ROBERT: I wish it wasn't gonna rain so hard the next few days
but you kinda get what you get, I guess.
RJ: Well. If it wasn't raining it wouldn't be Sitka.
ROBERT: I think we're blessed with a great opportunity, RJ,
our last chance to get red meat on the table.
RJ: Last year in the winter, it, it just seems like it's hard to really dedicate
all the time to getting all the deer that you need.
ROBERT: Generally speaking, I don't go out January hunting,
but this year I didn't get a moose so hunting deer is essential, critical.
I gotta get meat in my freezer.
Is that a deer up there? RJ: Straight ahead, twelve o'clock maybe.
One over there, maybe three. Oh. There's one here and then one over there.
ROBERT: Okay, we got deer on the beach.
What do you think, RJ? You wanna roll for the deer?
RJ: The highest goes first. ROBERT: Yeah, highest gets first shot.
ROBERT: For my son, he's following in my footsteps.
He gets to live that same lifestyle knowing that we're getting a successful hunt.
We're putting meat on the table.
We're feeding elders and we're feeding ourselves.
This is how I know how to be a Tlingit.
And this is what I do.
It's a waiting game from here.
Since I didn't get my moose this year,
it's real critical that I try to get deer this year.
This trip's very important for my family and community.
We'll see what happens.
RJ: That's a lot of deer, almost too easy.
We spooked those deer.
It sucks when you spook them. This is embarrassing.
Hm. It may be a little less easy than I originally thought.
It's time to head back to the boat.
JESSI: There's a lot of unknown things out here.
Who knows what lies upriver?
Who knows what creeps around in the dark?
It seems like every corner is life-threatening and things could happen.
But that's the exciting part about it.
CHRIS: This is awesome. If we can drop down to this valley
and get around the backside, there's a million lakes out there.
And I'm hoping that there's a little bit better wildlife out there.
JESSI: Well, I'm hoping to see some rabbit tracks.
Some moose would be optimal. That would be really great.
So, we're gonna try to head down, I mean do,
do you know where we're going? CHRIS: Nope.
This hilltop's as far as I've ever been.
I have no idea what's out there.
JESSI: All right. Well, um.
CHRIS: All right. Let's see what the. JESSI: Yeah.
CHRIS: Next hilltop provides. Huh? JESSI: Yeah!
CHRIS: Oh, it's windy!
JESSI: Trapping small game around the cabin's been pretty tough this year.
There's just not a lot to be seen.
And there hasn't been any large game for years.
I don't know what's gonna lay ahead of us.
I mean, the more area to cover,
the more opportunities that we're gonna find.
The Cosna's full of mysteries.
CHRIS: What's that over there?
Let's go check it out.
Well, this definitely looks like a bridge. JESSI: It has to be.
CHRIS: But you know what, I'm gonna go down in there
and I'm gonna check it out before we do anything.
JESSI: Okay. I will be here.
CHRIS: Oh, wow.
Some overflow, you can see the bridge has been falling in on itself.
There's a bunch of beams down below.
You see these logs down here? I bet they were right alongside.
They've all rotten and fallen in.
This thing looks a little janky.
Wow.
It's got good bones. This could be a good bridge.
I can make it a little wider.
Should be able to cross it with a SnowGo and a sled.
All right.
I really don't think we should cross it. I think we should rebuild it.
I'm thinking we'll just shovel out what we can and then we'll chainsaw it up.
We'll get it out of here. We'll get some new trees and we'll lay 'em in.
JESSI: All right. Well, that's a lot of snow.
We have a lot of shoveling in front of us.
CHRIS: Yeah. I'm ready to get to the other side and start finding some animal tracks,
and maybe some more lakes and.
JESSI: More lakes for more beaver would be awesome.
CHRIS: Once we cross this creek here,
we're gonna be outside where all the forest fires have been,
and the world's just gonna open back up to us.
I think the animals are gonna be a lot more abundant,
just gotta get to the other side.
JESSI: Well, we got a lot of work before we can get to the other side so.
CHRIS: Well, let's get after it! JESSI: Let's get it!
I'm ready.
JOHNNY: There's just such a big, vast, open country.
I need to have the ability to go explore it.
That's just how I roll out here.
I got my sledge runners here, and they're gonna be for the sledge that I'm building.
And a sledge is just kind of, like, a big cargo sled.
It's what a lot of the people that inhabited this land up in the arctic
way before European settlers came here used.
And it was their cargo.
This was like their train. This was their semi-truck to get their gear out.
It's just awesome that I can just come out here and grab a couple simple tools,
put my mind to work, put my hands to work, and start crafting something.
So, I have a snow machine out here now,
and I need to have a sledge that can pull the gear that I need to take around.
I've read a lot of literature from the eighteen-hundreds
and a lot of the explorers, and locals of the land
would build these wooden sledges.
Man, it feels good to have this draw knife back in my hands.
You grow attached to your tools.
They become a part of you.
You know, I do have some modern tools out here.
And the modern tool that's gonna be pulling the sled I'm making
is the snow machine, you know?
But I try not to become too dependent on the modern machinery.
So, I'll always know how to craft with my hands.
You can take away a snow machine from me,
but you can't take a craft away from me.
The sledge is gonna be a vital for my nomadic lifestyle out here,
and ultimately, I'm hoping that I can bring Java with me a lot more.
I wanna be, uh, more of a nomadic hunter
and this sledge will help me do just that.
The first one's done.
Got this side peeled. And it's coming along quick.
It's coming along fast.
There's still a lot of work to do.
KALEB: I'm gonna stow 'em before they get wet.
Gilbert and I just got out here this morning and, uh.
We're just trying to get our camp kinda somewhat organized,
and then we're heading out to get some firewood.
My firewood stocks are low. They're covered in snow. It's wet.
It was really difficult to light a fire this morning.
So, I need to go get some fresh stuff.
Yeah. And a lot of it.
I'm bringing Gilbert out here so that he can learn more about relying
on the wilderness to provide even some of your food or heat.
Living a subsistence lifestyle is not easy.
It takes a dedication to getting up every single day and going out
and making a living for yourself.
This trip is, uh, important to Gilbert.
So that when we're done, I can give him some basic skills
about how to survive in these woods.
Well, I've got down to where my idea of a good spot to chop firewood is.
I got wedges in my pocket. I got my axe and my chainsaw.
And, uh, it's time to just start dropping trees. I wanna drop a lot of trees today.
Gilbert! GILBERT: Huh?
KALEB: Make sure, make sure you're not underneath trees
when I'm cutting 'em down, okay? GILBERT: I know!
KALEB: Oh, my word, these branches!
These branches are like little trees.
GILBERT: Dad, how many logs are we gonna do today?
KALEB: A lot. I have a stick down my back.
You might think it's funny, but I don't.
GILBERT: That's a bummer.
KALEB: Gilbert has been showing an interest
in helping to gather firewood lately.
I think it's important to me to teach Gilbert the skills I built with pride,
and do a good job at it, because no job is worth doing
unless you do a good job at it.
Oh yeah, that is nice solid wood.
And it's perfect all the way through the tree.
So that confirms my suspicions.
Nice solid wood. No punk. No rot. No moisture.
That's what I like in a good firewood.
JOHNNY: You know Alaska's like this big personality,
and I wanna get to know it more and more every day.
I wanna see that raw, crude beauty that inspired me to move out here to begin with.
What are you freaking out about, Java?
Oh, it's a marten. Look at this, dude.
He's looking right at me.
And it's cool to watch these guys, you know?
And I don't always have to trap the marten.
Sometimes you just enjoy nature.
I don't kill everything I see out here.
All right, come on. Let's go. We've got work to do. Come on.
I'm in the middle of nowhere right now, so yeah,
I gotta make my own little transportation cart,
my own, uh, way to transport goods, and that's what this is.
So, the plan is drill holes, boom, boom, boom, boom, along.
Drill them in here as well.
And then put little pegs to hold up this piece.
And then the planks are gonna rest from this piece to the other side
and that'll give me some clearance. So, rock and roll.
You know I'm drilling holes into the runners
and I'm using my great grandfather's hand drill.
This hand drill came from an era where people were making these sledges
because that was their only option.
It's a really interesting feeling. I really enjoy using hand tools.
I really enjoy, uh, building things the old way
and kinda stepping back in time a little bit.
This thing's got some miles, man. It's probably built a lot of cool stuff.
And that's what I used to build this cabin.
Now that I got the holes in the runners,
to make the pegs I just grab a little piece of spruce
and just kind of shape it out, so it fits in the one-inch drilled hole.
I'm not gonna use glue or nails for these pegs.
I'm gonna be going over a lot of uneven terrain,
so I need the sled to have a little bit of flex.
The sled build's coming along, getting a little nippy.
Still a lot of work to do.
JESSI: We have to expect the worst-case scenario out on the trail,
because really anything can happen out there.
And Alaska is gonna get you if you're caught off guard.
It'll get ya hard.
CHRIS: These feel pretty solid.
It's just wide enough to pull a snow machine across.
But if it starts packing snow on, it's gonna get dome-shaped,
and we'll just slide right off the edges.
And if we drop it down in there it's gonna be really hard to get out of there.
I feel that if we widen this up a log or two wider, it'll be crossable.
And it won't just be today, you know, we'll be using this for years to come.
JESSI: All right. So we're gonna need to fell some trees.
CHRIS: I'm thinking that tree that's right behind you, there.
I'm gonna try to see if I can kinda climb up it a ways,
and get a rope hooked up to it,
and we'll try to pull it this direction. JESSI: Okay.
CHRIS: One, two, and three.
There's my hat. JESSI: Yep, got it.
Agrrrr!
Oh.
CHRIS: Okay.
I'm coming down.
JESSI: Awesome. CHRIS: Awesome.
Let's see here.
You get one shot at this.
If it falls the wrong way, it's gonna be a real pain in my ass.
I'm hopeful I can just pull this tree right down over the bridge.
Okay. Go ahead and pull the slack out of the white rope.
JESSI: Oh, jeez.
Okay. CHRIS: Okay.
I'm gonna make a cut facing you.
Then you're gonna just keep winching until it starts to crack.
JESSI: I'm just, I'm winching it right towards me.
I might not be able to see it, because there's so much stuff,
so as that thing starts cracking,
I need you to be loud and I need you to be clear.
CHRIS: Okay. All right. Good luck.
JESSI: Wow, it's bending. CHRIS: Yeah.
It's got a lot of pressure on it. JESSI: Yep.
CHRIS: Keep going.
Here it comes.
Beautiful. JESSI: Woo!
CHRIS: Exactly what we wanted. JESSI: Perfect.
CHRIS: All right. Well, now we just gotta clean it up with an axe,
saw it, and drag it into place, huh? JESSI: Okay.
CHRIS: Hot damn, that worked out great.
JESSI: It worked out. CHRIS: Oh, man.
It's not often you get it to work perfectly.
ROBERT: Sitka offers bountifulness.
Sitka offers food from the land.
Sitka offers peace and tranquility that I can't get anywhere else.
RJ: Onto the next one.
ROBERT: That's fun, at least you saw some. RJ: Yeah.
ROBERT: It's the last minute of deer season.
Being a provider living a subsistence lifestyle, the pressures can add up.
RJ: That looks like a deer. Is that a deer?
ROBERT: It's definitely a deer.
But right now, I'm gonna go get my turn.
Through my efforts, living in Sitka, doing the hunting and harvesting,
it's my way to say here I am. I'm Tlingit. This is my culture.
This is how I know how to be Tlingit.
I go out. I harvest. I share my bounty with people that need it.
That's important for me.
I'm gonna give it a shot, but there's a deer right there about three-hundred yards,
and there's a couple more over there, so I'm just gonna keep sneaking around
and see if I can get within two-hundred yards of 'em and take a shot.
(rifle shot)
ROBERT: Just went down, it was a good shot.
I feel good about this. I made a nice, ethical kill.
I'm gonna sneak up there. I see another deer on the beach just past it
and I'm gonna try to get that one real quick.
(rifle shot)
We've got a trail. I'm gonna let him do his thing.
I'm gonna go up and look at this one.
It's beautiful.
The first thing I wanna do, drag this over here,
and then go find that other one.
There's nothing worse than wounding an animal.
I just feel terrible.
That's happened to me like three times in my life
and I've shot hundreds and hundreds of deer.
It's something I definitely don't ever wanna repeat again.
One shot, one kill, quick death, immediate,
no suffering is what I shoot for.
Anything else, it's an emotional scar on my soul.
Okay. I feel better now she was out of her misery.
Very emotional for me.
Every time you do it, you know, you're taking a life.
This is our land.
Not just in my culture but many people that live in Alaska
come out and forest to land to feed themselves and their families.
Three of these gave themselves to us and I'm very thankful for that.
In our Tlingit culture we give the animals that we harvest a drink of water.
I'm gonna give these guys their final drink.
Tell 'em thank you, and we're gonna get to processing.
Gunalchéesh.
Gunalchéesh. You guys are a blessing. Thank you.
I can see RJ out there in the boat.
We'll have another chance to get deer today
and then we're both gonna have a great day.
KALEB: It's just nice to be out in the forest,
not having to worry about any of the problems
that are going on, on the day-to-day basis.
And I want Gilbert to get to experience that with me.
One thing that's very, very important is that
you don't put your finger somewhere it can get squished.
GILBERT: Uh-hmm. KALEB: So, anything that could possibly pinch
you keep your fingers away, okay? GILBERT: Okay.
I can do it pretty easy.
KALEB: Should we start it up? GILBERT: Yeah.
KALEB: All right. Gilbert, let's grab some firewood.
For me, a more hands on approach is the best way to parent.
They're not gonna learn if they just sit there and watch
until they're eighteen and they have to move off
on their own and figure it all out.
They're gonna learn if they jump in and do it.
Thanks for helping, Gilbert. GILBERT: You're welcome.
KALEB: We'll clean up this mess back here
and then you can start doing a little bit of splitting, okay?
GILBERT: Okay.
KALEB: Get it aligned,
then take your finger back.
Gilbert got to jump in and do it today with the log splitter.
And he is learning how to hold the log correctly.
But since I'm there, since I'm helping him and guiding him.
Good job. He can do this safely.
And he can learn how to do this,
and I want my son to learn that it's a way of life.
And it's something to be proud of.
I'm catching up to ya!
Nice catch, me.
Well, Gilbert, let's say we accomplished our goal
of getting some good firewood.
This is all some premium stuff. It's so dry and straight grain.
Now we've got this all stacked up,
I think we need to go do something to celebrate.
What do you wanna go do? GILBERT: Fishing.
KALEB: You wanna go fishing, huh? GILBERT: Yeah.
KALEB: How did I ever guess?
Let's go fishing, huh?
CHRIS: I'd love to see what's over the next hill.
You can never sit stagnate. You always have to be pushing forward.
And if you don't, everything'll crumble around you.
-Okay, so what's next? -Let's cut this off. -Okay.
CHRIS: And drag it into place.
All right, I'm gonna have you grab that.
I'm gonna come down here and grab this butt end.
And see if it'll move.
JESSI: (bleep) Ah! Nope, love. Hold on.
CHRIS: Don't drop it off the edge.
JESSI: Well. Just give me a second. Ready?
CHRIS: One, two, and lift. Beautiful.
I'm coming your way.
All right, and one, two, and lift. Agrrrr!
JESSI: Okay, that's where we want it.
All right. Looks like it's in.
CHRIS: That's pretty good. I'd like to put maybe a board underneath.
And then a log to kind of support everything like a center truss.
JESSI: Okay, well let's finish it up.
It took years for Chris and I to get enough money to buy this snow machine.
I mean this is the most expensive thing that we own.
Here you go.
CHRIS: So that looks pretty good.
JESSI: This has to work. We have to have a strong enough bridge.
That's it. CHRIS: Okay.
JESSI: But I know that I have to expect the worse.
Cause in my experience, nothing has worked this well out at the Cosna.
Think we're gonna make it? CHRIS: I hope so.
JESSI: It's not gonna bend.
CHRIS: Whoa-ho-ho. JESSI: Whoa, watch your ski, love!
Watch it.
Oh, my goodness. Whoa, whoa, whoa, Chris.
JESSI: Woo CHRIS: All right, that's just wide enough.
Damn
JESSI: All right Chris! CHRIS: Awesome.
JESSI: Finally, a totally new area,
this is really exciting this is something that we've been hoping for.
I just can't wait to see what's on the other side.
JOHNNY: The challenges are relative, sometimes I win and oftentimes I lose.
ROBERT: All right let's find your deer.
JOHNNY: The first time I came out here I was a little nervous
knowing that I was completely detached
KALEB: Ain't that pretty? GILBERT: Woo!
JOHNNY: But then you start to tap into something that's kind of innate.
And I quickly learned I can make what I need.
JESSI: Nice look at this trail, Chris. CHRIS: Awesome!
JOHNNY: Because you can't adapt to your problems, adapt to your situations,
you're going to die.
So next thing you do on the sled is to build the tongue
which is gonna be the part that kind of pivots up and down
and attaches to the back of the snow machine.
It's gotta be able to go up and down so if it's too rigid and stiff
where they attach together the trailer's just gonna break,
so you gotta have a little bit of flex in it.
The best way to make it flexible is to actually use some cordage,
mostly because that's just what I got out here.
It's always kind of planning and preparing for things to break,
for things to go wrong.
How about I design it to know what's gonna break.
This drill bit's getting a little dull
and you know one day I'm gonna be like this drill bit.
Maybe old and you know unable to sharpen anymore.
And before that happens to me I wanna make sure I take advantage
of every moment out here that I can.
There it is. Perfect.
If I'm gonna have a stress point on this, I'm gonna have it be the tongue.
So, when that breaks, no big deal my sled's still in good shape, replace the tongue,
fix the rope, whatever it is.
I got a knot on top, knot on the bottom.
Same on the other side, and that gives it a little bit of flex
and play so it's something I can fix on the fly even.
You know there's always cordage laying around,
and always have it in my pockets,
and that's just something you always carry around here is just plenty of cordage
cause it gets you out of trouble. All right, man.
So the next thing I'm gonna do is put the skins
on the bottom of these runners here.
I'm gonna place this type of plastic I have out here from an old sled
and so I'll cut it up and slap it on the bottom of these runners.
And, um, should make a pretty good sled.
KALEB: I wanna teach Gilbert an important lesson that work comes first.
But once that work is done, it's time to go do something fun.
I live by adventure.
I do the work so that I can adventure.
Wow, look at this pretty river, Gilbert.
We went fishing here last year but it was super-duper cold when we were here.
GILBERT: Yeah KALEB: Careful near the water.
Up you come!
There now, don't fall in the water GILBERT: I'll try not.
KALEB: I don't particularly want to have to try to rescue you.
GILBERT: It deep. You're trapped, sink.
This is scary up here.
KALEB: We gotta be careful and not get too close to that edge
or we'll fall into the river.
Oh, it's deep.
We're up on Gilbert and I's favorite little fishing hole.
So, I've already seen several and they've chased my lure
but nobody's bit yet.
GILBERT: Where is all the fish wait, usually out right now.
KALEB: They're tucked all the way up under the rock out cropping
where they have shelter.
GILBERT: Can they jump,
dad? KALEB: I don't know if dolly varden's jump.
Man, these fish apparently aren't very hungry today.
Well, nothing seems to be here Gilbert,
let's keep working our way down the shore.
We'll go a few feet and cast and try and catch a fish
and if we don't catch anything we'll just keep right on moving.
Uh-oh.
KALEB: Ah!
GILBERT: Bad weather, we need to catch us some fish.
Any type of fish we catch, we keep. KALEB: Yeah.
GILBERT: Finally.
KALEB: I just mega nailed a rock.
Well, there goes my first hook I just caught a big hunking rock.
Gilbert and I moved on up the river to try a new hole and so far,
the fish aren't biting but the rocks sure are.
And unfortunately, the rocks won the battle.
It was fought long and hard but ultimately the rocks just wouldn't give,
and my fishing line did.
I think maybe we should walk a little bit further down the stream
so that we don't catch rocks anymore. GILBERT: Yeah.
KALEB: 'Cause this is pretty much it for my dolly varden lures
and it would be a bummer to leave them all behind in the stream.
GILBERT: I, well you still fishing but we can't right now because our hook's gone.
KALEB: Yeah, we both filed up our hooks.
GILBERT: Yeah. KALEB: Oh, well.
We'll get back down there, we'll get back across the creek.
We'll go down a little bit lower where the rocks aren't quite so jagged.
All right, you're all set. Let's go back to fishing. GILBERT: Are you all set?
KALEB: Yup, I got mine done already.
GILBERT: Ah. Let's go fishing!
JOHNNY: Out here I don't have a store.
So I have to reuse stuff. Repurpose things. Be more ingenuitous.
Which might not be a word, but it is today,
because I make my own sleds and I make my own words.
Woo!
(bleep). This stuff's no joke.
Slippery. It's good, it's a good problem to have.
Okay. That's one cut.
So now the framing of the sled is all assembled,
I'm just gonna start working on the bottom.
This plastic is coming from an old pull behind sled.
It's kind of fallen apart, a little bit dilapidated,
so it's the perfect resource to reuse.
And give it another life.
Thanks dude. Thanks, thanks.
Wanna hammer the nails in?
You're a dog, you can't hammer nails.
In South Carolina I built a lot of chicken coops for the farm I had.
I would build from trash lumber at the construction sites,
they would just throw all this lumber away
and I'd go garbage pick it all and I'd build these coups for pennies.
And now I'm kind of you know being just as resourceful.
I find myself finding this old crappy sled
and I'm repurposing it so it's kind of you know
garbage picking in my own little pile of stuff.
I guess that I've always just been resourceful
and being resourceful for the farm in South Carolina
set me up for a lot of the stuff I'm doing now.
So right now, I got the frame.
The structure of the sled's done and I finished the bottom which is all
this plastic coating that I repurposed.
Now I gotta do the top.
So, what's left to do is just put some wooden planks along the top.
I'm gonna utilize those and just see if I can finish that now.
See if I can beat the daylight and probably get this done just before dark
and supper time and this thing will be ready to roll.
ROBERT: Well, if you see a spot you like RJ, and there's some deer,
let me know, we can figure it out.
I see one, two, three right there. Four.
RJ: There's another one right there.
I don't know we could give it a shot.
If they walk away, they walk away.
We'll just go find another one.
ROBERT: Let's just get on the beach here and just keep walking that way
until you find one you can shoot. You know there's three or four down there,
you wanna give it a shot?
RJ: Sure. ROBERT: Okay.
RJ: Right, here's fine with me. Just right in this little corner.
I don't need to go. ROBERT: Right on this corner right here?
RJ: Yeah, you don't need to go a mile away. ROBERT: Okay.
RJ: This is my last chance for the next year, so I got to go out and make it happen.
This is just something that we all do to make sure that we can survive.
You know these animals, this is, this is their home.
To them I'm just a predator.
Oh, they heard that.
They're staring at us.
They hear me or see me, they're gonna jump off into the woods and take off.
(dramatic music)
RJ: Ah, they went out into the woods.
I'm kinda having a hard time, I'm trying to pursue these deer
and they keep jumping into the woods you know and taking off.
This is all seeming a little too familiar.
I think I'm gonna have to do something different.
They're pretty sneaky in the woods.
Deer!
(dramatic music)
(rifle shot)
ROBERT: I just heard a shot. I think he got one.
I hope.
JOHNNY: Man, that's it right there.
It's perfect.
So, this sled's done, I mean the only thing really left to do is
give this thing a test run. So, yeah,
I'm excited to try this thing.
See if I can get Java to ride up on the back here.
(whistles) Java load up.
Oh yea, that's a good girl.
KALEB: Well Gilbert at least we're out here on the banks fishing,
and we're not back at camp splitting wood, right? GILBERT: Uh-hmm.
KALEB: Even though we're not catching anything, it's still fun?
GILBERT: Yeah. KALEB: It's just so gorgeous out here.
This dark colored water offset against the super bright white fresh snow,
with all the sculpting from the wind. Ugh, it's just amazing.
Gilbert and I didn't catch any fish today,
but we do have a gigantic pile of firewood back at the tent.
We'll get back to camp, throw some firewood in our stove,
get our gear all dried out, and we'll make some dinner.
RJ: Yup, there it is.
This will do right here.
Awesome.
I think I'll be good this winter.
You know my dad taught me a lot about being out here
and helping your neighbor out and living a subsistence lifestyle
and uh, I think I picked that up, it took me a while because for the longest time
I wanted to move away and sometimes you wonder what's out there. And
it took me going out and finding out to realize that
it wasn't what I wanted to do at all.
I think Sitka's always got a place in my heart.
JESSI: Check this out.
CHRIS: We've got some fresh moose shoes and I can see some tracks going through,
this is awesome!
This would be a really good spot to go moose hunting.
JESSI: Oh, there's a bunch of rabbit tracks.
Oh, my gosh, they're everywhere. This is awesome.
Look at how fresh these are, Chris I can see his little toes.
CHRIS: If this is a sign of everything to come,
we're gonna do really good on this side of the creek.
JESSI: Yeah! CHRIS: Hop back on, let's keep exploring.
We are in the Promised Land, we are excited to be here.
We're gonna start hunting, we're gonna start trapping,
and we're gonna start enjoying it over here.
JOHNNY: Yeah, it's important as a hunter/gatherer to be nomadic.
You got to spread your country out wide.
You can't just stay in one spot and deplete the resources.
What a good girl!
Ah, good girl Java, huh.
It works pretty well man, it's awesome.
Makes me super happy, super proud that we can go hang out and hang out
go further in the winter because it's so hard for you in the winter
to run behind me for a long distance huh?
Man, that's awesome.
JESSI: Necessity is the mother of invention.
Out here you need to come up with solutions to the problem
because there is no other way.
CHRIS: What a day. JESSI: Woo, we made it a long way Chris.
Can you imagine trying to make it out here just like a few years ago?
CHRIS: When we first started coming out to the Cosna we never made it more
than a half a mile away from the house and now we're miles upriver.
JESSI: I think we found the honey hole of the Cosna.
CHRIS: Yeah. Well, to the next year!
JESSI: I'm just thinking about what's ahead of us.
I'm getting excited for the opportunities that might be right around the bend.
But I'm also wondering, is it gonna be danger, is it going to be success?
You just won't know.
Life out here is a turning wheel you're constantly,
you, know coming upon a problem and then trying to adapt
and trying to overcome and finally succeeding.
KALEB: Good job.
You're making kindling like a pro there.
JESSI: And it just constantly happens over and over and over again.
And that is the circle of life out here.
ROBERT: We brought some deer meat for you.
RJ: It's getting heavy.
HERMAN: Gunalchéesh, thank you!
RJ: You're very welcome. HERMAN: Uh-huh.
JESSI: That is the life that we live, it's constantly turning, ever evolving.
All you have to do is adapt, overcome, and achieve your dreams out here.
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