Snowballs in Hell

Drifter Man

By Drifter Man
in Survival Stories

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Drifter Man Pathfinder

Drifter Man

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Snowball 47 / Day 113

I had to strike that match that morning, and another one on the next counter-cabin-fever day, which I spent cooking all the venison and fish I had bagged six days earlier. And another match the morning after. I realized that it's not the mornings that are cold but the clothes that are going bad and need repair. My temperature bonus fell to +10°C, not enough to make it through a cold morning in the Mountaineer's Hut. So I spent the next day repairing: thin wool sweater, then the wolf scarf and rabbitskin mitts, and later in the evening, the older pair of deerskin pants. This got me back to +12°C bonus and paid off immediately, as I would have to strike another match on the very next morning if I had not done the repairs.

I was lucky and the only failed repair was the rabbitskin mitts. Rabbit skins and guts can be replaced, cloth cannot be. I'm down to 3 pieces of cloth, plus one in the old cotton toque I'm not wearing anymore but haven't scrapped yet. Then I'll have to start taking some of my current clothes apart to keep the other pieces going. My temperature bonus will begin to drop and, in the end, I will be using up one match each day, like the early Snowballs did. Sixteen matches are left. The condition of my clothes and the count of my remaining days are closely related.

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JAFO Pathfinder

JAFO

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15 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I had to strike that match that morning, and another one on the next counter-cabin-fever day, which I spent cooking all the venison and fish I had bagged six days earlier. And another match the morning after. I realized that it's not the mornings that are cold but the clothes that are going bad and need repair.

Ouch.. an expensive lesson indeed.

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JAFO Pathfinder

JAFO

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3 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

Perhaps no so much. By postponing the repair of clothes by a few days, I've probably made them last by a few days longer.

Well, I mostly meant from the perspective of blowing 2 matches that, had you fixed your clothes sooner, you probably could have saved..

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Drifter Man Pathfinder

Drifter Man

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Snowball 47 / Day 118

All's well in my little comfy hideout at Crystal Lake. The repairs left me with no deer skins, no guts and no rabbit pelts, so I caught two rabbits and processed them to the last bit. I'm also nervously looking out to see the next deer, which should arrive in a few days. Hopefully I'll get a chance.

My latest counter-cabin fever session was a nearly 30-hour fishing run. Not a very successful one, considering the effort, but successful enough to secure my food supply for a few more days. Two of my fishing lines snapped, so I will have to use one of the new rabbit guts to make line.

15 matches left.

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Just now, JAFO said:

Well, I mostly meant from the perspective of blowing 2 matches that, had you fixed your clothes sooner, you probably could have saved..

Yeah, I think I just moved blowing those matches to an earlier time - I don't think my life will be shorter because of this. But yes, I need to keep an eye on my clothes. Shouldn't let the bonus fall to +10°C.

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Snowball 47 / Day 124

Lack of focus (and practice, I haven't been playing much lately) leads to mistakes. I missed the day for counter-cabin-fever session and got cabin fever during the night. I couldn't leave Mountaineer's Hut because it was too dark outside, and couldn't sleep, so I moved to the fishing hut less than fully rested and in 96% condition.

The deer was outside and the weather was good, but the third component - wolf - was not around. So I spent much of the morning cooking fish. When I was done, the wolf appeared and the time has come for the hunt. Unfortunately, I misjudged the distance and spooked the deer too early. It ran away to the far side of the lake and attracted the second wolf, who pursued it around the lake shores and killed it on a tall rock close to Mountaineer's Hut. I tried to approach it from the lake but couldn't get a direct line of sight with the wolf, which didn't care about a fire it couldn't see, no matter how close I was. So I went around the rock and approached from behind, but the slopes were too steep to make fire there. In the end I came so close that the wolf turned around and growled, but I still couldn't start a fire. I gave up. No meat, no hide and no guts today.

So I returned to the fishing hut, made 15 liters of water and kept fishing until the next evening. Exhausted and starving, but fully healed from cabin fever, I picked one cooked fish and checked the wolf outside - far enough to let me slip through. I forgot to think about the one that feasted on the deer yesterday, which was still around because I had been mostly passing time boiling water and fishing for those 30 hours. I heard the growl but didn't know where it was coming from. Remembering how the last snowball died, I dropped the fish, BAM, and moved away. But the wolf was already in attack mode and the flare pistol was the only option I had left.

As soon as the wolf was gone, I reloaded the pistol with my last shell and picked up the fish. I survived, but the flare pistol is now a truly single-shot weapon. I have no plans to visit the Ravine :)

Arriving in Mountaineer's Hut in 53% condition, I ate the fish that I brought back, drank herbal tea and went to bed, healing almost fully by the morning.

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Drifter Man Pathfinder

Drifter Man

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21 hours ago, Riotintheair said:

Will you have food (and clothes warmth) to make your next deer-day or will you need to spend an extra match to fish again before? Or can you try on a deer farther from home - like the ones that sometimes are near the wing?

Yes, I should be fine - enough food and clothes. But I will need some deer hides further down the line, and I should start working on it.

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Snowball 47 / Day 127

Two days were lost to blizzards. I avoided having to start a fire by exploiting the pass time mechanic in the bed, as usual, and was lucky enough not to be caught by a blizzard outside. I tried to collect some sticks but with little success, they had not respawned. I found my first "cairn" - Backer No. 152. It wasn't combustible and couldn't be eaten, so I lost interest and left it in place.

Anyway, I decided to kill two birds with one stone when light fog fell on the next day. My readers know how I like light fog - no wind, safe fires, decent visibility. I drank one of my last cups of rosehip tea to "heal" a wrist I sprained earlier that morning and headed out towards the Wing.

No, I didn't want to hunt deer there - that would be nearly suicidal with all the wolves and bears around - I was out to skin the deer carcass further afield, near the fallen tree bridge, and I was collecting sticks on the way. When I arrived, there was no deer. Ah, I must have forgotten - there wasn't any in that place. So many Snowballs long ago, I got it all mixed up.

I was quickly losing condition but since I'd already gone so far, I decided to cross the fallen tree bridge and skin the deer that was on the other side. Alas, no deer there, either. Disappointed, I turned around and headed home, reaching it with a sprained wrist (again), in 33% condition and with 63% risk of hypothermia. I ate two fish, drank another herbal tea and slept for 10 and then 2 more hours, healing to 68% by the next morning. I should be fine.

It was a costly and almost fruitless endeavor, but at least I collected about 50 sticks. I'll stay on light duty for a day and then move to the fishing hut again to fight cabin fever.

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JAFO Pathfinder

JAFO

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1 minute ago, Drifter Man said:

I think I should add pictures again

That would be excellent.. particularly to illustrate points and techniques.

 

1 minute ago, Drifter Man said:

these long blocks of text are hard to digest.

I don't mind them.. because at least yours have paragraphs.. The occasional "wall of text" we see from some people.. well...

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Drifter Man Pathfinder

Drifter Man

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I'd like to start a little off-topic here, for my next project that is coming together in my mind :) I haven't been keeping up with all the changes happening to Great Bear lately, so I could use some help.

1. Does anyone know if there are other places than the Spences' Homestead and Mountaineer's Hut (and cars) where you can sleep without a bedroll in an environment with variable temperature? How about lookouts - they all have fixed temperature, right?

2. Are there beds, or places to sleep without bedroll, in any of the mines or indoor caves?

3. Are there other places like the three-way cave and the alcove under the Summit where you are outdoors and fully protected from the wind, but still can build a snow shelter?

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Timber Wolf Pathfinder

Timber Wolf

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11 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

1. Does anyone know if there are other places than the Spences' Homestead and Mountaineer's Hut (and cars) where you can sleep without a bedroll in an environment with variable temperature?

Check out the Broken Railroad.  There is an exterior portion of the maintenance building that has variable temperatures.  You can build a fire right next to the bed!

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11 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

2. Are there beds, or places to sleep without bedroll, in any of the mines or indoor caves?

Not that I'm aware of.
 

11 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

3. Are there other places like the three-way cave and the alcove under the Summit where you are outdoors and fully protected from the wind, but still can build a snow shelter?

Alan's Cave and Dave's Quiet Clearing in ML.  I'll see if I can find more. :)

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Thanks for the tips @Timber Wolf. I think I'll set up an exploration run in Pilgrim or Voyageur again, I should especially take a look at this new broken railroad thing :) I'm also looking for outdoor crafting tables (optionally, in mines) - so far I know about those in CH Fishing Camp, at FM Spences' Homestead and Mountaineer's Hut again.

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Timber Wolf Pathfinder

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14 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I'm also looking for outdoor crafting tables (optionally, in mines) - so far I know about those in CH Fishing Camp, at FM Spences' Homestead and Mountaineer's Hut again.

I think you've listed all of the outdoor workbenches.  There is one in the Cinder Hills Mine (CH - PV) and one in the Old Island Connector Mine (OIC - DP).

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