The intro starts out as most sci-fi shows beginning: tracking the wild, mythical creature. Bigfoot or barefoot sensei? Then Dodge pops out of a tree stump he calls home. He's quick witted and oddly funny. His breakfast grows on the trees outside his front 'door.' He brushes his teeth with a pine cone... then cleans his ears.
Mick Dodge has taken his own beliefs and the teachings of wilderness father, John Muir, as his guiding principles. His philosophies are prophetic; a way back to nature. He once owned a house and a couple of cars, but three generations of his family called the Olympic Peninsula their home and Dodge feels the pull to continue his family's legacy. As Dodge says, living in the wilderness makes the "senses come more alive" and he finally gets to "see more of the land."
The first thing Dodge did when entering the forest 25 years ago, as the narrator so simply states, is takes off his shoes. "My feet became my map; my feet became my compass." He speaks to the forest as a friend and always a stranger, as if needing permission to travel its expanses. He feeds off the land, drinking water from moss and mushrooms caps. Everything he needs he gets through the forest.
In the first episode, Dodge sets out to sprinkle the ashes of his father on the one year anniversary of his death. Dodge has stored the ashes in a tree until the time came when he would take them into the highlands and throw them out into the valley of the river. At 4200 feet, the temperature will drop very low, and Dodge sets out to find one of his twenty gear caches to recover his cold weather clothing. Before the journey, he visits his oldest friend, Carl, who lives in a cabin within the smae forest as Dodge. Carl is a leather craftsman who creates a special satchel in which Dodge can carry his father's ashes.
With everything set for the journey, Dodge starts his trek up the mountain. Upon reaching the lookout, he completes the promise he made to his father and sends his ashes into the wind of the Hoh. With words of wisdom from his father "remember your last name," he understands his family's legacy: to dodge society and perpetual change and live in balance with nature.
The second episode really explored Dodge's lifestyle: mainly his acquisition of supplies. As summer approaches, Dodge realizes he will need to get to his cache store of weapons (bow and arrows) in order to protect himself from the lurking dangers of bears and cougars. But upon arriving at his tree stump cache, Dodge is shocked to realize that someone has made off with his bow. With no monetary means to purchase new equipment, Dodge sets out on the complex journey of bartering in the rainforest.
He has a really good friend and bow maker who will help him out, but for a price. In order to obtain something his friend will want, Dodge was to trade with his friend, Carl, in order to get something of value. But what does a leather maker living in the forest want or need? Dodge heads to a lumber graveyard and finds a tree burl or unnatural growth. It's large and Dodge must make a travois in order to carry the large burl to Carl's. But the burl is not enough for the handmade leather buckskin pants that Dodge things would be a perfect trade for a new bow. So Dodge sets off to find something else to barter with.
We are introduced to a new character; Dodge's apprentice Will. We don't know much about his yet, but he seems to follow the same barefoot ways as his elderly mentor. Together the two track down berries, following elk scat and tracks, in order to make the Dodge secret jam juice recipe. The ingredients? Berries + lemon leaves + Hoh dirt from your feet = yum. Carl loves jam juice and the large mason jar of juice plus the burl is enough to win Dodge the pants. With his new trade in hand, Dodge sets out to find Norm, his bow making friend. Norm, hunter and nature enthusiast, is excited about the pants and eagerly begins making Dodge a new bow. With new bow in hand, Dodge take s a couple of shots to practice its strength and precision and it's easy to see how he has survived for 25 years in the wild: he's a pretty damn good shot. Armed for the summer, Dodge heads off into the woods, 'hunting' mushrooms and losing the camera crew with his forest agility.
Overall I believe the show has great potential. It's interesting, funny, and enlightening. There are some lingering questions I'm not positive the show will answer; like "How does he live on government/private land?" Not all of that land is government, some is private, but I'm sure he wouldn't be allowed to just live there without someone's permission. Maybe this will be addressed, and maybe it won't. We shall see. Regardless, NatGeo has a winner and we all should stay tuned to see what unique and clever tricks Mick Dodge has up his handmade sleeve next week. Tun in to see what happens when Dodge needs some protein on Tuesday January14, 2014 at 10PM.
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