‘Gold Rush: White Water’ Star Dakota Fred Teases ‘Intense’ and Inspiring New Season

After a disastrous end to their first season mining for gold in the remote mountains of Southern Alaska, the Gold Rush: White Water crew is back and ready for another adventure in a brand new season of Discovery’s hit Gold Rush spinoff.

Dakota Fred opened up to PopCulture.com ahead of Friday’s Season 2 premiere, airing at 10 p.m. ET on Discovery, admitting that it was initially hard to get back out there with his son Dustin after their first season ended when a landslide sent a flash flood through their mine site, wiping out their gold haul.

“We had a lot of hopes,” he said of this upcoming season. “After you finish a tough year, sometimes you think, ‘Man, I’m never gonna go back and do that,’ but after three or four months, you go, ‘Well, maybe it wasn’t as bad.’”

The promise of “adventure” is what brought Fred and his son back up to the icy waterways of Alaska to prospect for another season, but the team was sure to make some adjustments to their plan, adding more members to their crew and doubling their dredges.

“Basically, first thing we realized was we were a little short-handed always,” he explained. “So first thing we did was add on more people … we had a better plan of attack. The first year we didn’t even know if we could do it.”

Aside from the dangerous task at hand, Fred teased that the biggest challenge for the crew this season was “personalities” clashing — most notably between him and Dustin.

“We are not always on the same page,” he joked. “I can just let other people make up their minds … I know I have plenty of opinions myself.”

Regardless of any drama, Fred hinted that the second year searching for Alaskan goal went a lot better than the first.

“I can tell you that I had a very good time. I enjoyed this year compared to the first year,” he told PopCulture. “It was a fun year, it really was. I think people are really gonna enjoy watching it. “

It may not have the million-dollar hauls of Gold Rush, but Fred explained that he hopes the show can inspire people to look past their perceived obstacles in life and achieve something.

“There are gonna be moments … that are gonna be a little bit cringeworthy, because it’s intense, but I do hope to inspire people to do something!”

Gold Rush: White Water Season 2 premieres Friday, Jan. 4 at 10 p.m. ET on Discovery.

Photo credit: Discovery