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NARRATOR: In the wilderness of Washington State,
filmmakers from National Geographic Channel
are following a legendary wild man named Mick Dodge.
Mick: There's a trail up ahead I know.
NARRATOR: Mick's knowledge of the forest allows him to utilize
the resources all around him.
Mick: You have the soft berry leaf,
that's really nice on this side and stickery on this side.
Stickers are only goin' in one direction.
So you gotta pay attention.
Got some fern.
Grab a little moss.
NARRATOR: Equipped with a variety of leaves,
now he'll put them to good use.
Mick: You got that moss all tucked away in there like that,
now keep the stem up here so I can keep a thumb hold on it,
and if you wait here, um, I gotta go take a Bleep.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Twenty-five years ago, a man named Mick Dodge
left the modern world behind.
Mick ventured deep into the wilderness.
He made his home in trees,
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
hidden in the moss.
And to this day, he's still out there.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
In the far northwest corner of America,
on the Olympic Peninsula, lies the Hoh Rainforest,
the home of Mick Dodge.
This morning, Mick's beginning his day earlier than usual,
looking for breakfast in the least likely of places.
Mick: Look at that!
Brownies, man.
Brownies, brownies.
Here you go, try that.
Producer: What is that Mick?
Mick: That's elk Bleep.
Producer: That doesn't look very appealing.
NARRATOR: This elk feces might not look appetizing,
but it's what's inside that counts.
Mick: Maggots. Little legs.
High source of protein.
♪ ♪ ♪
NARRATOR: For Mick, insect eggs from feces aren't a normal
breakfast, but today he's more desperate than usual.
Mick Dodge: Ready?
After days without a real meal, hunger pangs are setting in.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Mick Dodge: Living in the wilderness I don't need
much to get by.
Like the deer and elk I graze, eating lots
of little snacks along the way.
NARRATOR: Over the last 25 years, Mick's conditioned
his body to survive on fewer than a thousand calories a day,
less than half the average American.
Mick: I can go three to four days on plants and living water.
But after a while I do need some real protein.
When I get hungry, I scour the forest to find what I need.
NARRATOR: This morning marks the sixth straight day that Mick's
subsisted on only vegetation, and now finding protein
is the only thing on his mind.
Mick: I'm headed to the river, catch me some fish.
I gotta get some protein.
NARRATOR: Mick's headed to a fishing hole
that's reaped results in the past.
But on the way, movement nearby stops him in his tracks.
Mick: Something up ahead. Yoosh! Hey man!
Will of Stone: What are you doing out here?
Mick: Oh, I was out looking for protein,
so I started tracking you.
Will of Stone: Huh! Mick: You better start running
Will of Stone: How desperate are ya?
Mick: I'm hungry!
Will of Stone: (laughs)
NARRATOR: This is Will of Stone, Mick's longtime
student and apprentice.
one of only a few to earn Mick's guidance.
Mick: Yeah, how've you been?
Will of Stone: I've been all right.
Where are you headed to?
Mick: Yeah, I'm gonna go down to the river
and see if I can ah, catch a fish.
Will of Stone: You're welcome to anything I've got.
Mick: I'd rather catch a fish.
Will of Stone: All right. Yeah, fair enough. Respect.
Mick: Appreciate it, though.
NARRATOR: Hungry as he is, Mick's never one
to take a handout.
Will of Stone: You need a fishing buddy?
Mick: Hey, you wanna go along?
Will of Stone: Yeah, I'd love to.
Mick: All right. Make a 180 and we'll be on our way.
Will of Stone: All right, sounds good.
NARRATOR: As the duo resumes the hunt, Mick recalls a valuable
lesson he learned during his earliest days in the wild.
Mick: When I first came out here it was,
I was 225 pounds of bodybuilding mass.
Will of Stone: Uh-huh.
Mick: And then when I stepped out of shoes, 200,000 nerves
in the feet was telling my body that I'm too heavy.
NARRATOR: He listened to his body and dropped over 50 pounds,
now weighing in at only 170.
Mick: So, I just started following my feet
and quit eatin'.
And eat only when I got hungry.
NARRATOR: Eating only when hungry,
Mick's mastered the art of scavenging.
Mick: Oh wow, yeah, look at this.
Will of Stone: What is it?
Mick: Beaver. That's beaver. Will of Stone: Huh.
Mick: Yeah, so something dragged it out here.
NARRATOR: This small patch of beaver fur puts Mick
on high alert that a meal could be close by.
Mick: Keep your eyes out for more of this, 'cause more than
likely a coyote or something else dragged that out here.
NARRATOR: When predators feed, they often drag the carcass.
So Mick's hoping a larger chunk of meat is in the area.
Mick: Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Jackpot! Check it out.
Oh yeah-oh yeah! Yeah.
Yeah, there's some larva.
Will of Stone: (coughs) Mick: Kinda smells too.
Will of Stone: A little bit.
NARRATOR: Maggots are feeding on the beaver's decaying flesh,
but after six days with little sustenance,
Mick's ready to dig in.
Mick: Let's get a fire going.
Will of Stone: What do you need a fire for?
Mick: Ah, I'll show you.
I'll show you what we need it for.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Mick: Start ah, rubbing those two together.
You get friction there so they get hot.
Faster, faster.
While you're doing that, I'll use a match here.
(Laughs)
Will: Of course you have matches.
Mick: Get all these nice little larvae in here.
Will of Stone: Yeah?
Mick: We'll singe 'em up a little bit,
then we'll have a high source of protein.
Thinking about fishing, we may not catch any.
So this may be the main meal, or this may be the appetizer.
Will of Stone: I'm game.
NARRATOR: Mick cooks the maggots over the fire long enough
to kill off bacteria from the beaver carcass.
Mick: Tasty. Will of Stone: Really?
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Oh wow.
Mick: Good, isn't it?
Will of Stone: Kinda tastes bacony.
Mick: (laughs) Yeah.
You know, I think that bacon taste you're talking about....
Will of Stone: Uh-huh? Mick: Is beaver.
Will of Stone: (laughs) I need to start eating beaver
more often then. (LAUGHTER)
NARRATOR: Larvae can pack about as much protein per gram
as a steak.
Mick: They got the best flavor.
NARRATOR: But unfortunately, there aren't enough here
for the main course.
Mick: See if we can catch us some fish.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Only two miles away, the men hit a popular
fishing spot on the Hoh River, where a slow current
allows fish to feed.
Mick: Yeah, this is a good fishing hole.
A lot of people come here.
Will of Stone: All right, show me how it's done, sensei.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
NARRATOR: The water here is a frigid 43 degrees,
but Mick's prepared.
His clothing is his secret weapon.
Mick: This is my elk wetsuit. All right.
Let's catch some fish.
Will of Stone: So you're just getting in to get 'em?
Mick: I'm looking for a flash of light.
Sometimes red, sometimes blue. Alright, I got one.
NARRATOR: In the Hoh Rainforest, Mick Dodge has come to
a fishing hole, with his apprentice, Will of Stone.
Mick: I'm looking for a flash of light.
NARRATOR: Desperate for food, Mick's in 43 degree water,
diving bare-handed.
Mick: All right, I got one.
Ah, I got him!
Will of Stone: You got it? You got a fish?
Mick: No, no, I got the fishing lure!
NARRATOR: Mick hasn't caught a fish, but he has found
fishing tackle.
When fishermen snag their hooks on the bottom,
they often cut off their line, and what's one man's trash,
is Mick's treasure.
Mick: You just come around here and look for all their little
fancy gear and stuff and start doing some fishing.
Will of Stone: That's awesome. Mick: Gotta find yours.
Will of Stone: All right.
NARRATOR: Now it's Will's turn. But unfortunately,
he doesn't have a wetsuit like Mick.
Will of Stone: It's cold! I wish I had buckskin!
Mick: I know, buckskins keep you warm, man.
Will of Stone: Ahh, ahh!
Mick: Look for something flashy. Red color.
Will of Stone: I think I see one.
Brrrr! Mick: (laughs)
Will of Stone: I didn't get one. But oh I got brain freeze!
Mick: That's 'cause you ain't got no hair on your head.
Will of Stone: Whoo! Got one!
Mick:I got one! All right.
Now see if this works. Throw the fishin' line.
I'm hungry.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Mick: Ya know there is over 50 miles to this river
and you have to stand right beside me and....
Will of Stone: I do. I do.
Mick: If I catch one on mine, I'll share it with you.
Will: Catching lots of debris.
Mick: Yeah, we might have scared 'em all off.
That big white butt of your sticking out there too.
NARRATOR: For the next two hours...
Mick: It's a waiting game.
NARRATOR: Mick and Will cast their lines again and again.
Mick: Not having much luck here. Will of Stone: Yeah.
NARRATOR: But neither get so much as a bite.
Mick: I'll leave you to this fishing hole.
I got to get running.
It's time to figure out another way.
Will of Stone: OK. I'll give a loud shout if I catch anything
in the next few minutes, if you're still within earshot
come on back.
Mick: Alright. Thank you, I appreciate that.
Will of Stone: Travel well, my friend.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
NARRATOR: It's now been almost 150 hours since Mick's
last real meal, and desperation is setting in.
Mick: Running with the earth, I've found if you can follow
your feet, sooner or later you're gonna come across
some kind of food.
NARRATOR: Whenever he goes this long without food,
Mick's forced to turn to an unlikely place.
Mick: All I want to do is eat.
NARRATOR: He's headed for the road.
Mick: The best place I know to have a guaranteed ah,
kill or maybe an entire meal, is um, road kill.
Uh, the highways out here are constantly ah, killing elk,
deer, anything that tries to cross it.
NARRATOR: Just off highway 101, Mick's hoping
road kill isn't far.
Mick: Yeah, let's move down the road.
Gonna be doin' some running'.
Oh, see! I'm telling you.
Here comes a car, come on. Ah.
See what I got? A little bird.
They get out here, they go after insects and stuff,
and they get hit by cars.
NARRATOR: Mick's eaten road kill many times before,
but this mountain chickadee has only an ounce of meat.
Mick: It's beautiful, isn't it?
NARRATOR: Luckily, he has another plan for the bird.
Mick: Now I can use this as bait, and uh,
catch something bigger.
There's another car. Let's get back in the woods.
NARRATOR: Three miles from here is the closest stretch
of Pacific shoreline.
So Mick heads for the water, hoping his bird bait
can land him a crab dinner.
Mick: Where are you, little guy?
Yeah so, I got to defeather it now,
hoping there's some meat left.
I'd give it the good old college try.
Haven't been to college, so.
Ah.
A little morsel floating around.
Well, let's give it a try and see what happens.
NARRATOR: Now Mick's ready to start crabbing.
So he heads for a tidal pool where calm water
will help his odds.
Mick: Well the ocean came in, high tide,
and then it goes back out and leaves this tidal pool.
Sometimes there's crabs'll come into it.
But it's awful stormy, I don't know.
There must be something in there.
We got a lot of birds and stuff, so I'm hoping there's crabs.
Yoish. Let's do it.
NARRATOR: Mick's crabbing technique is very unorthodox.
Using only a short line and a carabineer as a weight,
he'll tie the bird on one end and toss it into the water.
Mick: Hope we find a hungry crab!
NARRATOR: Dragging it along the bottom, he's hoping for a bite.
Mick: Yeah, it just takes patience. Just keep trying.
It's a big chunk of meat for a crab.
They don't eat that fast, so you, you just pull real slow.
NARRATOR: He trolls for nearly an hour with no result.
But then, finally...
Mick: Oh yeah, here it is. Here it is.
All right I got one. I got one. Get back a little, get back.
NARRATOR: On the shores of the Pacific Ocean,
Mick Dodge is fishing for crabs, hoping to finally land
the food he desperately needs.
Mick: Alright, got one! Get back a little. Get back.
Ow! Son of a bxxx. Well, at least I know they're here!
(Laughs)
NARRATOR: Though this one got away,
it only makes Mick more determined.
Mick: Takes patience.
NARRATOR: He drags the line with a slow and steady motion
to avoid scaring crabs off while luring them in.
Mick: Just pull slow and gently.
God damn it.
Yeah, I got one.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
Oh yeah, here it is, here it is.
Ah! Got him. Ah. Ah, geeze, ow! Whoo, whoo!
NARRATOR: Finally, after nearly one week without protein,
Mick's got over 40 grams in hand.
Mick: Ah!
NARRATOR: But he isn't done just yet.
Mick: Well we're lucky, I think I got another one.
NARRATOR: In less than an hour, Mick manages to catch
four more Dungeness crabs.
Mick: This is working out. This is working out, man!
NARRATOR: And he quickly sparks a flame to get cooking.
Producer: So what are your plans for cooking this, these crab?
Mick: Well, I use fire. Then I cook it.
Prepare my oven, good hot fire.
You'll be giving' away my cooking secrets, huh?
Yeah, he's still alive. Not much alive.
NARRATOR: He leaves it on the fire for only minutes,
and then finally, the moment he's been waiting for.
Mick: Nice and red. Ready to eat. Yoosh.
Laughs, yeah...
oh, God,
it's the thing about hunger,
when you've been hungry for days,
it's hard to eat slow, with discipline.
Yeah. Mmm.
NARRATOR: Mick polishes off one crab in only minutes,
and his hunger pangs begin to fade away.
Mick: I feel excellent. Got my strength back. Yeah.
Thank you, crabs.
NARRATOR: But the feast isn't finished yet.
Mick: Couldn't be a better day.
♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪
NARRATOR: With four more fresh crabs in his bag,
he'll head out for the cabin of his oldest friend
Karl to share his plentiful bounty.
Mick: Yoosh!
Karl: Hey Mick! What do you got there?
NARRATOR: Mick and Karl go back over 40 years,
and the two always share whatever they've got.
Today, they're in for a mountain man crab boil.
Mick: I had me some luck on the beach.
Karl: Oh yeah! Mick: Look at them.
Karl: Yeah, that's good. Yeah.
Mick: You still got that old horse trough?
Karl: Yeah.
Mick: What I want to do, build a fire.
Put that horse trough on there, fill it with water
and boil 'em up.
Karl: Alright. Mick: Chow down.
Karl: Good thinking. Yeah, I like crab.
Mick: Right there. Alright, tilt.
Tilt.
Good idea, huh! (Laughter)
This thing's boiling. Big time.
Karl: Okay. Mick: Drop 'em in.
Karl: Need some salt there to make the crab salty.
NARRATOR: After just 15 minutes in the pot,
the crabs are boiled up and ready to eat.
Mick: So good.
Karl: Oh, yeah. Good idea. Yup.
NARRATOR: In short order, Mick's bounty's filled two bellies.
Mick: Oh man. That felt good. Karl: Yeah.
NARRATOR: And now he can finally relax.
Mick: Hey, can you fill that bucket on that tractor up
with water? Karl: Yeah.
Mick: I got an idea.
Come on in!
NARRATOR: Adding a little cold water to the trough...
Mick: That's good!
NARRATOR: Mick's planning to turn this crab boil
into a wilderness hot tub.
Karl: (Laughs)
Mick: Oh man, this is nice.
Karl: You should get a little lid.
Put a little lid on the can and just move it around. Laughs
Mick: The most powerful word that comes to me that expresses
an entire moment is ah, stink.
This is really stinking.
Karl: you'll smell like a crab pretty soon.
Mick: My eyes are starting to water, man.
(LAUGHTER)
NARRATOR: For Mick, the past seven days without food
weren't easy.
Mick: You're a good brother, Karl.
NARRATOR: But the freedom to live on his own terms
has always been well worth the price.
Mick: Every day is different out here.
But the earth always provides.
Paradise.