12x27 - Ends of the Earth: Gold Rush Special

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] On this Gold Rush...

[miner] Let's go.

[narrator] The greatest
treasure hunts...

[man] Woo-hoo!

Now that's what I call
a big nugget.

- [John] Look at all that good stuff.
- [Payson] Whoa!

[narrator] that span the globe.

[Todd] I hope you guys like a
little adventure in your life.

[man] Oh, God.

[narrator] Looking for
the legendary hot spots...

[expl*si*n]

[narrator] that hold
fine gold and chunky nuggets.

This could be the difference
between me going home broke or not.

[narrator] Hunts that push miners'
skills and instincts to the limit...

Oh! [bleep].

Gold's right there.

[crashing]

[narrator] and take them
to the brink of disaster.

[crashing]

Holy [bleep].

[man] Shut it down!

[narrator] Forcing them
to risk it all...

Don't fall in this water,
you will die.

[narrator] ...for
a life-changing payday.

[both laugh]

[all cheering]

[narrator] The hunt
to find gold,

gold fever.

It gets into the blood, becoming
an all-consuming passion.



Mining legend John Schnabel

has been working Big
Nugget Mine for over 25 years,

but there's one spot that's
gnawed at him for decades,

a location where he believes
he'll make his biggest score.

[John] Payson and Parker,

I want to find out
what there is in Smith Creek,

and I am hopeful that you can
find gold at least as big as this.

Nuggets like this
in Smith Creek?

[John] That's right.

Before the weather
chases us out.

I want to know what's
down there pretty bad, too.

- I'm in.
- [chuckles]

[narrator] Smith Creek is an ancient
river that once ran down the hill

above Big Nugget Mine.

But over thousands of years, it
was covered by earth and trees.

I think the ground is


waiting for us, why, there must
be something hidden underneath it.

[narrator] Getting to the bottom
could uncover millions in gold nuggets,

but it won't be easy.

And what do we have now
that we didn't have then?

We have grandpa refusing
to give up. [chuckles softly]

[narrator] Now,
encouraged by their grandpa,

Parker and brother Payson,

have just days left in the
season to dig down 80 feet...

[Payson] Let's do this.

[narrator] clearing out an area
the size of four football fields.

[Parker] Now we're moving
some dirt.

[metal clanging]

[Payson] Uh-oh.

Holy crap.

Are you [bleep] kidding me?

Stuck in a mud hole.

You've gotta be [bleep] me.

[narrator] At this rate, it'll take three
weeks to get down to the creek bed,

and winter could freeze
them out at any moment.

[Parker] We really need to do
something different.

When I was up in the Yukon,

when we really needed to move a
lot of dirt in a short amount of time,

we brought in
a water monitor, and...

you know,
you spray the stuff down

and it makes a slurry
and runs down the hill.

Let's hope
it's not a big huge mess.

[narrator] The monitor fires
a high-pressure water jet...

[Payson] She's flowing.

[narrator] that washes mud and
loose material into the drainage ditch,

and out of the cut.

- Looks like this thing's working pretty well, huh?
- [Payson] Yeah, it is.

It's moving dirt.

[narrator] But it's also
washing away their access road.

[Parker] This is tight.

[Payson] All right,
here he comes.

Look at that [bleep]. It's a
long way down from up here

and that's gonna hurt
if he falls down that.

[engine spluttering]

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa [bleep].

It slipped away
when you rolled over it.

[bleep].

[narrator] The road is collapsing
under Parker's rock truck.

[Payson] I've got you.

[engine whirring]

Pull forward, pull forward.

[Payson] We can't run the
monitor and the rock trucks

at the same time,
it's just not safe.

It's flushing our road away,

I mean [bleep], you almost went
off the edge right here, Parker.

I won't say we stop monitoring,

- then we're just back to what we've been doing.
- [Payson] I know.

And that's not going to work, we're
never going to get to the bottom.

The only option I see is

trying to reduce the area that
we're trying to work on, you know.

[narrator] Narrowing the search
means they'll get to the bedrock faster,

but if they've picked the
wrong spot, they'll miss the gold.

[Payson] We're going from a
pretty wide area that we started with

to a very narrow,
pinpointing location.

[John] Through the river gravel.

[Payson] You think so?

Yeah, I think it's worth
panning that. [laughs]

[narrator] Rounded stones
could prove

the boys have reached
the ancient riverbed.

- Oh look at that, you got some color.
- [Payson laughs]

[John] Just think, as you
get down towards the bedrock,

The gold's going to get bigger
and bigger, bigger.

- [Parker] Yeah.
- [John laughs]

- Hurry up.
- [all laugh]

[narrator] Parker and Payson

truck the first of
the paydirt to the plant.

The boys are finally in with a
chance of finding Smith Creek gold.

Overnight, the temperature
drops to 20 below.

[Payson] This little plant
looks a little froze up.

I didn't know it was going
to get that cold last night.

[Parker] Me neither.

- Oh, that's froze solid.
- [Payson] That's not good.

[narrator] The wash plant
is frozen.

Their season is over.

John checks their concentrate
for nuggets.

I'm getting down to
where I'm getting nervous.

Oh!

[Parker] Certainly isn't
any nuggets, that's for sure.

I think we should take a look at
the jig and see if something is there.

[Payson] I'll take a look.

[narrator] Their last hope is that
the gold has blown out of the sluices,

and into the jig.

[Payson] You see anything
in here?

[Parker] I don't see
a whole lot.

[Payson] Looks like
pretty [bleep] up.

Holy crap! [chuckles]

Look at that. [bleep]. Whoo!

[Parker] Look at that!

Oh my!

Whoo, that is beautiful.

[Payson] Here's another one!

- Isn't that awesome?
- [Parker] That's insane.

- I won't be able to sleep.
- [John and Payson laugh]

[narrator] Parker and Payson's
treasure hunt

has proved Grandpa John right.

This ancient creek bed could
hold millions in gold nuggets.

You've proven to me that
there is gold in Smith Creek.

Congratulations.

- Thank you.
- Handshakes?

[John and Payson laugh]

- [Payson] I agree.
- Payson.

[John] My faith that there
was going to be gold there

has turned out to be true.

- [laughs] - [John] And it's
probably the highlight of my life.

[narrator] In the original
gold rush,

miners could pick chunks of
gold right out of the ground.

To find such rich ground today,

prospectors must travel
deep into the wilderness,

which is where the hunt for
treasure took Todd Hoffman in 2013.

[Todd] We pulled
$1.2 million out of the ground

at ten bucks a yard.

I'm not gonna make these guys
millionaires on ten bucks a yard.

I have got to go get us
better ground.

Even if I got to go to the
ends of the Earth, I'll find it.

[engine whirring]

Holy smokes! Look at the drop
on that falls.

Here we are in Guyana.
I think this might be it.

[narrator] Guyana,
South America,

produces over $1
billion a year in gold.

Gambling over $1 million
for a slice of the action,

Todd flies his crew


on a high-stakes treasure hunt.

[Todd] I think this ground's going to
be the best ground we've ever seen.

[engine whirring]

I don't care
how tough this road is,

if there's gold
at the end of it,

let's mine it.

[Marshall] Another 200 yards, you
guys, and we'll be on the boundary line.

- What the heck is this?
- [Todd] What the...

[narrator] But the ground they've been
promised has been illegally mined out.

[Todd] Holy crap!

[Dave] Is this
what we came to see?

There was good gold here
and somebody else knew it too.

I don't know what to say, uh...

[Todd] Not much
to say, Marshall.

[narrator] Gold mining in
Guyana can be a lawless business.

Around 15,000 ounces
are mined illegally each week.

Rolling the dice one more time,

Todd heads out to a
neighboring claim on his map,

owned by a different landlord.

[Marshall] Just take it slow and
easy, watch your step for snakes.

Okay, guys, this is the boundary
line of the Q.O.D. property.

I think we're into some
territory that might be virgin.

[Fred] Let's set it up, huh?

[engine starts]

[engine whirring]

I sure hope
there's gold in here.

[Todd] Start running material.

[Fred] Okay.

[motor sputtering]

[narrator] This yard of dirt will
tell the Hoffman crew if this claim,

called the Queen Of Diamonds,
or Q.O.D.,

is rich enough
to move their whole operation.

[Dave] That looks good.

[Todd] I like seeing that, boy.

[Dave] That's it, Freddy.

[Todd] Be honest Freddy,
what do you think?

[Fred] That's some
beautiful gold.

I'm guessing about


- [Dave] 50 bucks a yard!
- [Todd] That's what we've been looking for, Fred.

Whoo!

We're gonna go ahead
and lease the Q.O.D.

Guys, the journey starts
right here.

[engine whirring]

[horn honking]

[Todd] Yeah,
we're deep in it now.

[narrator] In 2013, Todd Hoffman
and his crew have gambled $1 million

on a treasure hunt
in Guyana, South America.

[speaking on radio]

[narrator] But before
they even reach their claim,

the tropical jungle throws
down its first challenge.

[Todd] Holy crap.

That's the sketchiest bridge
I've ever seen.

[narrator] Unable to move their


Todd's season looks like
it's over before it's begun.

[Todd] We want to rebuild
this bridge.

- Will you guys help us?
- [man] You have the support.

- Deal.
- [Todd] Deal.

- Right here, put a new board in here.
- [Fred] Yeah.

[saw whirring]

Board's coming your way, Jack.

- [Todd] Clear?
- [Fred] Clear.

[rattling]

We've done everything we
could do, now it's crunch time.

Here we go, guys.

Take it easy, nice and slow.

- [Dave] Woo-hoo!
- [Fred] Whoa!

Yeah! Oh, God. Yeah.

Out, right there was the
biggest thing we've done ever.

We did it, we did it.

- [Jack laughs]
- [Dave] Woo-hoo!

[Andy] Crank it up.

[narrator] Just six weeks after arriving
in Guyana, they are sluicing paydirt.

[Andy] We know
there's gold here.

We're gonna give it our all
and see if we can get this done,

get it accomplished and get
the dirt through the wash plant.

- There's shoes in our tailings.
- [Dave] What the frick!

This ground's not virgin ground.

Oh [bleep].
This is bull [bleep].

Todd said we're going to go off
to Guyana and find virgin ground

and now we're mining other
people's dump is what we're doing.

[narrator] After running


they're questioning
if their test pan was a fluke.

[Dave] I'm seeing no gold.
Zip, nada, nothing.

[narrator] With the crew
losing faith...

[Todd] You're quitting?

You find me some ground with gold
and we'll move mountains for you, Todd,

but right now, I'm done.

[narrator] and disasters
on the mine site...

[Todd] Hey guys, we need
more material through here.

- So they got it, oh--
- [loud crashing]

You are freaking kidding me!

[narrator] The Hoffman
treasure hunt comes to an end...

This freaking jungle's cursed.

[narrator] with just
two ounces to show

for their $1 million investment.

[engine roaring]

Guyana
is one of the most beautiful,

but unforgiving places
in the world.

Anything I made last year,
I lost right down here.

[narrator] In the United States,
gold-rich virgin ground is rare,

but what the old-timers missed
with their limited technology,

could make
a modern-day miner's fortune.

In 2018, Dave Turin
strikes off on his own,

hunting for the gold
the old-timers left behind.

[Dave] So I've been to Montana,

I've been in Nevada,
I've been to the Yukon.

I mean, I've been
all over the place.

And now, here I am in Arizona.

I'm scared, I'm anxious, I'm
really feeling the pressure right now.

[narrator] 80 miles
south of Flagstaff,

Dave is about to meet local miner,
Casey Morgan, at Lynx Creek mine.

He sent me pictures of a pan,

and he got, like,


Like, come on.

So I'm excited. It's what
I've been looking for.

Hopefully something
comes of this.

[narrator] Lynx Creek is
four miles of dried riverbed

running east
out of Prescott Valley.

Gold was discovered here
in 1853.

A massive gold strike in 1862
caught President Lincoln's attention.

He sent men to the Prescott
Valley to protect its riches

that he used
to help fund the Civil w*r.

Leaseholder Casey Morgan believes Abe
Lincoln's miners left buried treasure behind.

- Hey.
- [Casey] How you doing?

- Good nice to meet you.
- Okay.

How much gold you
get out of this, you think?

To be honest with you, Dave,
it's gonna shock you.

- Up to an ounce for every ten yards.
- Come on.

Here's the big question.

If the ground's that good,
why aren't you mining it?

Didn't have the money.

- Show me where you dug that sample up.
- [Casey] Yeah, I will.

Came right down through here,

cut right through the middle.

[narrator] In the 19th century,

Abe Lincoln's miners made their
way down the creek's main channel,

but Casey thinks they missed a cache
of gold in tributaries feeding the creek.

Casey mined
the easternmost tributary.

He pulled 30 yards of pay
from the bank and bed,

and found $3,000 worth
of gold in less than a day.

Dave only needs $25 a yard
for the mine to be profitable.

[Dave] This is the layer
that I'd be interested in.

It's a good sign.

It's a traditional plaster,
but here's the thing.

How much gold is in there?

I'm a little skeptical.

I need to check out, see
how much good, mineable gold

is in this valley.

So we're gonna run a little test
here and see if we can find some gold.

[narrator] Casey wants Dave to test
some paydirt he pulled from the ground,

before he ran out of money and
was forced to abandon the mine.

[Dave] If Casey's telling me
this is close to 100 bucks a yard,

I need to see at least 40 or 50
chunky flakes of gold in my pan.

[Casey] All right.

- Let me get this, I'll get
this one-- - [Dave] Wow,

- look at all the black sand in there already.
- [Casey] Yeah.

[Dave] Holy [bleep].

- [Casey] Yep.
- [Dave] Look at that.

There's at least


- [Casey] Yeah.
- [Dave] And it's good chunky gold, look at that.

[narrator] Fifty colors
in the pan

indicates treasure
the old-timers left behind.

For two years, I've been
looking for that pan right there.

It looks
freaking awesome, Casey.

I've been traveling for two years
since I got out of the Hoffmans,

and I've been all over this stinking
place looking for exactly this.

Come on man.

- [Casey] All right.
- [Dave] All right.

I gotta see if I can make a
deal that works for everyone.

But I think
we just hit a home run.

[metal clanging]

[narrator] Just a month later,

Dave has assembled a
small crew to mine Lynx Creek

for a five-week trial.

But restrictions imposed on
his lease by the landowners,

prevented him from sluicing
the spot he and Casey panned.

[bleeping] Jesse.



Got some bad news. This ground's
not paying. I guess we go prospecting.

[Jason] Dave,
no disrespect, none.

Since day one
we've pulled up here,

all I've heard about is this
magical, mythological east

that's supposed to have
this pan that brought you here.

And we're not there, why?

They said, "Stay west
of the pipeline."

It's easier to beg for forgiveness
than it is to ask for permission.

It's a lot easier to hand them
a jar of gold that's--

- No, I get it. I get it.
- [Jason] Substantial and go,

"I apologize for going over there
but here, put this in your wallet."

How about we go across that pipeline
and they say, "You guys are done."

- You truly believe the gold's there?
- I saw it, it's there.

[Jason] So let's take the
land owners a fat-a*s jar gold.

We're gonna do it,
let's do it right now.

[narrator] From his current cut,

Dave must drive a mile and a half
east through a power company's yard

to get to potential gold
on the ground

his landowners warned him
not to mine.

[engine whirring]

Dave, is that a cop car?

[Dave] All right, we're just gonna
act like we're meant to be here.

Let's just get this done. Don't even look,
just act like we know what we're doing.

[Jason on radio]

[Dave chuckles] Yeah.

And the five-0.

Looks good Jason, looks good.
Let me grab a sample.

[narrator] After striking gold

back in the eastern tributary...

[Jason] Dude!

Dave, look at the size.

- [Dave] Holy crap.
- [Jason] I didn't think this place had

gold like that anywhere here.

[narrator] then getting
approval from his landowners...

- Hey.
- Thanks, Brad.

- Thanks for coming, appreciate it.
- Yeah.

[narrator] Dave is finally
on the gold.

Hey guys, I got good news. Whoo!
We got the ground east of the pipeline.

Whoo! Let's dig.

We're going for it now, boys.

[Nathan] Oh yeah, baby.

[Chris] Hell yeah!
Bring it on, big daddy.

[narrator] And the final days
of the season paid out.

Ooh yeah!

[all cheering]

- [Dave] Two jars, gentlemen.
- Oh my [bleep].

- Whoa!
- We've got 59 ounces in this.

- [Chris] Whoo!
- We did that in four weeks and five days.

Last day, 21 ounces.



- [Nathan laughs]
- [Dave] We did it.

- Whoa, yeah!
- What?

[Dave] Not only did we get


but we became
a legitimate mining group.

[narrator] Lynx creek
held the old-timers' treasure

Dave Turin went there to find.

[Jason] Team Turin, gentlemen.

- [Dave] We're there!
- [Nathan] Whoo!

[narrator] Since
gold mining began,

miners have hunted
for a sacred prize,

the mother lode.

In 2019, Rick Ness set off on
the biggest treasure hunt of his life,

a nugget hunt near the
source of gold on Mount Hinton.

I did okay last year
and it was all right,

and like that's... That's just not good
enough for me, you know what I mean?

I just, I want something better
than okay, you know, and I think that,

I don't think I can get anything
better than okay in the Klondike.

My worry is that you could
very well go bankrupt.

[narrator] The "X"
on Rick's treasure map

was a mountain claim on Duncan
Creek in Canada's Yukon territory,

owned by Stuart Gray
and his son, Dean.

Wow!

- [chuckling] Holy...
- [bleep]

[bleep]

[Stuart] The thing
is a treasure hunt.

They're probably twice as good
when you get down there.

[Rick] What's that phrase?
"Shut up and take my money."

[all laugh]

- [Stuart] Well, it drives
the hunt and-- - [Rick] Yeah.

[Stuart] The potential
from what we know is huge.

[narrator] Lured by the
promise of monster nuggets,

Rick leases the claim
from the Grays.

Two months into the season,

Rick has just 45 ounces of gold

and has yet to find
a single nugget.

Where we've been digging,
it's just not cutting it.

I mean, it's just not giving us
the gold that we're going to need.

We came here under the promise of, you
know, gold-rich pockets and big nuggets,

and uh, right now, that's what
we need to save our season.

[narrator] Rick calls his dad, Rick Senior,
back to the Yukon to help track down the gold.

[thuds]

[bleep]

[bleep] me,
right [bleep] runway.

[laughs] Good to see you, dad.

[narrator] Rick fills his dad
in on a new plan of action,

a treasure hunt for new ground.

So, our wash plant's right here,

- and we're digging into this right side.
- [Rick Senior] Yep.

[Rick] I think the biggest
stuff is going to be high up.

[Rick Senior] We should
probably jump in the airplane

and just have a look overhead
at all these valleys.

- You think you can fly your plane in there?
- Oh, hell yeah.

- [Rick] Really?
- Yeah.

I mean, this is like
way more of a treasure hunt

than any gold mining
I've ever done.

- [Rick Senior] No [bleep] right?
- [laughs]

- We're gonna fire up.
- [Rick] Go.

[engine sputtering]

[engine revs]

Oh my [bleep],
look at this up here.

[Rick] Mount Hinton right there.

Wow.

- [Rick Senior] Going down.
- [Rick] Holy [bleep].

[Rick Senior laughs]

The big gold
that we're looking for

is going to be up
in one of these tributaries.

We got to get higher up,
you know.

So, the farther down they come,

the more opportunity they had to
break up into smaller pieces, you know?

I'd like to look for that one.

I really think that's the spot.

[narrator] After spotting
the tributary from the air,

Rick and Rick Senior need to work
their way up Mount Hinton to run a test.

[metal clanging]

[Rick] Watch out. Easy.

[narrator] If Rick's hunch
is right,

he could be hot on the trail of
monster nuggets from the mother lode.

[Rick] See that?
Like that's...

- That's pieces of bedrock.
- Yeah, yeah.

[Rick] I'm gonna go
straight to the creek.

[narrator] This pan could turn
Rick's whole season around.

[Rick] It's not happening.

- [Rick Senior] Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what is that?
- [Rick laughs]

Whoa.

[laughs]

[Rick Senior] That's more
like it.

[Rick] What the hell.

That's incredible.

I've never been able to pick
a piece out of a pan.

I'm gonna have to have a
picture of that, that's a [bleep] first.

[Rick Senior] If we lucked out
with that, there's gotta be more here.

This is gold country.

Yeah.

[Rick Senior] It's crazy.

[narrator] Rick wastes no time in
digging more holes in his new hot spot.

The whole season's
riding on this right now.

Uh, I need a... break here
is what I need.

I mean, I need to leave here
with some big nuggets

and that would be
a huge success for me.

[narrator] To help, he's
brought in gold recovery experts,

Freddy Dodge and Gene Cheeseman.

[bleeping]

[narrator] But Mount Hinton
doesn't give up its nuggets easily.

[Fred] Froze, huh, Rick?

I'm just going to go up a little
farther and I'll just dig right there.

[Fred] Okay.

Yeah, that's just as [bleep]
frozen as the last spot.

Just like the other, huh, Rick?

Oh, she's pretty [bleep]
frozen right there too, yep.

[narrator] Rick's treasure
hunt has hit a dead end,

and he's no closer
to finding big gold.

It's a big [bleep]
waste of time.

I mean, it don't matter how much
gold's down there we ain't gonna get it.

Yeah, this really sucks.

[Rick] Back
to the drawing board.

[narrator] Rick is forced
to rethink.

[Rick] There is gold here, it's
just a matter of figuring out where.

[narrator] The following year, he moves
eight miles south to lower Duncan Creek...

Hoping for a quick smash and
grab, you know, dig a little pit, test it

and, uh, hopefully
find my future.

[narrator] and carries on
the nugget hunt.

[Rick] It's a little bit deeper
than I thought it would be.

But that's definitely
the stuff we're looking for.

[Rick] There's a smile
on your face.

- [Karla] You don't even know.
- No?

This is like
what dreams are made of.

[squealing] What?

- [Karla] I know!
- [Rick] Holy [bleep]. Yeah!

[all laugh]

[Brian] Oh, snap [bleep].
Can you believe that?

[narrator] After two seasons
of searching,

a 1.54 ounce nugget
worth at least $4,000...

- Yeah buddy.
- Whoo-hoo-hoo!

[narrator] which helps Rick
hit his season goal for the year.

So, we're at just over


- [laughs]
- Whoo!

[Rick] Well, I'm learning to
trust my gut out here,

and got good gold
and on top of that,

got that bad boy to show for it.

[narrator] The best miners will use
whatever means they can to find the gold,

including the latest technology.

In 2014, in the Yukon,

Freddy Dodge
and his brother Derek

are on a treasure hunt for a
life-changing amount of gold.

This creek's
a treasure hunt for me.

It has the opportunity
to really bring in some gold.

Not just a little bit here
and there, but big nuggets.

[Derek] It's a game of chance. It's
just like, you know, going to Las Vegas

and rolling the dice.

[narrator] Their season
is coming to an end,

but they've only found


[Fred] Is it a treasure hunt or
is it a place to go bankrupt on?

[narrator] Desperate
to turn things around,

Freddy's taking their
treasure hunt high tech...

- [Fred] How are you doing, how is it?
- Good to see you.

[narrator] and into
the 21st century.

So, we're going to fly
the drone up above here.

We're going to make a detailed map
of what this ground surface looks like,

and then the radar is going
to make a detailed map

- of what the bedrock looks like.
- That's what I'm after.

- [Derek] Yeah. That's exactly what we're looking for.
- That's perfect.

-[Fred] It's amazing, huh?
-[drone operator] Put her in the air.

-[Fred] There it goes.
-[drone operator] Now it's off to its mission.

[narrator] The drone
will fly up the creek,

taking detailed aerial
photographs of the valley.

Independently, the
ground-penetrating radar device

moves from side to side
across the creek,

sending out radio waves
from a transmitter.

The radio waves bounce back
off the bedrock to a receiver.

The time it takes
the signal to return

gives the exact depth and
contour of the bedrock below.

Hey, you know, I'm kind of
old-time miner,

so it's all-new technology to
me and I'll believe it when I see it.

- [imitates sh**ting sound]
- [Fred laughs]

[narrator] This new technology gives
Freddy a vital clue on his treasure map.

[Fred] Have a look at this.

Look right here.

See where it just fans out
right there,

that should be our alluvial fan.

[narrator] An alluvial fan

indicates a potential deposit
of gold-rich gravels

spilling from a hillside
into a valley.

I think our best gold's
right here.

That's a long damn way
from down here where we're at.

Mine every inch
and wash every damn rock,

and take every speck of gold

from down here where we're at,
to up here.

That's how you
gotta do it, Freddy.

[narrator] There's 700 feet
of creek bed to mine

before they'll reach the X
on Freddy's treasure map.

And winter is closing in fast.

[Fred] This is where
we want to get to this season.

To me, this should be the
best gold, right under our feet.

My goal
is before this season ends,

to find out what kind of gold
is under this tree.

We just got to get to it.

The more material we move
here, the faster we get up there.

[narrator] In the Yukon,
Freddy Dodge and brother Derek

have reached an alluvial fan they
found using a ground-penetrating radar.

There's my mark.
That's why I'm here.

That's why we've worked
our a*s off this season.

You know, you can see
how close we are.

We're stripping right now.

You know, so come hell
or high water,

I want to see what's
in that fan, right there.

[narrator] They're in
the dying hours of the season,

but are finally on the ground
they were aiming for.

This is where we were trying
to get all season.

I hope there's a pot of gold
sitting under it.

I want to see big nuggets.

- Last bucket, Derek.
- A couple more.

[narrator] The final cleanup
will show if the drone and radar

pinpointed treasure
in the creek.

[Derek] That's it.

[Fred] Last cleanup
of the year. [sighs]

Ten...

Twenty...

Thirty...

Forty...



[both laugh]

[narrator] The nuggets
from Freddy's treasure hunt

added to their fine gold, means
they've smashed their target...

[both laugh]

[Fred] We got 109.18 ounces.

We had 296, we're over 405.

[narrator] worth nearly
half a million dollars.

[Fred] Like, look at
some of those nuggets, boy.

That's, that's the final
result of not giving up.

This cleanup...

is the best of the year.

- I love you, buddy.
- [Fred] Love you, brother.

[narrator] Remote
and hostile locations

can pay out
the greatest deposits of gold,

but only for those daring
enough to try.

The Chilkat mountain range,
eastern Alaska,

In 2019, Fred and Dustin Hurt
need a new spot to mine,

to see them through
to the end of the season.

We got some good gold, can
we not go further up, I mean...

I'd love to go upstream but it's
not my land, so we can't do it.

Where are you gonna go now?

[Wes] We're looking for something that
we can get done in a short amount of time.

It's just gonna, it's gonna be
a challenge for sure.

[Dustin] Go down to McKinley.

So, there's some areas
just above the big waterfall,

that we can hit
really fast, really strong.

- Everything else looks like it'll
take a half a season-- - [Wes] Yeah.

[Dustin] And we don't have
a half a season left.

[narrator] Dustin wants to go
on a last-minute treasure hunt.

High risk for high reward.

The hunt continues.

[narrator] The X on Dustin's
treasure map could be perfect,

but is dangerous to reach.

[Dustin] Seriously guys,
be safe.

[thudding]

Ooh.

[narrator] They need to
rappel down to McKinley Falls

and then search the pools
above for a potential dig site.

[James] There you go.

[screams]

[narrator] Gold miners
like Parker Schnabel

aren't short of motivation
for a treasure hunt,

but sometimes a reminder of what could
be in the ground can renew their hunger.

[Parker] Did you find those?

Hey Parker, these are the two
largest nuggets I have ever found.

This one comes in
at 2.4 kilograms,

and this one is 1.4 kilograms.

- [man] Holy cow.
- Do you mind if I hold them?

[miner] 77 ounces and 46 ounces.

- [Parker] Wow.
- [woman] That's amazing.

[man] This is like the
shiniest gold I've ever seen.

- [woman] It's beautiful, isn't it?
- [man] Yeah.

[Parker] You wouldn't take
less than a quarter-million for this.

[miner] The premium would definitely be
a quarter of a million dollars, you know,

it's worth something like that.

- There's a retirement fund.
- [miner] Yeah, exactly.

[Dustin] Seriously guys,
be safe.

[narrator] Dustin Hurt and
his crew are on a treasure hunt

that could cost them
their lives.

[James screams]

[Dustin] You gotta step first,
there it is.

There you go, you're
all right, you're all right.

[James] I'm, I'm [bleep] uh--

[Dustin] Terrified, I get it.

- [James] Terrified.
- [Dustin] I get it.

- [James] I'm trying.
- [Dustin] I know, no, no,

you're [bleep] doing it.
You're doing great, man.

You got to take a second,
take a second.

Trust me on this.

[narrator] They're rappelling
down to McKinley Falls

to search the pools above
in an end of season,

last chance hunt for gold.

- [Dustin] Oh man, look at that!
- [James laughs]

That's McKinley Falls.

[narrator] Old-timers pulled around


worth $8.1 million today.

[water splashing]

Dustin is counting on them having
missed the plunge pools above the falls.

And here we are,
trying to get gold, you know,

just the same thing that they
were trying to do 100 years ago.

They were tougher
than we'll ever be.

[Wes] They did a lot of work.
That's pretty amazing.

[Dustin] There's no telling
how much gold is still here.

Holy [bleep]. Don't fall
in this water, you will die.

It looks like a good pool.

Especially over there.

[Wes] This is all bedrock,

and it's got a tight turn, so,
the water slows down.

If it hits a slow area that gold
will drop out because it's so heavy.

This is what is going to have
the nuggets in it.

[narrator] Here the creek
is at its most powerful,

as it rages
through a bottleneck.

Worse, the site is just feet
above the giant McKinley Falls

and one mistake
could cost a miner his life.

[Dustin] This is a gamble.

[Wes] We can dig
or we can go home.

What I'm trying to get at is,

are you in?

I'm in.

I'm in.

I vote... in.

[Dustin] This is soon to be
our next dig, man.

Everybody, pucker up because
this is gonna be a scary one.

Now the hard part.

[narrator] Before
they can mine for nuggets

in the lethal plunge pool
above McKinley Falls,

Dustin and his crew
must first figure out

how to get a nearly half-ton
dredge 400 feet down a cliff.

All we got to do
is get it from over there

down into that hole down there.

The last thing we want to do
is drop the [bleep] dredge.

[Fred Hurt] Hey Dustin,
don't get in front of that thing,

- I hear you, Fred.
- [Hurt] All right, go ahead.

I just got to keep a pull on it

so it doesn't just sh**t away.

[Dustin] Keep coming down.

[narrator] Dustin's plan,

rappel down the 400-foot cliff,

alongside the dredge to keep it
from getting caught on the rocks.

[Hurt] All right,
this is beyond crazy.

It is extremely, extremely
dangerous stuff.

It's the wrong way
to do this [bleep].

- [Wes] Dustin, you all right?
- Yeah, I'm fine.

[chuckles]

Yeah! Come here.

It's almost vertical
right from here out.

Ten feet out there...

[whistles] Straight down.

A life or death situation
right this minute.

[Carlos yells] Dustin
rock, rock!

[Dustin] Ugh!

[Carlos] Dustin!

You all right?

Dustin!

Ah! A piece of slate
hit me in my face.

Knocked me-- just knocked
this-- knocked me in the stars.

Keep coming.

We have to get some more gold.
I'm breaking even right now,

but man it would be sure
great to have profit out of this.

No, no, perfectly dude, watch!

- [Dustin] All right.
- [Carlos] Freaking effort dude.

All right guys, what are we
calling this place?

Since you got hit in the head, we're
going to call this Rockfall Ravine.

All right. Watch out for the
rocks, it is Rockfall Ravine.

Let's get to work.

Ready to dredge, man.

I love it when a plan
comes together. [laughs]

There's a lot of ways to die
or get hurt here,

but I'm convinced
I'm gonna find the gold.

I'm ready to start
diving out, man.

Too bad. [laughs]

[bubbling]

Oh, bedrock already.

There we go, James.

Just stop over here.

[laughs]

[laughs hysterically]

Where you at? Come here.

- Okay.
- [Carlos shouts] Come here!

[Wes] What?

[Carlos laughs]

That's for you, brother.

Get the [bleep] out of here.

[James and Carlos shout]

[narrator] Within minutes,
Dustin's treasure hunt pays off.

[Carlos laughing]

[Dustin] If there was anybody
that dug here,

they've missed
that nugget, for sure.

- What a great first dive.
- [James] It doesn't get any better.

To all you haters, [bleep] you.

- [Carlos shouts]
- [Dustin] Holy!

[bleep]

[Dustin] Oh, my [bleep]...

Look at that, crazy.

[James] Whoa!

[all laughing]

Dude, that's awesome.

[shouts]

Woo-hoo!

Whoa!

That's a one-in-a-lifetime find.

- You see how big that was? Oh.
- [laughs]

[narrator] Rockfall Ravine has delivered
the bounty that Dustin believed in.

At their final gold weigh
of the season...

[Dustin] Look at
some of these nuggets, man.

[James] Can you still believe
we did all this by hand.

[Carlos] Twenty six, 27, 28.

[James] I would hope it would.

[Dustin] Thirty.

[narrator] the nuggets
from Rockfall Ravine...

[Dustin] 33.64.

[narrator] mean Dustin's
treasure hunt has paid out big time.

[Dustin] About $50,000
sitting right there.

Way to end
the season, man, right?

- [Dustin] Hell yeah.
- I'm glad to be a part of it, guys.

- [Carlos] Hey, man.
- [both laugh]

[narrator] With more than 55,000
tons of gold left on the planet,

the hunt for treasure continues,

driven by men and women
willing to risk it all.