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NARRATOR: Every legend has a beginning.
This one started over two decades ago as nothing more
than whispers.
PREGNANT LADY: The first time I heard about him was
when I was in elementary school, just from friends talking,
and rumors and stories on the street.
YOUNG MAN: I first heard the name "Mick Dodge" when I was
about seven or eight years old, from my grandfather.
Just fables and stories, really.
OLDER MAN: You know I've heard that he's got some nicknames
guys are calling him. Big foot.
Barefoot Sensei.
YOUNG WOMAN: I've never seen him,
but I know people that have seen him.
MAN: He could be like right next to you,
and you wouldn't even know it.
Yoish!
NARRATOR: 25 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 a remote corner of the United States,
hidden away in the Pacific Northwest,
lies a moss-covered world resembling Middle Earth.
It's known as the Hoh Rainforest.
Here, filmmakers from National Geographic Channel
managed to track down Mick Dodge.
And he's agreed to let their cameras capture his unusual life
in the wilderness.
Mick Dodge: (Grunts)
Not a better bedroom in the world.
(Dog whine)
It has two entrances. Back door, front door.
(Stretches)
Wake up in the morning, have breakfast. Tastes like chicken.
Everything tastes like chicken out here except chicken.
Try one.
NARRATOR: Like the early explorers and pioneers
of the Pacific Northwest, Mick lives primarily off the land.
He sleeps in tree stumps like this one.
But he didn't always lead this kind of life.
MICK DODGE: Owned a couple of houses and cars and all that
kind of life, and one day I just grabbed my gear and just walked
off back here in the mountains.
I never considered going back home.
There was this excitement and this adventure I found,
by stepping out of the modern world.
NARRATOR: When Mick left that world behind,
the first thing he did was kick off his shoes.
MICK DODGE: One of the first things that happens
when you step out of shoes, your senses come more online.
You've got over 200,000 nerves in the feet.
That catches your attention.
Your eyes go to the ground, you're really watching.
And you see more of the land.
Out here, your feet begin to fit into so many different kinds
of textures.
NARRATOR: Tattoos of roots adorn his feet,
marking the connection he feels to the path he walks.
MICK DODGE: My feet became my map, my feet became my compass.
So I took off on my barefoot journey.
NARRATOR: Ever since Mick followed his feet
on that unique path, he's adapted to life in the wild,
learning to see things in a different way.
Mick Dodge: What does that look like to you?
Cameraman: That? It's a pinecone.
Mick Dodge: What if I stuck a stick on it?
What would it look like to you?
Cameraman: Pinecone on a stick?
Mick Dodge: Wow. We got a long ways to walk together, brother.
Toothbrush.
Cameraman: Toothbrush? Mick Dodge: Toothbrush... Yeah..
This is a forest version of a dentist's chair.
Instead of sitting in there with all that sterile place where
they got all them drills goin' eeeeeee drillin' into you,
come in here and get your teeth cleaned.
(Rubs pinecone on teeth, spits)
Mick Dodge: Now the trick... get the back side of the teeth.
NARRATOR: The pinecone's done its job as a toothbrush.
Mick Dodge: Are they clean?
NARRATOR: But Mick knows that everything out here has more
than one use.
Mick Dodge: Or... ear cleaner.
There's one other place you could use it,
but I know they'd probably cut it.
NARRATOR: The Hoh Rainforest stretches roughly 1,500
square miles, and Mick isn't the first Dodge to call it home.
Three generations of his family have lived in the Washington
wilderness.
MICK DODGE: Most people think people in the woods
are just dumb (Bleep).
But my grandfather and my father both walked with tremendous
wisdom.
They were incredible mentors in my life.
They had their humility and their ways,
but they had a lot of humor, too.
They were always playing.
NARRATOR: Mick's dad, Ron Dodge, isn't far from here today.
MICK DODGE: Come on. Yush!
(Dog barks)
NARRATOR: He's in a tree nearby, and Mick's headed over
for a visit.
MICK DODGE: Headed out today to ah, pick up my dad,
and take him up into the Highlands,
that's my mission for today.
Where is that guy?
He's around.
Don't make me look for you dad!
(Laughs) He's very close.
There he is.
There's my daddy's ashes.
NARRATOR: Living in the forest, you have to find unconventional
places to store your valuables.
Mick Dodge: This is it.
NARRATOR: Today marks the one year anniversary
of Ron Dodge's passing.
In accordance with family tradition,
Mick's come to retrieve his dad's ashes and spread them
at a special place, miles from here.
MICK DODGE: Dad asked me to take him up into the highlands
when he died.
He said I'd appreciate it if you would uh, stick my uh,
body back into the forest again.
And my granddad taught me there's two things you take
to your grave.
Your word and your butt, so you got to keep 'em both clean.
I gave my word, so my entire life and heart depend upon it.
My dad just always loved to hear me read John Muir to him.
Now before I bring his ashes down,
I want to share words from John Muir.
You bathe in these spirit beings, Dad.
Turning round and round as if warming at a campfire.
That's why I hung you so the sun would hit you.
NARRATOR: The Dodge men have long followed in the footsteps
of John Muir. MICK DODGE: Yoish.
NARRATOR: One of the last great American pioneers.
MICK DODGE: I'll go up there and get him now.
NARRATOR: And with his words in mind,
Mick'll climb 40 feet up to bring Dad down.
MICK DODGE: Whoa.
Man! It is wild up here!
Hey, Daddy!
Come on, marine.
Must have been pretty nice up here, huh?
It's a hell of a view.
NARRATOR: Mick's dad was a decorated Marine,
a man as tough as nails, who taught him about real strength.
MICK DODGE: My dad's shoulders were about like that.
He looked like somebody who'd be like 6 foot 6 had his legs
chopped off, 'cause he only stood about this high on me.
And he had these hands and they were like steel vices.
I can remember Dad doing pull-ups with just his fingers
and his thumbs on 2-by-4s.
That's how strong those hands were.
So he was a real strong man.
NARRATOR: Back on solid ground, Mick makes sure Dad's ashes
are right where he left them.
MICK DODGE: Still there?
NARRATOR: And he takes stock of Ron Dodge's last belongings.
MICK DODGE: These are my dad's teeth.
I don't know if they'll ever fit or not.
He was an honorable man.
So it's kind of like his last order to me as a marine.
So I'm gonna honor him and my ancestors by taking him up
into to the highlands.
He had a good resting spot here.
NARRATOR: With ashes in tow, the journey to the Highlands begins.
MICK DODGE: Ah, dad, you ready?
NARRATOR: Mick navigates through the forest using game trails
blazed by deer and elk.
And when he works up a thirst on the way,
he knows just where to find a drink.
MICK DODGE: Look at that, man.
(Sucks finger) That's an elixir.
That is ale.
That is wine.
That is champagne.
Rain comes runnin' down.
Moss is catching it.
There's another way to really drink into these.
Just come out here and go...
(Muffled sounds in moss)
Ah! Yeah.
Just get into the water.
The water's a healing, healing thing.
Why you screw it up with sugar and coke and
all that other crap...
to think that they can make water better than what it is.
Water makes itself what it is, and water makes us what we are.
Well now, that was prophetic, don't you think?
Is that right, prophetic?
Is that right? CAMERAMAN: Mmhmm.
MICK DODGE: Pathetic, prophetic. Always get them mixed up.
NARRATOR: Refreshed and back on the move,
Mick heads east with 10 miles to go.
On the way to the Highlands, he's planned
one very important stop.
At the cabin of an old friend, who can help get Dad
where he needs to go.
VOICE: Luckyyyyyyyyyy!
VOICE: Ahhhhhh!
MICK DODGE: I ain't heard that voice in a long time.
VOICE: Ahhhhhh!
NARRATOR: Like Mick, this fellow forest-dweller is anything
but ordinary.
KARL: Luckyyyyyyyyyyy!
Ahhhhhhhhhhh!
MICK DODGE: There he is.
NARRATOR: In the far northwest corner of America,
in a place called the Hoh Rainforest,
off the grid pioneer Mick Dodge is making good on a promise
to spread his dad's ashes where he would have wanted.
Karl: Luckyyyyyy!
Mick Dodge: (Laughs) I ain't heard that voice in a long time.
NARRATOR: On the way, he's making a special stop
at the hidden outpost of his oldest friend.
A man who can help get Dad's ashes where they need to go.
Karl: Blue eyes!
Come up!
Calling my dogs.
Those little sons o' guns run off for a few miles in any
direction, just wild and so, they take off on me
and I gotta get 'em back.
NARRATOR: This is Karl.
He set up shop all the way out here forty years ago.
Like Mick, he's part of an underground forest community,
living life on their own terms.
Karl: Lucky!
I left the city when I was eighteen.
I wanted to go out somewhere in the wild and be a mountain man.
I was always focused on this idea that I'd find paradise.
Come up!
Came out and cleared this land, built everything you see.
And that's how it started for me.
Just the dream to build paradise.
Karl: Luckyyyyyy!
Mick Dodge: Yoosh!
Karl: Hey, Mick!
Mick: You trying to call me in like a dog, or what?
Karl: It's good to see you!
Mick Dodge: Yeah, how you been, old guy?
Karl: Great!
Mick Dodge: Mind if I eat some of your dandelions?
Karl: Yeah, go right ahead.
Mick Dodge: Got a bit of dog *** on it.
Karl: Yeah.. (Laughs)
NARRATOR: Mick's come to this outpost for something
only Karl can provide.
Karl: Been a while.
Mick Dodge: And hey, you look strong as ever, man!
Karl: Yeah, haha!
NARRATOR: Karl's a leather craftsman.
And Mick wants him to make something that'll get Dad out
of his plastic box.
Mick Dodge: I got Dad with me.
Karl: Oh yeah, you got your dad's ashes.
Mick Dodge: I gotta lug Dad up to the Highlands.
Karl: Yeah, you don't wanna put him in this pla...
Let me make you something special outta elk or something
when you put him in there.
None of this plastic crap.
Mick Dodge: You've been reading my mind, man.
Right on, right on, I appreciate that.
Karl: Let's do that. Mick Dodge: So give me a kiss.
Karl: Dude, get off! (Laughs) Get the hand off me.
Mick Dodge: Let's go get it done. To the workshop.
NARRATOR: Living this deep in the woods,
Karl's become accustomed to building anything he needs
with his own two hands.
KARL: Let's go in my trailer.
NARRATOR: Today, he knows just what to make to free Ron Dodge
from his plastic box.
Karl: I just wanted to put a root in there, in the strap,
like... Mick Dodge: Carrying my roots?
Karl: Yeah. Like carrying, carrying your roots.
Mick Dodge: (laughs) that's good man!
My roots, my heritage. Karl: Carrying your roots, yeah.
NARRATOR: Karl's using these alder roots in the construction
of a custom elk skin satchel.
KARL: Yeah, we're gonna bolt it through there.
NARRATOR: Cut and stitched by hand.
Karl: I could burn something in these, on the flap.
Maybe R.D. here? Mick Dodge: R.D. right there.
KARL: Ron Dodge. This is how I do a fancy R.
MICK DODGE: I like that. Yeah.
KARL: And I wanna cut this into a three-braid.
We can make it together here.
Watch, just one, two, three.
You're tucking through there.
Remember which side you're tucking it on,
comes back out again.
See what what I'm talking about? It's untangled.
His dad should go in something special to keep in the future
after he dumps his ashes.
Now we gotta go backwards to make the braid even. Understand?
I just thought that we oughtta do this mountain-man like,
so it'd be an honor to him.
Yeah, nice three-braid.
Yeah..
Is that about where you want?
Mick Dodge: Yeah, that's it, right there.
Let's head outside and move Dad out of this box.
Karl: Yeah.
Mick Dodge: What the hell is that?
Karl: Yeah, that's a horn. You blow it.
Mick Dodge: Really?
Karl: Yeah, it's hard to blow.
(BLOWING HORN)
Karl: I've never heard anybody blow it that good, either.
Mick Dodge: (laughs) (BLOWING HORN)
That horn was made for me, Karl!
Karl: Go ahead, take it, it's good as yours.
Mick Dodge: This is my call to spirit.
I call the damn spirit up with this (BLEEP)!
NARRATOR: Out here, no one ever takes anything without giving
something in return.
Mick Dodge: I did bring one thing along here
I wanted to pass on to you.
NARRATOR: Mick's got a gift of his own for Karl;
one of Ron Dodge's most prized possessions.
Karl: Geez. Don't think I've ever had such a special ring.
Is that the Marine Corps emblem?
Mick Dodge: That's the Marine Corps emblem.
Karl: Yeah. Whoa.
Your dad loved the Marine Corps.
Wow, that's beautiful.
Ron Dodge was a great man.
I remember him.
Oh, thanks.
I appreciate it. Mick Dodge: Love you, brother.
KARL: To have his ring is something that's a great honor.
It's amazing.
NARRATOR: With sunset still hours away,
Mick puts Karl's cabin in the rearview.
He's headed to a lookout point that his family first visited
nearly a century ago at an elevation of 4,200 feet.
Mick Dodge: We got rain coming in Dad, we lost that sunshine.
NARRATOR: Where he's headed, temperatures can dip to only
ten degrees.
So Mick will have to do something to stay warm.
Mick Dodge: This is it. This is it.
NARRATOR: What he needs lies inside this tree stump.
On a quest to deliver his dad's ashes to the highlands...
MICK DODGE: Where is that guy?
NARRATOR: Mick Dodge's is making a stop at a tree stump
of particular importance.
MICK DODGE: This is it.
NARRATOR: Unlike you and me, he doesn't have a closet
to keep his belongings.
So he's developed an elaborate system for storing his gear.
MICK DODGE: Yeah. Stashing is an art.
I keep stashes all over the forest,
kinda like having a chest of drawers for your home.
I bury 'em in stumps, sometimes up in the tree.
I found that you could just hide the stashes anywhere.
They're all over the place.
NARRATOR: This stash is one of over twenty that
Mick's scattered across the 1,500 square mile forest floor.
They're strategically placed to help him navigate almost
any situation.
MICK DODGE: Warm clothing.
Yeah, every time I go up to the Highlands,
I come in here and get into a little bit warmer gear.
There's a famous saying my dad always was teaching me.
It's called the six P's.
Prior planning prevents *** poor performance.
He used to put that in me so much that it's one of the ways
I learned how to do these stashings and stuff.
My dad taught me so much about life, he,
he never stopped you from adventure.
He never stopped you from exploring.
You're gonna break some bones, you're gonna bruise a little bit
but he was there to guide me.
I'm warm and cozy.
NARRATOR: Dressed for colder temperatures,
Mick needs to pick up the pace to make it to the Highlands
by nightfall.
Mick Dodge: Ah, make some time.
NARRATOR: His destination: a lookout,
high above the Hoh Rainforest.
Mick Dodge: Yush.
NARRATOR: Even though he's in a hurry,
Mick's sure to ask the forest for permission to proceed.
MICK DODGE: Hi there.
I'm gonna be running up your hill here, you don't mind,
do you? What? Yeah.
I've been crazy most of my life.
Born that way.
Yeah, count on it.
NARRATOR: Half way up the mountain,
he spots a tiny hitchhiker looking for a lift.
MICK DODGE: Look at this.
I wonder if you would like to go for a ride.
CAMERAMAN: What is that?
MICK DODGE: Some people call 'em slugs.
This is called gastropoda, stomach-foot.
One muscle.
Yeah, you're beautiful. Come on out.
I will not hurt you.
I'm your brother.
Yeah.
NARRATOR: Pushing hard up hill, Mick's in need of water.
But up here, he's far from the river.
Luckily, there's a drinking fountain just under his nose.
Mick Dodge: Ah man! Water!
NARRATOR: Known as a Candy Cap mushroom,
this one's got an inverted top, perfect for collecting
rainwater.
Mick Dodge: Ah. Forest always provides.
Yeah! That's a good pump, Dad.
That was a good run.
Hah, let's get it done.
NARRATOR: Finally, Mick's closing in on the lookout
his family first visited nearly a century ago.
Mick Dodge: Yeah.
This spot was really special to my dad.
My dad, he's one of the greatest mentors in my life,
he taught me so much.
I'm keeping my word to him.
I ain't got no words.
(Sobs)
God, I love you Dad! Whoo! (Sniffs)
NARRATOR: Though Ron Dodge has reached his final resting place,
Mick will continue to carry his torch.
Some may call Mick's story a legend, but for him,
it's a family legacy to live life free from the modern world.
MICK DODGE: A Dodge is a philosophy of life.
You know, my dad, when I was heading out in the Marines,
I remember he came to me and he says 'remember your last name'.
It's Dodge.
And that's how we survive.
And my family's perfected the art of dodging civilizations
for hundreds of years.
And all I have to do is follow my feet.
I will be keeping his teeth.
'Cause I might need those someday. (Laughs)