Welcome to Off the Grid with Les Stroud, part three. Today Les decides that digging a well and harvesting rain water are the best solutions for a water source on the property. Because it would be pretty much impossible to maintain a rainwater supply when the frigid temperatures of winter hit, the well was necessary as an alternate source of water. Les has to learn a five-point filtration system to rid the rainwater of pathogens caused by bird droppings. He also enlists the services of a well witcher to help find the best location on the property to dig a well.

In an effort to give the two children more involvement with the project, the family visits a local wildlife sanctuary and "adopts" 30 raccoons whose mothers; were shot or run over by vehicles. The raccoons will prove a worthy distraction for the kids as work on the land progresses. Both Les and his wife Sue feel that all of the solar power, composting toilets, rain harvesting, log building and clearing the land may be overwhelming for his children and wants to them to still have some fun despite the exhausting work. They are kids after all!

In the middle of all of this, Les struggles to find time with his band, who is in the process of recording their latest album. Despite his focus on preparing the land, he rationalizes that one still has to have an income no matter how self-sufficient they are. The easiest solution? Bring the band out to the property for a recording session. Hilarity ensues when, as Les figures, the recording session is interrupted by an overly affectionate raccoon, likely a first in history.

Les muses that 100 year prior, that land would have been worked by hand and would have been back-breaking labor, and even though he uses newer technology, he still gets satisfaction from the process.

"Perhaps it's not as romantic as working the land with horses but the beauty of living out here hasn't changed even if the methods have."

However, near the end of the clip Les wonders if he's bitten off more than he can chew when the first snowfall of the season hits sooner than expected and reminds him that the deep freeze of the winter is just around the corner. Now Les feels as though he may be letting the family down. Will he prevail and get the property ready in time for winter? Tune in tomorrow to find out.

» Les Stroud (Official Site)