Gold Rush: Alaska (2010–…): Season 9, Episode 23 - Three Sides to Every Story - full transcript
Sit down with Parker Schnabel, Rick Ness, and Tony Beets as they discuss the biggest moments from this past season of Gold Rush.
NARRATOR:
Season 9 is over.
It was a hell of a season.
NARRATOR:
Now the stars of "Gold Rush"
tell their secrets.
My name is Parker schnabel,
and this is my confession.
[ Laughs ]
NARRATOR: After an emotional
roller coaster of a season...
[ Voice breaking ]
Since she died,
I didn't really take any time
to think about
her actually being gone.
NARRATOR:
...With never-before-seen footage...
[ Normal voice ] Welcome home.
[ Laughs ]
This is one step above camping.
NARRATOR:
...The miners reveal
that there's two sides
to every story...
He's not an honest person.
NARRATOR: ...How new
relationships were formed...
She's got all the qualities
I like.
NARRATOR:
...And old ones destroyed...
Tony beets is a couple buckets
short of a dredge.
NARRATOR: ...With the shocking
end of a long friendship.
It's not quite what I expected.
I'm the bad guy for giving
somebody $50,000 extra.
Come on.
Rick ness does not like me.
NARRATOR: And Parker, Tony,
and Rick reveal
next season's master plan.
I think there's
a pile of gold there.
Be coming home with nuggets
the size of my fist.
Captions paid for by
Discovery Communications
♪♪
♪♪
*GOLD RUSH*
Episode Title :
"Three Sides to Every Story"
NARRATOR: This season, Rick ness
took his biggest gamble
in the toughest year
of his life.
RICK: I talked to my mom about
running my own operation
right up until she died,
and she was so excited for me.
I felt like I just...
If I didn't do it,
I was gonna let her down,
and there's just no damn way
I was gonna do that.
ZEE:
There's people that are saying,
"I can't believe
he's doing this.
His mom just died."
I don't think anyone's opinion
of that, besides Rick's,
is any opinion
anyone should listen to.
RICK: You know, my ma had to go
through a lot of treatments
in the last couple of years.
She had a seizure at work.
It went downhill so fast
from there.
She fought pretty hard.
[ Exhales ]
It's tough looking at this
because...
Since she died, I just...
[ Voice breaking ]
I didn't really take any time
to think about
her actually being gone.
BIG RICK: Rick went up there
right after his mom died.
He had to sweep that all
under the rug
and didn't have any time
to really think about
or, you know,
mourn the loss of his mother.
RICK: [ Normal voice ]
I hadn't had any time to plan,
and I wasn't prepared, and...
...it would have been
really easy to just pack it in
and wait a year.
NARRATOR: To stand a chance in his
first year running a mining operation,
Rick needed a crack team.
RICK: My crew... they were all
a bunch of hardworking guys.
They had a lot
of different skills,
but there was one thing
they did all have in common.
We knew Jack ****
about gold mining.
Yay.
Ryan, Ben... they're coming
with me this year
to help me get
a bunch of gold.
Well, we drank all his beer
last night
and ate his food this morning,
so it's the least we can do.
We all live in the city, and
they've never had any experience
with anything
like that up there.
You got to be kidding me.
You know, hiring your friends?
Told my dad I'm gonna come home
friendless and broke.
[ Laughter ]
Basically, Rick did not listen
to any of my advice.
[ Laughs ]
First of all, I had to talk
my friends into coming with me.
I hope that they didn't find out
how unprepared that I was.
[ Engine revving ]
NARRATOR:
But Rick's buddies
came close to finding out
he was winging it.
So as far as machinery,
what have we got up there?
I don't have a wash plant
lined up.
Are there wash plants available
that you're aware of?
Well,
not right off the bat.
That you can get away with.
You don't need that day one.
But what they didn't know is
I didn't even have a dozer,
and that, you do need day one.
I absolutely wasn't ready.
You know, I was winging it,
and I don't have a problem
admitting that,
and quite honestly,
it scared me.
Like, they started
asking questions,
and I was like, "man, are they
gonna find me out?" You know?
And I just had to really hope
that they trusted in me.
RICK:
We got about a four-day drive.
I've never had too much luck
with the bottle trick, man.
[ Laughs ]
Last chance to duck out.
Any takers?
It was four days of thinking,
like,
"man, I hope
they don't turn around."
♪♪
NARRATOR: Rick and his crew
finally made it to the klondike,
but as unseen footage reveals,
their new accommodation wasn't
quite what they expected.
Well, guys, they're smaller
than a prison cell
but welcome home.
MAN:
Somebody stole the TV.
You think you hate it now,
wait till you sleep in it.
[ Laughs ]
I just hope the walls
are thick enough
'cause I snore like a bear.
RICK:
It's not luxury.
You know, I mean,
it's not easy for anybody.
ZEE:
You go from a comfortable life
to starting back over
when you're, like, 20,
and it's just like a frat house,
but it was a frat trailer.
This is one step above camping.
It's definitely bare-bones...
Just enough to sustain life.
NARRATOR:
Despite their doubts,
Rick's rookie buddies
got straight to work...
Where's drive on this?
Put it in "d."
- "D"?
- It stand for ****.
- I love the "d."
- [ Laughs ]
NARRATOR: ...And got a taste
for gold mining.
MAN: Hey, guys, check out
the rainbow to the right there.
Hopefully it means
we're gonna find
a **** load of gold
in this dirt.
I took great care to make sure
I didn't bring any idiots
up with me.
Put your foot on the gas and
blow the rainbow out your ass.
I mean, they're idiots.
Don't get me wrong.
[ Laughs ]
♪♪
Ugh. In hindsight...
I dealt with
a lot of things wrong.
NARRATOR: This season, Parker
finally achieved a lifetime goal
of mining his own ground.
PARKER:
It does feel good
to not be mining Tony's ground
this year.
We don't have a landlord
for the first time ever.
Now we're on our own ground.
It's like coming home.
When we're stripping, you know,
we're probably spending
$30,000 a day.
We've already spent
$1 million there.
We need to start
making some money off of it.
It takes time to open big cuts.
Got to get these plants
loosened as quick as we can.
The biggest problem
with the ground that we bought.
Is that we are
right next to tony beets.
NARRATOR: Parker's only source
of water, the Indian river,
lies on the far side
of Tony's ground.
Every gallon of water
Parker needs to sluice,
and every gallon
he discharges from his plant
will have to run
right over Tony's claim.
With it being Tony,
it makes us quite vulnerable,
and the thing about Tony beets
is he just don't give a ****.
NARRATOR:
Soon, Tony makes his move.
So I'm not gonna get
your permission
to pull water
from your property.
Tony forced Parker to apply
for his own water license,
a process that could take
over six months.
This really sounds like you're
gonna keep us from mining.
If I go through
that process,
we won't be mining
this season.
Yeah, it was a kick in the nuts.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Parker consults
his oldest ally, Chris doumitt.
PARKER: He's about to lose
over a million bucks
of revenue from us,
which is pure profit,
by us not mining his ground.
That's a big blow to him,
and I think that's...
He's gonna fight you
tooth and nail.
He does not want me
mining there.
He does not want me
on that property.
He wants to be able
to control our operation
by being our landlord,
and he wants to get the money
as a result of that
in the royalties.
I spent 3 million bucks this
winter that I didn't have.
I didn't have that money.
Like, we're ****.
We're leveraged.
Going back to Tony's ground,
back to the last cut...
It's about survival.
You know, just got to keep
the business alive.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
If you don't treat Tony
with respect,
by all means, do not expect him
to respect you.
NARRATOR: Unseen footage reveals
Tony's side of the story
and the real reasons
for shutting Parker down.
KEVIN: They got to drive
this way to save five seconds?
TONY: Yeah.
Yeah.
'Cause he dug
up to the line.
Then he threw all the ****
on our side.
NARRATOR: Then Parker sent
Brennan to drain water
onto their neighbor's property,
and Tony reached
his breaking point.
I'm confused with
why he would say
we did it somewhere
where we didn't agree on
because that's where
he told us to do it.
If Tony's a bear, and Parker's
poking him with a stick,
what kind of reaction
do you expect to get?
Tony will have a million reasons
for why he made
the decisions he made
because you tell me
what is a bigger thing
in somebody's mind...
All of this little bull ****,
or $1 million-plus in royalties
that you're missing out on?
That's just Tony saying that
because that is the way
for him to stay in control.
He's not an honest person,
and that, I have
a serious issue with.
NARRATOR: Coming up...
Nothing's ever easy around here.
NARRATOR: ...How this season
took Rick ness to the edge...
I wasn't sleeping good.
I was probably drinking
too much.
BIG RICK:
I worry about him.
You don't have to drink
a case of beer every night.
Like, he was calling it
like it was.
NARRATOR: ...And how former friends
were at each other's throats.
For you to be as pissy as
you are about a $50,000 bonus...
Like, wait, really?
Rick ness does not like me.
♪♪
NARRATOR:
Early in the season,
Rick's rookie crew
struggled with new equipment.
Nothing's ever easy around here.
I think I got a hole
in the radiator.
These guys got zero...
And I mean zero...
Experience running equipment,
mining, or anything,
you know, that has
anything to do with that.
NARRATOR: But Rick was
struggling even more
in his new job as mine boss.
TERRY: I can't think of anything
else to keep these guys busy,
and I need some direction.
There's certainly a lack
of planning on my part.
This was...
Such a stressful season
and such an emotional
roller coaster,
and I didn't deal with
everything in the right way.
There's no doubt about that.
You need someone that knows
what they're looking at
and kind of have a game plan
of going about it,
more than just shoveling
****,
throwing it over a hill.
NARRATOR:
After buying the wash plant,
Rick thought
he'd turned a corner.
Finally starting to
win these guys over...
Hit the bypass.
Hit the bypass!
...then disaster.
Our sluice box is laying down
in the bottom of the hill.
ZEE: We won't be
sluicing any gold
if that thing
falls down the hill.
Pack our stuff,
head home broke.
I think you bought somebody
else's nightmare, Rick.
- ****. Really?
- Yeah.
It, you know, was a disaster,
and it...
I think everybody sunk
even lower after that.
His anxiety levels were
super high, and he was just,
you know, stressing...
Unbelievably stressing over it.
That took its toll, like,
you know, on my health even.
You know,
I wasn't sleeping good.
I was probably drinking
too much.
BIG RICK:
I worry about him.
You don't have to drink a case
of beer every night, right?
Being in the headspace
that I was,
it was the toughest
challenge of my life.
BIG RICK: Rick was struggling
at that point,
so I went up there,
gave him a hand.
Here he comes...
Big Rick.
Big Rick in the house!
NARRATOR:
Rick's dad was so worried,
he took direct action.
So what do you guys think
of Rick as your boss?
[ Laughing ]
I don't like it.
[ Laughs ]
I'm serious.
[ Laughs ]
Why?
Well, I think that he...
He's got, like, huge potential,
but I feel like this
is his first year
running this business,
and he needs to
step it up a bit more.
There's a lot at stake.
So he's got a lot more to worry
about than just being a foreman.
- Well, exactly.
- I agree with Karla.
He could be a little more
hard-nosed, and...
But it's got to be kind of
tough with his buddies.
Yeah, with your buddies, how do
you tell them, like, "hey"...
How do you lay
the hammer down?
That was the question
I asked him.
You know, I asked him if he was
making the right decision
hiring a bunch of his friends
to work for him
because, in my position,
I do my best
not to have a friendly
relationship with my employees
because it's such
a conflict of interest.
Yes.
You know, it makes it
very difficult
when you have to
routinely tell them
what to do in their job
and keep after them.
It's kind of hard
to be a friend
with someone like that,
you know?
That's why I thought he was
gonna end up alienating
all you guys,
trying, you know,
to be the hard-nosed,
hard-ass boss on you,
and you guys are
gonna be like,
"**** You.
I'm out of here." You know?
I'd almost prefer it
like that.
When big Rick got there,
we were saying stuff to him
hoping, you know,
he'd pass it on to Rick.
Nothing about being in business
is easy... nothing.
People don't realize that
from the outside so much,
you know?
He threw himself
in both feet first.
He definitely bit off a little
more than he could chew.
I understand those guys
grumbling a little bit
halfway through the season.
They were worried.
They were tired.
You know, they were starting
to wonder what their goal was,
where this thing was headed.
Like, he was calling it
like it was.
What else would I expect?
A little pat on the bottom,
like, "oh, sure, son,
I'm sure you'll be fine"?
No. Hell no.
That's not my dad.
You know, he told me exactly
what I needed to hear, you know?
BIG RICK: I said you just got to
have a plan laid out there for them
so that they know what
they're gonna be doing,
so every day
that they're in the field,
they have a goal to meet.
RICK: I just want to run through
some things with you guys.
The loader's gonna be loading it
from this end, right?
You guys go ahead now,
and you can keep ripping,
and then you guys can continue
moving dirt out there
for the morning.
He saw the problem,
delegated authority.
"You do this, you do this,
you do this,
and then we'll all meet together
and put it together at the end,"
so kind of laid out
the game plan.
One of the biggest reasons
I went up there...
Just to try to help relieve him
a little bit of that stress,
you know,
and I think a big weight
was lifted off his shoulders.
I don't know that I can
get it any closer.
Put it in the back
of your bucket, just...
That's what I did.
Well, you didn't get it
close enough.
Go home!
[ Laughter ]
Looks good.
He looks good.
Did we ****
anything up?
You're all right.
It didn't hurt nothing.
You can only come in here
when I'm the most stressed.
Usually,
I'm way laid-back.
[ Laughing ]
Well, maybe I relieve
that stress a little for you.
There you go.
- Eh?
- There it is.
Cool.
Happy to help.
Happy to have you here.
I tell you what... if you put us
together for an entire
**** Season, I'd probably
want to kill him
by the end
of the **** year.
[ Laughs ]
NARRATOR:
With his dad's help,
Rick managed to
turn his season around.
- Holy cow.
- Look at that.
- Nice!
- We're sluicing.
We're getting gold,
and I can tell that the crew
is starting to believe in me.
- That's awesome.
- Wow.
- Yeah!
- Excellent!
- All right.
- Sweet!
You know, I want to
thank my dad. He came in.
I was just trying
to help you guys out.
I appreciate you
having me up here.
- Yeah.
- I appreciate it, man.
- Thanks, dad. Yep.
- Thank you,
yeah, big Rick!
Thank you.
- Big Rick! Yeah!
- My pleasure.
ZEE:
This is why we came here,
and it's almost like
wiping the slate clean.
Now all your main focus
is on trying to get
as much gold as you can.
That's why you're up there.
You know, we questioned
your ****
Leadership there for a while,
and this really happened.
I did lose my mom
before the season started,
but, you know, having my dad
there... it really was special.
I definitely took it
a lot less for granted.
I'm proud that I was able
to bring my dad into it.
Like, that's not something
that a whole lot of sons can do.
I can't be the boss
and the friend, you know?
However, Rick has proved
that he can be.
I made a lot of mistakes
this year,
and I know I could have been
a better boss,
but I started the season
with a bunch of friends,
and at the end of it
we're still all friends,
and I'm super proud
of what we all did.
♪♪
If you're loyal to me,
I will be loyal to you.
NARRATOR: For six summers,
Parker and Rick
have lived and worked
side by side.
How many loads
are you at?
- 70.
- Nice job.
All right.
We good to go, Ace ventura?
RICK: [ Laughs ] Yeah.
Turn this **** On.
I owe Parker a lot.
I'm thankful for a lot
that Parker did.
He gave me a lot of shots.
I learned how to gold mine
with Parker.
We went a long ways together,
and I feel like
I've learned a lot from him
and benefited a lot from him.
Rick, you've been
one hell of a leader.
Appreciate it, buddy.
NARRATOR: But this season,
they went their separate ways.
Thanks, buddy.
Let's get it.
Parker and I's friendship...
It's always been
a little volatile,
a little confusing,
but, you know, going out
on my own this season,
it just got worse.
Do you think we are?
NARRATOR: Early in the season,
Rick met Parker
to collect last year's bonus.
RICK: I didn't want to ask,
"hey, where's my bonus?"
I let it go. I let it go.
I let it go.
But finally,
I didn't have a choice.
I needed that money.
PARKER:
The thing is, you know,
it's less than you made
the year before,
and that's a function
of just
I'm spread so ****
thin right now.
I spent $2.8 million
on rebuilding
and buying new dozers.
I brought your check.
- Thank you, sir.
- Thank you.
I'll just need an invoice.
It's not quite what I expected.
I was hoping for $80,000,
and I got about $52,000.
My bonus was always
performance-based,
and when I performed well
and the company performed well,
that went up.
So best season ever...
Like, wait, really?
Like, come on.
Come on.
Rick quit.
Right?
I don't think too many people
that quit a job expect a bonus.
The day that he came over
to give me that bonus
was also the day he told me
that he had just spent
like $50,000 on two jet boats.
NARRATOR: Mid-season,
Rick visited Scribner
to pick up a pump
from Parker's yard.
No Parker around today?
No, he had to go to town.
He had a meeting.
Perfect.
That makes this real simple.
So we had a pump
that we had leased,
and the lease was up.
I knew that that pump
had been there for a while.
I knew that
Parker wasn't using it,
and I also knew the owner,
so I contacted them,
and they said, "go get it."
I e-mailed Parker and let him
know I was coming to get it.
I got a rock truck coming here,
and I'm just gonna load it
in the back of that.
I mean, common courtesy
among people up here
is if there's a machine
in the yard,
you can use it
to load something with.
I don't know if he feels
the same way,
but I would hope he wouldn't
be petty about things.
Oh, he's already taken
the batteries out of it.
That's nice.
I guess he is gonna be petty.
Everything burns fuel
around here,
and the last thing
you want to do
is leave a bunch of fuel
in something.
You know, for Parker, he's tired
of being the checkbook.
RICK: Yeah, I've known Mitch
for years.
You know, him and I have
always gotten along great.
That particular situation,
it was... it was awkward.
It just felt weird.
- Come to steal our pump?
- Yeah, I have.
It's not your pump.
No, it's not my pump.
It's not Parker's either.
I guess he ain't too happy
about it, though.
I don't think so.
I felt slighted in that
he didn't ask us
if we were using it.
What if it was running
the wash plant? Right?
Would he have shown up and
unhooked it from our wash plant
and shut
our whole operation down
and put it on a truck
and driven it away?
The last piece of the puzzle
that I need to get sluicing,
so I got to get it over
to my site in one piece,
and put the pipe up to it,
and bingo-bango,
we're running.
Cool.
See you at the other end.
RICK:
Karla left with the pump,
but I should have just left
at the same time.
I didn't.
I ended up sticking around
and talking with
some of the guys,
and, you know,
Parker showed up.
Parker felt very disrespected.
"They just come in, grab a pump
out of my yard, and go?
That's it? You don't even
see me face-to-face?"
Two things
I want to talk about.
To not even ask, like,
what our plans were
for that pump
or what our situation was...
It seems quite...
Unnecessary.
But even just the way
you e-mailed me, right?
You didn't even ask,
"what are your plans for it?
What's the situation?"
You just told me that
you're coming to take it.
The body language
and just the movement
that he gets into
in those situation,
and, like, tying his boots
on the tire of my truck...
It's just like,
"get off my truck."
I mean, if you're gonna have
an issue with me
and deal with things
the way that pump is,
don't come ****
asking for **** from me.
And if you're gonna have
an issue with me,
and it's something
I can rectify
and something I can address,
then tell me.
Do you think
that's unreasonable?
But you never even asked me
what my plan was for it.
That's... irregardless.
We've had it
for four, five years.
And you're right.
It's not my pump,
and you decided to
deal with it as you did...
Parker's going on and on
about this pump
and how I handled
all this wrong,
but I knew there was
something else,
and then he dropped it on me.
You've gotten
a lot out of this,
and for you to be as pissy as
you are about a $50,000 bonus
just seems...
You didn't even thank me.
Well, I've heard what you've
said to other people, so...
All right?
I'm the bad guy for giving
somebody $50,000 extra.
Figure that one out.
I know you have some issues
with me, Rick.
There's a lot of them,
and you keep them pent up
inside you,
and that irritates me
probably more than anything
because
I really don't...
You say that you never know
where you stand with me?
Well, I try to...
When I've got an issue
with somebody,
I **** tell them,
normally, you know?
Every time I've had
an issue with you,
I've been pretty
up-front.
Parker's saying,
"well, I'm always up-front,
and I always tell you
how it is."
Well, he's had a pretty comfy
position of being in charge
and being able to do that,
you know?
And it's just not
like that anymore.
I think Parker believed
that Rick and he
were very close friends.
I just don't think
Rick felt the same way.
Rick ness does not like me,
and the idea
that it wasn't enough
when it was more than
the average salary
that people get in a year
just is outrageous to me.
NARRATOR:
Coming up...
Parker's crisis...
I don't why I do
this **** anymore.
CHRIS: Parker was totally
crushed at what happened.
NARRATOR: ...And the miners reveal
their plans for next season.
♪♪
NARRATOR: A new edition to the beets'
team this season... Juan ibarra.
Definitely a change of pace
from working with the Hoffmans,
for sure.
Easy.
Looking good, Todd,
looking good.
Nice job.
Nailed it!
Fire it up!
Go, baby, go, go, go, go!
Juan: I drive in, and there's
broken equipment everywhere,
and I'm thinking
to myself, like,
"man, what did
I get myself into?"
Let's do it.
JUAN: Honestly, he has enough
broken equipment there
to keep six or seven mechanics
working all season,
and, unfortunately,
it was just myself.
This might be the end
of the season for the pump.
I'm really worried about it.
He just had me doing some of
the just grunt work...
You know, grunt mechanical work
that any guy could have done.
I didn't drive 3,200 miles
to come change fricking filters
on **** equipment.
I kind of felt like maybe
this is a test.
Is he testing me to see if
I'm gonna be able to hack it?
NARRATOR:
But Juan quickly proved
he was way more than a plumber.
Tony... he goes and shows me
a problem with dredge one,
and the whole damn thing
is sunk,
so it was a little bit more
than just a little problem.
[ Laughs ]
What we should do is
just build a little lid
and put two holes in it and then
have a hole for breathing
and then a hole
for sucking out of.
I figured out, "hey, let's
just build some plates.
Let's build a cover."
You know, the cover is gonna
cover the hole,
and then we can actually
draw the water out,
and control what's going back
into the tank.
JUAN: Perfect.
Hopefully that does it,
Kevin.
It's perfect for what
it needs to do.
We're back in business!
JUAN: I think that was kind of
the turning point,
and I think that's when
he really realized
that Juan's
a little more valuable
than just pulling wrenches.
Booster cables... can you
hook them up, please?
We'll get those beams
out of the way,
and we should be able
to slide it right in.
All in all,
I had a great season,
but still, the toughest thing
was not being there
with my family.
Ahhh!
NARRATOR:
But Juan did have a visit
from wife Andrea and his kids.
Oh, mommy got
the truck dirty, huh?
- Yeah.
- [ Laughs ]
That was definitely
the highlight of the season...
Seeing my son.
He actually started walking
in the trailer,
so that was kind of nice.
I got to see his first steps.
So what does daddy
work on?
Ex-tavator.
Oh, daddy works
on excavators, huh?
- Yeah.
- You little cutie.
I don't really act different
around the camera, you know.
I'm quite...
I'm Parker schnabel, on or off.
Everybody needs to
**** move!
Back, Anna, back.
Come on, come on.
You know, this spring
there was a lot of stress
on my plate, I suppose.
You know, we'd spent a huge
amount of money over the winter,
and then I lost our foreman,
and at the same time
as all that,
we're trying to move
our operation,
and then Tony beets
**** our season.
There's a pile of gold
down here.
Without Tony playing ball,
we ain't getting a flake of it.
Ashley was a big loss,
and then getting thrown off our
own ground is a huge setback.
NARRATOR: But after a speedboat
accident left his mechanic,
Mitch Blaschke, with
a career-threatening injury,
Parker hit rock bottom.
I know you feel bad.
Who wouldn't?
PARKER: It's stacked on top
of a bunch of ****
That I already
blame myself for...
Rick leaving...
Ashley leaving.
Mm.
I don't why I do
this **** anymore.
CHRIS: Parker was totally
crushed at what happened,
drowning in self-pity.
So the best thing for him to do
is get out there,
get back out in the cut,
get in a piece of equipment,
and blow off
some of this frustration,
some of this
self-disappointment.
You're not the boss anymore.
You're a leader.
You have to get out in the cuts
and show people
that you're out there,
you're in it.
You can do it.
All right.
This baby's ready to work!
Yeah!
I need to show everybody here
who's boss.
Getting back in the game,
he showed that he's a leader,
and it helped him
as much as the crew.
Throwing a hot dog
down a hallway.
[ Laughs ]
Before, as a boss,
he was a standalone entity,
and now we're
an integrated unit.
- Can you guys build a pad?
- Yes, we can.
- Can you put a wash plant on it?
- Yep.
- Can you find some gold?
- Yep.
All right.
Why don't you do that?
We will.
[ Laughs ]
As a leader,
you have to be passionate
about what you're doing.
You have to be.
This will be a tough season
to top,
in the challenges
and the successes.
He grew up a lot.
He might even start shaving,
he grew up so much.
PARKER: I don't get complimented
too often.
Part of me thinks this isn't
supposed to be happening.
[ Laughs ]
Right?
♪♪
NARRATOR:
But at Tony's pace,
it could take 30 years
to hit his goal.
And this year, once again,
Tony failed to get his
second dredge mining for gold.
I think that Tony beets
is a couple buckets short
of a dredge there.
If we had the parts, it could
have been running, so...
Unfortunately, we don't.
There you go, Tony.
I feel that I bring,
you know,
a pretty good amount of skills
and knowledge to the table,
so I definitely would like to be
given a little bit of the reins.
Don't crank too hard
where you're gonna fall off.
There you go.
Next year, if Tony
brings me back as a foreman
in charge of that dredge,
it will be running.
But if I'm coming back,
I need to be in charge
of that dredge,
and that's the way
I'll come back.
♪♪
[ Laughing ] He's got
an awful lot of women, you know,
on social media
that are after him.
NARRATOR: This season,
Rick ness finally found love.
Kind of grew into a friendship
that is pretty strong,
I would say.
I am super happy for him.
When you see her,
and she's this bubbly,
giddy, little thing,
she is like that all the time.
She was up for Thanksgiving
with Rick at our house,
and she's cute as hell,
and she goes everywhere
Rick goes.
She definitely doesn't like me
talking to Karla.
She's got all the qualities
I like, you know...
Loyalty; Long, shiny hair.
[ Laughs ]
Rubi!
Come here, baby!
Get it!
BIG RICK:
Rubi is his mother's dog,
so rubi kind of carries
that memory for Rick.
♪♪
♪♪
NARRATOR:
By the end of the season,
Parker had mined
7,418 ounces of gold,
worth nearly $9 million.
[ Cheers and laughter ]
But after a record season,
it's time for Parker to move on.
This season, we paid 1,350
ounces in royalties to Tony...
Like, a lot of money, and I...
You know, moving forward,
I just can't do that.
NARRATOR: Six years ago, Tony beets
took a chance on a teenage Parker.
PARKER: How many holes
should I drill?
Right on.
There it is...
1,000 ounces.
Giving that final royalty
to Tony felt damn good,
and I really am enthusiastic
about mining our own ground.
We could really make
a lot of money
and have a lot of fun doing this
if we do it the right way.
PARKER: Yeah. We're going to
that piece of ground
that we bought here
next to you.
The biggest thing about
here moving forward
is gonna be putting him,
you know,
in the rearview mirror
as a landlord.
AND, HOPEFULLY, US EMBRACING
EACH OTHER AS NEIGHBORS.
Don't spend it all
in one place.
NARRATOR:
Before their season started,
Rick made a promise to his crew
that he'd send them home
with gold.
If we put in the work, we can
get the gold out of the ground.
Yeah!
Take care of my daddy.
- But his season...
- Come on!
NARRATOR: ...Got off to
a disastrous start.
Shut it down!
Hey, stop!
What the ****?
RICK: I know it's been hard
on you guys,
and there's been no gold, right?
But you know what?
I think we're about
to see results.
RICK: "Perseverance" is what
I got on my hand.
It's a reminder of my grandpa,
Roy ness,
and, you know,
what he stood for,
kind of what my, you know,
family stands for.
We're still not at our goal,
so I don't give a ****.
We're still running.
I don't think any of us
are quitters, that's the thing,
'cause there's nothing worse
than quitting.
You'll never live that one down.
A lot of businesses fail
in their first year,
and for him to be successful
and to give your guys
a gold bonus is...
I mean, that's huge.
Here's one of those
for each you guys.
Six months ago, Rick,
we were sitting in Milwaukee,
and you pulled out
some of your gold,
and we showed it
to my kids and everything.
I'm gonna bring
that home to them.
They're gonna be
the first people to see it.
This really helps, man.
- Yeah, buddy.
- Appreciate it.
- You guys earned it.
RICK:
I set the goal at 1,000 ounces,
but I always knew that I wanted
to do more than that
because the most important thing
for me this year
was getting that gold
to my guys at the end.
That was it.
That's all that mattered.
NARRATOR:
Next season, the miners return
with bigger plans
than ever before.
Getting out from under Tony
and not mining his ground
was the main priority for me.
I've done it.
We've bought the ground,
there's no royalties,
and I think there's
a pile of gold there.
The ground that I'm working on
for next year
is loaded with gold.
I mean, it's...
By all accounts,
it sounds amazing.
I want something different,
I want something big,
and I want to do better
for myself and for my guys.
This year was a success,
you know?
We did 1,100 ounces.
NEXT YEAR, I'M GONNA DO
DOUBLE THAT AT LEAST,
and if things go like
it's looking like they are,
be coming home with nuggets
the size of my fist.
♪♪
NARRATOR: Coming soon, on an all
new season of "Parker's trail"...
PARKER: Papua New Guinea's one
of the most dangerous countries
in the world.
If you can survive,
you'll find piles of gold.
This is awesome.
- Whoa!
- Ah! Let me out!
I think we might be
a little bit lost.
Aaaaaah!
- Parker!
- Whoa!
♪♪
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
Season 9 is over.
It was a hell of a season.
NARRATOR:
Now the stars of "Gold Rush"
tell their secrets.
My name is Parker schnabel,
and this is my confession.
[ Laughs ]
NARRATOR: After an emotional
roller coaster of a season...
[ Voice breaking ]
Since she died,
I didn't really take any time
to think about
her actually being gone.
NARRATOR:
...With never-before-seen footage...
[ Normal voice ] Welcome home.
[ Laughs ]
This is one step above camping.
NARRATOR:
...The miners reveal
that there's two sides
to every story...
He's not an honest person.
NARRATOR: ...How new
relationships were formed...
She's got all the qualities
I like.
NARRATOR:
...And old ones destroyed...
Tony beets is a couple buckets
short of a dredge.
NARRATOR: ...With the shocking
end of a long friendship.
It's not quite what I expected.
I'm the bad guy for giving
somebody $50,000 extra.
Come on.
Rick ness does not like me.
NARRATOR: And Parker, Tony,
and Rick reveal
next season's master plan.
I think there's
a pile of gold there.
Be coming home with nuggets
the size of my fist.
Captions paid for by
Discovery Communications
♪♪
♪♪
*GOLD RUSH*
Episode Title :
"Three Sides to Every Story"
NARRATOR: This season, Rick ness
took his biggest gamble
in the toughest year
of his life.
RICK: I talked to my mom about
running my own operation
right up until she died,
and she was so excited for me.
I felt like I just...
If I didn't do it,
I was gonna let her down,
and there's just no damn way
I was gonna do that.
ZEE:
There's people that are saying,
"I can't believe
he's doing this.
His mom just died."
I don't think anyone's opinion
of that, besides Rick's,
is any opinion
anyone should listen to.
RICK: You know, my ma had to go
through a lot of treatments
in the last couple of years.
She had a seizure at work.
It went downhill so fast
from there.
She fought pretty hard.
[ Exhales ]
It's tough looking at this
because...
Since she died, I just...
[ Voice breaking ]
I didn't really take any time
to think about
her actually being gone.
BIG RICK: Rick went up there
right after his mom died.
He had to sweep that all
under the rug
and didn't have any time
to really think about
or, you know,
mourn the loss of his mother.
RICK: [ Normal voice ]
I hadn't had any time to plan,
and I wasn't prepared, and...
...it would have been
really easy to just pack it in
and wait a year.
NARRATOR: To stand a chance in his
first year running a mining operation,
Rick needed a crack team.
RICK: My crew... they were all
a bunch of hardworking guys.
They had a lot
of different skills,
but there was one thing
they did all have in common.
We knew Jack ****
about gold mining.
Yay.
Ryan, Ben... they're coming
with me this year
to help me get
a bunch of gold.
Well, we drank all his beer
last night
and ate his food this morning,
so it's the least we can do.
We all live in the city, and
they've never had any experience
with anything
like that up there.
You got to be kidding me.
You know, hiring your friends?
Told my dad I'm gonna come home
friendless and broke.
[ Laughter ]
Basically, Rick did not listen
to any of my advice.
[ Laughs ]
First of all, I had to talk
my friends into coming with me.
I hope that they didn't find out
how unprepared that I was.
[ Engine revving ]
NARRATOR:
But Rick's buddies
came close to finding out
he was winging it.
So as far as machinery,
what have we got up there?
I don't have a wash plant
lined up.
Are there wash plants available
that you're aware of?
Well,
not right off the bat.
That you can get away with.
You don't need that day one.
But what they didn't know is
I didn't even have a dozer,
and that, you do need day one.
I absolutely wasn't ready.
You know, I was winging it,
and I don't have a problem
admitting that,
and quite honestly,
it scared me.
Like, they started
asking questions,
and I was like, "man, are they
gonna find me out?" You know?
And I just had to really hope
that they trusted in me.
RICK:
We got about a four-day drive.
I've never had too much luck
with the bottle trick, man.
[ Laughs ]
Last chance to duck out.
Any takers?
It was four days of thinking,
like,
"man, I hope
they don't turn around."
♪♪
NARRATOR: Rick and his crew
finally made it to the klondike,
but as unseen footage reveals,
their new accommodation wasn't
quite what they expected.
Well, guys, they're smaller
than a prison cell
but welcome home.
MAN:
Somebody stole the TV.
You think you hate it now,
wait till you sleep in it.
[ Laughs ]
I just hope the walls
are thick enough
'cause I snore like a bear.
RICK:
It's not luxury.
You know, I mean,
it's not easy for anybody.
ZEE:
You go from a comfortable life
to starting back over
when you're, like, 20,
and it's just like a frat house,
but it was a frat trailer.
This is one step above camping.
It's definitely bare-bones...
Just enough to sustain life.
NARRATOR:
Despite their doubts,
Rick's rookie buddies
got straight to work...
Where's drive on this?
Put it in "d."
- "D"?
- It stand for ****.
- I love the "d."
- [ Laughs ]
NARRATOR: ...And got a taste
for gold mining.
MAN: Hey, guys, check out
the rainbow to the right there.
Hopefully it means
we're gonna find
a **** load of gold
in this dirt.
I took great care to make sure
I didn't bring any idiots
up with me.
Put your foot on the gas and
blow the rainbow out your ass.
I mean, they're idiots.
Don't get me wrong.
[ Laughs ]
♪♪
Ugh. In hindsight...
I dealt with
a lot of things wrong.
NARRATOR: This season, Parker
finally achieved a lifetime goal
of mining his own ground.
PARKER:
It does feel good
to not be mining Tony's ground
this year.
We don't have a landlord
for the first time ever.
Now we're on our own ground.
It's like coming home.
When we're stripping, you know,
we're probably spending
$30,000 a day.
We've already spent
$1 million there.
We need to start
making some money off of it.
It takes time to open big cuts.
Got to get these plants
loosened as quick as we can.
The biggest problem
with the ground that we bought.
Is that we are
right next to tony beets.
NARRATOR: Parker's only source
of water, the Indian river,
lies on the far side
of Tony's ground.
Every gallon of water
Parker needs to sluice,
and every gallon
he discharges from his plant
will have to run
right over Tony's claim.
With it being Tony,
it makes us quite vulnerable,
and the thing about Tony beets
is he just don't give a ****.
NARRATOR:
Soon, Tony makes his move.
So I'm not gonna get
your permission
to pull water
from your property.
Tony forced Parker to apply
for his own water license,
a process that could take
over six months.
This really sounds like you're
gonna keep us from mining.
If I go through
that process,
we won't be mining
this season.
Yeah, it was a kick in the nuts.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Parker consults
his oldest ally, Chris doumitt.
PARKER: He's about to lose
over a million bucks
of revenue from us,
which is pure profit,
by us not mining his ground.
That's a big blow to him,
and I think that's...
He's gonna fight you
tooth and nail.
He does not want me
mining there.
He does not want me
on that property.
He wants to be able
to control our operation
by being our landlord,
and he wants to get the money
as a result of that
in the royalties.
I spent 3 million bucks this
winter that I didn't have.
I didn't have that money.
Like, we're ****.
We're leveraged.
Going back to Tony's ground,
back to the last cut...
It's about survival.
You know, just got to keep
the business alive.
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.
If you don't treat Tony
with respect,
by all means, do not expect him
to respect you.
NARRATOR: Unseen footage reveals
Tony's side of the story
and the real reasons
for shutting Parker down.
KEVIN: They got to drive
this way to save five seconds?
TONY: Yeah.
Yeah.
'Cause he dug
up to the line.
Then he threw all the ****
on our side.
NARRATOR: Then Parker sent
Brennan to drain water
onto their neighbor's property,
and Tony reached
his breaking point.
I'm confused with
why he would say
we did it somewhere
where we didn't agree on
because that's where
he told us to do it.
If Tony's a bear, and Parker's
poking him with a stick,
what kind of reaction
do you expect to get?
Tony will have a million reasons
for why he made
the decisions he made
because you tell me
what is a bigger thing
in somebody's mind...
All of this little bull ****,
or $1 million-plus in royalties
that you're missing out on?
That's just Tony saying that
because that is the way
for him to stay in control.
He's not an honest person,
and that, I have
a serious issue with.
NARRATOR: Coming up...
Nothing's ever easy around here.
NARRATOR: ...How this season
took Rick ness to the edge...
I wasn't sleeping good.
I was probably drinking
too much.
BIG RICK:
I worry about him.
You don't have to drink
a case of beer every night.
Like, he was calling it
like it was.
NARRATOR: ...And how former friends
were at each other's throats.
For you to be as pissy as
you are about a $50,000 bonus...
Like, wait, really?
Rick ness does not like me.
♪♪
NARRATOR:
Early in the season,
Rick's rookie crew
struggled with new equipment.
Nothing's ever easy around here.
I think I got a hole
in the radiator.
These guys got zero...
And I mean zero...
Experience running equipment,
mining, or anything,
you know, that has
anything to do with that.
NARRATOR: But Rick was
struggling even more
in his new job as mine boss.
TERRY: I can't think of anything
else to keep these guys busy,
and I need some direction.
There's certainly a lack
of planning on my part.
This was...
Such a stressful season
and such an emotional
roller coaster,
and I didn't deal with
everything in the right way.
There's no doubt about that.
You need someone that knows
what they're looking at
and kind of have a game plan
of going about it,
more than just shoveling
****,
throwing it over a hill.
NARRATOR:
After buying the wash plant,
Rick thought
he'd turned a corner.
Finally starting to
win these guys over...
Hit the bypass.
Hit the bypass!
...then disaster.
Our sluice box is laying down
in the bottom of the hill.
ZEE: We won't be
sluicing any gold
if that thing
falls down the hill.
Pack our stuff,
head home broke.
I think you bought somebody
else's nightmare, Rick.
- ****. Really?
- Yeah.
It, you know, was a disaster,
and it...
I think everybody sunk
even lower after that.
His anxiety levels were
super high, and he was just,
you know, stressing...
Unbelievably stressing over it.
That took its toll, like,
you know, on my health even.
You know,
I wasn't sleeping good.
I was probably drinking
too much.
BIG RICK:
I worry about him.
You don't have to drink a case
of beer every night, right?
Being in the headspace
that I was,
it was the toughest
challenge of my life.
BIG RICK: Rick was struggling
at that point,
so I went up there,
gave him a hand.
Here he comes...
Big Rick.
Big Rick in the house!
NARRATOR:
Rick's dad was so worried,
he took direct action.
So what do you guys think
of Rick as your boss?
[ Laughing ]
I don't like it.
[ Laughs ]
I'm serious.
[ Laughs ]
Why?
Well, I think that he...
He's got, like, huge potential,
but I feel like this
is his first year
running this business,
and he needs to
step it up a bit more.
There's a lot at stake.
So he's got a lot more to worry
about than just being a foreman.
- Well, exactly.
- I agree with Karla.
He could be a little more
hard-nosed, and...
But it's got to be kind of
tough with his buddies.
Yeah, with your buddies, how do
you tell them, like, "hey"...
How do you lay
the hammer down?
That was the question
I asked him.
You know, I asked him if he was
making the right decision
hiring a bunch of his friends
to work for him
because, in my position,
I do my best
not to have a friendly
relationship with my employees
because it's such
a conflict of interest.
Yes.
You know, it makes it
very difficult
when you have to
routinely tell them
what to do in their job
and keep after them.
It's kind of hard
to be a friend
with someone like that,
you know?
That's why I thought he was
gonna end up alienating
all you guys,
trying, you know,
to be the hard-nosed,
hard-ass boss on you,
and you guys are
gonna be like,
"**** You.
I'm out of here." You know?
I'd almost prefer it
like that.
When big Rick got there,
we were saying stuff to him
hoping, you know,
he'd pass it on to Rick.
Nothing about being in business
is easy... nothing.
People don't realize that
from the outside so much,
you know?
He threw himself
in both feet first.
He definitely bit off a little
more than he could chew.
I understand those guys
grumbling a little bit
halfway through the season.
They were worried.
They were tired.
You know, they were starting
to wonder what their goal was,
where this thing was headed.
Like, he was calling it
like it was.
What else would I expect?
A little pat on the bottom,
like, "oh, sure, son,
I'm sure you'll be fine"?
No. Hell no.
That's not my dad.
You know, he told me exactly
what I needed to hear, you know?
BIG RICK: I said you just got to
have a plan laid out there for them
so that they know what
they're gonna be doing,
so every day
that they're in the field,
they have a goal to meet.
RICK: I just want to run through
some things with you guys.
The loader's gonna be loading it
from this end, right?
You guys go ahead now,
and you can keep ripping,
and then you guys can continue
moving dirt out there
for the morning.
He saw the problem,
delegated authority.
"You do this, you do this,
you do this,
and then we'll all meet together
and put it together at the end,"
so kind of laid out
the game plan.
One of the biggest reasons
I went up there...
Just to try to help relieve him
a little bit of that stress,
you know,
and I think a big weight
was lifted off his shoulders.
I don't know that I can
get it any closer.
Put it in the back
of your bucket, just...
That's what I did.
Well, you didn't get it
close enough.
Go home!
[ Laughter ]
Looks good.
He looks good.
Did we ****
anything up?
You're all right.
It didn't hurt nothing.
You can only come in here
when I'm the most stressed.
Usually,
I'm way laid-back.
[ Laughing ]
Well, maybe I relieve
that stress a little for you.
There you go.
- Eh?
- There it is.
Cool.
Happy to help.
Happy to have you here.
I tell you what... if you put us
together for an entire
**** Season, I'd probably
want to kill him
by the end
of the **** year.
[ Laughs ]
NARRATOR:
With his dad's help,
Rick managed to
turn his season around.
- Holy cow.
- Look at that.
- Nice!
- We're sluicing.
We're getting gold,
and I can tell that the crew
is starting to believe in me.
- That's awesome.
- Wow.
- Yeah!
- Excellent!
- All right.
- Sweet!
You know, I want to
thank my dad. He came in.
I was just trying
to help you guys out.
I appreciate you
having me up here.
- Yeah.
- I appreciate it, man.
- Thanks, dad. Yep.
- Thank you,
yeah, big Rick!
Thank you.
- Big Rick! Yeah!
- My pleasure.
ZEE:
This is why we came here,
and it's almost like
wiping the slate clean.
Now all your main focus
is on trying to get
as much gold as you can.
That's why you're up there.
You know, we questioned
your ****
Leadership there for a while,
and this really happened.
I did lose my mom
before the season started,
but, you know, having my dad
there... it really was special.
I definitely took it
a lot less for granted.
I'm proud that I was able
to bring my dad into it.
Like, that's not something
that a whole lot of sons can do.
I can't be the boss
and the friend, you know?
However, Rick has proved
that he can be.
I made a lot of mistakes
this year,
and I know I could have been
a better boss,
but I started the season
with a bunch of friends,
and at the end of it
we're still all friends,
and I'm super proud
of what we all did.
♪♪
If you're loyal to me,
I will be loyal to you.
NARRATOR: For six summers,
Parker and Rick
have lived and worked
side by side.
How many loads
are you at?
- 70.
- Nice job.
All right.
We good to go, Ace ventura?
RICK: [ Laughs ] Yeah.
Turn this **** On.
I owe Parker a lot.
I'm thankful for a lot
that Parker did.
He gave me a lot of shots.
I learned how to gold mine
with Parker.
We went a long ways together,
and I feel like
I've learned a lot from him
and benefited a lot from him.
Rick, you've been
one hell of a leader.
Appreciate it, buddy.
NARRATOR: But this season,
they went their separate ways.
Thanks, buddy.
Let's get it.
Parker and I's friendship...
It's always been
a little volatile,
a little confusing,
but, you know, going out
on my own this season,
it just got worse.
Do you think we are?
NARRATOR: Early in the season,
Rick met Parker
to collect last year's bonus.
RICK: I didn't want to ask,
"hey, where's my bonus?"
I let it go. I let it go.
I let it go.
But finally,
I didn't have a choice.
I needed that money.
PARKER:
The thing is, you know,
it's less than you made
the year before,
and that's a function
of just
I'm spread so ****
thin right now.
I spent $2.8 million
on rebuilding
and buying new dozers.
I brought your check.
- Thank you, sir.
- Thank you.
I'll just need an invoice.
It's not quite what I expected.
I was hoping for $80,000,
and I got about $52,000.
My bonus was always
performance-based,
and when I performed well
and the company performed well,
that went up.
So best season ever...
Like, wait, really?
Like, come on.
Come on.
Rick quit.
Right?
I don't think too many people
that quit a job expect a bonus.
The day that he came over
to give me that bonus
was also the day he told me
that he had just spent
like $50,000 on two jet boats.
NARRATOR: Mid-season,
Rick visited Scribner
to pick up a pump
from Parker's yard.
No Parker around today?
No, he had to go to town.
He had a meeting.
Perfect.
That makes this real simple.
So we had a pump
that we had leased,
and the lease was up.
I knew that that pump
had been there for a while.
I knew that
Parker wasn't using it,
and I also knew the owner,
so I contacted them,
and they said, "go get it."
I e-mailed Parker and let him
know I was coming to get it.
I got a rock truck coming here,
and I'm just gonna load it
in the back of that.
I mean, common courtesy
among people up here
is if there's a machine
in the yard,
you can use it
to load something with.
I don't know if he feels
the same way,
but I would hope he wouldn't
be petty about things.
Oh, he's already taken
the batteries out of it.
That's nice.
I guess he is gonna be petty.
Everything burns fuel
around here,
and the last thing
you want to do
is leave a bunch of fuel
in something.
You know, for Parker, he's tired
of being the checkbook.
RICK: Yeah, I've known Mitch
for years.
You know, him and I have
always gotten along great.
That particular situation,
it was... it was awkward.
It just felt weird.
- Come to steal our pump?
- Yeah, I have.
It's not your pump.
No, it's not my pump.
It's not Parker's either.
I guess he ain't too happy
about it, though.
I don't think so.
I felt slighted in that
he didn't ask us
if we were using it.
What if it was running
the wash plant? Right?
Would he have shown up and
unhooked it from our wash plant
and shut
our whole operation down
and put it on a truck
and driven it away?
The last piece of the puzzle
that I need to get sluicing,
so I got to get it over
to my site in one piece,
and put the pipe up to it,
and bingo-bango,
we're running.
Cool.
See you at the other end.
RICK:
Karla left with the pump,
but I should have just left
at the same time.
I didn't.
I ended up sticking around
and talking with
some of the guys,
and, you know,
Parker showed up.
Parker felt very disrespected.
"They just come in, grab a pump
out of my yard, and go?
That's it? You don't even
see me face-to-face?"
Two things
I want to talk about.
To not even ask, like,
what our plans were
for that pump
or what our situation was...
It seems quite...
Unnecessary.
But even just the way
you e-mailed me, right?
You didn't even ask,
"what are your plans for it?
What's the situation?"
You just told me that
you're coming to take it.
The body language
and just the movement
that he gets into
in those situation,
and, like, tying his boots
on the tire of my truck...
It's just like,
"get off my truck."
I mean, if you're gonna have
an issue with me
and deal with things
the way that pump is,
don't come ****
asking for **** from me.
And if you're gonna have
an issue with me,
and it's something
I can rectify
and something I can address,
then tell me.
Do you think
that's unreasonable?
But you never even asked me
what my plan was for it.
That's... irregardless.
We've had it
for four, five years.
And you're right.
It's not my pump,
and you decided to
deal with it as you did...
Parker's going on and on
about this pump
and how I handled
all this wrong,
but I knew there was
something else,
and then he dropped it on me.
You've gotten
a lot out of this,
and for you to be as pissy as
you are about a $50,000 bonus
just seems...
You didn't even thank me.
Well, I've heard what you've
said to other people, so...
All right?
I'm the bad guy for giving
somebody $50,000 extra.
Figure that one out.
I know you have some issues
with me, Rick.
There's a lot of them,
and you keep them pent up
inside you,
and that irritates me
probably more than anything
because
I really don't...
You say that you never know
where you stand with me?
Well, I try to...
When I've got an issue
with somebody,
I **** tell them,
normally, you know?
Every time I've had
an issue with you,
I've been pretty
up-front.
Parker's saying,
"well, I'm always up-front,
and I always tell you
how it is."
Well, he's had a pretty comfy
position of being in charge
and being able to do that,
you know?
And it's just not
like that anymore.
I think Parker believed
that Rick and he
were very close friends.
I just don't think
Rick felt the same way.
Rick ness does not like me,
and the idea
that it wasn't enough
when it was more than
the average salary
that people get in a year
just is outrageous to me.
NARRATOR:
Coming up...
Parker's crisis...
I don't why I do
this **** anymore.
CHRIS: Parker was totally
crushed at what happened.
NARRATOR: ...And the miners reveal
their plans for next season.
♪♪
NARRATOR: A new edition to the beets'
team this season... Juan ibarra.
Definitely a change of pace
from working with the Hoffmans,
for sure.
Easy.
Looking good, Todd,
looking good.
Nice job.
Nailed it!
Fire it up!
Go, baby, go, go, go, go!
Juan: I drive in, and there's
broken equipment everywhere,
and I'm thinking
to myself, like,
"man, what did
I get myself into?"
Let's do it.
JUAN: Honestly, he has enough
broken equipment there
to keep six or seven mechanics
working all season,
and, unfortunately,
it was just myself.
This might be the end
of the season for the pump.
I'm really worried about it.
He just had me doing some of
the just grunt work...
You know, grunt mechanical work
that any guy could have done.
I didn't drive 3,200 miles
to come change fricking filters
on **** equipment.
I kind of felt like maybe
this is a test.
Is he testing me to see if
I'm gonna be able to hack it?
NARRATOR:
But Juan quickly proved
he was way more than a plumber.
Tony... he goes and shows me
a problem with dredge one,
and the whole damn thing
is sunk,
so it was a little bit more
than just a little problem.
[ Laughs ]
What we should do is
just build a little lid
and put two holes in it and then
have a hole for breathing
and then a hole
for sucking out of.
I figured out, "hey, let's
just build some plates.
Let's build a cover."
You know, the cover is gonna
cover the hole,
and then we can actually
draw the water out,
and control what's going back
into the tank.
JUAN: Perfect.
Hopefully that does it,
Kevin.
It's perfect for what
it needs to do.
We're back in business!
JUAN: I think that was kind of
the turning point,
and I think that's when
he really realized
that Juan's
a little more valuable
than just pulling wrenches.
Booster cables... can you
hook them up, please?
We'll get those beams
out of the way,
and we should be able
to slide it right in.
All in all,
I had a great season,
but still, the toughest thing
was not being there
with my family.
Ahhh!
NARRATOR:
But Juan did have a visit
from wife Andrea and his kids.
Oh, mommy got
the truck dirty, huh?
- Yeah.
- [ Laughs ]
That was definitely
the highlight of the season...
Seeing my son.
He actually started walking
in the trailer,
so that was kind of nice.
I got to see his first steps.
So what does daddy
work on?
Ex-tavator.
Oh, daddy works
on excavators, huh?
- Yeah.
- You little cutie.
I don't really act different
around the camera, you know.
I'm quite...
I'm Parker schnabel, on or off.
Everybody needs to
**** move!
Back, Anna, back.
Come on, come on.
You know, this spring
there was a lot of stress
on my plate, I suppose.
You know, we'd spent a huge
amount of money over the winter,
and then I lost our foreman,
and at the same time
as all that,
we're trying to move
our operation,
and then Tony beets
**** our season.
There's a pile of gold
down here.
Without Tony playing ball,
we ain't getting a flake of it.
Ashley was a big loss,
and then getting thrown off our
own ground is a huge setback.
NARRATOR: But after a speedboat
accident left his mechanic,
Mitch Blaschke, with
a career-threatening injury,
Parker hit rock bottom.
I know you feel bad.
Who wouldn't?
PARKER: It's stacked on top
of a bunch of ****
That I already
blame myself for...
Rick leaving...
Ashley leaving.
Mm.
I don't why I do
this **** anymore.
CHRIS: Parker was totally
crushed at what happened,
drowning in self-pity.
So the best thing for him to do
is get out there,
get back out in the cut,
get in a piece of equipment,
and blow off
some of this frustration,
some of this
self-disappointment.
You're not the boss anymore.
You're a leader.
You have to get out in the cuts
and show people
that you're out there,
you're in it.
You can do it.
All right.
This baby's ready to work!
Yeah!
I need to show everybody here
who's boss.
Getting back in the game,
he showed that he's a leader,
and it helped him
as much as the crew.
Throwing a hot dog
down a hallway.
[ Laughs ]
Before, as a boss,
he was a standalone entity,
and now we're
an integrated unit.
- Can you guys build a pad?
- Yes, we can.
- Can you put a wash plant on it?
- Yep.
- Can you find some gold?
- Yep.
All right.
Why don't you do that?
We will.
[ Laughs ]
As a leader,
you have to be passionate
about what you're doing.
You have to be.
This will be a tough season
to top,
in the challenges
and the successes.
He grew up a lot.
He might even start shaving,
he grew up so much.
PARKER: I don't get complimented
too often.
Part of me thinks this isn't
supposed to be happening.
[ Laughs ]
Right?
♪♪
NARRATOR:
But at Tony's pace,
it could take 30 years
to hit his goal.
And this year, once again,
Tony failed to get his
second dredge mining for gold.
I think that Tony beets
is a couple buckets short
of a dredge there.
If we had the parts, it could
have been running, so...
Unfortunately, we don't.
There you go, Tony.
I feel that I bring,
you know,
a pretty good amount of skills
and knowledge to the table,
so I definitely would like to be
given a little bit of the reins.
Don't crank too hard
where you're gonna fall off.
There you go.
Next year, if Tony
brings me back as a foreman
in charge of that dredge,
it will be running.
But if I'm coming back,
I need to be in charge
of that dredge,
and that's the way
I'll come back.
♪♪
[ Laughing ] He's got
an awful lot of women, you know,
on social media
that are after him.
NARRATOR: This season,
Rick ness finally found love.
Kind of grew into a friendship
that is pretty strong,
I would say.
I am super happy for him.
When you see her,
and she's this bubbly,
giddy, little thing,
she is like that all the time.
She was up for Thanksgiving
with Rick at our house,
and she's cute as hell,
and she goes everywhere
Rick goes.
She definitely doesn't like me
talking to Karla.
She's got all the qualities
I like, you know...
Loyalty; Long, shiny hair.
[ Laughs ]
Rubi!
Come here, baby!
Get it!
BIG RICK:
Rubi is his mother's dog,
so rubi kind of carries
that memory for Rick.
♪♪
♪♪
NARRATOR:
By the end of the season,
Parker had mined
7,418 ounces of gold,
worth nearly $9 million.
[ Cheers and laughter ]
But after a record season,
it's time for Parker to move on.
This season, we paid 1,350
ounces in royalties to Tony...
Like, a lot of money, and I...
You know, moving forward,
I just can't do that.
NARRATOR: Six years ago, Tony beets
took a chance on a teenage Parker.
PARKER: How many holes
should I drill?
Right on.
There it is...
1,000 ounces.
Giving that final royalty
to Tony felt damn good,
and I really am enthusiastic
about mining our own ground.
We could really make
a lot of money
and have a lot of fun doing this
if we do it the right way.
PARKER: Yeah. We're going to
that piece of ground
that we bought here
next to you.
The biggest thing about
here moving forward
is gonna be putting him,
you know,
in the rearview mirror
as a landlord.
AND, HOPEFULLY, US EMBRACING
EACH OTHER AS NEIGHBORS.
Don't spend it all
in one place.
NARRATOR:
Before their season started,
Rick made a promise to his crew
that he'd send them home
with gold.
If we put in the work, we can
get the gold out of the ground.
Yeah!
Take care of my daddy.
- But his season...
- Come on!
NARRATOR: ...Got off to
a disastrous start.
Shut it down!
Hey, stop!
What the ****?
RICK: I know it's been hard
on you guys,
and there's been no gold, right?
But you know what?
I think we're about
to see results.
RICK: "Perseverance" is what
I got on my hand.
It's a reminder of my grandpa,
Roy ness,
and, you know,
what he stood for,
kind of what my, you know,
family stands for.
We're still not at our goal,
so I don't give a ****.
We're still running.
I don't think any of us
are quitters, that's the thing,
'cause there's nothing worse
than quitting.
You'll never live that one down.
A lot of businesses fail
in their first year,
and for him to be successful
and to give your guys
a gold bonus is...
I mean, that's huge.
Here's one of those
for each you guys.
Six months ago, Rick,
we were sitting in Milwaukee,
and you pulled out
some of your gold,
and we showed it
to my kids and everything.
I'm gonna bring
that home to them.
They're gonna be
the first people to see it.
This really helps, man.
- Yeah, buddy.
- Appreciate it.
- You guys earned it.
RICK:
I set the goal at 1,000 ounces,
but I always knew that I wanted
to do more than that
because the most important thing
for me this year
was getting that gold
to my guys at the end.
That was it.
That's all that mattered.
NARRATOR:
Next season, the miners return
with bigger plans
than ever before.
Getting out from under Tony
and not mining his ground
was the main priority for me.
I've done it.
We've bought the ground,
there's no royalties,
and I think there's
a pile of gold there.
The ground that I'm working on
for next year
is loaded with gold.
I mean, it's...
By all accounts,
it sounds amazing.
I want something different,
I want something big,
and I want to do better
for myself and for my guys.
This year was a success,
you know?
We did 1,100 ounces.
NEXT YEAR, I'M GONNA DO
DOUBLE THAT AT LEAST,
and if things go like
it's looking like they are,
be coming home with nuggets
the size of my fist.
♪♪
NARRATOR: Coming soon, on an all
new season of "Parker's trail"...
PARKER: Papua New Guinea's one
of the most dangerous countries
in the world.
If you can survive,
you'll find piles of gold.
This is awesome.
- Whoa!
- Ah! Let me out!
I think we might be
a little bit lost.
Aaaaaah!
- Parker!
- Whoa!
♪♪
Someone needs to stop Clearway Law.
Public shouldn't leave reviews for lawyers.