03x03 - Arctic Tundra

[bunniefuu]

You know, many people have
perished because they missed

the caribou migration by about
a week up here in the arctic.

I'm probably about
two weeks early

on the arctic char
running up this river,

and I'm paying for it
with an empty belly.

For eight long months here
in the high arctic,

the ocean is frozen solid.

And in the summer -- and even
using that term "summer"

is a bit of a stretch --
there's a short period of time

where the land
is finally allowed to breathe.

When the snow and ice
finally retreat,

researchers from all over
the world come here

to study narwhal, polar bear,
and even k*ller whales.

Every year, there are stories
of people who get stranded.

Even the local inuit get lost
and have to survive out here.

The weather can come in hard

and lock you in from traveling
home for weeks on end.

So I'm here to survive alone,
without food,

with very little gear,
and no camera crew

in the arctic tundra.

I'm on northern baffin island,

where every month
is a new season.

At 72 degrees north latitude,
the sun remains in the sky

nearly 24 hours a day
this time of year.

The ocean might have thawed,

but it remains cold enough
to k*ll you

within minutes
of complete immersion.

It's a harsh
and unforgiving land.

I've left the research team on
the rock, and I'm being boated

into a remote location
for my own challenge.

Any travel in this region
is long-distance travel.

Right now,
most of it's done by boat

over the deadly cold
arctic waters.

Just as it would play out
with an actual researcher,

I've given myself a few items
to survive with --

fishing tackle,
a two-way radio with a battery,

a small handful
of whale blubber

given to me by my inuit guide,
and a collapsible canoe.

The spot I've chosen is a prime
fishing area for arctic char,

but they only run here
once a year,

and, like the caribou herds,

if you miss the run,
you can starve to death

in an area
that otherwise teems with life.

Well, at least I'm left
with this survival suit.

That will help keep me warm.

Even just trying
to get out here,

we had to put up with two solid
days of strong winds and rain,

and it actually delayed me
getting out to this spot,

coming from our base camp.

But I'm in it now.

Wherever
I end up having to survive,

I've got to set myself
a list of priorities.

In a place like this,
it's gonna be shelter.

I'm extremely exposed here.
The wind is blowing in hard.

It's cold off the water, and it
could rain on me at any moment.

It could also turn to snow.

All I really have to work with
in this old fishing camp

is that shack behind me there.

And there's no roof.

It never fails
to bring me down a little,

this worldwide juxtaposition of
ocean refuse and ocean beauty.

That's pretty gross.

It's all rotting and filled
with mold on the inside.

So I don't think
this is the spot.

Lost of junk around here.
Might as well make use of it.

This will help.

It's not hard to find refuse

on the shores
of all the world's oceans.

The advantage is,
of course, that without it,

I'd be reduced to hiding behind
a small hill somewhere

to get out of the wind.

Well, it's a wind block
and a rain block.

And that's what I need.

Well, lots of breeze coming
through here, but it's a start.

Here I am, sitting in the middle
of the arctic,

eating whale blubber
from a narwhal,

a going-in gift given to me

by the inuit hunter
that was training me out here.

Now, the problem with this
whale blubber and the skin

is that the smell of it

is basically a dinner bell
for polar bears.

Mmm.

Raw whale blubber and skin.

Polar-bear territory.

This feels kind of like déjà vu.

I don't know if this
is a smart thing to be doing.

Well, I'm sleeping with a g*n
beside me tonight, loaded.

Hopefully I won't have any
issues with polar bears at all.

Sleeping on top
of the floater suit.

I'll put it on
if I get cold enough.

It's actually quite cold here.

It looks beautiful,

but the wind coming off
that ocean is really cold.

I don't need to use night vision
on the camera at all

because it's 24 hours
of daylight.

I don't think
I can stay here too long.

It's -- the wind
is really pushing in here.

It's hard to fish
on the ocean side here,

just because the waves
are so big.

Just got to get through tonight.

Wind and the arctic
go hand in hand.

Small canoes can be useless
in a place with frigid waters,

big waves,
and relentless winds.

I'm alone out here.

If I were to capsize,

I'd be in more trouble than
I even care to think about.

Man, it's so windy,

it's just blowing that big
iceberg right into the bay here.

It's got me locked down.

I can't get the canoe
in the water to move

and get closer
to the freshwater.

And it's gotten pretty cold.

So wind can blow like this
for weeks.

And at this stage, no boat
can come back here and get me.

In the arctic,
the land and weather just are.

You can either handle it
or you can't.

Taking chances
is a fool's game.

Right now, no safety crew could
get to me if they wanted to,

and with polar bears around,

taking a chance on survival
is exactly what I'm doing.

The wind is coming in way too
strong for me to stand out here

and try to do any fishing
to get some food.

It's brutally cold
coming in off the arctic ocean.

I'd be chilled to the bone
in no time.

And that iceberg way down
in the corner

is the size of an office tower.

And eight hours ago,
it was many miles down that way.

Yet over the course of the time

while I was hunkered down
in that little shack,

it was blown right --
right across the bay.

That's how strong this wind is.

And it's cold.

For now, I'm going to head
inland just a little bit,

get a drink of water
from a nearby stream.

There's a river down that way.

And then come back in
and hunker down.

That's all I can do

is wait out this wind
because I can't travel.

I can't put the canoe in
the water and get out of here.

It'd capsize in seconds.

Unlike a lot of places
I've been,

giardia is not very prevalent,

and the arctic water's
all fresh and clean,

coming straight from glaciers.

With water looked after,

I can concentrate
on trying for some food.

In colder temperatures,
the need for food escalates.

My energy is depleted
much faster

while I deal with the wind
and the cold.

Well, I might as well
try switching lures

for a while, anyway --
this one's not working.

I tried scouting around by the
river to see if there was a spot

in behind a Ridge that I could
get protected from this wind.

And it's not so bad.

There's a few spots, but
it's still pretty windy there.

Instead, I think I know a way

I can make my shelter
a little warmer.

In fact,
I think I can get a fire going.

Ingenuity is always
the mother of survival.

Once I started looking around
with an eye toward surviving,

it's amazing what small items,
manmade or natural,

that there are that can help
to improve my situation.

Well, don't look so surprised.

There's not an ocean side in
the world that I've been to yet

that doesn't have refuse on it.

Hopefully that will work.

Now I just have to try and get a
fire going without matches here.

Focus.

There we go.
Now it's focused.

With very little effort at all,

I'm able to walk around
this old fish camp,

and there's all kinds
of little slivers of wood,

bits of plastic.

And I don't have to put
much effort into it.

Just have to gather it up,
bring it over here,

and I've got a good fire bundle.

Of course,
now I need to have the fire.

All right, this...

...is a cb radio.

Right now
it's not the radio that I want.

It's the battery from the radio.

This is a little


This is what I need.

Well, scored a couple of things
when I went over and looked

in that big 45-gallon drum
full of junk.

There was old cups and teapots
and tons of metal cans,

but also...

Old dish scrubbers, steel wool.

And with this and this battery,
I can make fire.

I just have to touch the steel
wool to those two terminals,

and it should ignite for me.

All right, well...Wish me luck.

Touch it to this terminal here.

Whoa, h*, h* h*!
Let's get it under there.

Ah, ha ha ha ha ha!
That is nice.

Whoo!

Boy, if anyplace I needed
a fire, it's here in the arctic.

And that worked like a charm.

Just about every place
on the planet

has an ancient and
primitive people's history.

The arctic shares
its history easily

as it can be thousands of years
before items biodegrade

and vanish from existence.

This mound here
is a couple thousand years old.

The thule Indians
first lived out here,

and this is what they made --
big sod circles.

The camera's actually
in a lower circle

and then there's
the entranceway down even lower.

You come into one,
come into the other.

And overtop would be whale
rib bones and caribou hide,

and that would make
their shelter,

which would be
a heck of a lot warmer

than the plywood crate
I'm sleeping in.

And all this area here

is obviously where
they harvested the sod from

to make the mounds
in the first place.

Pull out of one area,

drop it down right beside it,
and make your mound.

There are places
where you can take the time

to effect your survival,
like in the tropics,

but up here,
the land offers no forgiveness.

It's indifferent
to whether you live or die.

I should have moved.

It was calm wind
for a few hours,

which I slept through,
fortunately.

That helps, to get some sleep,

but the wind has picked up
incredibly now,

and, uh...
[Chuckles]

...it's raining.

I think what I'll have to do

is put on
my big orange survival suit

and get the heck out of dodge.

Which means
going across the river,

going across the rapids...

In a fold-up canoe.

All right, I'm packed up.

It's probably going to take me
a couple hours and a few trips,

since I have to take the canoe,
as well.

And that's the easy part
of the trip.

After that,
I got to negotiate the rapids.

They're only class 1 rapids,

they're no big deal --
just little riffles --

but the water is frigid cold,

and everything I have to survive
with will be in that canoe.

So one wrong move, and
I could be in a lot of trouble.

But first, hike.

At least hiking over land
in the arctic

is not as tough
as pushing through thick bush.

And although
in most arctic regions

the mosquitoes
can carry you away,

here on baffin island,

there are relatively few bugs
to bother me.

I was expecting
to have to cross this river

at a much more dangerous spot
up ahead with rapids.

But here,
I didn't spot this before.

It's quite low.

Obviously I can walk across
without any issue at all.

I'm at low tide right now,
as well.

So I've got to get
the rest of my stuff across

before the water level picks up.

It sure pays to look around,
play it safe.

If I were to dump here in the
water, with everything I've got,

it'd be
a very dangerous situation.

This is, after all, the arctic.

Always got to come back
for the camera.

Stroud: This is the section
that I have to get across now.

And that's nothing.

I can scoot across that
without any issue at all.

And another bit of a distance
to carry all my gear

before to get to what looks like
some old fish camp.

There's a bunch
of 45-gallon drums over there.

So, I'm going to put the camera
away so it doesn't get wet,

hop in the canoe, get across
there, and get on to the camp...

Hopefully before it rains.

Now, this is a heck of a lot
easier than hiking it over.

Nothing like canoeing.

Maybe I'll pull off here
without ending up in the ocean.

The trick is, the river meanders
all over the place.

And if you get caught
down one current,

you get taken
way out of the way.

So you sort of hug
the right side here

and make my way over
to this side of the river.

With any luck, the fishing
will be better over here, too.

Since I was filming
in the river,

the rain came in pretty hard,
and I had to sit here

for about half an hour
while it pelted down on me.

Now there's sunshine
over in that part of the sky,

which is great.

Unfortunately,
the part of the sky

that's still coming towards me
is still white with rain.

Now I've got to make this home.

And I've got to get some food.

I'm stuck here
with a bunch of metal drums.

Well, so much for that.

I spent all the time
going across land

and then across the river

and then across a little bit
more land to get to here.

And in the span of time that it
took for me to do all of that,

the ocean calmed down.

So I could have just waited,
got in the canoe,

and actually just
got in the ocean

and paddled around to this site.

[ Sighs ]

It just shows you, you cannot
take chances on the weather.

It's really difficult.

As it is right now, I'd like
to start throwing a line in,

see if I can catch
some arctic char,

but that doesn't mean

that this blue sky isn't going
to leave me in 45 minutes.

So what I better do first
is get a shelter put up here.

Then I can start trying
for some food.

One man's toxic sludge
is another man's potpourri.

Not so bad.

Well, that gives me

a place to get into
when it starts raining again.

Once again
with my shelter looked after,

I can turn my efforts
towards getting food.

The wind has picked up again.

Unbelievable.
Did not take long at all.

I had about an hour
of calm, calm weather here.

Now the wind's coming right in
on me, and that's a cold wind.

Taking a couple of leaders here,
strung them together.

A couple of small hooks
on the bottom.

Bare hooks, bare hooks,
bare hooks,

all I have to do now...

Is put some bait on it.

Some whale blubber,
a couple small hooks.

With any luck, the sea gull
will just go for a big gulp.

Now what I'll do
is I'll take this blubber,

and I'm going to rub it
around everywhere.

Oops, not all over me

because that scent
is gonna bring --

is gonna bring the sea gulls in.

Now, these traps
can be very effective.

It's about 80 yards or so
from my shelter.

That shouldn't scare
the sea gulls much.

Hopefully they'll come in and
I'll have myself a bird dinner.

All right,
now I got to get fishing.

Birds and their eggs --
wild edibles,

all of them
are great survival food,

but nothing equals
the advantage

of having actual fishing tackle
to catch the large arctic char.

Catching fish

with improvised bits of string
and pins bent into hooks

is an extremely rare bit
of situational luck

in usually extremely harsh
and challenging situations.

Fishing tackle for me now is no
longer recreational equipment.

It's survival gear.

I've been fishing for a few
hours without a single bite.

And I've seen birds,
sea gulls all around me

ever since I first got out here,

and yet as soon
as I put the bait out,

I haven't seen a single bird.

Maybe if I blow a little bit
of harp, it'll change my luck.

[ Harmonica playing ]

See if I can get a bit of sleep.

Quarters are a little tight,
compared to the last shelter,

but, in fact, with any luck
at all, they won't be as windy.

And I think I should be fine
for rain, as well.

I think I'll be all right
in here...

As long as it doesn't get
too windy. [ Chuckles ]

Who am I kidding?
This is baffin island.

It's always too windy.

The good thing about
that bird trap

and any traps that you leave,

is that they work
when you aren't working.

So, if I hear a bird squawking,

maybe that will be dinner
for me.

Loneliness seems intensified
in the arctic

with its long
and foreboding expanses

that wrap
around all of your senses.

I'm finding now
that my lack of food --

this is four days
without food now --

is really wreaking havoc
on my energy levels.

It changes all the time,

depending on where
I try to survive.

But when I have to survive
in cold and wind and rain,

it just depletes the energy
levels that much faster

and makes things
a little tougher to deal with.

So, I'm going to put in
a concerted effort

to try to catch some fish now.

And if that doesn't work,
I'm gonna have to head inland...

And see what I can do.

Just the act of walking
to check a trap

can suck the energy
right out of me.

You know, the craziest thing.

Now it's four days without food,
all this cold, fresh air,

dreams are just becoming
extremely vivid.

Wow. Just way whacked-out,
wild and crazy dreams.

Never happens at home.

You get out here without
any food in your stomach,

and all the aloneness, the big
expanse and the fresh air,

and you just get
these intense dreams.

Also getting pretty down,
actually.

Dreams are kind of like
an escape.

Feeling a little down.

Man, nothing.

That's a shame.

I even put a big hunk on top
without a hook in it

that, if they wanted,
they could have just taken,

and they haven't
even touched it.

That's really strange.

I threw a couple pieces
out on the ground before.

There's some down here
on the ground.

And I watched them
come in and eat it.

This thing's been sitting here
for 24 hours,

and they haven't touched it.

That's a bummer.

All right.
Back to fishing.

Cold. Wind.
Lack of wild edibles.

It's a tougher one.

These kinds of temperatures

and the gray sky with very
little blue play on the psyche.

You know, many people have
perished because they missed

the caribou migration by about
a week up here in the arctic.

I'm probably about
two weeks early

on the arctic char
running up this river,

and I'm paying for it
with an empty belly.

When it comes to luck
and survival,

it's all about the timing.

One month, one week,
even one day

can make the difference between
life and death by starvation.

Timing is everything.

I've been trying for days to
catch some fish for survival.

I took the chance on throwing
a line in just now,

while the narwhal were forcing
the char close to the shore

and right past my lures.

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

[ Laughs ]

You ain't going anywhere, buddy.

Oh, yeah!

Yeah, baby!
[ Laughs ]

[ Straining ]

Come here.

Okay, I'm gonna keep fishing.

If you watch in the background,

there's a narwhal
going right by me here.

Maybe that's what's chasing
all the arctic char in

and why I'm able to catch them,

because there's narwhal out
there trying to feed on them.

Here we go.

Oh, yeah.

Come on.

Come on.

[ Laughs ]

Oh!

Beautiful! Beautiful!

Okay.

Oh, easy now, easy.

[ Chuckles ]

Yeah, baby!
Oh, yeah.

[ Laughs ]

You know, the irony to this...

Is that I wasn't even going
to come back and fish right now.

I was getting so disillusioned
with all the fishing.

I was just gonna hike the fields

and start gathering
wild edibles.

[ Laughs ]

I don't even know
where my fishing rod went.

That was a big one.

Oh, yeah.

And no word of a lie,
this is how I caught them.

First this guy,
then to that guy,

then I caught that guy,
and then finally that big mama.

Check it out.

This is a good day.

This is a good day.

I am one hungry boy,
let me tell you.

It's been
four and a half days now.

And...i could use
some nourishment.

Time to get some.

Understanding some traditional
food-preserving techniques

can save a ton of food from
perishing and ensure survival.

Split the fish like this.

Now I've got to put some slices
in the fish

so that it can air out.

If I slice in straight,
they tend to fall together.

So I've got to slice on an angle
so they fall --

all the little sections will
fall open and then dry better.

Fresh Sushi.

Mmm, oh, man.

Can't get Sushi this fresh
in L.A.

One thing I love to eat on fish,
and not too many people save,

is the liver.

I find the liver and the heart
the tastiest part of the fish.

So, I'm gonna save the liver
and the heart and eat those up.

[ Chuckles ]

Eating the fish roe
is fantastic.

Caviar, basically.

Mmm. Highly nutritious.

Look at this guy.
See those right there?

That's where some other fish,
maybe a seal,

has gone after this fish and
tried to catch him and eat him,

and he got away.

But he didn't get away from me.

So I will honor you, buddy,
by eating you.

Of course, now the possibility
of polar bear coming

is going to be
that much stronger

with all this fish smell,
whale-blubber smell

all around my camp.

No eggs in this one
but a nice, big liver.

So I'm going to have to be
extremely diligent

watching out for polar bear.

That's three.

Last one.

The beast.
[ Laughs ]

Sweet!

More eggs.

Number four.

Four reasons why fishing tackle
is vital in a survival kit.

Normally a lot of this stuff
would go to waste.

But in a survival situation,
that's definitely not the case.

First of all,
I've got all these filets here

that are cut away that
I'm gonna cook up and enjoy.

Got liver, which is my favorite,
some fish hearts.

And what's left
of the fish there,

there's a ton of raw meat on it

that I'm gonna pick away
and just eat raw now and enjoy.

The fish eyes go in for soup --

if I had a pot,
which I don't have a pot.

So, I can just eat
all of that raw.

And then lastly,
all the intestines,

well, I'll be able to use them

to add to my bird trap
over there.

Because they don't
seem to be coming in

for the last little bits
of whale blubber that I put out.

So, fine, I'll put out
some of this fish...

[ Gull caws ]
There's a sea gull right now.

...out and see
if I can get myself a bird

to add to the feast.

But for now, speaking of feasts,
I'm gonna go get a fire going

and continue with my fish feast.

[ Laughs ]
This is k*ller.

The measure
of a good outdoor guide --

if they can get a fire going
for you

after three days of solid rain.

That is a good guide.

Of course, if they pull out

some chocolate
and some scotch or wine, well...

Then they're master guides.

Having fire in this area
is a luxury afforded me

by the refuse left behind
by people fishing here.

All right.

Magic.

A little steel wool,
one battery, and we've got fire.

Fresh cooked arctic char.

Mmm.

Wow!

[ Chuckles ]

That's unbelievable.

Right now, my editor's
watching this and thinking,

"man, I wish I was there.

Catching them char
and eating them, too."

Oh, that's good.

Right, Barry?

Oh, that's so good.

The reality is now that I'm here
to film a show about survival.

But the fact is,

we're so far out on
the north edge of baffin island

that anything could go wrong.

And it could be
that these four fish I caught

are going to be desperately
needed not only for me,

but also for my safety crew.

If we get trapped here
and can't get out

by boat, helicopter, or plane,
food will run out,

and catching fish may be
what keeps us all in survival.

It wouldn't be the first time

that a film crew has been
stranded somewhere remote.

And here comes the rain.

I got to go.

Stroud: And that's
what you look like to me.

You look like a camera.

Arctic char liver.

Mmm. Tender and tasty.

Mmm.

Oh, I'm getting full.

And I think it stopped raining.

Just because I now have
the bounty of fish doesn't mean

that I shouldn't see what else
I have available to eat.

Those, after all,
could be the last fish I catch.

There's hundreds and hundreds
of these plants all around.

I haven't got a clue
what this plant is called.

All I know from learning
from the inuit hunter,

is that the root is very edible

and there's hundreds,
maybe thousands of these plants

all over the hillsides.

This plant,

which actually there's lots
of it around my camp,

this is the traditional
burnable material.

Now, I'm fortunate

in that there's all
that leftover scrap wood

that I've been able to burn
and have a full-on fire.

But if I didn't have that,
this plant burns fantastically.

In fact, I do have a stash
of this back at the camp

for when I run out of scrap wood
or through the night

just to keep the fire going.

Okay, here's some more
wild edible plants. Beautiful.

Mmm. And tart, too.

These hillsides here

are just carpeted
with wild edible plants.

So I've got wild edibles,
fire-starting material,

arctic char on the ocean coast,

and the irony is

that this has one of the
harshest climates on the planet.

And you'd think that it would be
the toughest to survive here --

and true enough, outside
of a short two-month span,

it is extremely hard
survival here.

But right now

there's some bounty
that I can take advantage of,

and plenty of it, if you know
what you're looking for.

The warmth of food
digesting in my belly

helps to keep the chills
out of my body.

You know, one of the main
components of survival is luck.

I had fully intended
on spending the day inland,

searching for wild edibles
and hunting for ptarmagin,

and it was just by chance that
I realized I forgot something

so I came back to the camp.

And while I was here I thought,

"ah, the water's nice and calm,
the tide's nice and high.

"Maybe I'll try casting
the lure in a couple times

and see what happens."

Bam, you saw the results.

So, as much as you need to be
in shape,

as much as you should have
a survival kit,

you certainly must have
the mental faculties to survive.

You have to have
that will to live.

But also, sometimes to survive,
all you need is a lot of luck.

And today I got lucky.

I sure hope no polar bear
come around

with all that fish-gut smell
everywhere.

All right.
This is morning of day 5.

Trapped again by the rain.
No surprise there.

Anyway, fire's still going.
That's good.

That was set up well.

And I've got lots of food,
so I'm okay that way.

I have no idea
whether or not a fire

will attract a polar bear
or keep a polar bear away.

I'm gonna hope for the latter.

Without a windbreak from trees,

without land features
to stop the windy onslaught,

without a well-made
constructed shelter,

being trapped in by the wind
and rain in the arctic

is unequaled.

Four hours, still raining.

[ Rhythmic tapping ]

Four and a half hours.

Still raining.

That's it. That's been my view
for five hours now.

Lovely view, isn't it?

...what everybody's doing
at home right now.

Probably having a hot drink
somewhere.

Watching TV.

Maybe they're watching
"survivorman."

I'm stretching.

Six hours,
and it's still raining.

Seven hours,
and it's still misting/raining.

Good thing that there's a lot of
scrap lumber laying around here.

Eight and a half hours,
and it's raining again.

It's getting about time I do
something, rain or no rain.

One way I can make sure
I don't lose a fire

is to kind of put together
a makeshift kudlik here.

Got some of this -- it's
the last of the whale blubber.

I was using it as a bait
for the sea gulls,

but instead I'm going to make
an oil lamp out of it.

You just scrape
the whale blubber.

It just juices out grease
and oil.

[ Rock scrapes ]
Oops.

Watch I don't dull up my knife.

So, I'll show you
what I mean here.

So...all right.

Now, this is just an old sock
that was laying around here,

so I've been drying it.

And I'm going to take
a piece of it.

Soak it up into this oil.

There we go.

Okay. See that?

I'll put that
in a little protected place,

and that should burn
a good long time for me.

It's still coming in,
the rain on me here,

but there's a little bright spot
in the sky up there,

so, who knows?

About nine hours
of waiting out the rain.

The weather's blown in
really strong,

and I radioed
into the safety crew,

and it looks like we're just
gonna have to pull out tomorrow.

The weather keeps coming in
and battering us,

and we don't want to get to be
one of those situations

where we're locked down
for a week.

Just got to get through
this last night.

But it -- the weather's
just socked us right in.

It's all just gray, misty and
blowing in from the ocean side.

The wind and the rain continue
to change the arctic viewscape.

[ Cracking, rumbling ]

[ Helicopter blades whirring ]

I had lost a few days

at the beginning
of this arctic venture,

and now the return and repeat
of the harsh weather

is shutting down the sh**t and
forcing the safety crew and I

to head back to the protection

of the small arctic village
we originally left from.

But with my full belly
of arctic char --

thanks to having fishing tackle
as survival gear --

I've been able to effect
my best survival ever

in a place, above all others,

that is probably
the most beautiful

when it comes to the landscape

and yet the harshest
when it comes to survival.