Outerloper 2


Stone

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Outerloper: "interloper but never step foot in a man-made loading screen area"

Outerloper attempt no.1 ended with a tragic misstep while climbing a rope to TWM mountain (you can read that account here). An early trip to TWM remains the aim but, with the lack of clothing and shelter, can it be done frostbite free? Can it be done at all...

Day 1 | Condition 100% 'Awake' in HRV surrounded by the thunder of the falls. A good start for an Outerloper - nowhere here is off limits! River gully to my right, head down stream then see I'm near the ice cave just above Long Shot Falls. Find supplies inside the cave at the first dead end. Matches, Ski Jacket, 'survive the outdoors' and bedroll! ;) Feel like the game is luring me into a false sense of security...  The bedroll find is massive (trust me!). With it in hand its possible to cross ravine and pleasant valley as these areas have no natural outdoor beds. So the plan is to make for TWM before global temps start to dip.

First, double to the other cave system for a quick search/loot of the upper section of cave (nothing of interest). Grab a few cattails outside the upper exit then turn back and return to the Long Shot Falls cave. Cautiously explore the cave but happily there's no wolf here today. Camp near the far exit, ready to walk out in the morning. Light a fire at the high price of 3 matches ¬¬, read book, take torches, make water, cook, eat, sleep.

Day 2 | Condition 79% When I say 'walk out in the morning', I mean early afternoon. The morning cold is deadly and going out in three arrows down temps is slow suicide. Eventually head out into bright sunshine and frigid air. Just before leaving the area, check Cloudtop falls - nothing, no snow shelter, zip. Freezing, head on through the cave to Milton. Camp at cave exit. Eat a 78% piece of venison which gives me food poisoning. 9_9 ! Have some Reishi in the pack already so cook it and sleep 10 hours.

Day 3 | Condition 29% ¬¬ Food poisoning gone. Outside its cold but sunny. There is a wolf in the distance near the road and a deer almost between us. Manage to introduce the two. Light fire by the kill to move the wolf on and harvest the deer, cooking steaks as I go. No wind cover so harvest a steak at a time watching the weather. Have to drip feed the fire sticks briefly as the wind picks up and chases flecks of snow in all directions. The wind soon drops, leaving only the distant sound of the wolf lamenting the stolen kill. Ha! Steaks packed, take a few torches and sneak away up the road, away from the Church. Take the path cutting through the rocky hillside just before the bridge. Its getting dark, snow begins to fall. Chain torches and emerge at the lake above Milton. Light a fire in the cave. Stoke it with coal and wood from the journey. Condition 20% :( Eat plentiful venison. Feel better. Food supplies mean pushing on towards PV should be easier. Sleep. 

Please feel free to chip in advice, sympathy, criticism, whatever..

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Great, another ‘Outerloper‘! Best of luck on your pilgrimage, sir :)

1 hour ago, Drifter Man said:

So are you now going to cross Milton with a bag full of deer meat?

This is something really interesting, @Stone. I recall you followed the same strategy during your first ‘Outerloper’. So, if I may ask, how have you dealt so far with sneaking around densely wolf-populated areas with such scent on you? Any ninja tips?

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@Drifter Man @Senauer Weather is a bigger enemy than wolves so just gotta make hay while the sun shines! And yes, that means carrying meat around Milton (but I'll go around, not through. Milton's sightlines are deadly) . I used to avoid carrying meat to avoid wolves at all costs.

Ninja tips: assuming you know the rules for wolf avoidance without meat - these all apply. Carrying meat the key thing to remember is: when a wolf scents you, it moves to where it detected you. I'm moving fast as possible between shelters or places I start a fire - safe places. This means I'm often scented but I've moved on before wolves arrive. (In the last run I screen shot three wolves tracking to where they scented me in the Milton woodlot but I was well clear when they got there). Meat still draws out wolves, which can suck but it can also draw out wolves that you would otherwise stumble on and have no time to avoid. So its just like normal wolf evasion but the wolves have a larger radar. Keeps you on the edge of your seat too :)

 

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Thanks for the tips, I will definitely put your advice to work in my next Interloper run (yep, I am a scared chicken and will postpone my ‘Outerloper’ attempt a bit more :)).

Looking forward to the next instalment in these series, though!

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Luxury: bed time on day 3

Day 4 | Condition 49% Cold out. Fire still going nicely, put water on to boil. Collect sticks. Freezing. Warm up by fire.. Hunt some bunnies on the lake and collect cattails. Freezing. Warm up while harvesting the bunnies. Stoke fire, leave them to cook. Check the radio mast store. Nothing. Finish cooking the bunnies. Still cold but I’m out of jobs and want to push on towards Mystery Lake. Fear wolves around Milton so take a torch and leave the cave turning left for a steep/mountain-goat decent down to the woodlot. Reach the bottom uninjured (I swear I sometimes get sprains just looking at slopes). Head towards the crashed prison bus. Scanning for wolves I look back with mixture of fascination and horror to see three wolves stalking in a purposeful convoy to the spot where I descended. Seems that when I hit the bottom of the slope, carrying about 5kg of meat, their scent alarms rang and they made straight for where they first scented me. (Afraid I lost the screen shot of this in some careless shift-deleting...:() Best to keep moving! (like you have a choice in this cold!). I'm well away from them but its a stark reminder. Chain torches to the Park office but still arrive freezing. Have a fire in the office to warm up. Take a torch, throw it off the top of the rope and descend. Chase a bunny into a wolf waiting in my path. Light fire in the cave. Boil water. Harvest some rose hips and make tea. Pile the fire high with sticks and some cedar from the cave. Eat, drink, sleep.

Day 5 | Condition 63% Fill up on meat and water before climbing the rope out about midday (wish I could climb with a lit torch clenched in my teeth.) Collect cattails and traverse the transition cave. Leave the cave heading for the forestry lookout. No bear about but deer up ahead. Chase/steer it along ahead of me and it runs into a wolf just over the ridge (that could have been a nasty surprise). Light a fire by the kill, send the wolf off with a whimper. The wind is thankfully elsewhere for now as harvesting takes time. This weather and meat are too good an opportunity to pass on and I figure I can retreat to the cave if weather turns. Finish the job as the light fades. Weather still remarkably fine. Set off, cautious of wolves (I used to stick to the rule "don't carry meat". Ha!). Reach the tracks at dusk, the misty sunset turning the sky a brooding grey-yellow. Ready to drop meat but still no barks. The safety of Forestry Lookout finally looms into view, perched high, its bright supports dulling in the onset of night. Frozen and exhausted. No point lighting a fire, the bed is warm. Eat, drink, sleep.

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Day 6 | Condition 45% Wake to find mittens (whoop!) and a blizzard... damn. There's also a Crowbar...  my least favorite tool. Feel like I have to carry it now just in case a locked locker contains mackinaw jacket. As if… But more importantly, a heavy hammer. The Muskeg Forge will have to wait. Eat, read, break some stuff. Realize I've picked up an arrowhead at some point. Must have been back in HRV. Blizzard persists all day. All o.O day. Light the fire in the evening and boil water while reading. Finish 'Survive the outdoors'. Start reading the lookout’s copy of the same book. The forced rest has recovered much needed condition. Tomorrow is a big, important day making the jump over to Coastal Valley's coal mine. Prepare the gear. Eat, Sleep.

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On 30/08/2018 at 12:48 AM, Stone said:

Ninja tips: assuming you know the rules for wolf avoidance without meat - these all apply. Carrying meat the key thing to remember is: when a wolf scents you, it moves to where it detected you. I'm moving fast as possible between shelters or places I start a fire - safe places. This means I'm often scented but I've moved on before wolves arrive. (In the last run I screen shot three wolves tracking to where they scented me in the Milton woodlot but I was well clear when they got there). Meat still draws out wolves, which can suck but it can also draw out wolves that you would otherwise stumble on and have no time to avoid. So its just like normal wolf evasion but the wolves have a larger radar. Keeps you on the edge of your seat too :)

It's true, wolves lag well behind you when they scent you from a long distance. I'm still cautious as it wouldn't probably work for me. I like to take paths I know to be wolf-free, and with meat no such path exists. Wolves that scent you from directly ahead will come at you from directly ahead. And you could get in situations when there are more wolves around you than you have baits. On the other hand, if you get jumped, hitting "3" is often the only thing you have enough time for. Hmmmm...

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Day 7 | Condition 90% The blizzard has passed. When the day warms up a little, head for the Ravine. A wolf barks by the dam bridge but I'm across quickly and away. Move through the ravine, stop to light a fire and warm up by a deer carcass just before the fallen tree bridge. I got caught badly by the weather here before but it holds long enough to warm up and cook two 0.5kgs steaks (I like that the new cooking system gives another reason to think about the amounts you harvest). Take torches and push on down the line. Reach Coastal Highway as snow starts to fall. Start sprinting as often as possible (fearing another severe snowstorm). Its still snowing heavily when I reach the mine at dusk. Find lots of coal, some cloth (whoop!) and a hacksaw! (whoop! whoop!). Make camp at PV end of the mine. Still have plenty of venison. Eat, sleep.

D8 | Condition 98% A sort of 'blizzard lite’ is blowing outside this morning. Sleep 2 hours. Weather still bad. Break down some crates. Weather still bad. Sleep 2 hours. Still bad. Pass 1 hour. Finally the wind drops and it’s just snowing. I can't wait longer. Leave a ton of coal and wood in the mine (still take 12 coal). Head straight to TWM. Freezing before long. A wolf tails me to the derelict cabins but a shimmy through them is all it takes to lose it (and find a candy bar!). Stop to make fire by the (apparently) trusty deer carcass by the cave on the track up towards the bridge near mystic river picnic area. Hacksaw helps with the carcass. Cook steaks and reishi tea. Warmer, take a torch and head to the rope. Drop some coal to get up the rope. Approach the Mountaineers hut in the last light of day. Light a fire, get water on. Find a light shell, down vest, Stim, heavy hammer (not ideal for mountaineering). Check the nearby fishing hut and find a storm lantern (whoop!). Stoke up the fire in the hut. Prepare gear to take up the mountain. Tomorrow is Day 9. Really pleased with progress as I've a good chance to make the summit by day 10 and have got here in pretty good shape. Sleep, dreaming of warm clothes waiting on the peak.

Day 9 | Condition 100% Weather is clear and sunny. I make cloth of the down vest. Cloth is rare as anything. Decide its worth the risk using it to repair the ski jacket - success! :D Want to travel light so ditch whatever I can, including my last venison steak. A stack of cattails will do for the trip (touch wood). Make some teas, drink one hot then, take torches and head out about midday for the first cargo container. Round a snow drift by the lake and find a bear so close I'm sure it will charge... but it doesn't notice me and I can skirt round the bear and off to the first freight container. Light a fire to keep the wolves away and heat tea. Open the container unhindered. It gives drinks and meds. Down a tea, take a torch, move on. Cross Echo Ravine, reach the first rope still chaining torches but that ends here. Up the rope and straight across the clearing. No wolves, just a few deer. Collect any sticks on my path but worried about my weight for the next rope. Reach the second rope and become encumbered while climbing (phew). Get a red grip bar for the last few feet but finish the climb safe. Grab a few more sticks and enter the cave. Whip out the lantern, collect some coal turned up in the lamp light. Bed down, exhausted, near the top cave exit. Weather was fine today so I expect tomorrow will be different but its only a short trip. Chew some cattails down. Sleep.

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