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Homestead Rescue Season 13 Episode 4
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00:00:00Anyone that lives in interior Alaska knows this is the land of extremes.
00:00:09Earthquakes, forest fires, and winters can be deadly.
00:00:15Right now, it's record heat that hasn't occurred in 30 years.
00:00:21Last year, we met a single mom and her kids facing challenges that have been caused by Mother Nature.
00:00:28And now it's worse.
00:00:31So, how can I help this family?
00:00:34One more time.
00:00:38One year ago, the Rainies responded to an urgent plea from the Adams family.
00:00:44This last year was pretty devastating.
00:00:46I'm not one to normally ask for help.
00:00:48Facing the epic challenge of deadly wildfires, destructive flooding.
00:00:53The water will come up in a matter of hours.
00:00:56And a lack of a clean water source.
00:00:58They don't have enough water to survive here.
00:01:01The Rainies helped them maintain their foothold in the unforgiving wilderness.
00:01:08But now, new existential threats have jeopardized their survival.
00:01:17The last earthquake that we had caused damage to the water line.
00:01:22As Alaska's wild frontier.
00:01:24The bear was against the house?
00:01:25Yeah.
00:01:26And worsening wildfires.
00:01:28That is truly frightening.
00:01:31Close in on them from all sides.
00:01:34On this episode.
00:01:35It's basically a bomb.
00:01:36Marty returns to the Adams' failing homestay.
00:01:37The thought of giving everything up.
00:01:38It crushes me.
00:01:39In a Hail Mary attempt.
00:01:40We're burning daylight.
00:01:41To bring new hope back to the family.
00:01:43We're going to go so much further now.
00:01:44Let's leave civilization behind.
00:01:48Off grid.
00:01:49No power lines.
00:01:50No power lines.
00:01:51No people.
00:01:52Except one.
00:01:53Marty is returning to a homestead in Alaska's perilous environment.
00:01:55In a Hail Mary attempt.
00:01:56We're burning daylight.
00:01:57To bring new hope back to the family.
00:01:58We're going to go so much further now.
00:01:59Let's leave civilization behind.
00:02:00Off grid.
00:02:01No power lines.
00:02:02No people.
00:02:03Except one.
00:02:04Marty is returning to a homestead in Alaska's perilous interior.
00:02:19A region with extreme weather shifts and deadly forces of nature.
00:02:25During the last month, Alaska recorded more than 3,200 earthquakes.
00:02:31With a magnitude 5.3 quake recorded just a mile away.
00:02:36While the nearby McDonald fire wreaks havoc, displacing residents and driving animals from their habitats.
00:02:44It's in this unpredictable environment that Marty encounters the Addams family.
00:02:50Oh.
00:02:51Threatened by mother nature once again.
00:02:55Hey you.
00:02:56Nice to see you again.
00:02:58It's just me.
00:02:59No kids.
00:03:00Okay.
00:03:01Nice to see you again.
00:03:02My kids.
00:03:03Charlie.
00:03:04Dax.
00:03:05Very nice to see you.
00:03:06You guys are a little bit taller.
00:03:07Yeah.
00:03:08What do you know?
00:03:0915, 20?
00:03:1012.
00:03:11Oh sorry.
00:03:12What are you?
00:03:1318, 23?
00:03:1410.
00:03:15What?
00:03:1610.
00:03:17Oh well.
00:03:18Sorry.
00:03:19You looked older.
00:03:20What better example than Christy Adams is there when it comes to homesteading?
00:03:23She's a beautiful mom of three kids.
00:03:24She's a worker.
00:03:25She's smart.
00:03:26And she's capable.
00:03:27All of the work, all of the chores, the responsibility, the load is on her shoulders alone.
00:03:35And the kids.
00:03:36It's a beautiful sunny day in Alaska.
00:03:39It does not look like you guys have any problems.
00:03:43We have a few.
00:03:46I don't know.
00:03:48I've never loved.
00:03:49My name is Christy Adams and I live in interior Alaska.
00:03:54My homestead is 20 acres total and we're completely off the grid.
00:03:59I like that.
00:04:00The last time the rainies were here, it was such a once in a lifetime opportunity.
00:04:05There's water dripping off that bucket.
00:04:09Oh, my God.
00:04:11They gave us all these awesome upgrades.
00:04:13The garden.
00:04:14garden you will have a never-ending supply of food the well look down in
00:04:19there oh wow looks like water the rainings were really helpful we built
00:04:28the food for it all right Dax this is canned food for when the winter gets
00:04:34kind of tough and now we use it for food canning and processing the garden is
00:04:41growing very well there's so much food the rabbits are all grown up and we
00:04:48recently had baby bunnies and all the wood that the rainies gave us really
00:04:56helped us get through winter and it made us more prepared
00:05:02but nothing could truly prepare the family for interior Alaska's unpredictable nature
00:05:10earthquakes are just a normal part of Alaska life there's a strange little
00:05:15fault line that runs out here a couple miles away and we get a lot of
00:05:20earthquake activity from it and when they're that close they feel much
00:05:24bigger the last earthquake that we had that big one caused damage to the water
00:05:29line and so I had to replumb in our holding tank we ran well lines over the
00:05:34ground just temporarily to refill the holding tank and now that we use more
00:05:39water that means more gray water that goes out onto the ground and that little
00:05:43culvert just hasn't been able to keep up anymore making a big pond over on the
00:05:47side of our house the contamination in the water that's been a big concern the
00:05:53fear of it coming into the house is another concern
00:05:57winter is constantly in the back of our minds we have to put our animals into a
00:06:04small greenhouse that is not heated just to keep them alive we've probably lost
00:06:09five litters of rabbits just due to the cold another challenge this year was
00:06:14forest fires we had a really big fire that was about three miles away overall
00:06:19it's burned about a hundred and eighty thousand acres when it got really close we
00:06:24were under evacuation ready orders and it was pretty terrifying and today we can
00:06:30still smell it there's so many challenges and I'm just left being spread
00:06:35really thin but I love homesteading it's my everything my mom really needs help
00:06:42because she never has enough time to work on the homestead we really need Marty
00:06:48back so we were fine till February so it withstood all the cold temperatures
00:06:54and then we had some earthquakes and the water just quit pumping so does Jeff just
00:06:59go back to hauling water well we did for a little bit and then once it warmed up
00:07:04enough that things weren't freezing we ran these water lines from the well on the
00:07:09ground well I'm really I'm not happy to hear this we gave them life we gave them
00:07:16water but now the water situation is dangerous they're not gonna make it through
00:07:21another winter here we're back where we started what's this over here that's my
00:07:27attempt at rain catchment this was actually what saved me this year because I couldn't
00:07:32get out with our water trailer to get water because the road was so bad but the snow melt
00:07:37off the roof gave me about 300 gallons to get me through till the road dried up but the
00:07:42water quality in there is really disgusting do you have any filtration no okay did anybody come look
00:07:50at it yeah Josh a local guy that owns Weiss mechanical he jumped right in and said we'll
00:07:56come out and help he has this tubing that he runs and he ran it through the line and it pumps from which
00:08:02direction he did both directions so he came from the house mm-hmm and he came from the well right
00:08:08there yeah why does he think the water line failed he does think it could have been from the earthquakes
00:08:14we had a good couple days of non-stop earthquakes really yeah due to its tectonic volcanic and ice
00:08:23related activity Alaska records more earthquakes than any other state in the country and while modern
00:08:31infrastructure can withstand intense shaking newer precautions like road retrofitting haven't made
00:08:38their way to some regions of higher risk including rural areas or remote locations making each new
00:08:47quake potentially devastating and what is this that wasn't here last time that's where our gray water
00:08:57comes out of the house but because we have the well now and we have such a easy access to water we use
00:09:03more water and so now our little gray water French drain that we had set up can't handle the sheer
00:09:09amount of water that's coming out of the house from showers and the washer and the sink we designed a small
00:09:16system to accept the water that she was hauling but the water that we've introduced through the well
00:09:21and now her temporary line is too much water and there's a cesspool right outside the front door it's
00:09:29unsafe it's unsanitary and it's unacceptable I have to say you guys probably have one of the coolest rabbit
00:09:38touches ever right more importantly have predators bothered these rabbits yeah me index were home alone
00:09:47and then a black bear came and got one of them when was this a couple days ago I heard something on
00:09:56the wall the bear was against the house no yeah okay where was your mom in town I told mom and she said
00:10:05to go get the shotgun off the porch I went and I shot two firing shots and I screamed and threw rocks at
00:10:11him and he didn't flinch at all now that's a bad sign yeah what happened next he was like pouncing on
00:10:18the rabbit and I killed it you killed the bear mm-hmm would I recommend a 12 year old be able to handle
00:10:28a shotgun probably not but that bear would be coming to this house for the rest of his days so honestly
00:10:36there really was only one fix for this problem and it was a 12 year old that was confident enough
00:10:43skilled enough to do what had to be done I'm sorry that the bear died but this is a bear that would
00:10:51probably try to crawl through a window break glass get through the door just to get to the food he has no
00:10:56fear no fear I'll guarantee you there was no stopping that bear from coming back
00:11:07all right kids let's talk where was this bear he got in here yeah this is all he had so he just ripped
00:11:14this out of the way yeah do you have a video of any of this any pictures you do may I see it
00:11:21oh my gosh that's a pretty healthy bear actually that bear is big enough to cause some damage it's
00:11:30not all bad news here I had the kids take me over to the rabbit hutch and Misty's garden and show me
00:11:37the improvements in the last year and a half okay so she's doing bale gardening yes the only downside
00:11:46with the bales is you need to use so much water yeah everything looks really dry look at this like oh
00:11:54man like crusty dry they don't have a well and things like keeping livestock and gardens alive is a
00:12:03real struggle so there's just a little bit of life not enough quite to feed a family of three but you can
00:12:11grow a ton of stuff especially in interior Alaska where's the main rabbit hutch right here we have
00:12:23some baby ones there's babies uh-huh no way don't tell anybody but I really do like little baby bunnies
00:12:30can I see one yeah oh my goodness can we hold one yeah this one's named Bobby come here Bobby these
00:12:41things are cute yeah oh my gosh hey I have a question how come the bear didn't get in this pen
00:12:47uh there's the door there and he was pushing on it but he didn't break it he tried to get in and then
00:12:53he found an easier gate over there if a bear couldn't get in here good job you saved all these
00:12:59bunnies you guys have been taking them out of here and relocating over in that building for a while during
00:13:05the cold snaps so guys I'm really glad you showed me these babies because I think we should come up
00:13:11with a plan so they survive they're protected from bears and they're protected from cold weather I want
00:13:25to look at this well a little bit closer okay well a year ago you were standing here and you were
00:13:33really happy because we've developed the well grab that door handle please okay look down in there oh
00:13:40wow the recovery is insane it's at least 11 gallons a minute wow I mean it's just huge on every level
00:13:49yeah water's life here we are a year later and I'm not happy because we've got some issues huh yeah so
00:13:57everything worked fine until February temperatures had reached 66 degrees below zero and it was working
00:14:05yep okay and then all of a sudden one day you went to get a glass of water wash dishes and nothing came
00:14:10out my first thought was that the line was frozen that comes out of the ground into the house because
00:14:15that's the most susceptible spot that's what I would check I'm sorry that's pretty vulnerable yep so what
00:14:21you're looking at now is the worst case scenario a water line that comes out of the ground that's
00:14:27exposed to the elements this would freeze the very first night that it dipped below 32 degrees at this
00:14:36point it's kind of a hail Mary just grab fiberglass insulation and plastic and wrap it around the pipe I
00:14:44want to protect this line as much as I can every little bit is going to help us so I ran the heater
00:14:54on it and it's still no water came out so then I pulled the line apart and I dropped a little weighted
00:15:00rock on a string down the pipe and it went all the way down so I knew that the freeze wasn't there
00:15:05you're smart gotta be resourceful very cool then I did come out here and I looked to make sure that
00:15:12there was no ice in it it was all good and thawed the water was open at the bottom of the well and
00:15:17I called up Josh he thinks there's an area where something went wrong from the earthquakes yeah a year
00:15:25later no water a disgusting cesspool bears earthquakes we've got a lot of work to get done on this
00:15:34homestead all right come on not to mention down the road has a meter and it's red line
00:15:40mmm extreme fire danger I smell smoke that's the McDonald fire three miles that is truly frightening
00:15:51I have a feeling that they're pushing bears this way we have to protect these animals now
00:15:55hey guys I smell smoke yeah I noticed there was ash on my hood of my truck hours into Marty's return
00:16:17to the Adams's 20 acre Alaskan property the danger of life in interior Alaska rears its head that's the
00:16:26McDonald fire that's been burning out here for a month and a half now it came really close yeah is
00:16:32that where this most coming from yes just now I noticed the smoke is pretty crazy there's a million
00:16:42square miles of black spruce and branches are just dry firefighters refer to this as gasoline on a torch so
00:16:55I found an update this morning it says the fire remains active and may produce smoke every summer it
00:17:00seems like half the state's burning but this one's pretty close how close did it get three miles and
00:17:06it's still going yeah it's smoldering the nearby McDonald fire has been raging for close to two months
00:17:14burning almost 200,000 acres of Alaskan land and continues to blaze due to the summer's warm dry weather and the
00:17:24region's abundance of black spruce trees as the intensity grows and the winds shift local firefighters
00:17:32have had trouble controlling the flames and now split their time between two other fires totaling almost
00:17:39635,000 acres torched so they had us on a ready evacuation status and you're kidding me yeah holy
00:17:52moly that is truly frightening where were you guys at I'm in the house the whole time and then could
00:17:59you hear it uh-huh what's it sound like it's just like a big roaring it almost sounds like a jet for real
00:18:05uh-huh we've never had one that close before so we were all frantic trying to get pens and cages and
00:18:12kennels and things together so that way if they said we had to go we could have all the animals up
00:18:17and out of here in a moment's notice then all we could do is wait and so what happened it died down
00:18:23luckily a year ago we were surprised to see that this homestead didn't have a defensible space I'm gonna
00:18:32probably start right over there and work my way around one year ago this is the chainsaw party let's
00:18:38start cutting the threat of wildfire forced the rainies to carve a fire break around the homestead
00:18:45structures I'd like to be on the other side of the homestead near the garden just cutting down all those
00:18:49little trees get them away from your house and create a garden space absolutely these are called
00:18:55ladder fuels heat rises it literally sucks the flames and everything right up the tree every spruce tree
00:19:03and this type of black spruce forest has it the amount of trees they took out and the sheer volume
00:19:10of firewood that we have right now oh my gosh the bad trees are gone we have much more defensible space
00:19:17that's gonna make me sleep easier at night knowing that our risk of having a wildfire do a lot of severe
00:19:23damage is is lessened now she dodged a bullet but I don't think we took enough away I'm thinking that
00:19:32we need to push this defensible space back further yeah Marty will clear a new 20-foot fire break
00:19:44perimeter before starting the other crucial work on the homestead I wanted to get started with the
00:19:55waterline but everywhere I look there's more immediate threats to this homestead right now Christie's
00:20:04homestead is vulnerable to forest fires so we're cutting 20 feet away of black spruce giving them extra
00:20:13protection between the wilderness and the homestead with the fire danger mitigated for now Marty turns his
00:20:24attention to another immediate threat to the homestead so show me exactly where that bear was scratching
00:20:30on the house please right here he was scratching right about here he even chipped it right here yikes
00:20:37were you looking out this window and where was he he was like around this area kind of he was right here
00:20:44he was just walking around looking for food the bear was after the animal feed and the animals themselves
00:20:52now I know that I need to put our animals away and our food away from other animals who want to eat
00:20:59that scratched on the house couldn't get in and now he's going to the garden why do you think he came
00:21:08this direction the rabbits and the quail are in here exactly I'm so incredibly proud of Dax taking down
00:21:16that bear he's a confident kid but in a situation like that most anybody's gonna lose their cool and
00:21:22even Charlie she kept it collected and I think his coolness was playing off of her so together the both
00:21:28of them made an awesome team and it's a proud mom moment for sure on top of it the fires that happened
00:21:35out there I have a feeling that they're pushing them this way oh yeah that's a really good point
00:21:39actually that could be impacting why you're seeing them or now Alaska has over a hundred thousand black
00:21:46bears over thirty thousand brown bears the bear that visited this homestead was looking for dinner
00:21:53and it was gonna do anything to get it Alaska is bear country being home to nearly one hundred forty
00:22:02thousand black brown and polar bears and during most of the year they can be frequently cited grazing
00:22:09in forests or salmon fishing in rivers but because bears are attracted to improperly stored food or
00:22:17garbage displacement from their habitats by earthquakes or fires drives them towards homes increasing the
00:22:25number of potentially dangerous encounters with humans let's talk a little bit now knowing the
00:22:33local fires are driving bears towards homes Marty's first priority is to ensure the safety of the family's food
00:22:41sources once the kids told me that the rabbits were dying in the winter and from bears in this
00:22:47neighborhood I realized that these rabbits need to be somewhere other than that rabbit hutch to survive
00:22:55here we need to figure out a plan to make a safe protected refuge for the animals on this homestead so
00:23:06the kids and I recently added quail to our cast of homestead characters with the chickens and rabbits we're
00:23:12using them for meat and for eggs copy so we have a great space for them in the garden out there in the
00:23:17summertime but come wintertime we don't have any place to put them we've just been kind of throwing them
00:23:22in the greenhouse with the rabbits okay what time of winter does it get so cold that the rabbits and
00:23:27the quail have to be moved into this building when it gets below freezing is when we move them into
00:23:31a little freezing is October yeah you move them in here for the whole winter yeah I had no idea was
00:23:38there enough room in there no oh I see what's going on once the bear like that starts getting into
00:23:45livestock they're just going to keep coming back and they're going to become a bigger nuisance until
00:23:49something really bad happens and now that we have bears eating the rabbits we need to figure out a
00:23:54way to ensure the safety of the animals but make sure that they're warm and safe through winter as
00:23:59well I think it's pretty straightforward why don't we just move them in here full-time close this in and I
00:24:07think we probably should insulate it providing housing for the really cold temperatures and protection
00:24:13from bear encounters you're just trying to give these animals a fighting chance when it gets 20 30
00:24:18below someone's got to move that firewood guess who it's not going to be me guess who it might be
00:24:25you okay you know what to do you know what to do it's up to you start stagging wood
00:24:32Marty has tasked Christy with framing in her old woodshed to build a 10 by 20 foot bear proof shelter
00:24:41first she and a small build crew will construct two wall additions reinforcing them with additional
00:24:48lumber next they'll add insulation to the walls and flooring ensuring warmth year-round and finally
00:24:57they'll install a steel door sturdy enough to keep bears out and protect the animals within
00:25:04we've got our work cut out for us if we're going to protect these animals from bears and the brutal
00:25:12winters and now with forest fires driving in bears we've got to get busy and get some things done here
00:25:20back to work let's go
00:25:27here we go it's the second day of the re-rescue of the Adams's 20 acre homestead
00:25:36and while progress continues on the bear proof shelter Marty tackles the health hazard outside
00:25:45the family's home when we met Christy she had a little barrel and it was adequate in size to
00:25:54accommodate all the gray water from her cabin when we left we upgraded let's go quick follow me quick
00:26:01we installed this culver's for her gray water before she had a barrel so we thought we'd go the extra mile
00:26:10take the top of what we cut off the well give her a really cool gray water catchment
00:26:15would you like to die of typhoid not me but even that wasn't enough for all of the water coming
00:26:27out of that brand new well so I can't really be patting myself on the back right now because we've
00:26:33created a problem and we got to figure out how to get that water safely underground where it's not a
00:26:39health hazard to the family let's work on the gray a little bit because we're going to be down there
00:26:44working gray water makes up 65 percent of the wastewater generated from households and doesn't
00:26:52contain fecal matter but is made up of runoff from sinks dishwashers showers or washing machines and
00:26:59because the matter contains harmful chemicals and a high bacteria count the water isn't potable or
00:27:06environmentally safe for sewage systems unless first treated making proper disposal a high priority for
00:27:14homesteaders that's a hazardous waste site we'll put it right here in the bottom of this hole we'll get
00:27:23rid of all the contaminated dirt and craziness and then we'll start on the water line
00:27:36everything green and gray has got to go hello oh who'd you bring I brought Josh Josh and his wife Amanda
00:27:48how you doing nice to meet you sir nice to meet you Josh and Amanda yes sir nice to meet you both
00:27:54Josh and Amanda are two community members Josh owns Weiss Mechanical Josh came out here and spent three
00:28:03days trying to figure out what was wrong with the well line I mean he climbed in the well at below zero
00:28:08temperatures trying to get it thawed out just running hot water through it as long as he could
00:28:12they're both a special kind of people I'm thinking sir according to Christy this was also the scene of
00:28:18the crime I believe so it just sounds suspicious to me that this entire system works nothing froze out
00:28:24there which blows my mind and nothing froze where we entered you know went from the ground into the
00:28:30house so if we're getting rock or glacial silt you know we had the earthquakes last year I had a lot
00:28:36of wells that got pinched and shifted from that so you're telling me that the earthquakes are playing
00:28:46a role suspiciously compromising water lines and wells absolutely when the ground shifts you know if it
00:28:55shifts over here but it doesn't on one side that's where you get where the pipe will pinch off or it'll break
00:29:00it or rock and get pinched on it I mean there's there's several different things that can happen
00:29:04to it copy that Christy is very fortunate to have somebody like Josh that will drop what he's doing
00:29:11at 10 20 30 below zero and try to figure out why the water's not working he thinks maybe one of the
00:29:19earthquakes last winter broke that line but we got to get past the theory aspect and we have to find out
00:29:26exactly what happened here we don't know for sure though if it was frozen if it was broken if it's
00:29:35related to all this ground water that got right down around the insulation that was supposed to protect
00:29:42the water line I'm just thinking of the craziest things that can happen could have happened right
00:29:48here mm-hmm that's what I'm thinking you had almost a perfect storm here we're gonna solve that problem
00:29:53right now we're gonna scrape down and we should be breaking up foam and then we'll look at it and
00:30:08hopefully we don't break the water line we don't know whether it's frozen or broken or whatever but
00:30:14what I do know is that if I can't solve this problem there's no water there's nothing for this family hey
00:30:21Chris can you nose around a little bit should be a water line in there somewhere
00:30:26come on over check this out there's something bugging me oh there it is so as you can see we've
00:30:48got the line exposed right here mm-hmm we covered it with foam and then we put the plastic over the
00:30:55foam okay there's no way in 10 lifetimes this should have ever froze no way unless all this water going
00:31:05down into the ground in summer I mean in wintertime it's going down to the ground and freezing and then
00:31:12when you add more water it's finding a place to go and it's freezing yeah and it could it have gone
00:31:17all the way down to here and froze it could have it would be the first time I've ever even heard of
00:31:23this ever happening okay Alaska has earthquakes and harsh winters and those could be literally a
00:31:32legitimate reason for the lack of water but if I was a betting man I'll put my money on the water
00:31:39line freezing that said here's the plan now we'll go hook up the pump to this water line we'll get power
00:31:47to the pump fire it off and then we'll turn on a sink in the house if water goes in there like
00:31:53normal problem solved if no water goes in there and the pumps pumping away we might have a broken
00:31:59line and then that's going to be difficult to find and we might be digging up your whole yard but trust
00:32:05me we'll find it let's go okay Marty will reconnect the original water line back into the house to test
00:32:14whether or not the line froze if water comes through it confirms the line was frozen from the gray water
00:32:21seepage and he'll reinsulate the affected portion if no water is pumped through there might be a pinch or
00:32:29leak due to earthquake damage and he'll have to dig up the entire line to locate it creating a costly and
00:32:37time-consuming project that could take days to complete all right and it's okay if I come in yeah
00:32:45absolutely all right when I found out that the water line was no longer working I had to replumb in
00:32:53our holding tank so that disconnected the well from the house for the summer we've ran well lines over
00:32:59the ground just temporarily to refill the holding tank and it's just gonna freeze in the winter time
00:33:04and so now what Marty and I are trying to do is bypass the holding tank so that way we can at least run
00:33:10the generator and see if water is going to come through the line hey Chris fire up the Jenny and
00:33:15let's see if we have water to the house all right okay that's not good I don't see anything I don't hear
00:33:33anything I'm not happy fire up the Jenny and let's see if we have water to the house okay
00:33:58after going through this winter on my own I felt pretty overwhelmed whether it's
00:34:03water freezing or the gray water flooding it's been a constant battle and if we can't get water we
00:34:10can't get through winter that's not good I don't see anything I don't hear anything I'm not happy oh
00:34:17oh I don't think it's broke it's not good boom we don't have to dig anything up the good news is the
00:34:34water line hasn't been broken by an earthquake so if we can come up with another plan for the discharge
00:34:41from this house that water line will never freeze I don't care how cold it gets that's a tremendous
00:34:48amount of water there's no crack in the line yep and I think we need to shut it off water shot out of
00:34:57the pipe in the bathroom so that means that the water line is not broken and this is just the relief
00:35:05so five gallons a minute that's amazing considering that a year ago we were hauling water at 200 gallons
00:35:13at a time thank goodness we got the water line figured out because last year we breathed life into
00:35:21this homestead by striking water which was a life-changing moment it changed everything
00:35:27there's water dripping off that bucket yeah there's water running in running in how deep is it sir
00:35:40gee the water is rising 18 foot everybody come around please
00:35:49all right so you can see what I did yeah I reached as far as I could just about to give up and look
00:36:00over that edge please oh whoa
00:36:04I don't even know what to say that's just life changing well I'll tell you this I don't think you're
00:36:34gonna be packing water anymore I'm serious seeing my kids cry really brings it home just just how
00:36:43much not having the water has been difficult for them and not have to be concerned with rationing it
00:36:49or how much we're using at any given time that's a whole it's a whole new world for us solved one
00:36:56problem created another now we got to figure out what to do with this gray water yeah I still have
00:37:04the hole in the ground we've got to figure out the gray water and save all of the animals on this
00:37:09homestead and now we're in complete cowboy mode my goal was to fix it before the Sun went down this is
00:37:18Alaska the Sun doesn't go down exactly
00:37:31hey Dan over by the former woodshed let's talk Marty checks on the progress of the new bear proof animal
00:37:40shelter this looks amazing you guys are really going fast where'd you find this window at found it on the
00:37:46property same at the door you found a door too yep steel door good man this bear came to the homestead it
00:37:53smelled rabbit then the bear sauntered over to the garden he tried to get in there he broke the fence
00:38:00and it killed a rabbit so we'll put a door on this barn made out of steel and that will definitely help
00:38:08them with protection from bears in this neighborhood this is a lot of progress I like it yeah there's still
00:38:15work to do I'm gonna be able to insulate it anything you need for me nope all right we're gonna attack the
00:38:23next problem now while building continues on the livestock fortification shut that thing off I got
00:38:37to show you some stuff here please at the new well Marty discovers an unexpected health risk so that
00:38:45waterline freezing just started more and more problems take a whiff these straw bales are all moldy
00:38:55wouldn't be feeding that to my mules it's gross and check this out
00:39:00all right Clint look at this look really close see can you see all these guys yeah I don't even know
00:39:10what that bug is there's millions of them though also you're not gonna like this ready
00:39:15oh man so mice are getting here yeah this has been bugging me because every problem we're looking at
00:39:27mice poop mites ants voles all of it is because the water line froze all that gray water got through our
00:39:36culvert through the big rock down into the ground deep enough to compromise the water line pretty sure
00:39:44this all would have been all would have been avoided if we just had addressed a design for the gray
00:39:51water that could accommodate all this new water right that said we're gonna have to get rid of the
00:39:58insulation get rid of the straw bales we'll pump the water up and then we'll shock it with some bleach
00:40:04until it's clean and start all over so here we go again
00:40:14so enclosing the barn isn't even completed yet and these guys are already claiming it as their own
00:40:26what are you guys doing
00:40:31at the site of the well
00:40:35marty and christy worked to insulate and restore the family's water source
00:40:40all right so before we put this last piece on here i want to know if you think this is better than
00:40:48straw bales i do it's gonna keep the voles out of it gonna keep the bugs the voles yeah crazy insects
00:40:56when did you put the straw bales in here last fall less than a year and they're already moldy okay this
00:41:03stuff will never mold all right i'll hold that for if you want to pin it the hay bales for insulation
00:41:10did well for us the only downside to it was the voles loved it and then the concern started to become
00:41:18them falling into the well and then contaminating our water how do you feel about putting a insulated plug
00:41:26right inside that culvert we can capture that heat and that water from the ground
00:41:31and not allow the coal to get down in there to compromise the water i like it i think it worked
00:41:38this idea that marty had was to use styrofoam insulation and i honestly think that that will
00:41:44probably do even better last winter was really hard and as a single mom and trying to do it just
00:41:50myself and the two kids i've really been questioning if we were going to be able to continue on
00:41:55but all of these upgrades that we're getting right now are things that are going to secure our future
00:42:07i really like that being on the top like that my only concern is getting it out
00:42:13um what would you do put some kind of little handle on it exactly you have any wire or rope or we could
00:42:22take some bailing twine off one of those bales over there that's a good idea you know how to cut
00:42:26bailing twine okay watch this there's some good string right there you got a knife on you i don't
00:42:34uh-huh all right i want you to go like this and i want you to saw back and forth oh wow all right all
00:42:42right all right see if you can cut that and get us a piece please okay all right
00:42:46oh it's working oh watch this need string take that over there that's great meet you there i think
00:43:01that we use earth to help us insulate this so i get the excavator and i mound this up to a foot below
00:43:11there that's a great idea all the way around and then we're this close to hopefully having an
00:43:16insulated well yeah thanks here we go christy has truly impressed me i like that a lot perfect
00:43:35with her work ethic and constantly thinking about the future here
00:43:40and last time i was here i had a little chat with christy to build her confidence
00:43:48okay so you had a dream to move out into the remote wilds of alaska yeah you've done it yeah it's a
00:43:56great lifestyle i love it i live it but it's not for everyone because it's not easy right it's interesting
00:44:05that even trying to get all the ducks in order you may be at the mercy of mother nature yep every
00:44:09time so on that note just know that i've had all these struggles myself i can relate and empathize
00:44:21and that's very validating to hear from somebody that's been doing it for years
00:44:25makes me feel like you know there's always still going to be a struggle i'm never going to get it
00:44:29perfected no but it's not easy doing it by yourself yeah and every time i talk to you there's this
00:44:38consistent this is my life this is where i'm raising my kids and there's never a hint of wanting to
00:44:47quit oh no it's what my kids love it's what i love it's where we want to be i'm impressed you're tough
00:44:53thank you marty's kind words
00:45:02that's a big confidence booster and it's it's a lot of help that's just as helpful as you know
00:45:09picking up a hammer and doing something is helping me feel more confident in what i'm doing and i'm
00:45:15doing it right with the well insulation finished marty turns his attention to the compromised water line
00:45:31yeah i hope my other phone just expose a little bit for me and i'll peel it off there
00:45:36i'm trying to get the water line back together and safe so that it will never be compromised so
00:45:47we need to dig out the water line rip out all the foam and then we're going to re-insulate it
00:45:54i wouldn't be so nervous but last time i was here i thought i hit permafrost right about here
00:45:59and it was a struggle
00:46:11misty there might be ice right there look is that frost
00:46:19oh my gosh look at this this is ice like solid ice and it's kind of everywhere you could like ice
00:46:28skate over here
00:46:32oh man it's like a swamp is it just frozen ground from the winter or is it permafrost let me get
00:46:38the excavator and see if i can get through this and see what the layers actually are
00:46:51best how much of that looks frozen
00:46:53oh this is frozen we're dealing with like a foot of ice it stops here and then it's all sandy it's
00:47:05not permafrost but it's a foot of frozen ground it's going to take another month for this top layer
00:47:11to thaw out so what do you want to do the good news is it's not permafrost but gold miners in alaska
00:47:20peel back tundra which is that insulating layer let the ground thaw for a year then come back in mine
00:47:28but i don't have time to wait around what about trying to dig up the ice and put it over there
00:47:35and then when it does thaw out it's not in the garden well here i go
00:47:40wow dad this is like way better now fully exposed come on back please marty and clint
00:47:52work quickly to finish protecting the water line for good stop thank you
00:48:00all right so there's nobody in alaska that works on a water line
00:48:05without putting foam over the top which we did originally when we put this water line in
00:48:12it's one thing to make a discovery but now we've got to develop it in this state of alaska at least
00:48:19eight feet deep is where your water line better be we've got water we've got a hundred foot trench
00:48:26about nine feet deep we've got a water line on the bottom of that trench but just to give it that added
00:48:32insurance so that it doesn't freeze we put two inch foam and they say that two inches of foam equates to
00:48:43two feet of dirt we've done everything we can do to protect this line from freezing i always like to
00:48:51put plastic over the foam sometimes this foam is broken so i just want to capture and hold all that
00:48:59thermal mass from underneath and protect that water line from freezing we can't go to all this trouble
00:49:04and discover this beautiful source of water and let it freeze but now we've dug some of it up so we'll
00:49:13cover it with repurposed free cycle three inch foam anybody in alaska that would turn down a piece
00:49:22of foam even if it was broken and used wouldn't be a real alaskan we'll figure a way to piece it
00:49:28together we'll cover it with six mil plastic the water line will be better protected with three inch
00:49:35foam where it won't freeze again christy yeah okay couple things you ready yeah we'll go ahead and
00:49:45re-insulate the water line and we'll bury it okay but for now we just need to get this insulation
00:49:52in the ground right would you please hand me uh some of that foam yeah first
00:50:01thank you marty's been putting a lot of work into making sure that what happened last winter doesn't
00:50:06happen again and then he's taken big steps to add insulation and then plastic so that the frost can't
00:50:13get down that deep done what's going to happen winter's going to come it's going to freeze this clay area
00:50:22like that but now with six inches of foam it's never going to get to that water line okay taking
00:50:30the cause of it away is step number one so that's just additional okay step number two is figuring out
00:50:37something for this gray water system right would you do me a favor and backfill this yeah thank you
00:50:53second clint fills that hole up he's going to dig another hole and it's going to be the new location
00:50:59for a gray water treatment center and now hopefully christy can reach out to the community and help
00:51:07find something big enough for this homestead what that is i don't have a clue
00:51:14every time i see an old fuel tank i'm reminded that people die trying to cut a hole in here with a
00:51:20grinder but i can't use it let's start cutting
00:51:34with only 48 hours left in the re-rescue of the adams's homestead christy races on the new space for
00:51:42the animals the old food fort while marty checks the progress on the homestead's food preservation fort
00:51:51everything's still good yep does it leak is it strong oh yeah who built it me and matt exactly wow looks
00:52:00great so now that we've repaired the water line i want to know if there's room for dax to break out
00:52:09there on his own and take some ownership on some projects and i was actually impressed these guys have
00:52:15been busy that's because our 12 year old homesteader dax learned a lot from matt what i'm proposing is
00:52:23like a meat processing canning cabin one year ago matt passed down essential skills to dax you ready yep so
00:52:34he could help carry the load of the homestead this homestead has lost some meat over the years because they
00:52:40haven't had a proper sanitary place to process and store their food so that when the winter hits
00:52:47they'll have a reliable source of protein hold it down full blast there you go geez i said geez
00:52:57it's really important for me to help my mom with our homestead so i am looking forward to
00:53:02matt teaching me new skills okay are you ready yep now we're going to move into rabbit meat so misty
00:53:10built like a rabbit hutch yeah and you're going to have a lot of rabbit meat in your future so we put
00:53:16this in the salt brine for about 30 to 45 minutes taking dax step by step through the canning process
00:53:24is i think life changing for him and everyone on the homestead christy needs a lot of help and now
00:53:31dax could be right in there taking over and sharing a lot of that burden now all we got to do is put
00:53:36them in our pressure cookers and then we'll start cooking now that i learned how to can meat and process
00:53:43it now i feel a lot more confident about having food through the winter and just year round oh my goodness
00:53:54you're right this is a food fort do you process any animals yeah we we've done some rabbits and a
00:54:01little bit of moose in here i haven't spent a lot of time with the kids but in the short time i've been
00:54:06here i've seen growth i've seen a transformation but i want to make sure dax is stepping up to the plate
00:54:15to take care of all these chores so what's the process here if you have moose meat or a rabbit so you take
00:54:23pressure cooker put over here some water in it coffee and then you put mousse and some salt in
00:54:31this jar cut it up right here and then we put it in here like that with some water that's amazing
00:54:39and how old are you 12. we use the food for it for canning and processing it's really helpful for my mom
00:54:47and you do all this yeah with mom you're the coolest kid ever matt's gonna be so proud i'm
00:54:54gonna give matt a report of how cool the building is how clean it is and how you're helping mom pretty
00:55:01cool captain let's go
00:55:03you need an elbow if you got one and three quarter back inside the adam's house that's promising marty
00:55:16rushes to finish plumbing in the clean potable water if i turn the water on right now what happens it's
00:55:23gonna come out of this line right here okay this is the line coming out from outside um so that's
00:55:31gonna need to go in here we have to get from three quarters down to half inch packs that's okay last
00:55:39time i was here there was a composting toilet here so what are you doing for a toilet now um we do honey
00:55:43buckets in the winter time and we just use the outhouse in the summer okay when it's too cold to go
00:55:49outside we use a honey bucket which is just a five gallon bucket with a toilet seat lid and then we
00:55:54have to empty it quite regularly if you miss it all it freezes instantly it's gross you're happy with
00:56:01this pressure tank and this system yeah what if someday you wanted to put a toilet in here this is
00:56:06where the toilet goes or is there another place one could go uh no i would go right here christie says
00:56:12the temperature got down to 66 below that's too cold for the kids during the winter time so even
00:56:19though i have a list of things that i need to get done i can't leave this homestead without fixing
00:56:26the problem we might be saying goodbye to the outhouse you get the fittings i'll get a bucket okay
00:56:33meet you right here all right okay
00:56:38hey uh i have a question later that day where did this come from um so that showed up last night marty
00:56:46finds a potential solution to his gray water troubles my boyfriend is doing a job for a neighbor
00:56:53down the way and he had this just lying around on his property and coincidentally said hey you're
00:56:59welcome to have that if you want it how'd they get it here um he used an excavator to pick it up
00:57:06so i come to the homestead this morning and i'm looking at a 1 000 gallon tank meaning christy came
00:57:13through for us the good news is this i can use it certainly have learned that you know the old
00:57:20tank culvert wasn't large enough right the bad news is there's no question in my mind that this is an
00:57:27old fuel tank every time i see an old fuel tank i'm reminded that people die you know trying to cut a hole
00:57:37in here with a grinder or with a cutting torch i am a risk taker and i've got guts but i don't want to
00:57:44see them okay while fuel tanks range in size they all contain highly combustible and explosive substances
00:57:55making the act of repurposing tanks dangerous if not properly cleaned or neutralized
00:58:01and even with the contents disposed of residue and vapors can long remain providing a significant risk
00:58:09if not properly monitoring a tank's carbon oxygen or nitrogen levels even though it's really old it smells
00:58:17like yeah it smells like old fuel right there you want to give it a whiff sure yeah what's this one
00:58:25smell like it does it smells it smells rusty here's the thing we're going to have to cut a hole in each
00:58:30end of it to get the gray water in and the gray water out okay that said i'm sure that's clean but i have
00:58:39to be very careful if i just grab a torch and cut into this this thing could blow up it's basically a bomb
00:58:46um we've got a few tricks up our sleeve that we can probably cut holes bore holes into this thing
00:58:55make it work because this is really going to be helpful got to take it serious
00:59:04if we fill it full of water we can cut on it we can grind on it that said we'll try to find a water
00:59:09source i mean we live in alaska 12 000 rivers three million lakes we'll fill this thing up
00:59:16cut it hopefully not blow up bring it back and stick it in the ground marty will flood the 1 000
00:59:25gallon fuel tank with pond water in order to dilute and dissipate any lingering fumes before cutting two
00:59:32holes on either side next he'll bury the tank in a trench before connecting and insulating the restored
00:59:40septic lines finally he'll construct a log crib out of downed trees for a new leach
00:59:46field creating proper disposal of gray water and ensuring there will be no impact on the water
00:59:53line ever again let's strap it down find some water ready clinton let's hit it
01:00:00let's go there's 36 hours remaining in the re-rescue so where is the pond 12 miles away
01:00:22and deep in the alaskan interior marty and clint venture to a nearby pond to ensure the old fuel
01:00:30tank is 100 safe to cut into and where are we going to dump it like that's where you're kind of
01:00:36worried about you don't want to dump it back by the pond no well we'll probably dump it on that um gray
01:00:42water site and i'm thinking that we're not going to see much contamination but i just can't take a chance
01:00:51it's too old of a tank do you know any stories of uh people welding on fuel tanks i can think of two in
01:00:59my lifetime they survive dead oh no learning from my mistakes or other people's mistakes it's probably
01:01:09while i'm still alive i think let's keep it that way even though this old fuel tank smelled like fuel
01:01:19i think it's clean but we have to take precautions i'll purge that tank filling it with water if
01:01:26there's any fuel residual captured in that steel tank let's hook up this suction line the heat of a
01:01:34torch even the heat of the day can exacerbate the flammability of those fumes
01:01:44did we bring something to prime that pump water bottles a bucket no
01:01:53i'm not that smart but i've always thought clint was really smart but neither one of us took a five
01:01:59gallon bucket down to the lake so there was no way to prime the pump then i realized i had not one but
01:02:06two buckets clint fill up this boot that'll prime it clint hold on buddy you sure oh yeah let it get
01:02:17the job done but will you do me a favor next time remember to bring the bucket all right
01:02:26again the problem on the homestead was right under my feet
01:02:37you're never going to make a very good bartender
01:02:38the question is am i ever going to get the water out of these boots
01:02:52you're going to get the water out of these boots?
01:02:55yeah
01:02:59ah
01:03:01the water out of these boots
01:03:01thank you
01:03:03yeah it's pumping now stretch that hose up
01:03:07that's pumping
01:03:11it's about ready
01:03:14you got it
01:03:18glint help me hold it
01:03:19oh no
01:03:22It's going to be a miracle if we're not soaking wet by the time this is done.
01:03:36Back on the homestead.
01:03:38I don't know if you can tell behind me.
01:03:42It's still a little hazy out.
01:03:45That fire that we've been dealing with for so long now, still burning.
01:03:50They're just letting it burn itself out.
01:03:53But check it out.
01:03:56No more frozen babies.
01:03:59The quail and rabbits are going to be so spoiled because they will be so warm and toasty all winter.
01:04:07Along with a member of Marty's build crew, Christie, Dax, and Charlie work on protecting the livestock in the new bear-proof shelter.
01:04:17Put it right here and drop it on this sheet right here.
01:04:20So all you got to do is put this hand, pick it up.
01:04:23Let go with this hand.
01:04:26Let the top just lay on the wall.
01:04:29Push it up.
01:04:33There you go.
01:04:34Bam.
01:04:35All right.
01:04:36Home screws.
01:04:37The barn is just so small that we didn't have room for the animal feed on top of the animals.
01:04:45So when the bear came around, one of the things that really attracted him was the animal feed that we had left out.
01:04:51And so the enclosed space, that's one more step that's going to help ensure the safety of the animals.
01:04:57Okay.
01:04:58So see every one of these lines?
01:05:00Every one of these studs right here?
01:05:02You're going to put a line down in the middle of it.
01:05:04Studs?
01:05:05Yep.
01:05:06So this is a stud going up and down this way.
01:05:07So in the center, just a line down that way.
01:05:10There you go.
01:05:11The new part of the barn will really help a lot because it's warmer for the rabbits and then they can have more litters of baby bunnies.
01:05:22Good job.
01:05:25Dax and Charlie are my teammates.
01:05:27You know, it takes all three of us to get stuff done around here.
01:05:30There's a lot of times I find myself being a little more lax on them because they do have so many responsibilities.
01:05:35It's not just, you know, mom and kids.
01:05:37We all have to do things together.
01:05:43I feel like living this lifestyle, you really get to get back to the basics and the simple aspects of life.
01:05:49But it's only successful when you have a team working together.
01:05:54That's really important for my kids.
01:05:56I want them to know how things are done and how to appreciate things that we're given in life.
01:06:02Dax has just ran with this lifestyle.
01:06:05He absolutely loves it.
01:06:07And Charlie tries her best, but her personality doesn't fit as well with the off-grid lifestyle.
01:06:12But I ultimately think that her growing up this way is lending her to have more appreciation of the simpler things, even if she doesn't continue to live this lifestyle.
01:06:25There we go!
01:06:27Yay!
01:06:33Whoa, Clint! Clint!
01:06:34Back at the pond...
01:06:36Clint! Shut it off, Clint!
01:06:39Uh-huh.
01:06:40Whoo!
01:06:43I think it's safe to work on.
01:06:45So Clint and I took all the precautions because this tank was really dangerous.
01:06:50And once we filled the tank full of water...
01:06:53All right, let's start cutting.
01:06:55We assumed it was safe to grind on.
01:07:03Once I saw the water that we had put in there come streaming out, I realized that the tank was benign.
01:07:11I didn't see any residual fuel.
01:07:14I didn't see anything but clean water coming out.
01:07:17So that second we just got to work, we cut a few holes in it.
01:07:25And now, we're ready to put it in place.
01:07:29Let's go.
01:07:30Let's go.
01:07:31Let's go.
01:07:32Let's go.
01:07:33Let's go.
01:07:34Let's go.
01:07:35Let's go.
01:07:36It's the final day of the re-rescue of the Adams' Alaskan homestead.
01:08:00All right.
01:08:01And with the well cleaned and the waterline fixed.
01:08:04Hey, buddy, I'll grab the chain if you want to grab the axe.
01:08:08Marty is under the gun to install the new graywater disposal system.
01:08:12Clint!
01:08:14So now that Clint and I have safely cut these holes into this tank, it's time to put it in
01:08:19the ground and put it into action.
01:08:23She'll never deal with an unsanitary cesspool near the front door.
01:08:28Drop it down right there, please.
01:08:30Kristen!
01:08:31Yeah!
01:08:32Clint.
01:08:34All right.
01:08:35I worry that we're on a time crunch.
01:08:39And now that we know that the waterline problem is from the graywater making it frozen in the
01:08:44wintertime, now we have to figure out what to do with all that graywater.
01:08:48Where does that water go now?
01:08:49Now, it's a thousand gallons.
01:08:51Yeah.
01:08:52Even though that sounds like a lot, it's not going to take very long for it to fill up.
01:08:57Okay?
01:08:58Okay.
01:08:59So we're going to introduce that graywater in this side.
01:09:02Mm-hmm.
01:09:03But we're going to allow that graywater to get out and go into a little leech field that
01:09:07can accommodate, I don't care how much water, that you guys discharge from the house.
01:09:12Okay.
01:09:13Based on that, we'll get started.
01:09:14Sounds good.
01:09:15Okay.
01:09:16All right, let's hit it.
01:09:18So we're going to set the tank, put foam over it, and then at least four feet of dirt.
01:09:25I say we cut in that, I'll start plumbing.
01:09:29Oh!
01:09:30Give me that black pipe quickly.
01:09:32Oh!
01:09:33All the little pieces, all the little pieces, and a big piece.
01:09:36What are we cutting it with?
01:09:37That saw's all?
01:09:38Yes, sir.
01:09:39We've got a lot of work to get done on this homestead.
01:09:41I'm trying to get everything where it won't freeze again, and it's quite a process to do
01:09:46all these repairs.
01:09:47So we have a four-inch black PVC pipe coming out of the house that will accommodate all the
01:09:54water that they can discharge.
01:09:55It goes into a trench at least four feet deep, and then we've solved that problem.
01:10:01Arr!
01:10:02Permafrost!
01:10:03You're not going to believe I hit permafrost right here.
01:10:08Ten feet back last year, I had to spot with a space heater to get this water line in.
01:10:13Did you hear that story?
01:10:16Last year, Marty was stuck when permafrost threatened to keep him from running the water
01:10:22line to the homestead.
01:10:24Ten-foot trench, perfect.
01:10:27First 50 feet, money.
01:10:29The last 20 feet?
01:10:32That gravel's frozen.
01:10:35Boom, there it is.
01:10:37Permafrost.
01:10:38If we were in Tennessee, I could just leave Christie with a nice water well and they could go out
01:10:49there 12 months a year and pull up water.
01:10:52They'd be fine.
01:10:53Not here.
01:10:54The only way to really ensure that this family gets water year round is to connect the water
01:10:59line, insulate it, introduce it into the bottom of the house.
01:11:03It's all efforts trying to keep the water thawed in a place that gets 70 below zero.
01:11:12Here we are.
01:11:13Ten feet to go.
01:11:14How are we going to do it?
01:11:16Excavator can't reach under the house.
01:11:18We have to pick and shovel through one quarter inch at a time.
01:11:25Many years ago, this was a very important tool.
01:11:29Why?
01:11:30Because permafrost is rampant in interior Alaska.
01:11:35And that's where there are many gold mines.
01:11:37So they would actually, believe it or not, find some gold, melt the frozen ground, just like
01:11:43we've done with a heater, but they would have to build a fire.
01:11:46And that fire would thaw the ground.
01:11:48And inch by inch, they'd make their way through the frozen ground that they had just thawed
01:11:54until they had to build another fire.
01:11:57Okay, there you go.
01:11:59Here we are at the finish line.
01:12:03We finally have thawed and picked our way to success, hopefully.
01:12:09Now we can get the water line into the house.
01:12:13All right.
01:12:15Clint's got the excavator bucket this close to my head.
01:12:18That said, I don't care.
01:12:20Because one inch at a time, we're getting from the house to that tank before we leave.
01:12:26Making it?
01:12:27Yep.
01:12:28Yeah.
01:12:31Yeah.
01:12:32Money?
01:12:33Clint!
01:12:34Get the tank in there!
01:12:36We're burning daylight, even though the sun never goes down!
01:12:44Which side's in?
01:12:45I don't remember.
01:12:46It doesn't matter.
01:12:47I think that's the...
01:12:48I think we want it spun, though.
01:12:51This side's higher.
01:12:52The clean-outs on this side, they won't run over it over here.
01:12:57It's money, Clint.
01:13:01As this day progresses, it's getting a little hectic, and there's a lot of work to be done, and I'm going into homestead mode.
01:13:09Watch out, I might have to move this pipe a little bit.
01:13:11I'm yelling at everybody.
01:13:12Hand me that pipe.
01:13:13Hand me the cutters, the glue.
01:13:15I feel like Dr. Rainey.
01:13:17No more Mr. Nice Guy.
01:13:19This pipe is a clean-out pipe.
01:13:22Whatever happened to the sewer line, you've got to be able to access it.
01:13:26So if you were to take this cap off in January, this sewer line would be frozen in a day or two.
01:13:34So this is a critical thing to have on your line.
01:13:37People think it's for smell.
01:13:39It is, but it's to protect cold air from going down your line.
01:13:43So right now, Christy thinks she's getting a gray water system.
01:13:48See this sewer line?
01:13:49It goes straight into the bathroom, and it's hooked into a big white thing that flushes.
01:13:58That's a first for this homestead.
01:14:04Clear.
01:14:09We've got the tank in place, and the only thing left to do now is dig the leach field, but it looks like a bomb went off.
01:14:18I can't leave this homestead like this.
01:14:21So even though the sun ain't setting till one, time's up.
01:14:26Clint!
01:14:31Clint!
01:14:32There's a lot of work to get done.
01:14:36There's no time to sit, contemplate, or just relax.
01:14:42Let's go! Let's go!
01:14:44And sometimes when the going gets tough, Clint's nowhere to be found on this homestead.
01:14:49So, what does he get up to?
01:14:53Hey, Clint!
01:14:54Take a load off!
01:14:55Hey!
01:14:56Oh, man!
01:14:57Hey!
01:14:58I'll be right in!
01:14:59Yeah, usually when Marty yells, Clint, this is what I'm doing.
01:15:17Pretty relaxing.
01:15:18Don't tell him.
01:15:20Quit!
01:15:21Oh, no.
01:15:22Coming through!
01:15:23There's only three hours left to re-rescue the Adamses' Alaskan homestead.
01:15:26Watch out, partner!
01:15:27And before he leaves for good, Marty scrambles to finish the new Greywater system.
01:15:49Watch out!
01:15:50We've designed a very basic leach field.
01:15:54It's made up of a labyrinth of trees and branches and clean gravel that can accommodate
01:16:00all of that Greywater coming from the house.
01:16:03How deep's the trench?
01:16:06Chris!
01:16:07Yeah!
01:16:08The sheer number of all of the things they get done is overwhelming.
01:16:13Hey, buddy!
01:16:15You guys feel free to cover it all.
01:16:17Lay it right in there, please.
01:16:19I was starting to get nervous about him being able to get through that permafrost
01:16:22and get plumbing to the house in time.
01:16:24It's all coming together, and it's actually happening, and it looks like it might actually
01:16:29get finished.
01:16:31Watch out, bud.
01:16:32Please.
01:16:33Coming in hot!
01:16:35Tell him to start filling, please!
01:16:40So once we complete this system, we've accomplished two things.
01:16:45They'll never deal with an unsanitary cesspool next to their cabin.
01:16:50And...
01:16:51Whoo!
01:16:52Discharged water won't be able to go down and freeze the water line.
01:16:58It's a win-win.
01:16:59All right, young lady, check this out.
01:17:09We've got a four-inch wastewater line going that direction.
01:17:13Okay.
01:17:14Come over to here.
01:17:15The line goes down.
01:17:16All of it's insulated with a two-inch rigid foam over the top of it and plastic.
01:17:21So there's no way this line's ever going to freeze.
01:17:24And this is not necessarily a clean-out, but it's where you could pump this system.
01:17:28Okay.
01:17:29Some people would say, oh, you have to pump it every year.
01:17:32But I wouldn't go more than two years before you had it pumped.
01:17:36From here to here, underneath me, a long ways down, covered in insulation, is a 1,000-gallon tank.
01:17:43And from this tank all the way to the edge of those trees is a 30-foot-long leech field.
01:17:50Yeah.
01:17:51We just came up from Little House on the Prairie to modern day.
01:17:54Oh, yeah.
01:17:55One more thing.
01:17:56Let's go.
01:17:58Hey, Adams family!
01:18:00Oh!
01:18:01What do you think?
01:18:05Wow!
01:18:06Have you ever seen one of these before in your house?
01:18:09Nope.
01:18:10So we've tied in the kitchen sink, the bathtub, the shower.
01:18:14Everything drains into this system.
01:18:17There's no more gray water that'll ever surface in the yard ever again.
01:18:22So when it's 60 below and you've got to go to the bathroom, is it fun?
01:18:27No.
01:18:28It's not?
01:18:29She's probably the biggest complainer out of all of us.
01:18:32I think Charlie should have the honors and see if this thing works.
01:18:38Oh, it's even all hooked up and has water in it?
01:18:41Let's see if it works.
01:18:43Give it a try.
01:18:44Oh, wow.
01:18:45Four days ago, the Adams' water supply was compromised by an excess of gray water freezing the line and from vermin waste contaminating the well.
01:19:01Today, they have a gray water disposal system repurposed from a 1,000-gallon fuel tank, a 30-foot-long leach field made from downed trees, and a newly insulated well.
01:19:14And they have a brand new indoor toilet giving the family potable water and a waste removal system that will never be compromised again.
01:19:24I never thought I'd be so excited about a toilet.
01:19:27We're so excited to have a flushing toilet.
01:19:31That means no more going outside at 40 below zero and freezing your butt off.
01:19:36Like, literally.
01:19:38And, you know, poor Charlie.
01:19:41She's lived this life pretty much her whole life.
01:19:44Just to see her face light up over flushing that toilet was wonderful.
01:19:48It's such a step up for us.
01:19:50It means no more packing honey buckets out to the outhouse when it's cold.
01:19:54It's no more using the honey bucket.
01:19:55Like, we can be civilized people now.
01:19:57My new throne.
01:19:58Okay.
01:19:59This thing looks pretty nice.
01:20:00It does.
01:20:01Pretty strong.
01:20:02Yep.
01:20:03Bear protection.
01:20:04All right.
01:20:05After you.
01:20:07You're welcome.
01:20:08Oh.
01:20:09Oh.
01:20:10Oh.
01:20:11Oh.
01:20:12Oh.
01:20:13Oh.
01:20:14Oh.
01:20:15Oh.
01:20:16Oh.
01:20:17Oh.
01:20:18Oh.
01:20:19Oh.
01:20:20Oh.
01:20:21Oh.
01:20:22Oh.
01:20:23Oh.
01:20:24Oh, yeah.
01:20:25It's warm in here.
01:20:26It is warm in here.
01:20:29Last week, the family's sources of protein were exposed to Alaska's extreme elements,
01:20:36with the rabbits succumbing to the freezing cold and attacked by a wandering bear.
01:20:42Today, they've framed their woodshed to become a 10 by 20 foot structure, complete with insulated walls and flooring,
01:20:51roosts for the quails, and enough space to safely house their protein sources for years to come.
01:20:58This is kind of a big space, and quail are this big.
01:21:01Right.
01:21:02So you have other plans here?
01:21:03We do.
01:21:04We have some big plans already.
01:21:05Dax has big plans of doing two stories, so that we could have the quail on the bottom and maybe the rabbits on the top.
01:21:11The kid's amazing.
01:21:12He is.
01:21:13He's already thinking.
01:21:14He is.
01:21:15Yeah.
01:21:16He's doing it for me.
01:21:17He makes it easy for me.
01:21:18Wow.
01:21:19Yeah.
01:21:20They have values and they have a work ethic.
01:21:21They're smart.
01:21:22I mean, I'm really impressed, so take a bow as a maul.
01:21:26You're welcome.
01:21:28Okay, after you.
01:21:29I'm really impressed and inspired by the three of you as a family, and I'm glad that I came with the crew,
01:21:42because to find you without water and a big cesspool in the front yard and rabbits being attacked by black bears,
01:21:50I'm going to tell you, I wasn't happy, but I feel really good right now.
01:21:54And thanks for working hard alongside us to get all this stuff done.
01:21:58I mean, you kids are very well-behaved and very respectful and hardworking.
01:22:02You have chores, and you're, you know, you're mature, and yet you're still kids.
01:22:06What do you think?
01:22:08Do you think we're better prepared for the next bear?
01:22:11Oh, yeah.
01:22:12We've got just to store all the animals and the food now.
01:22:16Can a bear get in there?
01:22:17I don't think so.
01:22:18I don't think so either.
01:22:19I think we'll be safe.
01:22:21Is it because we built that building and just tried to think about it a little bit harder?
01:22:27Yeah, you guys helped us a lot.
01:22:30I'm so incredibly proud of my kids.
01:22:33Facing all the challenges together, living this lifestyle, and to have Marty come back twice has helped set us up and secured us.
01:22:40Carrying on and being really successful.
01:22:44We're going to go so much further now.
01:22:46I think we're very well set.
01:22:48Well, thank you for letting me come.
01:22:50Maybe someday I'll come back here again, but it's time to go.
01:22:55Christy and her kids are living proof that you can homestead anywhere.
01:23:02It's their sanctuary.
01:23:03It's their refuge.
01:23:04It's their future.
01:23:06Thank you so much.
01:23:07Take care.
01:23:08You make the best of it, but you live with the challenges.
01:23:15You overcome them even in a harsh, severe place like Interior Alaska.
01:23:21I'm inspired.
01:23:23This has been a very first time.
01:23:24We are great.
01:23:25It's your true body in a hurry.
01:23:26We have fun.
01:23:27It's your very first time.
01:23:28We are great.
01:23:29Go see yourself.
01:23:30The good ones are different.
01:23:31I'm a christian.
01:23:32You're the one of them.
01:23:33We have a hard time.
01:23:34We took part of our house and everything.
01:23:35We're great.
01:23:36We're great.
01:23:37We're lucky too.
01:23:38I'm a happy.
01:23:39We're lucky.
01:23:40We're lucky.
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