BUDIES (2022)

Sue readies her camp for the coming winter. Glenn makes his move from Fairbanks to Chandalar. Jessie revamps his entire dog lot. The Hailstones begin work on a mobile home.

Sue waits on a fuel delivery. Glenn goes on a moose hunt. Jessie revamps his dog lot. The Hailstones begin to build a mobile home.

Sue makes needed repairs around camp. Jessie collects fish from his fish wheel. Glenn works to haul a moose back to camp. Chip processes and trades pieces of a caribou.

With the freeze under way, Alaskans scramble to secure their livelihoods. Sue Aikens returns to find a dangerous predator lurking just outside of camp.

The Arctic’s late freeze presents unique challenges for Alaskans as they attempt to gather food and resources for survival.

Repairs, hunting and errands are all on the to-do list as five Alaskans struggle to get through the everyday grind as a long, dark winter looms ahead.

The looming arrival of dark winter forces Alaskans to tackle various obstacles to ensure a prosperous season.

In the dead of winter, Alaskans travel into the mountains and across frozen rivers and tundra to obtain resources for survival.

Though not easy tasks, trapping and hunting are essential activities for Alaskans to get crucial food and fur to survive dark winter.

Alaskans pursue scarce resources in anticipation of the coming spring and face some unexpected surprises.

Sue Aikens has chosen to carve out a life of perilous isolation in the remote artic tundra, overcoming constant challenges to thrive at Kavik River Camp, a remote refueling station on the North Slope of Alaska. Sue reveals her journey to Kavik, starting from a rough childhood and tracing through three marriages and numerous ups and downs, and she shares what it is that draws her to a life of solitude.

Sue gets stuck with the loader on the road from Deadhorse to Kavik. Glenn suffers a leg injury on a trek home. Andy kills and processes a lynx. Chip hunts for muskox.

Chip and Agnes Hailstone struggle to live in the Artic and survive as a family, while passing along the importance of their heritage and native traditions to their children. Chip and Agnes discuss their background and experiences, sharing the struggles they have had living a semi-nomadic subsistence lifestyle while hunting, fishing and gathering to survive in the harsh conditions of Northwest Alaska.

Sue's loader travels to Kavik on a convoy. Glenn builds a snow cave and stays on the mountain overnight. Andy rebuilds his wind turbine. Agnes and Chip travel home to Noorvik.

Sixty-five miles above the Arctic Circle, in a sparse Brooks Range, Glenn Villeneuve has given up nearly all modern conveniences to carve out a life of freedom in the wild.