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00:00Faraheim, going home in ancient Norse, is an expedition like no other.
00:10Trying to understand where you came from and how you came to be.
00:13Our people were here, but how did they exist here?
00:17Where did they come from?
00:19Maybe the stories and the history books weren't quite accurate,
00:22and maybe they did go a little bit farther.
00:24We're trying to follow the threads of our ancestries.
00:27We're looking for the peace.
00:30We've been looking for Viking artifacts.
00:32Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what's that?
00:34The thing you find is always in the last place you look.
00:36Is that 1144?
00:37Three feet of snow, shoveling snow, shoveling snow, and bingo.
00:41Whoa, yeah!
00:43There's only been two that have been found in North America.
00:46So maybe there's something else here.
00:48There's something.
00:49It's right here.
00:51No one has ever even looked at it before.
00:53It could be serious.
00:54What do you think?
00:55Any guesses on what it's going to be?
00:57You've got to keep the pace, and then I can die up here.
00:59I heard you guys found something.
01:01Are you ready to be astounded?
01:02The data doesn't lie.
01:03The most disastrous...
01:05There we go!
01:06...excursion that we have gone on.
01:08Water's coming in back.
01:10Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
01:12Range of emotions went from, oh my gosh, to, oh, why am I here?
01:15Another weed, another mystery.
01:17There's a potential for the Ruinstone to rewrite part of American history.
01:23We're actively on the hands for the truth.
01:24We're waiting.
01:26We're waiting.
01:27Oh my God.
01:28We're going to follow, don't worry.
01:28That's wild.
01:42That's wild.
01:42In the middle province of Canada
02:10lies the small rural community of Gimli, Manitoba.
02:15This is where Icelandic settlers made a home in the late 1800s.
02:20It includes a monument to Arctic adventurer and native son,
02:24Vilhelmur Stefansson.
02:25I'm surprised that more people don't come here don't know about it.
02:28I mean, it's a pretty famous guy.
02:30Stefansson was born in 1879
02:32and became one of the most famous Arctic explorers in Canadian history.
02:37And he's like the last dog sled explorer who was up in the Arctic.
02:41Stefansson's passion for exploring
02:43is what brings these three people here today.
02:46But he could speak the language.
02:48He'd go for two or three years at a time
02:51and live like the locals.
02:53Johan, or Joe Sigurdsson.
02:58David Collette, Joe's nephew.
03:00And Mackenzie Collette, David's daughter.
03:06They are all part of the Faraheim Foundation,
03:09which is dedicated to discovering signs
03:11of early Icelandic and Viking exploration within Canada.
03:16So the writing on the monument,
03:18can you be able to read what that says?
03:20It essentially says,
03:21I know what I have experienced
03:22and I know what it meant to me.
03:25Stefansson's exploration of the Arctic
03:27was and continues to be an inspiration to the Faraheim group.
03:32So what's interesting about that quote
03:34is he knows what he's experienced
03:36and some of his stuff is very controversial.
03:40Some of it's great science and cultural
03:42and he spent a lot of time living in the Arctic.
03:45His expeditions were critical
03:46to understanding the geography,
03:48culture and people of the North.
03:51Stefansson's journey continues to motivate the team
03:53as they prepare to embark on a new expedition.
03:56Many years ago, we were talking about,
03:59oh, we should get a sailboat and sail back to Iceland.
04:02Then we started going like,
04:04huh, I wonder if anyone actually came down Hudson Bay
04:07and into the center of the continent.
04:09So we started researching it and we started seeing signs.
04:12There's been a lot of artifacts in different areas
04:14where Vikings shouldn't have been
04:15or the storybooks say that they weren't.
04:19Maybe the stories and the history books
04:21weren't quite accurate
04:23and maybe they did go a little bit farther.
04:25And because our family had come to Lanzo Meadow
04:29a thousand years ago,
04:30we just became personally interested.
04:32The Sigurdsson-Kolet family
04:34has lived in Canada for five generations,
04:36though they can trace their roots back hundreds of years
04:39to an ancestral farm in Iceland.
04:42When their great ancestors,
04:46Thorfinn Karlsselfny and Gudrid Thorbjärna Dottir
04:50arrived on the east coast of Canada,
04:52they had what would be the first European child
04:56born on the continent.
04:58They want to understand why their ancestors struck out
05:05from Iceland to Greenland to eastern Canada
05:08before settling in Manitoba.
05:12And then we said,
05:13500 years and nobody came.
05:16Let's focus on that.
05:18Despite indigenous cultures already being there,
05:21a majority of school lessons taught
05:23that Christopher Columbus discovered the new world,
05:26now known as America, in 1492.
05:31However, Norse travelers arrived much earlier,
05:35eclipsing Columbus by almost 500 years.
05:38This was confirmed in 1960
05:40after a Norwegian exploration team,
05:43with the help of locals,
05:44found an area of interest on the shores
05:46of the eastern Canadian province,
05:48Newfoundland and Labrador.
05:51Through painstaking excavation,
05:54unique artifacts, timber,
05:55and sod remains of encampments were found.
06:00These date back to approximately 1020 AD,
06:04making it the only authentic Norse settlement
06:06in North America.
06:09And we said, well, for 500 years,
06:11the Greenlanders and Icelanders
06:12definitely were over here
06:14because archaeology shows
06:16even in the 14th century,
06:18there were still people living in Greenland
06:20trading with North America.
06:22It's this undocumented history
06:24of the Icelandic people
06:25settling throughout Canada
06:27that the team is looking to expand on
06:29and prove.
06:31So there's all these artifacts
06:33that could be used
06:34to write more pages of Canadian history.
06:37We're looking for the truth
06:38and following Wilhelmer's steps.
06:44I got the maps here, guys.
06:50Good, how are you?
06:50Not more maps.
06:52More maps.
06:52Oh, I love maps.
06:53Where'd you get those?
06:55Got them printed on my way.
06:57Holy smokes.
06:59They begin plotting out
07:00the next adventure,
07:02inspired by Wilhelmiur Stefansson
07:04at the family's Chalet Beach Cottage.
07:07We have these little
07:08needle-in-a-haystack artifacts
07:10that we're looking for
07:11that can test the oral stories
07:13we're being told
07:14to see if there's other artifacts
07:17and other places they went
07:19after that thousand
07:20because the thousand
07:21was the beginning
07:22but it wasn't the end.
07:24One of the places we're going to look
07:26is right up here at Barron's River.
07:27And Gillum up to Hudson Bay.
07:30Yeah, way up here.
07:30Way up here
07:31is because the Viking ship
07:33and its smaller boat
07:35down here on the haze.
07:36Can make it on the haze
07:38or the nelson.
07:38All the way to here.
07:39All the way to here.
07:40And they're very good
07:41at cross-calling.
07:42So if you go left
07:43or go right,
07:44going left
07:45takes you right down
07:46to Winnipeg
07:47to the Red River.
07:48Right through here.
07:49Down into Minnesota
07:50where one of our trips
07:52is going to go.
07:53This is how everybody
07:55came into the continent
07:56when they started fur trading.
07:58So the French and the English
07:59have been traveling this
08:01for 500 years.
08:03But the 500 years before,
08:05absolutely no reason.
08:06Someone else couldn't have done it.
08:07Someone else couldn't have done it.
08:08And that's why
08:10the river system
08:10in North America
08:11is the place to look.
08:13A touchstone they are using
08:14is the work of one of Canada's
08:16most prolific
08:17and famous authors.
08:18Back when I was in elementary
08:20and high school,
08:21some of the authors
08:22we had to read
08:23were Canadian authors.
08:24One of them was Farley Moat
08:25because he wrote a book
08:27called
08:28The Curse of the Viking Grave.
08:29Farley Moat
08:30authored more than 40
08:32non-fiction,
08:33fiction,
08:33and children's books.
08:34He was also a fierce
08:36environmental activist
08:38whose love of the North
08:39often was represented
08:40in his works,
08:42including his novel
08:42Curse of the Viking Grave,
08:45which is based on
08:45an actual grave in the North.
08:47So in the early 1900s,
08:50a trapper was in a snowstorm
08:52and he pulled up
08:53to hide out
08:54of the snowstorm
08:55beside what looked
08:56like a building.
08:57According to an RCMP report,
09:00a trapper named
09:01Windy Smith
09:01discovered
09:02what may be
09:03an ancient cairn.
09:04A cairn
09:07is a human-made
09:08stack of rocks
09:09that can act
09:10as a navigational marker
09:11or a grave site.
09:13And in this area,
09:14this is where
09:15Windy Smith,
09:15the fellow that saw the cairn,
09:17he's driving his dogs
09:18through there
09:19and says,
09:20don't know what it is,
09:21definitely wasn't done
09:23by any local person.
09:25It's significant
09:27European influence,
09:28fitted rocks,
09:29all that sort of thing.
09:31He said,
09:31whoever did it
09:32didn't want it to be found.
09:34No doors,
09:34no windows.
09:35But he was so impressed
09:37by it,
09:37he called the Royal Canadian
09:38Mounted Police
09:39and said,
09:40I think I found something,
09:41you guys should go look.
09:42They sent people out
09:43to look for it,
09:44never found it.
09:45Windy Smith said,
09:46it's not in a place
09:48that anybody wants it found.
09:50So,
09:50Farley based
09:51Curse of the Viking Grave
09:52on that whole story.
09:55Moat used
09:56personal experiences
09:57and creative license
09:58to write stories
09:59that audiences
10:00around the world
10:01could easily engage
10:02and see themselves in.
10:05Moat's style,
10:06though somewhat criticized,
10:08served an important function
10:09of bringing stories
10:11of northern people,
10:12culture,
10:12and animals
10:13to the rest of the world.
10:15You know,
10:18for the Faraheim expedition
10:20we're doing,
10:21our tagline,
10:22our slogan is
10:23500 years and nobody came.
10:24Yep.
10:25So from 1000 AD
10:26when Leif Erikson
10:28was on the east coast,
10:29The Lancelmeadows.
10:30Lancelmeadows.
10:30It's proven to be
10:311021.
10:32Yep.
10:32And so 1492
10:34is Christopher Columbus.
10:35So for 500 years,
10:37100% there was trade
10:38and commerce
10:39up in the Arctic
10:40and we think
10:41this may be
10:43one of the artifacts.
10:44So one of the things
10:45we want to do
10:45is go find this.
10:47If we find the cairn up north,
10:49that's just the start
10:50because when they found
10:51the site on Lanza Meadow,
10:53they had to then
10:54do the archaeological work
10:56to find artifacts.
10:57So they were met
10:58with skepticism
10:59because it's very easy
11:01to say I found something
11:02but you have to prove it.
11:03You have to do
11:04the ground truth.
11:05So we never made a map
11:06or anything of that?
11:07He did.
11:08It was a skeptic.
11:08Here we go.
11:09So I added a map
11:12into the ones you got printed.
11:13Oh, that's what this is.
11:14You probably,
11:15you don't know what this is.
11:16This is the map
11:17Windy made
11:18of where he found the cairn.
11:20Wow.
11:21We plan to go up
11:22and look for this.
11:24If you go look at the map
11:26of where this is,
11:27where we're going
11:28is just over
11:29the border of Manitoba.
11:31So there's the X marks
11:33the spot.
11:34That's the cache.
11:36Now, is it really there?
11:37We don't know.
11:38Could be close.
11:38But we're in the area.
11:39This is the area.
11:40The folks that know
11:41anything about this
11:42are very difficult
11:43to get information from.
11:45It's almost like
11:46they don't want to share.
11:47Right.
11:48They want to keep it quiet.
11:49Yeah.
11:50And that's why
11:50this is an interesting mystery.
11:52This cairn is not
11:54supposed to be there.
11:56Farley himself said
11:57it's lots of mysteries
11:58in the north.
11:59This is one of them.
12:05Windy Smith wrote
12:06that the cairn
12:07loomed as he approached it.
12:09So the team
12:10is keeping an eye
12:11for any structures
12:12on or just beyond
12:14the shore
12:14that could match.
12:16We're on the water
12:17that would have been frozen
12:18when Windy Smith
12:19was dog sledding
12:20and we're looking
12:21from his eyes.
12:23Almost certainly
12:23that cairn
12:24that Windy saw
12:25is not in this part here.
12:27There's too many trees
12:28too low.
12:29Windy Smith says
12:30it's basically square.
12:31Rocks and timbers.
12:33He's driving in a blizzard.
12:35It's a howling northwester.
12:37Coming out of the river.
12:38He's in the lee.
12:39It's not blowing too hard.
12:40He's up against
12:40the north shore.
12:41Lots of trees back there.
12:42He gets out
12:43into this open part.
12:44The visibility
12:45goes to zero.
12:47He's going about
12:48this fast
12:48behind the dog.
12:49When you get to the end
12:50of this bay
12:51you run out of trees.
12:52When you run out of trees
12:53he's right in the teeth
12:54of the storm.
12:55He's thinking
12:55holy smokes
12:56I've just got to get
12:57in the lee of this next hill.
12:58I've got to pull in
12:58and boil up.
12:59Gets in here someplace
13:01and he's looking
13:01for a place to get on shore.
13:03He pulls into some shelter
13:05of a bluff of trees.
13:06While he's dealing
13:07with his dogs
13:08he looks over
13:10and he sees this thing.
13:11He says
13:12what the
13:14hell is that?
13:15There's the looming
13:16on the horizon
13:17right there.
13:18Something looming?
13:19Oh you know what?
13:20It is looming.
13:21As we approach it
13:22put yourself
13:23in Windy Smith's
13:24paucousins
13:25that night.
13:26We spent a decade
13:27looking at this
13:29and researching it
13:30and here we are
13:31motoring down the lake
13:32where Farley Mowat had been
13:34and Windy found the cairn.
13:45Before they set out
13:46on this adventure
13:47in the middle
13:47of a Canadian winter
13:49Hey Sergei.
13:50Hey, hi, hi.
13:51Good to see you man.
13:52Joe visits
13:52a utility vehicle
13:53dealer in Winnipeg.
13:55But to travel
13:56through ice,
13:57snow, slush
13:58and whatever else
13:59gets in the way
14:00you need
14:01this machine.
14:03And you can change
14:04everywhere you need.
14:05On the water,
14:06on the swamp,
14:07on the asphalt.
14:08Yeah, running,
14:09driving, anytime.
14:10And it will be
14:11a command center
14:12or a base
14:12for expeditions.
14:13It's going to be able
14:14to take us places
14:15that we can't
14:15otherwise get to.
14:16One of its most
14:17unique features
14:18is the ability
14:19to inflate
14:20and deflate air
14:21from tires
14:22based on the environment
14:23you need to get across.
14:25Having access
14:26to a vehicle
14:26like this
14:27means that you can
14:28go virtually anywhere
14:30and know that
14:31you're going to be safe.
14:32Thanks very much.
14:33We'll see you soon.
14:40Meanwhile,
14:42in Ottawa,
14:43David connects
14:44with the researcher
14:45Robert Bircher.
14:46He's an old friend
14:47that also believes
14:48in how the Norse people
14:49travel to
14:50and throughout
14:51North America.
14:52So you remember
14:53over the last 10 years
14:54we've been talking
14:54about where
14:55Icelanders went
14:56in North America
14:57from 1000 to 1500 AD?
14:59Yep.
15:00And we came across
15:01Farley Mowat's
15:01Curse of the Viking Grave
15:03with Cairn
15:04just north of Manitoba
15:05in what used to be
15:06the Northwest Territory
15:07is Nunavut now.
15:09Okay.
15:09But I remember
15:10you had done
15:11a bunch of research
15:12in Newfoundland
15:12about potential
15:14Viking sites there
15:15and I think you even
15:16talked to Farley Mowat
15:17about his
15:18West Viking research.
15:19Yeah, I sent him
15:20a letter
15:20and I got a nice
15:21letter back from him
15:21when I sort of
15:22had it nailed
15:23that I had the site
15:24where he had talked
15:26about this harbor
15:27Bellevue
15:27or Bellevue Beach
15:29in his book
15:29West Viking.
15:31So what the theory is
15:33is that Leif
15:34sailed from Greenland
15:36to this place
15:38which we now call
15:39Newfoundland
15:40or he called
15:40Vinland
15:41with an empty boat
15:42so he had to add
15:44extra ballast in
15:45because he had
15:46no cargo in there.
15:47Leif Erikson's legend
15:49looms large
15:50in Norse history.
15:51He is one of the
15:52original Viking
15:53explorers
15:54and the first European
15:55to land in North America
15:57500 years before Columbus.
15:59and when they got
16:00to Newfoundland
16:01they cut down trees
16:02loaded up the ship
16:03didn't need the ballast
16:04anymore
16:05so they offloaded
16:06the ballast.
16:07A ballast
16:08is a heavy item
16:09often stones
16:10that are used
16:11to give stability
16:12to a sailing ship
16:12in water.
16:14For years
16:15Robert has been
16:15studying and
16:16analysing
16:17ballast stones
16:18that have been
16:18discovered in
16:19Newfoundland
16:20and Labrador
16:20and trying to
16:21trace their history.
16:23But there's another
16:24aspect to this
16:24is that these rocks
16:25are squared
16:26and it's called
16:27columnar basalt
16:28when I had it
16:29analysed by geologists
16:31and that either
16:32comes from Iceland
16:32or Greenland
16:33so you know
16:33what the DNA
16:34of this rock is
16:36and then you go
16:37looking at other
16:38places in the world
16:39to sort of see
16:39where does that
16:40matching stone
16:41matching DNA
16:43come from.
16:44In his book
16:44West Viking
16:45Fali Moat
16:47names potential
16:48landing spots
16:48on the shore
16:49in Newfoundland
16:50and Labrador.
16:51He suggests
16:52that ballasts
16:53found are
16:54evidence
16:55of Norse
16:55explorers
16:56arriving there.
16:57Lanzo Meadow
16:58I call it
16:59rest stop
16:59to someplace else
17:00because that
17:02location doesn't
17:03have all the
17:03resources they
17:04were looking for.
17:05It's a good place
17:07to enter North
17:08America
17:08and use as a
17:09base to go
17:10someplace else
17:10so it's a gas
17:11stop
17:12there's other
17:13destinations
17:13and that's
17:14what we're
17:15looking for.
17:15How do you
17:16like the maps
17:17and the facts
17:17he's telling you
17:18in here
17:18is he hiding
17:19anything?
17:19No he's
17:20trying to blow
17:21this story wide
17:21open because
17:22he was starting
17:23off when he
17:23was living
17:24in Newfoundland
17:24writing a
17:25complete history
17:26of Newfoundland
17:27so he said
17:27I'm going to
17:28start at the
17:28Vikings because
17:29there's always
17:29this belief that
17:30the Vikings were
17:31here so he
17:32researched the
17:33Vikings for five
17:33years but it
17:34was only a
17:34theory he
17:36wasn't trying to
17:36hide anything
17:37until this guy
17:38Niels Winding
17:39comes along and
17:40finds these
17:41ballastones which
17:42starts to
17:42corroborate
17:43you know
17:44Farley.
17:45I wrote a
17:45long letter
17:46saying Farley
17:47this guy had this
17:49idea about
17:50ballastones and
17:51what this guy's
17:51doing is he
17:52is rubber
17:53stamping your
17:54theory with
17:55actual evidence
17:57so Farley
17:58wrote that
17:58book I think
17:59it was 1965
18:00that's when it
18:01was published
18:02which is only
18:03four years after
18:05they found
18:05Laza Meadow
18:06one of the
18:08issues you know
18:09you always
18:09people talk about
18:10Farley is that
18:11he never let
18:11the truth stand
18:13in the way of a
18:14good story
18:14you know
18:15he would
18:15yes
18:16but I'm pretty
18:17damn sure at
18:18this time he's
18:18doing his best
18:19to discover
18:21the Viking
18:22site
18:22the original
18:24Viking site
18:25Robert brings
18:26out a ballast
18:27stone to show
18:28David that he
18:29believes was
18:29discarded near
18:30Trinity Bay
18:31very precious
18:32cargo here
18:33and I'm so
18:35lucky that I
18:36have this
18:37spectrographic
18:38analysis a
18:39scientific method
18:40of determining
18:41an object's
18:41substance and
18:42chemical composition
18:43was conducted
18:44on the stone
18:45by McMaster
18:46University Labs
18:47in Hamilton
18:48Ontario
18:48it concluded
18:50that the ballast
18:51would have
18:51originated near
18:53Iceland yet
18:54discovered in
18:55Newfoundland and
18:56Labrador
18:56so the story is
18:57I've talked to
18:58the guy of the
18:59campground and
19:00he allowed me
19:03or he actually
19:03cut off a piece
19:04of the big
19:06stone for me
19:07the basalt
19:09boulder
19:10okay
19:11so these are
19:13comparison samples
19:14and this is
19:15the baby
19:16right here
19:16okay
19:19but then
19:20just half that
19:21okay
19:22yep
19:25that would be
19:26a good ballast
19:26stone
19:27the discoveries
19:28all lead to
19:29the strong
19:30theory of
19:30Norse arrival
19:31and settlement
19:32in Canada
19:33which is enough
19:34to give the
19:34team an idea
19:35of where
19:36they want to
19:36take this
19:37exploration
19:37what I have
19:50here is that
19:50this exhibition
19:51isn't based on
19:53daily hard evidence
19:55it's the consequences
19:58of what happens
19:59when two very
19:59different people
20:00meet
20:01back in Winnipeg
20:02Joe meets with
20:03Inuit artist
20:04Abraham Rubin
20:05at a display of
20:06his work at the
20:07Inuit art centre
20:08Kaumajuk
20:09the overriding
20:10theme of this
20:11exhibition is my
20:13idea of the
20:14consequences of
20:15contact
20:16Abraham's artwork
20:17depicts early
20:18encounters between
20:19his people and
20:20the Norse travellers
20:21Joe wants to hear
20:22the stories behind
20:24these pieces
20:24in hopes of
20:25understanding of
20:26relationships forged
20:27hundreds of years
20:28ago between the
20:29two peoples
20:30he's also hoping
20:32this meeting will
20:33give them new
20:34insight into
20:35locations their
20:36expedition will
20:37focus on
20:38I think that
20:39the Vikings went
20:39far further afield
20:41that we give them
20:41credit for
20:42and how did you
20:43connect Inuit
20:45culture and
20:46Norse culture
20:47I keep asking
20:48myself the
20:50questions of
20:50what is it that's
20:52driving all of this
20:54changing weather in
20:55the north
20:55and I realise
20:57it's got to come
20:58down to
20:59too much snow
21:00or too little
21:01and there's cycles
21:03that happen every
21:05few hundred years
21:06that cause sea
21:09levels to rise
21:09or drop
21:10the land warms up
21:11the warming trend
21:13causes a spike in
21:14populations
21:15there's not enough
21:16arable land in
21:17Scandinavia let alone
21:19Alaska to support
21:20rising populations
21:22this is a common
21:23theme through the
21:24Icelandic history
21:25food shortages
21:27drive the younger
21:28more virile people
21:29away from their
21:30home communities
21:31in search of
21:32sustenance
21:32the young from
21:33large families
21:34had to strike it
21:35out on the ruin
21:36and they struck out
21:37from Scandinavia
21:38headed west
21:40the similarities
21:41between the two
21:42cultures are hard
21:43to miss
21:44stories were passed
21:45down through
21:46generations
21:47about values
21:48traditions
21:48and various gods
21:50and entities
21:51that were to be
21:52respected
21:52as they held
21:53the key to
21:54survival
21:54it wasn't just
21:59a chance encounter
22:00because you start
22:01hearing in the
22:02sagas of going
22:04into the northern
22:04hunting grounds
22:05and the resource
22:08extraction of goods
22:10going to Europe
22:11that can only occur
22:12when two groups
22:14of people are
22:14working together
22:15the mainstream
22:16archaeological community
22:18for so many years
22:19has said no
22:20they went to
22:20Lanzo Meadows
22:21and they didn't
22:22go anywhere else
22:23why do you think
22:23that's happening
22:24they establish a
22:26benchmark for what
22:28is for real
22:29and their benchmark
22:30was Columbus
22:31sailing into the
22:33Americas
22:34sure
22:34the archaeological
22:36community
22:37that supported
22:39the Columbus
22:40theory
22:40looks at the
22:41native people
22:42as backwards
22:43primitive
22:43not too
22:45sophisticated
22:45and those beliefs
22:48were in place
22:49when I was growing up
22:50based on that
22:52I think that
22:53there's a major
22:54rethink
22:55in the world
22:56of archaeology
22:56and anthropology
22:57that the ancient
22:59myths and legends
23:00that the Inuit
23:02and others talk about
23:03a lot of it
23:04is based on
23:05unreal evidence
23:06the Viking era
23:07between 1000
23:09and 1492 CE
23:11was under
23:12constant evolution
23:13the raiding
23:14and trading
23:15that characterized
23:16the Viking life
23:17was now morphing
23:18into a settlement
23:19phase
23:20with semi-permanence
23:21and while many
23:22continued to voyage
23:24far and wide
23:25other Viking traditions
23:26merged with the areas
23:27they settled in
23:28it's also important
23:30to note
23:31that this is the time
23:32when many Vikings
23:33converted to Christianity
23:35aligning with broader
23:36European trends
23:38the Vikings had a practice
23:39of coming to a place
23:40and they would give
23:42names to a place
23:43places where they
23:45found safe harbor
23:46lots of food
23:48and landscape
23:50where they would
23:51given names to it
23:52to honor the land
23:54to honor the spirit
23:56of the place
23:56500 years
23:58from Lancell Meadows
23:59to Columbus
24:00yeah
24:01so I would say
24:02500 years
24:03and no one came
24:04Abraham surprises Joe
24:06with some personal
24:07information
24:08that connects
24:08his own family
24:09to the Icelandic legacy
24:11of Vilhaal Muir Stefansson
24:13that Joe is investigating
24:14my family knew Stefansson
24:17oh tell me about that
24:18Stefansson's Inuit wife
24:20was my mother's
24:21grandmother
24:22or aunt
24:23no
24:23her name was
24:24Pani Abluk
24:25he was working
24:27as a scientist
24:28studying
24:29the flora and fauna
24:30of the western arctic
24:32and his base
24:33of operations
24:34was in the settlement
24:35where I grew up
24:36when he comes up
24:37to the arctic
24:38what he tells
24:39in his daily accounts
24:41temperature
24:42wind directions
24:43things are growing up
24:45patterns of migrations
24:46of animals and stuff
24:47his account
24:49is a mirror
24:50into what took place
24:51a hundred years ago
24:52quite possible
24:53that he may have been
24:54the survivors
24:54of the Vikings
24:57who chose to go native
24:59this new information
25:00confirms that Joe
25:01is on the right path
25:02and that Stefansson
25:04is the right historical beacon
25:06to continue following
25:07Joe arrives on the shore
25:24of Lake Winnipeg
25:25with their giant utility vehicle
25:27in tow
25:29Joe is joined by his son
25:31Johan
25:32or JJ
25:33who is the troubleshooting
25:34member of the
25:35Faraheim team
25:37it's time to put the Shur
25:39their utility vehicle
25:40to the test
25:41by packing down the snow
25:43on the lake
25:44in preparation
25:44for their expedition
25:46they plan to test
25:47new imaging equipment
25:48at the old family farm
25:50site the next day
25:52Engay
25:53is a small island
25:54a few miles off
25:55the shore of Heckler
25:56which was a fishing community
25:58originally established in 1876
26:00by Icelandic settlers
26:02it's now part of the Heckler
26:03grindstone provincial park
26:05that's the traditional home
26:07of my great grandfather
26:09Joe's great grandfather
26:11Johan Straumfjord Sigurdsson
26:13was a farmer in Engay
26:14as well as being the community doctor
26:17so the island is special
26:18to the entire family
26:20at Engay when we get there
26:22we're taking a couple things with us
26:23one is a ground penetrating radar
26:25that we can test
26:26to see if our team
26:28can take the technology with us
26:30to do the searching
26:31with temperatures currently below zero
26:36this is a good way
26:37to test not only the equipment
26:39but the team's endurance
26:41in arctic weather conditions
26:42that they will likely later encounter
26:45understanding the dangers
26:48of navigating the frozen lake
26:50Winnipeg
26:50is crucial for survival
26:52at this time of year
26:53changing temperatures
26:55swirling winds
26:56and blinding snowstorms
26:58can create havoc
26:59on the frozen lake
27:00with dangerous ice ridges
27:02or even open water
27:03at any turn
27:05okay we're done
27:06ready to head over
27:08to look at Engay
27:09we had a pretty good day
27:17got the Sherp out
27:18to see if there's
27:19any big pressure ridges
27:20to avoid
27:21any open water
27:22no no actually
27:23just along the crack
27:25the ice of course
27:26on Lake Quintusake
27:27shifting all the time
27:28so it'd be heaved up
27:29but we could get around
27:29the Sherp will actually
27:30climb over virtually
27:31anything anyway
27:32Engay Island
27:34it's now called Goose Island
27:35on the maps
27:35but Engay Island
27:36is where Johan Strompher
27:38my great grandfather
27:39you're a great great
27:40great grandfather
27:42a lot of greats
27:43yeah a lot of greats
27:44anyway he had a farm there
27:45and we're gonna go out there
27:46there's not much left
27:47of the old homestead
27:48the foundations and so on
27:49but we're going with the Sherp
27:50we're gonna take some technology
27:52ground penetrating radar
27:54a metal detecting guru
27:56coming out
27:56you know
27:57guy's been doing it
27:58for like 40 years
27:59so we're gonna kind of
28:00use those two technologies
28:01they both work through snow
28:03what are we gonna be
28:04primarily looking for
28:05just to test it with
28:06well we're testing it
28:08actually to use it
28:09in some of the future
28:10things we're looking at
28:11because we've got other places
28:12and other things to see
28:13and find
28:14so we're really just
28:15finding out what works
28:16in the cold
28:17yeah
28:17ground penetrating radar
28:19is good for several meters
28:20even through the snow
28:21it's a little tough to read
28:23so we've got to develop
28:24some expertise on that
28:25we're not experts at that
28:27the metal detecting gentleman
28:28though he's gonna show us
28:30you know what
28:30what his equipment can do
28:32we'll have a good look
28:33at the technologies
28:33he's using
28:34because even the more
28:35modern stuff
28:36can enhance that
28:37we're looking pretty hard
28:39at a 3d ground scanner
28:41which will scan like 60 feet
28:43oh wow
28:43and gives you
28:44a three-dimensional image
28:46you do the mowing the lawn
28:49technique
28:49cover this
28:50cover the grid
28:51and the software
28:52converts it into
28:53a three-dimensional image
28:54so it makes it
28:55a lot easier for us
28:56to visualize
28:57because you can actually
28:58not just see the square
29:00on your computer
29:01you can actually turn it
29:02on its side
29:03and it shows the anomalies
29:04how deep they are
29:05and where they are
29:06it's pretty accurate
29:07and no one lives
29:08on Engay Island anymore
29:09right?
29:10no
29:10nobody's been there
29:11actually since 1909
29:12oh wow
29:13yeah a long time
29:13so it's just basically
29:15you can still see the foundation
29:16and we should be able
29:17to get to it
29:18it's on the north end
29:20of the islands
29:20that all sounds good to me
29:22when are we leaving?
29:23well we're gonna leave
29:24at 5.30 in the morning
29:25oh
29:25and then from there
29:26we can sort of make
29:27some decisions about
29:28you know
29:29what technology is best for us
29:31the next day
29:36as expected
29:37temperatures are still
29:39well below zero
29:40so have you got thermal shock?
29:42uh yeah
29:43but you know
29:44I'm uh
29:44between the body fat
29:45and the hair
29:45I'm actually staying pretty warm
29:47David has arrived
29:48and wants to hear
29:49all about this massive vehicle
29:51so this will drive
29:53on the ice?
29:53this will go
29:54wherever you point it
29:55to ice, water, snow
29:56the only thing
29:57it doesn't do is fly
29:58joining the team
29:59for today's exploration
30:01is metal detection expert
30:04Randy Garrowa
30:05yeah good to see you too
30:06David
30:06nice to meet you
30:07Randy has brought his equipment
30:10to test with the team
30:11I brought this one
30:13this puppy's gonna work
30:14in the coldest of gold
30:15thinking it's probably
30:16gonna be just good
30:17for this kind of climate
30:18we're coming up to day one
30:19to actually go to the field
30:21with the team
30:22it's gonna be interesting
30:23because the core team of us
30:25have done this before
30:26but now we're adding more people
30:27it's a good test
30:29of our equipment
30:30our vehicles
30:31and actually
30:31the team cohesion
30:33to make sure
30:34we can all work together
30:35because when we go north
30:36we're gonna be on our own
30:37so we're gonna
30:38we're gonna jump in the Sherp
30:39gonna head over to Engay
30:40so here let me take that
30:41you bring the rest of your stuff
30:43we're headed for the Sherp
30:43see you there in a second
30:45you bet
30:45let's head on out
30:46the path from Hekla Harbor
30:48to the isolated Engay Island
30:50should take approximately an hour
30:52not even halfway there
31:08the utility vehicle
31:11starts acting up
31:12yeah I think he's climbing in
31:14hey Jay are you here?
31:15Joe radios for JJ
31:17who has been following behind
31:19in a support side-by-side vehicle
31:21they are stalled
31:23in the middle of Lake Winnipeg
31:25okay we got that
31:27that fuel in the
31:28water and fuel warning thing
31:30not on here now
31:31turn on the
31:34fuel heating system
31:36but I can't maintain RPMs
31:38it's just
31:39just dogging
31:40and second gear
31:41I can make 25
31:42and third drops down to
31:43like 19 or something
31:45I can't maintain RPMs
31:46that makes no sense
31:47okay
31:49oh it's here
31:52hang on
31:54you're not just dropping on this
31:55okay
31:55yeah okay go ahead
31:57while a breakdown like this
32:00is unfortunate
32:01it's better to happen now
32:03close to base camp
32:04than later
32:05when they are more isolated
32:06it started up after we sat there for a while
32:11oh yeah
32:11but then it was like this
32:13in fact we're losing it now
32:14can't even maintain that
32:16oh no stop stop stop
32:17uh hang on
32:19it's in limp mode right?
32:21yeah of course
32:21limp mode is a safety feature
32:23that limits power and speed
32:25when a fault is detected
32:27to protect the engine
32:28and transmission
32:29from completely failing
32:30ladies and gentlemen
32:31this is your captain speaking
32:32I'd like to assure you
32:34the wings are on
32:35yes
32:35however
32:36it was slight delay
32:37in our approach
32:38yeah it's this one
32:39it's the water and fuel detected
32:41torques derated
32:42I was just looking for the troubleshooper
32:44there's nothing
32:45should leave the fuel heat on
32:47yeah
32:47yeah we're up at 7
32:48so it's getting warmer
32:49alright let me have a look at it
32:51okay
32:51I only have one message now
32:54oh yeah
32:55so it is
32:55the two messages went to one now
33:00oh yeah
33:01so it's fixing itself
33:01it went from water and fuel detected
33:04warning stop
33:05but it cleared the park derate
33:07I'll give it a shot
33:08again see if it moves
33:10alright boys
33:11pleasure doing business with you
33:13see you there
33:13back in business
33:20yeah
33:21self-healing
33:23now on to Renge
33:30the approach to isolated
33:35Enge Island
33:36is causing a small amount of confusion
33:38with Joe and David
33:39I see I don't remember this
33:41yeah you don't have a clearing
33:42I don't know if you can see that
33:43it's been more than 10 years
33:45since they have visited the island
33:46I just don't remember
33:48coming ashore here
33:49so that's rock right there right
33:51yeah to the beach
33:52are you gonna drive in
33:54we'll see
33:54you tell me if you think
33:56we're sinking okay
33:57yeah we're not sinking
33:59everybody still with us
34:00hang on
34:02alrighty then
34:08okay
34:09guys I think
34:11the old homestead is right in here
34:13there was a house
34:14and a big barn
34:15there was a windmill
34:17ground his own grain
34:18I think it's here
34:19where we've got like
34:20three feet of snow
34:21the first test on Enge
34:23is trying out the 3D
34:25ground penetrating radar
34:26GPR works by sending
34:29radar pulses into the ground
34:31and reading the information
34:33that gets bounced back
34:34from the object
34:35certain factors like soil
34:37and ground condition
34:38as well as how the operator
34:40interprets the information
34:41can affect the results
34:43GPR is going to be useful
34:44on the expedition
34:45because it lets us
34:46search under the ground
34:47without disturbing the ground
34:49over time
34:50things start to disappear
34:52so 500 or 1000 years ago
34:54there may be a cairn
34:55or there may have been
34:57like in Lanzo Meadow
34:58a sod hut
34:59but they dissolve
35:01over time
35:02and the GPR will let us
35:03see if there's any structures
35:04like a foundation
35:05or burial sites
35:07gives us the opportunity
35:08to record data
35:10without disturbing anything
35:11but without the artifacts
35:12you got no facts
35:13creating a grid
35:15that the machine will follow
35:16is an important first step
35:18when using GPR
35:19you'll shoot a grid here
35:21back and forth
35:22a couple of times
35:22maybe get Randy
35:24to back us up
35:25maybe follow right behind
35:26or something
35:26because then we'll just
35:27cover the same ground
35:28some of the first uses
35:30of GPR
35:31were to measure
35:32the depth of glaciers
35:33so the technology
35:34should be right at home
35:36on this frozen tundra
35:37you break trail
35:42I'll drag this thing
35:43we're just loading the grid
35:44how far apart
35:45meter
35:46uh no
35:47like the width
35:49how far do you want to go
35:50the snow's pretty good here
35:51we're gonna go this way
35:53and then that way
35:53because it doesn't have to be
35:55straight
35:55this has to be parallel
35:56yes
35:57correct
35:57okay Mac you're in control
35:59okay hang on to the handle
36:00there my sweets
36:01you're driving back there
36:03okay
36:03I'm just the power
36:04I feel like it's a sled dog team
36:06mush
36:07whoa
36:07onwards
36:08okay dropping
36:09we're crawling
36:14I'm not sure which
36:14hang on here
36:16my gosh
36:18this is deep
36:18pushing and pulling the GPR
36:20is proving to be more difficult
36:22than first thought
36:23in the deep snow
36:24the GPR we have
36:26has two ways
36:26to calibrate its position
36:28one is where the wheels
36:29move over the ground
36:31and it knows how far it's gone
36:32the other one is using
36:34a GPS position sensor
36:35we didn't get the version
36:37of the GPR
36:38with a GPS position sensor
36:39and we were dragging
36:41the GPR over the snow
36:43we gotta go this way
36:45maybe we can try
36:46and avoid some of the
36:47deeper snow
36:47okay so what if we cut
36:49straight across here
36:50back and forth on the flat
36:51because we don't know
36:52where the foundation is
36:53it could just as well be here
36:54we found out that
36:55that's like four feet of snow
36:57yeah
36:57my legs are only
36:58three feet long
36:59got a problem
36:59what if I pack it down
37:01with the Sherp
37:02got big tires
37:03yeah
37:03if it's still too tough
37:04we'll tow it behind the Sherp
37:06yeah
37:06let's try that
37:07sound good
37:08yeah
37:08the limited daylight
37:10during the winter
37:11means that every second
37:12counts
37:13when you're working outside
37:14so Joe
37:16starts tamping down
37:17the snow
37:18all right
37:20let's give this a try
37:22okay one sec
37:23let me just get lined up here
37:24it's now
37:25back to the GPR
37:26and going over the grid
37:27with Randy
37:28and his metal detection device
37:30following closely behind
37:31okay
37:33okay that's the last line
37:36okay we gotta go into
37:38some serious training for this
37:39gotta work out our cardio
37:41the GPR
37:43doesn't like the deep snow
37:45as you've seen us stomping
37:47through the snow
37:48so I think we're gonna get
37:49some dirty data out of this
37:51if the snow down in Minnesota
37:54is gone
37:55the GPR on wheels
37:56could be great
37:56I think in
37:57when we go further north
37:59I don't think GPR
38:00is gonna be a good solution
38:01yeah this
38:02floats well
38:05with the grid done
38:06Joe has a little fun
38:08with Randy
38:08hope you can find it again
38:10I think Randy's gonna get
38:12a big hit right now
38:13just watch
38:13what do you got
38:21it's part of a horse
38:26see if you can find
38:28the other three legs
38:29I found a horseshoe
38:30okay
38:31we're gonna hire you
38:33we've got two technologies
38:35they both show a lot of promise
38:36except I think we might be
38:38better off
38:39you know looking at
38:403D ground scanners
38:41that can go on
38:42rougher ground
38:43you always learn
38:45a lot more
38:46from your failures
38:47than you do
38:48from your successes
38:49because you really have
38:50a good look at what
38:51didn't work
38:51it's time to head back
38:54to the family cabin
38:55to debrief
38:56while JJ analyzes
38:58and interprets
38:59the GPR data
39:00good cold sunny day
39:07how do you think of it
39:09I think going through
39:10all the testing
39:10gave us a good understanding
39:12of where we had some
39:13knowledge gaps
39:14and then what happened
39:15well we fought for our lives
39:17through the snow there
39:18yeah
39:18I took a look at the lines
39:20as they were coming in
39:21and they don't look great
39:21my assumption is that
39:23probably didn't show much
39:24with this one
39:25was a new technology
39:26the GPR
39:27that I've never used before
39:28so putting it together
39:29was a little bit of a trial
39:30and error for me
39:31thought I'd put on
39:32the screen backwards
39:33ended up putting on
39:34the whole handle backwards
39:34so now I know
39:37we also learned
39:37the technology today
39:39wasn't great
39:39for snow that deep
39:40it's more of a technology
39:42for a harder surface
39:43a gravel
39:44an ice road
39:46because the wheels
39:46need to turn
39:47so that was definitely
39:49something going forwards
39:51that we need to take a look at
39:52and find a different technology
39:53to suit what we're looking for
39:54a lot of snow
39:55two to four feet
39:56six feet in one spot
39:58when we left there
39:58what do you think worked?
40:00metal detecting
40:01but that GPR
40:04and the 4D scanner
40:06will help us
40:07take a look at
40:08what's underneath the surface
40:09in a non-destructive way
40:11okay
40:11so
40:12see you guys
40:14in a week
40:15months later
40:24the adventure brings them
40:26up north
40:27based on the map
40:28originally drawn by
40:29Windy Smith
40:30little sand beach
40:31right around the corner here
40:33where we're going
40:34sweet
40:35the team wants to relive
40:36Fali Mowat's famous
40:38close encounter
40:38with a pack of wolves
40:40in this area
40:41that was documented
40:42in his book
40:43Never Cry Wolves
40:44oh shit
40:45there are tracks on the beach
40:46I told you
40:47but it's not just wolves
40:48that they have to be
40:49on the lookout for
40:50that's a bear track
40:51that's a bear track
40:52go to your happy place
40:53go to your happy place
40:54David launches a drone
40:55to spot any potential bears
40:58lurking in the area
40:59and I don't see anything moving
41:00that's a good sign
41:01bear
41:02are you here bear?
41:04go
41:04round
41:05okay J
41:07a little evil
41:09I hate this kind of shit
41:11what stuff?
41:13like the bears
41:14and the willows
41:14kind of shit
41:15what if we go
41:16and follow this
41:17this way
41:17just for a second
41:18well we actually
41:19want to go that way
41:19we just got to get out
41:20of these trees
41:21and then it ends
41:22I know
41:22for peace of mind though
41:24there's a path right here
41:25alright Mac
41:26you pick
41:26come with me
41:27I bet you $20
41:29JJ has beat us there
41:31in some weird
41:32roundabout way
41:34that he just discovered
41:35happenstance
41:36that's how it always
41:38freaking works
41:38they are deep
41:40in a part of the woods
41:41that likely hasn't had
41:42many human visitors
41:43for years
41:44we were probably
41:45the next people
41:46after Farley
41:46to actually be in this area
41:48and that's the point of land
41:50it leads to that point of land
41:51and the mysterious cache
41:52is in there somewhere
41:53yep
41:54welcome to a sand esker
41:56it could lead them
41:58to what they've been
41:59searching for
42:00sandy
42:00all along
42:01if this was a good
42:02denning place
42:03when Farley was here
42:04it's still a good
42:04denning place
42:05right
42:05so let's slow down
42:06and see if we can see
42:07any tracks
42:08it's super exciting
42:09to finally put everything
42:11together that we have
42:12in the last few months
42:13and finally make it here
42:14see that big tree out there
42:15the one that's by itself
42:16yeah we think that was
42:18in one of his photos
42:19oh
42:19so let's go find a wolf den
42:21if the Faraheim team
42:23can find the wolf den
42:24they are one step closer
42:26to uncovering the location
42:28of the lost viking grave
42:30perhaps rewriting history
42:32as we know it
42:34if I was a wolf
42:35this is where I would live
42:36oh
42:37and I'm sorry
42:38to be a wolf
42:38and I'm sorry
42:39to be a wolf
42:40that's where I would live
42:55and I'm sorry
42:56I'm sorry
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