03x07 - Devil's Chute

[bunniefuu]

[ominous tone plays]

- [dramatic chord strike]
- [Ross] Holy [bleep].

[narrator] Previously on
"The Last Woodsmen"--

[Ross] Hang on.

Winter fires a warning shot
at the forever claim.

And it's a mad dash to deliver
a final royalty payment...

[Jim] [bleep] yeah,
honey shot, Rob.

...before snow closes
down the mountain.

- [Jared] There's the boom boat.
- [man, on radio] Oh,
there she is.

[Lin, on radio]

[Jared] That's the best thing
I can hear out here.

Now, with the forever claim

officially shut down
for winter,

Jared needs Kachelot Creek
to deliver on his buyout.

This will be my last chance
to reach my $2 million goal.

This is it.

[orchestral music plays]

When you can see your breath
in the morning,

you know winter's upon you.

Gonna have to brace for it.

[exhales]

I was counting on having two
weeks before winter shutdown,

but the storm just hit us hard.

And all I have left is
Kachelot Creek.

John agreed I have until
the end of the season to raise

that $2 million goal
to buy the forever claim.

I need at least
two log barges to do it.

I gotta log like a son of
a b*tch to get this done.

And I'm gonna have to pray that
Mother Nature has mercy on me.

Almost $500,000 shy of buying
the forever claim,

Jared Douglas is counting on
Kachelot Creek to hit

the final $2 million mark,

if the weather holds.

But to finish strong, he has to
make big moves fast.

[Jared] There's a place on
the claim called Devil's Chute.

It's where the most profitable
wood is.

Money trees everywhere.
But it's at a very high risk.

The worst road conditions
on the coast.



The Devil's Chute is
no playground.

But if I can extract that
timber before snow, I'm gonna

hit my goal by winter shutdown.

Jared's already sent his team
of fallers into the area

to start stacking timber.

Now the plan is to move
Float Camp

five miles down the coast
for direct access to it.

Meanwhile, after calling a log
barge to collect their latest

haul, Jared will assemble
a convoy of heavy equipment

larger than any he's attempted
before and make the climb

up Devil's Chute for
one last harvest.

But first...

Oh, hey Leon, how you doing?

[Leon] Oh, not bad.

...he'll have to
line out his crew

on the Float Camp front.

I need you to move Float Camp
with Adrian.

We're gonna move camp
from here, Kachelot Inlet,

down the inlet to our closer
log dump, Purgatory Bay.

That's gonna shorten up
the cycle times

for the fat trucks,
so this is a big push.

I have a log barge on the way.

I have to be there.

So, I really need to trust
you and Adrian are gonna

get this done for me.

If we can move Float Camp today,
tomorrow, we're set up to log

the Devil's Chute.
We only get one shot at this.

We'll get it done.

- Right now, everything's pink.
- We're right there.

[Brent] Basically looks like
a hurricane coming.

And the pink is
right along the coast.

And that's where we've got to
tow this thing.

Not good.

If it's getting gusts like
that, this thing's

a three-story sail.

The last thing we want to do is
put this thing on the rocks.

That's not a conversation
I want to have with Jared.

Later that morning,
Adrian and Leon prepare to move

Float Camp to its new post
near Devil's Chute

with the added pressures
of an inbound squall.

[Adrian]
Unfortunately, some weather
is coming in and if the weather

gets bad enough,
this-- this barge is a big sail

and when that wind hits you,
it blows around.

You can lose control of it,

so we got way more power
to do this job.

On a calm day,
a single tugboat brings

just enough torque to move
the massive camp.

But with high winds in
the forecast, the crew has

no choice but to double down
on pulling power.

[Adrian]
It's a bit of an expensive
alternative, but without

this ferry to come and get us,
we're looking at days before

we can actually move the barge.

So, generally, when it comes
down to time or money,

you got to get as much time
as you can.

We can cut the water line
and I'll jump back on the barge

and run the deck.
- [Leon] Yeah.

Hey Glen, we're gonna undo
this back rope first.

He's got the handheld and then
you can talk to the skipper.

Ramp's tied, that's tied.
OK.

Me and Adrian are gonna cut
this stern rope.

Then we should be hopefully
on our way soon.

OK.

I do have general tug
and barge experience

a little bit, but this is
my first barge camp move.

So, I'm pretty skeptical,
worried, and hesitant.

And unfortunately, when you're
dealing with tugs and barges,

you're dealing with
high-pressure situations.

There we go.

[Adrian] Last time me and Leon
were on a vessel together,

things didn't go very well,

so I'm hoping for
a better outcome today.

We don't want any surprises
right now.

- OK, water line, done.
- You got it?

[Adrian] Yep.

Good to go.

That went pretty smooth.

- Knocking on wood.
- Yeah.

[Leon] Now we just gotta make it
out the entrance here.

[metallic scraping]

I just want to see
where there's extra--

[Steve, on radio]

Yeah, go ahead.

[Steve, on radio]

[Adrian] No.

Without the winch,
we can't tow the barge.

This is a big problem.

That other boat's broke.

Always at the wrong time.

[Adrian] [bleep].

[majestic music plays]

[Kate] Ready to do some hiking
and get warmed up here.

[Matt] Get all them steps in.

Whew.

Five miles away on the banks
of Devil's Chute,

fallers Kate Johnson and
Matt Meckley are on a mission

to bring down big timber before
Jared's fleet of machines

arrive in just six hours.

[Matt] Got some, you know,
weird terrain here.

But we got some
pretty nice trees around

that would make
some good money.

[Kate] Ah, this could
be a good one.

[Matt] Super nice.

Ooh.

[Kate]
Big, dead limbs up there.

[Matt]
Yeah.

[Kate] It's a nice tree though,
pretty sizable.

[Matt] It's got some
good money in it.

I bet this thing saves out
damn near to the top.

[Kate] Yeah, for sure.

But it's leaning towards
this little, steep drop off.

- [Matt] Yeah.
- [Kate] Leaning out that way.

[Matt] All the limbs are
on that side, too.

[Kate] I know it's got a lot of
weight this way, but I do think

we have the advantage
of a little bit of weight

out here too, so we can try to
use that as best we can.

[Matt] Yeah, yeah, yeah,
I agree with that.

[Kate] One of the first things
we notice about it is that

this thing wants to go
right towards the drop off.

If it were to go down towards
that steep drop off,

it'd probably blow up the tree.

So we need to make sure we have
a good plan to help us control

where this thing goes,
so we can nail our shot

and save this thing out.

Face cut.
Let me bring it back
to about here.

Try to counter that side lean
as best we can.

- [Kate] Keep it up the hill.
- [Matt] Yeah.

[Kate] Maybe right through there
is what I'm seeing.

[Matt] Yeah, 100%.

[Kate] And that's
if it holds on.

Hoping that we can keep it,
keep it true.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, a little bit of
a drop off here.

It'd be tricky to cut.

Maybe put a little something
right here for some footing.

And then reach around
and be able to cut all that up.

[Matt] Yeah.

With such a heavy lean,
this tree is poised to fall

straight down the gully where
it could easily shatter.

To counter that, Matt and Kate
will first install

a springboard to secure footing
over the drop off.

Then they'll carve a face cut

pointing 90 degrees
across the side hill

before sending the whole thing
over with one final back-cut.

[motor running]

She's in there.

[Kate] I think we're ready to
get this thing on the ground.

Time to face her up.

- [motor cranks]
- [chainsaw whirring]

[Kate] To keep it up the hill
and avoid the steep cliff,

I'm making my face cut a little
bit higher or past where

I actually want the tree to go
and give myself, like, a margin

of error to anticipate it
breaking off sideways

and not going exactly
where I gunned it.

So far, everything's
looking good.

- [Kate] Start the back cut.
- Cool.

[Kate] Here we go.
Ready?

[Matt] Yeah.

[Kate]
You do the best you can to try
to put a tree where you want it,

but at the end of the day,
it comes down to the species,

the wood fibers,
and the characteristics of

whatever tree
you're working on.

So you do what you can,
but there is that in the back

of my mind that this thing
might not hold on for as long

as I want it to, and I'm really
hoping it doesn't go

into a bad spot.

[heavy thuds]

- [cracking]
- [Matt, yelling]

[cracking]

[Kate] Oh, come on.

[suspenseful music plays]

[Matt, yelling] It's moving.

[cracking]

- [crash]
- [rustling]

[Kate] Nice.

It didn't go exactly where
we wanted it, but at least it

didn't go way down into there.

- Yeah.
- Like, it stayed true
to the direction.

[Matt] No, I think it worked out
pretty good.

- [Kate] Could have been worse.
- [Matt] Still went
into a good hole.

I'll call that a win.

Luckily, it still landed
in a decent place.

It'll be a good one for Jared
and moving on to the next one.

Back on the water,
while crews struggle

to move Float Camp
by day's end...

A lot of people's hard work,
blood, sweat, and tears have

gone into this.

...Jared ensures that
every last stick of timber

left on site
is loaded onto a barge

worth up to $240,000
in profit.

[Jared] I'm loving seeing
these bundles.

They are beautiful bundles.
Wood is stacking up.

It's hard to believe that that
whole crane right there is

picking up a whole logging
truckload of wood.

Right now I'm worried about
coming up short.

Faster this thing leaves full,
the faster we can put more wood

in the water and make
another one of them

at the Devil's Chute.

[Dave, on radio]

[Jared, groaning]
Not what I want to hear.

[bleep] light barges
are k*lling me.

I need to find some way to make
sure that the next log barge is

overloaded with a shutout,

or this whole season
will be for nothing.

[somber music plays]

[tense music plays]

Back by the shore...

[grunts]

[Adrian]
We're gonna have to get this
fixed before we can tow this.

Oh, this is gonna be a [bleep].

...the push
to relocate Float Camp

is still dead in the water

until Adrian fixes a busted
winch critical to the move.

[Adrian] One of the hydraulic
hoses on Glen's winch failed,

and we have to swap that out
before we can do this tow

at all, so we got to
get that back going

before we can really
tackle the move.

As you can see,
it's pissing rain,

so we got to
go right away.

We have a small weather break
to do this where the water is

calm enough, and if we
blow our timeline,

the wind picks up.

Worst-case scenario,
you lose control of the barge.

It can end up on the beach
or get punctured by rocks

and stuff, some guys go
in the water,

and we don't want that.
We don't need that.

That's a tight angle, brother,

and then once it's there--
oh, god.

[bleep].

This is just a little
on the tight side.

Oh, god.

[bleep].

Hydraulic hoses can be
very frustrating.

They're made out of rubber
and steel wiring,

and they're rigid.

One, two, three.

The shorter the hose is,

the harder it is to
bend them around.

This one has to do basically
a complete 180, and it's only

about a foot long.

If you've ever struggled
with hydraulic hoses,

you know my pain.

Oh, you [bleep].

[grunts] [bleep].

[groans]

[ominous tone plays]

[Adrian] Oh, you [bleep].

Oh.

[bleep].

Oh, dude.

Wait one sec here, let me see,

um...

try and do some [bleep]
with this rope here.

If you hand up underneath it--

[Adrian] Just give me
that little extra.

Basically, all we have with us
right now is a bunch of ropes

to outsmart this hose
and get it installed.

And I get you to [bleep] try
yoinking on that.

If you try to use just your body
and your muscles to hold

the hose in place
while you're installing it,

you're gonna tire yourself out,
puke and roll over off the side

of the boat.

So we use ropes to harness
that energy and try to flex it

and hold it in position where
we need it without using

too much of our own energy.

Oh baby, now we're
talking, Glen.

Oh yeah, dude.
We're just about there.

Come on.

Come on, I'm seeing--
I'm seeing threads go.

Oh, h*, h*, h*, h*.

That was the number one
toughest hose I've ever done

in my career, dude.
Oh my god.

Finally, I got that hose to
thread on there, big relief.

But I was hoping this would
take maybe 10 minutes or so,

but it turned into
about an hour.

- [Leon] So is
the captain ready to go?
- [Adrian] Yep.

[Leon] All right,
now we're just cruising.

Funny how even despite I don't
want to go on boats ever again,

here I am, found myself
back on one.

- [Leon] Yeah.
- [Adrian] No, it's good.

[Adrian] Protected water
I'm fine with.

I think I'm done with
the open ocean.

[Leon] Yeah.

Right on, well...

we're on our way.

[ominous tone plays]

Further inland...

Good!

Jared's crew prep
for the final phase

of the Devil's Chute move.

Sending a convoy of heavy
equipment up 20 miles of

rugged logging road.

But there's still one
machine missing.

A grapple yarder,
essential to the operation.

What's happening boys?

[Cody] Nothing.
Night switches got left on.

We're gonna have to
start jump-starting it here.

[groans] OK.

Ah, the yarder's got dead
batteries, so we don't have time

for a mechanic right now.

The snow is making its way
down the hill.

These grapple yarders are
extremely dangerous to walk down

in the snow, so we need to

get it on the move within
the next couple hours.

[Norm] Don't let them touch.

Hooked up, are you?

[Jared] Yeah,
we're hooked up there, Norm.

[Norm] Whoa.

[tense music plays]

Cody, see if it'll roll over.

[engine cranking]

- Oh, oh yeah.
- Ah.

[Cody] Look at that.

[Jared] Nice.

We'll let the yarder warm up,
let him run the lines

back and forth, get the clutches
nice and hot.

Then we're gonna send Norm
up the hill to start

getting the gear back down.

[suspenseful music plays]

We need to hurry this up.
Let's go.

OK, I'll wind them in,

and then I'll start marching
down the hill.

We'll be at the bottom
in a little bit.

Turn around.
Critter will be there waiting.

Let's make some tracks.



near the convoy
staging ground...

- After you.
- OK.

...fallers Jim and Rob, fresh
in from the forever claim,

hunt for end-of-life-cycle
cedars to drop along the road

to Devil's Chute.
- Oh.

[Rob] Is that split in half?

[Jim] Doesn't look
like it's split.

Well, that just burned up
a bark seam, it looks like.

[Jim] Yeah.

Yeah, like a chimney just
burned right up the bark seam.

Well, it looks like
there's some solid wood

in here, though.
- [two taps]

- Oh, yeah.
- Oh, there we go.

[Jim] It's kind of rotten around
the base, but it cleans up

at the top.

As far as wood's concerned,

this is a high-value tree.

Yeah,
but the structure of this tree

is compromised.

[Jim] Yeah.

Cut it up, cut it down,
or is it push-over?

[Rob] Uh, I'm thinking,
the undercut's gonna be fine.

I cut too much, it's probably
gonna collapse.

I'm not confident enough that
it's gonna hold together

and fall over
the way I want it.

It's a potential push tree,
that's in the back of my mind.

Are we gonna need to
push this thing over?

But the biggest issue I got
is no pushers.

Got a couple of scruffy, little
trees here we could use.

I don't know if
they'd even help.

Usually, you throw
a big bushy tree at it

and just push it over.

But in this situation, a lot of
these cedars, they're not

really tall enough, so they're
not gonna create

enough pressure up high.

That's where you need
the pressure, is up high.

Might have to push this one
with a machine, Jim.

Which would be safer
and less exposure.

- Yeah, exactly.
- OK, buddy.

With so much damage at
its base, this 70-ton cedar

could easily crumple
at the stump

and crash down on Rob.

So to hedge his bets,

he'll call in a log loader
staging nearby,

aim his undercut
toward the road

and use the machine to apply
pressure in the same direction

before hopefully sending
the whole thing over

with one final back cut.

[Rob] You on there, Garrett?

[Garrett, on radio]

We're a little limited on push
trees, so you mind coming down,

do a machine assist
and push this thing?

[Garrett, on radio]

Awesome, thanks.

Because we won't be able to
have absolute control of

this thing, Rob's gonna want
to distance himself

from that danger.

The best way to do that is
with a machine.

- [Rob] That's it there.
- [Garrett] OK.

[Garrett] And you want it where?

I'm gonna try and put it
right into this hair here.

OK.

I'll get the undercut out
and then you can put your boom

against it.
- [Garrett] OK.

Then I'll cut up as much of
the low side as I can

without getting pinched.

And then once I start nibbling
at this, then I'll get you to

put a little more
pressure on it.

- OK.
- [Rob] And when it starts going,

I'll head straight back there.

[Garrett] OK.

[Rob] OK, let's get this thing
pushed over.

[motor running]

[Jim] Right now, we got
three jobs going on.

Rob's gonna be doing
all the cutting.

I'm gonna be focusing on
overhead hazards.

We've got Garrett who's gonna
be supporting this tree

and pushing it over once
it's cut up on the bottom side.

- [cracking]
- [Jim] Clicking.

Popping.

It's already popping.

[Jim] I hear a set popping
and I can

see the top clicking
as it's popping.

[Rob] It's [bleep] creaking.

Let's get in the clear,
so Garrett can get his boom

up there.

Here we go.
She's go time.

[Rob] It's talking already,
so it's almost ready to go

before we even put
the back cut in.

OK, let's get this [bleep] thing
on the ground

before something [bleep] up.

[Jim] Yeah, let's get out of
the front of this.

I'm gonna start on that
bottom by that little sapling

and cut up as much as I can
before it pinches.

[Jim] Yeah.

I feel it moving
in the machine.

[Jim] It's leaning down hard.

It's, I could see it
slipping away

from his grapple,
leaning down the hill.
- [Rob] Seriously?

I don't know if you can get it
in behind it a little more.

[Jim] I don't know
if you could see it, but--

[Rob] I couldn't see nothing.

I actually saw the cut open up
a bit, so yeah, that's better.

Yeah, consistent pressure,
and if you see me bolt,

it's going, and I'm getting
in the clear.

Roger.

It's not going yet.
It's starting to sag again.

[Rob, on radio]

See what-- see what she does.

[Garrett, on radio]

OK, that's all you had there?

Yeah.

[Rob] [bleep], that's not good.

[cracking]

At the base of Devil's Chute...

[Rob] That's all you had there?

[Garrett, on radio]

[Rob] [bleep], that's not good.

I'm gonna have to
cut it up some more, then.

Put pressure back on it.

OK, I'll cut some more
on this high side.

Did it do anything?

[Jim] It was lifting.

It was lifting a bit.

[Rob] I'll try tapping
a couple of wedges here.

[whacking]

Yep, keep going, Rob.

Keep going, she's going.

[whacking]

[Rob] Yeah, let's push
this b*tch.

[Jim] Oh [bleep],
that's so close.

- [Jim] Go, go.
- [Rob] There she goes.

You got her.
[bleep] right.

[Jim] Oh, yeah.

[cracking]

- [crash]
- [rustling]

- Oh, hell.
- Yeah.

[Jim] Lovely.

[Rob] Hell yeah.

[Jim] Well, she fell right where
we needed it anyways.

- [Rob] [bleep] yeah.
- [Jim] That's a win.

[Rob] That was
a big [bleep] tree.

Overcoming something like
that, I always just get hyped

right up, like a little kid

jumping up and down.
It's pretty cool.

And that's why
I like it out here,

because of the camaraderie.

You're trusting your life
with them.

So, it's pretty cool.

- [Rob] Thanks, Garrett.
- Hey, no problem, guys.

- Yeah, it was great
working with you.
- I appreciate that.

Let me know any time else
you need a hand.

- Yes.
- Well, now that
we've worked with you,

we'll be calling
you a lot more.

[Garrett] Absolutely.
Thanks, guys.

[Rob] A nice piece of wood.

[tense music plays]

- How's it going, Cap?
- [Kevin] All right.

- That went pretty fast.
- [Kevin] Yeah.

[Leon] Just trying to
make game plan.

At Purgatory Bay,

Jared's floating headquarters
pulls into its new outpost.

[Leon] The major problem is,
is that corner.

I guess there's a rock
that comes out.

The cap comes, like,
within ten feet of the end
of that dock.

Yeah, if you think
you can make it,

we should be able to just go
tight against the sticks.

There's a rock, of course,
right along the shoreline that

makes it a tight hole
to sh**t through,

and we don't want to
put the barge on it.

We don't want to put
a boat on it.

Things can happen,
you lose control of the barge.

We don't want that to happen.

That's the pressure of
the situation, basically.

We're pretty sure we can
make it, but there's always

that off chance something
goes wrong.

So, it looks like we've got
more room than we do,

and it's gonna be a tight--
a tight shot here.

[Leon] We're just letting it
get in right now, past this

rock pile that's right there.

If one of the boats lost power
or something right now,

it would have potential of

hitting the rocks.

Yeah, we're probably 100 off
the sticks there now, Kev.

Oh, lots of room, nice.

That's good.

Right on.

Yeah.
[bleep] sick, dude.

Nice job, Cap.

[Adrian] You never know how
these moves are gonna go.

We had a lot of setbacks
all in a row, but we really

lucked out here,
and the landing went perfect.

- [Leon] There you go, Hoppy.
- [Adrian] Yeah.

Rock and roll, boys.
It's been a [bleep] pleasure,

I'll see you next time.
See ya.

Hands clear.

Yeah, feed me a little.
Perfect.

OK.

The dock is secured,
the barge is secured

to the beach,
and we're done here.
We're home.

With Float Camp now ready
to receive logs...

[Jared] You guys swing
at the same time.

...the last step of
the Devil's Chute maneuver

comes down to five
heavy haulers,

two grapple yarders,
and one hill.

[tense music plays]

All right, we're about to do

something that
we've never done before.

Ross will be in the skidder.

We're gonna have Alicia
hook to Ross, pulling
the first low bed.

That low bed will have
a 100-ton grapple yarder on it.

Coming up from behind will be
Lance pushing Critter with

another low bed with another


And I will be taking up
the rear in a fat truck.

Everybody's got to communicate.

Everybody's got to
stay focused.

You can see the snow is
starting to creep up

on that hill.
That's where we're going.

Greatness is at the end
of this road.

If we can secure
the forever claim, this is it.

This is the hill to die on.

All right, let's go.

Ramps up.

Radio check for Ross.

[Jared, on radio]

How about you, Alicia?

- I'm here.
- Critter?

Rog.

[Ross, on radio] Lance?

Yeah, man.
I'm here.

All right.
then let's do this, boys.

And girls.

- Here we go.
- Start your engines.

We're gonna ram something.

[Critter] Full throttle
ahead, lads.

That's how it goes.

[suspenseful music builds]

[Ross] That's quite the train.
The Cypress Creek Centipede.

[laughing]

On the road to Devil's Chute.

This is a lot of steel moving
up a mountain here right now.

Well, must be so far, so good.
Everybody's pretty quiet.

Good over here.

Well, that's my speed.
As fast as this skidder's going.

[Jared, on radio]

It's all torque right now,

pushing a lot of weight
up the hill.

Starting to climb now.

Holy [bleep], this is steep.

[suspenseful music plays]

It's all about
keeping momentum.

All gas, no brakes.
Foot to the floorboard.

[suspenseful music builds]

Getting pretty warm.

This thing's doing everything
it can right now.

Definitely pushing these trucks
to their limit.

I definitely don't like being
at the back of this.

Oh, you ever seen
a derailed train?

It's the caboose that gets it.

That brake back there is
just so [bleep] crazy.

[Critter, on radio]

- What's that, Critter?
- Oh, he's got a brake
issue now.

[Jared] You on here, Lance?

[Lance, on radio]

[Jared] You got a hot brake
there, by the looks of it.

Must be hanging up.

The smoke right now is-- we got
a hot brake going on.

We can't stop now,

so Lance has put water on it
to cool it down.

Do not lose
the momentum, Lance.

Just keep going.

Don't ever stop on a hill.
Get going.

Again, would just twist
everything up.

But we're dancing with
the devil on the way to

the Devil's Chute right now.

Come on, baby.
Come on.

Next time on the season finale
of "The Last Woodsmen"--

[Jared] I did not expect to
see snow this soon.

I need to do everything I can
to make sure I can get

this barge full before
the season ends.

- [Rob] [bleep] wind picking up.
- [Jim] Holy [bleep].

[Jim] No, stay up.
Stay up.

[Adrian] Got an issue with
one of the cranes.

No hydraulics,
no functionality.

That pump's [bleep], man.

[Jared] We're burning time,
daylight, and [bleep] cash.

Down to the wire before
winter shutdown.

- Let's go.
- We have to move faster,

or we're [bleep].