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00:00Never feel more alive when you're on the ocean.
00:05We're gonna go and show the power of Mother Nature.
00:10Spending the trapline is a very big job.
00:13It's an uncharted territory and I'm very excited to see what I can find out there.
00:18I've got to move this big daddy.
00:21I really don't want to be covering this .
00:23Now that Annie's nine years old, it's time for her to learn how to hunt.
00:27Any time you're pulling along with tension, it's always dangerous.
00:31If it doesn't work, there's gonna be a sight.
00:34Hold on your scabies.
00:36Look, phermigan tracks.
00:39You can do it.
00:41Squeeze it, Annie. You can do it.
00:43You can do it.
00:44I'm gonna be very careful here.
00:46They weight at least 600 pounds.
00:49Oh !
00:57This is a traditional Newfoundland salt box, built back in the day by old fishermen.
01:14Every board in the house was made by logs that the men here would cut and drag from the woods.
01:20And it's just steeped in history.
01:23All these old planks are handmade.
01:26As you can see, each one is individually unique.
01:29These things are over 100 years old.
01:31I'm gonna have to replace all of these.
01:33And that's why we're gonna build the sawmill.
01:35We're gonna have to mill all these boards now.
01:38Because a lot of these are rotten.
01:40There's plenty of trees and stuff here on the island.
01:50But everything is pretty small and scraggy.
01:52I'm looking for some bigger stuff.
01:54And the good stuff is in the next harbor over.
01:57I gotta get all this s*** over to the mainland.
01:59Find a nice spot to set up the log mill.
02:01And get some lumber pumping out before it gets too cold here.
02:05This is 100% custom-built untested.
02:09My God, this thing is gonna eat some f***ing logs.
02:17This is a heavy old b***h.
02:20I had to buy this lumber in order to make the mill.
02:23But the amount of construction we gotta do in this house to get this thing fixed up,
02:27I'd go broke if I had to buy all store-bought lumber.
02:30So getting this mills up is a great investment.
02:39This tree is everywhere.
02:43But as you can see, half of that is dead.
02:45And the other half is like a Charlie Brand Christmas tree.
02:48A couple of the old timers told me there's good logs down here.
02:51So I know they're here.
02:52And it looks like I see some decent logs up in there.
03:07Next stop, Log City, baby.
03:09We got a nice-looking little beach here.
03:11We'll land this old girl on the beach.
03:13And then we'll bushwhack up through the woods, find a good drill, good logs,
03:17and pick a spot for the mill.
03:20Newfoundland's known to be a tough bush to whack through,
03:23so lots of sweating and grunting and cursing today.
03:26But I love it.
03:40Living off-grid in the woods brings me a lot of happiness and peace.
03:44But when you're in the cabin with no plumbing, an outhouse is your only option.
03:49And mine is not in a great shape.
03:54It's leaning this way.
03:57Oh, it's a **** outhouse.
04:03It looks like a medieval torture seat, you know?
04:07You know, it's a rustic outhouse in the woods.
04:10The outhouse, it's so important.
04:19You know, rain, snow, you know, just want to be comfortable, you know,
04:23when you have your needs, you know?
04:27Still pretty good shape, though.
04:30But, oh, yeah, forget it.
04:33It's like the hole, it's collapsing.
04:35Even, you know, the rocks are going into the holes.
04:39The outhouse will just collapse into the holes.
04:48You know, 20 years ago, the goal was to make it fast,
04:51and I didn't have the experience, so, you know, a lot of things collapsed.
04:55I need to get it done as soon as possible.
04:59The hole over there just collapsed with time.
05:01But here, I'm going to do a nice little box inside,
05:04which, you know, would prevent, you know, this sandy soil to fall into the hole.
05:13It's more work, but it's worth it because it will last longer.
05:16I'm looking for some green tree, because green is full of sap, and it's going to last longer into the ground.
05:28Oh, yeah!
05:29Oh, yeah!
05:30Woo!
05:31Yeah!
05:32This one looks great.
05:33There is still a lot of sap into it.
05:35So that means this tree is good.
05:48There is still a lot of sap into it.
05:50So that means this tree is good.
05:54OK.
06:07That's good.
06:08That's perfect.
06:09I don't want it to fall down, not yet, because this is very unpredictable now.
06:14Because it can fall this way, this way, it's very dangerous.
06:17OK.
06:18So what I'm going to do, attach a rope here, the pulley there with the winch from the ATV.
06:28OK.
06:29There we go.
06:32So now it looks pretty stuck.
06:35I'm just going to try to help him a bit.
06:39There we go.
06:45And I'm just going to use the winch.
06:52All right.
06:56It's coming along.
06:58Well, doesn't want to.
06:59It is very stuck there.
07:05It is stuck on, I don't know, like 10 trees.
07:11Come on, big guy.
07:12Almost there.
07:13Oh, come on.
07:14You can do it now.
07:18Oh, man.
07:19This is great.
07:20That's a lot of work for an outhouse.
07:25Not even the outhouse.
07:26Like the underground, like the box, you know, that nobody will see.
07:32But I will know.
08:03I will be able to do it for kids and show them these skills because if they can thrive
08:08in the north, then they can live anywhere.
08:10Yeah.
08:11That's good.
08:12Today's a really special day.
08:25It's going to be Annie's first time shooting a rifle.
08:28So, Annie, when you carry a gun on you, you always pretend there's a bullet in there.
08:34It's a big step for her and I'm really excited that we're both part of it.
08:41Okay.
08:43Now that Annie's nine years old, it's time for her to learn more.
08:48Just living here and being on the land, it's so much safer for her to know how to use a rifle.
08:55You never know if she might have to defend herself.
09:01And knowing your way around the firearm is crucial.
09:05All right.
09:07Give me a ride here.
09:10It's a nice spot.
09:11Yep.
09:12Right over there.
09:14We're going to show her how to target practice and eventually how to hunt.
09:20All right, there's Julie.
09:24I'm going to do the big target first because it's her first time.
09:30I think she's afraid of the sound because she knows how loud a day may become.
09:34But this one is not too loud.
09:38All right.
09:40All right, look.
09:41Just come close.
09:42Come here.
09:43There's no bullets in here.
09:44There's nothing in there, okay, Annie?
09:46Yeah.
09:47There's nothing in here.
09:49So that's safe to fire.
09:54That's to feel it.
09:55Yeah.
09:56And then that's shoot.
09:57Here, just come down.
09:58Go.
09:59I'll go first.
10:01Firing in three, two, one.
10:06Is that okay?
10:07That was loud, right?
10:08Is that okay?
10:09All right.
10:10I'm going to go check.
10:11Mom, I don't want to do it.
10:15What are you scared of?
10:16It just scare me when I shoot.
10:19Honey, here's what we're going to do.
10:21What?
10:22We're going to do it together, okay?
10:25You want to try on your shoulder?
10:27You can do it.
10:28All right.
10:29We all make time.
10:30Ready?
10:31Look in it.
10:32Ready?
10:33Okay.
10:34Okay.
10:35I need this hand.
10:36Wait.
10:37Just here.
10:38Okay.
10:39All right.
10:40You feel comfortable like this?
10:41Now look in the hose.
10:42Tell mommy when you're ready to fire.
10:44Look for the target.
10:45There you go.
10:46There you go.
10:47That was easy.
10:48Is that good?
10:49No.
10:50No.
10:51No.
10:52No.
10:53No.
10:54No.
10:55No.
10:56No.
10:57Okay.
10:58Again.
10:59Again?
11:00All right.
11:01All right.
11:02You're going to graduate to the next step.
11:03You're putting your hand there now?
11:05Yeah.
11:06Brave.
11:07Good.
11:08So let's do it, okay?
11:09Okay.
11:10So our safety's on.
11:13Just aim.
11:14Safety's still on, so it won't work.
11:17You can do it.
11:18No, I want to do this.
11:19Squeeze it, Annie.
11:20Squeeze it.
11:21You can do it.
11:22Yeah.
11:25Good job.
11:26All right.
11:27All right.
11:28Good job, Annie.
11:29All right.
11:30I'm so proud of you.
11:31Was that so scary?
11:33You want to go see where you shot?
11:34Yeah.
11:35All right.
11:36Wait.
11:37Wait.
11:40Whoa.
11:42Whoa, look at that.
11:43Oh.
11:44I think I can do better than that.
11:47I might get it in the red or maybe right here.
11:51In the yellow?
11:53You did better than me.
11:54Look.
11:55I'm better than Gilbert.
11:57Yeah.
11:59Can I can race again?
12:01Yeah, let's race.
12:02Yeah.
12:03Annie's only nine years old, and I think she's learned a lot of really good lessons today.
12:08Number one, how to be safe.
12:10Number two, how to confront her fears.
12:12Annie.
12:13Right.
12:14Grab your...
12:16With Annie, it's that to be patient with her, and then she'll come through.
12:20And that's exactly what happened today.
12:23You did really good work, Annie.
12:24Good job.
12:25I'm really proud of you.
12:26The skills Annie's learning now are very important in the future.
12:33The land can be very rewarding, but the land can also be very dangerous, and she needs to know how to survive.
12:39We're hundreds of kilometers away from the closest road and the closest community.
13:00Pure wildness with nothing but animals, trees, and me and the dogs.
13:06I'm packing up camp.
13:18I spent the night here with the dogs.
13:21For the first night of our little trapping trip.
13:26Okay, guys.
13:27Okay.
13:28I'm out here because it was always my dream to live in the wilderness, but I don't want to just survive.
13:33I want to actually thrive.
13:35Good job, hop.
13:38That's why I brought the dogs.
13:39This place is far too vast for me to do it alone, so I think they're going to be the key to making a life out here.
13:47I've already set a bunch of mountain traps.
13:50Today I'm going to keep going towards east and go further into the territory.
13:57Last year it was all about the cabin, but this year it's about me, the dogs, and how we can expand the trapline.
14:08So first I've got to find a place that makes sense to break a trail.
14:12It's an uncharted territory and I'm very excited to see what I can find out there.
14:18I'm packing the trail on snowshoes so it's easier for the dogs to run into powder, otherwise it's pretty hard for them.
14:24So I parked the dogs just a couple hundred yards behind me.
14:35I started breaking trail, cutting trees to make room for the sled to go.
14:38I'm working with the terrain and try to find the best path for the dogs and for me to travel faster.
14:53I'm breaking new ground and setting new lines that nobody has done before, so it's pretty exciting.
14:58Young girls.
15:03And I'll go like this all day long for kilometers and kilometers.
15:07Okay guys, okay.
15:10Wrecking trail is very exhausting, but it needs to be done.
15:18Being able to harvest fur is very important for me.
15:21It would be almost impossible to live out here full time if I could.
15:26You could just come in the bush, do the basic minimal stuff just to survive, but it's not what I'm here for.
15:49I want to live here, you know, long term and thrive.
15:52I want to live here.
16:02Stay. Stay boys.
16:07This time of the year is the best for Martin fur.
16:11So that's why I'm focusing on Martin right now.
16:13I'm taking the last safety off and then the trap is hot.
16:22Good dogs.
16:23I think I've been far enough to this direction, so I'm going to find a spot to turn around and head towards the cabin.
16:33I set a lot of Martin traps on my trip, so I'm going to check them all on the way back.
16:37And hopefully I got something.
16:41Whoa, guys.
16:44Stay.
16:45The trap trips.
16:46The bait is gone, so I don't know if it's a Martin or just a squirrel or something else that's still the bait up there.
16:55I don't know if the trap trips before or if they set it off and we're smart enough to get to the bait. I'm not sure.
17:01I'm going to reset this trap, put some new bait and hopefully next time I catch the little guy.
17:07Ok, let's go, let's go.
17:22There are no guarantees in the bush.
17:28You can bust your all day and still come home.
17:30Let's go!
17:35your whole day and still come home empty-handed but uh giving up is not really an option
17:45good boys
17:54it's really hard to compare anywhere in the world to a place like this
17:58you got rough bush you got beautiful ocean and there's this rugged coastline the fog and
18:05the weather no one really cares what's going on the rest of the world out here
18:09and this big rock in the ocean
18:23tides on the way up right now when it does come up this entire beach right to the bush line
18:28will disappear in the water
18:29then the real challenge is to find a place up here in the woods fair enough away from water
18:37to be safe from high tides and storms accessible enough for the log mill all that gear that we
18:43brought in and boat has got to go up through this new flan is infamous for having some tough push
18:49and you can't move through it without a chainsaw really
18:59if there ain't no nice wide open park or nice big trees and lots of open space
19:04this woods is a complete show
19:12pretty level along here dry as we're gonna find we're gonna start building a mill
19:18oh yeah baby look at that if you're a hillbilly that doesn't make you happy
19:30i don't know what the will this is great
19:34yeah exactly what i have picture pretty much
19:37only sad part about it is it looks like the weather's starting to turn
19:41we can't sit and wait for the weather to get here we got to leave before it arrives and i can feel it and
19:44see you coming so sucks but she ain't going anywhere she'll be here tomorrow
19:53let's get out of here ronnie once the weather hits back to cape millie around
20:03around here on the coast of newfoundland weather comes up quick and things go wrong fast
20:07the water's here cue you up
20:21living in a bush is not easy in order you know to feel comfort you've got to work on it
20:37it's great i'm gonna put the boards make a square so that will be the walls perfect
20:55that's good
20:56there is a rock
21:04aha just gonna quickly remove the rock because i really want to put it there
21:14and that's a big rock big nasty one at the worst place ever in the cold here we go
21:26it looks good to me so it will prevent the soil from coming into the hole so i just need you know
21:42just a frame just to hold you know the boards in place
21:54that's the thing working with logs the logs are not straight so i'm just trying to do my best here
22:07that looks good to me okay the hole is done and uh i've got to move
22:16this big daddy just right here on the top of the frame
22:23so what i'm trying to do just you know slide it or push it
22:29slowly all the way there i have no clue how much does it weight but it weight at least 600 pounds at
22:37least i will say i'm going to be very careful here i really don't want the hot house to fall on me
22:44i really don't want to be covering so
22:49i'm just gonna remove the rocks
22:51oh that's good okay let's do the second rock
23:05we're a blended family of french canadian and cree and it's important for gilbert and i to teach our
23:30kids the traditions of both cultures
23:40take it
23:43annie is the oldest so it's time for her to learn how to hunt
23:48it's a way of life for the cree culture and it's the best way to survive in the north
23:53if your eyes peeled and your ear holes open
24:03right now we're uh with the ptarmigans with annie
24:07she's uh really interested because she wants to shoot some more targets
24:11ptarmigans are the best targets out here i feel like i'm gonna become a good hunter
24:16maybe better than my mom and dad i'm really excited let's go all right
24:25she's very excited now that she gets to possibly shoot a rifle maybe look around look in the trees
24:35yes this is like level 10 fighting a ptarmigan you know why why because of the snow in the trees
24:47the ptarmigans are white so it'll be really hard to find a ptarmigan
24:53you need to hear them or you need to find the tracks first
24:57i think maybe we should look for some open space yeah so maybe in the mushkeg a little bit yeah around
25:05there yeah
25:10it's actually a lot of fun being out here i think i might get a ptarmigan maybe if i do i'll be proud
25:19of myself look ptarmigan tracks
25:27it looks like it goes this way yeah all right here look take a closer look honey
25:34these time again tracks are old because you can see snow on them
25:39how old are they a day ago touch around it annie see
25:47you want to come honey come on
25:50this year it's been very challenging with hunting and that's the reality of living here
26:01you never know if you're gonna get a really good hunt or a terrible one
26:08what are you thinking i think it's time to go home
26:10yeah for another day yeah right annie yeah
26:17it's not every time that you're gonna get something when we go hunting and that's okay
26:21yeah yeah but i think it's important now for you to carry your own medicine bag
26:28so the height here is from a caribou inside is tobacco that gilbert's mushum used to use
26:36any time around in the land and we take anything you can put a little bit of tobacco and that's a show
26:43of respect that we took something from the land okay thank you mom here we're gonna put it on you
26:50medicine bags are also memory bags you're gonna remember this as your first time hunting with a rifle
26:58how about we go home warm up my feet are frozen all right let's do this let's go i know annie's
27:10not born here she's not cree but annie has been grandmothered in meaning that people take her in
27:19as part of their own and she's very much a part of this community
27:24even though she's not cree she's definitely learning the ways here
27:42the coast of newfoundland has endless tales of storms and waves and just remote and harsh
27:54that's it stay that's gonna be around
28:06me and ronnie survived the storm it's been blowing a pretty hard gale here the past few days
28:10come on ron
28:19stay around
28:24place full of water here
28:28oh it's sinking
28:33holy ronnie thank god we came out when we did
28:37she might never see the morning
28:41sorry ronnie we got here just in time
28:55knees are into the ocean like an old man to a hot bath
29:07we got a fine swell on today it's all leftover swell from the gale that's been blowing past two days
29:13and you can feel it
29:16never feel more alive when you're on the ocean
29:18we're gonna go to show the power of mother nature you can't stop this
29:23see
29:31see you ronnie
29:32yeah she's still here
29:39survived the gale
29:42you old girl
29:42I was kind of worried with the high water
29:45that this here might be flooded
29:47but now it seems fine
29:48no time to waste
29:50need lumber ASAP
29:52making this lumber might be free
30:00technically but to get this lumber
30:01it's so much work
30:03your pain for the slumber
30:08with sweat and grunts
30:09this is it
30:13this is the honey hole
30:14already right from here I can see
30:17one, two, three
30:19four nice size logs
30:21these are pretty much the biggest logs
30:24you're going to find around here in Newfoundland
30:25if we can get a nine, ten inch log
30:27we're set
30:29oh yeah boy
30:38logging down boys
30:40that's good one
30:47that's a good ten inch log
30:49straight
30:50I'll get two pieces out of this one
30:53these are some big logs
30:59that's some rough country
31:00to get them all the way to the mill
31:01you might have an idea
31:04to get it down there
31:05it's going to be greasy
31:06somewhat sketchy
31:07but
31:08a whole lot of fun
31:10if it works
31:12everybody talks about the invention of the wheel
31:29but up here the wheel is pretty useless
31:32and everything is about the sled
31:34back in the days
31:40everybody was trapping with sled dogs
31:42and everybody was living this way
31:43and it's what represents the north for me
31:46so it's very special to me
31:48that I'm able to be with my dogs
31:49and trapping here
31:50I'm here to be self-sufficient
32:06so being successful is
32:09yeah it's super important
32:12right there
32:19it looks like we got something
32:26that's a nice martin there
32:30nice fur
32:31I can use a martin fur to do different things
32:36like trimming on clothes
32:38or a liner for mitts
32:40so
32:40martin is a pretty small animal
32:43so usually it takes me
32:44a couple martins
32:45to be able to make something out of it
32:47if I'm lucky
32:50I'll have some more on my way back
32:52I love animals
32:55but living this lifestyle
32:57I want to be as close as possible
32:58to the land
32:59it can be a pretty complicated relationship
33:04nowadays most people
33:07are pretty disconnected
33:08from their food
33:10or what they wear
33:11or if it's ethical
33:13which is pretty sad to me
33:15oh la
33:29oh la
33:31oh la
33:33got another one
33:39nice
33:50that's the third one of the day
33:53so it's pretty good
33:54this one is a little bigger
33:55nice colors too
33:57I will definitely be able to make something out of those three martins
34:02I was not expecting to get as much
34:05for this first trip
34:06the dogs are excited to go home
34:09it's howling time
34:10it's a good start
34:13it takes me about half an hour
34:27to skin the martin
34:28after all these efforts
34:31it took me to bring those pelts
34:33so I want to do a good job
34:35so I have to be focused
34:37the first time I ever trapped
34:42or hunted an animal
34:44it was very emotional
34:46I mean I didn't grow up hunting or trapping
34:50so for me it was a very big deal
34:52it's still emotional for me
34:55at least it was done
34:57at least it was done
34:57in a way that I know I can live with
35:00feels like I've come a long way
35:05since I first came last year
35:08my life is pretty set up here now
35:12now expanding the trapline
35:14it's a very big step
35:16it's a new chapter for the trapline
35:19and for my life here
35:20this rock is just too much
35:35in the front
35:35oh yeah
35:45it's going there
35:47this is cool
35:52it's pending on the logs
35:55you know
36:01it's not straight
36:02but so far I'm pretty glad
36:03it's working
36:04now I guess the best way
36:08to get this adult
36:09over the new foundation
36:11is by force
36:12it's moving
36:15that's good
36:16living in a bush like this
36:22there is my intuition mostly
36:24I never learn it too much
36:26another push
36:29you know I'm just trying to figure it out
36:32if it works
36:33good
36:34if it doesn't
36:35well
36:35let's find another way to do it
36:38there we go
36:39I'm getting there
36:42very close
36:45oh man that was too strong
36:54oh I surprised myself
36:57a little bit
37:02to allow this slug to get on the knees
37:04oh man I got it
37:16so I'm just going to push
37:19hopefully it's going to roll a bit
37:21hopefully
37:22go
37:23go
37:31go
37:34go
37:45all right oh there we go that's perfect oh this is great actually
38:02success it's great oh man that was a lot of work the longest 10 feet in my life
38:13I'm so happy it looks level the outhouse is done and it's very stable and it's gonna be there
38:24forever it was great it's a hard life right here but it's very very rewarding and each day is your
38:43own I really hope this works we're a long ways from the waterline here
38:57better run them right down these rollers just skid it right along like a hillbilly water slide except
39:03we got logs instead of children I think it's gonna work it doesn't work it's gonna be a site
39:08that's for sure plan is use cave milling here as an anchor system to pull from and we'll use this
39:16boat to pull the rope tight and I should make those longer screamed out of that hill so I have to bank
39:22into the water pull right to here to this block and we bring it to the mill it's a recipe for to go
39:28wrong but it's what we do it here right Ronnie definitely dangerous anytime you're pulling a
39:36log with tension like that especially when you're not near the log and go watch what's happening it's
39:40always dangerous but it's gonna be awesome hold on your scabies hold on run she's doing it
40:09we're pulling hey we're in we're in logging in yeah it worked
40:20oh this one log knew how much energy it was to get this here it would stand up and thank me
40:40let's make some lumber this is a one-of-a-kind custom-built chainsaw mill this will be my first
40:52time using this and yeah we'll see if all works well should be able to make lumber as fast you can
40:57push this off because the show is sharp that chain is a little bit of duct tape but a paper towel that'll be
41:09fine you want to learn how to do a real bush bandage sticky side out sticky side out for a few wraps and
41:20sticky side in old grandfather lynch boy he'd be proud of that he took his finger clean out so that's all
41:29what really gets me about milling these planks is that you're really harvesting something from nature
41:42you're going out and taking just a healthy tree stand in the woods and then you turn that into lumber
41:47which then means you can turn that into basically anything
41:50you can do the whole process right from the natural resource all the way to the finished product
42:06all yourself that's one of the biggest joys i get out here
42:10look at that that's a thing of beauty
42:16steaming home with a full load of boards like this i feel just like a rich king coming home
42:29it's really hard work but at the end of the day i think the juice is worth the squeeze
42:38when i get to sit back and look at these handmade planks they'll sit in this house for the next 100
42:43years hopefully it's uh it's a great joy
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