Winter Arrives Early and I Wasn't Prepared for the Cold

- I'm gonna be honest with you. I haven't been on my land in a couple of weeks. I've been gone. (stirring music) I've been out filming the second season of my Nat Geo show, "Superskilled". This time, we traveled to one of my favorite countries in the world, Mongolia, where we filmed a real dream episode of mine. It was so much fun. The whole crew stayed in the Mongolian ger the whole time. We galloped across the steppe, met some amazing people, and we learned so much. Then, we flew across the world to Bolivia, where we filmed an incredible episode at high altitude.

I can't say too much about this one 'cause I wanna keep some things a secret, but, yay! The second season of "Superskilled" is currently in post-production and will be premiering on Nat Geo very soon. I'll definitely give you a heads-up once it's live. And in the time that I have been away, everything has changed. Look at this. (soft music) Look at this.

It is rainy. It is cold. The winter is coming and I am just not ready. I'm not ready for it. What do you think, buddy, huh? Is it cold? You probably like it, huh? Yeah, you're a cold-loving dog. Well, he's gonna be just fine because he gets to sleep on this reindeer hide that I brought from the Arctic Circle the other winter. Now, look. This is my sleeping situation right now, so I forgot to bring my nice, thick sleeping bag. So, I have got these blankets.

They're not very thick, and I feel like I might get very, very cold sleeping underneath these. But I think the biggest issue is just the general temperature. This tent does not have really any insulation. It's just a canvas tent. (Eva sighs) So, I think today I really need to install a stove inside the tent. (melancholy music) I'm not a huge fan of autumn, and coming back to my land in the rain and the cold felt like a rude awakening to the reality of what's to come.

Short days, low temps, discomfort. I honestly started having second thoughts about living in my tent in this season. All right, I think it's time to go get the stove. Yep. Even my shoes are already wet. (sobs) Oh, God, this is gonna be so difficult! Let's go. (melancholy music) So, you might be wondering, "Why don't you just sleep in the shed?" The shed is in need of some work, and I just have not had time this year to do anything here. But it needs a new floor, it just needs a lot of improvements.

And there's also mouse poop all over the place, which, rat poop, all that stuff gives you viruses. So, I don't feel comfortable sleeping here just yet, but maybe next season. We'll see. (gentle music) So, the next question is, where do we put the stove? It needs to be in a strategic place, and I don't really deal with strategic things very much.

Some people put their stoves in the middle, but I feel like that's just taking up so much valuable real estate, especially with having a dog. I don't want Vilk walking into a hot stove at any point. So, I feel like it should be on the side, and ideally, somewhere near the entrance so that when I bring in wood, I don't have to carry it across the tent, because I don't really clean it in here. I think that is a good spot, no? (rousing music)

Yeah, right there. Next to the entrance, kind of on the side. Last year, I was here in October and I did not have the stove installed inside the tent. I only had it outside because it was actually quite a nice October. It wasn't rainy and it wasn't this cold. So, this year, we're making some changes. (ethereal music) I know that the idea of spending even a part of winter out here may sound preposterous to some of you. Honestly, it sounds a bit wild even to me, and I have all sorts of crazy ideas.

Yes, I will have to poke some holes in this beautiful canvas. God, pray for me! I don't know if this is actually going to happen, but I love to look at life as a continuous series of experiments. You try different things. You veer off in different directions. You stretch yourself a little, mentally and physically. In the end, it's the best and maybe only way to really find out what it is you want, what feels good and what doesn't. So, I wanna try living here for a little bit in winter as an experiment. Well, you got a big hole in the tent. Sounds counterintuitive, but this next thing I'm about to do is gonna make all the sense. So, we are going in with the piping.

I was gonna wear a white sweater today. I am glad I didn't. (uplifting vocal music) Ta-da! (Eva laughs) ♪ It's gonna be warm, it's gonna be warm ♪ ♪ Warm and cozy ♪ Ha! It's gonna be so warm and cozy. (Eva giggles) Well, I think this is it. I'm pretty sure I followed all the instructions. And now, (lighter clicking) we get to light it. (soft music)

What is this, huh? Is it weird? (Eva laughs) Is it so weird, buddy? Seems to me like Vilk is not a huge fan of the stove, which is a good thing. (laughs) Yeah, I don't want you anywhere near that thing! I don't want you anywhere near that thing. Yeah, 'cause it's hot! Also, I know what you guys are thinking. I know exactly what you're thinking right now, and, (blows raspberry) sorry. And I am going to preempt your line of questioning by showing you that I do, indeed, have a fire extinguisher in here, just in case. (bright music)

Oh, my God, it's so warm in here! (giggles) It's so cozy! Oh, wow! The stove is looking great, but I feel like I need to get everything as far from it as possible, because things are getting hot in here. I mean, obviously, the canvas walls are, they're a little warm, they're not hot. But I feel like I'm gonna have to keep an eye on this whole bit. It's just me up here, you know what I mean? If something were to happen, I'm on my own. So, I really need to make sure that I'm careful.

(gentle music) Come on, you guys. Yes! There we go! Aha. Ha! Okay, now it feels really good in here. Now, it feels really cozy. (uplifting music) It's amazing how the little things can make such a huge difference. That's when you really learn their value. A small fire and pretty light feels so much more precious than central heating and a chandelier. (uplifting music continues)

Ooh, it is ready, and it is looking and smelling so good. I don't really know what this is. It's kind of just like some kind of casserole with potatoes, onion, garlic, of course, beans, tomatoes, and green peppers, salt and pepper, and chili flakes. That's it. Nothing else. Super simple. Mm, just perfect for a really cold autumn day like this one. Oh my God, it is so delicious. Oh! Mmm, it is so good! (gentle music)

I must have sent out so many pleas for good weather to the universe that day that the universe listened. And the next morning, it was all sun and blue skies. Spoiler alert, that didn't last long. Today is such a beautiful day, we're going for a run. But I was about to squeeze out every sunny minute out of this day. Do you remember when, last year, these two creeps came to my land unannounced, uninvited, with the sole aim of finding me and doing God knows what?

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A couple of days went by and the world kept getting colder. One morning, I woke up a little shivery, my bones really sapped of warmth. The first thing that came to my mind was, "Get warm, quick. Make a fire, get comfortable." And then, I looked outside. Guys, guys, guys! Merry Christmas! Are you seeing this? It's actually snowing right now, and it's not even winter. (bright music) You don't mind the snow, do you?

(Vilk barks) Oh, oh! (Vilk barks) Oh, that's such a scary dog. That's a scary dog! (Vilk barks) (Eva laughs) Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go! Let's go, yeah! (bright music continues) (Eva laughs) Where ball? Bring it. Yes, it's there, good boy! Yes! Yes, okay. (bright music continues) Sit, up. Yes, good boy! Twist! Back up. (bright music continues)

Do you guys see that> That is snow on the ground. I can't zoom in anymore, but that there is real snow on the ground. And that meadow up there is not that much higher than my property. It's maybe another 100 meters, 300 feet higher. But I guess it's a lot colder there. Oh, my God. Oh. Well, I guess that makes me wonder, can I actually do this inside my tent? Because all of a sudden, winter feels much more real than it did a couple of days ago. (Eva sighs) (ethereal vocal music)

(ethereal vocal music continues) (Eva sighs) (Eva shivers) (ethereal vocal music continues) There's grass everywhere. I don't know who brings this in. I don't know if it's Vilk or if it's me, but somehow, I feel like there's just rocks and bits of grass and bits of hay and bits of mushrooms that end up all over the tent.

This is not the life for you if you are really into cleaning or if you have to have your space really nice and clean and proper. It's just, it's impossible to keep it clean. Impossible. Oh, yes. (spoon clinking) Thank you, coffee. (gentle music) Well, this pan is disgusting. It needs a wash.

And we keep the warmth in. (Eva shivers) Oh, my God! Oh, my God, I can't believe this! Woop! (laughs) Vilk, what's up with you, huh? You wanna play? Hang on, let me show you this. So, this is a little bowl of water that I keep here outside at all times. Ice. Actual ice. I'm not even kidding you! You know, I remembered something funny the other day. I used to imagine that it was impossible to wash your dishes without washing-up liquid, like dish soap, until I started traveling.

And then, I realized that you just need water, especially if it's just you using the dishes. What do you care about your own germs? And now that I use these cast iron pans, you can't actually wash them with dish soap, anyway. You have to just wash them with water. Just water and a good scrub, and that's it. Perfectly fine, perfectly clean, well, maybe not perfectly clean, but perfectly safe.

(bright music) Yeah! (laughs) Yay, you got the ball! That's a good boy, good! I have so many questions right now. One of them being, if it gets really cold for an extended period of time, will my underground water spring freeze?

Does anyone know this? Water is so critical out here that I feel like this is gonna be really important information. Not having access to water could be a really big problem. So, hopefully, these mountain springs somehow magically never freeze. (gentle music) Ugh, I just noticed a little scab on Vilk's leg. Come here, buddy. Come, come, come. No, other one. Yes. Look at that! What happened, huh? Honestly, it's pretty minor, but the issue is that sometimes he'll just gnaw at it and lick it and make the wound bigger.

We don't wanna let that happen, so I'm just gonna put some antibiotic ointment on you, mister. Thank you very much. And then, I'm gonna wrap it so that you can't lick it and you can't bite it, okay? (bright music) Stay. You're a good boy. Good boy! At this point, you might be wondering what happened to my thumb. Well, I got a really nasty infection on it on the last "Superskilled" shoot, and honestly, it's just been not healing very well.

I did a course of antibiotics for it for a week. Obviously, went to the doctors and got it checked out and stuff. They said that it was good that I came in early because you can develop really, really horrible things from little infections like this, including sepsis, which, obviously, is lethal. So, I was really happy that I went in there and got it checked out, 'cause it was really looking terrible. It's still not looking great. I'm not gonna show you from closeup, 'cause it's kinda gross, but I just, I need to keep it clean at all times, which is a little difficult, given the fact that I live in a tent.

It's not exactly the most hygienic place in the world. Yeah, and this is just, yikes. Not looking great. (upbeat music) I guess every single lifestyle has its downsides. And if there is one hill I will die on, it's the idea that a bit of discomfort can actually shake you out of existential dread and stupor, and make you feel that little bit more alive. Because discomfort tingles and gnaws at you and makes you question things and find new answers and solutions. There's a great book called "The Comfort Crisis" which talks about this, and which I highly recommend.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that, perhaps, I could turn the shed into a shelter. I'm not saying I could turn it into a cute hut or a cottage, 'cause I don't think that's gonna happen, but some kind of basic shelter. (bright music) So, the story of this shelter is that, in Polish, it's known as a bacowka, which is basically a shepherd's hut. Shepherds passing through this land might come here and spend the night here. So, it's kind of like a temporary shelter

traditional to the Carpathian Mountains here in Poland. And when I bought this plot of land, the shed, or the bacowka, came with it. I've been using it just as a storage space, honestly, nothing else. I have thought multiple times about restoring it, but just somehow always found that living in the tent sounded much more fun. So, I never really seriously got started or planned anything. But imagine a snowstorm. Imagine really bad weather for several days. Imagine if it's really, really cold, minus 10 degrees Celsius.

This could be a good spot to hide. I can definitely imagine restoring this bacowka to its original use, which is a shelter for the weary traveler. I feel like I'm a weary traveler (laughs) in need of a shelter. Huh. Imagine the space with a little stove, (gentle music) and maybe a little table here, and maybe a little bed on the side, and a tiny little kitchenette right here. Something really simple. I like it. I like it a lot. Are we gonna do it? (squeals) Are we gonna do it? (laughs) Well, I hadn't planned on restoring the hut originally, but now it actually doesn't sound like a bad idea.

It would be a lot of work. I would need to clean the whole space completely and then restore and renovate so many separate parts of it. Redoing the floor and possibly the roof, re-insulating the beams, putting in a new window, and furnishing the space. It's a lot to think about. Tonight's dinner is gonna be foraged right from the earth, from the land. But first, I need to find it. (soft music) This guy, potentially.

I believe that this is a parasol mushroom. I'm just gonna perform a little test. Oh, yep! This little thingy around the stem detaches and it goes up and down. That tells me it's a parasol mushroom. Edible! So, this here also looks like a parasol. Yeah, the ring detaches in the same way. Really nice. Check these out! How freaking cool! (gentle music continues)

Close call. So, look at the difference between these two mushrooms. This one's all white and this one's bruised red. So, this is actually not the parasol mushroom that I want. This is a shaggy parasol. They're not poisonous, but they are known to give people stomach aches. I get to keep this one. It's pretty huge. So, very happy with my little foraging session, there. (uplifting music) Sitting here making dinner with the mushroom I just foraged, I felt like I really wanted to give this autumn-winter outdoor living a shot.

I don't know how long I can stay out here in the cold because it's not just the cold. The coming of winter also means less daylight, and that translates to less time to charge my batteries with my solar panels. It means I would need more fuel to keep warm, a lot more. It means more challenges in even getting up here with my side-by-side. Oh, this is so exciting! Mushrooms, potatoes, onions, and that's it. Salt and pepper. (uplifting music continues) Mmm! Oh, my god.

Thank you, mushrooms. Mmm! Oh, my God, this is so delicious. Unbelievably good. I can't believe I found these mushrooms just growing in the meadow. Amazing! They're free! How are they free? (uplifting music continues) But it does feel tempting to give the shepherds' hut a little shot. So, maybe that's what we'll do next in this wild little place.

(uplifting music continues)