1
00:00:02,066 --> 00:00:05,266
We are going to
run out of pay dirt.
There's no way around it.
2
00:00:05,266 --> 00:00:06,967
You know, there ain't
no rest for the wicked,
3
00:00:06,967 --> 00:00:10,266
but we're getting down
to the last thread.
4
00:00:10,266 --> 00:00:11,767
[narrator] Following
government orders
5
00:00:11,767 --> 00:00:14,233
to stop expansion
of their Lost Cut mine...
6
00:00:15,467 --> 00:00:18,166
Just when I thought I started
getting good at rock trucking,
7
00:00:18,166 --> 00:00:20,900
I guess we're almost done
with haulin' pay.
8
00:00:21,567 --> 00:00:22,667
[Todd] A little scary.
9
00:00:22,667 --> 00:00:24,667
We're in desperate mode.
10
00:00:24,667 --> 00:00:28,367
[narrator] The Hoffman crew
scrambles to find a new
source of pay dirt.
11
00:00:28,367 --> 00:00:30,367
There's exposed gravel
up here,
12
00:00:30,367 --> 00:00:31,867
and it seems thawed.
13
00:00:31,867 --> 00:00:34,233
Let's find out
if it's really worth it.
14
00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,200
I don't know
if there's gold here.
15
00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:41,567
This is literally
my last ditch effort
to just salvage the season.
16
00:00:41,567 --> 00:00:43,567
All right, see you guys
after a bit.
17
00:00:43,567 --> 00:00:45,400
[narrator] But when
a team member goes missing...
18
00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:49,066
I couldn't live with myself
if something bad happened
to one of my guys.
19
00:00:49,066 --> 00:00:51,367
[narrator] Hunting gold
in Alaska's frontier
20
00:00:51,367 --> 00:00:54,567
suddenly becomes
a matter of life and death.
21
00:00:54,567 --> 00:00:56,300
Framer didn't come home
last night.
22
00:00:56,300 --> 00:00:58,100
This isn't a little thing.
23
00:00:58,100 --> 00:01:01,300
A lot of people
don't survive up here.
24
00:01:03,767 --> 00:01:04,767
It's not looking very good.
25
00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:23,233
Andy, I've got a load or so
off the wall here.
26
00:01:24,867 --> 00:01:26,233
Perfect.
27
00:01:27,467 --> 00:01:28,800
[Carl] Not much pay left.
28
00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:31,667
We pretty well
milked the cow out.
29
00:01:31,667 --> 00:01:34,700
We're just scraping the wall,
trying to get
the last little bit of it.
30
00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:38,600
Froze, hard to get.
31
00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,400
We'll get a few loads
out of it.
32
00:01:41,700 --> 00:01:43,767
But we're just trying
to get what we can.
33
00:01:43,767 --> 00:01:45,467
And if they don't get
any more pay dirt,
34
00:01:45,467 --> 00:01:47,700
it's not looking too great.
35
00:01:49,867 --> 00:01:52,467
Just when I thought I started
getting good at rock trucking,
36
00:01:52,467 --> 00:01:55,467
I guess we're almost done
with haulin' pay.
37
00:01:55,467 --> 00:01:57,767
Definitely do not want
the season to be ending early.
38
00:01:57,767 --> 00:01:59,133
But by the looks of it,
39
00:01:59,133 --> 00:02:04,133
it looks like we're dealing
with our scraps
or what we have left.
40
00:02:17,467 --> 00:02:18,900
[Todd] This is it.
41
00:02:18,900 --> 00:02:22,967
We scraped the last
peanut butter from the jar.
42
00:02:22,967 --> 00:02:26,066
[narrator] Todd planned
to open three times
as much ground
43
00:02:26,066 --> 00:02:29,000
to get to 3,033 ounces.
44
00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:33,100
But a couple weeks ago,
inspectors came through
with citations,
45
00:02:33,100 --> 00:02:37,367
and will not allow
Team Hoffman to open up
any more ground.
46
00:02:37,367 --> 00:02:40,667
[Todd] The only things
we can run right now
is pre-disturbed ground
47
00:02:40,667 --> 00:02:42,600
and stuff
we've already opened up.
48
00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:50,100
What are you thinking, man?
49
00:02:50,867 --> 00:02:53,300
So we might have
a couple more days.
50
00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,233
Maybe one or two
more map holes
and we got her, huh?
51
00:02:57,700 --> 00:02:58,900
Yeah, and it'll be done.
52
00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:03,300
It didn't go
exactly as planned,
53
00:03:04,567 --> 00:03:07,100
but we fought through it,
you know?
54
00:03:07,100 --> 00:03:08,567
As I often say.
55
00:03:08,567 --> 00:03:11,367
There wasn't any part of it
that went to a plan.
56
00:03:11,367 --> 00:03:14,000
Nobody told us there was
10-12 feet of ice.
57
00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:16,700
We moved mud around,
We moved water around,
58
00:03:16,700 --> 00:03:20,867
and we're at the mercy
of these inspectors.
59
00:03:20,867 --> 00:03:23,333
You know, It is what it is.
That's where we're at.
60
00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:27,000
So the guys have stacked
at the plants
61
00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:30,500
every bit of pay dirt
that we can get out of
the Lost Cut.
62
00:03:30,500 --> 00:03:33,467
You know what,
our original goal was
to get 3,000 ounces.
63
00:03:33,467 --> 00:03:36,066
And you know what?
That's not gonna happen now.
64
00:03:36,066 --> 00:03:38,900
I don't even think that
there's gonna be enough
in that Lost Cut
65
00:03:38,900 --> 00:03:41,400
to even get us to 1,023.
66
00:03:42,266 --> 00:03:45,133
The place has good gold,
but it's hard to mine.
67
00:03:46,467 --> 00:03:49,667
Let's, uh...
let's figure this out,
68
00:03:49,667 --> 00:03:51,767
If we don't hit
at least 1,000 ounces,
69
00:03:51,767 --> 00:03:53,467
we're gonna have a huge loss.
70
00:03:53,467 --> 00:03:57,400
And the guys are not
gonna take home
what they need to take home.
71
00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,767
So, we need to find
some more pay dirt
72
00:04:00,767 --> 00:04:03,266
from ground that we
don't have to reopen up.
73
00:04:03,266 --> 00:04:05,900
And when I say we,
I mean Hunter.
74
00:04:07,066 --> 00:04:09,066
Hopefully, we can come up
with some more pay.
75
00:04:09,066 --> 00:04:14,734
Otherwise, this is
the end of our season.
76
00:04:16,900 --> 00:04:18,400
All right, let's go.
77
00:04:23,667 --> 00:04:25,600
[wind blowing]
78
00:04:35,667 --> 00:04:37,767
[Hunter]
I'm taking the Sherp out.
79
00:04:37,767 --> 00:04:39,867
I'm a little bit
off the beaten path.
80
00:04:39,867 --> 00:04:42,400
I'm kind of going out
and looking at
some of the other areas
81
00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:45,000
on the claim that have
a good drill report.
82
00:04:47,900 --> 00:04:50,767
This is not the way
any of us wanted it to go,
83
00:04:50,767 --> 00:04:53,667
and it's not the way I thought
this season was going to go.
84
00:04:53,667 --> 00:04:57,033
It's a huge bummer
that we're facing
some of these problems.
85
00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,700
This was supposed
to be the season
that we broke our record.
86
00:05:00,700 --> 00:05:04,166
And now, unfortunately,
it's looking like
another season
87
00:05:04,166 --> 00:05:05,700
that we're just
trying to survive.
88
00:05:08,166 --> 00:05:10,867
The more the time goes on,
the more pressure I'm feeling
89
00:05:10,867 --> 00:05:16,133
to try to figure out
some sort of a lifeline
to save our season.
90
00:05:20,266 --> 00:05:22,467
[narrator] To identify
new sources of pay dirt,
91
00:05:22,467 --> 00:05:24,467
Hunter must find
thawed ground,
92
00:05:24,467 --> 00:05:28,867
ideally gravel, that has
already been disturbed
by past miners
93
00:05:28,867 --> 00:05:32,600
located close enough to a road
from mine trucks to access.
94
00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:34,667
Let me see.
95
00:05:34,667 --> 00:05:37,100
I'm looking through
the drill reports and the maps
96
00:05:37,100 --> 00:05:38,934
to give me
some sort of direction.
97
00:05:43,367 --> 00:05:45,800
Before, when
I was prospecting,
I was looking for our future,
98
00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:48,233
and now it's looking like
I'm looking for our present.
99
00:05:51,100 --> 00:05:53,066
If I can see some gravel
sticking out on the surface
100
00:05:53,066 --> 00:05:54,700
that means here's not
a ton of overburden
101
00:05:54,700 --> 00:05:57,233
and maybe we can just get paid
right off of the top.
102
00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,100
Right now,
the Lost Cut's bone dry.
103
00:06:02,100 --> 00:06:05,133
We're down
to our last few days
of the stacked Lost Cut pay.
104
00:06:05,867 --> 00:06:07,800
So, the pressure is
really on us right now.
105
00:06:12,066 --> 00:06:15,000
[Framer]
So, right now the loaders
are stacking up pay,
106
00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,667
and as a water expert,
there's not a lot I can do.
107
00:06:17,667 --> 00:06:20,467
So today is my one day off,
and I'm taking
advantage of it.
108
00:06:20,467 --> 00:06:22,667
All right, see you guys
after a bit.
109
00:06:22,667 --> 00:06:26,000
I gotta get ready.
I'm going on
the caribou hunt today.
110
00:06:34,767 --> 00:06:36,600
[Todd]
We're running out of pay dirt.
111
00:06:37,100 --> 00:06:38,634
Coming right to the end of it.
112
00:06:39,166 --> 00:06:40,200
I wish we had more gold.
113
00:06:40,200 --> 00:06:43,066
If Hunter doesn't find,
you know, some pay dirt,
114
00:06:43,066 --> 00:06:44,166
and we're gonna be
out of dirt,
115
00:06:44,166 --> 00:06:47,967
then it's gonna be a very big
loss for the season.
116
00:06:47,967 --> 00:06:49,734
It's not what I was hoping.
117
00:06:52,066 --> 00:06:54,467
We have about two days
of pay left.
118
00:06:54,467 --> 00:06:57,667
Hunter needs to find
some pay dirt and quick.
119
00:06:57,667 --> 00:07:00,500
If we don't, we're gonna
start bleeding money.
120
00:07:00,500 --> 00:07:01,700
When you have an army of guys,
121
00:07:01,700 --> 00:07:03,100
but they're not
producing gold.
122
00:07:03,100 --> 00:07:05,900
it gets pretty expensive
pretty damn quick.
123
00:07:05,900 --> 00:07:08,467
I won't even break even
at this point.
124
00:07:08,467 --> 00:07:10,867
If we don't hit
at least 1,000 ounces,
125
00:07:10,867 --> 00:07:13,133
I'm gonna be
financially destroyed.
126
00:07:24,467 --> 00:07:27,266
-Is Framer back yet?
-[Todd] No, he's not back.
127
00:07:27,266 --> 00:07:28,400
Starting to get worried.
128
00:07:29,166 --> 00:07:30,634
Well, it's gonna be
a long night.
129
00:07:31,300 --> 00:07:33,000
And hopefully he knows
what he's doing.
130
00:07:43,767 --> 00:07:47,000
Hey, guys, we got
a bit of a situation
here with Framer.
131
00:07:48,900 --> 00:07:50,300
Okay, here's the deal.
132
00:07:50,667 --> 00:07:52,000
Um...
133
00:07:52,567 --> 00:07:54,400
Framer didn't come home
last night.
134
00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:00,567
He went out to shoot a caribou
and he went out a long ways.
135
00:08:00,567 --> 00:08:02,300
You know how cold
it got last night.
136
00:08:02,767 --> 00:08:03,767
That's not good.
137
00:08:03,767 --> 00:08:05,500
Did anybody know
what he left with?
138
00:08:05,500 --> 00:08:06,667
He just kind of left.
139
00:08:06,667 --> 00:08:08,000
Well, I was asking him
140
00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:09,667
what he had in case
something happened,
141
00:08:09,667 --> 00:08:13,300
He said, well, he's got
two bottles of water
and he's good.
142
00:08:14,100 --> 00:08:15,400
Did he have a sat phone?
143
00:08:16,700 --> 00:08:18,900
-He doesn't?
-I don't think so.
144
00:08:19,900 --> 00:08:22,367
What do you think, Tater?
You're his best friend.
145
00:08:22,367 --> 00:08:25,700
I'm just hoping
he's stuck out there
overnight because it was dark.
146
00:08:27,467 --> 00:08:29,100
That's what I'm hoping.
147
00:08:29,100 --> 00:08:31,300
Tater was up all night
and worried about it,
148
00:08:31,300 --> 00:08:33,100
and you could see
the emotion in his eyes.
149
00:08:33,100 --> 00:08:37,066
You know, these guys are...
we've become pretty close
with each other up here,
150
00:08:37,066 --> 00:08:38,367
I feel a little bit
like a failure,
151
00:08:38,367 --> 00:08:40,533
but I just couldn't
live with myself.
152
00:08:41,266 --> 00:08:43,166
If something bad happened
to one of my guys,
153
00:08:43,166 --> 00:08:45,667
especially at the end
of a tough season here.
154
00:08:45,667 --> 00:08:49,066
You just never know out here
and when you're by yourself
155
00:08:49,066 --> 00:08:51,000
it's the coolest experience,
156
00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,467
but it's also
the most dangerous.
157
00:08:53,467 --> 00:08:56,200
Oh. I didn't think
we'd be dealing with this
right here at the end
158
00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:57,700
but here we go.
159
00:08:57,700 --> 00:09:01,166
Early in the season,
he had a leg injury.
160
00:09:01,166 --> 00:09:04,100
Maybe we got a compounding
issue or something.
161
00:09:04,100 --> 00:09:07,300
I don't know.
I think we ought to
call the troopers
162
00:09:07,300 --> 00:09:10,433
-and at least explained to 'em
that we got a guy out you.
-Yeah.
163
00:09:13,867 --> 00:09:17,133
-[clears throat]
-Alaska State trooper.
164
00:09:21,100 --> 00:09:22,734
[phone dialing]
165
00:09:23,266 --> 00:09:24,800
[man on phone]
Thank you for...
166
00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:30,266
Yeah. Hi. This is Todd Hoffman
out here at
Mammoth Valley mine.
167
00:09:30,266 --> 00:09:31,867
I had a guy go out
caribou hunting.
168
00:09:31,867 --> 00:09:34,567
and he didn't...
He didn't come in last night.
169
00:09:34,567 --> 00:09:36,000
He's a pretty capable guy,
170
00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:40,700
but normally he would try
to reach us, you know?
171
00:09:40,700 --> 00:09:43,133
[man] Okay,
what's the guy's name,
the hunter?
172
00:09:43,667 --> 00:09:46,133
It's Micah Johnston.
173
00:09:47,867 --> 00:09:49,133
[man] Was he on foot?
174
00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:50,867
No, he had a quad.
175
00:09:50,867 --> 00:09:53,066
[man] Did he tell anybody
kind of a plan
176
00:09:53,066 --> 00:09:55,567
-or what he was thinking
of how long he'd be out?
-Yeah.
177
00:09:55,567 --> 00:09:57,867
Here's Andy.
178
00:09:57,867 --> 00:10:01,367
Yeah. He just said
he was going out towards,
like Navigator and Windy Creek
179
00:10:01,367 --> 00:10:05,800
and was going to make a loop
probably 20-25 miles each way.
180
00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:07,066
[man] When did he leave?
181
00:10:07,066 --> 00:10:09,100
About 9:30 yesterday morning.
182
00:10:09,100 --> 00:10:12,767
[man] I can get somebody
out there to
take a look around.
183
00:10:12,767 --> 00:10:14,800
If you hear something,
please give me a call, okay?
184
00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:16,200
Will do.
185
00:10:16,900 --> 00:10:19,100
-All right. Thank you, sir.
-Thank you.
186
00:10:19,100 --> 00:10:21,200
This isn't a little thing.
187
00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:23,667
This is his life, you know?
188
00:10:23,667 --> 00:10:27,767
-Yeah.
-My prayer is for Framer
189
00:10:27,767 --> 00:10:31,166
to come wheeling back in
190
00:10:31,166 --> 00:10:35,467
and with a happy spirit on
and everything.
191
00:10:35,467 --> 00:10:39,500
But I can't say that
for 100 percent
that's gonna happen.
192
00:10:39,500 --> 00:10:41,367
He would definitely be
193
00:10:41,367 --> 00:10:45,000
under hypothermia if he has
not passed away already.
194
00:10:51,066 --> 00:10:53,000
[wind blowing]
195
00:10:56,166 --> 00:10:58,000
[Tater]
Framer's out there somewhere.
196
00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,166
He never came back last night.
197
00:11:00,166 --> 00:11:01,667
We're gonna go ahead
and put a drone up.
198
00:11:01,667 --> 00:11:03,166
It's got a pretty
limited range,
199
00:11:03,166 --> 00:11:04,500
but we're hoping that maybe
200
00:11:04,500 --> 00:11:06,667
if he's somewhere close,
we might get an eye on him.
201
00:11:06,667 --> 00:11:10,166
It's gonna be a while
before anybody gets here
to actually go search.
202
00:11:10,166 --> 00:11:11,867
In the meantime,
we're going to do
everything we can
203
00:11:11,867 --> 00:11:13,700
to try and find him,
get him back to camp.
204
00:11:15,867 --> 00:11:17,767
[Andy]
Framer went hunting yesterday.
205
00:11:17,767 --> 00:11:19,767
He's been going for 24 hours.
206
00:11:19,767 --> 00:11:22,367
We suspect he's out
about 30-40 miles
207
00:11:22,367 --> 00:11:24,400
out of camp
with a four wheeler.
208
00:11:24,400 --> 00:11:25,834
It's really vast out here.
209
00:11:25,834 --> 00:11:27,767
A myriad of things
could be wrong,
210
00:11:27,767 --> 00:11:30,266
broken four wheeler,
crashed, hurt.
211
00:11:30,266 --> 00:11:32,266
It could be anything,
and we have no way
212
00:11:32,266 --> 00:11:34,867
to communicate with him,
so we don't know.
213
00:11:37,867 --> 00:11:41,000
We have an idea of the route
he took and where he's at.
214
00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,100
He said he was gonna
go up Atlas Creek
and down an outer ridge,
215
00:11:44,100 --> 00:11:46,667
So we're just going to
kind of scan here.
216
00:11:46,667 --> 00:11:47,700
Up through Atlas Creek
217
00:11:47,700 --> 00:11:50,467
and then out on the ridgeline
he was gonna take.
218
00:11:50,467 --> 00:11:52,567
I mean, there's
a lot of area out there,
219
00:11:52,567 --> 00:11:55,066
and if he isn't on the route,
it would be easy to miss him.
220
00:11:57,200 --> 00:11:58,834
Framer's a very
experienced cutter.
221
00:11:58,834 --> 00:12:01,500
He grew up
in southeast Alaska,
222
00:12:01,500 --> 00:12:04,467
so it's not a real big concern
for his abilities.
223
00:12:04,467 --> 00:12:07,000
But with the terrain
and the animals out here,
224
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:08,600
you never know
what could happen.
225
00:12:09,166 --> 00:12:10,667
He's my best friend.
226
00:12:10,667 --> 00:12:13,100
I don't want it to be like
he's stuck under
a four-wheeler or something,
227
00:12:13,100 --> 00:12:15,500
because then I wouldn't
be able to live
with myself, seriously.
228
00:12:16,166 --> 00:12:18,367
We're going down the road
just past Atlas.
229
00:12:18,367 --> 00:12:20,467
It looks like there's some
faint wheeler tracks
down there.
230
00:12:20,467 --> 00:12:22,300
But It's hard to tell.
231
00:12:23,500 --> 00:12:25,400
But I'm not seeing anybody.
232
00:12:26,467 --> 00:12:29,000
I really don't know
what to do.
This is really bad.
233
00:12:34,467 --> 00:12:37,467
[Todd] Just when
I thought this season
couldn't get any worse,
234
00:12:37,467 --> 00:12:39,400
one of my guys goes missing.
235
00:12:43,767 --> 00:12:46,300
I don't know.
A little scary, you know,
236
00:12:49,767 --> 00:12:52,467
Just sent the guys
back to work
237
00:12:52,467 --> 00:12:55,166
to churn through
all the rest of the pay dirt,
238
00:12:55,166 --> 00:12:59,200
and then Tater and I are
gonna try to do everything
we can to find Framer.
239
00:13:03,567 --> 00:13:05,500
[wind blowing]
240
00:13:08,667 --> 00:13:10,166
[Hunter]
I'm up here on the Plateau.
241
00:13:10,166 --> 00:13:11,600
I'm a little bit off
the beaten path,
242
00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:15,433
kind of going out
and looking at some of
the other areas on the claim.
243
00:13:18,100 --> 00:13:19,600
I'm hoping I can find Framer.
244
00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:21,200
As of right now,
it's not looking good.
245
00:13:22,467 --> 00:13:26,066
So I'm going out
on this point here
because from the main road,
246
00:13:26,066 --> 00:13:28,500
it looks like there's
some sort of gravel
247
00:13:29,266 --> 00:13:31,166
or something out here.
248
00:13:31,166 --> 00:13:33,000
It's kind of a stretch,
but right now,
249
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:37,266
every other place
I've looked is frozen
or it's too far from a road.
250
00:13:37,266 --> 00:13:40,567
So I'm seeing what
looks like old tailings
251
00:13:40,567 --> 00:13:42,567
on part of the Plateau here,
252
00:13:42,567 --> 00:13:46,567
so obviously somebody
has tried to mine up here
at one point
253
00:13:46,567 --> 00:13:49,500
and there's a ton of
exposed gravel.
254
00:13:49,500 --> 00:13:52,066
The weird part is
it all looks like bedrock
255
00:13:52,066 --> 00:13:55,033
and not even
any overburden at all.
256
00:13:55,033 --> 00:13:57,667
But right now,
if it's not thawed ground,
257
00:13:57,667 --> 00:14:00,700
it's really not even
gonna be any help to us.
258
00:14:05,467 --> 00:14:07,033
I believe we're right here.
259
00:14:07,033 --> 00:14:10,100
My only concern is
we're really far away
from the plant,
260
00:14:10,100 --> 00:14:12,166
and I don't even know
with three trucks
261
00:14:12,166 --> 00:14:14,500
if we could keep up
at this distance.
262
00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:17,567
But I got to just check out
every option
263
00:14:17,567 --> 00:14:22,400
and, um, you know,
bring it back to the guys
and see what we want to do.
264
00:14:41,667 --> 00:14:43,800
I mean, this all looks like
thawed pay.
265
00:14:45,667 --> 00:14:47,400
It's different than
the Lost Cut,
266
00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:49,667
but this is what
we're looking for.
267
00:14:49,667 --> 00:14:51,300
It's not frozen.
There's a lot of rock.
268
00:14:51,300 --> 00:14:52,233
There's dirt in it.
269
00:14:54,367 --> 00:14:56,333
It's just not in the most
convenient spot.
270
00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:00,467
This was kind of one of the
last places I wanted to look
271
00:15:00,467 --> 00:15:02,066
because it has
no drill reports.
272
00:15:02,066 --> 00:15:03,600
I don't know
if there's gold here.
273
00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,967
This is literally
my last ditch effort
274
00:15:05,967 --> 00:15:10,266
to try to find something
that we can run
to just salvage this season.
275
00:15:10,266 --> 00:15:11,500
We'll see what my dad
and Andy want to do.
276
00:15:11,500 --> 00:15:12,934
It's a long haul
from the plant,
277
00:15:12,934 --> 00:15:15,300
but hopefully this is
what's gonna save us.
278
00:15:28,667 --> 00:15:31,300
Hey, Andy, Do you want me
to drop this next to you?
279
00:15:31,300 --> 00:15:32,467
[Andy]
Yeah. Right there, buddy.
280
00:15:32,467 --> 00:15:34,700
-Thanks.
-[Nick] Copy that.
281
00:15:37,667 --> 00:15:39,166
[Andy]
We're hauling out the road.
282
00:15:39,166 --> 00:15:41,600
The last little bit of pay
that's underneath of it,
283
00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:43,700
a little pit on both sides
and that's it.
284
00:15:45,467 --> 00:15:48,300
[Todd] So this is our
last ditch effort
to scrape every bit of pay
285
00:15:48,300 --> 00:15:50,767
that we can get out
of the Lost Cut.
286
00:15:50,767 --> 00:15:53,667
When we built this road,
I put several feet of gravel
287
00:15:53,667 --> 00:15:56,467
on top of a base layer
of frozen pay.
288
00:15:56,467 --> 00:15:57,767
Carl's out there right now,
289
00:15:57,767 --> 00:16:01,066
removing the gravel
to get that rich pay
that's underneath.
290
00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:18,934
[Andy] Everybody that's ever
been here before us
291
00:16:18,934 --> 00:16:23,100
has failed,
literally in over 100 years,
and we can see why.
292
00:16:23,100 --> 00:16:27,834
Because the challenges that
are here and the logistics
of getting things here,
293
00:16:27,834 --> 00:16:29,100
is an absolute nightmare.
294
00:16:29,100 --> 00:16:33,400
So when one thing goes wrong,
it can just be a domino effect
295
00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,100
of everything else
that can go wrong.
You know, what do you do?
296
00:16:36,100 --> 00:16:37,834
Quit and go home
or you just finish it.
297
00:16:37,834 --> 00:16:39,200
And we're gonna finish it
298
00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:41,300
and get as much as we
possibly can out of this.
299
00:16:42,667 --> 00:16:45,200
It's been good pay all the way
through here,
300
00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,600
and it should be good pay
underneath the road.
301
00:16:50,667 --> 00:16:52,500
[Andy] Carl, you want me
to pull up?
302
00:16:52,834 --> 00:16:54,233
[Carl] Yeah, please.
303
00:16:56,867 --> 00:16:58,033
But once he's done scraping,
304
00:16:58,033 --> 00:17:00,066
that'll be the end
of this cut.
305
00:17:00,066 --> 00:17:03,600
If Hunter doesn't find
any other prospects
for us to target,
306
00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:06,400
then, might be
going home early.
307
00:17:16,367 --> 00:17:17,667
We're gonna
run out of pay dirt,
308
00:17:17,667 --> 00:17:19,634
so we're
definitely in trouble.
309
00:17:20,467 --> 00:17:22,000
I'm wore out.
310
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:24,100
I feel like
I've aged ten years.
311
00:17:24,100 --> 00:17:26,867
You know what? I don't know
if I can handle
any more of this stress,
312
00:17:26,867 --> 00:17:28,100
running out of pay dirt.
313
00:17:28,100 --> 00:17:31,367
The troopers are out
trying to find Framer.
314
00:17:31,367 --> 00:17:35,567
We don't know if he's dying
or what's going on,
so this is crazy.
315
00:17:35,567 --> 00:17:37,800
It's not over, so...
316
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:41,767
What are you
finding out there?
317
00:17:41,767 --> 00:17:43,300
-Anything?
-Yeah.
318
00:17:43,300 --> 00:17:48,166
I mean, I've gone out
into Atlas Creek,
over by Joe Creek
319
00:17:48,166 --> 00:17:54,166
at the very top of North Fork
all the way down
into Carey Creek.
320
00:17:54,166 --> 00:17:56,367
-Okay.
-You know, and there's
gold at all of them.
321
00:17:56,367 --> 00:17:59,567
But if you're saying
we can't disturb the tundra,
322
00:17:59,567 --> 00:18:02,767
we kind of have
both of our hands
tied behind our back.
323
00:18:02,767 --> 00:18:05,467
And so,
the last place I checked,
324
00:18:05,467 --> 00:18:08,867
it was up here on the Plateau,
which isn't drilled.
325
00:18:08,867 --> 00:18:12,867
but there's
exposed gravel up here
and it seems thawed.
326
00:18:12,867 --> 00:18:14,734
And there's pay
right on the surface.
327
00:18:15,500 --> 00:18:18,467
So I don't see
any other option.
328
00:18:18,467 --> 00:18:22,266
And you've got some
exposed gravel
close to the road.
329
00:18:22,266 --> 00:18:23,767
I mean,
it checks all the boxes.
330
00:18:23,767 --> 00:18:27,266
The question is, does it
have enough gold in it,
you know?
331
00:18:27,266 --> 00:18:30,066
But maybe beggars can't be
choosers at this point.
332
00:18:30,066 --> 00:18:32,834
No, I mean,
I still think it's a miracle
333
00:18:32,834 --> 00:18:37,467
-that we found anything
thawed right now.
-We just need to test it.
334
00:18:37,467 --> 00:18:39,800
If there's...
if there's no gold
in that gravel, we're done.
335
00:18:40,166 --> 00:18:41,634
A hundred percent.
336
00:18:42,033 --> 00:18:43,367
There is nothing else.
337
00:18:43,367 --> 00:18:45,266
[Todd]
Hunter, take a truck,
338
00:18:45,266 --> 00:18:47,800
go out there, get some of
that pay dirt and test it.
339
00:18:48,100 --> 00:18:49,533
Okay.
340
00:18:49,533 --> 00:18:53,467
Let's find the results
and then let's find out
if it's really worth it.
341
00:18:53,467 --> 00:18:56,000
If not, then we're gonna
go ahead and pack it in.
342
00:18:56,967 --> 00:18:59,133
-Go home early.
-Okay.
343
00:18:59,767 --> 00:19:00,867
Thanks, Hunter.
344
00:19:12,667 --> 00:19:14,734
I'm getting down
to the needle now.
345
00:19:14,734 --> 00:19:17,266
So, Hunter's been out
prospecting lately,
346
00:19:17,266 --> 00:19:19,634
and he's doing
a damn good job at it.
347
00:19:19,634 --> 00:19:22,767
But, you know, if he doesn't
find our saving grace,
348
00:19:22,767 --> 00:19:24,266
we're completely screwed,
349
00:19:24,266 --> 00:19:26,767
and we're not gonna reach
to our goal this season.
350
00:19:30,166 --> 00:19:31,967
Just digging into the road
at this point.
351
00:19:31,967 --> 00:19:34,934
We basically only got
like a couple of truckloads
left of pay,
352
00:19:34,934 --> 00:19:37,867
and that's pretty much it
for the rest of the season.
353
00:19:41,433 --> 00:19:43,467
We're running
every inch of that cut
354
00:19:43,467 --> 00:19:45,567
and get as much gold
as we possibly can.
355
00:19:45,567 --> 00:19:48,166
We worked really hard
to get it out of the ground
356
00:19:48,166 --> 00:19:49,967
and make sure that I don't
leave anything behind.
357
00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,567
[Todd]
We're going to run out
of pay dirt in the Lost Cut
358
00:19:53,567 --> 00:19:55,266
after digging up the road.
359
00:19:55,266 --> 00:19:57,467
On top of that,
I've got a guy missing.
360
00:19:57,467 --> 00:19:58,600
Are you kidding me?
361
00:19:59,767 --> 00:20:01,867
It's really hard
to actually work
362
00:20:01,867 --> 00:20:04,800
while we know we've got
a guy missing out there
who could be dying.
363
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:15,500
That's it, guys,
that's enough.
No more rush, boys.
364
00:20:17,100 --> 00:20:18,867
Copy that. Last truckload.
365
00:20:19,767 --> 00:20:21,100
That's done.
366
00:20:21,100 --> 00:20:22,867
So I don't know
what's going to happen.
367
00:20:32,667 --> 00:20:34,767
[Tater] It looks like there's
some faint wheeler tracks
down there
368
00:20:34,767 --> 00:20:38,066
but it's hard to tell.
369
00:20:38,066 --> 00:20:40,567
But it looks like
that's what we're looking at,
there's the road.
370
00:20:41,667 --> 00:20:44,367
Looks like somebody's
been out on it recently.
371
00:20:44,367 --> 00:20:46,266
Knowing Framer,
he'd be on the road
372
00:20:46,266 --> 00:20:48,367
because that's where
we'd be looking for him,
373
00:20:48,367 --> 00:20:49,667
trying to follow
the track he's on.
374
00:20:49,667 --> 00:20:52,300
It looks like
four wheeler tracks over here.
375
00:20:53,467 --> 00:20:55,967
Which would make sense
'cause the road's really wet.
376
00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:58,634
So this is probably
the way he went out.
377
00:20:58,634 --> 00:21:00,066
That's what he said
he was gonna do.
378
00:21:00,433 --> 00:21:02,000
Oh. Whoa!
379
00:21:03,033 --> 00:21:04,400
Looks like we have him.
380
00:21:04,533 --> 00:21:05,567
Hey, Todd.
381
00:21:05,567 --> 00:21:07,066
-[Todd] Yeah?
-We got him.
382
00:21:07,667 --> 00:21:09,634
He's walking down by Atlas.
383
00:21:09,634 --> 00:21:11,166
-No way.
-He's limping.
384
00:21:11,533 --> 00:21:12,634
[Todd] Like, how bad?
385
00:21:12,634 --> 00:21:14,166
Like, he's limping
pretty bad, dude.
386
00:21:14,166 --> 00:21:15,934
Well, we better go get him.
387
00:21:15,934 --> 00:21:17,667
-[Todd] All right.
-[Tater] That's
less than a mile.
388
00:21:17,667 --> 00:21:20,166
[Todd] I'll grab Thurber,
and a two quads,
and we'll go grab him.
389
00:21:20,166 --> 00:21:21,567
-[Tater] Okay.
-[Todd] Couple miles out?
390
00:21:21,567 --> 00:21:23,100
[Tater]
Yeah. He's not far out there.
391
00:21:23,100 --> 00:21:24,467
[Todd]
He sees your drone.
392
00:21:24,467 --> 00:21:25,934
-[Tater] Oh, yeah.
-[Todd] He knows we got him.
393
00:21:25,934 --> 00:21:27,133
[Tater]
He knows we got him.
394
00:21:28,266 --> 00:21:29,133
It's good news.
395
00:21:29,133 --> 00:21:31,100
We found him.
He's been out all night.
396
00:21:31,100 --> 00:21:32,700
Who knows how long
he's been walking?
397
00:21:33,433 --> 00:21:36,667
My guess is, a long time.
398
00:21:36,667 --> 00:21:39,266
[Thurber] They just picked
him up on the drone,
which is a good thing.
399
00:21:39,266 --> 00:21:42,066
He's walking,
limping pretty bad.
400
00:21:42,066 --> 00:21:43,900
So he's been walking a while.
401
00:21:44,433 --> 00:21:45,867
It's been over 24 hours.
402
00:21:45,867 --> 00:21:47,834
He could have broke down
the first thing yesterday,
403
00:21:47,834 --> 00:21:49,367
and he's been
walking ever since.
404
00:21:49,367 --> 00:21:52,233
So, he's pretty
exhausted looking.
405
00:21:55,867 --> 00:21:57,100
He's right there
over the hill.
406
00:21:57,100 --> 00:21:59,367
-Am I right?
-Yep. Ready?
407
00:22:01,066 --> 00:22:02,166
Let's go.
408
00:22:08,867 --> 00:22:11,967
[wind blowing]
409
00:22:30,667 --> 00:22:33,967
-[Thurber] You survived.
-[Framer] Oh, man.
410
00:22:33,967 --> 00:22:35,166
I'm so happy to see you guys.
411
00:22:35,166 --> 00:22:37,567
Hey, what happened?
412
00:22:37,567 --> 00:22:40,233
[Framer] I lost my gas can.
Somewhere, I ran out of gas.
413
00:22:40,233 --> 00:22:41,934
[Thurber]
Where's your quad,
do you know?
414
00:22:41,934 --> 00:22:43,367
Nineteen miles from here.
415
00:22:43,367 --> 00:22:44,934
[Thurber] Did you GPS it?
416
00:22:44,934 --> 00:22:47,567
Yeah, I got GPS... GPS.
417
00:22:47,567 --> 00:22:49,533
So how far have you hiked
in this stuff?
418
00:22:49,533 --> 00:22:52,266
-About 19 miles?
-As the crow flies.
419
00:22:53,066 --> 00:22:55,333
-Jeez.
-Yeah.
420
00:22:55,333 --> 00:22:57,166
[bleep], dude.
421
00:22:57,166 --> 00:22:58,667
How's your leg?
422
00:22:58,667 --> 00:23:00,700
It wasn't that bad
until about 8 miles ago.
423
00:23:01,333 --> 00:23:02,333
All right, Well, get on there.
424
00:23:02,333 --> 00:23:03,533
-Let's get you back.
-Let's get you back. Yeah.
425
00:23:03,533 --> 00:23:04,600
Yeah.
426
00:23:04,934 --> 00:23:06,367
[engines starting]
427
00:23:07,767 --> 00:23:10,233
We got you, buddy.
Let's get you back to camp.
428
00:23:10,767 --> 00:23:12,734
Try to get you fixed up.
429
00:23:12,734 --> 00:23:16,500
Get him some fluids
and wrap his knee up.
430
00:23:31,734 --> 00:23:34,033
[Framer]
So I've been walking for
the last 19 hours
431
00:23:34,033 --> 00:23:35,400
on an injured knee
432
00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,967
and never would have thought
that I'd be so happy
to see these guys.
433
00:23:39,467 --> 00:23:40,700
[laughs]
434
00:23:41,467 --> 00:23:43,567
[Tater]
Where'd you run out of gas at?
435
00:23:43,567 --> 00:23:46,233
[Framer] I found some caribou
and I started chasing 'em.
436
00:23:46,233 --> 00:23:48,133
And I stopped, I'm like,
"I better check my gas.
437
00:23:48,133 --> 00:23:49,400
I'm getting way the hell
out of here."
438
00:23:50,567 --> 00:23:52,066
And I opened it,
I'm like, [bleep],
439
00:23:52,066 --> 00:23:53,467
quarter of a tank,
I'm cutting close.
440
00:23:53,467 --> 00:23:55,400
And I looked back
and my gas can was gone.
441
00:23:55,834 --> 00:23:57,100
I was out of gas.
442
00:23:57,100 --> 00:23:58,400
[Todd] How long
have you been hiking?
443
00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:01,166
-All night?
-Started hiking at 4 o' clock
yesterday afternoon,
444
00:24:01,166 --> 00:24:03,467
-You hiked all night?
-Hiked all night.
445
00:24:03,467 --> 00:24:07,867
I took a about
an hour nap about
six o'clock this morning.
446
00:24:07,867 --> 00:24:09,367
[Tater]
I'm glad you're back.
447
00:24:09,367 --> 00:24:12,467
-He twisted his knee coming in
and that's the problem.
-[Tater] Okay, okay.
448
00:24:12,834 --> 00:24:14,233
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
449
00:24:14,233 --> 00:24:17,667
I... I messed this knee up bad
and then limping on it,
450
00:24:17,667 --> 00:24:19,934
now my hip's
all messed up, too.
451
00:24:19,934 --> 00:24:23,934
[Jack] A lot of people
that don't survive up here.
452
00:24:23,934 --> 00:24:27,233
and it's one of
the places that is...
453
00:24:27,667 --> 00:24:29,266
it's severe, you know.
454
00:24:29,266 --> 00:24:32,667
He survived
and I'm grateful for that.
455
00:24:32,667 --> 00:24:36,533
The absolute best case
scenario happened.
456
00:24:36,533 --> 00:24:40,667
You've got to have
a lot of guts to survive
something like that.
457
00:24:40,667 --> 00:24:43,667
One more night,
It would have been
curtains for you.
458
00:24:43,667 --> 00:24:45,867
Well, we're glad you're here.
459
00:24:45,867 --> 00:24:48,467
Where the heck
are we going to find Tater
a new friend?
460
00:24:48,467 --> 00:24:49,567
Best friend.
461
00:24:49,567 --> 00:24:51,000
-Good luck.
-Yeah.
462
00:24:52,266 --> 00:24:54,333
Next step, you need to
get off that knee.
463
00:24:54,333 --> 00:24:55,734
-Get some water.
-[Tater] Let's get you
in here.
464
00:24:55,734 --> 00:24:58,266
Get some ice and get
some stuff on your leg.
465
00:25:01,667 --> 00:25:04,734
-[Tater] I'm just glad
you're fine, dude.
-[Framer groans]
466
00:25:04,734 --> 00:25:08,000
[Todd] He's gonna be limping,
but he's going to make it
home to his family.
467
00:25:08,567 --> 00:25:09,667
I've gotta call everybody off.
468
00:25:09,667 --> 00:25:11,133
Call the troopers off,
469
00:25:11,133 --> 00:25:15,133
make sure everybody knows
we found him
and that he's okay.
470
00:25:15,133 --> 00:25:19,266
Could have easily
been rolled on,
killed by a bear.
471
00:25:19,266 --> 00:25:23,500
Accidentally shot, you know?
You just never know out here.
472
00:25:32,767 --> 00:25:35,066
[wind blowing]
473
00:25:50,166 --> 00:25:52,767
[Hunter] You know, right now
there's a lot of
pressure on me
474
00:25:52,767 --> 00:25:54,166
to try to figure out
what we're gonna do
475
00:25:54,166 --> 00:25:56,367
because the Lost Cut's
about out of pay,
476
00:25:59,166 --> 00:26:02,033
I'm kind of switching gears
and heading in a new direction
477
00:26:02,033 --> 00:26:04,567
to this area
called the Plateau.
478
00:26:04,567 --> 00:26:07,567
Just here by myself
and I don't really care
how I have to do it.
479
00:26:07,567 --> 00:26:08,800
I'm gonna get it done
480
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:13,000
because the Plateau might be
basically our life preserver,
481
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,834
and it's actually close enough
to a road where we can get
some trucks in here.
482
00:26:15,834 --> 00:26:17,867
It's not frozen.
It has gravel.
483
00:26:17,867 --> 00:26:20,367
And so right now
I'm just trying to figure out
484
00:26:20,367 --> 00:26:23,967
what kind of gold
it has or not.
485
00:26:23,967 --> 00:26:27,266
I got to just go off of my gut
and there is some gold.
486
00:26:27,266 --> 00:26:29,367
Try to get some of this
gravel into a truck.
487
00:26:29,367 --> 00:26:31,767
I want to try
to run 1,000 yards
with the Black Pearl.
488
00:26:31,767 --> 00:26:33,734
Maybe it's good.
Maybe it's not.
489
00:26:33,734 --> 00:26:36,333
It's a huge risk, but I want
everybody to win
490
00:26:36,333 --> 00:26:38,634
and I want my grandpa
to have a good last season.
491
00:26:38,634 --> 00:26:40,467
But right now,
this is all I've got.
492
00:26:40,467 --> 00:26:42,266
So if the Plateau
doesn't pay out,
493
00:26:42,266 --> 00:26:43,867
then I don't really know
what we're gonna do.
494
00:26:50,166 --> 00:26:52,400
[wind blowing]
495
00:26:56,166 --> 00:26:58,233
[Spencer] I gotta check
and look at your knee.
496
00:26:58,233 --> 00:26:59,767
Yeah. Whoa.
497
00:27:03,033 --> 00:27:04,667
[Spencer speaking]
498
00:27:04,667 --> 00:27:06,400
[Framer]
No, if I sit up, I can't.
499
00:27:10,767 --> 00:27:12,767
-[Framer groans]
-[Spencer] Yeah.
500
00:27:12,767 --> 00:27:15,000
It's like this tendon
right here.
501
00:27:15,567 --> 00:27:16,734
-Right on the outside?
-Mmm-hmm.
502
00:27:16,734 --> 00:27:18,567
Does that go anywhere else
or is it just all over last--
503
00:27:18,567 --> 00:27:20,567
-Just right there.
-Okay, is it constant?
504
00:27:20,734 --> 00:27:22,166
Come and go?
505
00:27:22,166 --> 00:27:24,266
It's just when
I try and move my leg,
506
00:27:24,266 --> 00:27:27,000
either forward or back.
I just can't pick my leg up.
507
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:28,000
[Spencer] Yeah, yeah.
508
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:29,400
[Framer groans]
509
00:27:40,166 --> 00:27:41,533
[Spencer]
What about when you extend it?
510
00:27:41,533 --> 00:27:43,333
[Framer] Oh, yeah, I can...
I can move my foot.
511
00:27:43,333 --> 00:27:44,767
-Okay.
-I just can't pick my leg up.
512
00:27:44,767 --> 00:27:46,567
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, but just the foot.
513
00:27:46,567 --> 00:27:48,133
-Yeah. I'm-- Yeah.
-You have a range
of motion there?
514
00:27:48,133 --> 00:27:49,634
-Okay.
-It's... it's fine.
515
00:27:49,634 --> 00:27:51,467
You feel me touching
your toes and everything?
516
00:27:51,467 --> 00:27:52,800
-Yeah.
-Okay.
517
00:27:53,734 --> 00:27:56,166
[Framer] I just need to
take a shower into the bed.
518
00:27:56,166 --> 00:27:58,467
[Spencer] All right, sir.
You are in stable condition.
519
00:27:59,367 --> 00:28:02,400
And by your spirits,
I think you're doing well.
520
00:28:02,867 --> 00:28:04,133
We're happy to have you back.
521
00:28:04,667 --> 00:28:05,667
Happy to be back.
522
00:28:05,667 --> 00:28:07,000
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
523
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,000
-Framer.
-Yo.
524
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:10,133
What happened, dude?
525
00:28:10,133 --> 00:28:13,233
-We were worried
about you, man.
-Ran out of gas, man.
526
00:28:13,233 --> 00:28:15,266
Yeah. I'm glad
you made it, dude.
527
00:28:15,266 --> 00:28:17,867
Truly, we were worried
about it for a second.
528
00:28:17,867 --> 00:28:21,734
What was going through
your head when, like,
the fricking quad turned off
529
00:28:21,734 --> 00:28:24,433
and it's like, oh, frick,
you're in the middle
of nowhere?
530
00:28:24,433 --> 00:28:27,667
I was like...
this is gonna be
a long, long night.
531
00:28:27,667 --> 00:28:29,667
-[laughs]
-Dude.
532
00:28:29,667 --> 00:28:31,100
Bring it in, man.
533
00:28:31,100 --> 00:28:34,066
I'm glad... I'm glad you're...
glad you're good, dude.
534
00:28:34,066 --> 00:28:36,333
-Yeah.
-Holy frick.
535
00:28:36,333 --> 00:28:38,500
[Framer] What doesn't kill you
makes you stronger, right?
536
00:28:46,433 --> 00:28:49,266
It's a super big relief
that Framer's back.
537
00:28:49,266 --> 00:28:52,500
He's gonna take it easy
while he lets
his knee heal up.
538
00:28:53,367 --> 00:28:55,333
I think the guys
are kind of renewed
539
00:28:55,333 --> 00:28:57,767
now that we've found Framer.
540
00:28:57,767 --> 00:29:00,600
That's really going to help us
push ahead and finish strong.
541
00:29:02,767 --> 00:29:04,367
[man 1] I want to run
some more pay dirt
542
00:29:04,367 --> 00:29:07,000
so I can bring home
some more frickin' cash.
543
00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:08,400
[man 2] Yeah.
544
00:29:09,467 --> 00:29:11,767
This whole season's been
fighting fires.
545
00:29:11,767 --> 00:29:12,934
You've got a melting cut
546
00:29:12,934 --> 00:29:16,667
and government agencies
constantly want to
shut us down.
547
00:29:16,667 --> 00:29:20,233
It's like we've been fighting
this whole season for
this freaking pay dirt.
548
00:29:21,266 --> 00:29:22,967
[sighs]
549
00:29:22,967 --> 00:29:26,400
Hard freaking work
and not anybody can do it.
550
00:29:28,333 --> 00:29:32,300
Last few buckets
and the Lost Cut
will be finished up.
551
00:29:33,233 --> 00:29:34,767
I think everybody had,
you know,
552
00:29:34,767 --> 00:29:36,667
a lot of high hopes
for this season.
553
00:29:36,667 --> 00:29:39,100
We wanted a lot more
out of this cut
554
00:29:39,100 --> 00:29:41,367
and didn't get
what we thought we'd get.
555
00:29:42,367 --> 00:29:45,233
I put a lot of work into it
and a lot of long days,
556
00:29:45,233 --> 00:29:49,734
and it sucks to kind of see it
come up short handed.
557
00:29:49,734 --> 00:29:54,266
This is my last bucket here
and then passing off Sparky
558
00:29:54,266 --> 00:29:57,433
and, uh, this is gonna be it
for the Lost Cut.
559
00:29:57,433 --> 00:29:59,934
Hopefully, this is the one
that puts us up there,
560
00:29:59,934 --> 00:30:04,166
and it's remembered
because clean ups so far
haven't been very good.
561
00:30:04,166 --> 00:30:06,233
So I think everybody's hoping
562
00:30:06,233 --> 00:30:09,400
it goes good, and, uh,
it's more than we think.
563
00:30:11,367 --> 00:30:14,367
It's all you, Sparks.
It's my last one.
564
00:30:14,367 --> 00:30:17,567
[Sparky] All right, buddy.
I'll take us home
on this one.
565
00:30:17,567 --> 00:30:21,166
Now the Dakota's dropped off
the last load
from the Lost Cut,
566
00:30:21,166 --> 00:30:24,066
It's a good thing that
Hunter's dropping dirt
from the Plateau
567
00:30:24,066 --> 00:30:26,266
to the Black Pearl
for a test run.
568
00:30:26,266 --> 00:30:28,166
And if there's a bunch of gold
in that dirt,
569
00:30:28,166 --> 00:30:31,567
Hunter's prospecting
can save us
from this bad situation.
570
00:30:31,567 --> 00:30:34,433
Hopefully, we come out here
with at least 1,000 ounces.
571
00:30:34,433 --> 00:30:36,367
We'll see how this box
fricking looks.
572
00:30:36,367 --> 00:30:40,900
Hopefully, it's shining back,
or it's as dull
as an unsharpened pencil.
573
00:30:55,667 --> 00:30:56,934
[Hunter]
If we're gonna make this move,
574
00:30:56,934 --> 00:30:59,533
I wanna make sure
that it's gonna be worth it.
575
00:30:59,533 --> 00:31:02,367
Running some thawed pay
through the Black Pearl
right now
576
00:31:02,367 --> 00:31:03,734
um, is a good feeling,
577
00:31:03,734 --> 00:31:08,567
because this might just be
the thing that that keeps us
in the game.
578
00:31:08,567 --> 00:31:12,800
The Plateau is a longer haul,
and once we make that switch,
there's no going back.
579
00:31:17,266 --> 00:31:19,667
We're running about
1000 yards here,
580
00:31:19,667 --> 00:31:24,367
and, you know,
I'm pretty excited to see
if it's actually good.
581
00:31:24,367 --> 00:31:28,567
I guess only time will tell,
But I have really
high hopes for this.
582
00:31:28,567 --> 00:31:29,967
I'm excited to see
what's in it.
583
00:31:31,033 --> 00:31:32,367
Hopefully, it's worth it.
584
00:31:34,233 --> 00:31:36,100
Grandpa would always say
we're all millionaires.
585
00:31:36,100 --> 00:31:37,700
We just got to get it
out of the ground.
586
00:31:38,367 --> 00:31:40,567
Yeah, I agree with that.
587
00:31:40,567 --> 00:31:43,166
So we started out this season,
guns blazing, you know,
588
00:31:43,166 --> 00:31:45,967
we were putting up
some good numbers,
had some good cleanups.
589
00:31:45,967 --> 00:31:49,533
-137.3.
-Whoo!
590
00:31:49,533 --> 00:31:51,967
-That's awesome.
-Wow.
591
00:31:51,967 --> 00:31:54,367
[Hunter] And then, you know,
we're hitting some
major roadblocks.
592
00:31:54,367 --> 00:31:55,567
We're getting
hit with inspections,
593
00:31:55,567 --> 00:31:57,333
weather,
everything you can imagine.
594
00:31:57,333 --> 00:31:59,767
But, you know, we've faced
a lot of adversity before,
595
00:31:59,767 --> 00:32:03,100
and I've seen my dad
you know, push through
and continue on.
596
00:32:03,100 --> 00:32:05,367
So that's exactly
what we're gonna do now.
597
00:32:05,367 --> 00:32:07,400
You know, stay positive
and just work with
598
00:32:08,233 --> 00:32:09,734
you know,
what we've got right now
599
00:32:09,734 --> 00:32:12,467
and and pretty much
all we have is this Plateau.
600
00:32:12,467 --> 00:32:15,133
If the Plateau pays out
and it does have good gold,
601
00:32:15,133 --> 00:32:17,500
we can run this material
for the rest of the season.
602
00:32:20,333 --> 00:32:21,467
Hmm...
603
00:32:23,934 --> 00:32:26,400
High risk, high reward.
That's what it's all about.
604
00:32:42,834 --> 00:32:45,133
Hey, Sparky,
how many buckets you got left?
605
00:32:49,166 --> 00:32:50,467
[Todd] We're coming down
to the wire here.
606
00:32:50,467 --> 00:32:53,367
It looks like we're about...
about out of pay here.
607
00:32:53,367 --> 00:32:57,667
From the Lost Cut.
Got a couple more buckets
and then we're done.
608
00:32:59,233 --> 00:33:02,367
This is where you say
something about lemonade.
609
00:33:02,367 --> 00:33:04,066
We're gonna take the gold
that we've got here,
610
00:33:04,066 --> 00:33:05,867
and we're gonna make
the best of it.
611
00:33:07,667 --> 00:33:09,433
We're gonna do a cleanup.
612
00:33:09,433 --> 00:33:12,867
Hopefully, it's pretty big
and go from there.
613
00:33:16,934 --> 00:33:19,066
I'm not happy with
some of the situations.
614
00:33:19,066 --> 00:33:20,634
But you know what?
615
00:33:20,634 --> 00:33:23,567
That's gold mining.
Sometimes you run into things
that you just can't control.
616
00:33:24,867 --> 00:33:27,100
A lot of people
can't live with that
and deal with that.
617
00:33:27,100 --> 00:33:29,467
And you know what?
I barely can, too.
618
00:33:29,467 --> 00:33:31,567
All right. This is
the last bucket right here.
619
00:33:31,567 --> 00:33:32,834
The last bucket.
620
00:33:32,834 --> 00:33:34,767
And that's it
for the Lost Cut, boys.
621
00:33:34,767 --> 00:33:36,166
That's it.
622
00:33:37,767 --> 00:33:42,533
So this is the last bit
of pay dirt from the Lost Cut.
623
00:33:42,533 --> 00:33:46,867
And after this,
it's all gonna be Plateau dirt
or no dirt at all.
624
00:33:46,867 --> 00:33:48,433
So that's where we're at.
625
00:34:00,433 --> 00:34:04,567
That's all she wrote.
The Lost Cut
has been picked clean.
626
00:34:04,567 --> 00:34:08,133
All right, let's shut down
the Holy Roller and get
these maps pulled.
627
00:34:28,567 --> 00:34:29,734
There's gold in it.
628
00:34:29,734 --> 00:34:31,567
If it's in there,
it's in there.
629
00:34:34,867 --> 00:34:36,033
Something right there
in the middle.
630
00:34:36,033 --> 00:34:37,967
I haven't seen it
up there for a while.
631
00:34:37,967 --> 00:34:40,500
You know what, every little
bit's gonna count here.
632
00:34:40,967 --> 00:34:42,066
This is it.
633
00:34:42,066 --> 00:34:46,467
Hopefully,
Hunter's prospecting
is our saving grace.
634
00:34:46,467 --> 00:34:48,233
Let's just pull
the whole damn box,
635
00:34:48,233 --> 00:34:50,300
and go up there
and do a full cleanup.
636
00:34:52,533 --> 00:34:53,700
[man coughs]
637
00:35:02,367 --> 00:35:03,467
It's pretty clean.
638
00:35:05,066 --> 00:35:07,367
-Wow.
-There's a little bit
of material in there.
639
00:35:07,367 --> 00:35:08,867
Hopefully, that's all gold.
640
00:35:08,867 --> 00:35:11,033
I'm sure there's
several ounces here
641
00:35:11,033 --> 00:35:13,700
-in every nook and cranny,
-hopefully.
642
00:35:22,467 --> 00:35:23,867
I got Employee of the Week.
643
00:35:23,867 --> 00:35:25,200
[chuckles]
644
00:35:25,200 --> 00:35:28,066
It was kind of
a participation trophy
if anything.
645
00:35:28,066 --> 00:35:30,200
It was more
just a being here trophy.
646
00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:31,467
But we don't actually
have a trophy.
647
00:35:31,467 --> 00:35:33,767
We got some crayons
on the notebook paper
that we're gonna--
648
00:35:33,767 --> 00:35:35,000
They have crayons.
You know that?
649
00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:36,233
-Yeah.
-I eat 'em.
650
00:35:37,867 --> 00:35:38,934
This team right here,
651
00:35:38,934 --> 00:35:41,834
all these young guys, man,
we've got a great team.
652
00:35:41,834 --> 00:35:44,767
Who cut Luke's hair?
You cut your own hair?
653
00:35:44,767 --> 00:35:49,533
-My God.
-He's lucky, he got
ran over by a lawn mower.
654
00:35:49,533 --> 00:35:50,867
Little baby. [chuckles]
655
00:35:53,166 --> 00:35:54,667
Don't... delete that one.
656
00:35:57,066 --> 00:35:59,667
It's really nice seeing
these two guys work together.
657
00:36:02,133 --> 00:36:03,367
They've been
fighting a little bit.
658
00:36:03,367 --> 00:36:05,000
Yeah, yeah.
659
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,634
-Yeah, but that's just--
-That's just
the end of the year.
660
00:36:07,634 --> 00:36:09,500
-I love you guys.
-That's the state of nature.
661
00:36:13,667 --> 00:36:15,967
There's no more pay
on the Lost Cut.
662
00:36:15,967 --> 00:36:19,200
We've scratched every pebble
that we can get out of it.
663
00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:21,800
This cut is officially done.
664
00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:24,934
So what we have to do
in reclamation
is we have to take
665
00:36:24,934 --> 00:36:26,867
all the overburden
that I pushed off,
666
00:36:26,867 --> 00:36:28,634
and we'll just bring it back
down into the cut,
667
00:36:28,634 --> 00:36:31,133
smooth it out
and put a dozer on top of it
668
00:36:31,133 --> 00:36:33,367
and just kind of round it off
and contour it back
669
00:36:33,367 --> 00:36:35,867
to the contour
of the landscape.
670
00:36:35,867 --> 00:36:40,467
And then this material
has a lot of seeds
and organics in it.
671
00:36:40,467 --> 00:36:42,400
It will just
revegetate itself.
672
00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:45,934
And in a few years,
It'll look like
nothing was ever done here.
673
00:36:56,600 --> 00:36:59,467
How many ounces per 100
are you hoping for?
674
00:36:59,467 --> 00:37:02,033
You know, we'll see
what it pays out at,
675
00:37:02,033 --> 00:37:06,166
but I haven't seen
too much ground around here.
676
00:37:06,166 --> 00:37:09,867
that's worse than
an ounce a 100,
but we'll see.
677
00:37:09,867 --> 00:37:11,333
Right now we're about to do
the cleanup
678
00:37:11,333 --> 00:37:15,433
for the Plateau test,
and we ran about 1,000 yards.
679
00:37:15,433 --> 00:37:16,667
You know,
we can get a good idea now,
680
00:37:16,667 --> 00:37:19,567
but we're not
really gonna know
until the cleanup is done.
681
00:37:19,567 --> 00:37:21,400
You know, we don't have
a lot of options left.
682
00:37:28,066 --> 00:37:29,066
I'm going to set this
in the end.
683
00:37:29,066 --> 00:37:30,900
-Is that cool or no?
-Yeah.
684
00:37:32,467 --> 00:37:36,066
Honestly, I don't know if I've
ever been more stressed out
than I am right now,
685
00:37:36,066 --> 00:37:38,567
but everybody is
under a lot of stress.
686
00:37:38,567 --> 00:37:42,133
The gold that is or isn't
in these mats is basically
going to determine
687
00:37:42,133 --> 00:37:45,467
the outcome of
our mining company,
our paychecks and, honestly,
688
00:37:45,467 --> 00:37:47,600
the success or failure
of my grandpa's last season.
689
00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:49,233
So, there's a lot of pressure
right now.
690
00:37:51,266 --> 00:37:55,000
We'll see if it's
gonna be enough
for us to save our ass.
691
00:38:01,567 --> 00:38:02,767
[Jack] I'll take anything.
692
00:38:02,767 --> 00:38:04,900
As long as it's gold,
I'll take it.
693
00:38:06,066 --> 00:38:10,400
You know, right now,
we're running the Plateau cut.
694
00:38:11,533 --> 00:38:13,767
We need this to be
really good.
695
00:38:14,333 --> 00:38:16,233
We're in desperate mode
696
00:38:16,233 --> 00:38:22,166
and desperate people
will take risks sometimes,
697
00:38:22,166 --> 00:38:25,500
and I think that maybe
this is worth the risk.
698
00:38:26,066 --> 00:38:28,266
The Plateau could be good.
699
00:38:28,266 --> 00:38:31,867
You just have to run it
weigh it, go from there.
700
00:38:33,700 --> 00:38:37,433
If this is good,
we're throwing
all the eggs in the basket.
701
00:38:37,433 --> 00:38:39,834
We're going to run it
until we're done.
702
00:38:40,300 --> 00:38:41,233
There's gold in here.
703
00:38:41,233 --> 00:38:44,233
We just have to find out
how much there is.
704
00:38:44,233 --> 00:38:46,033
Guys want to take gold home,
705
00:38:46,033 --> 00:38:47,367
We need it.
706
00:38:47,367 --> 00:38:50,500
Tough part of the season.
I hope it's good.
707
00:38:59,467 --> 00:39:02,867
So, guys, we're hoping
for at least 80 ounces
this week.
708
00:39:02,867 --> 00:39:04,767
Where are we at
with the Lost Cut?
709
00:39:04,767 --> 00:39:07,900
So what Jack's got in that jar
is... that's the end of it.
710
00:39:07,900 --> 00:39:12,467
There's no more.
That cut has fought us
from day one.
711
00:39:12,467 --> 00:39:16,233
Mudslides, water problems,
ice lenses, broken dozers.
712
00:39:16,233 --> 00:39:18,300
-I mean...
-We're hammering
the reclamation,
713
00:39:18,300 --> 00:39:20,533
bringing that dirt back
into the cut.
714
00:39:20,533 --> 00:39:21,934
In a year,
year and a half from now,
715
00:39:21,934 --> 00:39:24,667
it'll be all lush green
and look good again.
716
00:39:24,667 --> 00:39:26,767
Like the... like it was
before we touched it.
717
00:39:26,767 --> 00:39:29,667
-So...
-So how did that Plateau go?
718
00:39:29,667 --> 00:39:30,934
1,000 yards.
719
00:39:30,934 --> 00:39:32,700
Uh, it went really good.
It's easy to run.
720
00:39:32,700 --> 00:39:34,834
It's easy to get to,
a lot of gravel.
721
00:39:34,834 --> 00:39:36,600
-Yeah.
-We didn't have to strip it.
722
00:39:36,600 --> 00:39:38,634
The material runs really good
through the plant,
723
00:39:38,634 --> 00:39:41,600
and so I think it went
as good as it could.
724
00:39:41,600 --> 00:39:44,200
All right, so we'll see
the last of the Lost Cut.
725
00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:45,934
Dad, just pour it
right on there.
726
00:39:49,867 --> 00:39:55,533
Twenty, 27, 20... 36, 45.
727
00:39:55,533 --> 00:39:58,967
So that was 46 ounces
from the Lost Cut.
728
00:39:59,467 --> 00:40:01,300
-That's it?
--Final.
729
00:40:01,300 --> 00:40:04,266
Now, let's weigh what Hunter
got from the Plateau.
730
00:40:04,266 --> 00:40:05,500
Let's hope it's good.
731
00:40:05,967 --> 00:40:07,500
It's do or die.
732
00:40:08,166 --> 00:40:09,900
[Jack]
Ready. Here we go.
733
00:40:14,166 --> 00:40:21,033
Five, 10, 13, 14.
734
00:40:22,467 --> 00:40:24,233
14.6.
735
00:40:24,233 --> 00:40:26,400
Wow, I'll take that right now.
736
00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:28,166
That's almost an ounce
half a 100.
737
00:40:28,166 --> 00:40:29,333
Can't complain about it.
738
00:40:29,333 --> 00:40:30,867
What do you guys think? Andy?
739
00:40:30,867 --> 00:40:33,900
If it runs easy and then
we can run it fast,
740
00:40:33,900 --> 00:40:35,500
I think it's probably
worth doing.
741
00:40:36,467 --> 00:40:39,166
It's the only gold
we've got at this point.
742
00:40:39,166 --> 00:40:40,800
Well, good job, Hunter.
You found something good.
743
00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:43,233
I'm sure it's not
gonna be easy.
It's a long ways.
744
00:40:43,233 --> 00:40:46,200
But, hey, we got some
pay dirt next week.
745
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:48,767
We'll be digging that stuff
and running it
through the plant.
746
00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:51,834
We've got 60.6 ounces.
747
00:40:51,834 --> 00:40:53,433
What's our total?
748
00:40:53,900 --> 00:40:55,967
765?
749
00:40:55,967 --> 00:40:58,200
[narrator] The total
combined cleanup
from the Plateau
750
00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:02,200
and the last of the Lost Cut
brings in 60.6 ounces of gold,
751
00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:05,567
about $115,000
for the Hoffman team.
752
00:41:05,567 --> 00:41:09,600
And puts them 265 ounces away
from their season goal.
753
00:41:10,667 --> 00:41:12,800
So we're...
we're getting there.
754
00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:14,934
Everything's expensive,
though, as we well know.
755
00:41:14,934 --> 00:41:20,200
So let's keep grinding
and push forward
and head towards the Plateau.
756
00:41:20,900 --> 00:41:23,333
Hopefully onward and upward.
757
00:41:23,333 --> 00:41:25,100
Good job, guys.
Let's get back to work.