The Last Woodsmen (2024) s01e09 Episode Script

1
I come from nothing.
My parents
did what they could.
I left my family behind
and I went out on my own.
We're cheating death
in this business.
Probably why my dad didn't
want me to go into logging
'cause it is very dangerous.
I started this business
with just one machine.
I started at 23 years old.
It just became bigger
and bigger and bigger.
I hope that I can
have a legacy
that I can maybe hand down
to my kids.
But a lot has to go right
for that to happen.
You make your own future here.
You get out, you lace up
your boots every day,
you go out there
and opportunity is
around every corner.
You just have
to make it happen.
[narrator] This season
on The Last Woodsmen
[man 1] Let's go!
[man 2] Back up, back up.
[Jared] This is the point
of no return.
-[gun fires]
-[narrator] After betting big
on a business of his own
[Jared] The buyout's
gone through.
If I don't have $1.1 million
by the end of this season,
I'll lose everything.
[narrator] and
doubling down
on a whole new operation
Welcome to hell, boys.
This is it.
The Grizzly River
poses the most challenges
I've ever seen
in a logging operation.
The last guy that operated
at Grizzly River,
he went broke.
[narrator] Jared Douglas
has been digging himself
out of debt,
one money tree at a time.
[Rob] Oh! Beautifully done.
Maybe not.
Oh. Stay, stay!
[narrator] But after
three months of logging
at the edge of the earth
[Jared] This is
in the handbook's
"What you don't do."
-[man] Come on, baby. Yee-haw!
-[horn honks]
[narrator] and all
the breakdowns and setbacks
that come with it
[man over radio] We're
gonna be down
for at least a week.
[bleep]
[narrator] he's still
almost half a million dollars
in the hole.
I need to get wood
down this road,
into that log dump,
and down that [bleep] river,
or I ain't getting a paycheck.
This is ridiculous.
[narrator] Taking on water.
[man] Turn your
flashlight off for a second.
[Jared] Through the hole
right there where the light's
coming through,
that's where the leak
is coming from, right there.
Taking float camp
out of operation right now,
it could break me.
I can lose everything.
-[narrator] Now
-Yeah, [bleep]. Look at that.
with the heat
of late summer
threatening shutdowns
[Rob] Wildfires
are super dangerous
for the logging industry.
They can potentially destroy
millions of dollars of wood
or potentially kill people.
[narrator] and just
two loads of lumber
left to ship out
Everything good?
If I don't fill up that barge,
I don't know
if I'm gonna be able
to pay off my debt.
And if I don't pay my debt,
I lose my business.
[Ross] Oh, no.
-[man 2 exclaims]
-[man 3] Oh, no!
[bleep]
[narrator] it all
comes down
to one last charge.
[tree snapping]
[man] Watch out, watch out!
[man grunts]
[Jared] I don't have
any other options.
Make it or don't
I'm not gonna give up.
[tense music playing]
You think that plug's
gonna hold there, Jared?
I'm a little worried about it,
to be honest with you.
[narrator] With fire season
looming closer by the day,
Jared is dealing
with a nightmare come true.
A fist-sized puncture
in his floating headquarters
and an all-out race
to get it to safety
before it sinks.
[Jared] This barge needs
to come out of the water
as soon as possible.
We're gonna have
to cut out that steel
and patch that hole.
[narrator] If he can,
Jared will keep
logging full tilt
until the last log barge
of the season arrives
in just two days' time
followed by one more tug
at Grizzly River.
If those two vessels
leave with at least
300 bundles apiece,
he'll have the nearly
400 grand he needs to pay off
his $1.1 million debt.
[Jared] I've got
to get a full barge
out here at float camp,
and Grizz needs to get
those last bundles down.
The last thing I need
right now is a rescue mission
to save this [bleep] barge,
and, uh, that's what
we're dealing with here.
We're taking it out
to the open ocean.
Not something we do every day.
We try not to do it at all.
[narrator] If all goes
to plan, a tugboat
will tow the camp
over 300 miles of open ocean
to a shipyard
on the north side
of the island.
But it's a long
and risky journey
for an already damaged vessel.
[Jared] Yeah, as you can see,
it's white capping out there.
It's not a great thing.
We should have done it earlier
in the morning,
but we had a bunch
of other things to get done
and the tide had to come up.
So hopefully, uh,
we have no problems
getting it out of here.
Let's get these
couple of barrels cut off.
[Ross] Hey, Glen.
What do you need, Ross?
[Ross] I'm just gonna send
someone to pull the line
in from over there.
[Jared] Oh, yeah.
[Ross speaking]
[Jared] Okay.
We're ready to rock, then.
[Glen speaking over radio]
[Jared exhales]
I don't like that wind.
The wind's blowing out there.
Things are gonna kinda go
sideways here in a hurry,
it looks like.
So, getting
a little nerve-racking.
[narrator] Because the barge
is facing backwards,
the crew will rotate it
within the safety of the cove
before setting out
into the rougher waters
of the inlet.
[Glen speaking over radio]
[Jared] Don't hit my dock.
[narrator] But
it's a tight turn
for the 170-foot-long barge.
[Jared] There's a new hole.
[Ross] It's gonna be close.
[bleep]
[Jared] Holy [bleep], boys.
That's just what you call
[bleep] close right there.
[indistinct radio chatter]
Old Glen, he's
he's a velvet touch
with a big tug.
That was close.
There she goes.
Will she make it?
Nobody knows.
It's a house
on a huge metal barge getting
pounded right now
by the open Pacific.
We're taking
a big gamble here.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Chris grunts] Oh, wow.
There you are.
What do you think
about this one?
-Saved the best for last.
-[Jeff] Oh, yeah.
[narrator] While Jared
deals with float camp,
crewmen are making
the most of the last few days
of logging they have left.
[Chris] Yeah, this tree.
It's a real gem.
Obviously, the winds
grabbed this thing.
That's like a 30% lean,
at least.
[narrator] To that end,
fallers Chris Hersics
and Jeff Logan
are on one more hunt
for high-dollar cedars
at the end
of their life cycle.
Yeah, it's gonna be
a tricky one to get cut up,
for sure.
What are you thinking?
[Chris] It's got a pretty good
uphill lean, but all the wood
is down on the
this side here.
[Jeff] Have to worry about
the barber chair on this one.
[Chris] Yeah, exactly.
The barber chair
is a high potential in this,
'cause there's like a dry
section of wood in this tree,
and then a green section
is the whole back.
The green has the high
potential of splitting up
off of the the dry section,
and then it'll just ride up,
and and who knows
what it'll do.
Once a barber chair takes off,
it can do whatever it wants.
I have had one barber chair
on me before, yes.
And you just run
and keep running.
It's like a game of how fast
do your legs move.
I'm just gonna try and leave
a post just about-- Yeah,
just a little past that
root flare there.
[narrator] To keep
this giant under control
and in one piece,
Chris will carve out
his undercut
and backcut together,
leaving a post of holding wood
to keep it up in the center.
Then he'll make
one last cut to send it
across the side hill.
But if it barber chairs
in the process
and kicks back on Chris,
it could be the last tree
he ever cuts.
[Chris] Enough talking.
Let's see it.
[Jeff] All right. Here we go.
Give me a holler
if anything's gonna
go sideways on me.
Let's get it on.
[chainsaw whirring]
[Chris] As I'm working here
from the low side of the tree,
it's such a dangerous spot
to get out of.
So I'm just ready
to skedaddle out of here
as soon as it starts doing
something haywire on me.
[chainsaw whirring]
And I can see the tree's
starting to peel back a bit.
That's your first sign
that it's trying
to barber chair on us.
I don't want this tree
going over
while I'm down here
on the low side at this time.
[chainsaw whirring]
So, uh, pack my stuff up,
come back around,
and I'm gonna start
working on the high side
of the backcut here now.
[chainsaw whirring]
[Chris] I'm using
an angled cut here,
and it can keep me
in a better foot position
to be able to get out
of this tree as fast as I can
if if it does start
chairing on me.
[Jeff speaking over radio]
[tree creaking]
-[Chris] Whoa!
-[Jeff] Watch out, watch out!
-[Chris groans]
-[Jeff] Get out of the way!
[chainsaw whirring]
[Jeff speaking over radio]
Watch out, watch out!
[rumbling]
[chainsaw idling]
[breathing heavily]
Golly I need a raise.
[narrator] High
above float camp
in the final days before
the fire season shutdown,
Chris and Jeff have landed
a cedar worth 25 grand,
but it didn't come easy.
[Chris] I thought it was
gonna barber chair
for a second
-and tried to, like, run.
-[Jeff] Oh, I could see it.
That's why I said--
-I did say, "Get out."
-I just stuffed
my saw back in
and just kept cutting.
-Make sure
it wouldn't do that.
-[Jeff] 'Cause I said,
"Get out, get out."
I was like, "Get out."
The adrenaline's
pumping again. [laughs]
[Jeff] Oh, yeah, 100%.
Those ones are scary as hell.
[Chris] It came around
pretty good, though.
[Jeff] Oh, yeah,
there's still
that's all good wood there.
It's all high grade slabs
in there.
[Chris] Yeah, for sure.
Still here talking about it,
and that's the best scenario
that can ever happen out here.
Yee-haw.
[dramatic music playing]
[engine starts]
[narrator] Further north,
just hours after sending
his floating headquarters
into open water,
Jared's received
a distress call
from the tugboat captain.
[Jared] We've got reports
of horrible weather.
If that barge is taking
on water, we could
have some major issues.
What I'm concerned about
is a hole
that we've discovered
and that plug making sure
that hatch just stays dry.
That's a lot
on the buoyancy out there.
So it's very nerve-racking
for me right now.
[Jared speaking over radio]
[pilot speaking]
[Jared speaking]
[pilot speaking]
[Jared speaking]
[pilot speaking]
[narrator] The same
extreme winds that could
capsize float camp
are making it impossible
for the helicopter to land
and allow Jared
to assess the damage.
[Jared speaking]
[Jared] You know,
I could see waves going
over the top of the house.
[Jared] The helicopter
can't make it out there
safely, so we're stuck.
It's, uh
not looking good out there
right now.
If the tow line was to break,
the barge would get
washed ashore.
Super scary.
[groans]
So, we're gonna have
to try this again later.
Hopefully, the barge
is in calmer waters,
and hopefully, makes it.
[bird screeches]
[narrator] 50 miles away
at Grizzly River
the summer heat
is already bringing
midday shutdowns
for active tree falling.
So, Jim and Rob
are waiting out the weather
as best they can.
[Jim] Oh, heck, yeah.
[narrator] But the break
is short-lived.
[Rob] We should
probably get going b--
[Jim sighs deeply]
Okay.
[Rob] Let's come back here
tonight too?
[Jim] Heck, yeah.
What do you think, Jim?
Where should we start here?
[narrator] Come sundown,
all falling operations
at Grizzly River
will officially stop
for the season.
[Rob] Oh, there's
the back line right there.
Let's get these on the ground.
[narrator] So Jared's
counting on these two
to make sure the last tug
from camp leaves
with no less than
300 bundles worth of wood.
[Jim] Come on, baby.
-[chainsaw whirring]
-[Jim] Yeah!
[bleep] give her up.
Awesome. Yeah, buddy.
-[chainsaw whirring]
-[Rob] Oh, yeah, baby.
[Jim] There she goes.
[snapping, creaking]
[exhales]
[sighs]
-[Rob] Warm, eh?
-She's warm.
Now what?
Let's give this one a shot.
[Rob] Okay.
[chainsaw powers up]
[tree creaking]
[Jim] Oh, you mother [bleep].
[sighs deeply]
I devalued
this piece of wood.
Unfortunately, we can't
control everything in life.
And it went a little
to one side and hit a stump
and broke in half.
This is what we want to avoid.
When time is money
and we're here for money,
it doesn't look good.
[Rob] We're gonna have to
pick up the pace here, Jim.
[chainsaw whirring]
[Ross] How's it look
for us coming up, Joe?
[man speaking over radio]
Okay.
[narrator] Back down south,
Jared's floating HQ
may be long gone,
but that doesn't mean
his loggers are letting up.
They have just two days
to move all the wood they can
before the final
log barge arrives.
But already,
Foreman Ross is racing
to the scene of an accident
that's threatening
to end their season early.
[bleep] The hoe chucker
just flipped over. [bleep]
We don't have these things
go over very often,
and when somebody does,
it's a big risk
of somebody being hurt.
It sounds very, very urgent.
So I got to get up there
right away.
[exclaims] What the [bleep]?
Hey, Glen. [bleep]
I don't really know
what's happened yet, but when
something like this happens,
you shut down the whole site,
and everybody
gets hands on deck
and try to deal
with the situation
as soon as possible.
-He was double harnessed in?
-[man] Yeah.
I checked him all over.
He's got full range
of everything,
and he's got all his marbles.
That could have been ugly.
You could have been
pretty badly hurt there.
[narrator] Capable
of moving eight truckloads
worth of timber
off the hillside per day,
hoe chuckers are essential
to ending strong this season.
But with this one stuck
on its side,
the whole crew will have
to stop down until it's saved.
[Ross] Yeah,
there's no good time
for a machine to go down
and lose production like this,
especially the whole crew.
We got the barge coming,
and this is slowing
things down.
Now we got to figure out
how to get this thing
back over.
So good thing
there's a grapple yarder,
like, right there.
We need leverage.
If you get it high enough up,
I think
it's just going to lift it
right up and over.
Well, we can try.
Hopefully it doesn't break.
[man] We got one strap
on there right here.
I don't know if you guys
want to figure out a way
to hang it,
-I'll go bring
some more stuff up.
-[Ross] Okay.
[narrator] Ross' plan
is to use
a strap around
the chucker's track
as leverage
and hopefully
pull it back on its feet.
[Ross] [bleep]
-[man] Yeah.
-[narrator] But with
the operation now missing out
-on a truckload of timber
every hour
- [Ross] Okay.
he and the crew
will have to work fast.
[Ross] That's it. Hang on.
Gonna be exciting.
I'm getting up here.
Make sure everybody
is out of down below it, too.
Okay, here we go.
[sighs] I hope it's okay.
[mumbling]
We don't want to have
this thing go over the bank.
It's a $900,000 machine,
almost a million dollars.
[screeches]
[rattling]
[Ross] Oh, no.
-[screeching]
-Watch out, watch out!
Oh! [bleep]
[man shouts indistinctly]
[rattling]
[Ross] Oh, no.
-[man 1 exclaims]
-[man 2] Oh, no!
[Ross] Watch out, watch out!
[bleep]
It was right there.
It was right there.
[bleep]
Well, at least
it didn't go down.
[narrator] After
a failed first attempt,
the pressure is mounting
for Ross and the float camp
crew to get this chucker
back on its tracks
and the whole operation
back up and running.
Hit it, man.
[Ross] The machine
was coming pretty good,
and then, uh, the strap
got chiseled off
like a guillotine there.
Flopped back down,
slid down the hill
a little bit more.
And this is a major holdup.
It's cutting
our production down
and people are waiting.
We got the barge coming,
and this is slowing
things down.
Same situation
with bigger line.
We put two of 'em on.
It's on more of an angle
since we had the strap
break the last time.
If this doesn't work, then
we're gonna have to go back
to the drawing board.
And this is probably
gonna be a game stopper,
that's for sure.
-[man 1] Yeah, you're getting
slack on your hoe back now.
-[Ross] Go.
[man 2 speaking over radio]
[man 1] Yeah, I hear ya.
Here we go.
[Ross] Oh, [bleep],
keep going.
Keep going, keep going,
keep going.
[Glen] Go, go, go, go. Go, go.
[Ross] Keep going, keep going.
-Yeah!
-[Glen] Hold it, hold it.
-[Ross] Whoo!
-[Glen] Okay,
we're gonna hold it.
Yeah!
Hold her, spike her.
We have to get
a hold of Adrian.
Uh, we'll get him
to go over it,
and we'll get this thing
back hoe chucking uh,
safely as soon as possible.
We gotta get back to work
right away.
Yeah!
All right, well,
just hold it there
for a minute, hold everything.
-Dog it off.
-[Ross bleeps], yeah, buddy!
[Glen] Whoo!
[Jim] Look at that. Hmm.
[narrator] Back at Grizz camp,
with just five hours
before operations
shut down for the season
[Jim] I think
these are gonna be next
if we can.
[narrator] Jim and Rob
need to up their volume.
So, they're honing in
on a pair of red cedars
that together could be worth
upwards of 80 grand
if they can bring them down
in time.
[Rob] Our job's a bit
of a balance here.
Dave's cracking the whip,
so we're trying
to be productive.
With that thing
leaning as hard as it is,
probably just push it
with the other one.
[Jim] I think both together
would work better.
That'll keep it up and out
of the timber mark too.
We found a couple
of red cedars.
They look to be about
seven or eight feet.
[Rob]
They're high value trees.
Cedar's worth of mint
right now.
Pretty crucial that we try
and put 'em in the right spot
and don't screw up.
[narrator]
To fall these trees
before the clock runs out
on their season
while also preserving
their value,
Jim and Rob
will drop them simultaneously
by putting back cuts in both
followed by front cuts.
They're hoping they can use
the force of the back tree
to push the front tree over.
But if they misjudge
their angles,
both could go crashing
into the nearby tree stumps
and shatter into a million
worthless splinters.
[Rob] Should we band
this thing now, Jim?
[Jim] Yeah, you betcha.
Let's get her.
[Rob] The banding
holds all the fibers together
so it can't split out.
[Jim] Hopefully. All right.
[Rob] I'll just keep my eyes
open for you, Jim,
while you cut
that front one up.
[Jim] All right. Thanks, Rob.
[chainsaw whirring]
[whirring stops]
-[Jim] All right.
-[chainsaw whirring]
-[Rob] Is it moving? Okay.
-[Jim] A little bit.
-[whirring stops]
-[tree creaking]
[Rob] Nicely done, Jim.
Nicely done.
That banding works well.
[Jim laughs]
That worked awesome.
-That would've been
so [bleep] otherwise.
-[Rob exclaims]
[Jim] Everything pretty much
went as planned.
They're both lying
perfectly together.
Looks like two hot dogs
sitting on the grill.
[Rob] Yeah, buddy. Heck, yeah.
These are gonna fill up
a logging truck fairly easy.
A very clear, clean wood.
All our hard work paid off.
Jared's gonna be
a very happy person.
[narrator] And just like that,
Jim and Rob's season
of hand falling
has come to an end
and the race
to get the last of the trees
down Grizzly River is on.
[man speaking]
[Jared speaking]
[narrator] At first light,
Jared's seizing a brief break
in the weather
to check on his floating base
of operations.
If he can safely land on it,
he can finally see
what kind of damage
it's incurred
and maybe help limp it
along to its destination.
[Jared] What I saw
from the helicopter yesterday
did not look pretty.
[man speaking]
[Jared speaking]
-[Jared speaking]
-[man speaking]
[Jared speaking]
Well, that was exciting.
You on, Marine six, Glen?
[Glen speaking]
[Jared] Still a little bumpy
out here.
[Glen speaking]
All right, okay.
We're gonna check to see
if there's any damage.
[Glen speaking]
[Jared] All right, let's go.
Uh, definitely
a little concerned
on, uh, what kind of damage
could've happened
to the structure.
She wasn't an easy ride.
[grunts]
Definitely took quite
a beating up in the front end
of the barge here.
The, uh, generators
are coated in salt water.
They're gonna be all,
need to be rinsed off
and dealt with properly.
Now the question is the hatch.
Is it full of water?
Having water inside
that barge would be bad,
bad news.
You could sink it offshore,
and that would be probably
the end of my company.
Yes, that's-- [chuckles]
That's the end of us.
[narrator] Normally,
the camp is surrounded
by floating docks,
allowing easy access
to the hatch.
But with it under tow,
the only way Jared can get
to the barge's hull
is over open ocean.
[Jared]
We're gonna have to do this
the hard way.
We gotta dangle over the side.
This is where you separate
the boys from the men.
Could be a bad idea.
[chuckles softly]
Most likely a bad idea.
Can you hear me, Glen?
[Glen speaking]
[Jared] Just gonna go
down off the side here
and see what I can see.
So, I will check in with you
as I go.
[Glen speaking]
[Jared]
I'm looking down there.
You know,
I'm kind of getting nervous.
But I know I need to know
if that hatch is full of water
so it's a bit of a puckering
up of your [bleep].
[bleep].
[Jared bleeps]
[narrator]
Five miles offshore
-[Jared] One more
bolt to go, Glen.
-[Glen speaking]
[narrator]
and after 24 hours
of waiting for a break
in the weather,
Jared can finally determine
just how much damage and water
his float camp has taken on.
Ah. Success!
We did her.
She's bone dry
in the front hatch, Glen,
our patch worked.
That's a big relief for me,
making sure
this hatch is good.
Okay, I'm gonna bolt her
back up.
I'll let you know
when I'm back safe and sound
on the barge.
[Glen speaking]
[Jared] Oh, that's awesome.
Whoo!
And the hull was dry.
So, you can imagine
what would've happened
if that hatch
was full of water,
the barge would've went down.
[sighs in relief]
It's a good day.
It's a really good day.
-Thanks, Glen.
-[Glen speaking]
[Jared]
Let's get back in the bird
and go get some logs.
[Glen over radio]
Ready to rock.
[Jared] We couldn't ask
for a better outcome
of that barge.
Okay, coolant is up.
We're good there.
And the oil is good.
[narrator]
Back on the float camp front
and with the hoe chucker
once again upright,
foreman Ross has sent
the rest of the crew
back to work
and called in
bush mechanic Adrian
to give the machine
a thorough inspection.
When these chuckers
or the yarders go down,
uh, the wood's not moving
to the road.
It's a big chain.
When one thing stops up,
it can stop the whole program.
So, it's super crucial
to get things going
with some speed.
-[Ross] Start this thing up.
-[Adrian] Yeah, sounds good.
Yeah, I gave her a [bleep].
-[Ross] Fire in the hole.
-[Adrian] Yep.
[engine starts]
[Ross] Anything there?
-See something?
-[Adrian] Oh, yeah,
we got a leak.
[Ross] No, [bleep]. [bleep].
[groans]
Those freaking chains.
They bite
right into them hoses
when you get 'em over.
[Adrian]
One of the gravel hoses
blew on the stick
to boom knuckle there.
And it can't function
like this.
It's spraying oil everywhere.
We gotta get this hose
changed out.
[Ross]
I'll check the back here
for hoses.
[narrator]
By now, this hoe chucker
has been out of service
for more than 24 hours,
costing the last log barge
12 truckloads
of valuable timber.
But if Ross and Adrian
work quickly,
there's still a chance
to catch up on production.
Like that?
[Adrian] That looks
like the prick right there.
[Ross] All right,
I'll bring her down to you.
[Adrian] Pressure's on me
immediately
when these things
are broke down,
'cause we need them running
in order to keep the money
flowing,
so I gotta get this thing
back on its feet
and, and back to work.
Getting the old hose off.
They got these clamps
here holding together.
This one was sticking up
a little higher than the rest.
That might've had something
to do with why it went.
[Ross]
Well, we still gotta move
a lot of volume in here.
The barge is coming.
[Adrian] Barge is coming.
Okay, the hose is on.
It's nice and tight.
Let's give this thing a whirl.
[Ross] Are you ready?
[Adrian] Yeah.
[engine starts]
[Adrian] Good to go, brother.
[Ross] Looks like
we're back in business, bud.
[narrator]
With the hoe chucker
running smooth,
it's once again
all hands on deck
to get the last logs
of the season
down to the water
by day's end.
[Dave] Okay, I just doubled up
the, uh, skiff to the back.
[Leon] All good.
[narrator] Meanwhile,
in the warmer temps
of Grizzly River,
all logging operations
have officially shut down
for the season,
leaving foreman Dave
and boom boat operator Leon
with one final mission.
Ensure the last tug to market
leaves with no less
than 300 bundles in tow.
-[Dave] You wanna run it
before we go?
-[Leon] Yeah.
[Dave] We're shut down
for fire season now.
This is the last tow
to come out of Grizzly River.
I really hope it's a big one
so we can pay all these bills.
[narrator] But before
Jared can get paid,
Dave and Leon
must make one more run
to Potato Point
and add the last of their logs
to the outbound haul.
[Dave] We're in a bit
of a pickle right now.
We've got, uh, [chuckles]
a leaky stuffing box
on the boom boat,
and that's allowing water
to come in through the shaft
and the seal.
Oh, there we go, man.
I can get this to, uh,
Pete and Leon,
and, uh, hopefully,
we're off to the rodeo here
with towing some wood down.
We're gonna need
this boating action
to get everything ready
before the, uh,
big tugboat comes
to take our tow.
[Leon] This is the dry shaft
that goes down to your rudder.
We're gonna be
putting more stuffing
in the stuffing box.
It's like a honeycomb rope
and it goes around the shaft
and it stops
the water from coming in
so the boat doesn't sink.
Get this done quick.
We'll start her up.
We gotta meet that boat.
-You all good?
-[man 2] Yep.
[Leon] It's gonna be noisy.
[engine starts]
If we get the stuffing
done correctly,
it should have
a drip from the water
every couple of seconds.
How's that looking?
Well, we're getting a,
a drip about every second.
That's probably pretty good.
[Leon] I think that's good.
-[Dave] Let's go
wrap her up, Leon.
-[Leon] Are we ready?
[Dave] Yeah,
we're untied, bud.
Away we go.
[Dave]
We got to get these logs
down the river,
so we're ready
when the tug arrives.
[Leon] Whoo!
Calling the king, storm rider.
[narrator]
A hundred miles to the south
on the inlet of Jared's
float camp operation,
the moment of truth
has arrived.
[Jared] We're heading to,
uh, watch the log barge
get loaded.
Sun's going down.
It's really crucial
to get the barge tied up
before dark.
[narrator] With almost
$400,000 still needed
to settle his debt,
and a potential payoff
of 200 grand,
this barge could mean
the difference
between a narrow win
this season
or selling off assets
to make ends meet.
Little nerve-racking,
at this point.
We'll see how they do.
Everything good?
-[man 3] Yeah, we're good.
-[Jared] Okay.
[man 3] It's all set up.
I'll be going out to push 'em
in fairly quick, okay?
[Jared] Okay.
Nice, nice cedar.
-Some big [bleep].
-[Jared] Big wood, yeah.
Tie it off.
It's getting dark now,
so definitely nerve-racking.
I got a lot of people
relying on me right now.
So, stakes are very high.
I gotta make sure that
my crew get paid
to support their families.
And we gotta
start back next season
financially strong.
[narrator]
After six hours of loading,
the last log bundle
is aboard the barge.
And Jared can finally find out
how his float camp
finished their season.
[Jared] Bundles are good, eh?
[man 3 speaking]
[Jared over radio]
How's it feeling?
[man 3 speaking]
[Jared grunts]
[narrator] Jared was counting
on this barge
to leave with no less
than 300 bundles.
But with only half of that
on board,
he's left with a mere
100 grand in profit
and one last load
at Grizzly camp
to make up for lost money.
[Jared bleeps]
I'd be disgraced
if this whole thing fails.
And right now,
it's not looking good.
[Dave] Well, I wrote a song
driving around,
thinking about life
and experiences
and financial difficulties
and the stresses
really, every passionate
logger has gone through.
♪I'm a cash-poor
Millionaire logger ♪
♪Just trying
To make ends meet ♪
♪Trying to put food
On the table ♪
♪For the people
That work for me ♪
♪I'm a West Coast
[bleep] logger ♪
♪The best in BC ♪
♪I have stress for breakfast
Lunch and dinner ♪
♪Don't you wanna be
Just like me? ♪
[chuckles softly and exclaims]
So, right now,
I'm heading to Grizzly River.
I gotta see
the last tow of logs
coming out of, uh,
Potato Point.
[narrator] Last night,
Jared was dealt a major blow
after the last log barge
of the season
left only half full.
Now, he's hoping
today won't deliver
the knockout punch.
Right now,
Grizzly is my last hope
to make it,
so I don't lose
my company and I, uh,
you know,
I don't lose my livelihood,
and, uh, most importantly,
I don't lose my name.
Maybe it wasn't
the right time to buy out
my business partner.
Ugh.
[narrator] Jared was banking
on this haul
to have no less
than 300 log bundles.
But after coming up short
at float camp,
it's more like 450.
[man 4]
So, if you just go right here,
we'll tie this up.
You're good to go.
Looks like the tug's coming.
Oh, yeah, Inlet Rustler.
That's what
we've been waiting for, boy.
Hopefully,
this all goes smooth.
Disconnects and tows out easy.
[Joe] Hey, fellas.
[man 5] Hey, Joe.
We're gonna go
and put the straps in.
-[Leon] Okay. Okay.
-Then we'll be ready
to cut these.
[Dave] Right now,
we're here if you need us.
-[man 5] Yeah.
-[Dave] Tide's coming up.
-Hopefully, we won't get stuck
on the rock.
-[man 5] Yeah.
[Dave] Leon and I
are on standby right now.
We're letting the big boat
get what he needs to do done.
And when we're ready,
we'll release the last tie
on the head
and we'll start
towing this thing out.
Hopefully,
it'll be a lot of money
in the bank for Jared.
Every three sections he'll go
and he'll put cable across.
Just gives it more support
when they're towing.
You wouldn't wanna fight
that young fella at the bar
on a Friday night.
You can tell by guys
that work in the bush
how they move.
He moves like a gazelle.
He's probably--
He'll never get winded
and he can probably go,
go, like, the best of them.
It's all part
of a loggers life. [chuckles]
[man 5 over radio]
We're gonna start by pushing.
Roger.
That's coming out nicely.
You're all clear back here,
we'll just stay
on the side here.
[Dave] Here we go, boy.
We have fully released our,
uh, product off to the tugboat
and he's responsible for it
to get it safely
to world market.
A heartfelt thank you, man.
It was neat. It was challenge.
[Jared] Inlet Rustler,
Inlet Rustler,
Coast Logger, you on the air?
[man 6 speaking]
Hey, buddy, how you doing?
It's Jared, the logging owner,
just, uh, coming to take
a look at the tow.
How's it feeling?
Tell me it's heavy.
[man 6 speaking]
Curious on, uh,
how many sections
you guys recorded there.
[man 6 speaking]
[Jared] We did it. [chuckles]
It was tight, it was close,
little too close for comfort,
but we got her done.
This feels really good.
[narrator]
With a profit of $347,000,
this final load
out of Grizzly River
raises Jared's net income
to $1.157 million.
Just enough to pay off
his debt.
Only thing I ask of you boys
is make sure
you get it safe to market
'cause it's, uh,
down to the wire for this guy.
[man 6 over radio]
We'll do it.
[Jared] Today is a great day.
It's been a long time
in the making.
I had my doubts,
but we actually did it.
I paid my debt
and I finally own
my own company.
It's an absolute relief.
With all the problems
that we've had this season
[man 7] What the [bleep]!
[Jared]
we just barely made it.
I'm nothing without my team.
You fight hard for that guy
because you know he's fighting
hard for you beside him.
You're building
this empire together.
This is just the beginning.
I want this thing to grow.
I want to expand.
Next year
we'll go even bigger,
push even harder.
As we get bigger,
there's a lot of risk.
But, uh, without risk,
there's no reward.
We've come way too far
to let up now.
[man 8]
Have you got another one?
-[all laughing]
-[Jared] It's been
a hell of a ride.
Thanks for a good season.
We barely made it.
Definitely focused
on your goal, and you got it.
Without team,
you're nobody, so
[man 8] Whoo! JD at the helm.
I'm gonna throw
some steaks out.
Let's, uh, have something
to eat.
-[man 8 bleeps]
-[indistinct chatter]
-[dog barking]
-[Jared laughs]