0:00:04 > 0:00:07A remote corner of the North American continent.
0:00:07 > 0:00:11A subarctic wilderness, unchanged for millennia...
0:00:13 > 0:00:17..until gold was discovered here at the end of the 19th century.
0:00:20 > 0:00:25News of the find triggered a global stampede - the Klondike Gold Rush.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31And for two brief years, this place was utterly transformed
0:00:31 > 0:00:35as tens of thousands of gold-seekers from around the world
0:00:35 > 0:00:37raced from the Alaskan coast,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40600 miles north to the Klondike gold fields,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42hoping to strike it rich.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46Now, 120 years later,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49a team of adventurers are here to take on that same journey
0:00:49 > 0:00:51in search of their own gold,
0:00:51 > 0:00:55and to experience what it was like to be a Klondiker.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59The team are led by historian, Dan Snow.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04The amazing thing about the Gold Rush in the 1890s
0:01:04 > 0:01:06is it's just luck.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10It was the guys who got here first and then dug in the right places.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14He's joined by medic and engineer, Dr Kevin Fong.
0:01:14 > 0:01:18We need to stick it into the stream and just wait to become rich,
0:01:18 > 0:01:19that's how that works.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24And polar explorer and scientist, Felicity Aston.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27The theory is that all the gold is so heavy
0:01:27 > 0:01:28that it sticks to the bottom.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31So nothing running out will be valuable.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33They'll need to survive icy torrents...
0:01:35 > 0:01:36Quick, quick, quick, quick!
0:01:36 > 0:01:38That's cold!
0:01:39 > 0:01:41..dangerous descents...
0:01:41 > 0:01:43Whoa!
0:01:43 > 0:01:45..and surging rapids...
0:01:47 > 0:01:49That was...an experience.
0:01:49 > 0:01:50Nice work!
0:01:50 > 0:01:53..before they reach the Klondike,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56where they'll mine for gold the old-fashioned way.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58Oh, my God, look at that!
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Dan, Felicity and Kevin are on the Yukon River.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21They're three weeks into their month-long expedition,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25following in the footsteps of the original Gold Rush stampeders.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29The sail's filling nicely, we are making good progress here
0:02:29 > 0:02:31towards the gold fields, everybody.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37After five days on board their handcrafted 19th-century-style boat,
0:02:37 > 0:02:41they're nearing the end of the punishing 600-mile trail.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Since arriving on the coast of Alaska,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47the team have travelled deep into Canada
0:02:47 > 0:02:50by climbing towering mountains,
0:02:50 > 0:02:52swimming freezing rivers
0:02:52 > 0:02:55and navigating enormous lakes.
0:02:59 > 0:03:00Now they're just over 70 miles away
0:03:00 > 0:03:04from the gateway to the gold fields, Dawson City.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15They've been joined by wilderness guide and wildlife expert,
0:03:15 > 0:03:19Chris Morgan, who's been charged with looking after their safety.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22You can see how easy it would be to miss stuff, can't you, you know?
0:03:22 > 0:03:25I mean, imagine a bear, or a wolf, you know.
0:03:25 > 0:03:29They're tough to spot when the undergrowth's this thick.
0:03:33 > 0:03:35So far, their journey along the mighty Yukon River
0:03:35 > 0:03:38has been smooth sailing.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41But this is no place for complacency.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45RUMBLE OF THUNDER
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Gentle! Gentle!
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Gentle! Gentle! Gentle.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57As the storm builds, the team decide to head for shelter.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Felicity, hard, Felicity, hard, Felicity, hard!
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Boom! Yes!
0:04:01 > 0:04:05But that means rowing across the fast-flowing current...
0:04:07 > 0:04:09Other way, other way!
0:04:09 > 0:04:13..entirely dependent on their crudely-fashioned oars.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Push away! That's right.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18LOW CHATTER
0:04:21 > 0:04:23Oh!
0:04:23 > 0:04:26Dan's oar has snapped clean in two.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28It's fine, we're good. We're good, we're totally good.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32With only one oar, there's a danger of being swept away by the current.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36They resort to paddles and fight to get to shore.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42And two strokes hard! Two strokes hard!
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Soaked through and exhausted, they eventually make it.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Whoohoo!
0:04:58 > 0:05:01That was pretty epic! That was great. Well done.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03It was funny, because... Thunder, lightning.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05..otherwise we wouldn't have made it.
0:05:05 > 0:05:07We've got 120km to go until we get to Dawson
0:05:07 > 0:05:09and we no longer have one of our two oars.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12At least we got into camp safely, we didn't get swept down the,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14er...the river.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16That is very annoying.
0:05:16 > 0:05:18At camp that evening,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22historian Dan reflects on what motivated the stampeders.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Gold is just that one four-letter word, isn't it?
0:05:26 > 0:05:29And it meant wealth and comfort and status and power.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33Reading all those diaries, you can't help but just think,
0:05:33 > 0:05:36"Is this gold all it's cracked up to be?"
0:05:36 > 0:05:39To better understand what the Klondikers went through,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42Dan has been reading Gold Rush-era diaries.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46First-hand accounts of those who witnessed the stampede.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51Men became excited,
0:05:51 > 0:05:55giving up good jobs and leaving their wives and children.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58Often mortgaging all they possessed
0:05:58 > 0:06:01to get enough to buy outfits.
0:06:01 > 0:06:04For what? For many - disillusion,
0:06:04 > 0:06:09hardship, poverty, death.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17You feel sorry for them, because of what they had to endure
0:06:17 > 0:06:19and because of how unlikely it was
0:06:19 > 0:06:21they were going to realise that ambition.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24This was a story about people looking for
0:06:24 > 0:06:26a better life and a better future.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27Especially in the middle of a depression,
0:06:27 > 0:06:29which there was in the USA at the time,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31it was their lottery ticket, it was the way out.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40The next morning, the rain is still pouring down.
0:06:41 > 0:06:45It's wet, it's miserable,
0:06:45 > 0:06:47we've got 120km to go to Dawson
0:06:47 > 0:06:50and we've lost an oar.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55To truly experience what the stampeders went through,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58the team are using Gold Rush-era technology,
0:06:58 > 0:07:01with one or two exceptions.
0:07:03 > 0:07:04Beautiful.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Yes.
0:07:08 > 0:07:09Let's have a look... Shall we have a go at it?
0:07:14 > 0:07:15ALL:Ohhh!
0:07:15 > 0:07:17We have an oar.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Kevin, you've just saved the day.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Back on the way, and the weather improves.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34But before they leave the wilderness behind,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36there's a surprise encounter.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40There it is.
0:07:40 > 0:07:42It looks like a bear.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Think it's a black bear.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49FELICITY:Oh, I can see him. I can see him, yeah.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52There are two bear species native to the Yukon.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55The grizzly bear, and this...
0:07:55 > 0:07:56the American black bear.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Wow, he just crossed the Yukon River.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01That is amazing.
0:08:01 > 0:08:02What an incredible swim.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07What on earth would make a bear do that?
0:08:07 > 0:08:09They have pretty big home ranges,
0:08:09 > 0:08:13and his home ranges might encompass both sides of this river.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18Starving after winter hibernation,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22the priority for the thousands of black bears who live in the Yukon
0:08:22 > 0:08:24is finding food.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33Must have been terrifying for the stampeders.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Yeah. I mean, for British stampeders that came over,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39seeing these creatures for the first time, I mean,
0:08:39 > 0:08:40and then landing ashore
0:08:40 > 0:08:42and trying to find somewhere to camp among them,
0:08:42 > 0:08:44it must have been completely bewildering.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Swept along the enormous river by the current,
0:08:52 > 0:08:54the first signs of civilisation
0:08:54 > 0:08:56begin to appear.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00It's a house.Yeah.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04You know, when I first heard about this trip
0:09:04 > 0:09:09and someone said there's a 400km rowing bit,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13I genuinely thought it was a typo.
0:09:13 > 0:09:14Walked over a high pass...
0:09:14 > 0:09:17You've reached the top. Well done!
0:09:17 > 0:09:19..rowed along a long river...
0:09:22 > 0:09:23..all to get to this place.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26After a gruelling 600-mile journey,
0:09:26 > 0:09:29they've finally arrived at the gateway to the goldfields -
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Dawson City.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37I genuinely feel a little bit emotional,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40getting here, to Dawson.Yeah.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45Oh!Come ashore.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Let's go find some gold.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53Today, Dawson City still lies at the heart
0:09:53 > 0:09:55of gold-mining operations in the Klondike.
0:09:57 > 0:09:59But with a population of just over a thousand,
0:09:59 > 0:10:01it's a shadow of its former self.
0:10:05 > 0:10:06During the Gold Rush,
0:10:06 > 0:10:10it was transformed from a small indigenous settlement
0:10:10 > 0:10:13to a bustling hive of around 40,000 stampeders
0:10:13 > 0:10:14in less than a year.
0:10:20 > 0:10:23One of Dan's favourite diarists of the Gold Rush,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27a British aristocrat and adventurer called Frederick Stephen Wombwell,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30arrived in Dawson in 1898.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35"No attempt seems to have been made
0:10:35 > 0:10:37"to lay out a town.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39"The people live in tents and shacks,
0:10:39 > 0:10:40"scattered-all-over creation."
0:10:42 > 0:10:47"The one street consists entirely of saloons and dance halls
0:10:47 > 0:10:49"and, of course, a few shops.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53"Everything is covered with dust and very filthy."
0:10:56 > 0:10:58But the thousands of stampeders
0:10:58 > 0:11:00weren't here for the distractions that Dawson offered.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04They were here for gold.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07And now it was tantalisingly close.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12From Dawson, it's just a short journey
0:11:12 > 0:11:14into the Klondike goldfields,
0:11:14 > 0:11:19a 1,200-square-mile area of creeks, hills and wilderness.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23It's here that the team's hunt for gold will begin.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Their destination, Dominion Creek,
0:11:31 > 0:11:33lies about 40 miles south
0:11:33 > 0:11:34of Dawson City.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38It was at Dominion Creek
0:11:38 > 0:11:42that Frederick Wombwell started mining in 1898.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47"Passed a very sleepless night.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50"Thinking too much, I suppose."
0:11:52 > 0:11:54"I often wonder as I write these notes
0:11:54 > 0:11:57"with what sort of a story I shall conclude them."
0:11:58 > 0:12:01"How many disappointed souls will there be,
0:12:01 > 0:12:02"and shall I be one of them?"
0:12:10 > 0:12:13Like Wombwell, Dan, Felicity and Kevin will be attempting
0:12:13 > 0:12:14to find gold here
0:12:14 > 0:12:17using 19th-century methods and technology.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22And they've had a team at Dominion Creek
0:12:22 > 0:12:25recreating a Gold Rush-era mining camp.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31Carpenter Peter Buntain has been overseeing construction.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37He's been helped by local miners, Reid Gaven...
0:12:40 > 0:12:42..and Aaron Mendelsohn.
0:12:49 > 0:12:50Oh, look at that.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54The gold mine!
0:12:54 > 0:12:56It's going to be fun, isn't it?
0:12:56 > 0:12:58So this is our very own mine.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00This is it, we're going to find gold here.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02Good to see you.How you doing, Peter? Good to see you, buddy.
0:13:02 > 0:13:04Nice to see you. Hey, how you doing?Hey.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08The team have enough supplies for just five days.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Hi. Felicity. Hi.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14During this time, historian Dan wants to experience
0:13:14 > 0:13:15the same physical hardships
0:13:15 > 0:13:18faced by the stampeders who mined for gold.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21I'm happy to do that, if you guys want to do that. It's up to you.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Polar explorer and scientist Felicity
0:13:24 > 0:13:27is keen to use her geology expertise
0:13:27 > 0:13:29to help find the gold.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Whilst trauma medic and engineer Kevin wants to get hands-on
0:13:32 > 0:13:35with the technology that the gold-rushers employed.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43The first challenge stampeders faced was establishing a camp
0:13:43 > 0:13:45in this inhospitable subarctic environment.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53The team have arrived in late spring,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56just like many stampeders did in 1898,
0:13:56 > 0:13:58joining those who'd braved the winter.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00But even in early June,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03conditions here can be harsh.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05This is great.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08This looks like a proper Gold Rush-era,
0:14:08 > 0:14:1119th-century prospector's tent.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Ah, it's beautiful. A wave of warm air hits you.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16Home away from home.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19I've got my great little stove to keep me warm
0:14:19 > 0:14:21and my bed up off the floor, so I'm happy.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25And, Peter, you could camp in this through the winter, could you,
0:14:25 > 0:14:27even with temperatures way below zero outside?
0:14:27 > 0:14:30I think the coldest I've been out is minus 48.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34When you have a little woodstove and a little tent, it's everything.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Temperatures drop to about zero here at night still.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41Dan and Kevin decide they need a stove of their own...
0:14:41 > 0:14:43whilst Felicity tries her hand
0:14:43 > 0:14:46at another skill the stampeders had to master.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50He knows where he's going. So shall I try giving this a go?
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Timber was one of the very few vital resources
0:14:53 > 0:14:55in plentiful supply for the stampeders.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57It was used for construction,
0:14:57 > 0:15:00mining equipment and as fuel.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06That's starting to go now a little bit.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Yeah, and it's going to go that way. Watch out.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Whoohoo!That's how you do it.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17We are digging a pit for this stove to go into.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21So we can get the chimney to go out of that hole there.
0:15:21 > 0:15:23Looks pretty good.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27But Peter's spotted a problem with Dan and Kevin's handiwork.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29It's going to need to be higher. It's too dangerous.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31If the wind's blowing, we'll put the fire
0:15:31 > 0:15:33straight on the roof of your tent.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36The dangers of these particular stoves
0:15:36 > 0:15:38are the obvious ones,
0:15:38 > 0:15:40if the canvas hits the stove,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43it can catch fire - they're well known to,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47which is why they earned themselves the nickname "hippy-killers".
0:15:48 > 0:15:50To avoid burning down their tent,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53the chimney needs to be moved further away from the tent wall
0:15:53 > 0:15:55and extended higher.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01These days, extra sections of chimney come flat-packed.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04And, as Dan discovers...
0:16:04 > 0:16:05This is ridiculous.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07..they're a devil to bend into shape.
0:16:14 > 0:16:15What a piece...
0:16:15 > 0:16:17of junk.
0:16:19 > 0:16:20With the camp feeling more like home,
0:16:20 > 0:16:23it's time for the team to head down to the claim.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26There's a cut right here.Nice!
0:16:26 > 0:16:29What are we looking at here? This is the mine, this bit here?Yeah.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31Why would you choose this area?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33You would aim for a natural depression in the ground like that,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36and this is right across from it, so...So that's exciting.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37It is exciting, yeah.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Even in gold-rich areas,
0:16:39 > 0:16:42most of the gold isn't found near the surface.
0:16:42 > 0:16:43You need to dig for it.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50As gold is one of the heaviest substances found in nature,
0:16:50 > 0:16:52it works its way down through the soil
0:16:52 > 0:16:55until it settles in the gravel layer above the bedrock.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02These gold-rich layers are known as pay dirt.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05Old-timers were pulling, like,
0:17:05 > 0:17:07half an ounce to their gold pan out here, back then.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09A day.A day, yeah.A day?!
0:17:09 > 0:17:10Yep, 15g a day.Yes!
0:17:10 > 0:17:13There's lots of potential here for us.Right!
0:17:13 > 0:17:16I think it would be really good if we had a go with the pans
0:17:16 > 0:17:19just in the creek, to know that there really is something here.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Sure thing.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23So we're really lucky to have some virgin ground,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25but it's such a gamble.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29When you see the size and the quantities that you're dealing with,
0:17:29 > 0:17:32you realise just how small your chances are
0:17:32 > 0:17:35of striking that absolute sweet spot that has the gold.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40The tried and tested method of prospecting for gold
0:17:40 > 0:17:43has remained unchanged since the Gold Rush.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Take a pan full of dirt
0:17:45 > 0:17:47and wash it out in the creek.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Felicity is the only one of the team with experience of panning,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57so she gives the others a crash course.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00The idea is that you use loads of water
0:18:00 > 0:18:02to wash off all the dirt and soil.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06And then you start making circles with the pan
0:18:06 > 0:18:09so that the big stones drop off the edge,
0:18:09 > 0:18:11so you have to keep the pan tipped
0:18:11 > 0:18:13and you have to keep lots of water in there.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18I'm getting nervous about throwing away the gold that is in here.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Well, the theory is that all the gold is so heavy
0:18:21 > 0:18:23that it sticks to the bottom,
0:18:23 > 0:18:26so nothing running out will be valuable.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Small flakes of gold found in the soil near the surface
0:18:29 > 0:18:32are a good indication of richer gold deposits
0:18:32 > 0:18:33near the bedrock below.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36It's this telltale surface gold
0:18:36 > 0:18:38that our team are looking for.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41Come on, goldy-goldy-goldy.
0:18:41 > 0:18:42What does gold...?
0:18:42 > 0:18:44"What does gold look like?" were you about to say?
0:18:44 > 0:18:46I think, if you don't know that...
0:18:48 > 0:18:50..then we're in a bit of trouble here, mate.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52That looks a lot like gold.
0:18:52 > 0:18:53It looks more silvery, doesn't it?
0:18:53 > 0:18:56That's probably sort of mica or silica.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58Does silica have an enormously high value?
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Yeah, it would be nice if it did, because we'd be rich already.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07There's a lot of shiny stuff in there, but no gold.
0:19:11 > 0:19:12This doesn't seem to me
0:19:12 > 0:19:14to be a foolproof system of gold-discovery.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21As there's been 120 years of mining in this area,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24most of the easy-to-find gold has long since gone.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Yeah, I don't see nothing in here.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28The same technique.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Same level of success.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34How've you done, Peter?
0:19:35 > 0:19:36I'm down to my black sand,
0:19:36 > 0:19:39but I do see a little bit of colour.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41That's definitely gold, man. That's how it shines, right?
0:19:41 > 0:19:45You can really see it. That's definitely gold.
0:19:45 > 0:19:46That is exciting.
0:19:46 > 0:19:47Nice work, Peter.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Yeah, great!First gold.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52There's gold in them there hills.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54We've just got to get it.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56Just got to get it out of there. That's right.
0:19:56 > 0:19:59They've found their first piece of gold.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Trouble is, they need a magnifying glass to see it.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06This is a genuine piece of placer gold.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08They call it placer, don't they? Placer, they do. Yes.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10The tiny flakes. When you look at it close,
0:20:10 > 0:20:12it's got lumps and bumps on it
0:20:12 > 0:20:14like a very small nugget.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19As the day ends, the team have had their first taste of gold.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23They now have only four days to find more.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37It's 5:30am.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42And someone's already stirring in camp.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46It's now a beautiful morning.
0:20:46 > 0:20:47Sun is out.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50Before everyone gets up,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52I can't resist going back down to the mine site
0:20:52 > 0:20:54and doing a bit of digging.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02Ice on the handle of the blade.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04It is cold down here.
0:21:06 > 0:21:10Dan is determined to single-handedly dig his way down to the pay dirt,
0:21:10 > 0:21:13the gold-rich layer close to the bedrock.
0:21:15 > 0:21:16A little part of your brain,
0:21:16 > 0:21:19every single shovel, is just scanning for gold.
0:21:21 > 0:21:22It's a kind of madness.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24I think I'm going down with it.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Maybe the most exciting thing about being here
0:21:31 > 0:21:34is knowing that Wombwell,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37one of my particular heroes of the Gold Rush,
0:21:37 > 0:21:39it was here that he put his shovel in the ground
0:21:39 > 0:21:41and started looking for some gold.
0:21:44 > 0:21:47"There must be gold in all these creeks
0:21:47 > 0:21:50"but, really, finding it is mostly luck.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54"Experienced miners will search all over a strip of country
0:21:54 > 0:21:55"and not even find colour.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59"While a cheechako, who does not know gold when he sees it,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03"will scratch about in some unusual place and find it."
0:22:06 > 0:22:09That's the amazing thing about the Gold Rush in the 1890s -
0:22:09 > 0:22:10it's just luck.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13It's the guys who got here first,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16it's the guys who got the good areas to dig,
0:22:16 > 0:22:19and then dug in the right places once they got to those areas.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22But times have changed.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Today, the gold is much more scarce,
0:22:24 > 0:22:28and modern gold miners can't rely on luck alone.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37While Dan's been digging for gold,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39the others have just started their day.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43They've been joined
0:22:43 > 0:22:46by local mining and geology experts Astrid Grawehr and Jim Coates,
0:22:46 > 0:22:47who they've called in
0:22:47 > 0:22:50for their knowledge on where best to find gold.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56But when Jim and Astrid take a look at the claim,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59they suspect the team might have a problem.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Layers of silt that look like they've been...
0:23:04 > 0:23:07..more recently laid down than ancient times.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Oh, Astrid... So if this has been dredged,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14there's not a huge amount of sense
0:23:14 > 0:23:16in digging any further into this hill.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18OK.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Astrid suspects the bank they've been digging into
0:23:20 > 0:23:22has been previously mined.
0:23:23 > 0:23:24If that's the case,
0:23:24 > 0:23:27it would mean any gold has already been removed.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32She wants to see more of the cut exposed.
0:23:34 > 0:23:36Right here?
0:23:37 > 0:23:41And it's not long before her suspicions are confirmed...
0:23:41 > 0:23:42Watch out there, guys.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44..by a rogue rock.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46That didn't get there naturally.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49No.So, looks like we've got proof now
0:23:49 > 0:23:51that this is previously-mined ground,
0:23:51 > 0:23:53because that great big quartz rock
0:23:53 > 0:23:56should be sitting on bedrock, where the gold is,
0:23:56 > 0:23:57but instead, it's...
0:23:57 > 0:23:59It's up here at the topsoil. Yeah, like, five metres up.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04There's really no point in digging in pre-worked materials.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06It's probably been mined.OK.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Do we look for somewhere else to dig?
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Let's go take a look up the creek.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16With their first location proving to be a bust
0:24:16 > 0:24:18and only four days of mining left,
0:24:18 > 0:24:22the team splits up to search for a viable gold prospect.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Dan heads for the hills.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Felicity ventures further up the creek to try to find
0:24:31 > 0:24:32some unmined ground.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36While Kevin wants to come up with a more efficient method of
0:24:36 > 0:24:39extracting gold from pay dirt, if they find any.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Look, I'm terrible at this, and if I'm being honest,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50I don't think any of the three of us is any good of it. Not really.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52It's craft skill.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56But there has to be a better way of getting the gold out than this.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04The key to finding gold here is to know where it might be concentrated.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11One way that gold gets concentrated is when small flakes are
0:25:11 > 0:25:16washed down streams and come to rest in areas where the water slows,
0:25:16 > 0:25:17such as in bends.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23Over time, these streams change course,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27leaving large gold deposits buried under thick layers of topsoil.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30The art of successful gold prospecting
0:25:30 > 0:25:32is in reading the landscape
0:25:32 > 0:25:35and recognising small depressions that might indicate
0:25:35 > 0:25:38the presence of an ancient riverbed.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42The spot's right there. Yeah? In this depression?
0:25:42 > 0:25:46Why do you like this depression? It's a natural trap for the gold.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49This depression here. So we go on that flat spot right there.
0:25:49 > 0:25:53You're excited now.Oh, yeah. This feels like virgin territory.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Dan is hoping that Reid's experience will lead them
0:25:56 > 0:25:58to one of these ancient riverbeds.
0:25:58 > 0:26:03But the only way to know for sure is to dig down, deep down,
0:26:03 > 0:26:05to the bedrock, where the stream would have run.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09That's nasty.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16I see you're hitting permafrost right here.Permafrost already!
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Oh, yeah. It's, like, five inches down.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Even in late spring, the Klondike is so close to the Arctic Circle
0:26:22 > 0:26:26that the ground is permanently frozen just beneath the surface.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28That's just a block of ice. Oh, yeah.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32Gold miners would have to break through this permafrost
0:26:32 > 0:26:35in order to reach the gravel and bedrock beneath.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51"A strata of frozen black muck about 15-20 feet in thickness
0:26:51 > 0:26:54"has to be picked through with a pickaxe.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57"This is very slow and tiresome work,
0:26:57 > 0:26:59"and usually takes about ten days.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04"Below this lies the gold-bearing gravel.
0:27:04 > 0:27:11"This is frozen hard as flint, and against it, the pickaxe is useless."
0:27:17 > 0:27:19Dan and Reid have been digging for over an hour,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23but have only managed to get a few inches down into the permafrost.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Just gives you an idea what the old boys would go through.
0:27:28 > 0:27:31Sometimes they wouldn't even find anything, they'd have to go over,
0:27:31 > 0:27:33move right over there 50 feet, dig another shot.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37You can see why men either left the goldfields rich or broken.
0:27:37 > 0:27:38Yeah. Or broken is right.
0:27:40 > 0:27:43It's clear this plan isn't working.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47DAN GROANS
0:27:53 > 0:27:56Meanwhile, Kevin has headed over to a nearby claim owned by
0:27:56 > 0:28:00traditional mining expert Jerry Anhart...
0:28:00 > 0:28:02Jerry!How you doing?!
0:28:02 > 0:28:03..in the hope of finding a more
0:28:03 > 0:28:06efficient way of processing pay dirt.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11Although Jerry's claim isn't big, he's had some rich pickings.
0:28:11 > 0:28:12Looks fantastic.
0:28:13 > 0:28:17When I go to town on Friday nights, this is the one I wear.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20This is the most important nugget I've ever found.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23I panned this one. It is exactly a one-ounce nugget.Wow!
0:28:23 > 0:28:26A lot of the old-timers are still saying here that I faked this,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28cos they wouldn't believe it,
0:28:28 > 0:28:29you know?
0:28:29 > 0:28:33And the half-ounce one my wife wears was two metres away.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37The gold is impressive, but what's of real interest to Kevin
0:28:37 > 0:28:40is that Jerry mines his claim using traditional methods.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44It's three and a half feet, about one metre down there to the perma.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48This is my sluice box here, popularly called a Long Tom.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55In 1898, the stampeders used every ounce of their ingenuity
0:28:55 > 0:28:59to make the process of gold mining more profitable.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02One of the most widely employed innovations
0:29:02 > 0:29:04were handmade sluice boxes.
0:29:06 > 0:29:08How does this work?
0:29:08 > 0:29:11What you are doing is really imitating Mother Nature.
0:29:11 > 0:29:16Down there is the ancient creek bed that was laid down
0:29:16 > 0:29:17a half a million years ago or so.
0:29:17 > 0:29:21So the heavy gold worked its way down these valley sides
0:29:21 > 0:29:23through alluvial action.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27What we're doing here is compressing that time
0:29:27 > 0:29:29by making it more efficient.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Down here we have what are called Hungarian riffles.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36When this box is set up right, they will be tilted at a 15-degree angle.
0:29:36 > 0:29:40The lip over the top will create an eddy current,
0:29:40 > 0:29:42where below is a low-pressure area,
0:29:42 > 0:29:45and the gold drops out and gets caught in the mat.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48And then the lighter material goes out.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50It's like artificial bends in the river,
0:29:50 > 0:29:51places where the water slows or...
0:29:51 > 0:29:53Very good, you're learning. ..or is turbulent.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57By separating gold from lighter elements,
0:29:57 > 0:29:59the sluice box does what panning does,
0:29:59 > 0:30:03but far more efficiently, and on a much bigger scale.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Wish us luck. I think we're up against it.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08We've only got a couple of days here.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10Well, there's an old saying about luck, you know -
0:30:10 > 0:30:13the harder I work, the luckier I get.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Back at the Creek, Felicity and the geologists have been
0:30:18 > 0:30:20prospecting for gold further upstream.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25But so far, no luck.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28There's no gold in there, is there?
0:30:28 > 0:30:29After several hours,
0:30:29 > 0:30:32the search for a good site to mine is beginning to look futile.
0:30:34 > 0:30:35No gold.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40Nothing there.
0:30:41 > 0:30:44Until Jim chances on what looks like an unpromising pile
0:30:44 > 0:30:46of gravel and rock.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50It could be another layer of dirt that's already been processed,
0:30:50 > 0:30:53but because it's still piled up in a heap,
0:30:53 > 0:30:56he suspects it might be something else.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59This is it. We've got pay. What have you got?
0:30:59 > 0:31:01This is the, probably, bottommost metre
0:31:01 > 0:31:05that is sitting right on bedrock, that has all the gold in it.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08The people who mined this previously would have scraped the bedrock up
0:31:08 > 0:31:12and piled it, intending to sluice it, and then they never did.
0:31:12 > 0:31:17So this is a pile of pay dirt that was originally mined,
0:31:17 > 0:31:18but not processed.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22But why would anybody go to all the time and effort of digging out
0:31:22 > 0:31:26all this dirt, and then not process it to see what they've got?
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Sometimes people forget or they find a better area somewhere else
0:31:29 > 0:31:31and just leave this. So this is fantastic news!
0:31:31 > 0:31:33Rather than us having to dig down to get this stuff,
0:31:33 > 0:31:35somebody has already dug down to near bedrock,
0:31:35 > 0:31:39scooped up that exact layer and put it on the banks.
0:31:39 > 0:31:43Let's be scientific and double-check.
0:31:43 > 0:31:45Before they get too carried away,
0:31:45 > 0:31:49it's worth panning the pay dirt pile to check there's some gold in it.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53So, we found some gold.
0:31:54 > 0:31:57One little nugget.Yay!
0:32:03 > 0:32:07At the end of their second day mining, the team are back on track.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14I just really want to get stuck into that dirt pile.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18I just so want to go back to Dawson
0:32:18 > 0:32:21with a little pot of gold.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25I feel like I need that last bit of connection with the story,
0:32:25 > 0:32:28with the history, with the original stampeders.
0:32:28 > 0:32:30That feeling of going back
0:32:30 > 0:32:34and cashing in what we've found from the ground.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48It's day three at the mining claim.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53With the discovery of the pay dirt, it's time to stop prospecting
0:32:53 > 0:32:56for gold, and time to start extracting it.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01But the team won't get very far with hand panning.
0:33:02 > 0:33:04It is going to take a century of Sundays before we can get
0:33:04 > 0:33:08through all that dirt unless we have a more efficient process,
0:33:08 > 0:33:10and that process has to be the same principle as panning,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13but just on a sort of semi-industrial scale,
0:33:13 > 0:33:14and that needs a sluice.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16We need quite a lot of water, don't we?
0:33:16 > 0:33:18Got to dam the river for a source of water
0:33:18 > 0:33:22to wash the dirt to sort the gold for us.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24I never said it was going to be easy.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27I said we needed to do it. So we've got to find some wood.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30You know what they used to do 120 years ago, the original prospectors?
0:33:30 > 0:33:33They broke up their boats. That's where the wood came from.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38No. We're not breaking that boat up.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43The good ship, The Bloody Nose carried the team
0:33:43 > 0:33:46through frigid waters and fierce rapids...
0:33:47 > 0:33:50..over 200 miles of the mighty Yukon river...
0:33:52 > 0:33:55..named after Dan was wounded in action.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00Kevin grew very attached to the boat.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03I always loved this boat. This is a great boat.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08I genuinely don't want to hack that boat up.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10I genuinely, genuinely, genuinely don't.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12I don't think we've got another choice, to be honest.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15I've seen some kit lying around that could saw planks.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18How hard can it possibly be? They're planks.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22Kevin's not prepared to saw up The Bloody Nose,
0:34:22 > 0:34:25so he's going to try to make planks the same way the stampeders did.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28Right, Peter, what are we doing?
0:34:28 > 0:34:30Well, guys, I guess here we have a wood saw stand.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Where the men become men and where the Huskies may be nervous.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40OK, so, the fellow on the bottom pulls, the fellow on the top pulls.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42Fellow on the bottom pulls, fellow on the top pulls.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44Fellow on the bottom pulls, fellow on the top pulls.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46Bottom pulls, top pulls.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50This was the only tool they had for making the planks for lumber
0:34:50 > 0:34:54for the sluice boxes or buildings or boats
0:34:54 > 0:34:56or whatever they needed to build.
0:34:56 > 0:34:57This was the early form right here.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01Before the mills came in, you were the mill.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04Peter, have you used one of these before?
0:35:04 > 0:35:07Oh, Kevin, to be honest with you...no.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14"Everybody hates this hand sawing.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16"Of course, the teamwork has to be very good,
0:35:16 > 0:35:20"as the saw has to run straight down the line marked on the log.
0:35:20 > 0:35:25"And if it runs off, the top man is sure to blame the man underneath.
0:35:25 > 0:35:26"Or vice versa.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32"They say this whipsawing has done more to break up partnerships
0:35:32 > 0:35:34"than any other one thing."
0:35:41 > 0:35:43Get those knees bending, buddy.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45KEVIN LAUGHS
0:35:46 > 0:35:49I've just got this quite surgical view of
0:35:49 > 0:35:53a bunch of teeth that come towards my testicles.
0:35:53 > 0:35:56Yeah, cos every time you pull back, it smashes me in the sternum.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59You're worrying about getting smashed in the sternum
0:35:59 > 0:36:00by a wooden handle, mate,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03I'm worried about testicular rearrangement.
0:36:03 > 0:36:06Buddy, I'm not WORRIED about being smashed in the sternum,
0:36:06 > 0:36:08I AM being smashed in the sternum. Every single time.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11KEVIN LAUGHS
0:36:11 > 0:36:13Seven inches. OK, we're doing OK.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15So I think we're looking at an all-day mission
0:36:15 > 0:36:18to create one plank at the moment.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20Kev, I don't think it's going to happen, buddy.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23I'm not sure we can make planks out of this enormous tree.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29Yep, I am sorry to have to agree.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32We're never going to get there like this.
0:36:32 > 0:36:33HE PANTS
0:36:33 > 0:36:35They need about a dozen planks,
0:36:35 > 0:36:38and as the whipsaw clearly isn't an option,
0:36:38 > 0:36:42it's curtains for the Bloody Nose.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45Broken oar.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49My most genuine emotion about this whole thing
0:36:49 > 0:36:53is I'm really reluctant to chop it up.
0:36:53 > 0:36:56I...I think it's a ludicrous thing to do.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00And I know it is what the stampeders would have done, but
0:37:00 > 0:37:05the stampeders did a lot of things that we're not going to do.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08I know. But this boat could help us to find gold.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11That's what it's done from the beginning,
0:37:11 > 0:37:13and it's going to keep on doing it.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16So let's give it the opportunity to still be part of the story
0:37:16 > 0:37:18and help us find gold.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21But taking The Bloody Nose apart
0:37:21 > 0:37:23proves to be far easier said than done.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25How are you doing there, Felicity?
0:37:25 > 0:37:30In about 20 minutes of sawing, I've got through one plank.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34For the second time in a day, Kevin is thwarted by a handsaw.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43And I rather suspect that the best person to tell us how to
0:37:43 > 0:37:45take it apart is the man who put it together in the first place,
0:37:45 > 0:37:48so I think we're going to need to talk to Peter,
0:37:48 > 0:37:50and I'm not looking forward to that conversation.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52Cos I don't think he's going to be very happy
0:37:52 > 0:37:54about us taking it apart either.
0:37:54 > 0:37:56Hey.Peter.
0:37:56 > 0:37:57How's it going down here?
0:37:57 > 0:38:00Hey, Reid. It's an amateur demolition.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04It's a hell of a nice boat, though. Yeah.Don't start.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06PETER:Hey, I don't feel bad about it at all,
0:38:06 > 0:38:09cos I really hope the boat is going to go to a good purpose.
0:38:09 > 0:38:11What's it really going to take to take this apart?
0:38:11 > 0:38:13We haven't got much time here, guys. OK, hang on.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17All right, you guys.
0:38:17 > 0:38:19MOTOR STARTS
0:38:19 > 0:38:22CHAINSAWS BUZZ, HE SHOUTS
0:38:26 > 0:38:28This is horrific.
0:38:33 > 0:38:34Hey, Kevin.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36OK, one, two, three. There we go.
0:38:40 > 0:38:46If you have a sluice, you need a dam to provide water for it.
0:38:46 > 0:38:48That's good.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Whilst Jim and Astrid dig out
0:38:50 > 0:38:53the channel that will supply water to the sluice,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57Dan and Aaron begin construction on the dam.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01Right, let's find some boulders. How big are we looking?
0:39:01 > 0:39:02A hug's worth.Yeah.
0:39:02 > 0:39:03There we go.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07DAN GRUNTS AND STRAINS
0:39:07 > 0:39:10DAN CHUCKLES
0:39:10 > 0:39:12Basically, we're just building a barrier here,
0:39:12 > 0:39:14like a foundation for the logs, right?OK.
0:39:16 > 0:39:18Just throw it anywhere you find fit.
0:39:21 > 0:39:22Like the stampeders,
0:39:22 > 0:39:26Dan came to the Yukon hoping to find an easy fortune.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30I'm just going to roll it.Yeah.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36But the harsh reality of gold mining is endless, backbreaking work.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42And so far, Dan's exertions have reaped precious little reward.
0:39:43 > 0:39:47We want to make sure this beefy spectacle isn't futile.
0:39:49 > 0:39:52Yeah, just right there, right in front of your foot. Yeah. Perfect.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00While Kevin and Felicity have been messing around with boats,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02we've been up here doing some hard labour
0:40:02 > 0:40:03and we have achieved something.
0:40:03 > 0:40:06We've managed to get a partial dam across this river,
0:40:06 > 0:40:10that provides a water supply, coming down our little channel here.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12At the end of this, Kevin is going to build a sluice.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15Into that, we're going to put the pay dirt,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17and we're going to wash that dirt and be left with gold.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19That's the plan.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22And today, I think we just achieved an important step.
0:40:22 > 0:40:24OK.Nice, bud!Well done.
0:40:30 > 0:40:34That evening, the ramifications of Peter's chainsaw massacre
0:40:34 > 0:40:36are still being felt.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40Something of a sad day today.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Had to break up the boat.
0:40:43 > 0:40:44We've come a long way in that boat.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49And it was an incredible, incredible journey.
0:40:50 > 0:40:55But we've got to get the gold and we haven't got much time.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06They were very clear about that.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10The team now has only two days left to make their fortunes...
0:41:10 > 0:41:12That's a fairly precise angle.
0:41:12 > 0:41:14..so Kevin needs to get his sluice built.
0:41:16 > 0:41:18He's enlisted Jim and Peter to help.
0:41:32 > 0:41:36So we now need our... What degree again, Kevin?
0:41:36 > 0:41:3815 degrees for the riffles. 15 degrees.
0:41:38 > 0:41:39Yeah, so we need to cut those.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45Here's your first. That's perfect.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52There we go, there's a riffle.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55Before the riffles go in, sackcloth is added,
0:41:55 > 0:41:59creating a mat that will hopefully snare the finer gold particles.
0:42:02 > 0:42:05With the same amount of effort, the sluice allows you to process
0:42:05 > 0:42:08probably 1,000 times more material than just panning.
0:42:08 > 0:42:121,000 times more? This is what you want to do.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14It's worth the time that you take to build the sluice.
0:42:16 > 0:42:17It's a hazard.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21When Peter decides it's too dangerous to do
0:42:21 > 0:42:22without some safety equipment...
0:42:24 > 0:42:26..it's probably just too dangerous, frankly.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37The final screw goes in and the sluice is ready.
0:42:37 > 0:42:40Now we need to stick it into the stream and just wait to become rich.
0:42:40 > 0:42:42That's how that works.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49In addition to the sluice, a hopper, to feed the dirt into,
0:42:49 > 0:42:52and a flume, to regulate the water flow, have also been constructed.
0:42:54 > 0:42:56ALL: One, two, three.
0:43:00 > 0:43:02Almost.
0:43:02 > 0:43:03And there we go.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07So...
0:43:10 > 0:43:13The finishing touch is an old metal grille,
0:43:13 > 0:43:16which will filter out large rocks that could block up the sluice.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22It totally looks the way a sluice should look.
0:43:22 > 0:43:23It's clearly working.
0:43:23 > 0:43:28We can watch it sinking out the heavies, floating out the lights.
0:43:28 > 0:43:33And what we're seeing is the hydraulic mimic of the creek.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35So, it's working perfectly.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38With the sluice fully operational,
0:43:38 > 0:43:40it's time to get some pay dirt through.
0:43:44 > 0:43:45Further down the creek,
0:43:45 > 0:43:48Dan takes charge of the hauling operation.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56This pile that somebody has chosen...
0:43:56 > 0:43:57HE CHUCKLES
0:43:57 > 0:43:59..better have a lot of flakes of gold in it.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01Otherwise I'll be annoyed.
0:44:01 > 0:44:03I've come a long way for this.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09They have their pay dirt,
0:44:09 > 0:44:12but they won't know if they've got any gold
0:44:12 > 0:44:14until they take apart the sluice at the end.
0:44:17 > 0:44:18So it's a lot of hard work
0:44:18 > 0:44:20and a big leap of faith.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26This is the old-fashioned way of getting the pay dirt to pay you.
0:44:28 > 0:44:30Labour-intensive.
0:44:30 > 0:44:31People shovelling.
0:44:31 > 0:44:33People pushing barrows around.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36People sticking stuff through a sluice like this.
0:44:36 > 0:44:37And it's horribly inefficient.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48My role in this has now been reduced to just dirt mover.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51Dirt shifter. I just do what I'm told now.
0:44:51 > 0:44:53But Felicity and Kevin know what they're doing.
0:44:59 > 0:45:00Great.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02Everyone appears to have left!
0:45:04 > 0:45:07That's enough gold mining for today, obviously.
0:45:07 > 0:45:08Whoa!
0:45:09 > 0:45:12I guess it's late.
0:45:12 > 0:45:13Time for a beer.
0:45:16 > 0:45:19The evening of day four at the claim.
0:45:21 > 0:45:25It's time to relax before the final push in the morning.
0:45:25 > 0:45:27Is it cinnamon and brown sugar?
0:45:27 > 0:45:28I think it's a good start.
0:45:30 > 0:45:32I wish we had more time out here.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34Tomorrow we've got a lot of work to do.
0:45:35 > 0:45:39Meanwhile, Felicity has headed off to take a closer look
0:45:39 > 0:45:41at an unusual landscape nearby.
0:45:47 > 0:45:50This place is surreal.
0:45:50 > 0:45:54It feels like you're on a vast, glacial moraine.
0:45:54 > 0:45:59But I already know that this wasn't created by any force of nature.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04This whole place was created
0:46:04 > 0:46:05by man looking for gold.
0:46:08 > 0:46:10When the miners first came here,
0:46:10 > 0:46:13they were mining on a really small scale,
0:46:13 > 0:46:15with hand tools and small teams of men.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17But within a few years,
0:46:17 > 0:46:21things had evolved so that they were using huge machines
0:46:21 > 0:46:24to look for gold on an industrial scale.
0:46:26 > 0:46:31The first gold dredge appeared in the Klondike as the stampede ended.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35By then, the easily accessible gold had all been taken.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38But the dredges industrialised the mining process.
0:46:39 > 0:46:42They were able to extract profitable amounts of gold,
0:46:42 > 0:46:44even from poorer ground.
0:46:47 > 0:46:49From down here,
0:46:49 > 0:46:54you can't really appreciate the true scale of the change.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57So I want to get a different perspective,
0:46:57 > 0:47:00just to see how big these workings were.
0:47:04 > 0:47:08You can already see that these are not natural formations.
0:47:08 > 0:47:13They've got this very even, regular ripple on the top,
0:47:13 > 0:47:16as if some massive earthworm has come through,
0:47:16 > 0:47:18excavating behind it.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24People did this to the landscape in desperation.
0:47:24 > 0:47:26They needed that gold. They needed that money.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33It stretches as far as the eye can see.
0:47:33 > 0:47:35Right the way to the end of the valley.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39We're just looking in one valley.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42These dredgers went up every creek, every valley,
0:47:42 > 0:47:44for kilometres and kilometres.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01It's the final morning of the claim,
0:48:01 > 0:48:04and with precious few hours left to strike it rich,
0:48:04 > 0:48:06the team make an early start.
0:48:08 > 0:48:10So this is the day of days.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12I'm feeling the pressure a bit.
0:48:12 > 0:48:14My God, this is the last chance.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16I mean, are you not feeling...Yeah. ..just a little bit anxious?
0:48:16 > 0:48:19I'm desperate. Desperate to get some gold.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23But desperate Dan is going to have to do some more desperate digging
0:48:23 > 0:48:24to get any gold.
0:48:36 > 0:48:38What do you call a man with a shovel in his head?
0:48:40 > 0:48:41Doug.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01We should get the guys to bring us a bit more of this dirt,
0:49:01 > 0:49:02otherwise we're going to run out.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05Where is Dan? He's probably in his vest somewhere.
0:49:09 > 0:49:10This creek is so cold.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12It's lovely.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24Everyone's busting a gut to put as much pay dirt as possible
0:49:24 > 0:49:26through the sluice.
0:49:29 > 0:49:34But after hours of back-breaking work, they're running out of time.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36Oh, Dan. Please, stop!
0:49:37 > 0:49:41The last shovel load goes through the sluice.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01All right, let's get my sluice out of this pit,
0:50:01 > 0:50:03and see whether we're rich.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05One, two, three. Here we go.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Any gold should have been captured by the mat
0:50:10 > 0:50:12at the bottom of the sluice box.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17But the only way to be sure is to dismantle it.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22I can't bear to watch.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24Careful with all our gold!
0:50:24 > 0:50:27The mat is washed into a bucket.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32It feels a bit weird, washing it all out into a bucket now.
0:50:32 > 0:50:36But that's our only way to get it concentrated down with our pans
0:50:36 > 0:50:38and the only way to find out how much we've actually made.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40I thought we were done with panning?
0:50:44 > 0:50:46This feels a lot more pressurised than when you're just panning
0:50:46 > 0:50:49on the side of the creek and not expecting to get anything.
0:50:49 > 0:50:51Knowing there's something in there...Yeah.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53..raises the stakes a bit.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58I mean, I don't know how I would
0:50:58 > 0:51:00go about spotting the gold
0:51:00 > 0:51:01in that much black sand. Oh!
0:51:01 > 0:51:03Oh, my God! Look at that.
0:51:03 > 0:51:04Look at that!
0:51:04 > 0:51:07That just caught the sun then. That is huge.
0:51:07 > 0:51:08Holy smokes!
0:51:08 > 0:51:12That's biblical.I didn't think we would get anything that size.No.
0:51:12 > 0:51:13Neither did I.
0:51:15 > 0:51:17They've found a speck of gold.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21But they still need to carefully pan out every last ounce
0:51:21 > 0:51:23of mud and rock,
0:51:23 > 0:51:26because just as for the stampeders,
0:51:26 > 0:51:28the success or failure of their mission hinges
0:51:28 > 0:51:31on how much gold they can recover.
0:51:35 > 0:51:36I'm so relieved.
0:51:36 > 0:51:40I cannot tell you what a weight this is off my shoulders.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43I was really feeling the pressure to come up with the goods.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45We have gold.
0:51:45 > 0:51:48Something that I'm going to be really proud to show the guys.
0:52:00 > 0:52:01So, guys...
0:52:03 > 0:52:07..I need you all to remember that trying to get gold out the ground
0:52:07 > 0:52:10was always going to be a massive, huge ask.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14Even to find one little flake is a huge achievement.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17And so, have a look at this.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19Look at those babies.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22I wasn't expecting to find anything this kind of size.
0:52:22 > 0:52:24Really, you were expecting less than this?
0:52:24 > 0:52:27Aw, come on, this is a big celebration, Kevin.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30Look, we have gold out of the ground. Look at it.
0:52:30 > 0:52:31Dan, what do you reckon?
0:52:31 > 0:52:34I'm not going to quit my day job just at the moment. But...
0:52:34 > 0:52:37Guys!..it's quite exciting to see gold that we got out of the ground.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Well, in my head, we have struck it rich.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42We found gold in the Klondike.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Yeah, that's great. We found the mother lode.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48THEY LAUGH
0:52:48 > 0:52:49Good, well done.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51If you kept it up for a couple of days, you'd probably...
0:52:51 > 0:52:53YouBLEEP. I was really impressed with that
0:52:53 > 0:52:56and you both justBLEEP on it completely.
0:52:56 > 0:53:00Looks like you get to keep it all, then.Yeah, I think so.
0:53:00 > 0:53:01I was impressed.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05I think that's a good start.Look, there's little bits here as well...
0:53:24 > 0:53:29The Klondike Gold Rush began after gold was discovered in 1896.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33But by the summer of 1899, with all the easy gold gone,
0:53:33 > 0:53:35the stampede was over.
0:53:35 > 0:53:36During this four-year period,
0:53:36 > 0:53:39over 18 tonnes of gold were mined -
0:53:39 > 0:53:42worth more than half a billion dollars at today's prices.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49The team return to Dawson City to cash in their hard-earned gold.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56The first stop is the smelter's.
0:54:04 > 0:54:09This freshly smelted 50-ounce bar is worth almost $60,000.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12There you go.Wow, that's heavy.
0:54:12 > 0:54:16Now, Wombwell pulled 1,400 ounces out of the Klondike.
0:54:16 > 0:54:17He had to give half of it away
0:54:17 > 0:54:19to the owner of the land that he was mining,
0:54:19 > 0:54:22so he got keep a stack of 14 of those.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25The really weird thing is that he says in the last line of his diary,
0:54:25 > 0:54:28he got home having neither made money or lost money.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30So the whole thing was break even.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33Just getting here and getting the gold out, then getting it back,
0:54:33 > 0:54:36cost him 14 of those.Yeah.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38Is there a minimum limit for what you can smelt?
0:54:38 > 0:54:41You know, you can melt small amounts, about an ounce,
0:54:41 > 0:54:42an ounce and a half.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45When you say small...Yeah.
0:54:45 > 0:54:46..how small?
0:54:46 > 0:54:49Oh... Erm...
0:54:46 > 0:54:49THEY LAUGH
0:54:49 > 0:54:50Not so much...
0:54:50 > 0:54:52Oh, no!
0:54:52 > 0:54:53So are you telling me
0:54:53 > 0:54:56it's not enough to be worth melting and pouring?
0:54:56 > 0:54:59I... That... Yes, correct.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03They may not have enough gold to melt down,
0:55:03 > 0:55:06but they can still try and sell it at a trading post in town.
0:55:08 > 0:55:09This is what we have.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14Just out of interest,
0:55:14 > 0:55:16how much money do you think that is?
0:55:21 > 0:55:24A little bit of black sand in there, but that doesn't weigh much.
0:55:24 > 0:55:25So, you got...
0:55:25 > 0:55:270.2 gram.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30I would guesstimate probably...
0:55:43 > 0:55:45About $20.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52I'm sorry.Yay, we've made money!
0:55:52 > 0:55:5420 Canadian dollars is 10 British pounds.
0:55:54 > 0:55:59We have just walked for a month and paddled for a month...Dan.
0:55:59 > 0:56:00..to do a week of mining,
0:56:00 > 0:56:02and we're going to make £10 out of it.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05Can I add something to that for all of yous?
0:56:05 > 0:56:08The real gold value is in your heart.
0:56:08 > 0:56:12You're right. I feel personal pride in that amount of gold.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15No matter what you say, I'm proud of that.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17The worst thing about this entire situation
0:56:17 > 0:56:20is that's the amount of gold we've got. It's got to go three ways!
0:56:23 > 0:56:28Of the estimated 100,000 people who took part in the stampede,
0:56:28 > 0:56:32it's thought that less than 4,000 found any gold
0:56:32 > 0:56:35and only a few hundred became rich.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40Coming to the Yukon cost most of them everything,
0:56:40 > 0:56:42some even losing their lives.
0:56:45 > 0:56:49And many of those who survived the harsh conditions returned home
0:56:49 > 0:56:51destitute and physically broken.
0:57:00 > 0:57:05There is one place in town where the team are guaranteed to strike gold.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08Hello. Can we get three golds, please?Three golds?Thank you.
0:57:11 > 0:57:13It would have been fun to find a bit more gold, though, wouldn't it?
0:57:13 > 0:57:16I think you're forgetting just how remarkable it is
0:57:16 > 0:57:18that we found anything at all.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20The gold wasn't what I was hoping to find here.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23It was the experience.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25You can learn a lot from the diaries written by the people.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28But you can't ever grasp the full picture
0:57:28 > 0:57:31unless you come out here and walk the ground.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34I think I understand a lot more about the toughness,
0:57:34 > 0:57:37the resourcefulness, the motivation of those people
0:57:37 > 0:57:42who came deep into the north of Canada with dreams of gold.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46And that is very eloquently expressed by Robert Service,
0:57:46 > 0:57:48who wrote a poem about the Gold Rush.
0:57:49 > 0:57:51"I wanted the gold and I sought it
0:57:51 > 0:57:54"I scrabbled and mucked like a slave
0:57:54 > 0:57:56"Was it famine or scurvy - I fought it
0:57:56 > 0:57:58"I hurled my youth into a grave
0:57:58 > 0:58:00"I wanted the gold and I got it
0:58:00 > 0:58:02"Came out with a fortune last fall
0:58:02 > 0:58:05"Yet somehow life's not what I thought it
0:58:05 > 0:58:08"And somehow the gold isn't all."
0:58:10 > 0:58:12There's no doubt this was something that people who were in
0:58:12 > 0:58:15desperate circumstances threw themselves into as their last hope.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19Although I got a huge thrill out of finding those little gold flecks
0:58:19 > 0:58:23in the pan, if I had invested my entire future,
0:58:23 > 0:58:25and that of my family in being there,
0:58:25 > 0:58:28there'd be a lot more pressure and it would be a lot different.
0:58:28 > 0:58:32Like my hero, Wombwell, I'm going home...
0:58:32 > 0:58:33none the richer.
0:58:33 > 0:58:34But it was brilliant.
0:58:34 > 0:58:36Cheers.Cheers.Cheers.
0:58:38 > 0:58:39Aah!