good afternoon, everybody.

And our family, um, sincerely thanks you all for coming.

I could look at my dad and pull the good things out of him.

And pulling those good things,

maybe look at just the great things he brought for me,

I think my dad had a lot --

a long list of great things.

He showed compassion, a lot more love.

He was a true christian.

He really was.

Parker: It's a lot bigger than a funeral or...

...Or the 2 weeks that he's been dead or any of that.

It's a lot bigger than that.

narrator: April the 2nd, 2016, the schnabel family gathers

to bid farewell to john schnabel,

parker's grandpa and mentor.

john: I'm proud of you. You had a dream.

And you stayed with it till you won it.

What more could I ask for?

Nothing.

Parker: I love you.

John: I love -- I love you, parker.

Parker: So I don't know what that's gonna mean

for the next few months, but...

...It's not gonna be fun.

I'm gonna miss you, grandpa.

Thank you for everything you've done.

Nancy: He -- he's gonna have to deal with grandpa

not coming up,

not planning to see grandpa.

That will be hard for him.

And, you know, I think he's -- this --

this event today is the preparation you need.

Tough day, tough day.

What's up, buddy?

You look good.

-So do you. -Thanks.

Ness: I -- I mean, at the end of the day,

it's just not gonna be the same this year,

you know, with -- with john not being around.

But, you know, it's been a rough year for all of us.

And -- and for all of us to come here and --

and get together and, you know,

celebrate john's life, you know, hopefully it --

it gets us closer as a crew.

You know, hopefully we can, you know,

put it all aside and do what we do this summer and --

uh, and have another killer season.

Narrator: The hoffman crew has quit the klondike.

Last year was his most successful season ever,

but todd has decided to start from scratch

in his home state of oregon.

Todd: Hey, guys, we're coming up the hill, last mile.

I love that we're in oregon.

This is where the whole dream started for my dad and myself.

Hey, dad, what do you think?

Jack: You know, todd, this is like a dream come true.

It's really gonna be a blessing for everybody.

Last year, we mined the klondike.

We got over $3 million worth of gold.

I get it. Todd wants to come home.

But there's no guarantees.

It's still a crapshoot.

Narrator: Todd is transporting his entire operation

to the high bar mine near baker city, oregon.

Gold was first discovered in the area in 1861.

And fortunes were made

from the plentiful supply of massive nuggets.

But nobody's ever managed to set up

a full commercial operation at the high bar.

Over 4,000 feet up in the blue mountains,

the claim is dry.

And no water means no wash plant.

But recently, the claim owners

discovered water further down the mountain

and are now piping it up,

which means high bar mine is open for business.

Last year, when the hoffman crew scouted

the newly accessible claim...

Turin: We got something to show you guys.

You have got to be kidding me.

Jack: Big gold.

Look at that one.

It's one of the best nuggets I've ever seen.

That's jewelry-grade gold.

Narrator: Todd is betting the farm on high bar nuggets.

Hey, guys, this is gonna be our promise land.

I tell you what, um, it sure feels good.

So, you guys know that I made a deal on the claim.

All this -- this whole mountaintop, okay?

But what I didn't tell you

is I leased that million-dollar wash plant right there.

And if we can get that running,

we can have gold one week from now.

And it's just set up? We're ready to roll?

We got the claim, and we got the plant.

But we got to get this plant running.

I want gold in the box in one week.

We need to figure out what this thing does,

how many yards it runs.

Well, this plant has definitely got some different things.

I've never seen one with this many conveyors.

And it's quite the setup.

Hey, freddy.

Monster red has twice as many runs as this.

And they're bigger runs.

Why -- why is this sluice box so small?

We're gonna have to see what the deposit does,

but we got a nugget-trap sluice up here for this bigger gold.

Remember that gold we showed you from the test up here, logan?

Most of it's bigger.

This is the most important sluice box on this plant.

Todd: Freddy, what is that up there?

Got a rock scrubber -- blade mill up here, todd.

That means one thing -- clay.

Oh.

Must be some gummy stuff.

That's not good.

What's clay do to gold?

It steals it.

Clay's a gold thief.

Hey, guys, everybody come over here.

I got something to tell you.

What do you think?

-Looks good. -How we looking?

I thought monster red was a handful last year --

you know, a lot to watch and maintain.

This is three times the size.

Yeah, nine conveyors,

there's a lot of things to go wrong.

Well, you know what -- there's a lot of things

that can go right.

I think we're just set up the best this year.

And I feel better about this year

probably more than any year before.

Jack: You know what I like about this property, todd,

is I've seen great, big nuggets that come out of here.

I don't see why we're not gonna get them.

We're on a mountain that's got nuggets, okay?

We've never even seen nuggets like these.

These are -- these are awesome.

If you read some of the history on this place,

they took out nuggets that were 100-ounces size.

You know, they're huge.

And you know what?

I got a good feeling about this, and I'm gonna throw out a number

'cause I think it's possible.

I want 5,000 ounces.

5,000?

5,000 ounces.

We did 3,000 ounces.

I'm thinking 5,000 is within reach.

There's no overburden, guys. Think about it.

And this is unproven ground.

It's unproven to us.

We climbed the mountain.

Let's climb all the way to the peak, right?

But I want to see a miracle on this mountain.

I think there's a chance, todd,

but you're on a treasure hunt here.

Boy, here's to 5,000 ounces, guys.

Dad, say a prayer, man.

Bring it in.

Jack: Heavenly father, we thank you for the opportunity

that you've given us here.

Lord, we ask that you bring those, uh,

nuggets to the surface,

help us to run them through our plant.

And we pray this in your name. Amen.

-Amen. -Amen. -Amen.