♪ ♪
[Johnny Rolfe] There's three caribou.
♪ ♪
Got four of them right there.
That's gonna be a hard stalk.
♪ ♪
I'm kind of thinking they might hit my trail.
♪ ♪
If they go into the trees, I'm gonna go around the lake,
'cause I have a trail about a quarter of a mile
into the trees over there.
And more than likely, I'll walk through the trees,
hit that trail, and I can sneak up on them.
♪ ♪
I've heard a lot of Alaskans say,
"When the animal goes down, the work begins."
♪ ♪
And I think that's complete horse [bleep].
The work begins the minute you step out your front door.
I run all over this country chasing these caribou around.
I'm hoping to intersect those caribou I saw.
So, I'm going to hike up this trail.
Keeping up with them, trying to track them,
trying to find them is not an easy job to do.
But, when I need meat, I push on and I chase these caribou.
Can't tell which way the wind's blowing.
♪ ♪
I've been walking this trail for a while now,
and I haven't seen... not even tracks crossing it.
But the caribou came into the woods
and were headed this way.
There's a chance that they're just still making their way.
They might be foraging, feeding.
There's a potential that I might be too far ahead of the caribou,
and I walk back down this trail
and see that they crossed behind me.
I don't know where they're gonna cross this trail.
I'm just hoping they do.
And when they do, I'm there, ready.
♪ ♪
[Sue Aikens] There's a ptarmie.
♪ ♪
Alright.
I think I see some ptarmies.
I do see some ptarmies.
Grab the shotgun.
♪ ♪
Really?
I didn't even get out of the vehicle and they ran away.
And the last one, there's like one.
But I think I'm still going to walk this way.
Occasionally there's one or two left behind.
But that was a lot of birds.
That was a lot of birds.
I get a little short window as winter starts,
where the ptarmigan are still here, and then they disappear.
But as I'm trying to really compile my food resources,
one of the hardest things is, how do you sneak up on things?
How do you get the drop on them?
Yeah, so you have a nice weapon or whatever.
It still only goes so far,
you've got to close the distance.
♪ ♪
Really?
I see you.
All's I gotta do to get the foxes coming
is grab a gun and walk out the door.
They're all over it.
They know Sue's going for ptarmie.
You're trying to be a stealer.
How about if I train you to bring me the birds?
And there he goes.
Oh, look at that thing.
♪ ♪
The fox and the hawk are working in tandem.
The big bird jumped the ptarmigan into action.
Baby saw that all happening, went boom,
and lit out as fast as to get in there on the action.
Boom!
Bam!
That hawk is dive bombing
and spooking the birds up to get them.
Man, look at that. Ooh.
Second big hawk.
They're just going at it.
Everything is aggressively trying to get their food.
Aggressively hunting.
I've got to be aggressive, but I've got to be smart.
The eyesight is key.
I can't chase them.
I've got to attract them.
What I'm thinking is, look at how this all looks.
I can paint that on the side of some kind of blind.
Bam!
I'm going to be just like that bird.
And I'm going to have a pocket full of ptarmigan
without having to travel too far.
♪ ♪
[Ricko DeWilde] There's a lot of marten tracks right there.
You see it?
[Skarlett DeWilde] Yeah.
[Ricko] Oh, look at that. What is that?
[Skarlett] What is it? A bunny?
[Ricko] Oh, no, that's wolf tracks.
It's right around here. Let's go walk up here real quick.
I'm out here with Skarlett, my daughter.
We're going to look around a little bit.
A lot of tracks up here.
With Native culture,
we always say we're going out to look around.
What you do is you walk through,
and you just look for trails, any kind of sign.
When we're out here in the woods and we bring our kids out,
we don't really have a set objective.
It's the joy of exploring out here and learning.
[Skarlett] What is that?
[Ricko] Looks like an old moose kill.
[Skarlett] That's a moose?
[Ricko] That's moose skin.
[Skarlett] Oh.
[Ricko] That's the Native way.
We show them around, we show them different things,
and then when we're in the woods with them,
we talk to them a lot.
Oh.
It gives me a chance to really show Skarlett
what's going on out here in the woods.
There's life and there's death out here.
There's a wolf trail right here, you see?
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] It's one wolf hanging out by itself.
[Skarlett] And it did all that?
[Ricko] Yeah, he's just chewing on it.
Looks to me almost like, uh,
when someone got a moose last fall, one of the local people,
they skinned it, and they left the skin here.
Because you see how it's cut right here?
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] But something's been chewing on the edges.
That's that wolf. You see all these teeth marks?
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] He's so hungry, he's just chewing away.
When there are lone wolves like this,
they can't kill a moose by themselves.
But they're also the most dangerous
when they're by themselves.
[Skarlett] How?
[Ricko] Because they're starving.
[Skarlett] Geez, that's scary.
Is it still here?
[Ricko] He's around here.
He just lives right in this area.
Oh, look, there are marten tracks right here.
If we look around this area,
we'll probably find where the marten is living.
Maybe we could look for a place for a marten trap.
[Skarlett] That's cool.
[Ricko] When you're in the woods,
a lot of different things can happen.
Different animals might pop up.
How you capitalize on these opportunities
is where you learn a lot.
[Skarlett] Look it!
[Ricko] Oh, there he is, he's going up the tree. You see him?
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] That's a big marten.
[Skarlett] I thought they were way bigger.
Looks cool, though.
[Ricko] Cool, yeah, but they're vicious little animals.
He won't bite you.
If you corner him, he'll bite you, though.
[Skarlett] Ah!
[Ricko] Hats, like these fur hats you're wearing,
that's a marten hat.
We'll put a trap under that tree.
Chop these sticks.
You know when I was growing up in camp, Skar?
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] We used to, that's the one thing
we used to always try to catch.
And some winters I only caught two the whole winter.
[Skarlett] Geez.
[Ricko] You're lucky if you get to see one like that.
[Skarlett] Uh-oh.
[Ricko] It would be a big deal if we caught one.
Our Native culture, we really believe
that sometimes a person is really lucky.
So when we have a marten like this in the tree
and this is Skarlett's first trapping, that's luck.
That's her luck.
I don't have a .22, so we can't shoot it.
And even if you did shoot it, you put a big hole in the fur,
you don't want to do that.
Let's catch it with that trap, be the best way.
Trapping is really important to our culture and to our people,
so, perfect opportunity to show my daughter
how to trap and not shoot something.
Okay.
Looks good.
Now that we got the marten trap out, we just gotta let it soak.
Okay, Skar, you ready? [Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] And hopefully other opportunities arise.
Do you want to set a fish net?
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] Okay, let's do it.
♪ ♪
[Johnny] [whispering] This is the end of the trail right here.
God, I just can't hear anything.
I haven't seen any other tracks across this trail.
They have, they have to cross this trail at some point.
Let's hope these caribou cooperate.
I don't blame them for not cooperating.
I wouldn't if I were them.
And I'm gonna slowly make my way back.
Because there's a chance that they crossed
a little bit shallower in the trees
to where they're behind me, you know.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Beginning of winter is the darkest time of the year.
♪ ♪
It's probably the hardest time to hunt.
You only have a few hours to hunt each day.
So, it's important to get those caribou when you can.
♪ ♪
Oh.
I didn't get them this time.
Caribou are my life, you know?
They're my lifeline out here.
That's, that's my main food source.
So, just to see them around,
I mean, that means the world to me.
It doesn't mean that there's going to be five tomorrow,
and ten the next day, and so on and so forth.
It just means, hey, man, keep your eyes peeled.
♪ ♪
If this place has taught me anything, it's to just let go.
I like to think I'm in control of my own life out here.
I like to think that I'm in charge,
but Mother Nature is the real one in charge.
♪ ♪
Caribou! Caribou!
♪ ♪
[gunshot]
[Johnny] Got him!
Another one.
♪ ♪
[gunshot]
[exhales]
♪ ♪
I got two caribou down right now.
My hands are freezing.
Oh, my god.
♪ ♪
I'm shaking right now, man.
I am shaking.
That first one's right here.
I've never seen that before.
It got hit so hard his leg flew behind his antler.
I'm gonna go check in on the second one.
♪ ♪
Thank you so much.
Oh, it feels good.
It feels really good.
It's not the killing that feels good,
but it's good to know I got fresh meat in camp now.
I'm going into winter well fed right now.
That's for damn sure.
This is a game changer for me right now.
♪ ♪
[Chevie Roach] I'm looking at all the colors on that river.
All the shades of grey, white, black.
That's open water.
That ice is pretty thin, it's new.
This is one of the riskier things that we have to do
is getting out on river ice early in the year.
But I want to get a net under the water.
This is to catch whitefish. It's a short run.
The fish are probably already running,
and if we don't get out on there, we'll miss it.
My son Ryder will probably come with me
and help setting the fish net,
but it's important that I check this ice first.
♪ ♪
Usually you fish closer to town, ice isn't allowing it this year,
so I gotta go a little bit outside of my comfort zone.
Overflow.
This isn't good.
That pole's my security that if I break through,
I can hold it and push out.
The reason why it's so crucial to get out here,
and we're taking the risk getting out on this thin ice
right now is 'cause this is a run.
Once the ice starts running in the river,
these fish come out of these lakes and ponds,
they run downriver,
and after they're gone, there's no more whitefish.
You're not gonna catch 'em until next spring.
Ooh, that's pretty thin right there.
♪ ♪
This is as far as I can go out today.
It's only an inch and a half.
I need two inches.
I want those fish, but I want to live a lot more.
I'm gonna go look at another spot.
These fish aren't here all the time.
They just pass through here, and it's late already.
We had a weird fall.
The river almost froze up, and then it warmed up, thawed out,
ice moved out, then more ice formed.
If you wait till this ice is really thick,
the fish will be gone.
Little different spot of the river here.
I'm just gonna venture out there again.
I kind of want to stay away
from those places where the rough ice is.
♪ ♪
I always like to check the ice before Ryder comes out with me.
It's just a dad thing.
♪ ♪
If something were to happen where I fell through the ice
or something like that, I'd hate to have Ryder there.
There's nothing he could do. He's too small. He's too young.
I'd be more worried about him.
That's four or five inches right there.
That's what I like to see.
Worst-case scenario, if I was to go underneath that ice
and not come back...
♪ ♪
...he doesn't need to see it.
Yeah, this ice is better than that first place.
This is the type of ice I feel comfortable bringing my kid on.
And that's important.
And I'm just gonna check the water depth with my stick.
It's gotta be at least six feet.
My pole's probably 12 foot.
♪ ♪
Plenty of water to fish.
Never even touched the bottom.
Happy to find some good ice.
That's the first obstacle.
Finding the fish is the next obstacle.
This is a good place to fish, I'm hoping.
♪ ♪
[Sue] I think I've got everything I need here
that I could make a large blind.
I'm gonna call it the, uh, ptarmigan p-tent.
You spell ptarmigan with a P.
So, I'm gonna, in my brain it's the same.
♪ ♪
It is important when you're hunting
to try and blend into your ecosystem.
If you see your quarry at a mile away,
they saw you at five miles away.
Time to start laying it out for assembly now.
I've called the ptarmigan not the smartest bird
in the avian family.
They're pretty damn sharp in their own way.
When you're that one thing that everybody on the tundra eats,
you develop a little bit of a paranoia.
♪ ♪
You just have to keep adjusting.
Everything is out to save itself.
They're not out to cover your ass, they're covering their own.
Let me get some of my decorative brush.
♪ ♪
There's Alfredo.
♪ ♪
And hopefully, it'll draw them in.
♪ ♪
[whispering] Stop. Stop. Stop.
[imitates ptarmigan call]
♪ ♪
He liked my call.
I think they may still be close, but they're hunkering.
I'm gonna just get a little further away from the tent.
Nature is gonna adjust their behavior
based on what they see me doing.
But I do the same thing.
[imitates ptarmigan call]
♪ ♪
Are you kidding me?
Hi, baby.
If you're gonna follow me around and steal,
you might as well show me where to grocery shop.
Here we go, full circle.
She knows they're out here, too.
They're not in a position where she feels a strike
is gonna really succeed.
So, she's waiting.
My tent is over there.
And I'm not currently using it for why I designed it,
which is to hide me and let them come close.
So, I'm going to get in and see if I can draw them in again.
♪ ♪
[Ricko] There's a fish net.
Skarlett set her first marten trap.
Now it's just a matter of waiting,
so we're going to check a fish net while we're out here.
There's marten tracks here, too.
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] Marten all over in this country.
This fish net I have out under the ice
has been out for a little bit,
and I just want to get out here with Skarlett,
and check the net, just so she can learn a little bit,
going outside of her comfort zone.
Just want to make sure we don't go in the hole.
This is probably a hole right here.
I might as well take this coat off now, I'm gonna heat up.
Hopefully we catch some fish, Skar.
[Skarlett] It's scared.
[Ricko] Always try to chip, like, not all the way through,
because if you chip all the way through, and you hit water--
Oh, already did it.
It splashes water on you.
[Skarlett] Oh.
[Ricko] I was telling you exactly what not to do,
and then I did it.
Okay, Skar, maybe you try to chip.
[Skarlett] Okay. Are you sure?
[Ricko] Just start right here and go this way.
[Skarlett] I'm scared.
[Ricko] There you go. You'll get the feel of it.
It's really easy to leave my kids at home.
I move faster by myself,
but it's really important that I bring my kids out.
Good job.
Okay, what we're gonna do is, uh, pull that net out.
Okay.
See if we got any fish.
Here, grab right here.
Let's drag it all the way out.
[Skarlett] This? [Ricko] Step back.
Just grab right here and pull.
Oh!
[Skarlett] Are those pike?
[Ricko] Yeah, these are pike.
Oh, look like we only got two.
But that's pretty good. Better than nothing.
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] Oh, one more.
Right at the end, huh?
It's good eating, plus it gives me good marten bait.
This is how we set the net.
Pull, hard as you can.
Skarlett is real quiet, but she's a go-getter.
She reminds me of her grandmas on both sides of her family.
They're real smart, strong Native women.
And today, I see that in her.
She don't talk much, but she do a lot.
I'm glad we caught some.
We'll go try to catch that marten, huh?
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] You know how you say marten in Indian?
[Skarlett] How? [Ricko] Sooge.
[Skarlett] Oh, yeah.
[Ricko] Okay. You ready? [Skarlett] Yeah.
♪ ♪
[Sue imitating ptarmigan call]
[Sue] I can hear the ptarmigan.
Straight out this way and maybe back behind.
♪ ♪
[whispering] I can see 'em right out here.
And they're definitely in my range.
Let me go see what I can do.
♪ ♪
[imitates ptarmigan call]
♪ ♪
There goes one.
Damn it.
He's right here somewhere.
There he is.
♪ ♪
[chuckles] My little ptarmie tent worked.
I got one. There may be more.
If there are, I can try for them.
♪ ♪
I might see a couple over here.
Let me see.
♪ ♪
[gunshot]
♪ ♪
Another birdie.
Let's see if I see any.
I can hear a couple.
[imitates ptarmigan call]
I heard one in the ditch.
♪ ♪
[gunshot]
I got him, but now I gotta get into the ditch.
Where you at, little ptarmie-bob? There you are.
You can see, old foxy,
he was here earlier.
I just have better timing this time.
Doesn't always work out that way.
Another birdie.
I'm gonna go back and look this way.
Right now, I've got three for three.
Susie's blind worked.
♪ ♪
Ah!
[Sue] [bleep] I went right through.
[bleep] I knew this could happen in the ditch.
♪ ♪
Well, I'm glad I got those other birds.
And, uh, there's the water.
All friggin', all friggin' day without it,
and I went in up to here.
My feet are in a bunch of water, my boots are full,
and I'm wet up to my crotch and my hands.
The wind is putting the temps below zero by about 12 degrees,
and I cannot risk my digits for the vanity of a fourth bird.
I did so good.
But the Arctic is gonna bite you in the butt
as soon as it can.
I've got to head back, get the tent, and get back in.
♪ ♪
[Ryder Roach] Ah, I'm getting tired.
[Chevie] Are ya? [Ryder] Yeah.
[Chevie] Busted through? [Ryder] Yeah.
[Chevie] No, it's gotta be bigger.
You gotta be able to pull that net out full of fish.
[Ryder] Okay.
[Chevie] It's a lot of work to do this.
It's good to be out here working with Ryder
and putting in this net.
It's, uh, something that little boys have been doing
out here forever.
Learning the process at a young age is super important.
There's a short period of time
where we have to fish for these whitefish.
'Cause as soon as the ice forms,
the whitefish run out of the river.
Always remember, this is upriver.
So you always want to aim, when you're pushing it to me,
angle it up.
And then you have to hold your hand in that water
for a long time.
[Ryder] Why?
[Chevie] Because you gotta be able to feel that stick.
If you miss that stick, you gotta start over.
[Ryder] Okay.
[Chevie] Ready? [Ryder] Yeah.
[Chevie] Okay, let's do it.
[Ryder] Ehhh.
[Chevie] It'll be fine.
The cold water is good for everything.
Mind, body and soul.
[Ryder] Ah, it's so cold.
Okay, never mind, I should have brought a sweater.
[Chevie] Oh, Dad maybe mentioned that. I don't know.
[Ryder] You did.
[Chevie] As third generation Alaskans,
I think that it's important that we pass down information
to our kids, and that's what allows them to be able
to build off of it and do greater things than we did.
Okay, try again.
[Ryder] It's literally not there.
[Chevie] It, it will.
[Ryder] I can't do it, Dad.
Oh, I see it.
[Chevie] Good, grab it.
[Ryder] Okay, got it.
Ah, Dad, I don't want to hold it for much longer.
[Chevie] Don't let it go.
Go ahead.
[Ryder] Uhhh.
[Chevie] This one's gonna be hard, it's further.
♪ ♪
Okay, look for it. Look. Use your eye, use your eyes.
Can you see in there good?
[Ryder] I got it.
[Chevie] You're doing great.
Don't let it go before me, or else we gotta start over.
♪ ♪
While I'm out there, I'm trying to get him to help me do things
in the order that I want him to, but he's still a kid.
And I gotta remain composed and bring myself back to me at 10.
Hey, buddy. One try. Good job.
Run over there and grab that rope,
make sure we don't pull it off of that stick.
Run. Look it. It's just barely hanging on.
You know, anytime that a kid's successful,
and out doing something,
and face a challenge that they don't want to do,
and they overcome it,
they know that they're able to do it.
Cool.
Your arms, hands cold?
[Ryder] Yeah. But they're getting warmer.
Why are you hugging me?
[Chevie] Get your jacket on.
[Ryder] Okay. I don't want it to get wet.
[Chevie] You know, there's a lot of little boys
that won't come out here in this type of cold weather.
Definitely not putting their hands in their, in the ice.
Chipping ice, picking ice, following instructions.
Okay, Ryder. Go over there and start pulling it.
Let's get this net in the water.
As a parent, if you're patient and lead by example
and just keep your wits about you, it's gonna come around.
We got the net under the ice?
Excited to check it tomorrow morning and see what we have.
Good job, Ryder. Couldn't have done it without you, buddy.
Thank you.
[Ryder] Yes, I'm a superhero. I help everybody.
[Chevie] Come on, superhero.
♪ ♪
[Johnny] Hide's already starting to freeze.
You hear that? That knock?
That's the hide freezing.
There's the heart.
What used to be the heart.
That's a good shot right there.
That means the animal died pretty much instantly,
and that makes me feel good.
This is going to be part of the Java pile.
I'm going to turn all the stuff
that normally just gets left in the field
or used for trapping bait, all the guts,
I'm going to turn it into dog food.
A lot of good stuff for Java.
So, this one's done, I'm going to move on to the second one.
Good god, it's cold. I need my jacket.
Whoof!
♪ ♪
As the night creeps in, the cold does as well.
It's funny I say night,
but it's probably like, what, 2, 3 o'clock?
My hands are cold.
♪ ♪
Every hour it gets darker, it gets colder.
♪ ♪
I'm getting hungry.
I feel myself getting a little dizzy.
It's been a long day.
♪ ♪
My hands don't really know how cold it is
until I'm done holding the warm flesh of the animal
and then it's like, holy hell.
Another heart shot.
That'll be Java food.
Holy [bleep] my hands are cold.
♪ ♪
Ow, my fingers stick to it.
Sometimes I find myself fighting this, like, internal battle.
Do I push on? Do I go back?
I might have to figure out a different game plan.
I don't know if I'm going to be able to butcher these tonight.
[exhales]
[bleep] cold.
[Johnny] Man, I'm going to thaw my hands out a little bit,
try to melt these gloves down.
They're pretty frozen.
This one's just stiff, stuck.
You can see the steam coming off it.
You can see the steam coming off my hands.
♪ ♪
Man, I'm so glad I started this fire,
because if I didn't have this fire going,
you know, my hands right now would just,
I would have no way to warm them up.
Well, I'm gonna go get the snow machine,
and uh...ooh, that is cold!
And just get the caribou
and just get 'em back to camp safely.
♪ ♪
Man, my hands are just cold in these gloves.
They're starting to freeze pretty quick here.
♪ ♪
[bleep] damn.
[chuckles]
Maybe I need to drag it.
♪ ♪
Oh, man, my hands are cold.
They're just soaking wet.
♪ ♪
Okay.
And I'm realizing I don't have time to butcher them,
break them all the way down.
I'm gonna have to figure out what to do with these.
I might bury them in the snow.
♪ ♪
And I can't hang these in my cabin, there's no room.
It would make a mess.
This will do right here.
Cabin is just right, right up over this hill.
I keep them here, I bury them.
They're going to be safe.
Oh, [bleep], that's heavy.
The other option's what?
Just leave them out hanging from my cache
and let them just freeze solid?
The snow's going to insulate it.
And I don't have a garage to just hang these in,
all the amenities in town.
I live in a [bleep] freezer.
That's where I live, I live in a [bleep] freezer.
And is it normal? Not really, but...
what the hell out here is normal that I do?
♪ ♪
This will keep the meat from freezing
all the way into the bone.
If that happens, I gotta spend all day thawing this meat.
We'll find out tomorrow.
Don't freeze on me now.
♪ ♪
[Chevie] Alright, well, let's see
if we got any fish today, huh?
See how thick this got.
♪ ♪
Good? You want to do the other one now?
[Ryder] Yeah.
[Chevie] How thick is that, Ryder? About the same?
[Ryder] Yeah.
[Chevie] Ryder's like year three of like actively helping me out
on the ice, so he, he understands the whole process.
You've gotta give him some freedom
to make his own decisions and figure it out.
Build some independence.
I want him to be able to think on his own.
I'm not always gonna be there.
You're getting it.
Gotta be careful for those other holes we put in right here,
because they're so thin, right?
[Ryder] Yeah.
[Chevie] You'll step right in them.
Okay, I'll untie it here.
You gotta hold it.
When I tell you to let go of it...
[Chevie] Just let it, let it go, and then you can run over there
and start helping me pull the net out.
Parenting, it's always a balancing act.
[Chevie] Yup.
But don't step in any of those holes.
You can't expect them to do a man's job
when they're 10 years old,
but you want them to be able to be working towards that.
Alright. The moment of truth.
Let's see if we have any fish.
♪ ♪
Okay, go ahead and undo it.
Okay. Come pull this net. Hurry up!
No fish yet.
Run this, just walk that net back.
[Ryder] Oh, okay, back?
Do you see anything?
[Chevie] A lot of slush.
Look at that slush in there.
[Ryder] Is that a beaver, or is that fish? I can't see it.
[Chevie] It's slush.
[Ryder] What?
[Chevie] Whoa!
[Chevie] There's whitefish.
Good, we got one fish anyways.
Big one, so the run just started.
Just the very end of the net, but hell of a deal.
One big whitefish anyways.
They say that the big ones come first,
so maybe we're still at the beginning of the run.
Sometimes we don't catch fish for a long time.
It's nice to catch one on the first check.
We'll keep on checking and keep on checking.
Alright, let's pull that net back underneath the ice
and keep on fishing.
Okay. Go ahead.
Hopefully the run's just getting rolling
and produce those fish
that we're gonna eat throughout the whole winter.
Good job, buddy. Keep going.
[Ryder] Oh, jeez.
Dad, I can't pull anymore.
[Chevie] That's good.
Could just start a fire and cook that fish if you're hungry.
[Ryder] Yeah. [chuckling]
♪ ♪
[Ricko] Oh, we're here.
How you feeling?
[Skarlett] Good.
[Ricko] Your first marten trap.
I'll let you check it.
You gotta break trail to it.
Good way to warm up anyway, it's cold out.
♪ ♪
[Skarlett] It's moving.
[Ricko] Oh, snap, it didn't die?
Dang, that's a tough marten.
I have to dispatch it.
♪ ♪
It's a tough marten.
♪ ♪
You want to pull it out?
Yeah, just grab it and lift it up.
There you go. Hold it up.
It's your first marten.
♪ ♪
How are you feeling, Skar?
[Skarlett] I'm not feeling good.
I'm still shocked.
[Ricko] Why?
[Skarlett] It wasn't dead yet.
[Ricko] Yeah, it's part of the trapping, though,
sometimes they're alive.
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] It's good to have a soft heart like that, though.
[Skarlett] What are we going to do with it now?
[Ricko] We could skin it right away.
It's always kind of hard to kill an animal,
but it's something that we have to do,
especially when we catch one in a trap,
and we have to dispatch it.
It's always painful, though, to show that part to the kids,
but that's part of the game, though,
when you have to harvest animals,
and it's also that I teach my daughter
how to respect that animal 100%.
Where's that knife?
I'm going to start skinning this before it gets too cold.
[Skarlett] Okay.
♪ ♪
[Ricko] Everything out here, like the marten,
shed a lot of blood to stay alive,
so it's part of the cycle out here.
Best thing to do when you catch something,
if you can take care of it, take care of it right away.
The old-timers say, they say take care of it right away,
then you'll always have luck.
♪ ♪
[Johnny] Come on, let's go.
What's up?
She's excited to go check out these caribou.
It looks like nothing touched them.
Oh, that's good news.
Oh, Java, how's it look?
I got a helper.
Get it, Java.
Get it!
Come on.
I shot two caribou yesterday.
By the time I was done gutting them, getting the hides off,
it just got so late in the day, so what I did was I buried them
down here on the bottom of my lake in a big pile of snow
to keep them insulated from freezing.
♪ ♪
Alright. There's the first caribou.
Soft to the touch.
Can you believe that?
I could probably put this one in the thaw hut
while I butcher that one.
And by the time that one's done being butchered,
I butcher this one.
I think that's the plan.
There's never a moment where I ask myself,
like, why am I putting all this hard work and labor
into finding my own food, into chasing caribou?
You know, I used to party,
I used to put a lot of bad stuff in me,
and those days are behind me.
This lifestyle is about staying clean,
staying healthy, both mentally and physically.
That's what drives me to stay out in these cold temperatures.
That's what drives me to chase down these caribou
mile after mile.
That's what drives me
to sometimes come home empty-handed.
Sometimes I don't bring stuff home, and that's okay.
Because I'll go back out tomorrow,
and the next day, and the next day.
And that's what this lifestyle is about.
The pain, the suffering, it just all comes with the territory.
I'm aware of it.
But these little highs kind of balance out those lows.
Thank you so much, caribou.
♪ ♪
[Sue] I got some birds.
I tried after a couple more.
Nature took me down.
Respect what the Arctic can do to you.
It's not personal.
It's just the way it rolls here.
Thank you, Kavik.
Thank you, birds.
Susie's gonna get her ass home.
♪ ♪
[Chevie] Emry's not here to eat all the eggs.
We found the fish.
We're right in the beginning of the run, I think.
Eventually we'll have some more whitefish in our net.
♪ ♪
How's that piece look?
I want my kids to push through adversity
and then enjoy something at the end of it.
What I hope for Ryder's future
is that he's just confident in who he is.
Know where he's from,
know what he's tied to, and can appreciate that.
That's good, huh?
♪ ♪
[Ricko] Oh, you know what you're supposed to say?
[Skarlett] Oh, anaa baasee'.
[Ricko] Yeah. Say anaa baasee', sooge.
Thank you, marten.
[Skarlett] Anaa baasee', sooge.
[Ricko] You're showing your appreciation by doing that.
[Skarlett] Yeah.
[Ricko] Having my daughter out here,
I can see that she appreciates what she gets,
and that's what I really want for her in the future.
What she walks away with is a lot of appreciation
and gratefulness for the life she has ahead of her.
Give me a hug.
♪ ♪
Love you.
[Skarlett] Love you, too.
[Ricko] Okay. Let's head home.