The Last Woodsmen (2024) s01e08 Episode Script

1
- Are we ready?
- Hell yeah.
Last week,
the threat of wildfire arrived
early in the backwoods.
Forest fire
could erupt.
We're gonna have to shut down.
marking
the beginning of the end
for Jared's logging season.
Right now,
nothing else can go wrong.
Every dollar is needed,
at this point.
I gotta make sure
all of my operations
are firing on all cylinders.
Bracing for the worst,
and hoping for the best.
But after a mad scramble
to get wood to water
It's all working. Whoo-hoo!
Let's go get some wood.
Now we're logging.
float camp
finally filled a log barge
to the brim,
earning Jared
another 200 grand
toward his debt.
Big wood.
Yeah, buddy!
Now, with fire season
approaching its peak
The winds are blowing,
the sun is out.
If our humidity drops,
we gotta shut down
right now
because things
could spontaneously combust.
I'm out of gas.
and just two more chances
to send wood to market
Take your foot off
the main brake.
No, the other brake.
yes!
the race to finish
strong or fold up shop
has officially have begun.
I'm looking at the barge.
A hole in the barge?
Taking float camp
out of operation right now,
it could break me.
Yeah, I could lose everything.
Hey, Roscoe.
How you doing, buddy?
After months
of logging
the furthest corners
of the Pacific Northwest,
Jared Douglas is still
almost $400,000 shy
of paying off
his $1.1 million debt.
And with the full heat
of fire season
threatening shutdowns
any day now,
time is running out.
What's our, uh, fire danger
looking like right now?
Okay, so we're in
a Danger Class 4?
If he's lucky,
he may have just enough time
to fill one last log barge
and send one more haul
down Grizzly River.
But after more than a month
in the backwoods,
he's taking 24 hours
to spend with the family
before racing back
for the final push.
I'm just heading
back home for a bit,
trying to get a day off,
and spend some time
with the wife, kids.
I'm away from my family
quite a bit.
It's tough. It's really tough.
You don't live
a routine lifestyle.
All right, Ross, well,
you, uh, you take her easy.
Will, uh, will call you
later this evening.
Make sure they're all
safe out there today.
Fire season right now
is coming upon us,
so just kind of pray for rain,
and hope for no forest fires.
I didn't sleep
as well as I thought it would.
It was definitely warm
and stagnant.
At Grizzly Camp,
afternoon highs
are already pushing
logging operations
to the very brink of shutdown.
So, to make
the most of their day,
fallers, Jim Gardener
and Rob Winger,
are up well before the sun.
The fire season for us,
it's a different lifestyle
'cause you're up early,
before the birds,
before everything,
and you're usually eating
breakfast in the dark,
so that you're getting
into the bush
when the humidity
is still pretty high
and the temperatures are low
so there's less of a chance
of, uh, starting a fire.
Yeah, like,
look at that.
Three days ago.
Out of control.
Continuing to spread,
not responding to suppression.
I've had firsthand experience
with wildfires.
I've, uh, I've helped
fight them.
I've watched them grow.
I've been pulled off the hill
due to wildfires.
Wildfires are super dangerous
for the logging industry.
They can potentially destroy
millions of dollars of wood
or potentially kill people.
Safety is
the number one priority.
How much
water you bringing?
Uh, four liters.
Holy!
That should be four liters.
It feels like four liters.
Need an extinguisher, Jim?
I do so.
-Yo.
-Thanks, man.
In the summertime,
when we're not working
our regular jobs,
we're out fighting fires.
Because of that, we've had
a firsthand experience
to see what the impact is
and the very real devastation
that it causes.
Even if you look out here,
there's all sorts of
different, painful reminders
on the hillsides
that are scarred up
from different fires
from the past.
Due to safety constraints,
Rob and Jim can't
legally start falling
till first light,
but they can hunt down
and size up their first
money tree of the day.
Okay.
Wow, look
at that one, buddy.
That's the tallest cedar
I think I've ever seen.
That's a nice piece
of wood.
How tall
would you say that is?
Probably about
150 to180 feet tall,
and it's, uh, 8 to 9 feet
diameter at the butt.
Rob and Jim
will have to work quickly
to get this tree
on the ground,
because as temperatures
rise by the minute,
so does the risk of them
getting shut down.
So, in, uh, fire season,
we're allowed to run
on a certain humidex index.
It's if your humidity drops
below your temperature,
that's called a crossover,
so we have to shut down.
Hopefully,
that doesn't happen.
We're getting rid of this,
this dry moss.
This is the
that burns quick.
'Cause when you've got
your dogs dogged right in
and you got the bar
fully in there,
this stuff just starts
it glows red,
and then it just burns
right up the side of the tree,
and next thing you know,
you can't reach it anymore
to pat it out.
It looks like this is
gonna be fairly difficult.
You could definitely tell
this is leaning really hard
up the hill.
Would be pretty
hard-pressed
to get this thing
to go straight down the hill.
It's not going
straight down anywhere.
No.
I think the only problem
is just gonna be the weight
of it up the hill.
We're probably
gonna have to wedge it.
Okay, sounds good.
To keep this tree
from falling uphill
and getting mangled
in the forest canopy above,
Rob will aim
the undercut downhill.
Then, once he makes
the bank cut,
Jim will use wedges
to further force it
in the right direction
all while keeping
a sharp eye out
for potential fire hazards.
Okay. I'll give her, I guess.
Okay. All righty.
I might cut
this bit of a root off.
So my muffler
is not right in there.
Just start cutting!
gonna happen.
We have to start watching
where we're putting our saws,
where we're putting
our mufflers.
Sparks being thrown
out of the exhaust,
they're gonna land
wherever they want,
and they're gonna light
their own little fires
wherever they're gonna be.
So, there's a couple
different things
that we're kinda looking for
to to reduce the risk.
Wildfires
can be very dangerous
to the logging crews,
'cause if, uh, a fire starts
and they don't happen
to notice that it's ongoing,
they can get trapped
into an area
where there's no
escape routes,
and that fire can cut them off
and potentially kill them.
How you doing, Darce?
You guys are licking
this up pretty quick.
I like it.
Back near camp,
foreman Dave Lornie
is also up early
and making his rounds,
which, this time of year,
includes determining
whether his crew
can legally keep
working or not.
Right now,
humidity is very low,
the winds are blowing,
the sun is out in full force.
Every day in, we do our fire,
weather, danger readings,
and that tells us
where we're at.
And if our humidity drops,
we gotta shut down right now
because things could
spontaneously combust.
So, we have to legally take
these readings,
especially up here
at the Grizzly River,
'cause it's a very,
very dry spot.
It's more interior conditions.
The fire danger at Grizzly
is way increased
compared to on the coast,
where the barge camp is.
I'm gonna do my wind speed.
We'll go with
an average wind speed.
Average is 1.2.
It's more interior weather.
It gets hotter there earlier.
Heavy winds
will dry the bush out
and get a fire going.
That's gonna burn
really fast
and make it very dangerous
for the ground crew.
Now, I'll do
my relative humidity.
And that's at 48.6.
We really hope for humidity
so that it's a little
bit damper.
We're in the moderate.
We can keep going for now.
Are we rolling
these down?
You're gonna start it?
You want your helmet?
While production
presses on at both camps,
Jared joins his wife, Tina,
and two boys
for the first time
in more than a month.
Line up right here.
But with the final push of his
logging season in full force,
twenty-four hours
is all he can afford.
Okay, ready?
One, two, three, go.
Growing up,
I didn't have a lot.
So, I want my kids
to have the things
that I never had.
And I want my sons
and I want my family
to be proud of me.
That's probably
the biggest driver.
He's definitely
putting in some extra effort.
He's showing off.
His leg's flying out.
Tina has been my wife,
going on 23 years.
It's a long time.
She's the love of my life.
She's a great woman,
and she puts up with a lot.
No broken bones yet.
- Today might be
the day.
- Yeah.
Well, do you
want a third one?
- Caution one,
caution to the wind?
- Yeah.
They'll do this for hours.
Hey, Ross, what's going on?
A hole in the barge?
Yeah.
wonderful.
Do we ever get good news
in this industry?
Well, no, not right now.
All right, I'll wave
the kids in, pack up,
and I'll be heading
over there.
All right. Well,
we'll keep an eye on it.
- Okay, thanks.
- Talk to you later.
My biggest fear
is that the family
has enough of it
and says I can't live
this lifestyle anymore.
It's a big-time fear,
to be honest with you.
I gotta head out on the boat,
so we gotta wrap this up.
They're gonna be upset,
but that's how she goes.
Sorry.
Does anything ever go
right in logging?
Check this side.
At float camp,
and with fire season
threatening shutdowns
any day now,
foreman Ross may have just
found an even bigger problem.
The barge is listing.
It's not level.
That means
we're taking on water.
I'd say that was, I mean,
it's probably about 72.
So, it's probably
about six inches lower
on this one side.
I'm gonna do
some investigating
and see if we can find
where the water is coming in.
Better have a a look
in some hatches here.
We definitely have
water in here.
It's hard to tell
where it's coming
from exactly,
but, uh, I would say
it's probably at the bottom
of the barge.
There's nothing noticeable
on the outside.
Maybe, uh, when it undertow,
maybe a chunk hit it
or something like that,
and knocked a little
hole into it.
A hole in a barge
is never a good thing.
So, we're gonna have to come
up with some kind of plan.
She's hollow.
Up at Grizzly Camp,
and with fire danger
still low enough
to keep falling
Boy, that's a lot more rotten
than I thought it was.
We're gonna take
a little more out of here.
Jim and Rob
are racing
to bring down a red cedar
worth almost 60 grand,
but keeping it
from falling uphill
and crashing
into the dense forest above
is proving harder
than they thought.
It turns out
there's a lot more rot
in this tree than we expected.
There's a very good chance
that it's gonna
break off prematurely.
I need your ax.
And to coax this thing over,
we're gonna have to start
some wedges early.
We're gonna tap those wedges,
and we're gonna chase
the power saw
in with those wedges.
And just like physics,
it's gonna lift the back
of the tree
and push it over forward.
There she goes.
Nice, nice.
Perfect.
It went with the plan.
We only needed plan A.
We've got probably 30 feet
of shingle off the butt
and then two beautiful,
a 40-foot and a 50-foot,
out of the center there.
Pretty happy.
Hell, Jim, let's see if we can
get another one in.
Right on.
It's hot
out there.
Back near float camp,
and with Jared still
making the five-hour trek out
to inspect a possible hole
in the barge,
all Ross can do
is keep logging
as fast as he can.
You know pretty well
how to run that thing, right?
Yeah.
To that end,
he's adding another shift
to one of the camp's
most productive machines
and dropping
new operator, Cody,
off for some
much-needed training.
All right, Cody,
so we're gonna go
and see Glen here,
the old cowboy.
He can be pretty sarcastic,
but he'll give you
some great advice.
And there she is.
The Super Snorkel
is a cool, unique machine.
Kind of a specialty job
in the logging industry.
Weighing in
at a hefty 135 tons
this Super Snorkel
a cornerstone of
Jared's operation,
able to pluck massive logs
straight off the hillside
with its 150-foot boom,
but with controls that require
hands, feet, and even knees,
all working in tandem,
operating it is one
of the most complicated jobs
known to logging.
So much so
there's only one man at camp
who can run this beast,
Glen Baird.
All right, let's go see Glen.
But if he can show
Cody the ropes,
it'll mean twice as much wood
coming down
from the Super Snorkel
and a critical edge
in the race
against fire season.
Howdy.
So, you're this Cody fella
I'm gonna break in?
- Yeah.
- We're gonna get you
to help Cody, uh, get
used to the machine
a little bit there.
Bit of a old school,
new school thing.
I know it's hotter
than a popcorn fart up here.
As soon as Cody
comes in the cab,
he's gonna know what
a popcorn fart smells like.
As long as it doesn't smell
like burnt rubber,
we're okay.
You got
a big lunch, kid?
- Nope.
- Perfect.
That's a good start.
Hey, I've never negotiated
my teaching price, uh
Everything's negotiable.
You know, did you bring me
an apple at least?
All right, have at her, boys.
Get her done safely.
Let's see
if we can keep her erect.
Okay. That's good.
I run that them
there Super Snorkel.
I've been doing it
for 44 years.
When I started,
that's all they had,
machines like this
to load logs.
They didn't have
the hydraulic machines.
That's how old I am.
Obviously, start, stop.
These are for your
This is for your tag drum.
What are those little
round glass ones?
Uh, glass ones?
Yeah, the little
round ones there. Okay.
And this one here to
It's for the whole
panel there.
Something goes awry,
hit that
electric light.
Oh, okay.
Main line brakes.
See that tall back,
so up I go.
Now both of 'em.
Now, to get rid
of the ,
swing it.
Then I tighten up
the hold line
and let go of the tag a bit.
Like, a lot of times,
I'll use
the tag-in a bit, too,
and just let it roll off.
See, that's doing it
on its own right there.
Glen makes it look easy,
but it's hard
to pick everything up.
Hopefully, I don't screw up.
There you go.
Did I ever tell you
about the time,
Cody, I dated your mom?
Sure you did.
Back down
at float camp
That doesn't look
quite right, does it?
Bit of a lean to her.
Jared's finally arrived
to assess the damage
to his $2 million
floating headquarters.
Let's see how much
money this is gonna cost me.
In we go.
Water in the hull
is a bad thing.
Things like that
can sink the ship pretty fast.
We've had a lot of storms.
Maybe it hit a log undertow.
We're gonna crawl down
inside these hatches,
we're looking to find out
where the leak
could be coming in.
But there's more
to worry about here
than a simple leak.
When saltwater
mixes with steel,
it creates rust,
which can not only cause
severe damage
to Jared's vessel,
but also sap oxygen
out of confined spaces.
There's definitely
a lot of risk going
inside of these things.
-This is our oxygen canary.
-Canary.
So, if it goes below 20.1,
it's gonna beep.
We got three minutes
to get out of the hatch.
There's definitely been
some, uh, tragedies
that's happened
inside these barges.
A lot of people have climbed
into these barges
and they don't come out.
Here we go.
The rungs, the ladders
are really bendy,
so don't jump on 'em.
Doing this, safety
is our number one priority.
This barge
is everything to us.
We couldn't conduct
our business
without float camp,
so it's a very scary
risk right now.
Hoping for a little puncture.
Make sure you hold on
tight coming in.
Pretty rusty.
Well,
somewhere along here,
we suspect a leak,
as you can see
the water in here.
Yeah, I know.
She's rusty.
Turn your flashlight off
for a second.
There's the hole right there.
See, where the light's
coming through.
That's where the leak
is coming from, right there.
See, it got hit
by a log or something.
We're gonna have to get
to fixing this right now.
Below deck,
at float camp,
while trying to diagnose
a rupture in the hull,
Jared and Ross
have run out of time
and air.
That was close.
Can you see it?
Can't even
really get in there.
We've got to get a patch
on this hole immediately.
For the safety of everybody
who's sleeping on this boat,
we need to make sure
that this barge is sound
and there's no chance
of it sinking.
A breach like this
could not only sink the camp,
but cause the entire hull
to rust away
from the inside out.
And until it's addressed,
it'll only get worse.
Yeah, it's been
caved in pretty good.
Yeah, it's about
the size of my fist.
I mean, the worst thing
you can find is a hole.
Well, that
explains the water.
Salt water goes inside.
It rusts
everything in there.
Right now, the hole is just
above the water line,
but that could
change real fast
If a storm blows in
and waves kick up.
We've got to come up
with something,
and we've got to come up
with something quick.
Yeah, there's some
wood around here.
We can grab some wood.
With float camp
now taking on water,
Jared will need to speed up
the process of moving logs
out of fire danger
and onto the last log barge.
Just keep the slack on it.
Which is why
Glen is training Cody
to take a second shift,
on the super snorkel.
Try to keep
at least two lines tight.
It seems complicated,
but the trick
to running this rig
basically boils down
to three lines.
The haulback,
which sends the gravel out.
The tag line,
which pulls it in.
And the main line,
which moves it up and down.
Master all three,
and Cody's got a shot
at mastering this machine.
-Wanna give her a whirl?
-Sure.
I don't know if you want
to come back a bit, get comfy.
I don't know.
We'll play it by ear.
I don't know
what I want yet, Glen.
Okay. Brake's off.
Maxes are off.
Swing brakes off.
- There you go.
- Okay.
That one toggle
you leave on.
Yup, dawg.
But in a machine
that's as dangerous
as it is difficult
to control,
one wrong move
could be Cody's last.
Get the tag in.
There you go.
Tag in a little more.
Give it some throttle.
We need throttle.
-Yeah.
-You got to have throttle.
It's not easy.
You know, everything's--
You need throttle.
Your feet are pumping,
your hands are moving,
your toes
are pinching buttons.
You know, I explain to people
that don't understand it,
it's like sitting in a chair
and getting Tasered.
Take your foot
off the main brake.
No, the other brake.
Handling the snorkel
is a bit different.
A lot of the controls
are the complete opposite,
especially with the pedals,
compared to the yarder,
so it's taking a bit.
You're going to get
the gravel on the other side
of that knot.
Let it down a bit.
Drop it.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Left, left, left,
left, left, left.
Main line.
Yeah.
Higher up the hill
- This is ugly.
- Yeah.
the race to harvest
as many trees as possible
before fire danger
shuts them down
is well underway.
- This one's yours.
- You betcha.
And with temperatures
nearing 80 degrees,
fallers Chris Hersics
and Jeff Logan are eager
to bring down
one more money tree
before it gets any hotter.
She is a burly old one,
that's for sure.
It's gnarly.
This twisted giant
has reached the end
of its life cycle
and could easily
go up in flames.
Instead, they'll tackle
the much tougher job
of bringing it down
in one piece.
We're gonna have
to really pay attention
to that big widowmaker there
hanging over our heads.
Yeah, that's not
very nice, is it?
Guy doesn't want
to be under that any longer
than he has to.
Definitely something
coming from that high,
it doesn't take much
to fall out of the sky
and hit you.
Just have to be
careful in the backcut.
Yeah. We're gonna have
to be careful everywhere
with this one.
We might need a springboard
in this one or something
to reach up here,
depending on where
your undercut's going to be.
Well, I think the undercut
because of how high
the back roots are,
like, the cuts
are going to be up here.
So the springboard,
ultimately, it's just
to get me
up off of the ground
and get me
up higher to the cuts
because of the
steep ground we have here.
To reach
above the roots,
Chris will install
a pair of springboards
to serve as
a makeshift staircase.
Then he'll take
most of his undercut
from the opposite side
before using the boards
to reach the rest
and finish with a backcut.
But with the widowmaker
directly above,
he'll have to work
with his head on a swivel.
Just gonna have to make sure
they're stuck in there good
so they don't wiggle around
when you're trying to run off.
Yeah, definitely.
Let's get some
springboards started
and get it set up,
so we're good to go.
Yeah, for sure.
Back in the old times,
hand loggers,
they would pretty much
build scaffolding
out of springboards
around the whole tree
so that they could work
on them.
How's that
widowmaker up there?
Has it moved at all?
No. No, it's good.
Get me up.
Perfect.
I should be cutting
right about here.
Yeah, that should
work out real good.
I can go flying
right out of there
like a squirrel
if I have to.
Hopefully,
we don't have to.
I don't want to be on these
springboards for too long.
You're right
in the danger zone.
If that widowmaker
wanted to let go
or release something,
it's coming straight at you,
straight on top of you.
And that's just
the worst scenario
you could
ever possibly imagine.
How's that widowmaker?
It moved a bit.
- Just a bit. Not much.
- All right.
Backcut.
I'm thinking I must have
some holding wood
right in here.
Right in behind you,
just keep notching it
like you're doing.
I think so.
It popped huge.
It did
when you did it right there
where that burl is.
Right now,
it's starting to pop.
I know there's
one little post to this tree.
And as soon
as I touch this post
with my chain,
it's gonna go.
I'm out of gas.
You can't turn
your back to these trees
once you have
that much cuts in them.
Yeah, that moved
a bit up there.
What's that?
It moved a bit.
Hopefully
it doesn't go over.
Oh, for
sakes.
I'm out of gas.
Popping, it's lifting.
Hopefully
it doesn't go over.
Oh, for sakes.
It's going to go.
Must have
some holding wood
right by that
big blister there.
Okay.
Well, I'll let you know
you're still alive.
Right in here
is where the wood is.
Get in there
and clear it out.
All right, here we go.
Hell, yeah. Whoo!
That went quick.
Yeah.
It's even gnarly-looking
on the ground.
The widowmaker
stayed in the top
the whole time.
There's actually
lots of good wood in it.
It saved out
pretty good.
I couldn't believe
how sound it was.
That worked out
really well.
We're here talking about it,
so that's the best thing
we could ask for.
Pick it right up
and peel it.
Yeah.
That's it.
Further below,
it's day two
of Cody's crash course
in super snorkel operation,
and Professor Glen is keeping
a close eye on his pupil.
Ease up on the brakes
while you pick it up.
If he can
get the hang of it,
the two could
tag team shifts,
sending more logs
down to float camp
before fire season
shuts them down.
But so far,
it's been touch and go.
Keep your foot
on that brake.
Throttle.
And swing.
Pick up that
haulback slack a bit.
Now you got two lines tight,
you got the tag
and the haulback.
You've got to watch
your snorkel, too,
that you don't hit the bank.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Yeah.
See, it's all throttle.
-Yeah.
-You'll get used to it.
I just have
to be patient with him.
I've said it before,
Rome wasn't built in a day.
But you can destroy it
in a day.
You're gonna
have to swing left
and get it on the
other side of that.
There you go.
Now we go
a little off the main.
If Cody can get to a point
where Glen doesn't
have to direct him,
he'll be able to tackle
extra shifts on his own.
There you go.
Okay.
Let me get off here.
So for now,
Glen will give him more space
and chime in
as little as possible.
-Here. I'll give you that.
-Okay.
This is a dangerous job.
Some of these logs
can come through the window
and through the guarding.
It'll shish kebab your--
Plug the hollow gap
between the ears.
These machines,
you can be pulling a log up,
and all of a sudden,
it gets hung up on a stump.
Next thing you know,
you're up in the air
like this.
Your tracks
are three feet in the air,
and you roll down the hill.
Smash, crash.
I flipped a few of them over,
and I flipped this one over.
But I have
a few lives left, I hope.
You know, knock on wood.
When you're traveling, Cody,
full throttle.
Yeah.
For sure there, Glen.
Okay, let it out more
and swing to your left.
If you put off the brake,
I can hear it squeaking.
Now throttle, lots of it.
That's the horn.
Good. There you go.
It's hard
to pick everything up.
Lots going on.
Something you're not used to.
You're, you know,
trying to pay attention
to three or four
different things at once.
Keep going
with the throttle.
Keep going. Swing.
Swing.
He's not swinging.
He's stopped throttling.
You've got
to swing and throttle
at the same time, Cody.
Back at camp,
Jared and Ross are still
taking on water
and all the damage
that comes with it.
By now, it's clear the hull
is rusted to the point
where the whole vessel
will have to be rushed
to dry dock for repairs.
But first,
they have a hole to patch.
We want to patch it right now,
so we don't have any more
further corrosion
happening inside.
When saltwater goes inside,
it rusts everything in there.
In a logging camp,
you always got to have
a plethora of parts
and all sorts of junk.
This might do it.
I know there's
a sump pump on the camp.
This looks like
it might work.
We'll scoop it up,
get it in there.
Oh, it says
sump pump on her.
Look at that.
We get lucky.
So plug her in
and try to get
some of this water
out of here anyways.
Stop the barge
from sinking.
Taking float camp
out of operation right now,
it could break me.
I could lose everything.
A logger can use an ax
for just about any tool.
There's water
coming in there right now,
just a little bit at a time,
but it's coming in.
There she goes,
sitting like a glove.
Oh, that stuff
smells lovely.
We're gonna try a product
that's epoxy putty.
They call it barge in a can
of all things.
Ain't that
wonderful feeling stuff.
Oh, yeah, it's starting
to get sticky now.
The goal for this patch
is just to get it to go up
on dry dock.
Welders are gonna have to
cut that piece of metal out
and patch over it properly.
If this doesn't work,
I don't know how I'm gonna
rebound out of it.
The barge sinks.
It's stressful.
It's the
biggest asset I own.
This is a disaster.
I've got
a giant floating unicorn.
And we're gonna have
a giant floating flamingo
for our cold plunge pool.
You're only as good
as your people, right?
- No.
- I'm loving this.
You have
to lead by example.
You've got to keep
the morale up with the guys.
Try to make everybody
feel like number one.
That's part
of my daily job
is making sure
we maintain everything
and keep
everybody's attitude
happy and healthy
because happy,
healthy people
are productive people
in our industry.
It's done.
Throttle up and swing.
In the hills
above float camp,
and after two days of working
under veteran Glen,
novice super snorkel
operator Cody is starting
to show promise.
There you go.
I'd say if he can swing
a log up from the bush
and put it where he wants
to put it by himself
without me coaching,
it'll be a good day.
So basically at the moment,
we're just trying to grapple
these logs
and, uh, get them
stacked over in a neat pile
for the processor
off to the side.
Just trying to get the fingers
and the hands and feet to do
what my brain wants it to do.
I'm trying
to figure it out.
Cody's
a pretty good logger.
I'm sure he'll do it.
I'm not gonna
admit that to him.
But he'll get
quicker at it, better.
We're gonna bring
this log up, peel it,
and, uh, stick it in the
ditch here for the guys.
Watch the boom on the bank,
like Glen was saying earlier.
Smooth.
Cody, nice job.
Perfect.
Sorry. Did I say perfect?
I meant pathetic.
Ah, just kidding, bud.
Good job.
Now that Cody
can move logs on his own,
he's well on his way
to taking over a shift
and keeping this machine
running around the clock
before fire season
shuts down the operation.
Cody's a pretty good kid.
He'll master it.
It took me a while, too.
We'll have to go inside again
and scoop it up from inside.
Yeah,
I got the light.
Back at camp,
Jared's floating HQ
is officially going
to have to come out
of the water
for emergency repairs.
But to make it seaworthy
for the trip out,
he and Ross must
go back into the hull
they fled earlier today.
After we ran out
of oxygen the last time,
we opened the hatches,
we pumped fresh air inside.
- Okay.
- I got it.
Let's pull this out.
-Here we go.
-All righty, bud.
Hopefully
it's going to be okay.
Uh, when we enter the hull,
the worst-case scenario
is we run out of oxygen.
That, uh--
Um, a lot of people
have died inside
of barge hulls.
- Come up.
-Following you.
You got the light.
All right.
- She's in there.
- She's not gonna-- -Oh, yeah.
I'm just gonna
patch it up on this end.
Don't even
have to take it to
the dry dock.
Yeah-- Yeah, we do.
This fix
is not the final fix,
but it's just going
to accomplish a safe travel
to dry dock.
We have to do
our due diligence
and get this thing
out of the water
and get it fixed.
Can you do me a favor
and turn the lamp off?
And we'll take a look
and see if we see
light coming in.
- No light.
- No light.
This barge
is everything to us.
All right, let's get
the hell out of here.
It's going to be
a tough financial hit.
Now that the
temporary fix is in place,
Jared and Ross
head for the nearest town
to make arrangements
to get float camp to dry dock
before it's too late.
There's a couple
of dry docks.
I'll start
making some phone calls
when we get to town here.
See if we can get one.
For the safety of my crew
and, uh, the 53 souls
that sleep here every night,
we need to make sure
that this barge is sound
and there's
no chance of it sinking.
But it's about as bad
as timing gets.
With just over 700 grand
saved towards
his $1.1 million debt
and fire shutdowns
looming closer by the day,
Jared has only one more
log barge to go,
plus whatever
the tug pulls out at Grizzly.
This is a bad situation.
The last thing I want to do
is shut down float camp
right now, man.
This is not what we need.
This is not gonna help
the bottom line.
It's gonna be tough.
I don't even know
how we're going to do it.
It is that bad.
But, uh,
tough times don't last,
tough people do.
I don't have
any other options.
Make it or don't,
I'm not gonna give up.
Next time
on the season finale
of The Last Woodsmen
This whole barge camp
being pulled out of the water
could break me.
Fire danger
reaches full effect,
sparking a mad dash
to move timber.
Watch out, watch out.
Get out of the way!
But when
all hell breaks loose
Oh, no.
Watch out, watch out!
saving the business
is a fight to the finish.
I have
to have everything
go right right now.
And right now,
it's not looking good.