Skip to playerSkip to main content
BRITCOM III
  • 2 days ago

Category

📺
TV
Transcript
00:01I feel so little sometimes in this vast world.
00:04Come on guys, hop, hop.
00:06There's so many places to explore, it's like a huge playground.
00:10I'm so in love with the idea of living here and being here.
00:14Hunting and trapping.
00:15It's a part of life up here.
00:19It's not everyone who get a chance to live this kind of adventure.
00:23I'm about to venture into the unknown.
00:27The land can be very rewarding.
00:29Beautiful.
00:30But the land can also be very dangerous.
00:34I'm wet, I'm wet.
00:35The power of nature is so impressive.
00:37Wind is definitely picking up.
00:39This house is a ticking time bomb.
00:41You have to be smart out here.
00:44A musher who loses his sled is a dead musher.
00:47Ah, don't move!
00:59I'm going to go for my first expedition to set some new lines for the trapping season.
01:18So right now I'm boiling my traps.
01:24Traps need to be boiled every year before you start the season just so they're scent free.
01:29I'm putting some spruce boughs in there so it smells more natural and it takes away kind of the metal scent.
01:35These traps are going to be to trap martens.
01:39Martens are pretty small but they get a nice thick fur.
01:44So that's my main target on the trapline.
01:47My main goal this year is to expand my trapline, creating more trails where I can go trapping further in the territory.
01:57So this year I'm going to be traveling and trapping with a dog team.
02:02I have eight dogs here and these dogs are my only way to get to the places I need to go.
02:07Last year I was trapping on skis and snowshoes.
02:14So this year having a dog team is going to be way more efficient.
02:18I'll be able to go further and be faster and it's going to be a whole new game.
02:25Right now the days are pretty short and we're losing a lot of daylight so I cannot really go far and come back before dark.
02:33So tonight I'll be camping out with the dogs.
02:35Michael you ready? You ready bud?
02:40Nowadays most trappers use snow machine to get around their trapline.
02:44But for me it's more about the lifestyle and having sled dogs and being able to live the way people were living in the woods a couple hundred years ago.
02:54For me it's very special.
02:56Then when it's time to put the harnesses on it's time to go have fun.
03:01Go for a little run and they love it.
03:03There's a lot of unknown in this trip.
03:07It's a first for these guys to go trapping with me.
03:10Look Caroline.
03:11So I'm not sure what lies ahead. I'm sure a lot of challenges but I'm very excited to have them part of this adventure.
03:19Kid you coming?
03:21Kid?
03:23Oh here you are. Come here bud. Come here.
03:25It's gonna be the first time for these dogs to go on these trails.
03:29It should be okay but it's mushing.
03:32Goes wrong all the time.
03:34The biggest risk for a musher is to lose your sled.
03:38If I fall and I can't hold on to my sled and my dogs take off without me then it can be pretty dangerous for the dogs first of all because if they get tangled or if the sled hit them it can be pretty bad.
03:50And also for me because in this type of environment if it's minus 50 if you lose your dogs in the middle of nowhere and you have no way to go back home it can be pretty bad.
03:59Are you excited?
04:00Set dogs are a specific breed that need to exercise way more than a regular pet dog.
04:12They need to run and they want to run so much like it's their entire life is about running.
04:18They love the cold. They love adventures.
04:21They want to go run and explore and I'm kind of like that too.
04:25Okay boys!
04:33Good job Kate. Good boy teamer.
04:35When I'm mushing I'm in a constant discussion with my lead dogs.
04:40I rely on them and they rely on me.
04:42We really have to work as a team.
04:44G! G!
04:46Good boys!
04:47I use G for right and H for left and hop hop means okay let's go guys.
04:53Come on guys hop hop hop!
04:56When I'm mushing my mind is only focused on the dogs and what's around me.
05:01It's kind of a good meditation and just very present in the moment focused on the environment.
05:07It's very peaceful.
05:09Good boy team hop!
05:10Good boy!
05:12Hello!
05:16To get to where I need to go I need to cross this river.
05:19This river is still flowing right now.
05:23There is a thin layer of ice on top that is getting thicker and thicker with the cold temperatures.
05:28So I need to check how thick the ice is to see if it's safe to cross.
05:30With rivers because the water is running fast under.
05:35If you fall and the current sweeps you then you're stuck under the ice and it can be deadly of course.
05:44The ice is too thin here. The water is right here.
05:47So it's a bad spot to cross.
05:49Too risky.
05:51You have to be smart out here.
05:53Every year you hear new stories about people going through the ice.
05:56So I have to be careful and I don't want to become someone else's story.
06:02I think I found a pretty good path.
06:04This should work pretty good. The ice is pretty thick.
06:06So I think I'm gonna cross here with the dogs and get on my trail on the other side.
06:14Easy boys. Easy boys.
06:17I'm not mushing on the river.
06:19I want to walk to show them the path so they stay where the ice is safe.
06:23Easy.
06:26Fimber. Chase. Easy.
06:28I have to always remember that I'm not riding a machine.
06:32I'm working with animals.
06:36And they are unpredictable.
06:38Stay! Stay!
06:40Stop!
06:44Guys! Stop!
06:45Stop!
07:00Today we're gonna go set up some traps to trap some beavers.
07:03The majority of the food that we feed our family is from the land.
07:07And that's the reality of living here.
07:09But we've been having a bit of a hard time this year.
07:12So we're hoping to have better luck.
07:14Get at least one or two.
07:16Keep our bellies full and keep us warm.
07:18We're never gonna test out the ice.
07:31Oh, careful!
07:33You already went through?
07:35Yeah.
07:37We don't know how thick the ice is gonna be on the lake.
07:40So we're gonna have to be very careful with our snow machine.
07:42It could be very dangerous for us.
07:44We could fall through.
07:46How thick would you say the ice is?
07:48One inch thick.
07:49Oh yeah, that's not good.
07:50We'd fall through that, eh?
07:52It's very thin ice.
07:54And too much of a risk to take.
07:57The land can be very rewarding, but the land can also be very dangerous.
08:02The beaver has to step over there.
08:03So we're gonna have to go around.
08:05I guess we don't have a choice.
08:07Better safe than sorry.
08:08Pretty thick woods over here, eh?
08:11Yeah, very thick.
08:13We might have to cut a little bit to make a trail.
08:15Bushwhacking time.
08:18In this cold, everything is a lot harder.
08:20It's harder to breathe.
08:21It's harder to work.
08:23So having to cut down some trees is gonna take a lot of effort.
08:26We don't have that much hours in the day, and it's really slow.
08:29So having to cut down some trees is gonna take a lot of effort.
08:33We don't have that much hours in the day, and it's really slow.
08:35We don't have that much hours in the day, and it's really slowing us down.
08:42There's a trail here.
08:46Luckily, we found an old trail, and hopefully that's gonna lead us closer to the beaver hut.
08:57Oh, there it is.
08:58There it is.
08:59Look, it's huge.
09:00It's very big.
09:01It's like a mansion.
09:02That's the mansion.
09:04I'm gonna check out the ice.
09:06Okay.
09:07Just don't fall in.
09:10Getting wet and getting cold, it's no joke.
09:14You're at a much higher risk for hypothermia, and that can be very dangerous out here.
09:20There's really no ice.
09:22See?
09:23How are we gonna get to it?
09:24We're gonna put down some, uh, some trees.
09:27We gotta make a little bridge?
09:28Yep.
09:29It smells like the wheat.
09:30But you know she's...
09:41Oh, God.
09:46I'm wet, I'm wet.
09:47I'm wet.
09:49Oh, no.
09:50Oh, my God.
09:51Damn.
09:52Oh!
09:58That was really deep.
09:59I'm wet here.
10:00Like, my coat's wet, so it went up to my hips.
10:03My boots are full of water right now, so my feet are burning right now from the cold.
10:07Yeah, you gotta go home.
10:10It's not safe to stay outside in this temperature, so we gotta go right back to the cabin and warm up.
10:16We don't have a choice.
10:17Try again tomorrow.
10:37Surviving out here is knowing how to live off the land.
10:40To use what's around you.
10:42If you want to exist off grid, you need to hunt.
10:46And it's just a great way to explore.
10:50There is some backcountry that I don't go too often.
10:53What I'm planning to do is to explore, to hunt.
10:57I'll be looking for grouse.
10:59I will be looking for rabbits, also.
11:02Best case scenario will be to catch something and just to eat it, you know, out of my land.
11:08I am the fourth generation who has this land.
11:14This land was handed down to me by my father.
11:19This place is special.
11:21This place is priceless.
11:29It's amazing.
11:30It's still holding.
11:31This is cool.
11:32It's been a year since I built it.
11:33Last year, I built a bridge to get across the river, to get access to a new part of my land.
11:43It's cold.
11:45So, very glad I've got this bridge.
11:47Past the bridge, it will be very unfamiliar territory, which I don't go too often.
11:55So, you know, maybe I'm going to make camp there, spend the night.
11:59I will see.
12:00But I still have a long walk to do.
12:02I've packed a bit of food, some snacks, but not much.
12:10I'm counting on the land to provide what I need.
12:13There is three fell down recently, and there is a good place for rabbit to hide.
12:23They do love this kind of shelter.
12:26So, I'm just going to kick these three to see if there is a rabbit underneath.
12:29No.
12:44Could have been, but no.
12:46There is no tracks.
12:48I don't see any rabbits here.
12:50The bush is so thick, man.
12:59That's amazing.
13:00It's like so hard to get through it.
13:08It's been a pretty bad afternoon for hunting, and I'm cold.
13:12I'm tired now.
13:13That's enough.
13:15So, I will make camp because I know it's going to take a while, and it's getting dark and dark.
13:21Looks pretty flat here.
13:24I've got two trees where I can set up my tent, and I've got a lot of deadwoods around to build a fire.
13:32This is a great place, actually.
13:36That should be good.
13:40There we go.
13:41Parfait.
13:43The tarp now.
13:45Very good.
13:46All right.
13:48All right.
13:49So, now I've got a great shelter.
13:51So, next step, that'll be the bed.
13:59Parfait.
14:00I need some poles to put on the top, so I'll be able, you know, just to lie down on the bed.
14:14You know, it's cold.
14:15This is freaking cold here.
14:17I don't want to sleep on the ground.
14:22There we go.
14:23I'm building a big fire that long because I just want a wall of heat.
14:41coming out the fire towards me.
14:42So, this is why it's a big one.
14:43Oh, man.
14:44Woof.
14:45Woof!
14:46And it's getting big.
14:47I got into cold, but—
14:50I see.
14:51I see.
14:52I've got—
14:54There we go.
14:55I'm building a big fire that long because I just want a wall of heat coming out the fire towards me.
14:57So, this is why it's a big one.
14:59Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho!
15:02This is great.
15:03Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho!
15:05Feels like home.
15:08Oh, man.
15:09oh man woof and it's getting warm now well i didn't catch anything i haven't seen even anything
15:20but you know i've got a shelter got a good fire and i've got jerky so this is what i'm
15:27gonna have i guess tonight which is good i'm just gonna rest and tomorrow it's a new day
15:39the ocean really is wildest place there is the titanic sank just out of coast newfoundland
15:53this was the nearest patch of water icebergs ice you know big seas but as rugged as it is it is
16:01absolutely beautiful this is definitely a dream come true for me getting to live
16:12a little remote island like this ocean access only i bought an old house on an island here
16:19on the coast of newfoundland and with a whole lot of elbow grease it can be a real home
16:31that's what it's like to be a homeowner at a budget right here boy i tell you
16:46the biggest issue with the house is the front is just hanging off
16:50and i'm racing to get it ready for the winter around here and winter comes hard and fast
16:56these are actually old wood windows and this is one i want to save
16:59one to keep cast down but really because i want everything here to be authentic this is antique
17:07it's a very traditional style home built back in the day by old fishermen
17:12and i want to try and bring it back to its original glory
17:19once this window comes out really committed the wind is definitely picking up
17:24when the winds up like this it's not a great time to pull your house apart that's for sure
17:29all right all right cross your fingers boys and girls don't want to pop this glass
17:38oh here she comes
17:38there you go old girl oh hey gonna be breezy around the kitchen table tonight
17:58i'm looking out the wind is howling and the sun's going down there's a gale on the way and i gotta get
18:03this thing turped in asap because me and runny still got to sleep in here tonight stay in there
18:07run you want to get this up before night if the wind is as high as they're calling it for
18:14the wind comes in up the ocean it's open hole grabs hold to like a big sail who knows what it'll do
18:19be one hell of a cold night for sure but also could uh do some damage
18:23i don't know if it's plastic's gonna hold it
18:30i'd say 50 50. odds of this thing making it through nice
18:40it's about the big raindrop
18:42good to get for a plastic window now we just pray it's gonna be a light sleep i can see it now
18:57hey stay
19:11stop
19:15stop
19:19whoa
19:20pretty intense these dogs are pretty powerful once they hooked up to the sled all they want
19:31to do is run and i got dragged by the sled because the dogs were faster than me and i couldn't hold
19:35on to my leaders there's a saying a musher who loses a sled is a dead musher so the first
19:42rule is to always hold on to your sled it was a bit chaotic but we all made it across the river so
19:50we can keep going on our little journey now okay guys this trapline concession is vast
20:10there's so many places to explore it's like a huge playground
20:13these dogs i've never been trapping they're just used to run run run for long distances stay
20:32but for trapping you have to stop periodically and they have to stop exactly where i need them to
20:37stop i can't have them going too close to the trap timber line up line up timber it's going to be a
20:44big learning curve for them i'm teaching them to wait for me until i'm done then to not come to me
20:52when i'm setting a trap just for safety hey guys i want the dogs to be calm i can't have them barking
21:00when i'm setting a trap because it's too intense and i can't even think they have to understand that
21:05it's their job to relax lay down and chill out i have some martin magic it's a super good little
21:14mixture i put it on every tree where i set up a trap pretty stinky and martins love it that's why we call
21:20it martin magic the trap is set now i just gotta put my little cone over it to protect it from the birds
21:34since i started mushing eight years ago it's been a dream to be able to trap with my sled dogs
21:42good job and dive even deeper in that northern lifestyle
21:59i've never been past this lake before so it's kind of the boundary of this new big kingdom
22:06i'm about to leave my neighborhood and venture into the unknown
22:15it looks pretty good keep the first hundred meters look all right then the rest of the day should be
22:21fine there is some creeks feeding into the lake so i have to be careful and avoid those because
22:27that's usually when there is open water so if i aim straight for the middle of the lake to to the end
22:33it should be all right come on guys you ready come on my goal is to set my camp at the end of the
22:39lake so i'm ready to go tomorrow morning to start breaking trail and making my way towards these
22:44mountains you guys ready okay your mind can comprehend how vast this place is for thousands of square
22:57kilometers just pure wilderness where i'm going nobody has been maybe ever it's a crazy feeling to know
23:07that i might be the first one to set foot out here it's pretty exciting
23:27today the plan is to continue where we left off yesterday gilbert's can attempt to go
23:33on the beaver hut when put in a trap
23:38yesterday was a really good reminder that you got to think about the conditions and
23:43it's going to get you when you least expect it i'm wet i'm wet i've experienced and seen the dangers
23:49that can happen so now i'll be that much more prepared and i'm going to make a fire so if gilberg
23:55falls through the ice you can come warm up it's not ideal but we also need beaver right now
24:02all right there you go
24:07what's the ice like today gilbert thicker from yesterday can you just be careful
24:15how's the bridge good solid it's holding very good you're not falling i'm happy so far it seems to be
24:22holding up but it is dangerous it's making me nervous but i trust him too he knows what he's doing
24:31i just don't like it i won't feel relieved until until we're out of here
24:37this is a massive beaver hut biggest i've seen and there's two vents one right there
24:44then what are we here this is a telltale sign of live beavers down there a lot of heat coming out
24:50from their breath yeah there's a whole bunch down there you can tell
24:58if we cover all the exits eventually there's going to be a beaver goes up for food
25:02this is good hunting and trapping that's part of who i am
25:16i'm gonna find the hole with this you just find bushes that are curved like a you usually willows
25:22but this is a spruce let's see if it keeps going yeah it keeps going this way oh yeah right there
25:32there's a hole there yeah this is it we're gonna have to put a trap right there
25:40i'm gonna arm the traps so they gotta be careful this is dangerous it's really powerful
25:45there you go it's set these other poles are for the fence so they don't go around you're gonna see
25:54that it's block here and it's block on this side so they have no choice just to go straight and the
26:00trap does its magic there you go yeah all right now i'll find another hole
26:05we've set the traps now and we have to wait a couple days all right ready to go yep hopefully
26:17these two are enough to get one yeah i'll be happy with that
26:35so overnight it was snowing all night with this top that was okay but still pretty wetter
26:50but i'm here now so let's enjoy it as much as i can you know
26:59in the bush hunting is a reality
27:01if you can't harvest food for yourself you won't last long
27:08but it also connects you to the land connects you to the animals
27:13it's a very good way to be part of nature
27:20i'm looking for some you know some animal tracks small game but so far i'm kind of disappointed
27:25oh yeah a little waterfall that's nice you know it just amazes me how beautiful you know my place
27:38is so peaceful i'm very glad i'm back here
27:45i feel so little sometimes in this vast world the power of nature is so impressive
27:51nature reminds me she's the bus and i'm just a guest here
28:04a rabbit yeah yeah i see him
28:18all right i got it
28:33there we go there we go my dear friend there we go hey there we go beautiful animal
28:41i will be able to have a good meal with this rabbit so yeah thank you little rabbit
28:51you know killing an animal can be very exciting but at the same time can be very profound
28:56because you know this animal just gave me his life it's a deep feeling
29:11i'm so in love with the idea of living here being here it's a lot more than just fixing up old
29:22house it's trying to preserve a piece of old history and a way of life
29:28you know the newfoundland traditions dying fast every year another salt box like this falls into the
29:33ground stories and the history has slowly been eaten back up by the weather and the storms
29:41of the weather and the wind comes and hits it's just hanging off just one good gusts and the right
29:56spot at the right time could tear the whole front of this house right off
29:59it's just hanging off just one good gusts and the right spot at the right time could tear the whole front
30:04of this house right off luckily wind's coming in from the west northwest so it's coming in southerly we
30:17probably couldn't take this out today but even so it's pretty sketchy and it's howling but we're
30:22gonna do it it's a big moment all we have left to do now just tear it off
30:27once we start tearing this thing off its full command the front house will be wide open
30:36how rotten this is you damn near take this place out with one pair of good rubber boots
30:50oh this is great what little boy doesn't want to take a sledgehammer to an old house
30:57okay it looks rough but i tell you it's gonna be beautiful i really will
31:04this old girl's putting up a good fight today i'm fighting right back
31:11there's times to work smarter not harder and this is one of those
31:19minefield of tetanus here hundred year old rusty nails
31:23oh yeah liking this already
31:35this is it
31:36oh yeah looks like a doomsday movie up here
31:52all we need now is a few zombies kicking around the door down there
31:55all we got left to do now is get the sheeting on this old girl
32:02you gotta love being a homeowner
32:15crossing the lake was pretty smooth the ice was good so i didn't have really much trouble on the lake
32:29oh good boys the dogs did awesome today it was a it was a big day big adventure i'm very proud of them
32:39now i'll set up my camp i'll spend the night here and we'll keep going tomorrow
32:46oh that's so comfy guys that's so comfy happy dogs
32:56i'm just putting a little bit of bark so i protect my fire from the snow
33:08my dogs i'm making a soup with meat and kibbles
33:22it's to keep them hydrated and they need a lot of protein and a lot of fat to run these long distances
33:29i'm putting some spruce balls on the ground just from my bed keeps me a little bit insulated from the
33:45cool ground and it's more comfy and then i'll put my bedroll on top of it with my sleeping bag and
33:52that's it
33:52i'm sleeping right next to the dogs for wolves if i sleep too far from the dogs wolves come too close
34:05and they come check it out because they smell that there is new canine around and they want to protect
34:11their territory but if i'm right next to the dogs with all my scent and the fire going usually they
34:19don't bother too much to me the Yukon is everything it just fulfills every dream i ever had and it
34:29gives me everything i need it's pretty insane to think that there is still a place like this on earth
34:38i'm very excited to start my journey and go explore further
34:49the beaver traps have been sitting for around three days and today we're going to go check to see
35:02if we've caught anything
35:09all right
35:13it's been uh really cold these past couple days so the ice is pretty thick
35:18yep it's good so you want me to try breaking the ice over here yeah oh this is really solid
35:25yeah look how thick that ice is just from three days like an extra three inches all right let's see
35:34what we got what i learned over the years is to not have expectations when it comes to hunting and
35:41there is never any guarantee that we'll get anything you're not going to be successful every time
35:47i don't think there's anything no it feels really light yeah oh what look at that look small but it's
35:57heavy about 20 pounds you feed our family for sure
36:03maybe why are you shaking what's going on he wants to eat the beaver
36:06he's excited we'll check the other one okay i always get sad you know getting a beaver or any
36:14animal but i've been here long enough that i understand that we need to harvest to feed our
36:21family so for sure part of me is sad but it's also a way of life here you need to hunt and harvest to
36:26survive could it take a little peek oh wow wow are you gonna start shaking again are you excited wow
36:41oh yeah you are shaking
36:45better get it put them in the snow take the dirt off because there's it was muddy in there
36:48just uh cleans it and dries it off yeah to save the pelt yeah it's beautiful gonna make a hat maybe
37:00oh wow that's heavy yeah we're going home today with two beavers there's a lot more in this beaver
37:07hut this is a very large beaver hut but we're only taking what we need we're respecting the land
37:12we're not over harvesting it's a balance you don't want to wipe out the whole colony you need to save
37:20some so there'll be more next year that's how it's done that's how we do it
37:43it was sweet using the trike to tear all this off
37:50but we gotta stop shagging around here it's getting dark quick
37:54the real race is on now to get this thing closed back in because the wind is still up
37:58and now the entire front of the house is off she's a ticking time bomb this house is one big
38:05sail up on top of the hill any gust of good wind she could just destroy herself overnight
38:13traditional new flam building that's what i call this you see anything i shagged up you just call it
38:19traditional new flam building she curves like the ocean
38:26this plywood is going to give a lot of strength to the structure too
38:30it'll be able to shift around so much yep looks good it's a great little home
38:42yeah definitely got that sheeting on just in the nick of time almost out of lice
38:51i want to get this window in before dark
38:57sweet merciful that's it pop the window in now and make this house a home
39:10life here is hard and tough just like the land and ocean around it if you can make it here
39:19you can probably make it anywhere this was a big one to bite off in such a small amount of time
39:25beating the weather beating the daylight i mean it's in it's not going anywhere
39:31there's some more work to do in this place all the outside to clapboard to paint and all that stuff
39:37but i mean it's close enough it's close enough to sleep in here and you stay warm and dry that's all
39:42really matters
40:01this is a welcome fresh meal you know kind of hungry right now because i've been eating an apple
40:08some jerky
40:12there we go perfect so now let's roast this little guy
40:20all right got nice little sticks and that will be the tripod for the cooking so i'm looking for some
40:27natural v like this one and the main stick will be lying on the top you know this is a kind of a
40:35old-school rotisserie
40:40bushcraft is traditional knowledge it's a survival skill and without it you can't make a life out here
40:48there we go
40:51this one has three wrenches and this is a stopper turn it stick it there wait a bit of an hour and whoop on
41:00the other side like this it's all about cooking evenly so this is so important otherwise just a
41:08stray stick you will have to stay here all day rather to use traditional trick like this
41:15and the last step every trip i always bring salt
41:25there we go and the other thing i'm doing also i'm just gonna put some small piece of butter on the top
41:33so we'll melt slowly and make sure the meat it's tender
41:39oh well now i have to be patient that will take at least three hours can't wait though i'm hungry now
41:45my father gave me this great gift and i enjoyed being here the best gift i can give to my
41:59dad is just to enjoy this place it's a good way to honoring he would be proud i'm sure
42:05it looks good oh yeah this is cooked wow small piece oh yeah this is oh
42:21the salt man butter salt that makes the whole difference oh so tasty oh man this is good beautiful
42:35you know it's been actually a very good trip it's not everyone who get a chance to live this kind of
42:48adventure so i feel very fortunate being on my land hunting and having a good meal is the best
43:05that's what it's good for being on my mind you know i'm just getting excited as you're looking for
43:08i'm a pretty good you know you can't she never fall asleep but i want to be on my hand
43:10i want to be on my hand going to be on my hand thank you so this is what you do
43:15on your hand you know i'm going to be here for the rest of my hand
43:18in the next step and then we're going to be on my hand and do it
43:20and then we're going to be on my hand and do it you can't stop i don't
43:22in my hand and do it and i'll show you
Be the first to comment
Add your comment