Alone (2015–…): Season 4, Episode 7 - Hooked - full transcript
The three remaining teams scramble for a long term advantage. One pair runs themselves ragged with an elaborate shelter build, while another hazards the freezing Pacific waters on their own small craft.
[dramatic music]
*
- Holy cow.
The wind's whipping.
- This is insane.
It's like a hurricane.
- We're gonna put up
a little cabin.
Brooke is
completely out of gas.
I've never,
ever seen that from her.
- Oh, my God,
I got a fish.
- He got a fish!
- There's another one.
Don't mind if I get one more.
16 sablefish, whoo!
- We are officially
on the verge of being flooded.
- It's easy to see how this
place can kick a man's ass.
- The decision to leave
is extremely difficult.
*
*
- This is gonna be
an incredible challenge.
- We're gonna be dropped off
in separate locations,
and one of us has
to find the other.
- There they go!
- I'm gonna wait on my brother.
- Ohh!
- Hopefully he'll be here soon.
- Please come tomorrow.
- I don't know where I'm going,
how long I'm gonna be out here.
All I have is
a compass bearing.
- It's a needle in a haystack.
Can I even
make it to base camp?
- Dad?
- Son!
- No way.
- Everything around you
is telling you
that you need to go home.
- Please leave me alone.
- If you don't work as a team,
it's game over.
- I can't hold
the whole thing up.
- $500,000 would be
life-changing.
- I know.
- I feel like the life
is sucked out of me.
- He's coming.
He sees me.
*
*
*
- It's day 17 in the morning.
We slept in quite a bit.
Today we are going
to work on the boat.
Maybe Jim has some tweaks
to the crab trap.
It's pretty much finished,
and then we are,
you know, going to forage.
We're gonna--
we're gonna eat breakfast,
then we're gonna forage,
and then we're going to--
no, that's not
what we're gonna do.
We're gonna eat breakfast,
work on boats, forage--
[bleep] you, man,
you [bleep] ass[bleep].
Jim's pissing while I'm doing
a [bleep] interview,
just ruined the whole thing.
[Jim laughs]
[bleep] ass[bleep].
- I had to piss.
- Good morning.
It's day 17.
*
- We're building
a boat designed
for the specific
limitations we have here.
We only have a 12-by-12 tarp,
so it can't be long,
but we want a boat
that can fit two people.
We also have the ocean,
so we want a boat
with relatively high sides,
or freeboard, they call it,
when both of us are in there
so we won't get
swamped with waves.
Ted's been the main guy
doing work on it.
He's doing a good job,
but it's taking longer
than we thought
because we only have
so much time
we can work on it each day.
But I think that is gonna
give us the freedom
to be able to find more food.
- A few days ago we ate
some fish and some duck,
and we're like, "Man,
we're gonna stay out here
till 90 days,"
and a couple days go by,
and all you got is
two pots of shore crabs.
- But I think out in those
kelp beds 50 meters offshore
there's probably fish.
*
- Jim, this sucks.
- Just pretty small, that's all.
Can you kneel and rest
your butt on the seat?
- I don't know, man.
I feel like the boat's
gonna be tippy to the left.
- It's gonna be pretty tight
with two people in.
- Two, like, little girls,
it would be pretty good.
- Yeah. Yeah, we only have
one little girl, so...
- Yeah, I know.
What drives me nuts about Jim
is that he's just a loudmouth.
There's times where
I just want to headbutt him
and boot him down
a flight of stairs.
Maybe that's a good thing
about being brothers,
is we're not afraid to--
to just say what
we're feeling in the moment
and get past it.
Can't have one
without the other, right?
*
I'm gonna install seats,
and I'm just gonna use
that net that I found.
If it works, it'll be nice
so we can sit and fish
and not get cramps in our legs
and all that kind of stuff,
but two of us on seats,
I am a little skeptical
whether the frame should be
holding that kind of weight.
It's just risky.
*
I took our tarp down that's
a heavy-duty vinyl-coated tarp
that we're gonna use
for the cover of the boat,
which is a really
exciting moment.
We're getting closer to having
it ready to put in the water,
'cause we need more food,
it's just that simple.
We can't go on and do
the projects that we want to do
without getting
some calories in us.
*
- We're really hoping
this boat floats
and doesn't
just immediately break.
*
*
- Next time somebody asks me,
"What do you do for a living?"
I'm just gonna say,
"I build cobbled-together stuff
out of moss and sticks
for a living."
Timber!
I starve for a living.
I stink for a living.
It's good work
if you can get it.
It's just soaking wet.
What's up, woman?
Right on.
Good luck.
*
The biggest challenge
of building the cabin,
you can't go work all day
'cause you have to fish.
- Got some kelp.
Yes, I think I have a fish.
- If you could just work...
- Yes!
- You'd get a lot farther,
but the other person
would have to fish,
so you only get half
as much done.
- Oh! Yay!
Whoo-hoo!
- You'd think two people
could do better
fishing than one person,
but you're feeding two people,
so I mean,
it's kind of a net nothing.
If you don't catch any fish,
it doesn't bode well
for putting a bunch
of energy in.
- Ah, yeah,
it's a fatty!
[chuckles]
Thank you, Lord.
All right, let's kill him.
He's gonna be dinner.
I know.
If the fishing holds,
we do have a sustainable
source of food
to carry us
through a cabin build.
If the fish runs out,
we have a problem.
*
- Our shelter philosophy
out here
is we're just gonna do
what we do.
Our whole married life
is living in places
that we've built.
Our first home was
a 12-foot-by-12-foot cabin
that we built,
no running water,
no indoor plumbing.
We both live an extremely
rustic lifestyle together.
We've been married 18 years.
Pretty much daily life
was roughing it.
We've always lived right
on the very fringe of society.
Starting from nothing
and building a home from it,
that's in our DNA.
- Unbelievably cool.
I'm going to start chinking.
It's a good low-energy job
for me today
since I don't have
a lot of energy.
Grabbing chunks of moss here.
I got a little--
little stuffing stick,
and I'm just gonna be
stuffing the cracks.
This cabin project has taken
a lot of energy
out of both of us.
Absolutely there is risk of
expending a lot of calories
in a build of a cabin,
but at the same time
there's a risk
that you are mentally
going to burn out in a place
that you hate to crawl into
day after day,
wet and miserable.
We feel like as it gets
colder and the weather
turns more and more terrible,
being in a warm cabin
is gonna be a big deal.
*
- Why build something
this elaborate?
Why build something
that takes this much energy?
Why not build something
simple and focus on food?
It is a gamble.
You wonder if
it's all worth it.
When you don't have to crawl
in through a hole
in the side of the shelter.
You're not
laying on the ground.
You're laying on a bunk.
You got a nice fire going.
Yeah, it's worth it.
You're darn right
it's worth it.
I'm kind of dragging
a little bit this morning.
I'm just hungry and tired.
This is it.
This is the last--last log.
Going through the front door
with the last log.
Yeah, uh-huh.
When in doubt,
force it, right?
- Force it.
- Cram it in the cram hole.
*
There we go.
*
So let me take you on a tour.
This is what it's like coming
through the front door.
There's where the fireplace
is gonna go.
Hopefully there'll be a mantel
right across there,
some place to hang
your wet socks to dry.
- That is cool, cool beans.
Our cabin.
- I could use a nap.
*
*
- All right,
so we're ready
for the maiden
voyage of Hope.
The boat we've built,
that's what we've named her
'cause she's providing us
with some hope,
and we're gonna get out there
for the first time,
see if she floats...
- Yeah!
- And see if it'll
take both of us,
and we've got
our life jackets.
We've got our safety
gear all ready.
There's a risk
of wetting our gear.
It could give us
hypothermia,
all kinds of problems,
you can imagine.
So we've got a fire
and lots of wood split
in case we took a swim.
Hopefully we won't,
and we're ready
to get the heck
out of this freaking cove
and do this.
[straining]
*
- Yeah, it floats.
- Floats pretty [bleep]
good too.
- Looks not too tippy.
Looks pretty good.
Let Ted get in first.
- You sure you shouldn't
get in first?
*
- How does it feel?
- It feels really good.
- Yeah!
- Hold on, hold on!
- It's okay. It's okay.
- I think I got to kneel.
- Okay.
Okay, hold on.
- Pretty small.
- All right, I'm in.
How does it feel?
- It feels pretty good.
Yeah!
- Yeah!
We're in our boat!
It's working!
*
All right,
we're paddling in our boat.
It still needs
a little tweaking,
but that's why we do
a maiden voyage,
just to see what else it needs.
This is where the fish
seem to be biting.
Do you want to get
your rod ready?
- Yeah, I guess.
[bleep], everything's
pretty challenging to do
in this tiny
little space of terror.
*
- We did a trip,
like, years ago.
It was in the
Northwest Territories,
Mackenzie Mountains,
and I'd never even
paddled a rapid before,
and I went out there, and
after that I was just hooked.
Jim and I got into
expedition and canoe tripping,
but then this is
a whole other level.
*
- So far no bites.
No sign of fish.
*
Well...
no fish.
It's getting dark, man.
Time to call it quits.
*
- We are safely back at camp
after the maiden
voyage of Hope, our boat.
I guess I should be
in better spirits about it
because it floated
quite well.
It did handle both of us
with tons of freeboard
on the sides,
but I don't understand
how it's possible that,
like, we could be
there fishing
and didn't catch
one fish, man.
- I don't know, man.
- I don't know
if it's given us
a whole new
lease on life, Jim,
but it's definitely
an asset.
- Yeah, absolutely.
*
*
*
- When we get back,
we'll write a book,
"The Vancouver Island Diet."
- Yeah.
- All you do is you eat--
you eat half of a seasonless
fish per night,
and that's it.
- And drink water.
- And drink water.
And you can have
some snails too
if you want,
but don't overdo it.
[laughter]
*
It's gonna be time
to go fishing pretty soon.
Hopefully that's lucky.
*
- All right,
here, fishy, fishy.
We need fishes.
We did not
eat fish yesterday.
Really would like to have
a fish to eat tonight.
- Mm-hmm.
- Saw the sea lion
on the way out here.
- Oh, yeah? We got this
sea lion that hangs out.
He's scary because sometimes
he gets kind of close,
and I don't like that,
and he does it
when you're not looking.
- Whoa!
- Holy cow, there's Sneaky.
- Yeah, Sneaky, man.
- There he is.
- Holy cow.
- Wow, that was pretty close.
- Yeah.
I'm kind of scared
he's gonna just come flying
out of the water
right up at us.
Wow, that was
really creepy, man.
- Man, where'd he go?
I don't like this.
I don't like when
he plays this game.
He just watches us all--
when we're out there,
he just watches us.
He's just--and I like
watching him too,
except when he gets close.
I don't like when he gets close
because they have big teeth,
and you can tell he's
definitely a large animal,
and I don't want to be near
him 'cause I don't know.
I don't know anything
about those things.
They look plenty playful
and cuddly, but so do bears,
and bears can tear you
to pieces.
*
- Look at that--oh.
- Oh, boy.
- What was that all about?
- I don't know.
A little ways out, good.
Sneaky, you stay over there.
*
- You getting any nibbles?
- Nothing.
Yeah, I'm not getting
any action over here anymore.
- No. It's so slow now.
*
Wow, man, skunked.
Like, very few bites.
- Yeah.
- I don't like that.
*
Sure would love
to get out farther.
- I'll tell you what--
where I think would be
some really good fishing
is that point right over there.
- Yeah, you never know
what might be hanging out
right near that channel.
- Mm-hmm.
I think it might be worth it.
- We just might catch a fish.
We'll see.
We'll have to try it
soon though.
If you're no longer
getting fish,
we have a little bit
of reserves left,
and then it's a countdown just
to see how long we can last.
I hope we don't get
to that point.
*
*
*
- Good day.
We got big plans today
to make massive progress
on the cabin.
We're gonna karate chop
that thing.
We're gonna be in there
before you know it.
*
- Brooke wants to do
the fireplace
'cause she's got an idea
of what she wants
and how she wants to do it.
- The fireplace will
be built out of rocks
straight from the ocean,
the flattest rocks I can find,
and it'll be built up
probably three feet high
to reflect the heat away
from a wooden teepee
that will stand
over top of it as--
to act as sort of a chimney.
No way of getting around it,
rocks are heavy.
*
And low-energy people
shouldn't haul rocks,
but what can you do?
Whew.
- She's always
pushing herself,
but we're both
burned out a bit.
We need to not work so hard.
She just carried, like,
75 pounds of rocks up here.
Stubborn, stubborn woman.
She's gonna blow out something,
and that'll be it.
- [sighs]
*
- What are you doing?
- I've been adding rocks.
- Let me carry
the big ones, please.
- Well, I've been doing it
for an hour.
Why don't you just keep doing
your thing, and I'll keep--
- 'Cause my thing's
a lot lighter than yours,
and I don't want you
to blow something out.
- Only blowing out my energy.
- That too.
- That's what's
blowing right now.
- Just take it easy.
- I'm gonna carry a few more.
I'm just gonna keep going
as long as I can.
- She is pushing herself
farther than she should.
And this place
will just beat her down
if she doesn't
watch herself.
[dramatic music]
*
*
*
- Oh, my God.
The worst part of the day
is upon me, Ted.
The part of the day
where my wet socks
go on my wonderfully dry feet.
Oh, God.
Oh, oh!
Cold, wet socks.
*
- We'd like to take
the boat out today.
- The boat is pretty awesome.
I mean, it's actually
pretty quick.
Given the resources we had,
some trees and some wire
and only a 12-foot tarp,
it's pretty amazing,
but we're thinking that
it's just gonna be too small
to go big distances,
too small for two people,
so we're gonna rig it up
for one person
and just kind of fish closer,
just the kelp beds
just offshore
that we can't quite reach
when fishing from shore.
So I'm really
excited about it,
and I think it's a really
awesome little vessel.
- That's it.
- Good luck.
- Thanks.
Where should I try fishing?
- I don't know, man, maybe just
over by that kelp out there.
*
- It takes a lot of time
to get food,
but the key is just be
patient and keep working.
I fish.
Ted forages.
Maybe I catch nothing,
but Ted gets enough.
Of course, you got to split
that food between two people,
but at least there is some
food as opposed to none.
*
Well...
no fish.
Time to call it quits.
Go work on some other stuff.
Oh, that took a lot
out of me,
but another test run
of the boat going solo.
I'm starting to get worried
about this boat
not providing us
with more fish.
- Yeah.
- We're not getting
enough food out here.
- How much longer can
we go like this, Ted?
- I don't know.
- Ten days?
- We need to eat more.
We just--
it's as simple as that, man.
- I feel like we're in
the [bleep] or I am anyways.
Like, I just--I just feel like
I'm being tortured, you know?
- Yeah.
- It's a slow starve,
is what's happening to us.
*
We're starving to death.
*
*
*
- We're getting kind of
a late start today.
I think both of us are just
really getting tired,
really worn out
from lack of food.
We didn't have
any fish yesterday.
We had none the day before,
and it's really
catching up with us.
Today we would
really like to explore
a different place for fishing.
*
- All right, so we're headed
off on our hike to the new,
potentially good fishing spot
all the way around the cove.
Got to work with the tide,
and it's starting
to rain on us,
but hopefully it'll
work out well today.
*
It's pretty rough walking,
but at low tide
you can circle around
and get to a point where
the inlet really pinches down.
It could be a great
fishing spot.
*
We better watch the tide
pretty darn close
while we're out here.
- Yeah.
- If we get stuck,
it's gonna be
a horrible walk back.
- Yeah, it sure will.
Soon as that tide
starts coming in,
we've got to keep
an eye on it.
- Yeah.
This looks doable right here.
- Right through there?
- Yeah. It's gonna be rough
with these fishing rods.
*
- Damn it, I'm stuck.
*
- There you go.
- Holy cow, Sam.
You're killing your old man.
- We're almost there.
- I sure hope this is worth it.
*
- How about you
start fishing here?
- All right.
*
The tides are not very good.
*
We have to come back before
the tide starts coming back in,
or we'll get stuck.
I mean, that could--
that could kill you.
If we can catch a fish, it
would be worth it, wouldn't it?
Oh, my God.
Damn if he didn't
take my bait again.
There is a sneaky
damn fish here.
I'm getting
really pissed off.
*
Oh, bitch.
*
Oh, this is frustrating now.
Tide'll probably change soon.
- It's still going out, but
it's definitely slowing down.
- Yeah.
Doggone it.
I need to catch
this bait-robbing fish.
- I actually did
just get a hit.
- Yeah?
- See that?
- Oh, hey!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, no!
- No!
- No way!
- No, there goes
my first fish.
- Oh, my God, Sam.
- No way.
- Oh.
- I cannot believe that.
- You should have just
stomped on him.
- He was already
down the s--
I woulda just--
I woulda gone right in.
- I tell you what,
if it wasn't for bad luck,
you'd have no luck at all.
*
Wonder how long we're gonna
be able to stay out here.
Nothing easy about it,
that's for sure,
but this is an incredibly
unique opportunity,
spending a lot of time
with my son.
There'll come a day when he'll
get married, have children.
He'll be settled down in
a different part of the country,
and then who knows how often
we'd be able to see him.
So spending this time
with him is just...
invaluable.
*
Got one, Sam.
- Yes!
- A nice, big greenling.
- That is what
I am talking about.
Get him away
from the shore.
[laughter]
- Oh, man, how about that?
*
All the fish we've caught
so far has been by me,
and Sam, he hasn't
caught a fish yet.
- Hmm, I'm gonna try
a new spot.
- You know, Sam is honestly
a very good fisherman.
I've seen him catch fish
when other people don't.
I think he's being
an awful good sport about it.
I think he wishes
he could contribute
to our food a little bit,
but sometimes
that's how it goes.
- Any more luck?
- Yeah, I got one more.
- Nice.
Aww!
It does kind of bother me
that I haven't caught any yet.
I don't get it.
I mean, back home, you know,
we go fishing,
and we're competitive.
Like, we're both
turning in numbers,
and now here we are out here,
and I can't get anything.
- Got another one, Sam.
- Nice!
- Get any more bites?
- No.
- Huh.
Right there where you are
is where I caught
that first big one.
- Well, it is frustrating.
I like catching fish.
I'd like to be walking back
with a stringer of fish.
That would be phenomenal,
but I don't--I don't know
what's going on.
I have no idea
what's going on.
- I think the tide has turned.
- Oh, we can't get
caught out here though.
Let's go ahead
and get out of here.
- Well, at least
we're not gonna go hungry.
- Yeah, we got
a few days' worth.
I mean, what would I be doing
if you weren't here?
- I know, what would
you be eating?
- Nothing. I wouldn't be
eating fish, that's for sure.
*
*
*
*
- Good morning.
It's pretty chilly out.
It was a really harsh night
last night.
Rained pretty much
all day yesterday,
capped it off with
strong winds and some thunder,
but very cold.
- This food
situation sucks, eh?
- Yeah.
- It's plaguing us, man.
- This morning we're just
headed out
to the cove
to try to do some fishing.
- Do you really think
we're just--
our bodies are gonna
shut down out here?
- Of course, if we're
not eating enough, man.
Of course they will.
*
Hopefully
we get on some fish.
We don't exactly have
the yummiest food in hand,
and fish is definitely
a treat out here,
so I do want to get
a trotline set today.
That's what we're gonna do
without further ado.
*
I'm just at our fishing spot,
and I'm going
to set a trotline.
Easier said than done.
My hands are really frozen,
and it's really annoying
to try to work them,
but I'm gonna give it a whirl.
I'm gonna tie some wire
around this rock
and make a loop
in the wire at the end,
and then I'm gonna tie
my line to that.
That's what I'm gonna
throw into the ocean
with all my hooks on it,
and then I'm gonna
tie the line back to,
like, a tree branch
or something up here
on shore.
*
Somebody has
to throw the rock,
and somebody
has to have, like, slack
and hold it high,
and then depending
on where the hooks are,
we'll, like, tie it up
in the tree.
Setting a trotline
isn't really as easy
as you might think
'cause there's so many hooks
and line that can be tangled,
and then all over the rocks
there's barnacles
which can cut your line,
and the hooks need to be baited,
and then on top of that
there's cracks in the rocks,
and your line gets caught
and everything,
so here we are starving hungry
in the pitch black again.
- One, two, three.
*
Oh, [bleep]!
*
*
I'm really hoping
it doesn't get infected
because infection could spell
the end for us out here.
*
*
*
- It's cold this morning.
Doesn't feel like
when we got here.
There were days when we got
here that I wore my t-shirt.
*
I'm a bit tired.
*
What's on the agenda
for today?
We're gonna work
on the cabin this morning.
I'd love to sleep
in there tonight.
A lot to do,
better get at it.
*
- [humming]
*
We're back in the woods.
We need poles for
the fireplace for our cabin.
We are both just exhausted.
We got to get
this cabin done.
So you're taking them
over the hill then?
- Yeah.
- Oh.
- Whoa.
- Oh, boy.
- [laughs]
Go ahead.
- Warning.
- [high-pitched] Go ahead.
- Nuts in danger.
*
- Does that look about center,
or does it need to come
your way a little?
- I think it needs
to come my way.
- What do we have to get done
to move in?
- First the tarp,
let's get the tarp on.
- Are we in the home stretch,
do you think?
'Cause if we put
the tarp on,
we'll be cutting wood in
the rain if we don't make it in.
We're kind of committed
once we do that.
- I'm committed to being
in there tonight, man.
My spirits would be dashed
if we're not in there tonight.
*
- Here's our dilemma
with the cabin right now.
We're ready to put the roof on
and move our stuff over,
but it has went
from beautiful, sunny day,
to now it's just dark
and ominous and moody.
[thunder rumbles]
Moving in the rain,
could be pretty awful.
- Are we committed?
- Yeah, I want to do it.
I don't want to be
in that place anymore.
*
Wow.
*
- Once the cabin's done,
we're gonna tear down
the first shelter.
We're gonna use
a lot of the poles
out of that
for our bunks.
*
It has went from
a beautiful, sunny day
to now it's just dark
and ominous and moody.
[thunder rumbles]
And it looks like we're
gonna get pounded with rain
in 20, 30 minutes.
- Everything that you do
out here is a risk.
It's a calculated
thought process
to get from one thing
to another.
- I'll figure this out
in a minute.
Just get
all four corners up.
- You just have to weigh your
options and make your choice.
*
You also can't just sit
on the bench
and think about it
for too long,
or you'll never
get anything done.
This is so unbelievable.
It got really dark
and ominous,
and now look at it.
It's like fairy tale land.
It's beautiful.
Bringing back memories
of day one,
built this day one.
I'm proud of this shelter.
- Honey, blue sky.
- I know! I saw it!
It's a good day for moving.
*
Yeah, basically you
just fill in the cracks
with the smaller stuff.
It's a lot of work.
Energy is something that is
in completely short supply here,
so we definitely don't need to
make more work for ourselves.
- We are so close
to moving in.
I'm gonna go over,
and I'm gonna grab the fire.
I'm bringing my fire.
*
[blowing]
- You got to see the inside.
Oh, my goodness.
Wow, that's really throwing
off some heat already.
- Yeah, it feels pretty good.
*
- Looks like a Christmas tree
exploded in here.
- I know.
*
- I feel like the cabin
was absolutely
the best decision
we have made.
It will allow us to just come
in at the end of a long day,
and if it's pouring rain,
you can sit on a bench
and be dry and be upright,
and there's no leaks.
He's carving our initials
into the hearth, the mantel?
I don't know
what you call this thing.
You feel secure,
and you're dry,
and it's a much
happier environment.
So far that risk
has paid off.
It's not a losing game
right now.
- Add a little more
homey touch.
- I think it's pretty
endearing after 18 years.
He's carving my initials
in the mantel, yay.
- Later on, I'm gonna
give her a tattoo.
- Ah, whoo!
- It's gonna be my name.
It's gonna be on her cheek
like a prison tattoo.
It's gonna be awesome.
- I'll take it.
*
We are in the cabin tonight.
We worked our butts off today,
and we're in
on our own bunks.
We can walk around.
We got head space,
unbelievable.
*
- Ahhh!
Heard flame sound,
and I look up,
and the chimney was on fire.
- Every fish we've eaten
out here has been my dad.
I have not caught
a single fish.
- Yes!
- This is called
a yellow brick.
This is how you quit.
- It's gonna be really exciting
to check out the crab trap.
It looks like the float
is not floating.
No!
The float sunk.
No!
*
*
- Holy cow.
The wind's whipping.
- This is insane.
It's like a hurricane.
- We're gonna put up
a little cabin.
Brooke is
completely out of gas.
I've never,
ever seen that from her.
- Oh, my God,
I got a fish.
- He got a fish!
- There's another one.
Don't mind if I get one more.
16 sablefish, whoo!
- We are officially
on the verge of being flooded.
- It's easy to see how this
place can kick a man's ass.
- The decision to leave
is extremely difficult.
*
*
- This is gonna be
an incredible challenge.
- We're gonna be dropped off
in separate locations,
and one of us has
to find the other.
- There they go!
- I'm gonna wait on my brother.
- Ohh!
- Hopefully he'll be here soon.
- Please come tomorrow.
- I don't know where I'm going,
how long I'm gonna be out here.
All I have is
a compass bearing.
- It's a needle in a haystack.
Can I even
make it to base camp?
- Dad?
- Son!
- No way.
- Everything around you
is telling you
that you need to go home.
- Please leave me alone.
- If you don't work as a team,
it's game over.
- I can't hold
the whole thing up.
- $500,000 would be
life-changing.
- I know.
- I feel like the life
is sucked out of me.
- He's coming.
He sees me.
*
*
*
- It's day 17 in the morning.
We slept in quite a bit.
Today we are going
to work on the boat.
Maybe Jim has some tweaks
to the crab trap.
It's pretty much finished,
and then we are,
you know, going to forage.
We're gonna--
we're gonna eat breakfast,
then we're gonna forage,
and then we're going to--
no, that's not
what we're gonna do.
We're gonna eat breakfast,
work on boats, forage--
[bleep] you, man,
you [bleep] ass[bleep].
Jim's pissing while I'm doing
a [bleep] interview,
just ruined the whole thing.
[Jim laughs]
[bleep] ass[bleep].
- I had to piss.
- Good morning.
It's day 17.
*
- We're building
a boat designed
for the specific
limitations we have here.
We only have a 12-by-12 tarp,
so it can't be long,
but we want a boat
that can fit two people.
We also have the ocean,
so we want a boat
with relatively high sides,
or freeboard, they call it,
when both of us are in there
so we won't get
swamped with waves.
Ted's been the main guy
doing work on it.
He's doing a good job,
but it's taking longer
than we thought
because we only have
so much time
we can work on it each day.
But I think that is gonna
give us the freedom
to be able to find more food.
- A few days ago we ate
some fish and some duck,
and we're like, "Man,
we're gonna stay out here
till 90 days,"
and a couple days go by,
and all you got is
two pots of shore crabs.
- But I think out in those
kelp beds 50 meters offshore
there's probably fish.
*
- Jim, this sucks.
- Just pretty small, that's all.
Can you kneel and rest
your butt on the seat?
- I don't know, man.
I feel like the boat's
gonna be tippy to the left.
- It's gonna be pretty tight
with two people in.
- Two, like, little girls,
it would be pretty good.
- Yeah. Yeah, we only have
one little girl, so...
- Yeah, I know.
What drives me nuts about Jim
is that he's just a loudmouth.
There's times where
I just want to headbutt him
and boot him down
a flight of stairs.
Maybe that's a good thing
about being brothers,
is we're not afraid to--
to just say what
we're feeling in the moment
and get past it.
Can't have one
without the other, right?
*
I'm gonna install seats,
and I'm just gonna use
that net that I found.
If it works, it'll be nice
so we can sit and fish
and not get cramps in our legs
and all that kind of stuff,
but two of us on seats,
I am a little skeptical
whether the frame should be
holding that kind of weight.
It's just risky.
*
I took our tarp down that's
a heavy-duty vinyl-coated tarp
that we're gonna use
for the cover of the boat,
which is a really
exciting moment.
We're getting closer to having
it ready to put in the water,
'cause we need more food,
it's just that simple.
We can't go on and do
the projects that we want to do
without getting
some calories in us.
*
- We're really hoping
this boat floats
and doesn't
just immediately break.
*
*
- Next time somebody asks me,
"What do you do for a living?"
I'm just gonna say,
"I build cobbled-together stuff
out of moss and sticks
for a living."
Timber!
I starve for a living.
I stink for a living.
It's good work
if you can get it.
It's just soaking wet.
What's up, woman?
Right on.
Good luck.
*
The biggest challenge
of building the cabin,
you can't go work all day
'cause you have to fish.
- Got some kelp.
Yes, I think I have a fish.
- If you could just work...
- Yes!
- You'd get a lot farther,
but the other person
would have to fish,
so you only get half
as much done.
- Oh! Yay!
Whoo-hoo!
- You'd think two people
could do better
fishing than one person,
but you're feeding two people,
so I mean,
it's kind of a net nothing.
If you don't catch any fish,
it doesn't bode well
for putting a bunch
of energy in.
- Ah, yeah,
it's a fatty!
[chuckles]
Thank you, Lord.
All right, let's kill him.
He's gonna be dinner.
I know.
If the fishing holds,
we do have a sustainable
source of food
to carry us
through a cabin build.
If the fish runs out,
we have a problem.
*
- Our shelter philosophy
out here
is we're just gonna do
what we do.
Our whole married life
is living in places
that we've built.
Our first home was
a 12-foot-by-12-foot cabin
that we built,
no running water,
no indoor plumbing.
We both live an extremely
rustic lifestyle together.
We've been married 18 years.
Pretty much daily life
was roughing it.
We've always lived right
on the very fringe of society.
Starting from nothing
and building a home from it,
that's in our DNA.
- Unbelievably cool.
I'm going to start chinking.
It's a good low-energy job
for me today
since I don't have
a lot of energy.
Grabbing chunks of moss here.
I got a little--
little stuffing stick,
and I'm just gonna be
stuffing the cracks.
This cabin project has taken
a lot of energy
out of both of us.
Absolutely there is risk of
expending a lot of calories
in a build of a cabin,
but at the same time
there's a risk
that you are mentally
going to burn out in a place
that you hate to crawl into
day after day,
wet and miserable.
We feel like as it gets
colder and the weather
turns more and more terrible,
being in a warm cabin
is gonna be a big deal.
*
- Why build something
this elaborate?
Why build something
that takes this much energy?
Why not build something
simple and focus on food?
It is a gamble.
You wonder if
it's all worth it.
When you don't have to crawl
in through a hole
in the side of the shelter.
You're not
laying on the ground.
You're laying on a bunk.
You got a nice fire going.
Yeah, it's worth it.
You're darn right
it's worth it.
I'm kind of dragging
a little bit this morning.
I'm just hungry and tired.
This is it.
This is the last--last log.
Going through the front door
with the last log.
Yeah, uh-huh.
When in doubt,
force it, right?
- Force it.
- Cram it in the cram hole.
*
There we go.
*
So let me take you on a tour.
This is what it's like coming
through the front door.
There's where the fireplace
is gonna go.
Hopefully there'll be a mantel
right across there,
some place to hang
your wet socks to dry.
- That is cool, cool beans.
Our cabin.
- I could use a nap.
*
*
- All right,
so we're ready
for the maiden
voyage of Hope.
The boat we've built,
that's what we've named her
'cause she's providing us
with some hope,
and we're gonna get out there
for the first time,
see if she floats...
- Yeah!
- And see if it'll
take both of us,
and we've got
our life jackets.
We've got our safety
gear all ready.
There's a risk
of wetting our gear.
It could give us
hypothermia,
all kinds of problems,
you can imagine.
So we've got a fire
and lots of wood split
in case we took a swim.
Hopefully we won't,
and we're ready
to get the heck
out of this freaking cove
and do this.
[straining]
*
- Yeah, it floats.
- Floats pretty [bleep]
good too.
- Looks not too tippy.
Looks pretty good.
Let Ted get in first.
- You sure you shouldn't
get in first?
*
- How does it feel?
- It feels really good.
- Yeah!
- Hold on, hold on!
- It's okay. It's okay.
- I think I got to kneel.
- Okay.
Okay, hold on.
- Pretty small.
- All right, I'm in.
How does it feel?
- It feels pretty good.
Yeah!
- Yeah!
We're in our boat!
It's working!
*
All right,
we're paddling in our boat.
It still needs
a little tweaking,
but that's why we do
a maiden voyage,
just to see what else it needs.
This is where the fish
seem to be biting.
Do you want to get
your rod ready?
- Yeah, I guess.
[bleep], everything's
pretty challenging to do
in this tiny
little space of terror.
*
- We did a trip,
like, years ago.
It was in the
Northwest Territories,
Mackenzie Mountains,
and I'd never even
paddled a rapid before,
and I went out there, and
after that I was just hooked.
Jim and I got into
expedition and canoe tripping,
but then this is
a whole other level.
*
- So far no bites.
No sign of fish.
*
Well...
no fish.
It's getting dark, man.
Time to call it quits.
*
- We are safely back at camp
after the maiden
voyage of Hope, our boat.
I guess I should be
in better spirits about it
because it floated
quite well.
It did handle both of us
with tons of freeboard
on the sides,
but I don't understand
how it's possible that,
like, we could be
there fishing
and didn't catch
one fish, man.
- I don't know, man.
- I don't know
if it's given us
a whole new
lease on life, Jim,
but it's definitely
an asset.
- Yeah, absolutely.
*
*
*
- When we get back,
we'll write a book,
"The Vancouver Island Diet."
- Yeah.
- All you do is you eat--
you eat half of a seasonless
fish per night,
and that's it.
- And drink water.
- And drink water.
And you can have
some snails too
if you want,
but don't overdo it.
[laughter]
*
It's gonna be time
to go fishing pretty soon.
Hopefully that's lucky.
*
- All right,
here, fishy, fishy.
We need fishes.
We did not
eat fish yesterday.
Really would like to have
a fish to eat tonight.
- Mm-hmm.
- Saw the sea lion
on the way out here.
- Oh, yeah? We got this
sea lion that hangs out.
He's scary because sometimes
he gets kind of close,
and I don't like that,
and he does it
when you're not looking.
- Whoa!
- Holy cow, there's Sneaky.
- Yeah, Sneaky, man.
- There he is.
- Holy cow.
- Wow, that was pretty close.
- Yeah.
I'm kind of scared
he's gonna just come flying
out of the water
right up at us.
Wow, that was
really creepy, man.
- Man, where'd he go?
I don't like this.
I don't like when
he plays this game.
He just watches us all--
when we're out there,
he just watches us.
He's just--and I like
watching him too,
except when he gets close.
I don't like when he gets close
because they have big teeth,
and you can tell he's
definitely a large animal,
and I don't want to be near
him 'cause I don't know.
I don't know anything
about those things.
They look plenty playful
and cuddly, but so do bears,
and bears can tear you
to pieces.
*
- Look at that--oh.
- Oh, boy.
- What was that all about?
- I don't know.
A little ways out, good.
Sneaky, you stay over there.
*
- You getting any nibbles?
- Nothing.
Yeah, I'm not getting
any action over here anymore.
- No. It's so slow now.
*
Wow, man, skunked.
Like, very few bites.
- Yeah.
- I don't like that.
*
Sure would love
to get out farther.
- I'll tell you what--
where I think would be
some really good fishing
is that point right over there.
- Yeah, you never know
what might be hanging out
right near that channel.
- Mm-hmm.
I think it might be worth it.
- We just might catch a fish.
We'll see.
We'll have to try it
soon though.
If you're no longer
getting fish,
we have a little bit
of reserves left,
and then it's a countdown just
to see how long we can last.
I hope we don't get
to that point.
*
*
*
- Good day.
We got big plans today
to make massive progress
on the cabin.
We're gonna karate chop
that thing.
We're gonna be in there
before you know it.
*
- Brooke wants to do
the fireplace
'cause she's got an idea
of what she wants
and how she wants to do it.
- The fireplace will
be built out of rocks
straight from the ocean,
the flattest rocks I can find,
and it'll be built up
probably three feet high
to reflect the heat away
from a wooden teepee
that will stand
over top of it as--
to act as sort of a chimney.
No way of getting around it,
rocks are heavy.
*
And low-energy people
shouldn't haul rocks,
but what can you do?
Whew.
- She's always
pushing herself,
but we're both
burned out a bit.
We need to not work so hard.
She just carried, like,
75 pounds of rocks up here.
Stubborn, stubborn woman.
She's gonna blow out something,
and that'll be it.
- [sighs]
*
- What are you doing?
- I've been adding rocks.
- Let me carry
the big ones, please.
- Well, I've been doing it
for an hour.
Why don't you just keep doing
your thing, and I'll keep--
- 'Cause my thing's
a lot lighter than yours,
and I don't want you
to blow something out.
- Only blowing out my energy.
- That too.
- That's what's
blowing right now.
- Just take it easy.
- I'm gonna carry a few more.
I'm just gonna keep going
as long as I can.
- She is pushing herself
farther than she should.
And this place
will just beat her down
if she doesn't
watch herself.
[dramatic music]
*
*
*
- Oh, my God.
The worst part of the day
is upon me, Ted.
The part of the day
where my wet socks
go on my wonderfully dry feet.
Oh, God.
Oh, oh!
Cold, wet socks.
*
- We'd like to take
the boat out today.
- The boat is pretty awesome.
I mean, it's actually
pretty quick.
Given the resources we had,
some trees and some wire
and only a 12-foot tarp,
it's pretty amazing,
but we're thinking that
it's just gonna be too small
to go big distances,
too small for two people,
so we're gonna rig it up
for one person
and just kind of fish closer,
just the kelp beds
just offshore
that we can't quite reach
when fishing from shore.
So I'm really
excited about it,
and I think it's a really
awesome little vessel.
- That's it.
- Good luck.
- Thanks.
Where should I try fishing?
- I don't know, man, maybe just
over by that kelp out there.
*
- It takes a lot of time
to get food,
but the key is just be
patient and keep working.
I fish.
Ted forages.
Maybe I catch nothing,
but Ted gets enough.
Of course, you got to split
that food between two people,
but at least there is some
food as opposed to none.
*
Well...
no fish.
Time to call it quits.
Go work on some other stuff.
Oh, that took a lot
out of me,
but another test run
of the boat going solo.
I'm starting to get worried
about this boat
not providing us
with more fish.
- Yeah.
- We're not getting
enough food out here.
- How much longer can
we go like this, Ted?
- I don't know.
- Ten days?
- We need to eat more.
We just--
it's as simple as that, man.
- I feel like we're in
the [bleep] or I am anyways.
Like, I just--I just feel like
I'm being tortured, you know?
- Yeah.
- It's a slow starve,
is what's happening to us.
*
We're starving to death.
*
*
*
- We're getting kind of
a late start today.
I think both of us are just
really getting tired,
really worn out
from lack of food.
We didn't have
any fish yesterday.
We had none the day before,
and it's really
catching up with us.
Today we would
really like to explore
a different place for fishing.
*
- All right, so we're headed
off on our hike to the new,
potentially good fishing spot
all the way around the cove.
Got to work with the tide,
and it's starting
to rain on us,
but hopefully it'll
work out well today.
*
It's pretty rough walking,
but at low tide
you can circle around
and get to a point where
the inlet really pinches down.
It could be a great
fishing spot.
*
We better watch the tide
pretty darn close
while we're out here.
- Yeah.
- If we get stuck,
it's gonna be
a horrible walk back.
- Yeah, it sure will.
Soon as that tide
starts coming in,
we've got to keep
an eye on it.
- Yeah.
This looks doable right here.
- Right through there?
- Yeah. It's gonna be rough
with these fishing rods.
*
- Damn it, I'm stuck.
*
- There you go.
- Holy cow, Sam.
You're killing your old man.
- We're almost there.
- I sure hope this is worth it.
*
- How about you
start fishing here?
- All right.
*
The tides are not very good.
*
We have to come back before
the tide starts coming back in,
or we'll get stuck.
I mean, that could--
that could kill you.
If we can catch a fish, it
would be worth it, wouldn't it?
Oh, my God.
Damn if he didn't
take my bait again.
There is a sneaky
damn fish here.
I'm getting
really pissed off.
*
Oh, bitch.
*
Oh, this is frustrating now.
Tide'll probably change soon.
- It's still going out, but
it's definitely slowing down.
- Yeah.
Doggone it.
I need to catch
this bait-robbing fish.
- I actually did
just get a hit.
- Yeah?
- See that?
- Oh, hey!
Oh, oh, oh, oh, no!
- No!
- No way!
- No, there goes
my first fish.
- Oh, my God, Sam.
- No way.
- Oh.
- I cannot believe that.
- You should have just
stomped on him.
- He was already
down the s--
I woulda just--
I woulda gone right in.
- I tell you what,
if it wasn't for bad luck,
you'd have no luck at all.
*
Wonder how long we're gonna
be able to stay out here.
Nothing easy about it,
that's for sure,
but this is an incredibly
unique opportunity,
spending a lot of time
with my son.
There'll come a day when he'll
get married, have children.
He'll be settled down in
a different part of the country,
and then who knows how often
we'd be able to see him.
So spending this time
with him is just...
invaluable.
*
Got one, Sam.
- Yes!
- A nice, big greenling.
- That is what
I am talking about.
Get him away
from the shore.
[laughter]
- Oh, man, how about that?
*
All the fish we've caught
so far has been by me,
and Sam, he hasn't
caught a fish yet.
- Hmm, I'm gonna try
a new spot.
- You know, Sam is honestly
a very good fisherman.
I've seen him catch fish
when other people don't.
I think he's being
an awful good sport about it.
I think he wishes
he could contribute
to our food a little bit,
but sometimes
that's how it goes.
- Any more luck?
- Yeah, I got one more.
- Nice.
Aww!
It does kind of bother me
that I haven't caught any yet.
I don't get it.
I mean, back home, you know,
we go fishing,
and we're competitive.
Like, we're both
turning in numbers,
and now here we are out here,
and I can't get anything.
- Got another one, Sam.
- Nice!
- Get any more bites?
- No.
- Huh.
Right there where you are
is where I caught
that first big one.
- Well, it is frustrating.
I like catching fish.
I'd like to be walking back
with a stringer of fish.
That would be phenomenal,
but I don't--I don't know
what's going on.
I have no idea
what's going on.
- I think the tide has turned.
- Oh, we can't get
caught out here though.
Let's go ahead
and get out of here.
- Well, at least
we're not gonna go hungry.
- Yeah, we got
a few days' worth.
I mean, what would I be doing
if you weren't here?
- I know, what would
you be eating?
- Nothing. I wouldn't be
eating fish, that's for sure.
*
*
*
*
- Good morning.
It's pretty chilly out.
It was a really harsh night
last night.
Rained pretty much
all day yesterday,
capped it off with
strong winds and some thunder,
but very cold.
- This food
situation sucks, eh?
- Yeah.
- It's plaguing us, man.
- This morning we're just
headed out
to the cove
to try to do some fishing.
- Do you really think
we're just--
our bodies are gonna
shut down out here?
- Of course, if we're
not eating enough, man.
Of course they will.
*
Hopefully
we get on some fish.
We don't exactly have
the yummiest food in hand,
and fish is definitely
a treat out here,
so I do want to get
a trotline set today.
That's what we're gonna do
without further ado.
*
I'm just at our fishing spot,
and I'm going
to set a trotline.
Easier said than done.
My hands are really frozen,
and it's really annoying
to try to work them,
but I'm gonna give it a whirl.
I'm gonna tie some wire
around this rock
and make a loop
in the wire at the end,
and then I'm gonna tie
my line to that.
That's what I'm gonna
throw into the ocean
with all my hooks on it,
and then I'm gonna
tie the line back to,
like, a tree branch
or something up here
on shore.
*
Somebody has
to throw the rock,
and somebody
has to have, like, slack
and hold it high,
and then depending
on where the hooks are,
we'll, like, tie it up
in the tree.
Setting a trotline
isn't really as easy
as you might think
'cause there's so many hooks
and line that can be tangled,
and then all over the rocks
there's barnacles
which can cut your line,
and the hooks need to be baited,
and then on top of that
there's cracks in the rocks,
and your line gets caught
and everything,
so here we are starving hungry
in the pitch black again.
- One, two, three.
*
Oh, [bleep]!
*
*
I'm really hoping
it doesn't get infected
because infection could spell
the end for us out here.
*
*
*
- It's cold this morning.
Doesn't feel like
when we got here.
There were days when we got
here that I wore my t-shirt.
*
I'm a bit tired.
*
What's on the agenda
for today?
We're gonna work
on the cabin this morning.
I'd love to sleep
in there tonight.
A lot to do,
better get at it.
*
- [humming]
*
We're back in the woods.
We need poles for
the fireplace for our cabin.
We are both just exhausted.
We got to get
this cabin done.
So you're taking them
over the hill then?
- Yeah.
- Oh.
- Whoa.
- Oh, boy.
- [laughs]
Go ahead.
- Warning.
- [high-pitched] Go ahead.
- Nuts in danger.
*
- Does that look about center,
or does it need to come
your way a little?
- I think it needs
to come my way.
- What do we have to get done
to move in?
- First the tarp,
let's get the tarp on.
- Are we in the home stretch,
do you think?
'Cause if we put
the tarp on,
we'll be cutting wood in
the rain if we don't make it in.
We're kind of committed
once we do that.
- I'm committed to being
in there tonight, man.
My spirits would be dashed
if we're not in there tonight.
*
- Here's our dilemma
with the cabin right now.
We're ready to put the roof on
and move our stuff over,
but it has went
from beautiful, sunny day,
to now it's just dark
and ominous and moody.
[thunder rumbles]
Moving in the rain,
could be pretty awful.
- Are we committed?
- Yeah, I want to do it.
I don't want to be
in that place anymore.
*
Wow.
*
- Once the cabin's done,
we're gonna tear down
the first shelter.
We're gonna use
a lot of the poles
out of that
for our bunks.
*
It has went from
a beautiful, sunny day
to now it's just dark
and ominous and moody.
[thunder rumbles]
And it looks like we're
gonna get pounded with rain
in 20, 30 minutes.
- Everything that you do
out here is a risk.
It's a calculated
thought process
to get from one thing
to another.
- I'll figure this out
in a minute.
Just get
all four corners up.
- You just have to weigh your
options and make your choice.
*
You also can't just sit
on the bench
and think about it
for too long,
or you'll never
get anything done.
This is so unbelievable.
It got really dark
and ominous,
and now look at it.
It's like fairy tale land.
It's beautiful.
Bringing back memories
of day one,
built this day one.
I'm proud of this shelter.
- Honey, blue sky.
- I know! I saw it!
It's a good day for moving.
*
Yeah, basically you
just fill in the cracks
with the smaller stuff.
It's a lot of work.
Energy is something that is
in completely short supply here,
so we definitely don't need to
make more work for ourselves.
- We are so close
to moving in.
I'm gonna go over,
and I'm gonna grab the fire.
I'm bringing my fire.
*
[blowing]
- You got to see the inside.
Oh, my goodness.
Wow, that's really throwing
off some heat already.
- Yeah, it feels pretty good.
*
- Looks like a Christmas tree
exploded in here.
- I know.
*
- I feel like the cabin
was absolutely
the best decision
we have made.
It will allow us to just come
in at the end of a long day,
and if it's pouring rain,
you can sit on a bench
and be dry and be upright,
and there's no leaks.
He's carving our initials
into the hearth, the mantel?
I don't know
what you call this thing.
You feel secure,
and you're dry,
and it's a much
happier environment.
So far that risk
has paid off.
It's not a losing game
right now.
- Add a little more
homey touch.
- I think it's pretty
endearing after 18 years.
He's carving my initials
in the mantel, yay.
- Later on, I'm gonna
give her a tattoo.
- Ah, whoo!
- It's gonna be my name.
It's gonna be on her cheek
like a prison tattoo.
It's gonna be awesome.
- I'll take it.
*
We are in the cabin tonight.
We worked our butts off today,
and we're in
on our own bunks.
We can walk around.
We got head space,
unbelievable.
*
- Ahhh!
Heard flame sound,
and I look up,
and the chimney was on fire.
- Every fish we've eaten
out here has been my dad.
I have not caught
a single fish.
- Yes!
- This is called
a yellow brick.
This is how you quit.
- It's gonna be really exciting
to check out the crab trap.
It looks like the float
is not floating.
No!
The float sunk.
No!
*