With the summer ending, Alaskans must overcome exhaustion, injury and failure; after seeking medical aid, Andy returns home to pick up the pieces; Jessie harvests salmon; Sue searches for winter food; the Hailstones gather key resources.
Andy maintains his sled dog trails; Sue works on fixing her generator at the camp; the Hailstones build a tee pee for upcoming hunting trips; and Erik takes his wife hunting for animal hides to sell.
The Hailstones stash supplies along their hunting trails; Sue has trouble contacting people outside her camp; Erik falls while he's gathering firewood; and Andy goes hunting for muskrats.
Chip and Agnes prepare for hunting along the Kiwalik River; Sue builds a pair of snowshoes; Andy goes in search of much needed supplies; Erik and Martha set their first traps of the season.
Viewers go deep into an Alaskan winter to meet six tough and resilient residents as they try to stay one step ahead of storms and man-eating beasts to make it through to spring. The closest neighbor to Sue Aikens is more than 300 miles away. Eric Salitan subsists solely on what he hunts and forages. Chip and Agnes Hailstone catch fish for currency in bartering for supplies, and Andy and Kate Bassich use their pack of sled dogs for transportation.