[music playing]
NARRATOR: The brown bears of Alaska's Afognak Island
have been a danger since Morgan set foot here two days ago.
Now they've forced him on a detour
through unfamiliar terrain and put
his only ride home in jeopardy.
I'm not exactly sure where I'm at, but--
MORGAN (VOICEOVER): I'm running late,
and uh, I'm not sure how long the boat's going to wait
for me, So I gotta be there.
MORGAN: I shouldn't be too far off.
Ugh.
[bleep] This isn't cove I got dropped off in.
Definitely not.
Must be one inlet over.
I think I recognize that square, blocky island out there
from when we came in, so I think I just gotta get
out and around this headland.
The seas are calm enough right now.
I could probably raft it.
NARRATOR: Morgan's four pound inflatable raft is not designed
for ocean currents, but it's his only chance
to catch his scheduled extraction
before it leaves without him.
Looks to me like the tide's just starting to come in again.
Looks pretty low right now.
So that's good, that means it'll be washing me on the shore
and not trying to pull me out into the open water, which
is where I don't want to be.
I'm gonna have to do something about my paddle, too.
The hand paddles are great in the river,
because I can use them like oars and make really quick moves.
But paddling on flat water trying to get
somewhere with them is brutal.
It's just an unnatural motion.
MORGAN (VOICEOVER): So, what I need
to do is kind of attach them to the end of a good strong stick,
and then I'll have a kayak paddle that's
much, much more efficient. OK.
Oh yeah.
Nice.
I think there's a little bit of wind on the water now,
and some ripples.
Hopefully it's not going to pick up.
I'm behind schedule pretty significantly at this point.
So I need to get moving.
[music playing]
NARRATOR: On the Gulf of Alaska, Morgan's risk
has paid off with a healthy reward of salmon that will help
sustain him this coming winter.
But now he's dangerously close to missing his ride home.
MORGAN (VOICEOVER): Really, I'd rather not be doing this,
but it's the only way I'm going to get there.
NARRATOR: Thrown off course by the island's bears,
he's racing to reach an inlet to the north,
where he's due to catch a boat back to the mainland.
And he's navigating only by memory.
I do know, at the entrance to the inlet,
there was a big stone arch.
So I'm just waiting 'til I see that arch,
and I'll know for sure that that's the inlet I need
to be going into.
But since the shoreline is so complicated
with all these inlets and fjords and islands,
it's not like it's a straight, continuous beach.
And I don't know if the boat's been waiting for me,
or already come and gone, but hopefully
it's around the corner.
Yup, that's the arch.
Pretty distinctive land form.
And, uh, I know this is the entrance to the inlet
that I'm going to get picked up in.
Should be right up here, not too far.
Hey, there's some shiny aluminum.
Yeah, there's a boat.
Yeah, that's the one that dropped me off.
Aw, I'm glad.
I'm ready to get out of this raft.
MORGAN (VOICEOVER): Thankfully, they're waiting for me,
so I should be home free at this point.
Made it.
Thanks for waiting for me.
Sorry I was late.
Nice to be standing on the deck of a big,
solid ocean-going boat, versus a tiny little four
and 1/2-pound Rover pack raft.
MORGAN (VOICEOVER: ) This trip's been a success.
I'm pretty happy to be heading home,
and I know Margaret's going to be thrilled with this fish.
But winter is on its way.
There's a lot of work to be done around the homestead,
and I still have to hit the ground
running once I get back there.