Hulu finally released a new season of Gold Rush and I don't know why, but I love that show. There is something about the outsiders coming to Alaska and trying to outdo people that have known nothing but mining most of their lives. Todd Hoffman and his crew have been chasing the kid, Parker, since season 1. Back in the first season, when they didn't know any better, they relied on the knowledge of their neighbor, then a high school kid, Parker. There was also a mild introduction of Tony Beets, who we keep getting told is a Klondike legend, although we are never told what makes him a legend.
Anyways, every season has been a little different and this one had Tony Beets trying to bring back to life some dredges that used to operate in the 1930's. These things are like boats that scoop out the shore and run the dirt through sluice boxes to collect gold. Todd Hoffman and crew had their biggest goals this year of going for 2700 ounces of gold, which would have equaled $3million dollars. Parker did not even have goals at the beginning of the season and they had to excavate forty feet of dirt from the ground to get to the ground with gold. Todd and crew were hundreds of ounces ahead of Parker, but as usual, Parker is an animal and he overtakes them by the end of the season.
One of my favorite episodes was when Tony Beets went to visit his mother, he is from the Netherlands originally. We get to see the farm where he grew up and we find out his father was paralyzed by a hay bale falling on him in the barn. At this point, he was fifteen and was carrying the family by doing all the work. This is what makes him the hard ass he is.
By the end of the year, both teams were going to meet their goals, Todd and crew only needed 2700 ounces and Parker was aiming for 3000 ounces. Tony was aiming for 900 ounces from his dredge so it would pay for itself. After a couple of face to face encounters, Todd and Parker made more side bets, more to make the show interesting than because it is necessary. When winter shows up, it is not kidding around. I thought it was a little shitty on Parker's part, after they had gone over the 3000 ounces, and it is about freezing day and night, and their gold sluice box was falling apart, to ask the guys to work one more week. There seemed to be an overwhelming no from the crew, but in the end, this is what makes Parker an animal, they went and got another 380 ounces on the last week, after moving the creek that had been supplying them with water all season, which was ingenious, I thought.
It was also nice to show the old timers that Tony fired settle into a new life still digging for gold, but at a much calmer pace. I know that the new season is on TV right now, but I prefer to watch a season on Hulu or Netflix all at once.
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