[narrator] For six months, every year,
Parker Schnabel mines the Yukon,
pulling in millions of dollars worth of gold.
But when the winter rolls in,
and the Arctic conditions freeze him out,
Parker's search for gold goes global.
[Parker speaking]
[narrator] Along with his closest friends,
Super in, man.
[narrator] Parker has travelled almost 30,000 miles...
[Parker] Slow down, Fred.
[narrator] on the hunt...
[Karla] Whoo!
[narrator] for the most gold-rich ground on the planet.
[Rick] Now let's go find some gold.
[narrator] Now, after six years of adventures,
we reveal Parker's ten most memorable moments...
[man] Oh!
[narrator] on his road to gold.
[Parker] It's like your boss asking you to go to the company dinner.
Except this company dinner is a month in the woods. [laughs]
And you might die. [chuckles softly]
I just need a reset.
Like, I need a big adventure
with some good friends, and, um,
and just...
go.
[narrator] March 18th, 2016.
[gunshots fire]
Parker's beloved grandpa, John Schnabel,
the man who taught him the secrets of gold mining,
passes away, aged 96.
[Parker] Look at that.
[Roger] There you go.
There's Dad in the navy.
[narrator] A pioneer,
John left his family home in Kansas,
to enlist in the navy during World War II.
After his service,
he moved to America's frontier, Alaska.
where he forged a living as a logger,
and later in life,
a gold miner.
[Parker] He's an amazing man.
He's been such a huge inspiration.
Where I am now, I owe 100% of it to my grandpa.
[narrator] To honor his grandfather's legacy,
Parker takes on the legendary Chilkoot Trail.
A gateway for the old-timers
who came to the Klondike to make their fortune.
Joining him for the adventure,
are some of his closest friends.
[Karla] Have you guys done much planning for this?
-[Karla] What's-- -No.
-I hope you guys have. -[Karla] Have you got your gear?
[narrator] Foreman, Rick Ness.
[Parker] This is Rick's prep.
We're all unpacking and re-packing.
-[groans softly] -And Rick is sitting here,
-pounding beers. -[Rick] Yep.
[narrator] Survival expert, Karla Ann Charlton.
[Rick] What do you think about the crew, Karla?
They're all [bleep]
[Rick laughs]
-She didn't even fall over, damn it. -[Karla laughs]
Yes! [bleep] yes.
[narrator] And to document the trip,
camera man, James Levelle.
[James] You're each gonna have one of these mini cameras
rolling all the time.
Nothing missed, ever.
I do not know how to use a camera.
[narrator] The four head out in late fall.
[Parker] Let's do it.
[narrator] After gold was struck in the Yukon in 1896,
stampeders rushed north in search of riches
in the Dawson City goldfields.
It was a treacherous journey.
And of the 100,000 people who set out,
only 30,000 made it to the end.
The toughest and most dangerous part of the trail,
was the Chilkoot pass
and the infamous Golden Stairs.
A 1000 foot, boulder-strewn ascent into the clouds.
[Rick] Ah, [bleep].
[Parker] I don't see any stairs.
[Rick] I don't see any gold.
I could sure use a [bleep] golden escalator right now.
[Rick laughs]
[Parker] Let's do it.
[Rick groans]
This is beyond sketchy, holy [bleep].
[Parker grunts]
[Rick groans]
[Rick] [bleep].
[Rick] This is [bleep] brutal.
-[wind howling] -It's so [bleep] dangerous.
[Parker groans and pants]
I can't [bleep] see.
[Rick] Holy.
[bleep] you, nature.
[wind continues howling]
-[Parker] There is it. -[Karla] Yeah.
[Karla] The summit.
[Parker] Oh, it's just [bleep] cool.
Whoo!
[all cheering]
-[Karla laughs] -[all continue cheering]
[narrator] After battling for weeks in the wilderness,
[Rick] Yukon or bust!
[narrator] the crew proves they have the medal
to face the hardships of the pioneers, head on.
[Rick] Oh, [laughs], beautiful.
[Parker] This is the first claim I've ever staked.
[Parker] My grandpa would've loved it.
Yeah, too bad he's not around to see us do it.
-[Rick] We staked claim, boys. -[all cheer]
Yeah. [laughs]
[narrator] Inspired by conquering the historic trails
of his native Alaska,
[Parker] Goodbye, Yukon river.
[narrator] Parker sets his sights
on finding wealth in the wider world.
-[woman] Oh. -[woman 2] Wow.
[man 2] Holy cow.
[narrator] But hunting for the richest ground,
[Parker] Moving dirt, huh, Rick?
Moving dirt.
[narrator] in the most hostile environments on the planet...
[Parker] [bleep] out.
[narrator] doesn't come easy.
[Parker] Good ground makes everything else just in minor detail.
I will mine in hell if the ground's good.
[narrator] A year later,
Parker travels to Guyana.
And this time,
joining teammates Karla Ann and Rick,
is adventure camera man, Sam Brown.
[Sam speaking]
[narrator] On an epic adventure
to find Guyana's legendary mountain of gold, Marudi.
The team survives flash floods...
[Sam] Mate, we're flooding here.
Just save whatever you can.
-[Rick] Jesus. -[Karla] [bleep] yeah.
[narrator] and deadly rapids.
[Karla] Rock, rock!
[narrator] But for Parker,
the biggest obstacle is a 20-foot waterfall
blocking any hope of finding the motherload.
Wow.
Three days of sleeping about three hours a night.
Let's find this [bleep].
[Rick] It's a pretty big [bleep] roadblock.
Gut the boat,
rip it apart and figure out--
[Rick] We aren't moving this [bleep] boat.
[Karla] I don't really see another option around here.
I guess we're gonna cut it back and load up the damn thing, basically.
-Everything out? -[Sam] Yeah.
[Rick] Pull, pull.
[Karla] Yes, yes, yes.
[bleep], guys, good footing right here.
[Rick] Don't let go of that.
Gotta get up top?
[Parker] I think you should get up there, yeah.
-[Rick] You got the rope? -[Sam] Yeah.
All right, I'm coming up to help.
-[Parker] I got it, Rick. -[Rick] All right.
[Rick] Come on, guys, [bleep] pull.
[men groaning]
[Rick] Pull, come on! Come on.
-[Rick] Push, push, go, go! -Do we let go?
-[Karla] Go, go! -[Rick] ...
-[Parker] ... -[Rick] Go, ...
-[boat screeches] -[Karla] Pull!
It's filling with water.
[Rick] Ah, [bleep]
-[cracks] -[Rick thuds]
[Rick] Parker, watch out!
[Parker] [bleep]
-[Parker groans] -[Rick] Parker!
[Parker gurgles]
[Sam] Where's Parker?
[Karla] Parker!
Are you okay?
This is [bleep].
[narrator] Despite the danger,
Parker refuses to give up.
One, two, three.
One, two, three, go.
Come on, this little one last bit.
Come on. Get it up there.
That's about all I got in me.
Well, we just pulled a boat up a waterfall.
[narrator] Getting the team one step closer
to their dream of mining the mountain of gold.
[Parker laughs] Oh, yeah.
Look at that.
[laughs]
[narrator] The Rewa river tests the team's mettle in South America.
But on the trail,
it's the wildlife that pushes them to the limit.
[Rick] Get-- gah!
[narrator] From the deadly...
[Parker] Ow! [bleep].
What the [bleep] is that?
[narrator] to the disgusting.
-[Fred] Go away. -[flies buzzing]
It's really hard to think
with the amount of flies in your ears, eyes, mouth.
[narrator] But it's a close encounter,
with one of the world's fiercest predators
that forces Parker to truly face his fears.
[Riley] Right above us, Parker.
[Parker speaking]
[Parker] I'm not a huge fan of sharks.
And I've only ever scuba dived like,
on one trip before.
[Riley speaking]
[Parker speaking]
[narrator] On his epic journey across New Zealand,
with adventure camera man, Danny Etheridge.
Parker prospects off the Coromandel Peninsula
with marine expert, Riley Elliot.
But once in the water,
the hunters become the hunted.
There's one there. There's one.
There's one there.
Riley, Parker, come in.
[Riley speaking]
Yeah, we got two large sharks just swimming 'round here.
Just off the stern of the boat.
Just keep your eyes open, all right?
[Riley speaking]
[Danny] There it is, right there.
Right in front of him.
Right bang next to him
[Riley speaking]
[Parker speaking]
[Riley speaking]
[Parker speaking]
[Riley speaking]
[Riley] Ah!
[Parker speaking]
[narrator] Parker survives the sharks.
But has he found the gold?
[Parker grunts]
Good job, lads, well done. [chuckles softly]
I'm not so sure about the gold thing.
[chuckles softly]
But the sharks are [bleep] awesome.
[wheezes] Yeah, dude. That was cool.
That's really cool.
[Parker] All right, here's the moment of truth.
[Danny] Shut up.
-[Danny] Oh, my. -[Riley] [bleep], there's grains there!
[Danny] There is not.
Is it?
-[Parker] There's like, seven or eight pieces there. -[Danny] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-[Parker] And a bunch over there. -[Riley laughs]
-[Riley] Cheers, come on, bro. -[Danny laughs]
Golden sharks.
We gotta celebrate that.
-[Riley laughing] -[Parker] That is crazy.
[Parker] [bleep] wild.
All I'm seeing down there is a ton of ice, man.
[narrator] For six years,
Parker Schnabel has journeyed
to the furthest corners of the world
in his quest for gold.
[Parker] Oh, wow.
[bleep] that's some beautiful stuff.
[narrator] But the success of each mission,
relies on the close-knit team of friends
who join for the adventure.
[Rick] Up, up, up. Let's go.
-Get the camera out. -[Rick laughs]
[narrator] In Papua, New Guinea,
Parker enlists ex-Green Beret, Fred Lewis,
to keep them safe.
-[Fred] Parker! -[Parker grunts]
Thanks, Fred.
[Fred] Oh, [bleep] [grunting]
[Parker] [bleep], Fred. Oh, [bleep]
[Karla] Fred, you okay? Fred.
[Fred groans]
[Parker] I don't know what to do when the medic is hurt.
[narrator] But as the leader of the expedition,
Parker has the responsibility for the lives
of the friends he brings with him.
-[Rick] Parker, you make the decision. -[Karla] Yeah-- Parker...
-[Karla] Parker makes the call, I guess. -Oh, my [bleep]
[narrator] And Parker's most terrifying moment comes
when his leadership nearly cost the life of his friend.
[Karla] Rick!
[Parker] Rick!
[narrator] After a three-day trek
through the dense jungles of Guyana,
Parker and his team reach
what should be a shallow river crossing.
[Karla] Oh, my [bleep]
I mean, Jackson said it was crossable.
Sounds like Jackson was full of [bleep]
[Rick] Yeah, he didn't say they were crossable,
he said they were [bleep] crossing.
[Karla] We either cross this now,
or we cross tomorrow morning.
[Rick] Cross where?
Cross what?
-[Karla] I don't know. -I'm not [bleep] getting in there.
[Parker] We have two options, all right?
We go back the way we came,
or we get across this.
Shall we?
[narrator] Using their packs for buoyancy,
the crew attempt to swim to the other side of the river.
And you guys wanna be looking upstream.
There's gonna be a lot of junk.
[Parker coughs]
[Karla] Yeah, slow and steady.
Holy...
This is [bleep] cold, [bleep].
Where the [bleep] did this current come from?
[Sam] Just get a bit further, Rick.
[Sam] [bleep] me, that current's strong.
Hey, you all right?
I think my pack's filled with water.
Rick!
[Parker] Rick!
[narrator] Karla, Sam and Parker make it safely across.
But Rick is swept down river.
[Karla] Rick! Oh!
[Rick speaking]
[Parker] You all right, man?
-[Parker] What happened? -[Karla] You okay?
[Rick speaking]
[Parker speaking]
Just [bleep] ran out of fuel.
[Sam] You made it, man, you made it.
[Rick] Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
We all made it.
-[Parker] Yeah ... -[Sam] Good job, man.
[narrator] Almost losing Rick
brings lingering issues between the friends
to the surface.
Just weeks earlier,
Rick quit his job as Parker's foreman.
[Rick] I guess, the first thing I wanted to get--
out of the way here,
Yeah, I'm going out mining of my own.
I've got an opportunity and, um,
I am gonna take it.
[Parker] Um,
geez.
[narrator] The near death experience,
triggers a much needed heart-to-heart.
-[Parker] It's been a hell of a six years, huh? -[Rick] Yeah.
[Rick] We piss each other off a lot,
and-- and-- if I'm being honest,
that's taken a lot outta me.
It really has.
[Parker] The last few weeks have made me wonder what...
what kind of friendship,
or if we'll have one after all this.
[Rick] I mean, I think we'll be all right.
And I think you can see that this is...
not a malicious move on my part,
-you know, and... -[Parker] No.
[sniffles]
And I don't intend to make it that.
[Parker] I don't have many friends.
You know?
I spend nine months a year working.
It's pretty damn easy to start getting paranoid.
[Parker] You know we had a pretty good chat today.
I was honest when when I say it's pretty [bleep] lonely.
You know?
There's something about lying in the middle of a caiman
infested river in South America
that makes you think about that kind of stuff.
[narrator] While each location
presents unforeseen challenges...
You need to bug out and bug out now.
So pack your [bleep].
[narrator] the most unpredictable hazard on the trail,
are the people.
[man 4 whispering] They're certainly not too happy.
[narrator] To survive,
the team learn when to stick it out...
-[indistinct chatter] -[Fred] I've seen things like this in other countries
just explode really quickly.
[narrator] and when to run for their lives.
[Danny] Ty, we better go, come on.
[Tyler] Yeah, I'm trying, Dan.
-Speed it up. -[Tyler] I'm trying.
[Danny] Foxtrot oscar.
[Parker] Primarily, in this stretch of road, there's some...
tribal waring going on.
[Fred] Yeah, this place is definitely on alert.
[narrator] In Papua, New Guinea,
as the crew travel through a remote community
on Mount Kuta.
[Fred] Guys, what the [bleep] is that?
[Parker] Looks like the road's blocked and...
[Sam] There's a disagreement up ahead.
And, uh, they'll-- they're basically blocking off our exit route.
[Karla] There's a guy on the hood of the car back there.
[Parker] They're basically holding two of our cars hostage at the moment.
[narrator] A tribal feud over land,
puts the team in the eye of the storm.
[Fred] We're gonna try and go. Follow right behind us.
[people shouting]
-[Fred] Watch out, rock! -[rock thuds]
[Parker] Guy's going to throw a rock, [bleep]
[people continue shouting]
[Fred] Parker, Parker, pull through. Pull through!
[Sam] Oh, [bleep], they're throwing rocks.
[Parker] Roll your windows up.
[Karla] Guy's got a machete.
[Fred] Just [bleep] stay calm.
-[Parker] Turn, turn, turn. -[Fred] Go, go, go now.
-[Fred] We're going, we're going. -[engine revving]
We're going now, we're going, we're going. [bleep].
We're going.
-[Karla] They've got rocks. -[horn honks]
Convoys moving, everyone,
let's move, let's move, let's move.
[Parker] Man, it's wild how fast these situations can escalate, and...
like, I've certainly never been in a situation like this
nowhere near like, it was...
[sighs]
hardcore.
[Parker] What the [bleep]?
[Danny] Enough to take your breath away, ain't it bro?
[narrator] Parker Schnabel has spent five off seasons hunting for gold
in some of the most dangerous locations on the planet.
[Danny] Watch out!
-[thudding] -[Parker] Oh, [bleep].
[man 5] Hey!
[narrator] Now, we reveal
his top ten most memorable moments from the trail.
Both the highs...
[Parker] We found a nice little spot here.
That's just pretty damn cool.
[narrator] and the lows.
-[Parker] What? -[Karla] Oh, for [bleep] sake.
-[Parker] Is it empty? -[Fred] We [bleep] used it. The last place we were.
[man 6] Yeah, but who's responsibility is it to fill it up?
You're the [bleep] medic around here, Fred.
You can't think about putting water into your own body.
[narrator] When supplies run low...
[Rick] I wonder what that beaver would taste like.
[narrator] the cracks begin to show.
[James] I'm absolutely starving.
We're working on it.
All right? Talking about being hungry
isn't going to [bleep] help.
[Rick] When I'm home I eat like a dozen eggs a day
-and four steaks. -[Karla Ann laughs]
[narrator] Just a few days into their journey
through the jungles of Guyana.
[Rick] Damn, it got away.
[narrator] Supplies run out.
[Karla Ann] So, what do you guys have?
-I have... -[Rick] Good ones?
[Karla Ann] Salt and these two cookies.
I just found these in my bag, they were like
something, obviously, I snacked on on other times.
[narrator] And morale hits rock bottom.
[Rick] I see your two cookies
and I raise you a granola bar.
[Sam] I see your granola bar, Rick,
and I raise you one pack
of peanuts.
[Parker] What do you figure, Rick?
I figure I'm hungry.
[Sam and Karla Ann laugh]
-That makes four of us, I think. -[Karla Ann] Mm-hmm.
[narrator] It falls to Parker
to replenish the team's rations.
[Parker] Fish on.
-I take it it's a big one. -[Parker laughs] Yeah.
-[Parker] Whoa. -[Rick] Oh, let it run, let it run.
[indistinct conversation]
-[Rick laughs] We caught him. -[Parker] Oh, yes.
[Rick laughs]
-[Parker] Holy, [bleep]. -[Rick] Look at that.
[Parker] Look at that monster.
That's [bleep] beautiful.
[Parker] Sorry, buddy, but you're dinner.
[Rick laughs]
[Parker] In my PJs.
[Karla Ann] Let's feast.
[bleep] yeah.
Mmm.
Ah.
[Rick] Wow.
Remember I was talking about that
all-you-can-eat fish buffet.
-It just [bleep] happened. -[Karla and Rick laugh]
I thank you, sir.
[narrator] Parker and the team battle hunger pains
but the people they meet along the way
are experiencing far greater hardships.
Four weeks into their expedition to Papua New Guinea,
Parker and his team venture into the volcanic highland,
to explore one of the country's largest gold mines.
[Parker] That's insane.
This mine is just mind boggling-huge.
Five of the biggest gold mines I've ever seen,
would fit in this gold mine.
[Fred] They basically just mined the whole mountain.
[Parker] Yeah.
That's a big one.
This is one of the biggest gold deposits in the world.
[narrator] But the situation they find
outside the mine,
shocks them to the core.
So there's people moving on there.
[Parker] There are people around
and across that ridge over there.
[Fred] Right over there, yeah.
Parker, should we go down?
-[Fred] Right here. Look, look, look, look. -[Parker] What?
[Fred] He's climbing the fence right here.
This is wild.
You guys feel like you're thieves?
Like, that gold was
stolen from that mine.
[in accented English]
We've met a guy called Ali.
His English is excellent,
and he jumps the fence, grabs what he can,
brings it back. He crushes it over here.
[in accented English]
Okay. Right.
And then, where do you take the gold?
[Ali] Buyers. There's lot of buyers.
[Parker] And they are crashing up rocks that these kids steal
from the other side of the fence.
They crush them up,
get the gold clean,
and then sell it to an illegal gold buyer.
It's [bleep] wild.
[narrator] After seeing first hand
the hardships faced by the local community.
So for these kids to eat and get food and what not,
do they have to go over here?
[in accented English]
[narrator] Parker gains a new understanding
of how gold shapes lives across the world.
[Parker] What... What happened there?
-[indistinct shouting] -[Parker] Someone shot you?
[man 2] Yeah.
-[man 3] Oh! -[people talking in other language]
[Fred] He was on the mine and he got shot?
[man] Yeah.
[Fred] Oh, rubber... rubber bullets.
-[man] Yeah. -[Parker] Wow.
[people talking loudly]
It's a lot of work for that much gold.
-That's crazy. -[Fred] Lot of risk.
[Parker] Yeah.
[Parker] That's not a place I expected
to find myself on this trip.
These aren't things I expected to find
myself thinking about on this trip.
Um, you know, I wouldn't have expected
such a rich gold deposit
to create so much issues.
You know, people have come here
in search of their fortune,
and there's a fence in the way
and everyone's willing
to jump that fence and risk their lives.
And it's crazy.
I'm not sure I want to do this.
[Parker screams]
[narrator] After six years of adventures,
we reveal Parker's most memorable moments
from the trail so far.
From the good...
-Welcome Raul. -Cheers.
[narrator] ...to the bad...
In one.
-[bleep] Rick! -I just took my [bleep] foot off.
-[Rick groans] -[Karla Ann] Are you [bleep] serious?
[Rick] Yeah, I did.
[narrator] ...to the just plain gross.
Dude, I'm sorry. Throwing up's the worst.
I hate puking more than
just about anything.
[narrator] All of his adventures involve danger,
but a moment on the Yukon River is almost deadly.
[Parker] Being on the water is dangerous.
Out here, one wrong move
and you're a dead man.
-[Parker] Oh, boy. -[Rick] Whoa.
I don't really like what I'm seeing.
This is odd way.
This is, like, freezing up proper.
[narrator] Twenty six into their journey
up the Yukon River,
Parker and his team are outrun by the winter freeze.
[Parker] It's like trying to paddle through concrete.
[Rick] All right, well, we got to find the spot
where we can get out because this is [bleep].
[narrator] The crew steer their boat towards an ice bank,
looking for a foothold
to plan their next move.
[Parker] [bleep]
-[boat thuds] -Yeah.
That spot.
All right, it's pretty solid
so we could probably do it.
-Think so? -Yeah, just here.
[Karla Ann] I don't know.
-Just right... Right here. -[James] You got it?
[Parker] Yeah, yeah.
What you're trying to get--
[Parker] Oh, [bleep] Help! [bleep].
[Rick] Dude get to the shore.
[Karla Ann] Get to the shore!
[Karla Ann] Rick, get on that side.
-[Rick] Yup, I'm working on it. -[Parker shivers]
[Karla Ann] Take a seat.
[Karla Ann] Take a seat, take a seat.
[Parker breathing heavily]
[narrator] With just two minutes before
life-threatening hypothermia sets in,
Karla Ann has to act fast.
[Karla Ann] Fire's crucial right now.
Grab this. You take that,
I'll go get some dry stuff, all right?
[Parker] I can't feel my [bleep] feet.
-[Karla Ann] Yeah. -[Parker] Or my ankles.
-[Karla Ann] Here. -[Parker] Oh, it's [bleep] cold.
[Karla Ann sighs] Yeah.
Get into that.
Yup, do her up.
[James] Okay. Have you asked to take them off, now?
[Karla Ann] Okay.
Feed him that warm water.
Do you feel warmer?
My feet are still icicles,
but the rest of me is warming up.
-[Karla Ann] Yeah, you sure? -[Parker] Yeah.
[Parker] I'm sorry that happened.
That was [bleep] dumb.
[narrator] Parker narrowly avoids hypothermia,
but his close brush with death
is a sign that winter has won this battle.
[Parker] Hundred and twenty years ago,
we wouldn't have had any choice
but to pushed off back in the water.
And a lot of the old timers died.
[Karla Ann] Mm-hmm.
Yeah, huge number of them died.
So, whatever there is left to prove,
it ain't worth dying for.
-Right? -[Rick] Mm-hmm.
[exhales]
[bleep]
[narrator] The crew call for an emergency evacuation.
[Parker] Hopefully, they'll be able to drop in here.
[Rick] Red flares.
[Parker] That is sweet.
[Karla Ann] Whoo-hoo!
[Parker] Yeah!
Here's our ride.
Hell, yeah.
[narrator] In the years that follow,
Parker sets his sights
on travelling the world
in search of new ways of mining.
[indistinct conversation on radio]
[Parker] I mine in the Yukon,
and we're looking for ground that
is mineable for more in the year.
Around here it sounds like
they use a lot of different methods to get gold,
that I've never been involved in.
Look at that.
[man] Oh, what!
[narrator] And treks hundreds of miles
to learn from the locals.
[man in accented English]
That is the American way of panning.
[Parker] It's the American way of panning
in not an American pan.
-It doesn't work too well. -[man] All right.
[narrator] Each new skill Parker learns
comes with a fresh set of risks.
You know, this is just like...
shooting from the hip, literally.
Whoa!
-Holy [bleep]. -[Rick] Parker!
[coughing]
[man speaking]
[Parker] [bleep] clocked me in the knee.
[groans]
[narrator] But when trying his hand
at how a community mine in Papua New Guinea,
Parker almost pays the ultimate price.
[man] Look out, look out, look out.
[narrator] Nine days into their voyage
through Papua New Guinea,
Parker helps clear overburden
on the Kukukuku mine site.
[Parker] So all of this has to get moved.
-[man] Yeah. -[Parker] Wow.
What a mess.
[Rick] It's a lot of dirt.
[Parker] [bleep] dangerous, too.
How far off full is it?
[Karla Ann] Another foot and a half.
Oh, [bleep].
[man] Whoa, heads up!
[Karla Ann speaking]
[man] Whoa, whoa, whoa. Patch up the dam!
[Karla Ann] I'm trying!
[indistinct shouting]
-[Parker] [bleeps] -Parker!
[Parker groans]
[Fred] Parker!
[Parker gurgles]
[grunts]
Parker!
I got him!
[Parker groans] [bleep]
[Parker coughing]
[Sam] Holy [bleep].
Are you okay?
[Fred] Wait, are you?
-You intact? -[Sam] You okay?
[Parker] That went from like zero to hundred
in a very short amount of time.
-Let's get out of this [bleep]. -[Sam] This is slipping.
-[Parker] Yeah. -[Fred] Let's get up, let's get up. Walk.
I got your behind.
[Parker] I just have numb fingers.
-[Parker grunts] -[Sam] Come here.
Sit, sit, sit, seriously.
Um...
There's [bleep] in my eyes
and my mouth.
Ah, that hurts, Fred.
-[Fred] This one? -[Parker] Both, those two.
They are very numb.
Let's get you up top, sit you down.
It's already starting to swell.
Let's just get you up there.
[Parker sighs]
[narrator] Parker suffers heavy bruising.
[Parker] I'm feeling pretty sore.
Little banged up.
Little bruised.
[narrator] But is able to get back onto
the mountain the next day
and finish the job.
Don't feel the best.
Bit of a cut on top of my head,
but, luckily, nothing's broke.
So I'm ready to get back in the saddle.
-Those two? -Yeah, yeah.
-[laughs] Look at that. -Yes.
-[Fred] Is that gold? -[Karla Ann] Yes.
-Found gold? -Yeah.
Nice.
[Parker] So we finally got into a spot
where there is some good gold.
It's good to finally see
but we're on it.
We're going to go back in there
and get as much of it out as we can.
[narrator] For Parker and his team,
the trail offers little respite or home comforts.
Can't get anything to [bleep] kill out here.
[bleep] trees.
[bleep]
-[Parker] Quicksand. -[Sam] Whoa.
-[Karla Ann] Wow. -Oh.
[Parker] Ow. [bleep]
[man screams]
[narrator] And their feet pay the price.
[man] My feet are in pieces.
-[Parker] Ow. -[man] Sorry.
I should probably put some shoes on.
-[Parker] How are your feet? -Cold as [bleep].
-So are mine. -[Rick] Yeah.
Let's see the feet, zombie-feet.
Yeah, you freak-feet.
[Sam] They're not looking good.
[Karla Ann] Ew, don't get them too close to me.
[Sam laughs]
[Rick] Oh!
[Rick laughs]
[Karla Ann] They look 200 years old.
[Sam] They're starting to crack.
[Parker] That's disgusting.
[Sam] Trench foot, Magoo.
[Karla Ann] Goodbye, Haines.
Whether we like it or not, here we go.
[narrator] In 2016...
-[Parker] Let's do this! -[Rick] Whoo-hoo!
[narrator] ...Parker sets out on an expedition.
I'm on fire!
[narrator] ...to memorialize his grandfather
and grieve the loss of his mentor.
[Parker] I spent a lot of time on this trip
thinking about my grandpa.
And he taught me a huge amount.
[narrator] This journey, then inspires
an international hunt for gold.
I want a nugget about this big.
[narrator] Now, after counting down
Parker's most memorable moments
from his adventures so far.
[Fred] That's a 60-foot freaking drop.
[laughs] Hiya!
[men] Whoa!
Pretty [bleep] cool,
that we're going to do this.
Whoa! This is rough.
[narrator] We reveal the moment...
[Parker] This thing has no breaks.
-[Parker screams] -[narrator] ...that tops all others.
[man] This is, definitely, a little creek channel.
[narrator] Finding the mother-load.
[man] Holy-[bleep].
[Parker] Holy cow!
[narrator] In 2019,
Parker travels to Australia
in the hope of finding ground
to mine year round,
with the help of Aussie prospector,
Tyler Mahoney.
On the 6,000-mile adventure,
he unearths more gold
than all of his previous expeditions combined.
-You look at that! -Shut up!
Oh, my [bleep].
[Parker laughs] It's a nugget.
[Dan] That's a beast.
[man] Holy crap!
[Fred] Holy [bleep]. Shut the--
Oh, my [bleep]!
-Shut up, are you kidding me? -[shouts]
[narrator] But in the Australian outback,
Parker goes above and beyond...
[on radio] Oh, man. What an adventure.
[Parker on radio] Yeah, and certainly the first time
I've ever had a wash plant
hanging from a helicopter.
[narrator] To prospect virgin ground
belonging to the Fitzgerald family.
Oh, here we go.
Wow.
[Fred] First bucket!
[Terry Fitzgerald] That's what we're looking for.
They're heavies. Once the heavies are in there,
we should get the gold.
Now we just got to pan it all.
Hopefully, we'll get a bit of a result out of it.
How's that?
Oh!
Look at that!
That's probably damn close to a gram, huh?
The ground's amazing.
Maybe, mum and dad should keep it, huh?
[all laughing]
You're the wrong person to bring testing.
[bleep]
[narrator] Parker finds gold-rich virgin ground.
[Fred] Aye! That's a nice one.
[Tyler Mahoney] That's a good one.
[man] That's an odd piece, that one.
[Tyler] Wow. Good start, guys.
[Fred] Yeah, I like it.
[Tyler] A nice little nugget.
It didn't take long to take this one.
[Fred] I see good color in there.
-You can see it, eh? -Yeah.
-[Tyler] Oh, wow. -[Fred] Oh, yeah.
[Jack Fitzgerald] Beautiful, eh?
[Fred] Holy, crap.
-[Tyler] Oh, wow. -[Jack] It's like a golden handshake.
[Fred and Karla Ann laughing]
[narrator] And his team win over
the secretive Fitzgeralds.
[Tyler] Then why is it your job?
Uh, because it's my gold.
-I'm the boss. -Yeah.
So, I get the job to do it. [laughs]
When you come back Tyler,
you'll be driving the loader
by the looks of things.
You've proved yourself today. You can do it.
Oh, wow. That means a lot. Thank you for that.
That's okay. Any woman that can draw the loader
-is good by me. -Oh, yes.
[man] There you go, Fred.
[Fred] Look at that.
That's what you carted today, mate.
[Fred] Phenomenal.
[Cheryl Fitzgerald] Here you go. 5.88.
-That's good. -[Fred] Yes.
[man] This really reflecting on your face, Parker.
[Parker] Tomorrow, we dig into this place.
The more intrigued I am here, Terry.
When you're making money on tailings,
that means the ground around is pretty good.
[Terry] Yeah, it is.
I am genuinely interested
in making something happen here.
You're interested, we're interested, we'll negotiate.
[Parker] All right, perfect.
[Jack] Fine, mate.
All right, Cheryl, I need a hug.
-Me, too. -[Parker] Thank you, for everything.
[Cheryl] Thank you, Parker.
[Jack] Hey, what about hug for me, too.
[all laugh]
[narrator] But the global pandemic,
along with skyrocketing fuel and parts costs
have ended Parker's Australian mining dreams.
[Parker] We have come a long ways to get here.
Like, just unbelievable.
We've gotten lost.
We've gotten sick.
Almost drowned.
[narrator] But Parker's search
for gold-rich ground
across the globe continues.
[Parker] The reason that I go on these trips
is that I feel like
somewhere out there,
it's still, like, a massive
gold strike to be found.
I definitely want to explore that more.
There's still more adventuring to be done.