The Last Alaskans (2015–…): Season 2, Episode 5 - Winter's Edge - full transcript

Ah.

This here is where
a bear dug here.

The root -- I mean,
the main root about --

is about as thick
as my thumb.

And it's already gone
because the bear ate it.

And the bears
eat what people eat: Meat.

And then they eat these roots
and berries, fish.

That's what people eat.

We are competing
for the same type of food.

And winter will be here
very shortly.

This is why I carry a pistol.



I've been carrying
this around for --

ever since I been here,
over 40 years now.

And it's not the point
of, "oh,

this is second amendment
and everything."

That's not the point.
The point is --

is it's -- it's protection.

I have killed a --
killed a grizzly with it, one.

And, uh, this gives you
the edge over the bear.

I mean, this pistol
has been with me

longer than I've been
with Edna, you know?

My buddy.

The arctic refuge
is roughly the size

of the state of south Carolina.

You go for hundreds...



Thousands of miles
without roads, nothing.

Our permits only go up

until the death
of our last child.

Within 100 years,
there gonna be nobody.

We are the last.

Winter's gonna hit so hard
and so fast.

If you're not prepared, well,
then you're in trouble.

You're waiting for freeze-up.

You're livin'
right there on the edge.

When the freeze hits,
you need meat.

You need to stay
warm to survive.

The ice is our clock.

And the clock is ticking.

Are you --
you ready to go, Rhonda?

Hold on.

Our daughter, Rhonda,
and the granddaughter, coleen,

they're gonna leave today.

So we're, you know,
we're gettin' 'em goin' on.

It felt real short.

I'm gonna miss 'em all,
for sure.

This is the first time
in 21 years

we were all together out here.

All right.
I've got a plane to catch...

You ready?
If I leave now.

That's it?

I'm very conflicted.

I don't wanna leave home,
especially, you know,

the past few days
hangin' out with my sisters.

But it's
when it starts getting cold,

starts freezing at night.

It's really, really hard.

Now that it's almost back
to winter,

Rhonda and coleen,

they got their own lives
in town.

But, uh, it'll be so quiet
out here.

Aw.

Group huggings.

Aw, we're gonna make
grandma cry.

Grandma's crying already.

Oh, I know.

I'll miss you all.
Aw, yeah, I know.

When you start cryin',
everybody cries.

I'm all right.

Oh, Rhonda wanted to probably

look at the cabin
and everything, yeah?

Yeah.

It's gettin' there,
the cabin.

Slowly but surely gettin' there.

Krin and Millie
and her son's still here.

And so now, we're really
gonna hit the cabin hard,

get it up.

Winter's comin' soon.

It snowed at
the headwaters here.

There's like 4
or 5 inches of snow.

So that's high priority,
very high priority.

Everybody wave.

The cabin gotta be done!

Gotta be done!
Yes!

I don't want it frozen cold.

Yes, boss.

I don't wanna sleep
in that tent.

You the boss.
You hear me?

Done!

How 'bout this one, dad?

Yeah, that's a nice one.

One, two, three... ugh!

Man!

Wait, wait.
Waitin' on you, old man.

Ah!

Got it, dad?

Okay.

Okay. wait, wait.
My end goes over here.

Uh, your small end
goes to the left.

Okay, Millie.
Walk straight out that way.

You're gonna have
to come back this way.

Krinny, take that in.

Tender.

Okay.
there.

One more load of moss
for the day'd be good.

Let's just go get moss.

Woo!

You need a lot of moss.

The moss is your insulation.

So that's pretty important.

And if you --

if you work on this
in the winter time,

it's gonna be frozen
to the ground.

It's a real pain.

You gotta take a shovel
and scoop up the moss.

Then you gotta find it
under the snow.

Good luck there.

So that's why I wanna
get this done.

Just dump it right there.

Yay!
thank you.

Good, good, good, good, good.

I'm all set here.

I can do this,
unless mom wants to stay here.

And you girls go hunting, huh?

Uh, we need some meat.

Well, I depend on them
to hunt, you know,

because we got no meat
besides a couple ducks.

I mean, that'll be one meal.
Then it'll be over.

Hopefully, they'll get
a caribou.

Caribou, it'll last for 2 weeks,
you know what I'm saying?

All right, dad.
We'll see you in a little bit.

All right.

You guys, be careful now,
you know?

Get something!

Shh, shh! Shh, shh!
Quiet.

All right.

We got our moose now.

So our meat's taken
care of for us.

Now, we really gotta focus
in on takin' care of the dogs

for the winter.

This year, we have eight
dogs on the dog team.

And with the dogs in the winter,
they're working hard.

They're breaking trail.

They're, you know,
running through rough country.

And they need a lot of food,

they need a lot of nutrition.

And we can't fly out
that much dog food.

So we're hoping to catch salmon.

We're gonna get the net
set this morning

and starting fishing.

The cold weather
adds an urgency to, you know,

this whole process of fishing.

If there's, like,
a skiff of ice

on the shore of the river,
it can freeze the net in.

And the ice definitely dictates
how many fish we get.

It's our clock.

And the clock is ticking.

The first thing
is just pickin' a spot.

So you gotta imagine,
if you're a salmon,

they don't wanna fight
the current any

more than they have to.

So you find a place
where there's calm water

because you know
that's where salmon travel.

Yeah, I mean, these fish

have, like,
traveled thousands of miles.

They -- they don't come in
and then leave.

They come in.

They spawn, you know?

They procreate.

And then they die.

And we're just gonna --

we're gonna cash
in on the meat.

What we're doin' right now

is droppin' rocks
into these bags.

And they're...
That's our anchor.

You know, you line your net out,

anchor down both ends,
tie one off to the shore.

And then it's -- it's...
Your trap is set.

Oh, yeah.
That's good.

Maybe we should just...

We'll motor out.
Okay.

And then you can drop it
out of the front.

I can try that.

We have had a hungry year
with the dogs before.

And we worry a lot --

if we're gonna get enough fish.

You wanna have about
1,500 to 2,000 pounds of --

of salmon going into the winter.

So preferably, we'd like
to have 200 fish

by the time
we gotta pull our nets.

Okay.
okay.

I think we're in good shape.

Oh, boy.

There's tracks over there.

I wonder if it's, like,
moose or bear.

Uh, I've got my money
on bear though.

Did you see some?

Yeah, they're, like, over there.

We always see the bears
along these --

these bars
just hunting the fish.

I think we'd better just go.

It's time to get serious.

Just go, go, go, get your stuff
while it's there, you know?

Because it's not gonna
last much longer.

That's what all the animals
are doin' right now.

And that's what we're doin'.

Tomorrow, we're gonna go check
in the morning.

We'll just leave our nets out

until we have our quote
of what we think we need.

And then we'll pull 'em.

Bear tracks.

See that?

As big as my damn boot.

You can always tell
it's a grizzly

because grizzlies walk
with their feet inward.

Black bear, other bears

walk a little bit
more straight footed.

You can see the claw marks
in there.

Not fully, fully grown.

Yeah. but it's still
a pretty big bear.

Yeah.

Bears can be dangerous,
you know?

If you see a bear, you don't,

like, run.
You don't run.

You don't make
any sudden movements.

The, uh instinct
is to chase after you

when you start runnin'.

They're like dogs.
They're -- they wanna chase you.

They wanna see... why --
why are you running?

Anything that moves, it attacks.

They see it as food, you know?

Mm-hmm.

In the wintertime, a bear
came into the yard.

My mom was there.

It was hungry!
It's starved.

And it's really skinny.

And it saw my dog.

You know,
and just tore into her

and ate her alive,
pretty much, you know?

My mom unloaded...

What, two rifles on it?
Yeah.

A shotgun.
A shotgun.

Went back
and got her pistol.

So she kept unloading
and finally killed it.

And I'm glad it saw the dog
before it saw my mom.

The bears, they're just not
somethin' to mess with here.

Yeah.

Holy mackerel.

Eat squirrel.

Me and Nancy,
we've been friends 30 years.

Even after the -- the divorce.

Someone carin' for you,
someone lovin' you,

it's invaluable.

Nancy, what you brought

in that box from town
is tremendous.

We're gonna have
a feast tonight.

Outstanding.

Ugh, god.

I came out when I heard
how...

He wasn't doin' really well.

I got a little worried.

So I said, "i think I'll just
go out there and help him."

With the intestine thing,
there were tumors.

And now, the -- the --
the tumors are being controlled.

But I know, he's got some bad
stuff goin' on in there.

And he doesn't talk about
his ailments hardly at all.

But if you just watch him,
he's not healthy.

He's not doing well.

And that's why i
wanted to be out in the woods

and talk to him.

You ready?

I'm ready.

Oh, man.

Hmm.

Is it cooked good enough?

I didn't think meat
could taste so good.

Quiet, peaceful, isn't it?

It's different out here.

There's no noise
out in the woods.

It's, uh, so much easier
to talk out here.

Wanted to have some time
to just talk to you.

It's important
for me to hear what you --

what you feel your...

How your health is doing.

Going through the whole winter
and being cold, you know...

Yup.

I tend to worry, you know,

how you're feeling.

I feel like I'm fading.

I've never been this sick
in my life.

But I am forgetting things more.

My vision's going a little.

My hearing is going.

My strength is gone.

Ugh.

And 5 P.M. and 8 P.M.

And on...

I know my weight's 170,
and now I'm 123.

I can't stay warm out here
in the winter.

I have no fat.

I can't even
trap anymore right now.

So I gotta change
my ways a little.

I just need good food.

I'm eatin' squirrels.

There's no meat.
There's no caribou.

There's no moose.

I'd like to die with my boots on
right out here.

But, uh, I don't wanna starve
to death.

I eat better in town,

more fat and protein.

That's what I think
i need to do.

I have to go back to town.

I'm, um, I'm fightin'
to get health--

the health back,

'cause
i don't wanna give up.

I gotta get warm
and put weight on.

And I intend to.

Tomorrow, I'm
gonna need help...

Yeah.

Closin' camp, carryin' stuff
to the boat.

Okay.
well, that's why I came,

to help whatever
you needed to do.

Yup.

There's no -- no one else I'd
rather have out here than you.

Period.

I just want you to know that.

Thanks.

Raven, they're circling
over there.

I'm trying to see
what they're circling at.

The ravens are usually...

When they see a bear or a wolf,

that's when they start circling
'cause there's a kill by it.

Krin and, uh,
Millie are out hunting.

I know why they're
circling lots.

So we're now gonna
go check an area

where we saw a lot of sign

of caribou and where we thought
they were crossin' the river,

and ran into a --

a couple of bears,
a mother and a baby.

We heard 'em following us
back to camp.

I saw the little, tiny --
little dark cub climb the bank.

I knew right then what it was.

I was like, "yup.
That's a cub."

And we immediately knew we...

Mom was somewhere.
Yeah.

Somethin' that small
is not without a mom.

Hey, dad.

We saw a bear.

And, uh, I heard some noise.

And I wanted to go check it out.

Okay.
just get lots of smoke on.

You -- you keep a fire going.

That keeps a lot
of bears outta camp.

They don't like smoke, you know?

They don't like the smell
of that smoke.

Bears are gonna come around,
you know, before winter.

You know, you're sleepin'
in a tent

and a bear comes around.
That's --

that's not as safe as a cabin.

They have such long claws.

And they're so strong
and powerful

that, I mean, they could...

One swipe could, you know,

could rip you apart.

I think grizzly bears
are the most dangerous kind

'cause their, uh,

their curiosity
could kill you too.

'Cause they're curious,
they wanna come out

and see what you are.

Uh, if they're hungry,
they're gonna kill you.

Uh, if they're defending
their young,

they're gonna kill you.

Okay.

If this bear wasn't fat, well,
then he'd come into camp,

you know?

Because then he wants
to get some food,

especially if he doesn't have
enough fat, you know?

'Cause he knows he won't
make it through the winter.

So -- so that's a problem bear,

big problem bear.

And that's a bear
you gotta kill 'cause

he'll just keep comin' back.

Go down and check out to see

if we can't scare away
these bears.

Try and stay behind us.

That way you don't get in,
like, the shooting range.

Where'd you see it?

Across the river.

They saw it across the river.

Then they heard it swim across.

It was following us.

So where did it...

Where do you think
it came up the bank in?

Over here.

Tryin' to figure out where
it might have crossed 'cause

we heard it cross the river.

It's a matter of where was it?

And where did it cross?

'Cause we heard it in the water.

Hopefully, the sow
and the cub'll leave

and not think

that this is a food source.

I'm just lookin' for a sign.

I don't see any track.

You know, but in the gravel,
it's hard to tell.

I don't see any sign
of it comin' up here.

Well, I thought...
Well, no.

I'm -- I'm not doubting
that you saw it.

I'm not concerned about it,
you know, really not.

Well, there's bears
around all the time,

all the time.

I mean, you can't see it
because of the brush, you know?

I mean, they're there.

It gets
your heart rate goin'.

Most of the time, most bears
are more afraid of you

than you are of them.

But it's still not a --

not very good to have a bear
around the cabin.

I don't think nobody's
gonna sleep too well tonight.

It's, uh, we'll all be sleepin',

shotguns in our tents,

slugs ready to go.

It's freezin' up.

This was all squishy yesterday.

Now, it's hard.

We're gonna go
check our net.

If it did good,
we're gonna leave it.

And all is well.

But if it didn't do very good,

we're gonna pull it
and go pick a different spot.

Ashley, look at that.

Ashley!
we're catchin' fish.

Really?
yeah.

It's bobbin'.

Yay!

Yeah, look at that.
Look at that.

It's goin' crazy.

Well, that's darn exciting.
It just --

it seemed like it'd be
a good place to fish.

And, man, it's...
Looks like a hot --

a hot fishin' hole here.

I almost -- I wanna go out there

and look.

Okay.

These fish are super
important to us.

We have to come up
with enough food

to feed our dog team,
and this is your one chance.

We're turnin'
into another season.

And we're gonna get taken
over here by winter soon.

Wow.

Look at that.

Ashley, look at the size
of this thing.

That's like... its belly is,
like, that wide.

It's, like, one
of the biggest chums

I've ever seen.

This is what we're
out here after.

This is a female.

She's still alive.

But if you look at the tail
down here, it's yellowed.

That's because the skin's dead.

And it's starting to,
basically, rot off.

This -- this one is almost done.

Some people
call 'em "ghost fish."

But I mean they're --
they're hardly even alive.

They don't have nearly as
much pizzazz as,

uh, like, an ocean fish has.

That was worth the effort.

Yeah.

We got our fish
picked outta the net.

And -- and hopefully, we'll come
back here in the morning.

And it'll be full
just like it was today.

Hopefully, it keeps up
for the next week or so

until it starts freezing up.

Then, you know, we're gonna
be able to get our...

What we need for dog food.

I'll feel a lot better
after we have 200 fish.

We don't really know what's
gonna happen with the weather.

If, uh, the shore ice
starts coming in,

then your net is, like, lost.

Okay.

We gotta go carry
this last wall log.

Okay.

Holy smokes.

Geez, I'm not even
carrying anything.

Well, krin is lifting it up.

Krinny, don't try
to take it all!

I'm not.

Pretty soon, it's gonna
be all on your shoulders.

And this cabin'll
last our lifetime, you know,

mine and Edna's lifetime,
for sure.

All the girls,
they're gonna have

more invested in this one

because we built it
as a family unit, you know?

One, two, three.

Ugh!
whoop.

Even one side.
It's a real good feeling

that I... I know --

I know that I'm
gettin' somewhere now.

You gotta go a little bit
towards you.

Without the family here, it --

it woulda been extremely hard
to get done this fast.

I'll be proud of 'em for --

for -- for doin'
that, very proud.

Right where the spike
is, right below it.

There we go.
Perfect.

Thank you.

Gettin' this moss to...

We want it to... jam it
in there as hard as we can.

And this is what keeps the cabin
warm during the wintertime.

Ah.

There.

Another one bites the dust.

I like to look up.

I like to be
at the treetop levels.

I like that.

It feels like I'm a bird,
you know?

I like that.

It's so pretty.

Even, like, in great,
big cities, and, uh,

like, in New York
and central park,

there's a place
that no human's ever been.

And that's the --
a lot of the treetops,

at the very tips.

It's only birds
and bugs go there.

That's it.

Okay.
I'll call it a day.

We got up this morning.

And there was a couple inches
of snow on the ground.

It's just a reminder
to keep workin'.

You don't get a much more
direct hint

of what's about
to happen with the weather

than, you know, snow
and freezing weather.

So today, we gotta --

we gotta get goin'
and get up river

and check our nets

and get the fish
the hauled back down here.

Now, it's time to work.

Cold?
yeah. aren't you?

I don't see any fresh tracks.

No.

Let's pull 'er out, huh?

Yeah.

Lookin' good so far, huh?

Yeah!

Holy smokes!
Look at it.

Looks like plenty of 'em.

This might be a record.

Yes!

Some people
probably think, "geez,

that's a lot of fish," you know?

"Do they really need that many?"

But for eight dogs,
that doesn't go very far at all.

14, 15, 16, 17,
18, 19, 20, 21...

Food equals heat
for -- for our dogs.

They burn a lot
of calories shiver...

Like, staying warm
in the cold, like,

just like a human.

89.
89.

That's a big haul.
Yeah.

We're gonna be done fishin'
pretty quick at this rate.

Yeah.
hopefully, today and tomorrow

are our last days fishing.

Tomorrow, we're gonna go check
in the morning.

Let's see if we can get 200.

Joe, it's Bob harte.

I just wanted to give you
some weather.

It's -- it's flurrying
right now.

There's, uh,
a slight north breeze.

But it looks clear enough
for you to come.

All right.
I'll be expecting you.

I'll be on the bank.

Thank you, man.

He's comin'.

Well, the pilot's gonna
pick us up.

No hesitation, huh?

Nope.

Knife, got the knife.

Guns.

Well, the leaving,
always departing is difficult.

If you forget somethin',
it's not like you can drive back

and get it or something.

Yup.

Very hard.

Okay. I'm gonna go out
and get a couple things done.

Wow.

Look at that ice comin' down.

Uh, it's been
too difficult this year.

He's just not well.

And it's time
for him to go in.

And -- and it is early.
But he -- he's ready.

And when he was in New Jersey,
he had dreams of Alaska.

And he's done his dreams.

Hunting, fishing, trapping:
That's what he lives for.

He loves all that stuff.

And I mean, he loves it dearly.

It's not just he loves to do it.

It's a part of him.
It's his makeup.

It's who he is.

He's living the way
he wants to live.

You just gotta allow him
to be Bob.

And he says when he dies,
he dies.

And he'll do it the way
he wants to do it.

That's Bob.

This is the old trail though.

I remember this trail.

Oh, my god.

Now, this is an old
doll carriage.

We brought it up for telicia
when she was a little girl,

and thank goodness we did.

That one year
when the boys went hunting,

and Bob told me
to keep my eye on the river.

And it happened.
It was a moose.

So I had to get a moose.

And this helped me when I had
to cut that thing up

and haul it up the side
of the creek and back

to the house, piece by piece.

I had blood from head to toe.

And Bob used to come home
from knees down bloody.

And I'd go, "can't you be
a little neater than that?"

After that, I never said a word.

I was... I understood.

This is really wonderful
to be here again.

I am so glad I came.
I'm so glad I came.

Ahh.

It makes you feel so good
to let the dogs feast,

when you can just
pile their bowl full.

And they're so happy
and satisfied afterwards.

And then they howl.

Two oh two is our number,
pretty good number.

Yeah. we're sittin' pretty good
right now with,

uh, the -- the way that
fishing's going

for the wintertime.

But really, we have the --

this river to thank
for everything

that we're gettin' right now.

We just live in a good place
and a rich place.

Hopefully, I can live out here
for the rest of my life,

you know?

Hell yeah.

They're goin' in my pack.

I could die tomorrow or today.

I'd be happy with my life.

I don't know
what's comin' ahead.

But the memories are tremendous.

If I never go back
to the woods,

I'll remember the animals,

the fishing, the colors

in the fall... tremendous.

It's beautiful.

And the freedom
to do what you want...

I wouldn't want to lose that.

I can't lose that.

Okay.
that's it.

I have a special occupation.

My life's work,
what I'm proud of

is how to learn
to live in the woods.

I took care
of myself 100 percent.

Ugh!

If I live to be 80,
i only got 20 more years, man.

That ain't long.

I don't wanna go!

I just don't wanna go.

I like life too -- too much.

I'd be one guy,
if they said,

"if you take this pill,

uh, you can live for 500 more
years," I'd take that so fast.

It'd be unreal.

Being out here is probably why.

You got that
all right, heim?

I think I got it.

Take that in, and slide it down.

Slide it down.
Ugh!

Down, down, down, down!
There, it's down.

Okay, there.
Watch out!

Wait, wait, wait.
Okay.

You like it
that this is the door

from the old cabin, mom?

Yeah.

Reminds you of
the old cabin too?

Yeah.

There's still a lot
of work to be done.

But the walls are up, of course.

And the -- the door's put in.

Well, you know,
we can start livin' in it,

and especially now
that it's gettin' colder,

that makes a big difference.

Now, it's official.

You're gonna carry me in?
Oh, god.

No.
no!

Enter into the abode,

into our abode.

Oh.
nice.

Givin' up Alaska is...

It's no choice for me.
I -- I may have to.

But the people that live
the longest are always moving.

That's what keeps ya alive.

That's why I wanna see America.

And I intend to.

Hey, Joe.

I wanna drive
through death valley.

I wanna see, uh, las Vegas.

I've never seen it.

And I'm gonna be eatin' good.

I'm shootin' quail,
Turkey, duck.

I'm gonna eat alligator tail.

I wanna go right
where they get 'em.

I wanna eat crawfish,

as much as I can hold for days.

Joe, can I get in?

Yeah.

Ride in the front, all right?

Oh,.
there, I told ya.

I wanna keep goin' east.

And I'm gonna wind up
in key west.

I'm gonna be warm.

I -- I need to be warm.

I wanna sweat.

I wanna wear shorts and sandals.

I'll get a haircut to cool off.

I don't care.

I -- I'm on my way.

Period.

Winter is now upon us.

Now, we're transitioning
into our life as trappers.

Taffy is right
next to a lynx cat right now.

The bomb's about to go off.
It's gonna be crazy.

He'd better kill the moose

because we're running
out of food here.

What the heck is that?

The wolves killed a moose there.

Musta been a hell of a fight.

Wolves know no limits.

They just keep killing.

And they will keep killing
and keep killing

until there's nothing.

I gotta find one
before the wolves find one.