Gold Rush: Alaska (2010–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - No Guts, No Glory - full transcript
When the going gets tough, the tough seek new frontiers. Six recession-hit patriots from Oregon become greenhorn old miners and head north to Alaska to dig for gold and save themselves from financial ruin.
Can a guy risk it all in America anymore?
You're about to lose your house. Don't lose faith.
Go get your glory.
Let go.
(bleep) Don't talk to me that way.
Don't try and intimidate me.
Holy...
It's like nothing lives here except bears
Bang
Where is the gold.
We got gold.
I'm ready to die for it.
That I guarantee you.
Here we go.
It's a fir fest.
Whoa
There isn't one man in America
if he's got anything inside him
wouldn't want to be here with us.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
Hey dad. I've got to talk to you about fuel.
I don't think we can afford to get any fuel. So
Alright. The way things are,
I don't know what we're gonna do.
Tom Hoffman and his father Jack, run a small airfield.
We may have to sell the airport.
It might be the best deal. I just don't know.
The American downturn means
this family business is struggling.
This recession has just decimated the
aviation business. It's just bad.
For Todd and Jack, the future looks bleak.
I don't have a degree. You know.
I can't go out there and go get a job.
You know, even if I wanted to, there isn't anything out there.
For the Hoffman's there might be one last hope, Gold.
We're over $1200 an ounce.
I thought it was good at $400
This is going to be a life changer if we can pull this off.
With the price of gold at an all time high,
Jack and Todd are about to risk everything
they own on the biggest gamble of their lives.
Our business is struggling.
I'm throwing everything I've got into it.
We're gonna go gold mining.
To find a gold claim, the Hoffman's
are traveling to America's last frontier.
Buried in the Alaskan wilderness is
an estimated $250 billion worth of gold.
For over 100 years, men have risked
their lives here in the hope of getting rich.
And Jack knows the stakes are high.
Back in the 80's he mined for three
seasons, and nearly went bankrupt.
I kept mining, you know, when I guess
the last dog died, you know
He was digging nuggets out of the
ground when the price of gold was just too low.
Since then, gold has gone sky high.
Jack and Todd have been on a mission
to find the right place to start mining.
And now Jack thinks they've found
a claim that's a prospector's dream.
What do you got here.
-I've seen a lot of ground.
-And this is it.
Holy cow. They got 29 grams
in that one test hole.
There's millions of dollars.
Well, if you think we got a shot,
I mean, I'll go..
I know we got a shot.
The claim the Hoffmans want to lease,
is 160 acres of forest and rock around an old
ghost town in Porcupine Creek, south-eastern Alaska.
It belongs to an old mining
buddy of Jack's named Earl Foster.
Eighteen years. Glad you made it dude.
All along here, it all yielded gold from the surface
down to 20 feet. Here, you take 100 ounces of gold.
Since 1898, prospectors have pulled out nearly
$100 million of gold from the Porcupine Creek area.
Dude. That's all gold nuggets right there.
Hehehehehe. Look at those nuggets, Earl.
For every smiling miner,
there are 100 who never make it.
Back in the Klondike gold rush in the 1890s,
less than 1% of those who set out struck it rich.
But no one's ever prospected
on Earl's claim with heavy machinery.
And the geological samples suggest there's still $15 million worth of gold in the ground there.
I would work this piece of ground first.
Todd is gambling that with the
right equipment, he can beat the odds.
We're going. We're going for it man. Hah, he he.
We're going all the way.
So we'll see, how we do.
Back in Oregon, they're selling
everything that's not nailed down.
Another day, another $1000
To pay for the machinery to get at the gold.
The money's being spent on 2 excavators,
an old dump truck, a front loader,a portable
generating station, a semi, and thousands
of dollars worth of supplies.
What they can't afford to buy, they're building.
They're making a shaker and a trommel from scratch.
and reconditioning a pump capable of
emptying a swimming pool within minutes.
What they need is mining equipment
spec'd out for the wilderness.
The Hoffmans are assembling an unemployed
bunch of buddies to operate this equipment in Alaska.
But there's no spare cash for wages.
These guys are paying their
own way,until we strike gold.
They're not gonna get paid.
Until we dig the gold out of the ground.
That sounds kinda silly, but I'll tell
you what. That's the way it is.
Times are so tough, everyone of
these guys is prepared to take their
chances on a share of the profits.
There's gonna be a lot of people that are friggen
surprised at what this group of nutballs can put together.
Most of the engineering is being done
by the team mechanic, James Harness.
I'm the guy that everybody brings
stuff to after no one else can fix it.
I'm stubborn and I'll make sure it happens.
You're rockin dude. Rock and Roll buddy.
Harness can fix anything.
But he can't fix himself.
I've got a fractured neck from a car wreck.
I have an implant in my ankle.
My ankle was completely taken off my body.
The pain is, without morphine,
impossible to deal with.
The first thing I want to do, when we
get gold, is get spinal surgery.
If there's no gold, then I'm sunk
just like everybody else.
Team foreman is Greg Remsburg,
a construction superintendant.
Hey, hey. One guys got to be directing here.
This is how somebody's gonna get killed.
But he's hit hard times too.
I haven't had work here in,
in Oregon, for the last year.
He's taking handouts to
put food on the family table.
I hate relying on my parents for help.
41 years old. I should be able to wipe my own bottom.
The team safety officer is Jim Thurber,
an unemployed metal worker.
Two years ago, he had a successful
business. Now he's about to lose his home.
One more late payment on my mortgage
and we go into foreclosure. So...
Rounding out the team is Jimmy Dorsey.
I am learning how to use this thing. Whoa.
He's an ex realtor who's
had to move out of his home.
We are at my mother-in-law's house.
I don't wish this upon anybody.
It's really humbling to ask for this type of help.
The future of every one of these
guys is resting on Todd's dream.
I'm no miner.
I'm just your average guy tired of
sitting here not making any money.
So, like my forefathers, they balls upped,
and they went out into the frontier.
It's spring, and the snow is melting in Alaska,
which means the mining season can begin.
At the airport, four lowboys and a semi have
arrived, to carry the four hundred thousand
pounds of mining equipment on the long journey north.
Alright. Let's go. We gotta get this stuff moving.
Every day they're not mining is
money going out with nothing coming in.
We gotta get this tied down, and get out of here.
If we don't get this stuff loaded up tonight,
we're a week behind. We gotta keep moving forward.
The team is going to use their 2 backhoes
to get their equipment onto the lowboys.
Ex Realtor Dorsey is at the controls.
Stop.
Just, just stop.
Look at him. He's on top of his friggen car.
Your hands. Show me your hands. Clear. Awww.
Jamie Dorsey, has just hit his own car.
Since you did that, you try to get it off there.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
It's never ending with these guys.
You didn't break any windows. You're alright.
-He always is giving me a hard time.
-Where do you want it?
Jack's got about 20 years more experience at this
than Dorsey. So he's taking charge of the loading.
This is scaring me right here.
Holy steinkie.
The combined weight of the generator
and it's container is 35,000 pounds.
-I can't lift the whole thing.
I can only lift this end.
-Hold on.
Todd brings in the front
end loader to try and add lift power.
Hang on. Hold up.
Hold up.
Okay. We're gonna lift the front, try to slide
that semi up underneath that container.
And then, we're gonna winch it up on there.
We don't know if it's gonna work.
The plan is to use the 400 and the loader
to take the weight of the container, while
the lowboy's winch pulls it onto the deck.
I don't know if that winch is strong enough.
They don't know either, and I
don't want to tear up their deck.
I had a buddy one time and the winch
chain had snapped and killed him, so
Every time I see cables like that,
man, I try and stay clear.
Their families have come
to see the final preparations.
You got some candy?
Watch that. Watch that cable.
Within seconds, disaster strikes.
(Snap, twang)
Broke the chain, the cable snapped back,
I could have killed somebody.
Hey, you shut up. Don't talk like that.
You gonna talk like that, go over there.
You don't talk like that.
The last thing the families need is
a reminder of just how dangerous
this mining expedition will be.
All of a sudden, it's become very real.
You see the chain break and you're like,
Oh my god,my worst fears.
Someone's gonna get their head blown off.
Despite their narrow escape, the crew
still needs to work fast and hard to
get the equipment loaded.
Finally, all of the Hoffman's precious
mining gear is safely on the lowboys.
And ready to go to Alaska.
Up ahead, getting 400 thousand pounds
of mining gear to Alaska, the hard way.
The Hoffman's crew runs out of road.
Back back back back.
Unhook it. I will.
And Todd loses it, on the final leg to the claim.
Unhook the Gator, now.
The day of departure dawns.
Todd Hoffman and his crew of wannabe
miners are about to head off for Alaska.
We're back on schedule now. Everything's
loaded up, tied down, ready to go.
There's still some last minute packing to be done.
But Todd's gone home for
a last moment with his wife, Shawna.
I know those guys are gonna be pissed off
but, I gotta spend this last few minutes with
my family, and, it's a lot of weight
on my shoulders, you know, and
I can do it, as long as her, and Peewee,
wild girl over there, are Okay.
Todd's wife and daughter are staying in
Oregon. But he's taking his two sons,
Hunter and Hudson.
It's going to be hard, seeing all 3 of
them leave. This will be the first time
to be away from them that long.
And like Todd, Greg will be bringing his son, Brandon.
I'm excited for what he's gonna learn
from me, from this group of men, and
He's gonna grow up a lot this year.
But the other wives and families will stay behind.
What am I supposed to do? Stay here?
I was really hoping to hear that you're
okay with being here all summer.
Not really.
I don't like the long distance marriage thing.
Meanwhile, Jack, and James Harness are
going to pick up a couple of final essential items.
Spear guns.
The bigger, the better. In terms of bears.
Not having a gun is suicide up there.
This 44 Mag is made out of titanium.
You don't need something this big for, for humans.
Harness settles on a 50 calibre hand cannon.
I gotta have this one.
Get that?
Yup.
Good. Come on back here
and we'll do the paperwork.
Loaded with firepower, the guys gather
with family and friends for their last goodbyes.
Thank you Lord for this day, and Lord,
for the good weather and we just thank you...
Their local Pastor, Mike Hallstead,
comes to bless their journey.
But it looks like the Pastor's caught
a bad dose of gold fever himself.
I, I think I'm going to Alaska.
It's really exciting that he's coming.
Can't let these guys go up
and have all the fun without me, so..
Now, with guns and God on their side
The town takes a moment
to reflect on what lies ahead.
I love you.
You too. Take care.
You be careful. okay.
You too.
The main anxiety that I have
is for the families that are left here.
I'll call, okay.
Okay,
Everybody's going to have a real struggle.
He's buying a new truck?
Yeah, and he's going a, a long time.
I believe the people that step up to the plate
like our people will be able to take care
of ourselves and our families and our friends.
Aw, it's hard to leave.
Hard to leave my girls.
I'm gonna do everything I can, for all these people.
I want them to be happy.
I want them to have gold, you know.
Put it in their pocket.
Pay for their houses.
Pay for their cars.
That, that's what I want it for.
I'm ready to die for it.
After months of hard labor, blood, sweat,
and tears, the team is finally on the road.
Yessss...Wooohooo.
I've done a lot of crazy things in my day.
This might be the biggest, most
ambitious thing, I've ever tried.
You have no idea how good this feels.
Man, I've been waiting. I mean,
I've had my stuff packed for weeks.
I'm excited.
I'm apprehensive.
But moving 400,000 pounds of gear
to Alaska, is not as simple as a Sunday cruise.
We gotta haul all this gear to
Seattle, get it on the barge, by 3 PM.
Then we got to drive 2000 miles up to Alaska.
I have no idea what's in store for us.
This is not gonna be easy.
This is gonna be tough.
The only practical way to get
all the heavy gear to southeast Alaska,
is by sea barge.
They sail once a week from Seattle.
And if the team misses the barge,
it'll cost them one week's time.
And thousands of dollars in expenses.
We have to make it to the barge by 3pm.
We got 6 hours to go 200 miles.
My one concern is that we've got a bunch of
old equipment, and travel with old gear,
anything can happen at any time.
After only an hour and a half,
the team's campers and SUVs have ground to a halt.
Well, I was following, following Jack
down the freeway, and I could smell smoke.
A hot burning rubber smell so I knew
someone in the convoy, was uh, losing
a tire and then I saw smoke coming from Jack's
wheel, then next thing I know,
chunks of tire is flying I saw.
Blown fuses and dead batteries
bring the team to a standstill.
The convoy is now split in two.
But one team member is still making good time.
Now, it's up to Dorsey to deliver
the heavy gear to Seattle by 3 pm.
Well, I gotta keep these big rigs moving.
If we don't make it to the barge, today
Another barge isn't going to be sailing for
Alaska until next week. This is gonna
cost Jack and Todd thousands.
The lowboys should make the barge,
as long as Dorsey can keep them moving.
Dorsey. Big time blowout here.
I'm gonna pull over right now.
How could we have a flat. That's ridiculous.
Dammit.
Well, I'm driving then all of a sudden, BANG,
then I saw all this air and whatever shoot out.
So. We're kinda in a pickle here.
Meanwhile, Todd's got the
campers and SUVs back on the road.
It's less than 3 hours till the barge sails.
(phone ringing)
It's less than 3 hours till the barge sails.
(phone ringing)
This isn't good.
It's Dorsey.
So. We had a blowout on the dump truck.
The rest of the convoy's just heading on, right?
No. The rest of the convoy's waiting.
Get whatever we can get on that friggen barge.
What do you want us to do? Do you
want, want me to send everyone ahead?
Dorsey. Get that friggen truck fixed,
and get it up to the barge.
You are going to cost us Bigtime.
Send it, okay, even the guy, alright.
Alright. I'll do it.
Todd wants you guys to just keep going.
Screw the convoy. We want
to get this stuff up to the barge.
So. Go for it.
The lowboys are back on the road.
And they should make the barge.
The challenge now is to get
the dump truck to the dock by 3.
Dorsey calls a repair service to get the tire replaced.
Hi, just calling about an ETA
on a tire service repairman.
Thank you so much. Alright.
I guess, it's gonna be an hour. An hour to wait.
Every piece of equipment has to get on
the barge. Or they'll miss a week's mining.
It's all hanging on Dorsey fixing the blowout.
If Dorsey screws this up, well, he just better not.
I don't know what we're gonna do.
Coming up.
Rushing death defying river.
Todd and the team brave freezing waters.
Man that's deep. Go Go.
And risk it all on treacherous roads.
Oh. Oh. No.
trying to get to their claim.
This is where the gold is, boys.
We made it. Yee Haw. Woooo.
(Woof. Woof.)
This dump truck needs to be
on a barge in just over an hour.
But it's got a blowout. And Dorsey's
waiting for the guy to come and fix it.
It's only been 41 minutes. They said 20 minutes.
That, that's him right there.
Alright.
Things are suddenly looking up.
Gold price just went to $1237 an ounce.
That's the highest amount, it's ever been, in human history.
The dump truck is finally getting back on the road.
What's wrong?
Heartache.
But there's less than an hour to get to the barge.
We're underway. We're heading off to Seattle.
We're gonna try and meet up with the barge.
We gotta get to that barge.
We got 50 minutes to go 40 miles
Time enough. It's gonna be touch and go. I'l tell you that.
At this point it nay be a lost cause. It's all messed up.
The team hits the gas. Desperately trying
to get the last straggling vehicles to
the port before time runs out.
With minutes to spare, the crew catches up to the convoy of lowboys outside the Seattle shipping terminal.
Get em unloaded.
It's exactly 2:58 We have 2 minutes to get on this barge.
Drop dead fantastic.. Everybody caught up
with each other, so, ha ha ha, you know.
They were literally, closing the gates when we pulled in.
I mean, we made it by the skin of our teeth.
Yeah. It was an amazing journey. I didn't
think we were actually gonna make it.
Yeah.
We made it.
200 miles down, out of a 2000 mile journey,
man, and I feel like I already got my butt kicked.
As the barge leaves port, carrying
the weight of their hopes and dreams
the team now has to race up north to meet it.
A journey that will take 5 days, if, all goes well.
We got 2000 miles of road in front of us. The Alcan Highway.
One of the worst stretches of highway in the whole United States.
I'm gonna take this team of guys,
and I'm gonna kick this thing right in the face.
We're gonna go get some friggen gold.
Want gold? Want gold huh. Want to go to Alaska, huh.
I gotta, take a pee.
We're not stopping here.
You're gonna have to pee in a bottle.
Hey, be careful. It's not funny. Don't get it on the seat.
It's Greg's fault. Greg won't stop.
So, whaddaya do. Got to pee in a bottle.
Supervisor Greg is pushing the team to put in the miles.
So they can meet the barge on time.
It's my job to keep this convoy moving.
Every day that we're not mining is costing us more money.
Got everybody in line?
Jack, Hallstead, Todd.
With Greg driving them hot,
this band of mining greenhorns covers
the 2000 miles in just 4 days.
So they're ahead of schedule,
as they reach the Alaskan border.
1, 2, 3, wooohooo.
We're here.
That's right. There's Mount Leland.
And, this is those trees right there. That's Porcupine Mine.
There's the town of Porcupine right there.
Let's start digging.
Let's do it.
Yeah, we made it. Wooo.
The port of Haines, Alaska.
This is where the barge carrying the team's heavy equipment will dock.
See ya. Thanks for the call. Bye.
Okay. The barge just came in. All our stuff's there.
Get started.
First thing I want to see show up is my gun.
Because I don't want to be a bear snack.
There's one cube case. Looks like a guitar case.
Is it guitar or tol guns.
Guns.
Yeah. We got guns.
We're gonna have weapons on us before a bear attacks.
Bring a handful when you come.
As well as 45 guns and 180 boxes of ammo
the guys need to pick up nearly
400,000 pounds of heavy machinery.
including the 2 excavators,
the King of which, is the 400.
The 400 backhoe's our ace in the hole.
It can reach down 30 feet.
It can lift out boulders that are the size of a Volkswagon.
But this 100,000 pound beast,
and it's 60,000 pound cousin, the 270
are no good at the dock.
They need to get them up to the claim.
There's just one little problem.
The Klehini River.
We don't know what capacity this bridge is,
but we got to get our 270 across, or the lowboy.
Everything could go in the water.
We lose a driver,
we lose the equipment
We're up a creek. Literally.
We're about ready to take this 270 excavator
across the Porcupine Bridge, and our one
concern right now is the weight.
The 270 weighs 60,00 lbs., and that's
not including the tractor trailer.
We're missing a bunch of wear
boards here. Donny, what do you think?
This is a state maintained bridge.
But obviously the state hasn't been
here this year to maintain 'em.
Oh boy.
Dude, I got serious reservations about this, so
Whatever. It's your call Rams and Donny.
It's ultimately yours. So, is that cool?
Right on.
Alright.
Okay. Let's do this.
Let's go. Okay.
We're going.
This is our biggest challenge to date.
We got a bridge that we don't know if it
can handle the capacity. It's this old steel
trestle with wood decking that's half rotten.
Everything could go in the river. So
This is a big deal for us right now.
Keep everybody off that bridge 'cept for us.
Let's go.
(loud creaking noises)
(cracking noises)
Geez.
I'm hearing this sucker squeak.
(groaning noise from bridge)
I'm hearing this thing rattle like
It's squeaking, moving
Holy Fuck!
That board
Come on. We're almost there. We're almost there Donny.
Boards are squeaking, snapping.
My god, dude.
(horn) Honk, honk, honk, honk
Yahoo. Wooh wooh. Cheering.
Man.
Hee Rah!
Donny.
Leave it to Donny.
Right here, Man.
Balls, Donny. You got balls
Woo hoo.
Never done that before. So.
Right on dude.
There was one spot where the tire
slipped down about 8 inches.
(chatter)
Lord. Teach me how to swim, fast.
(Laughter)
Well, let's get back to work.
The relief is short lived.
The bridge was straining under the weight of the 270.
And now the 400 has arrived.
And it's nearly 40,000 lbs. heavier.
Jack phones Alaska's Dept. of
Transportation to see if the bridge will take it.
Well, thanks a lot.
Yeah.
I don't know what we're gonna do now.
Now that could be just terrible.
It turns out, the bridge has been damaged.
And the 100,000 lb. excavator is way beyond
what the Dept. of Transportation will allow.
Well.
He says that there's no friggen
way we can go across that bridge.
He says it'll either buckle, or the pilings will give way.
We've come all this far, and this stops us.
We're screwed.
Flat out
Screwed.
I don't know what we're gonna do.
We need that excavator. You know.
If we don't get that thing across
it really is gonna just. It's gonna
severely affect us, uh, maybe to
the point that, we have to just, give it up.
The 400 backhoe is crucial, because
it has the reach to get down to bedrock,
where all the gold nuggets settle.
Jack's prepared to risk everything to
get the 400 across. Even if that means
driving it straight through the river.
I've crossed 'em. But not quite
this big. And not quite this deep.
You know. If I do, and I die, no big deal.
I just want to get it across.
The springtime temperature of
the Klehini River is only 41 degrees.
The water's so cold. This is glacier
runoff. This is glacier melt.
If my dad got even in there for just,
a little bit of time, he could die.
Lookit dad. Look how deep it is.
No no. It's only six feet.
You don't see anybody crossing here.
They have, lots of times.
Not now. Not this time of year.
Listen dad. That's a rushing, friggen river.
I know that.
You're gonna go through your death defying river thing.
Thirty four degrees, that's it.
You dropped off or something, you're done.
we're done. Our season's over.
I think we'll get out in that deep part
there and our track will pop off or
something and then that's it.
We'll be those idiots from Oregon that came up and, um
There's their excavator. That was their whole mining season.
Todd decides to cross further up the valley,
where the river splits into 3 main channels.
The only way to stop the old guy, is for me to do it.
I think I've found a better place to cross.
It's moving pretty quick. And we gotta
get rolling. It's getting warm out. So.
All that snow melt, off these big
mountains and glaciers over here,
is just making this thing deep.
I keep getting a marker on these rocks and
it's going up slowly. Just like the tide coming in.
I'm worried about how fast this water is.
Watch for the sinkholes out there.
There it goes. Here we go.
Here we go. Here we go.
Holy, crap.
Keep going. Keep going.
I'm going. I'm going.
(chanting) Go! Go!
We got probably 3 more of these channels to
get across, so. Each one goes a little deeper.
Frank's gonna eyeball everything, and watch the tracks.
I got Hallstead over here. Scouting out in front of us.
Yeah. He's just gonna find the shallowest spot that he can.
Well. There's a little worry for me.
Because I think, about foot of
water and this thing might start floating.
What's he doing.
No, no no no no. Heyy.
Nonononono. You float Al. Back it up.
Steerike.
That was the..Ahh, I'm soaked.
Make sure I get through this.
Man. That's deep. Go. Go.
That was awesome. You were deep man.
Man.
I'm just gonna drive up there.
Now this one here, I'm not
gonna cross. Too deep right here.
Todd. This one right here's going about
10 miles an hour, and it's too deep for me.
You gotta get over here.
He'll figure it out.
You're like a cat. You always land on your feet.
Well, that would be nice. It's easy for you to say
"get over here" cause you're 8 feet off the ground.
Ho, baby. I'm getting wet.
Mike. Get outta there.
You're gonna go down.
No. Back, back, back, back.
Woo.
That was a lot deeper than I thought it was.
You coming or what?
Hurry up. It's getting higher. So figure out
a way to get over here, and get over here.
I can't. I can't cross that.
Well, see, just gonna leave me stranded out here.
Get back here and pick me up.
Todd. Can you hear me?
Yeah. I got ya.
It's real important that you go back and get Mike.
If this water comes up any higher, he could
just get swept away and just roll that Gator down
We'll pick him up as crab bait down there, so go get him.
I know. Quit talking dad.
You try to tell him, and ah
Sometimes you get a little cavalier about it.
I'm going to come save you.
We'll see.
You want to lift it?
Yeah. Let's lift it.
You sure you want to ride it?
I'll ride it.
Cuckoo.
It's strapped real good.
Hang on.
Now you're messing with me, Todd.
What are you so scared of?
You're only hanging off a 4-wheeler, over a rushing river.
Hey Todd. You gotta be really careful
about dropping guys in the water there.
(Todd laughs)
That water's so cold, turn you purple in a half a second.
Now we got water coming up.
It's not just a little bit. It's a lot.
I hope they can get everybody back over here.
This is the final push coming up.
We got the deepest and fastest channel right ahead of us.
I'm good. Here we go.
Five.. You better get on here.
Hurry up!
We've all worked so friggen hard for this man.
and said, if I can't get this out now, we're screwed.
How we looking?
Gonna get deep here in a second.
Okay. We're gonna go down.
Gonna come over your toes in a second.
Oh boy.
Here we go. Here we go.
Whoa.
All together. Hurry up. Hurry up.
Unhook the Gator. NOW!
Hurry up. Hurry up. Unhook it.
I will.
The team's excavator is stuck in freezing
water, as it tries to cross the rising Klihini River.
Their hopes of gold could be sunk,
before they've even gotten to the claim.
Get the Gator out of there.
Hang on.
Keep going. Keep going.
Is it rocking?
Whoa.
Walk it up.
You got it.
(excited cheers)
My butt got clenched.
That was, uh, about as close as you can get.
Todd and the team have made it over the river.
But now, they're off the public highways, and onto dirt roads.
The last 9 miles to porcupine creek,
are the most dangerous yet.
I don't care if I got to friggen walk, or how I,
or hitch hike on a friggen moose. I'm going in,
It takes Kahunas to do this.
There's dangers, every time we turn around.
I'm just worried about the front
3 vehicles getting out of Jack's way.
The unloader's got the least amount of control.
The unloader starts hopping, he can hop right off the road.
My dad is just bouncing like crazy back there.
Think he's trying to go a little too quick.
Careful coming down this guys.
Copy that.
This is good. We're getting there. We're getting there.
and this is a hairpin corner.
Just 2 miles from the claim, lies an ice
covered hair pin bend with a sheer drop
100 feet down to the river.
I don't even know what to tell you on that.
Just hug that, hug that hillside the best you can.
I'm getting out of the car.
Be careful right there.
What happened back there?
I was sure that we were gonna
lose a wheel off of that cliff there.
Report to me how Jack looks around that thing.
Jack's looking good.
Jack's always looking good. Why is that?
Not as bad as it could have been.
Good teamwork, everybody.
We made it.
Yeeah.
Gawd, it feels good.
Hey guys. We're arriving at Porcupine.
This is our new home.
This is the bridge to Porcupine Creek.
Look at the creek guys. It's flowing
big right now. Lot of snow melt.
This feels awesome. It feels like I'm coming home.
Look at those mountains.
Oh Jeez.
This is amazing.
They put everything they have on the line.
left their loved ones behind, and risked their livelihoods
to be here.
This is where the gold is boys.
(laughing)
Alright man.
Glad we made it.
Everything you see right here is ours.
All this down here is ours.
Up there is ours.
This is nuts.
Dude, never seen anything like this before.
Beautiful, isn't it?
Who cares.
We did it. We did it. We did it.
We did it.
Celebrations.
We got plenty
See how calm.
Good job.
Okay guys. Hey.
This is the opportunity that we've all been talking about.
We're gonna take it, right here, you're all millionaires.
The only thing is, you got to get it out of the ground.
That's the whole theme.
There isn't one man in America
If he's got anything inside him
wouldn't want to be here with us.
My dad created the dream, and
We all knew it was a dream.
I definitely needed a dream.
And we're in. We're all in now, Okay. And
Now I'm gonna start kicking some ass.
Subs by
Jack T
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
You're about to lose your house. Don't lose faith.
Go get your glory.
Let go.
(bleep) Don't talk to me that way.
Don't try and intimidate me.
Holy...
It's like nothing lives here except bears
Bang
Where is the gold.
We got gold.
I'm ready to die for it.
That I guarantee you.
Here we go.
It's a fir fest.
Whoa
There isn't one man in America
if he's got anything inside him
wouldn't want to be here with us.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
Hey dad. I've got to talk to you about fuel.
I don't think we can afford to get any fuel. So
Alright. The way things are,
I don't know what we're gonna do.
Tom Hoffman and his father Jack, run a small airfield.
We may have to sell the airport.
It might be the best deal. I just don't know.
The American downturn means
this family business is struggling.
This recession has just decimated the
aviation business. It's just bad.
For Todd and Jack, the future looks bleak.
I don't have a degree. You know.
I can't go out there and go get a job.
You know, even if I wanted to, there isn't anything out there.
For the Hoffman's there might be one last hope, Gold.
We're over $1200 an ounce.
I thought it was good at $400
This is going to be a life changer if we can pull this off.
With the price of gold at an all time high,
Jack and Todd are about to risk everything
they own on the biggest gamble of their lives.
Our business is struggling.
I'm throwing everything I've got into it.
We're gonna go gold mining.
To find a gold claim, the Hoffman's
are traveling to America's last frontier.
Buried in the Alaskan wilderness is
an estimated $250 billion worth of gold.
For over 100 years, men have risked
their lives here in the hope of getting rich.
And Jack knows the stakes are high.
Back in the 80's he mined for three
seasons, and nearly went bankrupt.
I kept mining, you know, when I guess
the last dog died, you know
He was digging nuggets out of the
ground when the price of gold was just too low.
Since then, gold has gone sky high.
Jack and Todd have been on a mission
to find the right place to start mining.
And now Jack thinks they've found
a claim that's a prospector's dream.
What do you got here.
-I've seen a lot of ground.
-And this is it.
Holy cow. They got 29 grams
in that one test hole.
There's millions of dollars.
Well, if you think we got a shot,
I mean, I'll go..
I know we got a shot.
The claim the Hoffmans want to lease,
is 160 acres of forest and rock around an old
ghost town in Porcupine Creek, south-eastern Alaska.
It belongs to an old mining
buddy of Jack's named Earl Foster.
Eighteen years. Glad you made it dude.
All along here, it all yielded gold from the surface
down to 20 feet. Here, you take 100 ounces of gold.
Since 1898, prospectors have pulled out nearly
$100 million of gold from the Porcupine Creek area.
Dude. That's all gold nuggets right there.
Hehehehehe. Look at those nuggets, Earl.
For every smiling miner,
there are 100 who never make it.
Back in the Klondike gold rush in the 1890s,
less than 1% of those who set out struck it rich.
But no one's ever prospected
on Earl's claim with heavy machinery.
And the geological samples suggest there's still $15 million worth of gold in the ground there.
I would work this piece of ground first.
Todd is gambling that with the
right equipment, he can beat the odds.
We're going. We're going for it man. Hah, he he.
We're going all the way.
So we'll see, how we do.
Back in Oregon, they're selling
everything that's not nailed down.
Another day, another $1000
To pay for the machinery to get at the gold.
The money's being spent on 2 excavators,
an old dump truck, a front loader,a portable
generating station, a semi, and thousands
of dollars worth of supplies.
What they can't afford to buy, they're building.
They're making a shaker and a trommel from scratch.
and reconditioning a pump capable of
emptying a swimming pool within minutes.
What they need is mining equipment
spec'd out for the wilderness.
The Hoffmans are assembling an unemployed
bunch of buddies to operate this equipment in Alaska.
But there's no spare cash for wages.
These guys are paying their
own way,until we strike gold.
They're not gonna get paid.
Until we dig the gold out of the ground.
That sounds kinda silly, but I'll tell
you what. That's the way it is.
Times are so tough, everyone of
these guys is prepared to take their
chances on a share of the profits.
There's gonna be a lot of people that are friggen
surprised at what this group of nutballs can put together.
Most of the engineering is being done
by the team mechanic, James Harness.
I'm the guy that everybody brings
stuff to after no one else can fix it.
I'm stubborn and I'll make sure it happens.
You're rockin dude. Rock and Roll buddy.
Harness can fix anything.
But he can't fix himself.
I've got a fractured neck from a car wreck.
I have an implant in my ankle.
My ankle was completely taken off my body.
The pain is, without morphine,
impossible to deal with.
The first thing I want to do, when we
get gold, is get spinal surgery.
If there's no gold, then I'm sunk
just like everybody else.
Team foreman is Greg Remsburg,
a construction superintendant.
Hey, hey. One guys got to be directing here.
This is how somebody's gonna get killed.
But he's hit hard times too.
I haven't had work here in,
in Oregon, for the last year.
He's taking handouts to
put food on the family table.
I hate relying on my parents for help.
41 years old. I should be able to wipe my own bottom.
The team safety officer is Jim Thurber,
an unemployed metal worker.
Two years ago, he had a successful
business. Now he's about to lose his home.
One more late payment on my mortgage
and we go into foreclosure. So...
Rounding out the team is Jimmy Dorsey.
I am learning how to use this thing. Whoa.
He's an ex realtor who's
had to move out of his home.
We are at my mother-in-law's house.
I don't wish this upon anybody.
It's really humbling to ask for this type of help.
The future of every one of these
guys is resting on Todd's dream.
I'm no miner.
I'm just your average guy tired of
sitting here not making any money.
So, like my forefathers, they balls upped,
and they went out into the frontier.
It's spring, and the snow is melting in Alaska,
which means the mining season can begin.
At the airport, four lowboys and a semi have
arrived, to carry the four hundred thousand
pounds of mining equipment on the long journey north.
Alright. Let's go. We gotta get this stuff moving.
Every day they're not mining is
money going out with nothing coming in.
We gotta get this tied down, and get out of here.
If we don't get this stuff loaded up tonight,
we're a week behind. We gotta keep moving forward.
The team is going to use their 2 backhoes
to get their equipment onto the lowboys.
Ex Realtor Dorsey is at the controls.
Stop.
Just, just stop.
Look at him. He's on top of his friggen car.
Your hands. Show me your hands. Clear. Awww.
Jamie Dorsey, has just hit his own car.
Since you did that, you try to get it off there.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
It's never ending with these guys.
You didn't break any windows. You're alright.
-He always is giving me a hard time.
-Where do you want it?
Jack's got about 20 years more experience at this
than Dorsey. So he's taking charge of the loading.
This is scaring me right here.
Holy steinkie.
The combined weight of the generator
and it's container is 35,000 pounds.
-I can't lift the whole thing.
I can only lift this end.
-Hold on.
Todd brings in the front
end loader to try and add lift power.
Hang on. Hold up.
Hold up.
Okay. We're gonna lift the front, try to slide
that semi up underneath that container.
And then, we're gonna winch it up on there.
We don't know if it's gonna work.
The plan is to use the 400 and the loader
to take the weight of the container, while
the lowboy's winch pulls it onto the deck.
I don't know if that winch is strong enough.
They don't know either, and I
don't want to tear up their deck.
I had a buddy one time and the winch
chain had snapped and killed him, so
Every time I see cables like that,
man, I try and stay clear.
Their families have come
to see the final preparations.
You got some candy?
Watch that. Watch that cable.
Within seconds, disaster strikes.
(Snap, twang)
Broke the chain, the cable snapped back,
I could have killed somebody.
Hey, you shut up. Don't talk like that.
You gonna talk like that, go over there.
You don't talk like that.
The last thing the families need is
a reminder of just how dangerous
this mining expedition will be.
All of a sudden, it's become very real.
You see the chain break and you're like,
Oh my god,my worst fears.
Someone's gonna get their head blown off.
Despite their narrow escape, the crew
still needs to work fast and hard to
get the equipment loaded.
Finally, all of the Hoffman's precious
mining gear is safely on the lowboys.
And ready to go to Alaska.
Up ahead, getting 400 thousand pounds
of mining gear to Alaska, the hard way.
The Hoffman's crew runs out of road.
Back back back back.
Unhook it. I will.
And Todd loses it, on the final leg to the claim.
Unhook the Gator, now.
The day of departure dawns.
Todd Hoffman and his crew of wannabe
miners are about to head off for Alaska.
We're back on schedule now. Everything's
loaded up, tied down, ready to go.
There's still some last minute packing to be done.
But Todd's gone home for
a last moment with his wife, Shawna.
I know those guys are gonna be pissed off
but, I gotta spend this last few minutes with
my family, and, it's a lot of weight
on my shoulders, you know, and
I can do it, as long as her, and Peewee,
wild girl over there, are Okay.
Todd's wife and daughter are staying in
Oregon. But he's taking his two sons,
Hunter and Hudson.
It's going to be hard, seeing all 3 of
them leave. This will be the first time
to be away from them that long.
And like Todd, Greg will be bringing his son, Brandon.
I'm excited for what he's gonna learn
from me, from this group of men, and
He's gonna grow up a lot this year.
But the other wives and families will stay behind.
What am I supposed to do? Stay here?
I was really hoping to hear that you're
okay with being here all summer.
Not really.
I don't like the long distance marriage thing.
Meanwhile, Jack, and James Harness are
going to pick up a couple of final essential items.
Spear guns.
The bigger, the better. In terms of bears.
Not having a gun is suicide up there.
This 44 Mag is made out of titanium.
You don't need something this big for, for humans.
Harness settles on a 50 calibre hand cannon.
I gotta have this one.
Get that?
Yup.
Good. Come on back here
and we'll do the paperwork.
Loaded with firepower, the guys gather
with family and friends for their last goodbyes.
Thank you Lord for this day, and Lord,
for the good weather and we just thank you...
Their local Pastor, Mike Hallstead,
comes to bless their journey.
But it looks like the Pastor's caught
a bad dose of gold fever himself.
I, I think I'm going to Alaska.
It's really exciting that he's coming.
Can't let these guys go up
and have all the fun without me, so..
Now, with guns and God on their side
The town takes a moment
to reflect on what lies ahead.
I love you.
You too. Take care.
You be careful. okay.
You too.
The main anxiety that I have
is for the families that are left here.
I'll call, okay.
Okay,
Everybody's going to have a real struggle.
He's buying a new truck?
Yeah, and he's going a, a long time.
I believe the people that step up to the plate
like our people will be able to take care
of ourselves and our families and our friends.
Aw, it's hard to leave.
Hard to leave my girls.
I'm gonna do everything I can, for all these people.
I want them to be happy.
I want them to have gold, you know.
Put it in their pocket.
Pay for their houses.
Pay for their cars.
That, that's what I want it for.
I'm ready to die for it.
After months of hard labor, blood, sweat,
and tears, the team is finally on the road.
Yessss...Wooohooo.
I've done a lot of crazy things in my day.
This might be the biggest, most
ambitious thing, I've ever tried.
You have no idea how good this feels.
Man, I've been waiting. I mean,
I've had my stuff packed for weeks.
I'm excited.
I'm apprehensive.
But moving 400,000 pounds of gear
to Alaska, is not as simple as a Sunday cruise.
We gotta haul all this gear to
Seattle, get it on the barge, by 3 PM.
Then we got to drive 2000 miles up to Alaska.
I have no idea what's in store for us.
This is not gonna be easy.
This is gonna be tough.
The only practical way to get
all the heavy gear to southeast Alaska,
is by sea barge.
They sail once a week from Seattle.
And if the team misses the barge,
it'll cost them one week's time.
And thousands of dollars in expenses.
We have to make it to the barge by 3pm.
We got 6 hours to go 200 miles.
My one concern is that we've got a bunch of
old equipment, and travel with old gear,
anything can happen at any time.
After only an hour and a half,
the team's campers and SUVs have ground to a halt.
Well, I was following, following Jack
down the freeway, and I could smell smoke.
A hot burning rubber smell so I knew
someone in the convoy, was uh, losing
a tire and then I saw smoke coming from Jack's
wheel, then next thing I know,
chunks of tire is flying I saw.
Blown fuses and dead batteries
bring the team to a standstill.
The convoy is now split in two.
But one team member is still making good time.
Now, it's up to Dorsey to deliver
the heavy gear to Seattle by 3 pm.
Well, I gotta keep these big rigs moving.
If we don't make it to the barge, today
Another barge isn't going to be sailing for
Alaska until next week. This is gonna
cost Jack and Todd thousands.
The lowboys should make the barge,
as long as Dorsey can keep them moving.
Dorsey. Big time blowout here.
I'm gonna pull over right now.
How could we have a flat. That's ridiculous.
Dammit.
Well, I'm driving then all of a sudden, BANG,
then I saw all this air and whatever shoot out.
So. We're kinda in a pickle here.
Meanwhile, Todd's got the
campers and SUVs back on the road.
It's less than 3 hours till the barge sails.
(phone ringing)
It's less than 3 hours till the barge sails.
(phone ringing)
This isn't good.
It's Dorsey.
So. We had a blowout on the dump truck.
The rest of the convoy's just heading on, right?
No. The rest of the convoy's waiting.
Get whatever we can get on that friggen barge.
What do you want us to do? Do you
want, want me to send everyone ahead?
Dorsey. Get that friggen truck fixed,
and get it up to the barge.
You are going to cost us Bigtime.
Send it, okay, even the guy, alright.
Alright. I'll do it.
Todd wants you guys to just keep going.
Screw the convoy. We want
to get this stuff up to the barge.
So. Go for it.
The lowboys are back on the road.
And they should make the barge.
The challenge now is to get
the dump truck to the dock by 3.
Dorsey calls a repair service to get the tire replaced.
Hi, just calling about an ETA
on a tire service repairman.
Thank you so much. Alright.
I guess, it's gonna be an hour. An hour to wait.
Every piece of equipment has to get on
the barge. Or they'll miss a week's mining.
It's all hanging on Dorsey fixing the blowout.
If Dorsey screws this up, well, he just better not.
I don't know what we're gonna do.
Coming up.
Rushing death defying river.
Todd and the team brave freezing waters.
Man that's deep. Go Go.
And risk it all on treacherous roads.
Oh. Oh. No.
trying to get to their claim.
This is where the gold is, boys.
We made it. Yee Haw. Woooo.
(Woof. Woof.)
This dump truck needs to be
on a barge in just over an hour.
But it's got a blowout. And Dorsey's
waiting for the guy to come and fix it.
It's only been 41 minutes. They said 20 minutes.
That, that's him right there.
Alright.
Things are suddenly looking up.
Gold price just went to $1237 an ounce.
That's the highest amount, it's ever been, in human history.
The dump truck is finally getting back on the road.
What's wrong?
Heartache.
But there's less than an hour to get to the barge.
We're underway. We're heading off to Seattle.
We're gonna try and meet up with the barge.
We gotta get to that barge.
We got 50 minutes to go 40 miles
Time enough. It's gonna be touch and go. I'l tell you that.
At this point it nay be a lost cause. It's all messed up.
The team hits the gas. Desperately trying
to get the last straggling vehicles to
the port before time runs out.
With minutes to spare, the crew catches up to the convoy of lowboys outside the Seattle shipping terminal.
Get em unloaded.
It's exactly 2:58 We have 2 minutes to get on this barge.
Drop dead fantastic.. Everybody caught up
with each other, so, ha ha ha, you know.
They were literally, closing the gates when we pulled in.
I mean, we made it by the skin of our teeth.
Yeah. It was an amazing journey. I didn't
think we were actually gonna make it.
Yeah.
We made it.
200 miles down, out of a 2000 mile journey,
man, and I feel like I already got my butt kicked.
As the barge leaves port, carrying
the weight of their hopes and dreams
the team now has to race up north to meet it.
A journey that will take 5 days, if, all goes well.
We got 2000 miles of road in front of us. The Alcan Highway.
One of the worst stretches of highway in the whole United States.
I'm gonna take this team of guys,
and I'm gonna kick this thing right in the face.
We're gonna go get some friggen gold.
Want gold? Want gold huh. Want to go to Alaska, huh.
I gotta, take a pee.
We're not stopping here.
You're gonna have to pee in a bottle.
Hey, be careful. It's not funny. Don't get it on the seat.
It's Greg's fault. Greg won't stop.
So, whaddaya do. Got to pee in a bottle.
Supervisor Greg is pushing the team to put in the miles.
So they can meet the barge on time.
It's my job to keep this convoy moving.
Every day that we're not mining is costing us more money.
Got everybody in line?
Jack, Hallstead, Todd.
With Greg driving them hot,
this band of mining greenhorns covers
the 2000 miles in just 4 days.
So they're ahead of schedule,
as they reach the Alaskan border.
1, 2, 3, wooohooo.
We're here.
That's right. There's Mount Leland.
And, this is those trees right there. That's Porcupine Mine.
There's the town of Porcupine right there.
Let's start digging.
Let's do it.
Yeah, we made it. Wooo.
The port of Haines, Alaska.
This is where the barge carrying the team's heavy equipment will dock.
See ya. Thanks for the call. Bye.
Okay. The barge just came in. All our stuff's there.
Get started.
First thing I want to see show up is my gun.
Because I don't want to be a bear snack.
There's one cube case. Looks like a guitar case.
Is it guitar or tol guns.
Guns.
Yeah. We got guns.
We're gonna have weapons on us before a bear attacks.
Bring a handful when you come.
As well as 45 guns and 180 boxes of ammo
the guys need to pick up nearly
400,000 pounds of heavy machinery.
including the 2 excavators,
the King of which, is the 400.
The 400 backhoe's our ace in the hole.
It can reach down 30 feet.
It can lift out boulders that are the size of a Volkswagon.
But this 100,000 pound beast,
and it's 60,000 pound cousin, the 270
are no good at the dock.
They need to get them up to the claim.
There's just one little problem.
The Klehini River.
We don't know what capacity this bridge is,
but we got to get our 270 across, or the lowboy.
Everything could go in the water.
We lose a driver,
we lose the equipment
We're up a creek. Literally.
We're about ready to take this 270 excavator
across the Porcupine Bridge, and our one
concern right now is the weight.
The 270 weighs 60,00 lbs., and that's
not including the tractor trailer.
We're missing a bunch of wear
boards here. Donny, what do you think?
This is a state maintained bridge.
But obviously the state hasn't been
here this year to maintain 'em.
Oh boy.
Dude, I got serious reservations about this, so
Whatever. It's your call Rams and Donny.
It's ultimately yours. So, is that cool?
Right on.
Alright.
Okay. Let's do this.
Let's go. Okay.
We're going.
This is our biggest challenge to date.
We got a bridge that we don't know if it
can handle the capacity. It's this old steel
trestle with wood decking that's half rotten.
Everything could go in the river. So
This is a big deal for us right now.
Keep everybody off that bridge 'cept for us.
Let's go.
(loud creaking noises)
(cracking noises)
Geez.
I'm hearing this sucker squeak.
(groaning noise from bridge)
I'm hearing this thing rattle like
It's squeaking, moving
Holy Fuck!
That board
Come on. We're almost there. We're almost there Donny.
Boards are squeaking, snapping.
My god, dude.
(horn) Honk, honk, honk, honk
Yahoo. Wooh wooh. Cheering.
Man.
Hee Rah!
Donny.
Leave it to Donny.
Right here, Man.
Balls, Donny. You got balls
Woo hoo.
Never done that before. So.
Right on dude.
There was one spot where the tire
slipped down about 8 inches.
(chatter)
Lord. Teach me how to swim, fast.
(Laughter)
Well, let's get back to work.
The relief is short lived.
The bridge was straining under the weight of the 270.
And now the 400 has arrived.
And it's nearly 40,000 lbs. heavier.
Jack phones Alaska's Dept. of
Transportation to see if the bridge will take it.
Well, thanks a lot.
Yeah.
I don't know what we're gonna do now.
Now that could be just terrible.
It turns out, the bridge has been damaged.
And the 100,000 lb. excavator is way beyond
what the Dept. of Transportation will allow.
Well.
He says that there's no friggen
way we can go across that bridge.
He says it'll either buckle, or the pilings will give way.
We've come all this far, and this stops us.
We're screwed.
Flat out
Screwed.
I don't know what we're gonna do.
We need that excavator. You know.
If we don't get that thing across
it really is gonna just. It's gonna
severely affect us, uh, maybe to
the point that, we have to just, give it up.
The 400 backhoe is crucial, because
it has the reach to get down to bedrock,
where all the gold nuggets settle.
Jack's prepared to risk everything to
get the 400 across. Even if that means
driving it straight through the river.
I've crossed 'em. But not quite
this big. And not quite this deep.
You know. If I do, and I die, no big deal.
I just want to get it across.
The springtime temperature of
the Klehini River is only 41 degrees.
The water's so cold. This is glacier
runoff. This is glacier melt.
If my dad got even in there for just,
a little bit of time, he could die.
Lookit dad. Look how deep it is.
No no. It's only six feet.
You don't see anybody crossing here.
They have, lots of times.
Not now. Not this time of year.
Listen dad. That's a rushing, friggen river.
I know that.
You're gonna go through your death defying river thing.
Thirty four degrees, that's it.
You dropped off or something, you're done.
we're done. Our season's over.
I think we'll get out in that deep part
there and our track will pop off or
something and then that's it.
We'll be those idiots from Oregon that came up and, um
There's their excavator. That was their whole mining season.
Todd decides to cross further up the valley,
where the river splits into 3 main channels.
The only way to stop the old guy, is for me to do it.
I think I've found a better place to cross.
It's moving pretty quick. And we gotta
get rolling. It's getting warm out. So.
All that snow melt, off these big
mountains and glaciers over here,
is just making this thing deep.
I keep getting a marker on these rocks and
it's going up slowly. Just like the tide coming in.
I'm worried about how fast this water is.
Watch for the sinkholes out there.
There it goes. Here we go.
Here we go. Here we go.
Holy, crap.
Keep going. Keep going.
I'm going. I'm going.
(chanting) Go! Go!
We got probably 3 more of these channels to
get across, so. Each one goes a little deeper.
Frank's gonna eyeball everything, and watch the tracks.
I got Hallstead over here. Scouting out in front of us.
Yeah. He's just gonna find the shallowest spot that he can.
Well. There's a little worry for me.
Because I think, about foot of
water and this thing might start floating.
What's he doing.
No, no no no no. Heyy.
Nonononono. You float Al. Back it up.
Steerike.
That was the..Ahh, I'm soaked.
Make sure I get through this.
Man. That's deep. Go. Go.
That was awesome. You were deep man.
Man.
I'm just gonna drive up there.
Now this one here, I'm not
gonna cross. Too deep right here.
Todd. This one right here's going about
10 miles an hour, and it's too deep for me.
You gotta get over here.
He'll figure it out.
You're like a cat. You always land on your feet.
Well, that would be nice. It's easy for you to say
"get over here" cause you're 8 feet off the ground.
Ho, baby. I'm getting wet.
Mike. Get outta there.
You're gonna go down.
No. Back, back, back, back.
Woo.
That was a lot deeper than I thought it was.
You coming or what?
Hurry up. It's getting higher. So figure out
a way to get over here, and get over here.
I can't. I can't cross that.
Well, see, just gonna leave me stranded out here.
Get back here and pick me up.
Todd. Can you hear me?
Yeah. I got ya.
It's real important that you go back and get Mike.
If this water comes up any higher, he could
just get swept away and just roll that Gator down
We'll pick him up as crab bait down there, so go get him.
I know. Quit talking dad.
You try to tell him, and ah
Sometimes you get a little cavalier about it.
I'm going to come save you.
We'll see.
You want to lift it?
Yeah. Let's lift it.
You sure you want to ride it?
I'll ride it.
Cuckoo.
It's strapped real good.
Hang on.
Now you're messing with me, Todd.
What are you so scared of?
You're only hanging off a 4-wheeler, over a rushing river.
Hey Todd. You gotta be really careful
about dropping guys in the water there.
(Todd laughs)
That water's so cold, turn you purple in a half a second.
Now we got water coming up.
It's not just a little bit. It's a lot.
I hope they can get everybody back over here.
This is the final push coming up.
We got the deepest and fastest channel right ahead of us.
I'm good. Here we go.
Five.. You better get on here.
Hurry up!
We've all worked so friggen hard for this man.
and said, if I can't get this out now, we're screwed.
How we looking?
Gonna get deep here in a second.
Okay. We're gonna go down.
Gonna come over your toes in a second.
Oh boy.
Here we go. Here we go.
Whoa.
All together. Hurry up. Hurry up.
Unhook the Gator. NOW!
Hurry up. Hurry up. Unhook it.
I will.
The team's excavator is stuck in freezing
water, as it tries to cross the rising Klihini River.
Their hopes of gold could be sunk,
before they've even gotten to the claim.
Get the Gator out of there.
Hang on.
Keep going. Keep going.
Is it rocking?
Whoa.
Walk it up.
You got it.
(excited cheers)
My butt got clenched.
That was, uh, about as close as you can get.
Todd and the team have made it over the river.
But now, they're off the public highways, and onto dirt roads.
The last 9 miles to porcupine creek,
are the most dangerous yet.
I don't care if I got to friggen walk, or how I,
or hitch hike on a friggen moose. I'm going in,
It takes Kahunas to do this.
There's dangers, every time we turn around.
I'm just worried about the front
3 vehicles getting out of Jack's way.
The unloader's got the least amount of control.
The unloader starts hopping, he can hop right off the road.
My dad is just bouncing like crazy back there.
Think he's trying to go a little too quick.
Careful coming down this guys.
Copy that.
This is good. We're getting there. We're getting there.
and this is a hairpin corner.
Just 2 miles from the claim, lies an ice
covered hair pin bend with a sheer drop
100 feet down to the river.
I don't even know what to tell you on that.
Just hug that, hug that hillside the best you can.
I'm getting out of the car.
Be careful right there.
What happened back there?
I was sure that we were gonna
lose a wheel off of that cliff there.
Report to me how Jack looks around that thing.
Jack's looking good.
Jack's always looking good. Why is that?
Not as bad as it could have been.
Good teamwork, everybody.
We made it.
Yeeah.
Gawd, it feels good.
Hey guys. We're arriving at Porcupine.
This is our new home.
This is the bridge to Porcupine Creek.
Look at the creek guys. It's flowing
big right now. Lot of snow melt.
This feels awesome. It feels like I'm coming home.
Look at those mountains.
Oh Jeez.
This is amazing.
They put everything they have on the line.
left their loved ones behind, and risked their livelihoods
to be here.
This is where the gold is boys.
(laughing)
Alright man.
Glad we made it.
Everything you see right here is ours.
All this down here is ours.
Up there is ours.
This is nuts.
Dude, never seen anything like this before.
Beautiful, isn't it?
Who cares.
We did it. We did it. We did it.
We did it.
Celebrations.
We got plenty
See how calm.
Good job.
Okay guys. Hey.
This is the opportunity that we've all been talking about.
We're gonna take it, right here, you're all millionaires.
The only thing is, you got to get it out of the ground.
That's the whole theme.
There isn't one man in America
If he's got anything inside him
wouldn't want to be here with us.
My dad created the dream, and
We all knew it was a dream.
I definitely needed a dream.
And we're in. We're all in now, Okay. And
Now I'm gonna start kicking some ass.
Subs by
Jack T
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.