Kermit the Timberwolf Hermit

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 5 / Day 6

I gain 90 minutes of fire to stave of freezing a bit longer, but hardly warm enough to really warm me up. Scrambling I cook whatever I have left that can carry warmth. Hint: it ain't much. I drink some herbal tea and try to warm up as much as I can. Outside morning dawns - the weather is as beautifully clear, as it is brutally cold.

I quickly calculate temperatures, and find myself still 3°C short in case the fire dies, which it will in 30 minutes. If I plan on scrapping my last crate it's now or never. Ah screw it. I don't like rabbits that much anyways. I spend the time reorganizing a few things, as I still carry a lot of stuff I really don't need to keep with me, and hope that things will work out. The fire dies, and by a sliver ..... they don't. -6°C is just a scratch under what I need. Fairly warmed up I sleep an hour, regardless, banking on the weather improving rather than degrading. The gamble pays off, and it get's 2°C warmer while I doze off.

Today cannot be about anything else but collecting firewood, but -27°C without cover is just too brutal. I sleep another hour, then another. It's noon, -12°C FL, basically no winds. Now or never. I take towards the wing. I must come back with firewood - or I must not come back at all. A rabbit offers his life to me on the way. Sorry, no time, fella.

The big behind of a bear diverts me towards the small patch of woods north-east of the lake. I cannot go to the wing this way now, so I need to find an alternative. To my detriment the bear turns around and heads straight for the lake. I'm trapped on the wrong side if I don't act quick. I make it, just bear-ly, and return home with 13 sticks. Yes, sad times when that's a success story, I know.

I sleep two hours to regain some warmth again, and even recover the lost 1% of condition I paid for the sticks. I feel brave and take the other route towards the wing, knowing that I might just run into a wolf. It's -7°C FL. Ain't gonna get better, son. The wolf isn't there, and I make it up the hill east to the pit halfway to the wing - six more stix, but I am out of calories and warmth is running out regardless of the favorable weather. Scratch mark on a tree announce the presence of the moose, but I need to push forward.

I get into the woods, and I am not disappointed - but I rapidly lose condition now as I am both freezing and starving. I spring the back I actually wanted to come, pick up more sticks and almost run into the bear. He shouts some insults my way but lets me pass. I reach the hut at 40% and with 22 sticks total. I eat some cold tomato soup just to stop starving, but leave half the can. After an hour of sleep I have no choice but to raid the Bay of Cattails again. I score 14 of them, which, I think, are all that were left. I lose 4% condition due to freezing and end up with measly 38%. Having 2+5°C FL in the bed I drink a cold herbal tea and gamble on full 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I survive and gain 9% condition.

I wake up fully awake with -1°C on the outside. Using the brightly lit sky I finally read a page of the Sewing Primer for two hours, and then again sleep a moment. I read another page, then doze off again, the night getting colder by the minute. When the temperature reaches -6°C FL I finally light a fire. It's 5 am. The first winds howl. Another day in paradise ....

[Guest jeffpeng]

11 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

which... crate was that? (asks Deadman 10, who was there, dreaming of matches in one of those crates - but got only the rope and the accelerant).

The one in the corner opposite of the entrance, behind one of the containers. 2 packs of wood matches, 1 accelerant. Every time I was there so far.

13 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

That one also needs a knife if I remember...

Pretty sure it doesn't. But as I demonstrated time and time again: I'm fallible.

14 minutes ago, Drifter Man said:

There are lots of sticks lying around, but you have to go farther out (in better weather of course) to Landing Gear. There is a map in my Snowball thread showing where to get sticks to keep warm in MH. It's best to ration them and take them systematically - one day you visit one set of locations, another day you choose another.

The weather part is the problematic one. I constantly juggle freezing again firewood, and having fridge'd up so brilliantly coming back from the summit I have little wiggle room to maneuver. But yes, landing gear is my plan for the next day as I haven't been there for a bit now.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 5 / Day 7

Weather sucks again. No way to say it differently, really. This time I just dump all my sticks into the fire and get 4 and a half hours of warmth. How to use it? Improving clothing any way I can. I the weather doesn't get warmer, I need to.

I repair my work boots and gain a full °C for just a single piece of cloth, but it takes me 90 minutes. Next is my wool toque, which yields me another 0.8 °C for another piece of cloth. I think long and hard about repairing the cotton toque, but eventually decide to do it. All tries are successful, but I'm out of cloth now. I still got the sports vest however, and the fleece mittens will eventually outlive their usefulness as well. All in all spending 3 cloth for 2.2°C sounds like a fair deal I'm happy to make.

90 minutes before my fire dies the blizzard just vanishes into thin air. Snap - gone. Amazing weather simulation! I pull torches and head for the landing gear as @Drifter Mansuggested as he appeared me in a vision tonight.

I make good progress, but upon checking upon the possible corpse near the PV exit (which isn't there, of cource) weather turns heavily again, with fierce winds and I'm freezing in no time. I make a great total of 28 sticks, but I pay for them dearly: 12% condition. I eat two of my last three cattails and sleep two hours to warm up. 

The weather turns yet again, and I get clear skies and mild temperatures. But I'm still to cold to make another run, so I prepare some reishi and rosehips for an hour. -12°C FL outside think about what to do. I'm yet again below 50%, I'm yet again facing starvation. Cattails are the obvious answer, but the lake is almost devoid of them. I decide to gamble on travelling upstream and maybe score enough food before I freeze again. The wolf on the lake will be a problem if I'm not careful.

As if he heard me the wolf immediately travels upstream ahead of me. New plan. Make a beeline for the wing again, try to score some sticks, raid the container for some cans of hopefully still edible food. I head back into the hut, spend a match, and warm up some reishi and the rest of the tomato soup, eat the soup, and get going with a lit torch.

I find a few unexpected sticks - but also sprain my wrist. Something I cannot afford here basically in immediate vicinity the the bear's territory. Mere minutes later I almost run into the bear again and only avoid him because I hear him panting behind the next corner. Again he tells me to get lost, and again I do as he says unscathed. I turn back, again only left with the wolf infested approach to the wing. This time the wolf ... is there.

Re-deciding what to do again I head for the landing gear in a last ditch effort to maybe score a rabbit or two. But surprise: No rabbits! With little alternative I head for the creek from this angle and hope I run into neither bear nor wolf and actually find something resembling a cattail or at least some reishi. But it's not my day. I make a navigational error, get sidetracked, and once I regain my bearings I run head first into a wolf. Only the torch in my hand prevents him from sitting on my face and how exactly I shake him lose eludes me - but I do.

I abandon my mission and head back. I've scored an impressive 55 sticks in total which is even more impressive considering I was looking for food. Maybe I go looking for firewood tomorrow. I'll probably find a secret farm of cattails. Depressed and desolate I drink a herbal tea, eat my last peaches and go to bed for 5 hours. I don't dare risk more without a fire, and I don't have the calories anyways.

I regain back to 47%, but I wake up shortly before midnight with a raging blizzard outside. Having no choice I make a fire - spending another match. I'm already down to 34, which isn't terrible, but not sustainable at my rate. But right now I have other concerns than running out of matches on day 27. It's more about living to see day 9 or maybe 10 with a lot of luck. The blizzard last about half an hour and I realize I probably just caught the tail end of it. I pull a few torches from my fire, drink 90% 2 reishi and 1 rose hip just for the calories and go to bed again for 3 hours.

I think I've reached the point where my flare gun is my last resort. No use in keeping my luxury defense item if I am too dead to defend myself. If the weather and circumstances tomorrow align well enough ..... blood will be spilled. Hopefully not mine.

[BareSkin]

7 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

What brings me to the point what I want to spend my 8 flare shells on.

I'd go for: I drive deer into wolf, wolf becomes static, I kill wolf: on Loper a killed deer will bring you easily to day 30 along with the cattails you get from a wolf-free lake. This strategy is "least amount of effort for reaching day 30" strategy. From there, once I get the Mitts done and repaired clothes, I would focus solely on building up a stack of fuel, they respawn faster in early days.

With your clothes and warm Grandma's, you can go all the way to the exit to PV and back, and believe me you'll come back overwieghted with sticks. The behind of the Hut and the Wing part asks for a ready flare gun.

---------Spoiler alert------ (somebody teaches me how to make the "spoiler" thing, please)

Also, some experience I had about lack of fuel in my last Snowball: I made my campfire in from of MH, once I'm after midnight (before that the bed bonus is enough) and no blizzard kicked in. I don't have the screenshot anymore but I think I posted it in BareSkin adventure (the 8th,9th or 10th): with that place you can benefit the MH bonus by staying indoor, plus the "cold air temp" duration bonus. That's a risk you have to measure, since blizzards are less likely in early days it helps stocking up fuel. I typically went for this risk (blown fire) when a blizzard stopped after midnight. Less likely to have a second fire in a row. Also, never use fuel for cooking if you're not freezing. Never. Cattails are made for that since you won't be traveling far.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 5 / Day 8

52% condition, good enough to take some starvation damage. But by nighttime I will need something to chew on. I'm hunting today.

Not the most favorable of starts for a day, but we'll give it a chance to develop into something useful. What bugs me most is that I have nothing to do really, and I'm too hungry to do any reading. It's a waiting game. Eventually I start freezing, even in bed, and so I light up a fire again, but lose condition again because it takes me four attempts. Stockpiling water while trying not to freeze, jumping in and out of bed, it's 8 am until I feel brave enough to head out.

I can see the deer I want to liberate of his meat and body parts, but I can also spot the bear that has the same plans for me. I could drive the deer north into the wolf in the small part next to the climb, but I would prefer to get rid of the lake wolf as well. Let's see if that can be done. I drink most of some rose hip tea for warmth and get going. I score some of the last lake cattails while I try to circumvent the deer to get a good angle, but the bear foils my plan, and I abort. I manage to catch a rabbit on the way back, but I, again, am taking damage from freezing. I eat a cattail and sleep an hour.

When I wake up it's blizzard time! Frustration takes hold while I light another fire and take even more damage. How am I supposed to dig myself out of this mess? A lot stems from my botched summit descent, but other than that I am stricken by bad luck more often than not, I feel. After an hour the weather returns to normal - but I had to put up a two-hour fire to stave off freezing. I feel trolled as music rolls down the mountain. "Lalalala lalala lalala hahahahaha". I make a meme face, warm up some tea and pull torches. At least I got to cook most of the rabbit.

The weather is foggy but bearable. Haha. Had to pull that one, sorry - because the bear is too close that I actually think I can execute my plan today. I watch the scene from my door a little longer. As the bear hovers around and I realize that I am down to 8 sticks again (but up 20 torches) I decide I will go for another rabbit and some firewood instead and retry either later in the day or tomorrow. I drink my tea and head out again, taking to the landing gear.

I have actually decent success, but find no rabbit. Because the weather is stricken with low visibility but excellent temperatures I actually venture very far, past the landing gear, apparently for the first time this Kermit. "New location discovered: Landing gear" makes me chuckle. I consider wrapping around for the creek, but as crows announce new weather and my tea bonus runs out I head back. Either it's great weather for hunting or great weather for hiding coming, I think. Approaching the hut I sprain my wrist, which gives me ample excuse to sleep two hours.

When I wake up the temperatures jump to -2°C FL. I need to use this, but neither deer nor bear seem to have moved an inch since I last looked at them. The hell? On the spot I decide to end this slow downward spiral of futility. Now. I will take down that bear. "It's not possible!" the coward in the back of my head tells me.

"No", I say and let the bear charge, "it's necessary."

I shoot him, basically point blank in the head, a second before he is on me. I track the bear and let nature run its course. To my disappointment the bear dies on a slope and I cannot place a fire. (please, Hinterlanders, fix this!) I contemplate and then decide to use my hacksaw to cut off only 4 kilograms right now. Temperatures don't allow me to take more.

I return to the hut, eat the remaining rabbit meat and rest an hour. When I wake up dusk is upon me, but it is warm. I head back for the bear. I need to get as much from that flare shell as I can so I can for once not worry about food. I see a wolf patrolling near the carcass, but I evade him. To my detriment I sprain wrist and ankle approaching the bear, and the weather turns on me yet again. I at least cure the wrist with some tea remnants, and take another 2 kg of meat. I am losing condition to freezing, but make it home in time to prevent serious damage, 32% condition. Since it is warm enough in the cabin I eat my last cattail and sleep 2 hours.

When I wake up the aurora is out and it is relatively warm for a night, so I decide to make a beeline for the last few cattails on the lake. With my ankle still sprained I'm aware that I have a giant target on my back. I score two cattails, and a howling wolf announces his presence in the small woods north-east of the lake. I three more cattails ans leave while I can. I spot the lake wolf on the far side, near the creek, but he shows no immediate interest in me. I eat two cattails and chance two hours of sleep.

I awake fully rested, the aurora still out, the winds brushing up. I have nothing to do, but don't need to light a fire yet, so I finish A Sewing Primer. After eating another cattail I sleep another hour. Dawn will be on me soon, and with it the coldest part of the coming day.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 5 / Day 9

38% condition, 29 kilograms of rotting bear meat waiting for me near but so far from here. 5 am with the weather announcing cold winds and the aurora still burning the skies I don't dare to venture out. To great the risk, to little my margin for error. I still don't need to strike a fire, so I break down some of my surplus and burned out torches to recover some sticks. I check the older rabbits that still hold my rabbit skins, and they have degraded to single digit condition. As much as I don't like it, I use the hacksaw to at least relieve one of them of his pelt. FL drops to 0°C, and I sleep another hour while I still can.

Unable to sleep and unwilling to waste more time passing time in bed I light up the fireplace as harsh winds batter the hut. I've got 43 sticks, and I really need to get some of this bear cooked up. I put on the two worse bear steaks and spend another hour sawing up a 4% bunny carcass. My hacksaw is at 47%, still enough for 6 container doors. The weather outside turns to very favorable -10°C FL with no winds worth mentioning. I quickly harvest the last 400 grams of bunny meat form the last one I caught, put it on and let the fire die, lighting a torch and drinking most of one of my last herbal teas before I leave for the bear again.

 

By now I have forfeited any hope of getting the entire bear, but I would like to get at least 10 more steaks out of him. I manage 3 this time before I have to turn around freezing. I run home. The lake wolf is dangerously close, and I smell like a slaughterhouse. I ready my flare gun as I am not willing to give up any of the meat, but I manage to return home unscathed, but freezing down to 31%. The steaks I harvested are still of marvelous 70% condition. Having a total of 9 kilogram of high calorie bear meat lifts my spirits, despite my degrading condition. I eat my first steak despite it being actually much too early in the day and sleep three hours.

I wake up warm and rested, with 38% condition, to a still very pleasant day: -6°C FL, light snow. I head towards the bear again and feel like this will repeat a few more times the next two days as something marvelous happens. The lake wolf indeed must have tracked me before, and I find him on my six immediately. But while trying to lose him .... he spots the deer, all on his own.

I watch the scene with anticipation. But sadly the wolf eventually gives up - and I sprain my ankle sprinting up the hill. Sigh! I manage to saw off two additional kilograms of bear before I head home again, well above freezing and hopefully not smelling too bad. I pull out the flare regardless. I can't spot the lake wolf, so I feel relatively safe, but am still wary he might ambush me at my house. I return home, safe and sound, slightly freezing, at 37% condition, with two more 65% bear steaks. I sleep three hours to warm up and help my ankle realign itself.

In the evening things get colder, but still within acceptable margins. I decide to make a "quick", hobbly trip towards the Landing Gear and see if I can find a few sticks and maybe even a rabbit. I am successful with the rabbit, but have not much luck with the sticks before i have to wobblehobble home. Weather is still fine enough to skip making a fire, so I consume the last lump of rabbit meat still waiting next to the fireplace and sleep off the cold. I wake up fully rested again, but weather outside feels like turning towards a blizzard quick.

I count my sticks: 33. Not good, not totally bad. 10 more potentially in torches. But we are not there yet, so I harvest my fresh bunny with my bare, bloody hands. I manage to take everything it has got before turning 50% frozen. I pass another hour in bed as things start to get cold. I'm too hungry to sleep, I don't want to eat more bear and I don't want to risk food poisoning with a potential blizzard on the roll. After that hour I drink my last full cup of herbal tea, both for calories and rest, and try to sleep two hours - knowing I lack 40 calories, but I will wake up earlier anyways, rested as I am. I pass about 90 more minutes in bed until things get sub zero even there.

The night outside is silent, dark, but full of terrors as wolves join into a cacophony of howls everywhere around me.

[BareSkin]

Already 33% of the 30-day challenge done, plus you have one of your two mains problems (food) off. Now it's just about fuel efficiency, the Mitts, and soon this peculiar affliction, you know... (we can't say her name!)

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 5 / Day 10

Basically a third along the way I take time for a quick reevaluation of my state and options. I actually feel like I have stabilized somewhat. Improving my clothing has helped a ton when it comes to firewood runs, and having a steady supply of bear for at least 9 more days doesn't make me mourn my flare shell at all. But I am also out of canned food, valuable tea (all kinds!) and almost out of coffee. I contemplate if making the northern crescent isn't actually worth the risk just for reishi and rose hips. If the weather is really good.... I might, taking the tea & coffee container on the way. Making haste it should be doable in a day.

For now however I am at 40% and need to make a fire to avoid freezing, which will give me opportunity to cook some more bear steak and, almost more important, the rabbit. My stock of drinking water is dwindling as well. I gain Firestarting 2 and celebrate. This will help a ton! I check my rabbit pelts. 31%, 8% and 8% again since I had failed to drop one for a few hours. But it doesn't matter now. The rabbit mittens are on the way, albeit heavily delayed. 3 guts are at ~95%, so they will be ready. I cook my rabbit, put on enough fire to cook two steaks, eat the smallest lump of rabbit (200g) and sleep an hour.

Temperatures decline, slowly, but I put on just enough to boil two cans of water. I've become heavily conservative with firewood. @BareSkinis absolutely right. Don't use fire to cook. Use it for heat only, and cook when you have the opportunity while heating. Anything else isn't sustainable if you want to stay in this place for long. 

I put enough fire on to get me two more steaks, eat some more rabbit and read a page in "Field Dressing Your Kill, Vol. I". I'm doubtful I will finish the book anytime soon. But maybe eventually it will contribute to my survival. Meanwhile temperatures improve, and I let the fire finish the last bit of cooking on its own and check outside. -22°C FL, no winds, foggy and snowy. However: I feel like this is a precursor of clear weather. It is bright and temperatures have jumped 10°C in the last hour. I'm unsure, but finally decide to prioritize the bear for now. I get going.

I regret my decision heavily since temperatures plummet while I harvest the bear. Drop to 33% for a single steak of now only 47%. Today and maybe tomorrow I can still harvest it, the day after it will be gone. I warm up in bed for an hour, then eat my last rabbit lump and sleep two hours, temperatures again approaching 0 in bed. I gain back 4%, and warm up half a bar. Temperatures rise again, and I sleep away another hour since I got 90 calories left - 39%. My risk for parasites subsides, but I resist the urge to eat another steak. I bank on sleeping longer tonight, and a thousand calories will aid that tremendously. For now my focus is to bring in some firewood, and if push comes to shove I'm willing to let the bear rot away.

The area towards landing gear yields just 3 sticks, so I sprint back, spotting crows making a fly-by. I warm up spending an hour in bed. I take a look outside an sprain my wrist and ankle by getting hit by a very heavy snowflake. What the Hermit? This single crazy random happenstance ruins my entire day if I'm unlucky.

Standing in the doorway I witness the wolf of the north hunt the deer of the lake. I ready my last painkillers. If he get's the deer, he'll die for it. He get's it. I pill my wrist, pull my flare and wobble down there to do what has to be done. Well, mostly what I want to be done, but you catch my drift.

I cook the wolves brain next to the fishing hut. Sadly winds brush up heavily as I take a pound of deer and cost me some valuable condition again. I need to head back and warm up. I spend an hour passing time in bed, and head out again. As winds subside as fast as they came. I take two more pounds of deer before I have to warm up again. I don't dare making a fire next to the carcasses. Firewood is just too precious.

Almost 6pm I gobble up a bear steak and sleep an hour. I head back yet again, but expect the corpses to be frozen by now. I take the hacksaw to the deer and start chopping. 3 more pounds, sleep, rinse & repeat. The wolf of the lake is still conveniently absent, temperatures are tolerable, so I push my luck to the limit with night approaching fast. If this means I will miss out on some containers eventually - amen! 4 more pounds, the aurora lights me the way.

After another hour things get too cold to continue, and I decide to sleep as much as I can with the calories left from the bear steak. 5 hours is what I get - back to 38%, and fully rested. I drink most of my last water, and pass two hours in bed, I starve back to 36%. Tomorrow will be a lot of work, but now that I can safely loot the northern woods, I hope my firewood situation will improve.

[Guest jeffpeng]

15 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

Already 33% of the 30-day challenge done, plus you have one of your two mains problems (food) off. Now it's just about fuel efficiency, the Mitts, and soon this peculiar affliction, you know... (we can't say her name!)

My best bet to deal with her is to make a snow shelter in the outside portion of the three-way-cave. It's the most inside-y outside I can think of. But it would mean again sacrificing at least 3 more cloth worth of clothing. Before that I want to try and container a bit, get my mitts and maybe even panties. We'll see how that goes, but I stay hopeful!

[BareSkin]

17 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

My best bet to deal with her is to make a snow shelter in the outside portion of the three-way-cave. It's the most inside-y outside I can think of. But it would mean again sacrificing at least 3 more cloth worth of clothing. Before that I want to try and container a bit, get my mitts and maybe even panties. We'll see how that goes, but I stay hopeful!

I ended up (when?) making one just in front of the Hut and hop in it as soon as winds die. But I'm a lazy boy. (and maybe the 3WC has no fuel).

I hope Journalist Nhotz will interview you about you incredible shooting skills... (did your parents make you grew up in a terrorist group?)

[Dan_]

Staying at the Hut should not give you cabin fever, the thing feels more like a sieve than a structure!

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 5 / Day 11

-4°C in the cabin is enough excuse for me to light a fire. I need food to stave off starvation damage, I need water, because thirst is not an option. For the record: 36% condition, a 3.2 kilogram wolf and 3.6 kilogram of remaining deer left on the lake. I have abandoned the bear for all intends and purposes.

I put on some deer to stop starvation, and despite -20°C FL I head out to gather firewood. I don't trust the weather, and I'm ill prepared if I get hit by a blizzard now.

I find little outside, and things get really, really really cold. I'm almost sure a blizzard is rolling in and I scramble in an effort to prepare. I eat some venison, put on bear, feed the fire accordingly and warm up in bed. I head back out and the Siberian -36°C AT are my record here so far. Luckily I find some sticks behind the hut. I put on some more bear steaks and keep warming up in bed passing time just enough to warm up.

Temperatures improve, but winds brush up, and snow falls more and more. I keep doing my work as I expect the see snow hit the fan any second now. It doesn't. I keep playing the old fetch game until noon, when things return to normalcy without the big blizzard crescendo. I let the last bear finish cooking and the fire die subsequently. I lose 4% condition out in the cold, but hardly improve my firewood situation.

With the wolf of the nord dead, the bear rotting and the wolf of the lake being occupied elsewhere (I assume) I take the opportunity and go harvest the deer, pound by pound, until I am getting cold again. Temperatures rise to a generous -9°C FL, and I get 5 more pounds before heading back in. I eat my second pound of venison and take 2 hours sleeping off the cold.

Weather holds and I decide to get the deer hide. It costs me some condition, but I feel the price is fair. One more to go, and I can start dreaming of some panties. I warm up in bed without sleeping, and decide to use, with 30% left, the mild weather to scour the northern woods for firewood. With the wolf gone for now I should be safe.

I'm not really disappointed finding 12 sticks, but I had hoped for more. I find a valuable straw of rose hips, but get surprised by a wolf, and I wonder: Is this the wolf of the nord, and did I actually kill the lake wolf? Or is this yet another? I shake him off among the trees, find my way back in thick fog, harvest the last 1.3 kg from the deer and head home. I make a fire since I desperately need water. I decide to spend 80 minutes worth to make 2 liters and curse myself a little bit, but it's no use now. I use the time to find a few sticks around the hut, but I have no meaningful success until I have to turn in again.

I eat one of my 10 bear steaks, drink up, and let the water boil on its own. I'm done for the day, and I need to recover a lot of condition to make up for all this work. I sleep 5 hours, then 3 more. I'm back to 41%. But I've got a new problem. For Fluffy's sake ....

 

[Guest jeffpeng]

52 minutes ago, BareSkin said:

I ended up (when?) making one just in front of the Hut and hop in it as soon as winds die. But I'm a lazy boy. (and maybe the 3WC has no fuel).

I hope Journalist Nhotz will interview you about you incredible shooting skills... (did your parents make you grew up in a terrorist group?)

Maybe I can build one right behind it so it still get's the fire bonus?

And no, my parents are law abiding citizens. But I am actually trained in the use of firearms ;-)

44 minutes ago, Dan_ said:

Staying at the Hut should not give you cabin fever, the thing feels more like a sieve than a structure!

The fact that there are warmer caves on the map says it all

[BareSkin]

Well if I recall correctly the Mighty @Drifter Man might help you on how to benefit the fireplace temperature while being outside, I never managed that. I think it was about standing up in the fire-wall (ahah), but not about a shelter, which is quite difficult to position and certainly not near a wall. IF the 3WC gives a sheltered fire in a blizzard, it might be the best way, but the transfer will be really hard.

If I had to choose a cave place, I'd make my shelter just outside a loading screen one, spend the cold hours in the cave and the "bearable" ones outside of it, sleeping in the afternoon until dusk. I'd choose the "high Engine" entrance I think, there are sticks and rabbits there (even a deer carcass maybe?), the respawned coal, and the transfer is only 1 rope up the river.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 5 / Day 12

I actually sleep another hour in the bed and recover an additional % of condition. 42% CF. And a blizzard is in full force the moment I wake up. This spills trouble, and I instantly wonder if I can make it.

-23°C FL is almost mild for a blizzard this time of "day", but I will need to spend all my firewood regardless and can only pray I can somehow make due. 14 sticks spells doom, and I already see myself losing all the condition I gained and more outside playing fetch. Even with all my firewood and a burning torch in hand I cannot tip the scale and start tearing up torches again. I put on some venison as I cannot afford to take starving damage in such a predicament. Unless the blizzard just vanishes ... every % counts. 2:36 left on the fire, two more torches I keep around for additional warmth. CF creeps up on me at light speed. 46%.

But then ... while still being dark ugly and cold, and I still need my fire .... the winds subside. I thank the gods (actually all the gods) for my life. And test the weathers again. -25°C is not to be trifled with, but manageable, and the weather clears quickly. No sticks around the house. I will need to change my firewood problem today. Preferably outside. I hopefor a few warm hours.

I make a plan to make it to the Wing and get coffee and tea. If I want to take a longer tour to any of the other containers I will need them. I use the fire to wait out the day a little bit more and cook my venison. I achieve Cooking 3. The yayness is overpowering! I make short victory dance before succumbing to the reality that I'm permanently screwed for almost two weeks now.

I cross the lake to find some firewood and conclude: yeah, probably really killed the lake wolf. Which is not such a bad thing, either. I reduce cabin fever to 33%, and then sleep off the cold after getting my last pieces of venison from the fireplace, eating one, and put enough wood into the fire to make me a liter of water and keep my last coffee warm.

I get up. Weather is -12°C FL. I have my coffee inside me, giving me super-Kermit strength. But not for long. I hide another pound of venison in my mouth to stay sustained. I don't have to worry about the bear since he is still rotting away, but the wolves at the Wing and possibly even the moose are no joke. Passing the both carcasses on the lake I feel sad that I have no time to harvest the wolf or the guts from the deer. But I simply have higher priorities right now.

I find a lonely cattail and make slight detours for sticks along the way - but run into the wolf of the north. He's definitely still alive. He doesn't spot me, luckily. I arrive at ~30% warmth. The Wing is moose free as far as I can tell, but a wolf is patrolling in the middle of the forest. I put a fire down for warmth and safety and to harvest to crate afterwards. I score 5 coffee and tea each, and 2 cans of 66% beans. If they are worth the 5% hacksaw I'm not sure. Not for calories, that's for certain, but maybe for warmth. I harvest the crate and decide to make it to the Forest Cave. I don't dare keeping a torch on me - the wolf is patrolling dangerously close. I throw him off throwing a stone - for now. But I'm freezing now, and I take refuge in the Forest Cave.

I find a flare and a soda can, plus two lumps of cedar. I make a fire to warm up. I dump both cedars into the fire and heat up one of the can of pork and beans. I wait an hour, pull torches, eat the beans and get going again. I hear the wolf howling not too far away, and see him soon after, blocking my way out. I harvest 14 reishi and divert to the clearing up the hill. I go around behind, and basically make full circle on the Wing Forest. I sprain wrist and ankle hiking a bit too steep. Things will get close. I find a burned out torch where the bear died - but the bear is gone.

Winds brush up and things get cold, -17°C, and I'm slow as a snail. Moments later I'm in the midst of a blizzard. The only remedy is, that the winds blow at my back and I can dodge most of them. But I am getting cold quick. I'm down to 33% when I make it back and have to light yet another match to get the hut warm. I'm burning through them way way way too fast. I stop freezing at 29%. I still consider my run a success. I'm down to 20% CF, and I have 5 herbal and parts of 7 reishi tea, plus 5 coffee. Plus a flare and actually wood for 4 snares.

But now I'm back to fetch. If the blizzard rages on, I'm dangerously short on firewood yet again. Also I cannot stress enough how worrying 19 remaining matches plus maybe a flare are with almost as many days to go. I make herbal tea and drink one immediately. I will need the rest bonus later anyways, and I need the warmth now. 

I venture in and out, warm up in bed, but then I fail to find anything twice, and when I do it's so far away I lose 4 additional condition, 25% left. I harvest all my torches, I've got 91 minutes. I can hardly see anything outside, and the weather is cutting me down at -40°C FL. I make a last ditch effort to the hill directly east from the hut, I find 4 sticks, and I branch I can try to harvest later. But it would cost me. 

-45°C? Just no. No no no. I can't last 5 minutes out there. At this point all I can do is hope and wait. I actually sleep an hour. The blizzard ends. Miraculously. I've got 32 minutes left. It's still -33°C FL. I decide to sacrifice a reclaimed wood. I really want to keep them, but I'd rather keep my life. I get to the branch, but lose more condition. I warm up quickly .... then it finally stops. -12°C FL. But I at midnight know the coldest part of night is yet to come - I'm not done yet. I need to keep the fire alive somehow. I venture out, find a branch, come back and realize my efforts are futile. I need to let the fire die and spend a match later and hope for the best. I wait until the residual heat dissipates. -4°C FL in the hut.

I spend time in bed, but even there it's -2°C now. I try to stave off executing minute-wise now, but burn A Sewing Primer for tinder once temperatures turn -3°C in bed. My precious reclaimed wood will have to go again. I make a cup of coffee and drink it. These are last ditch efforts with doubtful outcomes. Outside the winds brush up again, I barely get any warmth in the cabin. This smells like the end.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 5 / Day 13

The day is dawning. Is my demise as well? While not as desperate as my nightly run down from the summit, my options are infinitely less. None, to be exact. I have I reclaimed wood left in the back hand, that's it. No reachable firewood, no condition to spare. I'm at 23%. 

I wonder if this fog might spill actually sufficiently warm weather fast enough. I doubt it, but hope is cheap. At least I am slowly climbing into the countable positives. +2°C FL in the hut. For the first time I notice that the foot of the bed next to the fireplace actually is a warm spot with slightly higher temperatures. That's peculiar - and might actually be my salvation. Was it this way from the start? Did I waste tons of firewood and matches because I didn't know this??

No it didn't. The moment my torch dies the effect disappears. Even with a 10°C fire I only get +1 in the hut. I dump my last reclaimed wood into the fire, and tear up my torch for my last stick. I have 50 minutes of life left in me. I rest a short while, then look outside if I can see anything burnable in reach. I can't.

-8°C in the cabin if I subtract the fire. I won't be fishing this life. The Frozen Angler goes. 40 minutes. I decide to run across the lake in a last ditch effort. Cut my life into pieces. I mean I decide to wobble across the lake. This is my last resort. I find a branch, break it down, 20% condition, and not half way back. I make it back with 17%. 2% per stick. 40 minutes again, and I'm still 2°C short. I cook two more cups of coffee. Then two more. The fire has 19 minutes and I have no options left.

8 minutes left, and the temperature rises to -5°C. I begin to hope. One more, and fair weather today .... and I can survive. I eat a bear steak because what gives. At least I can die with a full belly.

Soon after I huddle to the embers. The last bit of warmth is leaving my house soon. They die. Residual heat dissipates. -5°C .... I drink some water and cuddle myself into the bed, not daring to close my eyes. Then it happens. +1°C. +2°C. I can't believe it. I got to sleep for 3 hours and pray for fair weathers when I wake up. IF I wake up.

I DO!

I quickly get my bearings. -16°C FL outside, clear weather, minimal winds. 24%, I am warm, well nourished, but fairly exhausted. I want to sleep - but I cannot. I have no time to waste. I was at the Wing. I was across the lake. The area I searched for firewood the longest time ago is the Landing Gear. Don't let me fail on that now.

I find nothing before I have to turn back. I sleep two more hours. It's already 4 pm, and I have no firewood. I make a desperation call. I eat one more bear steak and gain 4% risk. I eat two more venison, I pick up all my stuff that makes sense picking up and bolt for the ravine. I never visited the Cave of Engines on this run. It should have some coal. The container is still there as well, maybe I can find some clothing that helps me survive.

The wolf of the nord is on the prowl, but I manage to distract him with a stone, and duck around a tree. I hope the bear is still dead, but he should be. I enter the ravine freezing. I make haste. Don't see the wolf, already think he isn't there. Then he jumps me from behind a tree.

Kermit 5 lived 12 days, way more than he should have. We will still hold him in dear memory.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Dear Kermit,

well that wasn't totally bad. I mean mostly, but I gotta give you some props for grit and resilience. You got some stones. Stupid stones, but stones nevertheless. I know that you will ask me for help because I'm your big brother and stuff and actually know how to achieve things. You know - things. Like not dying. So I will tell you what you did wrong: Basically everything. But there were some things that were actually wronger - L0L wronger - than others.

Your first big mistake was that crate slaughtering bananza. I think that dawned on you as well. You not only wasted valuable time, condition, food and brain cells, you also grounded yourself an additional day on the foot of the summit. I mean who does that. Just get those two crates that can have stuff next time and be done with it. You're a halfway decent shot with your puny stones, so you will get your rabbit friends either way.

The entire way home was a mess and honestly: you should have died there. Making the descent in the night? I told you better. Exhausted or not - that cost you way too much. Just imagine you would have had the stim at the end! Ezpz lemon squeezie! I never use my stims - I have 14 - but well, why would I. I actually know how to do things.

Then next time: fix your stuff right away. Don't be a lazy bum. Do it like I do: when one of my 4 expedition parkas has a scratch I fix them with one of the 900 cloth I have. I don't even know where to put that stuff anymore. You on the other hand ran around for days with broken shoes you could have fixed way earlier. And then not getting those bunny pelts? Man. Just think how easy you could have slept through half of that last ordeal with just two more °C FL.

But to be honest, next time: use your funny little flare gun. You died with 6 shells worrying about running out of them, and it took you forever to use 2 of them to get some food. Next time come home from the summit and shoot some peop.... animals. I shoot animals all the time. Sometimes even when they are already dead. And look how I am doing.

But to be honest, the most important thing: listen to those doodes about that firewood situation of yours, especially that @Drifter Manperson seems to have some idea about how to not get snowed all over.

I hope you will get some of this into your stubborn head, little brother. If you get tired of getting owned on that mountain of yours visit me on Jackrabbit Island. Currently I'm golfing bad cans of food (< 80%, who would eat that??) into the sea with one of my rifles. They sometimes even come back! It's hilarious.

Your loving brother
Timbergrim

PS: That bear thing was actually pretty cool. I mean - for you.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 6 / Day 1

It's been a while since I started. Let's see.

The Ramp. -23°C FL, 10-11am. I grab some reishis and make the climb. No time to lose, as always. Stick in the ledge, no wolf in sight. It get's foggy quickly, which might help me avoid any unforeseen meetings. More reishis. I see the deer and feel safe for now. I take to the fishing hut, grabbing some cattails. The wolf of the lake is present, but in a safe distance. Cotton Toque at 76% in the hut, no hammer - which is a good thing because by know I know that hammer in the fishing hut means no hacksaw on TWM at all. I score some more cattails and approach the Hut.

I see how the wolf of the lake kills the deer but I can't do much with that now. At least he is busy for now. Candy bar, accelerant, which I use to start my first fire without a torch, Ski Jacket at 68%, mag lens, sardines, The Frozen Angler, newspaper, sewing kit and of course the matches and firewood - that's it. No hacksaw for me, but that's kin da okay. I count my cloth. 

I will have to sacrifice everything except my ski jacket. I'm not a happy camper. I put another lump of cedar into the fire and sleep an hour. I take two torches and go. Thick fog and -8°C. I don't see a thing, but hope I will be able to navigate regardless. I go with 88% condition and an almost full rest bar. I find the wing, but I lose time in the fog finding it. I manage to pick up some more reishi and some rose hips. I reach the bridge, freezing, at 82% condition. 

I find the Halfway-Cave (my new name for it) and make a fire. I need to make some water, tea, and warm up. I'm on track, so far, even though making water and tea in the Hut would have been better. I'm at 72%. I think about detouring to the Three-Way-Cave, but I remember what detours brought me last time. I'll keep on track. I can always visit them later. I end up making a liter of water, and convert 0.75 of that to tea. I let the fire die and press on.

Weather clears completely and I get -10°C FL without any winds. I'm happy and focus towards the climb without losing any more time to plucking reishi.

I make the climb, but draw the short straw as the wolf jumps me from behind the snow dune. I have no chance.

[BareSkin]

1 hour ago, jeffpeng said:

Kermit 5 / Day 13

Loved it! It actually made me jealous and wanting to try snowballing a bit more, but with using maps.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 7 / Day 1

Same start, later in the day. It's windy, -19°C FL. I pick the reishis and head down. I spot the wolf from up there. I'll have to cling to the wall, and approach the fishing hut from behind the rock, but I'll make it. The lake wolf is just far enough away so I can slip through. Damn it's cold! Wool toque in the fishing hut - and the storm lantern! With 0.67l of lamp oil ready for the burning. That's a new one for Kermit. As I am freezing heavily already I collect just 3 cattails on the way into the hut. 

I start a fire with the matches and some cedar. My first try is a success. I extend the fire to two hours and put on water immediately. Trail boots, Field Dressing Your Kill, Vol. I, candy bar, granola bar, ski jacket, heavy hammer, sewing kit. I count cloth. Again all but my ski jacket must go. I craft some reishi while the water boils, take the water, and cook some tea.

I throw the third cedar into the fire, craft a second reishi, take the tea that is boiling, put it in front of the fireplace and sleep an hour. After waking up I am warm, have 95% and almost full rest. I pull torches, take the tea and drink the water. I make a mistake not cooking a second can of water - but whatever. Next time. Everything here is learning.

It's considerably late already, so I will have to make haste. Having no hacksaw I cannot afford much sprinting, so I will need to be efficient on my path. It's -15°C FL. Not good, but could be worse. At least it's still a clear day. Which let's me spot the bear - luckily. I drink my reishi, pick up a stone, and distract him. I sneak past him unscathed.

The wolf of the nord is on the prowl as well. I cling to the hills. It's sad, because this way I miss out on any more cattails and a lot of sticks on the way. I pass the wing without any further happenstances despite the moose being here.

After that, however, my luck runs out. I sprain my ankle and will lose valuable time wobbling to the Half Way Cave. It also means that scoring rose hips is mandatory now. I collect two more than I usually would so I can make 2 rose hip teas, but skip some reishi for that. I am freezing and with mild frostbite risk in the hand once I enter the cave. I put on water and craft away. I cook only the 2 rose hip teas and pull torches as night is already upon me. I will need some luck getting past the wolves. Maybe Derrick McDeer will intervene again? I keep a torch lit and drink a hot rose hip tea halfway to the rope. I'm still at marvelous 87%.

No wolves spots me. I hear a growl and jump - it's just my stomach. I take directly for the hike, I'm close to Mission Objective one. At night the hike looks even harder.

I solve it flawlessly. I'm lucky the night is clear and visibility is tremendous - for a night. I approach the rope carefully to not sprain any body parts right before the finish line - and with ~45% fatigue the climb is almost easy. I reach the shelf in record condition. Lighting the lamp pushes me over freezing temperatures without losing any condition since the Halfway Cave.

The corpse yields a bit of welcome firewood, but nothing else. I score 8 coal and keep the lamp burning while I "undress". It's unlikely I will find a lot more lamp fuel unless I actually manage to fish. But that's a loooong time away right now. Better preserve firewood. But I reconsider something crucial:

If I keep just the Ski jacket I will have NO pants for a very long time and suffer from frostbite for the foreseeable future. I instead keep my underwear and the wool toque that has the same potential warmth bonus. Once I scrap the jacket my lantern gives in, but that's okay. I light a torch and head out of the cave.

Considering I'm almost naked and it's night -19°C FL is perfect. It's terribly foggy, but I reach the Summit Prep Cave (new name as well, not very original, I know) shortly after midnight. A deer marks the entrance and I make a note to myself to loot it once I return from the summit. I will make those pants this time! Other than a bit of firewood the cave yields nothing, so I get to work building the fire.

I dump 3 fir and 1 stick into the fire and put on some water, and cook the rose hip tea just to warm up. This time I will wait until I can dump the coal into the fire so I don't freeze while building the shelter.

I lose 0%. Flawless execution! I drink a can of water, and actually take the time for another can of water and prepare some reishi team which I boil afterwards. I want to go as fast as possible tomorrow and not lose unnecessary rest. I leave the reishi tea boiling by the fire, and also leave anything I don't need up there - the book, the lantern and the trail boots I foolishly brought. They are the only mistake I make this time. I throw my last coal into the fire and gain 11.5 hours, eat my candy bar, the granola, and my three cat stalk, drink up again and sleep for 8 hours.

I'm curious what marvels the next day will bring - although I kinda know

 

[Guest jeffpeng]

Alright, something out of character and a big tip to the hat to @Drifter Man

When I started this thread the only Snowball story I knew were the HRV stories. I actually wasn't aware that Snowball was the original TWM-only Interloper mode. And only now I've read up some of the original TWM thread. I even though I was being pretty clever having the idea with the snow shelter.  You guys did all of that ages ago. Pretty darn amazing. Shows I haven't been around here in the forums all that long.

My reason to actually do this was that @BareSkin mentioned he'd take TWM spawn over HRV any day and I was like "meh nah noway brah". And after failing so hard in my first attempts I sat down contemplating that the only way to make it in TWM anywhere is to reach the summit. And the way I did that in Interloper the first time .... was with a snow shelter since I never found a bedroll on that run. I kinda reinvented the wheel not knowing what I wheel was.

I guess all I can do is give @Drifter Mancredit for being the true, original hermit :-)

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 7 / Day 2

Oh happy day! I'm alive, at 100% condition and life as a naked guy on a mountain top is amazing. At least for now. My fire has 3 hours left, so I decide to sleep a bit more, just to fill the fatigue bar.

When I wake up again it's already around 4 pm. I slept all day, basically. But that's okay, I don't plan on making such a long stay this time, but instead make quick work of the summit.  The climb, however, still hasn't lost anything of it's imposing nature.

I two-time the climb and reach the summit well above freezing. Maybe I can even avoid condition damage? That would be amazing, especially for the way back "home". The corpse on the rock above the tail section yields a chocolate bar, the other corpse is a waste of time. I get inside, light a fire with the cedar from the cave and all the sticks I picked up on the way, pick up the hacksaw and annihilate the first crate with my amazing hammer. I pick up the scrap metal, but this time leave the rope behind. I will take the rope from the cave with me to maybe deploy it on the way down to the Three-Way-Cave to pick up the matches there. Maybe not. We'll see how that part of the journey goes.

I loot 10 tea, 5 coffee and 4 packs of 83% crackers from the first container. The vest has just 36%, the ski jacket measly 57%, but the Wool Toque is in great shape at 94%, the ear wraps are okay with 66%, and the mittens are actually also amazingly well preserved t 93%. The percentage distribution could have been better - but also worse. The other side yields better leather shoes than I have at 95%, 74% wool socks, 33% sport socks, 50% running shoes and 76% trails boots which I will wear for now. The big upside on the trail boots is, that I can repair them with just leather, but I already dream about deerskin boots. With the work boots those were hardly justified, but now they would be a huge upgrade.

I kill the crate of matches that eluded Snowball so viciously. I continue to loot 5 32% cans of soda, 2 22% peaches and 2 60% pork & beans. I score the medical supplies and pelts, pull torches and head out to the cave. I pick up some more cedar, a book about guns - so basically tinder - and the antibiotics. I am freezing now, but I have to make it back to the Prep Cave. Being not overburdened this this I chose to climb. 

The torch doesn't survive the fall, but I survive the climb no problem. I pick some reishi and then crawl back to the Summit Prep Cave. Losing no condition was a nice wish, but I'm still in acceptable shape. I enter the snow shelter and pop a soda.

I'm at 82%, and it is warm enough without a fire, so I sleep three hours in one hour increments. I pop my second soda, get out and pay for the deer hide with 15% condition, but I feel the trade worth it. I return to the shelter. A third soda allows me three more hours of sleep I take in one go. I recover to 74%. I craft some tinder from the newspaper, get out, light a torch and make a fire. I sacrifice 2 of my 6 reclaimed wood into the fire along with all my sticks and put on some water.

I pass a few minutes in the snow shelter to warm up, then get back out, drink the water, put on some more, and take a pound of venison. I put it on the fire, warm up in the shelter again, eat the venison and repeat two more times and get all the meat.

[Drifter Man]

2 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

I guess all I can do is give @Drifter Mancredit for being the true, original hermit :-)

Whether you are the first or the tenth, it is always exciting and tough to face the Timberwolf Mountain. Game mechanics have changed since my run. You're in unknown territory again. Good luck!

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 7 / Day 3

I actually have to tear up a few torches to extend the fire long enough, but this way I save 4 reclaimed wood this time. The last thing I cook is a cup of coffee, which sadly I won't be able to keep warm. I would love to take the guts from the deer, but I cannot afford to do so with -22°C FL out there, and I would have to leave them in the cave anyways. I sleep 4 hours in the shelter in 2 hour increments and emerge fairly rested, warm, with 76%. I take everything, tear down the shelter and get going. I enter the cave, light a torch, and begin my way back. I find another lump of coal in the cave, which I gladly take.

Outside I freeze rather quickly. I climb down from secluded shelf and goat down to the container near Deer Clearing. I take the cloth, the scrap metal and 3 87% tomato soup. I eat my last bit of deer to avoid being smelly and head towards the Three Way Cave climb, not visiting the Deer Clearing Cave this time. I'm at 66% condition. I spot a wolf eating Derrick McDeer, so he sacrificed himself for me again.

I deploy the rope I brought and descent to the Three Way Cave. I find a book about fire starting, 17% peaches, some firewood, the torch and the matches of course. Sadly no can opener. I head down to the Cave of Engines to warm up. On the way I find corpse with running shoes and a shirt. Not much but not nothing. I'm sub 50% condition and almost fully exhausted. I enter the cave and light my 100% torch.

I don't play on exiting the cave on the other side, but I want to search it for coal and possible loot, plus I need to warm up to make the remaining trip home in one piece. I find a second book about fire starting and a 31% wool toque. Great. Now I have three. Still. Keeping the toque and the underwear was the right decision at the time. I eat a candy bar to stave off further condition loss. I only find three lumps of coal before I head back the way I came. Disappointing. I pop another soda to cheer me up.

At the entrance from where I cam I build a fire. I warm up my coffee from the Prep Cave, cook some reishi and half a can of water while I eat some crackers. My plan is to get back to Three Way Cave, goat down into the ravine, and make it back to the hut. With night almost on me and 44% condition I have little margin for error. I let the fire die, take my stuff and leave.



It's -9°C FL. Not bad. I drink my coffee shortly after leaving the cave and lose some fatigue. I mess up the goat down and lose 6% plus sprain my ankle. I drink the rose hip tea I have left, but I'm unhappy none the less. No corpse in the ravine. I make it to the exit of the ravine, but by now visibility approaches 0, and I am out of get out of jail free cards. I hear crows in the distant. I hope they are the bear's crows, which means I don't have to worry about him. But at this visibility it's a gamble. I ready my flare gun.

I hear the bear panting, but I don't see him. When I finally see his faint shape, he's so close it makes me jump. Like passing ships in the night we score a near miss - but neither of us sinks. I take to the hills. I can see the first outskirts of the lake. I'm narrowly above 30%. I approach the hut sharply from the east and feel safe. I'm so close, anticipation mixes with the tension right before you release. This feeling, hard to describe, is something everyone knows who ever saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but didn't yet dare to believe in it. I reach the hut at 24%. I pop my last soda and collapse into the bed. I sleep for three hours without even bothering to make a fire. It's warm enough.



When I wake up again I eat half a pack of crackers, drink my last water and sleep five more hours - as long as the temperatures permit it.

I made it.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Kermit 7 / Day 4 - Deliberations

Thinking about what I have and what Kermit 5 had I must conclude the following: He got the better hand, but I played mine better.

I sourly miss having a can opener. Not doing so, I will have to make due with one can all the way. It's not a deal breaker, but a game changer. My ascent was near perfect, my descent was decent, but to close for comfort in the end. My clothing, right now, is relatively equal to Kermit 5's when he landed, but his had more potential. That being said: he lacked the cloth to use said potential, and I have a bit extra this time.

My biggest advantage is experience. I will not hoard my flare shells forever, I will not wait on those rabbit pelts till it is too late. I have about a week to get my snow in order. By that time I want to have my mittens and possibly even my panties. Scoring a bear was heroic, but proved not as great as I had hoped to. Better kill the wolves after feeding them a deer.

I will also try to adjust my sleep cycle. Go to bed early, around 6 pm, and get up at 3 the latest with optional hours of sleep if the weather permits it. I should be able to sleep longer periods of times, sleep off more blizzards, and recover more condition.

And yes, firewood. That one has to improve a lot and will require actual strategy and less helpless paddling in dark and cold waters.