Snowballs: Hushed River Valley

[Drifter Man]

20 hours ago, FunkyFuggerson said:

Marsh ridge connects FM to MT via root climbing. Once you climb up the rosehip roots you'll enter the Milton basin. I suggest skirting the lake edge to the hermits cabin and camping there if you have low condition. Now you have to travel north and head into the nice little area with birch tree's, cattails... Oh yeah, and a moose and wolves. So now you have two long rope climbs, there is a cave for you to rest in so keep that in mind. Its also not the warmest but you have good clothing so it should be good. Good luck! 

Thank you for your guidance in this area, which is entirely undiscovered and unknown to me. I'm taking plenty of firewood and coal along to stay warm when resting in the cave. My condition is good, hopefully I can also do a bit of exploration on the way.

17 hours ago, Doc Gonzo said:

@Drifter Man these are great reads.  Thanks for taking the time to write them.  Really fun stuff. 

Thanks!

17 hours ago, Hotzn said:

Hrgn? Can you please elaborate a little on this point - do we actually fall asleep on the spot if we let fatigue slip too much? If so, how long does our fatigue-o-meter have to be "in the red" (I mean damage-inflicting) until this occurs? To my memory, I have yet to experience this kind of power nap. How long does the nap last?

Congratulations btw to the Desolation Point achievement - I am still missing that one. It might be the next one on my list when I have completed Deep Forest (in the Ravine). Unfortunately, playing time is limited these days. May I ask: Does the Desolation Point achievement require crafting arrow heads as well? From the text "craft a full set of improvised tools" I am presuming no, as in my book an arrowhead is not really a tool. But my Hinterlandish is not perfect.

My apologies - my report indeed sounds like I collapsed at the workbench... no, I fell asleep there deliberately, the fire was still going and it was easier than transferring it to the forge. It seems that a fire is perfectly protected at the workbench at the Spences', it didn't go out for some 20 hours straight, including in a blizzard.

Sadly I can't help regarding the conditions of the Desolation Point achievement. My achievements don't pop up during the game, I only see them after I exit it. I crafted everything in one go and can't tell at which point I got it.

2 hours ago, Stone said:

Good luck with those climbs! Make sure you check the cave on Marsh Ridge before climbing out ;O)

Thanks, I did - no bedroll there

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 61

Nice place, this Marsh Ridge. Seen moose marks but no moose, and no wolves. Good amount of firewood, reishi mushrooms and rabbits, and even a deer. I decided to hunt the deer and stay for a few days, feasting on venison steaks. I deployed rope at the attachment point and proceeded to check the cave - found an emergency stim, a book on harvesting (I'd already read one copy) and a can of Pork and Beans at 22% (decided not to risk eating that). Then I killed the deer - it took me three shots and a good deal of freezing, I very much needed the practice. But the reward was meaty, almost 10 kilos. I started a fire in the cave and let the deer run itself to death, and the deer was kind enough to die nearby in a nice, sheltered spot. I harvested it in three runs, first 6 kg, then 3 kg, and finally 0.8 kg, and cooked it all in one go. It was almost morning when I returned to the big cave.

This allowed me to stay around, read all the books I found in FM and get the skills benefit without hauling them with me - saves 2 kg. At the same time, I collected sticks and even chopped up two tree limbs - "not a practical proposition on Interloper", as I said a while ago in another thread. Well, with the right clothes, equipment and weather, and knowing you can regenerate, the freezing damage you take while chopping fir and cedar is acceptable.

Now I'm done foraging, eating venison and reading books. Having checked my inventory, I disposed of all unneeded items in the cave to lighten the load:

• 4 accelerants - no need at level 4 firestarting
• storm lantern - good item but heavy, and I have little lamp oil left. Can leave it behind to navigate through the cave on my way back.
• firestriker - only 5% left
• the four books
• 4 liters of water and 20 sticks to help me when I return

Time to move on further into the unknown. Condition 98%.

[Stone]

@Drifter Man I'm thinking the answer to my outerloper issues might be HRV (desperate as that is). It seems you find the bedroll reliably there. What do you think? I don't even know the way from MT though.

[Drifter Man]

5 minutes ago, Stone said:

@Drifter Man I'm thinking the answer to my outerloper issues might be HRV (desperate as that is). It seems you find the bedroll reliably there. What do you think? I don't even know the way from MT though.

I found the bedroll in that cave 100% of the time, so I think it is a guaranteed spawn. However, neither I know much about outdoor places in MT to sleep without a bedroll. If you go from Trapper's Homestead via cave and down one rope and up another rope, there's a picnic ground and some cars near Orca. You might be able start a campfire under the hood of a car (whose trick is that?) and sleep inside. I don't know if it is protected from wind there, though.

[Stone]

@Drifter Man AHA! Right, well, I did explore MT in my normal Interloper game (too many wolves for my liking) but I'm pretty damn sure I can sleep in the park office, the church and by the crashed plane. This is beginning too look like a plan. Can you, as one survivor to another, give me directions form MT to the HRV bedroll cave? TWM will have to wait!

[Hotzn]

Exciting. Premature crafting of knives brought about predicament. @Drifter Manto the rescue! Have to watch this closely. 

[Riotintheair]

10 hours ago, Stone said:

@Drifter Man AHA! Right, well, I did explore MT in my normal Interloper game (too many wolves for my liking) but I'm pretty damn sure I can sleep in the park office, the church and by the crashed plane. This is beginning too look like a plan. Can you, as one survivor to another, give me directions form MT to the HRV bedroll cave? TWM will have to wait!

There's a warm zone cave in the Milton Basin (NNW side of the big lake that I camp in often in MT - this is a very safe spot in my opinion). There's also a warm zone cave near the top of rope climb behind Grey Mom's place - beware of a wolf though, this cave can be very close to a wolf route. The last warm cave I can recall in MT became the HRV transition cave (and is pretty close to the cave that still exist above Grey Mom's).

ETA: there's also the indoor cave leading to the plane crash.

ETA2: there's also a cave you can't miss between the two rope climbs out of Milton Basin... and another between the 2 rope climbs heading into ML. I'm getting forgetful apparently.

[Drifter Man]

8 hours ago, Riotintheair said:

There's a warm zone cave

Poor @Stone has no bedroll - he's looking for outdoor beds. However, I'm not familiar with MT and I'm sure other survivors can help him better with that. I can only say that the Church is a loading screen indoor area. There's cars around though.

18 hours ago, Stone said:

Can you, as one survivor to another, give me directions form MT to the HRV bedroll cave? TWM will have to wait!

I'll try, although I haven't walked that path in full myself in that direction.

After exiting  the connecting cave from MT, turn left and reach Stairsteps Lake. You may find a snow shelter on the way, but it will likely be too windy to keep a fire going while you sleep. Then you have three options:

• Farily safe but long - stick to the left side until you reach Offset Falls, then follow Hushed River until the end. There, turn right, you will find the cave entrance will on your right side after a few steps. There will be plenty of cattails on the river and also a cave on the left bank, with matches.
• One I'm not quite sure about - stick to your right after leaving the lake, you should appear in a valley with some cattails. There will be a rope up on your right, which leads directly to another exit from the ice cave, but you will be too tired to climb up (that's how the first Snowball died). Turn left from there and walk until you reach Hushed River, find a way to get down onto the river, then turn right, the rest is like the first option.
• Probably the shortest but most dangerous - stick to the middle way and get straight to the river and down, then right and follow the river like the other two. Beware of bears and wolves.

Maybe there is a better way I don't know about. Also, be prepared to deal with a wolf inside the ice cave. The small rope in the cave can be climbed up even if you are fully exhausted.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 62

I entered Milton Basin, checked in at the Hermit's Cabin and took a warming break at a deer carcass nearby. Then I headed for the rocky area with waterfall, expecting to climb up the rope that eventually leads to Milton. Unfortunately, I could not locate the rope, and after dropping to about 50% condition, I headed back to Forlorn Muskeg to spend the night back at Marsh Ridge.

I took some screenshots and found the rope - at least the top part of it - in one of them. Will try again tomorrow.

[Riotintheair]

Sorry, @Stone - there's an outdoor leaf bed at the crash site in MT (you use it at the start of story mode). It's a hike and you'll need a fire, but there should be enough fuel for a day or two just from the hike in. It's far enough out of the way you'd probably be best to follow @Drifter Man to HRV, since the route to the crash site takes you pretty near the HRV region cave, unless you come up from the radio tower along the stream bed. The path is pretty linear to the crash site - take the road from the church, across the bridge to the east (beware of the bear, he's the only one in MT but he's always here in my experience), then hang a right through a gap in the rocks to an indoor cave, from there it's still a ways to the crash site, but it's pretty much linear, just keep going forward the way you can and you'll come to it. The leaf bed is in a shallow cave at more or less the end of the path (and the very beginning of story mode).

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 64

Next day, a blizzard hit as soon as I set foot in the Milton Basin, so I returned once again to Marsh Ridge and waited until late afternoon. Afterwards I quickly reached the rope up to Milton and spent the night in the cave. The cave was so warm - offering a +28 C bonus compared to the temperature outside - that I did not need a fire. I woke up during the night and climbed down the rope to collect a few sticks (and get tired so that I can sleep until morning), when I noticed the aurora in the sky. Strange - it was silent, it didn't sing, that's why I didn't notice it right away. Was it because I had music switched off? I switched it on, but the aurora soon ended. Maybe that was the reason for its silence - the aurora was about to end.

I crossed MT without incident - save one wolf encounter above the Wood Lot, fortunately I paused to listen for wolfsteps before climbing that crest - and caught a rabbit at the cave to HRV. Then I crossed the cave and used my burning torch to start a fire, to make some water and cook the rabbit. I tried it the usual way - dropped the meat on the ground and RMB-moved it onto the fire, but for some reason it wasn't possible. OK, so I'm told I can place it from the radial. I find the meat on the radial menu, click it, eat it and get poisoning. Why oh why does it have to be so hard to avoid food poisoning while cooking? No one in their right mind eats raw meat, but the game offers multiple easy ways to do just that, while placing raw meat on a campfire is complicated.

My antibiotics were about to expire anyway, so I didn't mind using them, but I get none of my condition back tonight. 55%, light duty tomorrow. Hushed River Valley wins another day to guard its secrets.

Note on the last picture, taken 10 days after the resolute outfitter achievement. I wasn't taking my clothes off for sleep, so the degradation rates for continuous wearing are as follows:

• Thermal underwear - 2.4% per day
• Wool socks, wool toque, wool ear wrap, plaid shirt, sweatshirt - 1.6 to 1.8% per day
• Combat boots, combat pants, ski jacket - 0.7 to 0.8% per day
• Rabbitskin mitts - 0.6% per day
• Deerskin pants - 0.3% per day

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 65

I begin the day with taking a screenshot of my clothes, with the intention to undress before sleeping from now on, and check the difference 10 days later.

Then I descend to Stairsteps Lake. It is sunny, no wind, so maybe I could start a fire and move around a bit. There are deer on the lake, maybe I could try to get one? I find a nicely sheltered place for a fire and start it with a mag lens, put in about 30 sticks and start boiling some water while I warm up. Before the water is boiled, strong wind picks up from one direction that is not covered. Not only it reduces my fire to embers, it also reduces my felt temperature back below zero, so I'm freezing again.

In the meantime a wolf appears on the lake and kills one deer. I want to stick around and maybe drive it away with fire, so I start another fire close to the kill, next to a slope that protects it against the wind. Before the firestarting sequence is complete, the wind turns around and kills it again. There's nothing I can do here, so I run back to my base in the cave to Milton. I've been freezing all the time, so my condition is 23%. So much for 'light duty'.

Herbal tea and cattails tonight, back at 57% in the morning. I made zero progress on Day 65.

[Stone]

Feeling your pain dude. While I've not had a proper explore, I'm hoping Hushed River's bumpy terrain offers some 360 degree wind protection spots that aren't caves. We shall see.. hope 66 is kinder.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 68

Early morning. Valley Cave.

You're right to ask what I'm doing in this place when I was supposed to look for the signal fire. Well, let me describe the harrowing ordeal of Snowball 54 on Day 67.

After resting for most of Day 66 and getting back to 86% condition, I left the cave in the direction straight ahead - one of the last unexplored pieces of the region. To lighten my load, I left some items behind - bow and arrows, spare cloth and leather, one of my two sewing kits. Soon the valley opened below me, and I could see the signal fire summoning me from the distance.

The path led over several fallen trees and through narrow passages between rock and precipice. I was quite happy with that, as no sane designer would put a wolf here. I used my position to safely document the wildlife below me. Yes, a wolf and a bear. A bear. Magnificent animal, isn't it? I recognized the area below and noticed the long rope leading up to the upper exit of the wolf ice cave, the one under which Snowball 48 found his death. Snowball 54 passed it in mid-height, walking on a fallen tree bridge.

But then the path tapered off and ended, and there was no way to continue in this direction. Did I miss something again? How am I supposed to reach the signal fire? I found a safe slope where I could descend and ended up on the wolf-bear level, near the bottom of the rope, and continued in the original direction. Soon I found a rope attached, offering a way down to the valley. "Many Falls Vista". @Stone, I've circled the entrance into the ice cave, the one with wolf and bedroll inside, which you're looking for. Hopefully you will find it from the Hushed River.

No, not today, I say to the rope, I've seen the valley, I want to the signal fire. But it made me wonder, how could Snowball 53 have missed that rope when he was in the valley?

Having nowhere else to go and no way back up, I head towards the Hushed River to look for some shelter and warm up. I keep to the right on the hills to have a good view, because I;ve seen the wolf near here. And yes, there is something in front of me... I make a few steps back, ready to light a flare...

It's the bear.

By the time I pull out the flare pistol, it's already hard at work.

It was bad luck that the bear was right there round the next bend, but it had to happen at some point - I've spent some 1500 days in sandbox and had never been mauled by a bear, until today.

When I come back to my senses, I'm thinking fast about priorities. Bandage first, before my scent attracts other predators. Emergency stim second. Fortunately no sprains. Infection risk can wait. Arm flare pistol - it's gone. Pick up the pistol and a flare lying on the ground. Anything else? Let's go find shelter, I'm freezing.

I head out in the direction of the bear because I know there is no shelter behind me until the cave to Milton. The bear turns at me and charges, but a flare fired in its direction makes it change its mind. I slip though a passage between rocks, and sprain a wrist at an ankle. Bad, bad. Choices - on the left, scrub brush blocks access to the ice cave Stone is looking for. I could start a fire and clear the brush. But the passage on the right offers more protection for a campfire. I choose the latter option.

I make a roaring fire with about 20 sticks, 2 cedar and 2 coals. I'm exhausted after the emergency stim and drink two coffees. Pop painkillers - I need both ankle and wrist, I must be able to handle the flare pistol. Two old man's beard wraps fix the infection risk. Eat a few cattails, I can't afford to starve right now.

I can hear the bear walking above me but I don't think it will come down there. The rocket flare must have missed it. Not that I care.

When I'm done, I pull a few torches and turn them into sticks but leave about 5 hours' worth of fire behind. Third coffee, then go on. I'm not surprised to end up in the same place where I came from, and slowly realize that the rope at Many Falls Vista is my ticket out of this mess. Down there, there are cattails and enough firewood to keep me going for days. I can wait there and heal, and then return via the other rope to Pensive Vista.

Once I reach the bottom I realize why Snowball 53 failed to locate this rope - it was in the area cordoned off by the wolf. Today I slip through without incident.

And so I end up in Valley Cave, at 18% condition. Fortunately the back of the cave is warm enough right now to prevent further condition loss. I build a fire, make herbal tea and sleep for 10 and then 2 hours, waking up at 49%. Not great but I'll live. No 'light duty' today though. I need firewood, food and also check out the valley. And then, I need out.

And by the way, my resolute outfit is history. Fortunately I have three spare toques in the trailer at the Dam.

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 68

Okay, so it's morning... there's a backpack in the cave (granola bar that I don't have the courage to eat) and two pieces of cedar. I harvest the toque and ear wrap ruined by the bear and repair the ones that survived. I swap the inner and outer ski jacket so that the outer one (undamaged) can protect me better. Make some water, reishi tea to warm up, run around and collect sticks, also some cattails. I can even cut the scrub brush at the cave entrance with my new hatchet - it takes about 20 minutes but I can't do it without freezing damage, even if I'm sheltered from wind.

Wind, wind, wind - wind almost never stops in Hushed River Valley. Outside it is felt -53 C. Before noon I leave for the landslide in the hope of searching it. I'm freezing long before I reach, even though I run most of the time. I start a fire in a nice protected place, which looks almost like a cave, put in all my cedar and sticks, but it's not enough to overcome the air temperature. I run around and collect more sticks, finally above zero. Felt temperature outside is -38 C, and it is early afternoon. I cook reishi tea at the bonfire, which is 6-hour strong. Before the tea is done, wind turns around and reduces it to 9 minutes.

I make it back at 28%, grabbing a rabbit on the way. I have barely enough sticks to make it through the night. More herbal tea - not that I have much left - and 12 hours of sleep.

I can't survive in a place where I can't warm up at a fire on my way. I can't get enough firewood when the wind always kills any fire I've just built. I'm getting out of Hushed River Valley, tomorrow. I don't give a damn about some stupid signal fire.

[Dan_]

Oh man, HRV is beating Snowball into submission. The problem with the signal fires is that there are two possible locations, neither of which is easy to get to, one demands rope climbing and the other gives you the option of a long, frosty and wolfey hike. That guaranteed mackinaw would be good but it's of no use if you're dead. 

Great thread, loving the screenshots, they add so much to the storytelling. Keep them coming!

[cullam]

You can make it, @Drifter Man! The whole community believes in you! Besides, what finer goal in life is there for a snowball, than a glorious death? 

[Drifter Man]

22 hours ago, Dan_ said:

Oh man, HRV is beating Snowball into submission. The problem with the signal fires is that there are two possible locations, neither of which is easy to get to, one demands rope climbing and the other gives you the option of a long, frosty and wolfey hike. That guaranteed mackinaw would be good but it's of no use if you're dead. 

Great thread, loving the screenshots, they add so much to the storytelling. Keep them coming!

Thanks! No, this is just a tactical withdrawal, but the truth is that Hushed River Valley won this round entirely. I got such a beating, from the bear and from weather, that it will take some time for me and my gear to get back in shape.

About the signal fires, I don't care that much about loot (the jacket equals just two pieces of cloth after such long time, I'm afraid), but I just wanted to get there, to find the way, and declare victory  I noticed the fires in two locations and thought that this may be the case, or that there may be two fires, or that there may be two fires and only one burning at a given time... is it true that they cannot be reached without hatchet?

[Drifter Man]

22 hours ago, cullam said:

You can make it, @Drifter Man! The whole community believes in you! Besides, what finer goal in life is there for a snowball, than a glorious death? 

Snowball knows death, but his mission is one of survival. He knows now is the time to retreat and tend to his bloodied nose

[Drifter Man]

Snowball 54 / Day 74

This thing is a tank! Stay tuned for some moose hunting tips, although everyone around already knows them I guess  After two months of cattail diet, I'm not sure how poor Snowball's stomach will take this...

 

[Ruruwawa]

4 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

I noticed the fires in two locations and thought that this may be the case, or that there may be two fires, or that there may be two fires and only one burning at a given time... is it true that they cannot be reached without hatchet?

Only one of the two possible signal fire locations is burning per sandbox.   One location can be reached without a hatchet by a short jump down from a ledge next to the scrub wall.   Returning the same way, however, does require a hatchet.   Must leave via a different route. 

[Dan_]

4 hours ago, Ruruwawa said:

Only one of the two possible signal fire locations is burning per sandbox.   One location can be reached without a hatchet by a short jump down from a ledge next to the scrub wall.   Returning the same way, however, does require a hatchet.   Must leave via a different route. 

Haha! I find it quite satisfying to learn these new little trickery bits, yes I did shimmy up on the snow mound, bypassed the shruberry as well and did some extreme mountain goating to leave, I'm not entirely proud of that. 

Great prize  @Drifter Man! Looking forward to your report! 

[Riotintheair]

Are you still retreating or will you hunker down on the moose and recoup? Or did you kill it after retreating? Anyhow it's always awesome to get a moose!

[FunkyFuggerson]

17 minutes ago, Riotintheair said:

Are you still retreating or will you hunker down on the moose and recoup? Or did you kill it after retreating? Anyhow it's always awesome to get a moose!

Unsure, I think the best thing to do would be to hunker down and maybe explore a bit more. Ive only killed 2 moose before and both times I was forced to hunker down so I could cook most of the meat. Unless hunkering down means you actually hunker down and live like a caveman or something in HRV for quite a while. Hunker hunker hunker. 

[Stone]

@Drifter Man I need to update my thread but I've made it to HRV annnnd I've even got a theory about this moose... ? Enjoy those steaks!