Boyce risks everything to cross an icy river with all his gear on this week’s Devil’s Canyon — in a perilous journey which leaves him shaken to his core.
In our exclusive clip below, Boyce says he knows he is getting closer to walking out of the canyon with “a ton of gold”.
But if he can’t cross the river successfully with all his equipment then his whole trip will be doomed.
He builds a raft to carry him and his belongings across but is worried if it will be able to hold the weight.
The river’s current has picked up speed since the previous night, but Boyce is focused and explains his strategy saying: “With all my gear on here, and me, plus the raft — easily over a thousand pounds.
“I’m not going to be able to paddle that across that current. So I’m going to tie one end of my static line to the raft and swim the other end across the river.”
The physics of his venture is shown in a CG animation as he explains: “When I pull the raft into the river the current is going to immediately push the raft downstream.
“Using myself as a fulcrum I’ll use the current to swing the raft in a pendulum motion to the other side.”
But if the current is too powerful or if Boyce doesn’t pull fast enough, the raft will capsize and that will be the end of all his mining efforts.
He says: “I have to be successful. I didn’t come this far and work this hard to go home with nothing.”
To keep his clothes dry he then strips down to his birthday suit, before bracing himself and entering the 41°F water.
He says: “I’m getting my gear on that raft to the other side and I’m doing it right now.”
But with the water so cold and the current so strong, making headway is more difficult than he imagined and things start to go wrong.
Will he make it to the other side?
Devil’s Canyon airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on Discovery.