04x04 - Road from Hell

[bunniefuu]

Fire it up!



Narrator: in alaska...



We're right down
by disaster.



...the yukon...



This season's a monster.



Narrator:
...and the jungles of guyana...



God!



...a rush is on
to get to the gold.



Down in south america...



We're not
making any freakin' money.



...todd hoffman scrambles



To get
his jungle wash plant built.



We're running out of time.
We got to get going.



But he's losing the battle



Against
impassable jungle roads...



[ Brakes squeak ]
spinks: oh, [bleep]



Narrator: ...and is falling
further and further behind.



The klondike was a piece of cake
compared to the jungle.



Narrator: up north...



Easy!



...parker schnabel
has high hopes



For his first
gold clean-up of the season...



This isn't a little
mom and pop show anymore.



Narrator: ...until
mining legend tony beets



Delivers a harsh dose
of klondike reality.



And at porcupine creek...



I'm ready
for a good season.



...the dakota boys discover



That after three long seasons
of mining the glory hole,



They might just be feet from



Millions in bedrock gold.



Pull it out.



Check that out.



Only problem is,



The glory hole
has never been more dangerous.



[ Rumbling ]
look out!



Holy [bleep] [bleep]



-- Captions by vitac --
www.vitac.com



Captions paid for by
discovery communications



At scribner creek
in the klondike...



Parker: fire it up.



...it's 33 days
into the 150-day mining season.



Remsburg:
ready to wash some dirt.



Narrator:

Is ahead of the game,



Already running pay dirt.



Everything all right?
Been running good all day.



We've busted our a*s
to get here, and we're ahead.



We've got a good stockpile
of pay.



The plant's running good.
Pretty happy.



Narrator:
to mine with the big boys
in the klondike,



Parker leased ground
from tony beets.



To buy heavy machinery,



He went deep into debt and
used a chunk of his college fund



To buy the hoffmans'
old discarded wash plant,



Little blue.



We'll show you
what this thing can do.



Narrator:
now, parker's out to prove



He can play ball in
the gold mining major leagues.



This isn't a little mom and pop
show anymore, you know?



Narrator:
unannounced, tony beets,



The scribner creek claim owner,



Arrives to inspect
parker's new operation.



Hey, tony!



Good.



Yeah.



You know, this week, we're
pushing to do 1,500 yards.



Yeah.



It's our
first week running.



As claim owner,



Tony gets a 15% cut



Of parker's gold.



The more parker can produce,



The bigger tony's cut.



That's a lot of dirt.



Tony's ordered parker to
double the amount of pay dirt



He's putting
through his wash plant.



Parker thinks the ground
is worth around $7 a yard.



If parker
can somehow pull it off,







Will pay out
over $20,000 a week.



I want to move dirt
as bad as tony does,



But trying to do 3,000 yards
this week,



That's [bleep] tough.



We're gonna have to really
get on top of our game.



Narrator:
south in alaska...



Porcupine creek
is at a standstill.



The dakota boys' dream
of glory-hole gold



Looks like it's over.



Dustin: drilling's over with.
That's it.



We've wasted
enough damn time doing this.



I've put so much effort
into this drill



That it's making me sick
right now that it failed.



This is my fault.



I take full responsibility.



It's time to move on.



Last week,
dustin brought in a drill



To find out, once and for all,



If bedrock gold
was within reach.



Dustin:
what the [bleep], man?



But impenetrable river rocks



Kept him from
getting any answers.



That's not good.
That's stuck.



This is not gonna work.



Dustin
may have called it a day,



But "dakota" fred refuses
to give up without a fight.



Invested an awful lot of money
in this thing



For not to get anything
out of it.



I'm gonna take a look.



Maybe I can macgyver it.



Fred:
what's up, ben?



Would you mind
if I tried one thing with you?



You might be able to
get over into that area



Where there's
no water running.



Narrator: fred convinces
drill operator ben miller



To give it one more shot
in a new spot,



Dangerously close to
the unstable glory hole wall.



The dakota boys
are already 100 feet down.



If they have to dig any more



Than another 20 feet
to get to bedrock,



They could trigger
a catastrophic collapse.



Fred:
come on, let's go!



[ Drill ratcheting ]



The deeper they drill,



The more rocks
shake loose from above.



Go ahead and just
keep on drilling. Do it, do it.



I'm kind of worried
watching him



Right there
with all this vibration.



So I'm trying to drill
and keep an eye on him.



Only go down
about a foot at a time.



About seven feet.



Hey, we're doing
real good right now.



[ Ratcheting continues ]



We're 17 feet down
right now.



How deep
is the hole down there?



I'm at about 24.



We can't dig
any more than that.



Call it.



Narrator: 24 feet.



Still no sign of the bedrock.



It's too deep to dig safely.



Pull it out.



After investing
his life savings



Into a three-year battle
to get down to bedrock,



Fred finally admits defeat.



I know that
it's a disappointment,



But we did what we could do.



Narrator: but then,
as the drill comes up...



Check that out.



...fred spots a game changer.



It's getting
a different color.



Blonde dirt.



It's a real fine,
sandy soil.



We might be getting
closer to the bedrock.



[ Laughs ]



Thousands of years ago,
an ancient creek



Gradually wore away
the riverbed.



It deposited sandy particles
along with gold on bedrock



In a layer
of distinct blonde dirt.



If the material from the drill
hole is sitting on bedrock,



They could be just inches from
millions in gold.



Fred's persistence has paid off.



If I'm right there, believe me,



I'll step down and
try to get another five feet



Out of that excavator.



Narrator:
he's convinced they're
close enough to a pot of gold



To risk life and limb
deep in the glory hole.



The water and the
material coming out of
the bottom of that hole



Instantly turned to that sand --
that blonde sand.



Tallis:
if you're getting that color,



There's a really good chance
that it's right there.



Dustin: good job, fred.
We did it.



We hit bedrock.
So what we're gonna do,



We're gonna dig the hell
out of that damn thing.



[ Laughs ]
I don't believe it.



I'm ready
for a good season.



Narrator:




At patience creek in guyana,



The hoffman crew
is way behind schedule.



Hey, guys.



But for todd,
there's no turning back



On his decision to move
his operation to south america.



To keep his crew on board,



He needs to start mining,
and fast.



We're not
making any money.



We've got the trommel
in patience,



But we got to get mining.



I want that trommel
to be running



In three freakin' days.



Are you crazy?



We can't do that
in three days.



This jungle
is kicking our butts.



We're not gonna
let the jungle beat us.



We can do this.



Hang in there,
get it running.



I don't know
if we can do it...



But we'll give it a try.



So far this season...



This is probably the hardest,



Most scariest thing
we've ever done.



Narrator:
...the hoffman crew has lost
every battle with the jungle.



Todd: what the --



It's mined out.



Now, after weeks
of spinning their wheels,



Todd's determined to see
their trommel up and running



In just three days.



Let's get going!



Turin: pick it up!



Man:
easy. Watch it.



Gentle.



I'm trying to be gentle.



Back
just a little bit more!



How's it look, freddy?



Perfect. It's good.



That's good, freddy!



Got the conveyor set,
the plant set, the
sluices are set.



All we need now is water.



Hey, andy! Any chance
you go get me that pump?



Spinks: I'm on my way.



All right, I need it
as soon as you can get it here.



Narrator:
it's only two miles from the
crew's camp to patience creek,



But their




Has never attempted
this treacherous jungle road.



Spinks: oh, man!



This road's not good.



What the [bleep]
oh, [bleep]



Narrator:
torrential rain has washed out



A large section
of the dirt road.



If andy
can't make it with the pump,



The trommel can't run,



And the crew won't meet
todd's three-day deadline.



Spinks:
all right, here we go.



We need this pump or we
will not have a mining season.



What the frick.



No, no, no.



[ Engine revs ]



[Bleep]



Oh, [bleep]



The road's a [bleep] mess.



Narrator:
the pump is now just half a mile
from their new wash plant,



But andy is stuck,
and once again,



The jungle has shown no mercy.



Klondike was a piece of cake
compared to the jungle.



Narrator:
in south america,



The hoffmans
are way out of their element.



They've completely
underestimated the jungle



And are already weeks behind
in their mining season.



To start mining
their $30 a yard ground,



Todd and crew
desperately need to



Get a water pump
to their new trommel,



But guyana's rainy season
has washed out



The only road
to their wash plant.



Last night, it rained
more than it has since
we've been here.



That road's
not passable right now.



[ Groans ]



We're freakin'
burning fuel and time,



And we're not
making any freakin' money.



We got to fix it,
and quick.



We got to be running
by tomorrow.



I think if we
cut some big logs



And lay 'em in there



And see
if that would work.



So, knock the trees down
and just drive on those.



Think we can do it?



Stupid little road
ain't gonna stop us.



That's not
a stupid little road.



That's
the road from hell, man.



[ Laughs ]



[ Chainsaw buzzing ]



Narrator:
with help from local loggers,



The crew springs into action
to make the road passable.



Mitch builds a base
with the logs.



Andy covers it
with 30 tons of sand.



Spinks: just see if this road
can hold up.



We're gonna see
what happens here.



Hopefully, this wasn't
a big waste of time.



Narrator: after an unplanned
day of road building,



They're ready to
put the road to the test.



Let's go!



If this road
doesn't hold up, we are screwed.



[Bleep]
oh, [bleep]



Narrator:
their fix is a failure.



Thick mud has swallowed
the sand and logs.



The pump
is going nowhere fast.



This spot right here
is a pain in the a*s.



Nature wants to just
make us stop what we're doing.



Today is kind of one step
forward, two steps back.



It's like trying to build a road
with pancake batter.



This stuff's so sloppy that
you can't even stack it up.



It just runs right back down.



I don't know what else to do.



Narrator: up at scribner creek
in the klondike...



...parker schnabel is
running his crew 14 hours a day.



The game's on.



Narrator:
to increase his gold tally,



Tony insisted that parker



Double the amount of pay dirt
that they process.



That means running 3,000 yards



In just one week.



Parker:
we got to get as much pay
over there as we can.



The plant has to
crank through it



As fast as we can
get it over there.



It's up to ex-hoffman
crew member greg remsburg



To feed the wash plant
a constant supply of pay dirt,



But he's struggling,



And a massive pile of pay dirt



Is building up around him.



You know, it's good that parker
wants us to run, run, run.



But, you know,
I know what happens



When I push this plant too hard.



I've done it multiple times.



Hey, greg, are you on?



So, you think you're
doing a bucket every
couple minutes?



That's [bleep]
don't give me [bleep]



Narrator:
greg's already on thin ice.



Last week, he lost parker money



By dumping out
gold-rich concentrate.



Now parker fears
greg can't keep up.



I'm just timing him,
seeing how long he's taking.



So slow.



I thought he actually
knew what he was doing.



Greg: uh-oh. Oh!



[Bleep]
shut it down.



Narrator:
greg has clogged up the hopper



With a 100-pound boulder.



[Bleep] big rock.



Every minute
the plant's not running,



Parker's weekly goal
of $21,000



Slips away.



We need to
catch that [bleep]



Right?



I'm doing my best.



Parker pulls greg aside.



[Bleep]



Don't give me
a bunch of [bleep] greg.



Do you not
want to be here?



I'm happy to be here.



The only way
we make money here --



The only way
i make money, not you.



The only way I make money,



The only way I have
a chance of getting
any of that back



Is to put that dirt
through that wash plant.



When it's the plant
that's holding us up,



Then the plant crew's
gonna have the pressure,



And that's what's happening
right now.



It's little blue.



I'm not seeing it.



If you're not happy
with the management,



Then maybe
this isn't the best fit.



You don't need to
say any more.



[Bleep]



Greg's future at scribner creek
is in jeopardy.



Parker calls in
foreman gene cheeseman



For a second opinion.



Kind of frustrating to see it
not getting through there



As fast as it
could be put through.



You could hop in there



And see
how it feels for you.



I could try it
and see what I think.



All right.



Have fun with it.
Yeah, thanks.



Grab my radio.
Thank you.



Narrator: gene has 20 years
construction experience.



It takes him just minutes to see
that greg is not the problem.



This just
isn't gonna cut it.



It's not greg's fault.



Nobody could get to 3,000 yards
with the setup we got.



What can we do?



You need to get
a consistent feed, you know?



Get a hopper feeder,
you know?



It can regulate our flow.



Sometimes you got to
spend some money to
make some money.



But upgrading
little blue's feeder system



Could cost parker
$10,000 he doesn't have.



Parker:
[bleep] hate this [bleep]



Narrator:
at porcupine creek...



...the dakota boys' season
is finally about to begin.



Drill results indicate bedrock,



And a huge pot of gold
could be close enough



To risk digging deeper beneath
the unstable glory hole walls.



Operator mike mcgregor
takes the first shift,




At the bottom of the hole.



Mcgregor:
yeah, it gets scary.



Not some place I'd like to be,



But I'm anxious
to find some gold.



Tallis:
now we're getting somewhere.



Narrator:
for the first time this season,



They fire up the derocker.



Come on, let's go!
Fire it up!



Looking good.
Looking good.



Go ahead, girl.



Narrator: melody loads their
first pay dirt of the season.



Finally making some gold.
Yes!



Turn it all the way up.



Da-da-bla-bla-bla-bla.



[ Laughs ]



Man, I love seeing that stuff
run down that sluice box.



Narrator:
last year, the dakota boys



Pulled 160 ounces of gold
from glory hole dirt



Worth nearly
a quarter of a million dollars.



If they
reach bedrock this season,



They could
walk away with millions.



Dustin: this is it.
Catching gold.



This is the best dirt
we've ever had.



Everything's
running perfectly right now.



[ Radio crackles ]
mcgregor: fred.



I'm in trouble down here.



[Bleep]



Get down here, quick.



Fred: oh, [bleep]
what's he doing down there?



[Bleep] [bleep]



I thought
he was up on the ledge.



Narrator: mike's excavator
has thrown a track.



He's stuck in the danger zone,



Beneath thousands of tons
of unstable rock.



Holy [bleep]



[ Crash ]
[ splash ]



[ Crash ]
[ rumbling ]



[ Splash ]



Ohh!



Narrator: at porcupine creek,
mike mcgregor



Has crippled the 360 excavator



Under thousands of tons
of unstable boulder.



Holy [bleep]



[Bleep]



The track has come off
this idler wheel.



Hopefully, we can push
the wheel back in a little bit



And put it back on,
I don't know.



[ Rumbling ]



Somebody needs to
watch them rocks up there.



Let's just hope that
one of them boulders



Doesn't have my name on it.



That one sticking out
way up there on the top,



It looks interesting.



Dustin, if I yell real loud,
that means run!



All right!



All right, try that.



[ Thudding ]



Oh, no, no, no.



Need to go out.



Stick out and over.



And roll forward.



Move 'em out.



[ Rumbling ]
watch it.



[ Crash ]



Damn it!
Holy [bleep]



That's why I want to
get him out of here for.



Okay, okay.



Where we are
is really a bad situation.



We're right down by
the disaster.



Narrator: with river rock
falling all around them,



Fred determines
that it's too dangerous



To fix the excavator
at the bottom of the glory hole.



Fred: that's why
I want to get him out of here.



Come on, let's go!



Narrator:
to get to a safe spot,



Mike attempts to
drag the 360 out on one track.



[ Metal screeching ]



Fred:
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!



Go with the other one.



Go with your right track.



Move on ahead, come on,
turn.



Keep twisting.



Twist.
Twist with your bucket.



Twist left.



Come up, come up, come up.



Good job, man. Good job.



Narrator: mike makes it
out of the danger zone



And then spots an opportunity
to get the track back on.



Mcgregor: the track
is threaded on the wheel.



All I have to do is back up
and go right over the top.



Go on, back that
[bleep] [bleep] up.



See if it'll go.



Fred: got it!



Nothing to it.
[ Laughs ]



Narrator:
in the klondike...



...parker takes delivery of
his newest piece of equipment.



The way it was set up,
his wash plant, little blue,



Couldn't run
the 3,000 yards of dirt a week



Tony beets demanded.



Parker: [bleep] yeah.



Narrator:
parker has bitten the b*llet



And gone deeper into the red
to buy a hopper feeder.



This season's turning into
a monster, you know?



Just spending way more money
than I had planned on it,



And this feeder just put us
further in debt.



This thing's about five times
as big as our old feeder,



Five times more dirt.



Narrator:
the new hopper feeder



Will maximize
parker's yardage per hour



By giving little blue a constant
feed of clean pay dirt.



It takes
a full bucket from a loader.



Grizzly bars prevent blockages



By screening out any rocks
larger than six inches.



And a radio-controlled hydraulic
grizzly dump



Keeps the bars clear
without any interruption.



But before they can
install the $10,000 feeder,



Greg and steve
need to move some earth.



Remsburg: I'm building a pad
for the new hopper feeder.



Got to be a certain height
and a certain width.



It's got to be level,



And it's got to
be able to take a beating.



If I don't get this pad
just right,



There's always that chance
that hopper feeder's



Gonna tumble right off the hill.



Narrator: greg begins to
push the machine into position.



Remsburg: one false move,
and this hopper is gone.



I don't want to
push it off the edge.



Robbins: easy.



[ Metal creaking ]
whoa!



Easy!



[ Metal creaking ]



[Bleep] [bleep]
whoa, whoa! Stop!



Holy crap!



Getting soft
on this side.



Narrator:
the 20,000-pound hopper feeder



Is causing the edge
of the ramp to crumble.



Remsburg:
ohh. It could be ugly.



Go back. Keep it down.



Remsburg: what the [bleep]



Narrator:
greg lines up the hopper feeder



And gives it one more shot.



Robbins: let's go!



Remsburg:
we could push this thing
right over the edge



With one wrong move.



So I got to pay attention
to what steve's directing me.



More.



Up.



Down.



Whoa!



Stop!



We hit it,
right on the money.



Looking good.



Narrator: once in place,
the new hopper feeder



Is hooked up
and ready to run dirt.



There we go, that's good.
We got it.



I'm ready when you are.



[ Engine starts ]



Go ahead, greg,
give her a scoop!



This really beats
loading a little blue hopper



With an excavator.



It's so much faster,



And we can just keep
slamming this dirt through.



Narrator: parker's run
only 1,200 yards of pay dirt



In 4 days.



He needs to get to 3,000 yards



And has only 2 days left.



With the new hopper feeder
up and running,



He's got a fighting chance.



Robbins:
well, hey, good job, man.



We'll get there.



We still have two days left,



And we're gonna
give it all we've got.



Narrator: in guyana,



The hoffmans are fighting
an uphill battle



In the jungle.



The rainy season
has destroyed the roads,



And dave has missed
todd's three-day deadline



To get their wash plant built.



Hey.
[ Coughs ]



That road failed again --
truck went right through it.



[ Sighs ]



I don't know
what we're gonna do, todd.



Dude, we cannot
freakin' stop mining



Every single time we got to
move a piece of equipment.



This jungle, dave,
is kicking our a*s.



This is not good.



I don't know
what to do now.



There's a couple guys,
the local guys



Talk about
some gravel around here



That might
hold our trucks up.



That's the only thing
I can think of.



They call it laterite.



We'll go dig some up,



See if we can't
put it on the roads.



That's the only thing
I can come up with.



Go for it, dave.



Good luck.



Narrator: to fix the road,
the crew needs



A minimum of




But there are
no quarries in the jungle.



Andy will have to
dig the laterite up himself.



Spinks:
laterite, it's a red rock.



They use it on baseball fields
at home.



Sucks the moisture out of
the ground, drains really well.



But unfortunately,
you don't have



Piles of gravel sitting
down here -- it's solid rock.



Narrator: the jungle doesn't
give anything up easily.



Spinks:
it's not coming up very easy.



It's just taken me an hour
to scratch one load.



This sucks.



This stuff is a lot harder
than what I thought.



Once again,
nothing's easy in the jungle.



That's for dang sure.



Just solid rock.



It's just a pain in the neck.



You know, what do you do?



Keep working at it.
Keep picking away.



Keep digging.



Narrator:
after a morning of digging,



They're finally ready
to give the laterite a try.



Well, we got it done.



Let's get
this freakin' road done.



Turin: I don't know for sure
if this is gonna work.



I really don't know.



It has to work, actually.



This is our only chance.



Narrator:
porcupine creek, alaska.



The dakota boys
have bedrock fever.



The pay dirt
that we've dug out of that hole,



The deepest we've ever gotten
out of there, looked good.



Narrator:
they are running gold-rich dirt



That may be sitting on bedrock.



They could be in for the
biggest payday of their lives.



Fred: be nice to be able to
get some money coming back in.



Made a huge investment
in equipment.



Hopefully, it will pay off.
We'll see.



Narrator:
they have not run their
wash plant in seven months,



And as they push it
to capacity...



Fred: oh, my [bleep]



...fred spots a problem.



Dustin!



Give me some help.



This is
a major setback.



Got a couple of rooster tails
right here.



Yeah.



Dustin:
we're losing gold.



We need to
get rid of our rooster tails.



Narrator: normally,



A steady flow of water
in the sluice box



Allows heavy gold
to separate from dirt



And sink into the riffles.



But when the water flows
too fast through the sluice,



It becomes turbulent,



Forming
what is known as rooster tails.



Rooster tails
stop gold from sinking



And wash it
right out of the sluice.



With material this rich,



They could be washing
thousands of dollars in gold



Right out onto the ground.



Oh, boy.
We really losing it now.



Put some mud flaps on it.



Mud flaps
regulate the water flow,



But to properly position them,



The wash plant
has to be running.



Right there.



Yo!



Right there!



We don't want it hopping it up
over the top of that thing.



That was perfect.



Flap it in the middle.



We're gonna get it right there.



Narrator:
they've solved the problem...



Good job.



...but they have
lost thousands in gold.



There's only one way
to find out.



Shut it down.



Dustin:
we ran some good stuff today.



It was all at the very bottom.



The quality of what we did
was perfect.



It would break my heart
if we lost it.



Tallis:
there is gold in the box.



I can already see it
up top.



Oh, yeah.



[ Chuckles ]
it's all over the place.



Fred: boy, that's
a nice sight to see.



There's big, big chunks
of gold throughout
the entire thing.



I'm pretty damn excited
about the whole deal.



[ Laughs ]



Dustin:
this is really good.



The gold's getting bigger.
That's a great sign.



Now we're getting somewhere.



Narrator: at scribner creek,
parker has just one day left



To run the 3,000 yards of dirt
that tony beets is demanding.



In 5 days, he's run only 2,000,



But with his new hopper feeder,
he still has a chance.



It is the cat's meow.



It's everything we need.



[ Clank, grinding ]



Whoa! Shut it down!



[ Groans ]



Narrator:
the operation grinds to a halt.



We have a rip in one of
the belts. Got to fix it.



Parker's 3,000-yard goal
hinges on a quick fix.



If I let it go any more,



It'll get
a lot worse than that.



[ Grinder whirs ]



Fix 'er up good.



Grab that pump up.
I'm ready to go.



It's a good fix.
That'll hold for quite a while.



Narrator: in guyana,



The hoffman crew
is weeks behind schedule



And getting
more and more desperate.



They've wasted
the last four days



Trying and failing to get
their pump to the mine site.



In a last-ditch attempt
to finally start their season,



They've paved their
washed-out road with laterite.



This pump is
the last piece of the puzzle



To run the wash plant.



So as soon as I get that there,
we can hook it up.



We can start running dirt.



Narrator:
the ground is soft,



But the laterite's holding.



There's one last hill
between the pump and the claim.



If we can get through this spot
right here, we're good to go.



Otherwise, we're screwed.
Let's do it.



Watch it.



Hell, yeah!



[ Horn honking ]



Turin: hey!
Dodge: andy!



Made it! Nice job.



You made it, man.



You got through there
okay?



Just drove right through it.
Sweet.



Couple hours,
we may be ready to run.



Good.
Good job.



All right.
Let's get it unloaded.



Turin:
our pump's here.



That's the last piece
of the puzzle right there.



We got everything
we need right now to mine.



Narrator: after five weeks
of blood and sweat



Deep in the jungles of guyana,



The hoffman crew
is finally just hours away



From getting their wash plant
running.



Just when things are looking up,



Todd shows up at patience creek
with big news.



Hey, guys. Let's go meet
at the sluice box.



Turin:
okay. Be right there.



Todd: everybody's
been working hard.



Everybody's
been busting their a*s.



I know everybody's beat up.



I wanted to
get it done today, guys,



'Cause I'm leaving
in the morning with my dad.



We got to go see our family.



You've got to be
kidding me.



There's nothing more important
than our families.



In the last
three or four years,



I've been away
from my family a long time,



And I want to go see 'em.



Sorry if that
affects you guys.



You guys
are the best miners around.



You guys run it.
I will be back.



Turin: well,
that pisses me off.



You know what,
we busted our a*s for him.



We finally got the plant set up,
ready to run,



And todd and jack are leaving.



Doesn't make
a lot of sense to me.



I'm in the same boat as him.
I miss my family, too.



You know, honestly,
the timing's not good.



We're just about ready
to start running.



Todd's the leader,
so I'm gonna have to step up.



Narrator:
north in the klondike...



...tony beets
is back at scribner creek



To inspect parker's
first cleanup of the season.



Parker:
shut it down.



Narrator:
in the beginning of the week,



Tony told parker that in order
to cut it in the klondike,



He needed to
double his production



From 1,500 to 3,000 yards



Of pay dirt per week.



If parker's done it,
he could be in for



A $21,000 payday.



About 3,200.



Yeah.



Yeah.



Parker takes his concentrate
to clean up at tony's.



His college fund
is on the line this season,



And he owes todd hoffman
100 ounces of gold.



Parker: I actually
never have used a wheel.



Tony's wheel works
like a motorized gold pan.



Water washes off
the lighter material.



Heavier gold
settles into grooves,



Working its way to the center,
where it collects.



Yeah.



Pretty good to me.
Beets: good.



Tony dries his gold
in a simple backyard barbecue.



Hey, tony!



I think it's dry.



Yeah.



When the hoffmans
owned little blue,



The most they ever got
in one cleanup was 15 ounces,



Worth $21,000 today.



The moment of truth.







No, not bad
for our first cleanout.



Pretty nice-looking stuff.
Pretty cool.







Worth almost $22,000.



Thanks, tony.



Why do I need
two of 'em?



See you then.



In his first week
mining the klondike,



Tony has pushed parker hard,
and it's paid off.



Robbins: you'd be a fool
not to listen to a man like tony



Who's been doing this
his whole life.



Guys like tony helping us
is a great deal.







But, I mean,
we did more than that, you know.



Everybody really
put in a lot of effort.



Tony's happy about what he saw.



I'm pretty happy
with what I saw.



There's gold in the box.