The name is Walker, Sleep Walker

[Drifter Man]

On 01/12/2018 at 9:10 AM, jeffpeng said:

About sleep: I've noticed I am sleeping basically "when I can" instead of doing filler tasks like preparing tea or reading. The rationale behind this, I guess, is that I don't want to find myself at low rest at a time I can actually do stuff because the weather permits me to.

I think this is one of the characteristics of custom modes where condition recovery is not tied to long sleep. I enjoy this freedom of sleep really.

I also agree with the assessment of the cost of running. It's about fatigue, much less about calories.

Anyway, I'm having hard time catching up with the amount of content you produce, so I'm sorry for responding to old posts 

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Day 40 - A Day At The Butchery / Prospects

I will spare you the details of harvesting 40 kilograms of moose meat, cooking some of it, cursing winds and blizzards killing my fire twice. The day tomorrow - again - will be about cooking a lot, and that's fine. I work deep into the night, and I am nowhere near finished.

However I find myself at a point where I distinctively regret not living in a cave. I know many despise it for the lack of containers, but having a perfectly protected fire with full bonuses is almost invaluable - at least in my opinion. Also Cabin Fever will become a topic soon. All of which again brings me to the point when I am torn where I want to set up my "retirement". I have a few options that all have advantages and drawbacks. I guess none of them are really creative, but I want to discuss them regardless.

• The Ravine
  Maybe the most obvious one - at least to me. Easy access to indoor crafting at the dam, mild weather and a deer plus 3 rabbit groves. The deer however likes to "get lost" in the part that leads to Mystery Lake, and the rabbit groves are low yield (as @Drifter Man found out), and two of them are rather far away. Firewood is okay-ish if you saw down a fir every few days, but if you don't you will run dry eventually. No wolves mean no danger but also no wolf meat.
• The Lake Overlook (ML)
  Or as I call it: "The Home Of Sprains". Access to fishing, mild weather, a small rabbit grove on the door step, a rock throw away from the camp office which again has indoor crafting. Firewood is okay, but it requires you to climb up and down the hill - which is a sprain guarantee. Wolves on the lake provide for a rather diverse diet.
• The Milton Basin (MT)
  Only two wolves which are easy to spot and track, moose chance, deer and 4 rabbit groves of different yields plus 1 (or 2? if it's just one it's really big) on Marsh Ridge, good firewood opportunities if you include Marsh Ridge, mild Milton weather, but crafting is two ropes away and outdoor in a building surrounded by wolves - or it's at Spence's, which is farther away but also has the forge. So basically: just crafting is not so good, but the forge is really close compared to most other locations.
• Monolith Lake (HRV)
  Two rabbit groves and moose spawn, reliable wolf if you need some extra meat, but far enough away to not bother you too much. Crafting is really far away (Milton Trailer) and firewood is probably enough but plenty is something else. Weather is really not great.
• Valley Cave (HRV)
  High yield rabbit grove, deer, wolf and moose spawn should combine for enough food easily. Firewood is actually good enough to scrape by. The big drawback: the only ways out are steep climbs. Crafting again is really far away and weather still is pretty darn bad.
• Deer Clearing (TWM)
  Among the highest frequentation of deer on such a small space, plus a low yield rabbit grove and a low-risk wolf but also a bear that frequents the area quite often. Firewood is so-so-ish, supplemented by the Secluded Shelf Cave's coal and occasional trips to regions farther away it's probably doable. Crafting is a day's trip away and weather is really cold. Plus the way there leads through the Valley Of Death. 
• Lake Cave (BR)
  Access to two deer spawns and two rabbit groves, plus nearby hunting lodge with a moose spawn. Lots of ninja wolves, however, weather is so-so, but firewood should prove doable. Bonus bear included.

Those are the only caves I've found to at least come close to being sustainable to live in. If bush crafting would be an options I'd actually be inclined to give the Valley Cave or Monolith Lake a closer look. But each and every crafting expedition will be a trip of several days.

Currently my favorite is the Milton Basin. It's a doable move, food is good, firewood is good, risk is low, weather is good, only crafting is a nuisance. But it's really hard to make a compelling argument against it. But if anyone has a good argument against its - or a striking argument for one of the other or a different cave entirely: please do make your case :-) I'm interested in all opinions. 

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Day 41 - Fast Food

More cooking. I try a new fire place. It looks like it should be protected from basically all winds except for a blizzard. But we'll see.

Looks pretty protected, doesn't it?

Indeed the fire survives until the very last piece of moose is crackling in the joy of being fried - but no, the fire is not fully protected. I cook away until the next day has already dawned.

[Drifter Man]

1 hour ago, jeffpeng said:

However I find myself at a point where I distinctively regret not living in a cave. I know many despise it for the lack of containers, but having a perfectly protected fire with full bonuses is almost invaluable - at least in my opinion. Also Cabin Fever will become a topic soon. All of which again brings me to the point when I am torn where I want to set up my "retirement". I have a few options that all have advantages and drawbacks. I guess none of them are really creative, but I want to discuss them regardless.

Having skipped straight to your last entries, you can build a fully protected fire at the mouth of the cave to Mountain Town at Trapper's Homestead. That's where Deadman 10 does his cooking.

It doesn't fix cabin fever though, you can't sleep outdoors anywhere at Trapper's without fire.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Just now, Drifter Man said:

you can build a fully protected fire at the mouth of the cave to Mountain Town at Trapper's Homestead. That's where Deadman 10 does his cooking

Yeah I know. I kinda thought to be a super smart smarty and find a place that doesn't require me to run all that distance with stinkies. But it really looks there isn't much else.

I've always been a big proponent of cave living. I know it's messy with all you piles of junk lying around, but it fixes a lot of problems in late and end game all at the same time. The biggest problem is that there are really just a handful of viable options and I'm kinda sick of the Ravine, the Basin and the Overlook by now  .... The Basin would probably be okay. I discovered it much later. But I also had a 500+ Stalker sitting in there on my old installation.

[Drifter Man]

8 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

Yeah I know. I kinda thought to be a super smart smarty and find a place that doesn't require me to run all that distance with stinkies. But it really looks there isn't much else.

It's actually ok, the wolves smell you but you reach the cave before they even come close. And I suspect (but I am not 100% sure) they no longer smell you once you are in the windproof zone.

From reader perspective, I'd be curious about the BR option. I have almost no experience with living in BR.

[DarKube]

ok thanks jeffpeng

[Ruruwawa]

7 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

Those are the only caves I've found to at least come close to being sustainable to live in.

Very interesting list; I love living in caves -- it's like living in a house where you can actually look out the windows.

I have another possibility for you.  You know the little 'workbench' trailer in MT near the transition to HRV?  There's a regular cave just across the road from there (to the south, per in-game map orientation).  I can't speak to deadman/sleepwalker level resources but on normal interloper I love this spot for it's proximity to sticks, coal, cattails, moose, and bear.  Plenty of wolves too, meat is never an issue.  Deer is a little sparse in this spot, but plentiful if you travel to the farm or HRV.  No idea about the quality of rabbit trapping (I just stone em) but there are a couple nearby runs.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Just now, Ruruwawa said:

I have another possibility for you.  You know the little 'workbench' trailer in MT near the transition to HRV?  There's a regular cave just across the road from there (to the south, per in-game map orientation).  I can't speak to deadman/sleepwalker level resources but on normal interloper I love this spot for it's proximity to sticks, coal, cattails, moose, and bear.  Plenty of wolves too, meat is never an issue.  Deer is a little sparse in this spot, but plentiful if you travel to the farm or HRV.  No idea about the quality of rabbit trapping (I just stone em) but there are a couple nearby runs.

That's actually not a bad idea. I never actually considered that one. But .... three rabbit runs I know of (the one above Grey Mother's is actually decent iirc), two wolves, moose on occasion and bear like you said. I'm not entirely sure about firewood - but you seem to have made good experiences there. Having indoor crafting nearby is of course amazing.

[Guest jeffpeng]

6 hours ago, Drifter Man said:

From reader perspective, I'd be curious about the BR option. I have almost no experience with living in BR.

Well the woods around the lake are really damn dangerous. A lot of dead angles from which to get jumped. But it should be sustainable. I'll make a trip there in any case, I guess. Maybe I'll put in a week or two of B'n'B'ing.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Day 42 - Sticks'n'Stones

I've only slept a short while until 12 pm. Yesterdays cooking extravaganza has depleted my firewood reserves for good. Right now I wish I had a hatchet. Water is running a little short, so I can't just dwell on my mountains of meat today. It however takes until past 4 pm for the fog to lift to passable levels. I take a stroll to Apparition Pond, picking up sticks and breaking branches and actually make it all the way there. I spend some time breaking furniture and then begin my way back.

I miscalculate how fast I'd be able to make the trip and run out of warmth and rest which forces me into a nightly camp. 

Isn't it just great? The woods, a warming fire, the stars, a roaming bear - that's the life.

After two hours of sleep while cooking water I make my way home. I transfer the flame to my "mostly safe" fire, and put on some water in proper pots. I harvest some leftover rabbits while I wait, but don't get to cook them.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Day 43 - Mountains Of Meat

Running into hypothermia and sleep deprivation yesterday cost me 7% I didn't have to lose. A costly oversight - but it happened, and so I gotta work with that. 81% is okay, I guess, especially considering I have plenty of food to basically sit my backside sore on.

Quite the stock.

I use the day to organize and craft 4 new snares that I deploy with the sole snare from the last batch that is still working. As I always I find that snares are great and easily pay for themselves, but the prospect of employing them without a workbench nearby doesn't see sustainable. You'd be running to a workbench every two weeks. Another thing that would gain so much value from bushcrafting. 

I start to work on a few more arrows and plan to get a new bow done tomorrow. I want to start my expedition to Desolation Point in about three days, and I don't want to go with a bow that is half dead. Such a bow is still good enough for hunting if you are around an established camp, but if you have to rely on it for two weeks it's better to bring a fresh wood. 

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Day 44 - Preparations

I start the day at 5 collecting a rabbit from the snares and harvesting it, then retiring my surplus storm lantern for scraps and fuel. At 4 pm I have a new bow and 7 arrows, all at 70% or better. Enough to stay afloat on the road. Then I tend to some of my clothes. A blizzard is raging outside for most of the day, so the time is actually well spent. I tear down the blue tool box I kept for scraps, craft two lines and fishing tackles and bring my knife back into shape. That's it.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Day 45 - A Short Trip

I actually find myself very much ready to go at 6 am. I don't really want to wait 3 days until I have the wolfskin coat finished. Or should I? The hides are done curing this evening, but 32 hours of crafting time are at least two and a half days of work. Then again: I'm not at risk of cabin fever and I have all the food I need. Sigh. Well, I guess waiting is the smart thing to do.

Since I don't want to succumb to boredom I decide to at least do something useful with the day and visit the Forest Overlook - if weather permits, that is. Right now it doesn't so reading sounds like a good idea. I finish my first issue of The Frozen Angler and default to Ice Fishing II. I get going at 12 pm in -10°C FL. I'm just past Deadfall when I have to make camp. I spend about two hours boiling water an then go again. Two wolves announce themselves not far away from here and the fog finally lifts a bit. 

I circumvent the wolves easily and continue my way to the Overlook. Tanking up the slopes I ruin my wrist again. At the Overlook I find 0% peaches, a sewing kit, more simple tools, the hammer, Survive The Outdoors, a ruined cotton toque, a useless sweatshirt and equally useless disinfectant. I make it back down and think about visiting the derailment, but two patrolling wolves let me abandon this idea very quickly. I make a quick pit stop at the camp office and drop off the hammer. Then it's back to Trapper's.

At Deadfall I am spotted by a wolf. No decoy and a sprained wrist to boot my only option is to walk. The moment I shake the one wolf lose I run into another, so close I'm not confident I can walk him off - so I run. I gain enough distance, but doesn't lose him all the way to Trapper's. I get inside, and decide that I am probably better off staying in for today. I quickly sneak out, grab 2 kilogram of moose and spend the rest of the evening tearing up some clothes and the toolbox I found. 

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Days 46 and 47 - A Hard Day's Night

I pad through the dark to collect everything I need and 0600 sharp I start work on the coat. At 2 pm I go out and collect 4 rabbits and redeploy the snares. I almost take freezing damage because I forgot to dress. I work until 8 pm, and then, for once, start a fire in the hut. Boiling water like a pro I continue to work in 90 minute increments. It's almost 5 am when I lie down for 2 hours of sleep. 

Infused with coffee I get back to work at 7 am with a blizzard raging outside. Knife at 67%, just a little less than 12 hours to go. Two 6 hour sessions and an additional coffee later I'm completely fatigued - but I am owner of a brand new Wolfskin Coat.

I shortly consider waiting on the moose hide, which would be another two days. But what would I even craft with it? I'm not entirely sure if the satchel spawns in HRV or not on Interloper. I think I remember it does not - but I'm not sure. Maybe someone does know for sure (possibly even @Drifter Man's Snowball?) In any case I need to sleep. A lot. 

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Days 48 to 50 - Choices

I'm done sleeping at around 6 and read an hour so I can see something. I sort through what I have on me and what I want to bring along the ride. I won't be traveling light, that's for sure. I won't bring the hammer and the hacksaw. Those I will find on the way. But even with almost no firewood and just minimal water reserves I'm almost 30 kg. The wish for the Moose Hide Satchel intensifies. But it would be a rather close call with Cabin Fever. The opportunity cost otherwise would be minimal in terms of food and water, which I am abundantly supplied with, but two more days of delay for a journey I had envisioned starting 3-4 days ago.  

In the end the advantage of having the satchel wins. And as much as I would love the cloak, it's no use to me if I can't move around unencumbered anymore. Just my clothes are so heavy I basically need the satchel to compensate. Outside a blizzard is raging, so more reading is probably the best thing I can do. After two hours reading about pulling fish out of a tiny hole in the ice I take a stroll outside.

Three more rabbits raise my count of unprocessed ones to 6. I store them inside for now. I collect some sticks, but ruin my wrist doing so. I decide to maglens a fire and cook some of the raw meat I have lying around - and if it's just for practice. I cook everything - everything - I have, and being just a tiny bit short I also cook up my not-so-useful-anymore herbal tea (it's still great for warmth). And doing so I finally get Cooking V:

They call me Tarzan of the Kitchen.

The other truly amazing thing about Cooking V - while being able to just eat predator meat and get away with it is invaluable - is that you basically never ever lose meat to decay anymore. As long as you store it outside meat will never despawn, and even 0% meat can be cooked into 50% meat - which is now not a gamble anymore. And even 0% cooked meat can technically still be eaten. Generally something that needs to be fixed - but as long as it works I'll do it. Let's call it random-double-sprain-compensation.

I sleep as much as I can and then sharpen my knife back into shape and read a bit. At 8 am the next morning my moose hide is still 3% away. Since 10% is a day, 3% is 30% of a day, which is basically around 7 hours. I keep reading about making little pieces out of big animals, which is something I am also approaching level 5 on. Then, just before 6 pm, the hide is done and I get to work until the lights go out. I harvest a few rabbit parts to pass time, and then sleep 7 more hours until 6 am.

0600 sharp, again, I get to work, 7 more hours to go. Having water for a week and nigh infinite food resources makes this kind of power crafting very easy. I sort through my things a last time at 2 pm, retract my snare (and practically condemn 4 dead rabbits to rot) and head for my first waypoint, the Camp Office. My journey is uneventful until I meet a cousin of my satchel at the dam. No, I'm not going to try and hunt this one - even if there is a certain appeal to the idea.

Time to get that cloak? Ah.... not today.

I make it past the fella, collect my 6 scraps from the dam and head for the Ravine. I actually planned to collect some cattails upon arrival, but as things go my torch dies in a sudden gust and things get really windy real quick. I make it to the first cave before freezing - but barely. The winds subside as fast as they came, and after much deliberation I decide to spend another match and harvest the deer in front of the cave. 

Even though the night is dark I know the terrain well, and it is warm enough to continue. I make it to the second cave by around 10 pm and decide to call it a day. 

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Days 51 and 52 - Coasting through the Highway

When I finally decide the world is warm enough to travel - around 1 pm - it is still emerged in thick, chunky broccoli soup and I can hardly see the other end of the cave. Good thing The Ravine isn't exactly a region you can get lost. Even in negative visibility I make it through without problems - as expected. 

I reach the trailer at the entrance of Coastal Highway and make camp behind it. Even though I had quite the dinner yesterday evening I'm already bordering on starvation. The trailer itself yields nothing but stale air and a simple tool box. More scraps! I eat my tomato soup I found at the cave in the Ravine and get going.

At the bridge down the path a wolf comes suddenly panicking from behind me. I never even saw it - but my wolfskin coat apparently scared it so hard it had to run past me and block my path. Alright, then .... back up, and goat down to the creek. Picking cattails as I go I reach the hut at the creek shortly after 6 pm. As I go in and shortly warm up the two rabbits that taunted me outside ... vanish.

A cabin in the woods.

It's cattails for dinner. I use my "excess" rest to tear down the tool box I found and then try to sleep as long as I can.

I get up at around 5 and prepare tea. After almost two weeks of having my face stuffed with moose meat to capacity being on the road and having to manage with cattails again is quite the drop in quality of life. I read two hours about how to initiate carbo-oxygenic combustion and finish the book. I test the waters outside, and it is brimming cold and again foggy as hell. But I hear crows at the nearby camp site. I gamble that it must be the deer carcass. I light up a torch and head into the cold.

I'm right and find the carcass where I suspected it. I light up a fire and wait for the carcass to be harvestable by my bare hands. I'm still a bit short on level 5. While I wait the fog lifts a bit. I harvest and cook 1.8 kg of venison that will sustain my through the day - hopefully - and get me at least to Jackrabbit. I pull torches and continue down the Bear Creek, wary of its namesake.

I find the bear cave ... and it is indeed inhabited. The bear is nowhere to be seen, caution is warranted. I make my way all the way to the bridge, and stir up a fire with my torch next to the car. Inside I find matches - yes! I wait a few minutes in the car, then throw a piece of coal into the fire and chance an hour of sleep. 

Can you see "The Road"?

I pull a few torches and go. Unfortunately I find the bear on the road.

Can you see the bear?!

Quickly I divert to the open ice and head for the fishing hut, where I find the hammer. I had planned for it anyways so the detour isn't as bad. I will still check the fishing camp first before I head for Jackrabbit. I find a lonely soda stuck in the snow on the way, 27% pork and beans in the second cabin and totally improbable 93% sardines in the third. I make it to Jackrabbit without further incident and snipe me three rabbits, but ruin an arrow in the process. I harvest and cook all of them, then I go investigate the house. In the house I find matches and ....

Who can say no to this?

I get back out to the still burning fire and warm up my beans. I haven't had some of those in a while. Truth be told canned beans are my favorite food in the game because I really like canned beans in real life, and every time my Survivor eats them I feel like he should be as happy as I would be having such a treasure in a world of ice. I eat my beans and get going. The night is dark, but I'm rested enough to check yet another way point. 

I make it to misanthropes via the fishing hut. When I approach the house I hear a wolf howl right in front of me. I start a fire with my torch - and the wolf bolts. I dodge inside. I find a pot and a can opener, both of which will end up as scraps. I kill my torch ... and sleep. It's 11 pm already.

[Guest jeffpeng]

(I kinda lost a day, and backtracking the log I spend one more day at Trapper's than I accounted for. So the last entry is 52 and 53, and the one before that actually spans 48 to 51, not just 48 to 50)

Walker 3 / Days 54 to 56 - Sleepwalking

The blizzard that had spared me for days has finally arrived. I use the time to look at what I have and how I did become 52 kg heavy. Apparently I've got 95 cattails. Holy! I set out with 50 and I ate quite a few on the way. Then I'm carrying a torch graveyard. And also the hammer does make its weight felt. Plus my firewood reserves are actually quite admirable considering I was so lax on making fires everywhere. Then .... I've got 19 scraps on me. That's a bit more than I planned for. And I've also got almost 5 liters of mostly toilet water. Well. Who am I to disagree.

Nothing to do I fix my 84% mackinaw and tear some curtains to compensate. After that the blizzard subsides - but the weather still doesn't inspire great travels. I fix my 80% wool sweater because what the hell. After that I get going.

Then things get a little .... funny, actually. I make my way out, but realize almost too late that the bear is on the other side of the snow bank. Shouting insults at me I emergency-goat from the island, and instantly have a wolf on me - that runs away in panic instilled by either the bear or my coat. I try to gain ground overburdened as I am and scare away a deer that runs face first into two wolves at the waterfront cottages. I manage to scare one wolf away, and nail the other one that is eating the deer. Well. That's some crazy random happenstance right there.

Yeah ... so... I guess I got some food here.

I end up taking most of the deer. The second wolf is so scared of me I never manage to bait him. But as I go on harvesting the deer two things foil my plans a bit: For once all three houses are burned down. That's not in the plan. In fact that complicates matters a lot. Second: Think fog makes navigation hard and the second wolf on the loose super dangerous. I still go, and reach the car at Commuters Lament. I leave 30 cattails behind and the pot I decided to keep. Approaching the basement in Crumbling Highway now is dangerous - but I'm not willing to lose a whole day on a bit of fog.

I find nothing but socks and an obsolete Wilderness Kitchen in the basement, and I don't know why, but the wolves are a complete no-show. I'm not complaining. I just never had this happen. I make it through the mine and collect a bazillion of coal. At the end I make a fire to pull new torches, and then put down my bedroll to rest.

When I get up it's much too early to make a move. I wait two hours, and then a blizzard is battering the world outside. I'm trapped for now - good thing I'm overburdened with venison. When I finally go it's past noon already - but the weather is calm and clear. My first objective is the lighthouse. 

On the road I meet both wolves - at the same time. I drop some venison and both get baited. The first arrow hits, but breaks, and the wolf takes off. The second wolf actually manages to get the venison, but I still attempt the kill. The wolf dies, alright, but lets just say it wasn't directly a head shot.

Not exactly a head shot.

As the car is actually warm enough I sleep an hour. Harvesting the wolves isn't really on my agenda. I'm happy they are out of the way for now - that's enough. Stiff winds make reaching the lighthouse without freezing actually a close call - but I make it. In the lighthouse I find the stim and 50% peaches, but nothing else of consequence. Another can opener will covert to yet another scrap metal. 

I goat down to the shoreline and head for the Riken. The only notable loot is an issue of Stay On Target and a pack of matches - and a boatload (literally) of coal, of course. I decide that now is a good a moment as any to do my forging, so I get to it. First item on the agenda is my hatchet. I know most Interlopers don't ever bother making a hatchet, but since I plan to visit the Hushed River Valley eventually it is an important commodity to acquire. 

I end up making 26 arrow heads. If I ever run out of them now .... I'm probably day 500-ish or suddenly get really bad at shooting. It's already noon the next day, but I don't want to end my day so "early". I try to carry the flame over to Hibernia, but fail due to the winds. In the trailers I find a whetstone and sleep two hours. When I wake up a blizzard is raging, but I make it over to the Warehouse regardless. 

In there I find matches, 54% tomato soup, yet another issue of The Frozen Angler, accelerant, a flare, another mackinaw (three in one run??), a hacksaw at 85%, another whetstone, a new pry bar, and crackers - which I immediately eat. I decide to exploit the raging blizzard to make it to the mine - and make it losing just 1% of condition to freezing damage. It's where I finally decide to give myself some rest.

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Days 57 and 58 - Blizzards And Other Misfortunes

I wake up at 5. I've decided by now that I will not visit Scruffy, and that I will also not check the cave at the Broken Bridge, and also will not check for the small farm of birch saplings there. Doing so would force me to wait hours here and that would kill my chance to actually leave today. Getting pitted between a bear and two wolves really isn't on my agenda, either. I really do hate this junction of doom.

Making my way through the mine, look what I found:

Awesome arson machine!

I never found this one, but then look it up: It's actually a given on this loot table. Not that is has much more life in it than a regular pack of matches. I make it through the cave and head for my last objective on this map: the stone church - and find 4 birch saplings. Them being here makes the ones near Scruffy's cave very unlikely. Good decision.

I make a fire in the barrel. Hypothermia risk shortly takes hold, but that's fine. One or two percent condition are not an issue at this point. I find an issue of A Sewing Primer - and then a blizzard develops. Great. Stuck in the Stone Church. Well, I might as well read my new book. I get two pages done, and after that the blizzard subsides as fast as it came. On the way out I come across the not-head-shot wolf and decide to eat him. I'm out of food other than my cattails and tomato soup, and a full belly will make a good journey.

Against initial planning I visit Katie's and find a nice book about hot stuff and a pack of crackers. I take the meat from the carcass and goat down and.... dammit! 6% condition lost, and my boots take at least as much damage. Almost at the cave to Crumbling Highway my ankle undergoes spontaneous fission. Yeah.... whatever. I hobblewobble through the cave, but then give in and admit that continuing today probably isn't the best of ideas. I make a fire at the other end, cook my venison and call it a day.

Aurora in the mine - spooky.

I wake up at around 2 am. The aurora must be out because the mine is going crazy. I, however, do some research about how to fix the Titanic. I get going at 8. Now I see where the wolves at: They are all three patrolling out on the ice. I don't get far, however. I narrowly avoid freezing damage when I reach the cave. I sleep an hour to warm up. I reach the basement and have to warm up yet again. There is no easy shelter after here all the way until Quonset. I'll probably have to make camp somewhere along the way. But with these winds? Not the easiest task. But I don't want to wait until the wolves come here again, either. In the end I get going and have to make camp under the roadblock.

Quite possibly the shortest transition cave in the game.

Then, after half an hour, disaster strikes and my fire get reduced - and a blizzard sets in. The fire has already been proven not to be safe, but it seems babysit-able. So ... as long as that works, that's my best option. I hold out almost six hours until the blizzard passes. I pull a few torches but then go, not losing any more time. 

Minutes after entering Coastal Highway I'm back in a blizzard. I'm totally screwed - but then the blizzard just ends after mere minutes, What the .... ? Feeling trolled I make a fire .... again. And then I remember I forgot stuff at the car. Huargh! I get my stuff from the car and return to my still burning fire. But that doesn't solve my problem.

I'm at an untenable position. Reaching Quonset now is really dangerous, but the next best shelter would be the basement on Crumbling Highway. Making it from this angle to Misanthropes is suicide with the wolf on the ice and the bear there. Sleeping here is suicide as well. A gust from the wrong angle - I'm dead or at least seriously damaged.

Options over options, and all of them are worth snow.

I need to get going - so I do. Clinging to the side away from the ice I get confirmation that my decision was right very soon. Winds set in that would have killed my fire guaranteed, but here I can dodge them - for now. I keep clinging to the left side. I check the house of coastal town site on this side up the hill - burned down, of course. I get back on the street and cross through the rocks - my torch dies - and get with winds that push me to the pier. I'm almost freezing, but the house (that I think is fixed) is there and just as the next blizzard rolls in I reach safety. 

I took quite a beating in the last few days, and am down to 88%. Some of my clothes - notable my boots and my head gear - took quite some damage. Nothing critical, but noticeable. I find some crackers on a table in the dark, but I leave looting the house for tomorrow. I find the bedroom, undress, eat my crackers and sleep. 

[Senauer]

4 hours ago, jeffpeng said:

a nice book about hot stuff and a pack of crackers.

Back at the student’s residence we’d call that a Friday night! 

[DarKube]

you are an excellent survivor !!!  I admire you !!!

[Guest jeffpeng]

Walker 3 / Days 59 to 61 - Gran Turismo Sull'autostrada Costiera

Getting up the house doesn't yield anything worth mentioning - the crackers already where the big price here. After some waiting and reading I make it into Quonset sneaking - but it takes me forever. A wolf runs scared past me as I approach - the reason is dubious. I'm pretty sure he didn't see me - but there is no bear and no moose around. Does my Wolfskin Coat actually scare wolves that don't even see me?

In the Garage I find the hacksaw, a blue toolbox that will stay behind, and a lonely soda. While I explore the Garage a blizzard sets in and it's more reading for me - until 8 pm. I use the shroud of night to get to the old other building still left standing and find a Light Shell and a Windbreaker in the same cabinet. How likely is that? The Light Shell I don't need, but I actually plan on keeping the windbreaker. A sewing kit and some tomato soup at 16% are is the only other notable loot.

The next day I make the grand tour via the cabins - which yield my first nuts'n'stuff in ages - up to the Overlook, which again has matches, so they are likely to be guaranteed, into the Cinder Hills mine. In there I find yet another hacksaw, another sewing kit and even more matches. Alone for the matches the trip was worth it. I leave the same way I came since I really don't want to see Pleasant Valley again in this life. The trailer on the way to log sort yields nothing but some beef jerky - which is highly welcome, of course. So is the deer carcass right before log sort, which I harvest, cook and eat on the spot.

Lately an alarming amount of campsite like this one have been spotted on the island. Who might be responsible?

Log Sort yields nothing of consequence, and I decide to make one last checkpoint today. When I reach the cabin it is already past midnight. I had to make camp on the way, even though right now firewood is becoming a scarce commodity. At the cabin I find even more matches. I must be totaling close to 200 by now. I can't say for sure.

The next morning is excessively cold. Just collecting on the 4 birch saplings outside depletes my warmth bar almost completely. -50°C AT? That's arctic. I read an hour and sleep two more, then get going at noon. Just the short trip to the next trailer is too much for me - 1% gone to the cold. Inside I find more nuts'n'stuff - and 34% beans! I warm up in bed and get going towards Train Unloading. Let's just hope the wolf isn't there again.

What a winter wonder land!

The wolf doesn't show up and I get to the trailer without contest. After warming up in bed I maglens a fire outside, warm up my beans and leave the Coastal Highway behind - probably for good. Impossible winds in the Ravine make my advance across the trestle bridge a long and costly endeavor. When I'm out of freezing temperatures having made camp in the big open cave I'm at 79%. All my not yet read books, my sticks and even some torches go into the fire. Two coal help me to warm up, but my coal reserves are also almost depleted by now. The upside is that I am getting lighter to travel. The downside is that I have still some way to traverse before I am in the clear - and I cannot make camp anymore. I tear up my torches as I will be able to pull new ones anyways.

I pull some torches and tear them up as well. This coal-to-stick conversion is something I do quite often. Coal is great and all, but it really doesn't help you a lot if you have to fight the cold right now. I pull some torches to keep them and get going. Tomato soup keeps me warm and fuzzy. I will just pass the ravine as I haven't brought a rope on my trip first time - and I am overburdened as it is. So I will return here for a short expedition in the coming days. I make it through without further stops.

I freeze a few moments before I enter the trailer at the dam. I store some stuff I plan to collect on my way back from my next (and last) visit to the ravine and sleep. It's been quite the ride. When I arrive back home tomorrow I will have made the full tour from Trappers through all of Coastal Highway and all but Scruffy's Cave of Desolation point and back in 11 days. I'm sure it can be done faster, but I doubt it can be done much faster looting basically everything on the way as I did.

[Guest jeffpeng]

6 hours ago, Senauer said:

Back at the student’s residence we’d call that a Friday night!

I see what you did there

1 hour ago, DarKube said:

you are an excellent survivor !!!  I admire you !!!

Thank you! That's high praise.

[DarKube]

[DarKube]

2 minutes ago, jeffpeng said:

Walker 3 / Days 59 to 61 - Gran Turismo Sull'autostrada Costiera

And now you talk spanish !