...Memory Lane...

[ManicManiac]

I found out I was mistaken about my route today.  I thought for sure that the route I was looking at the other day would lead me back up towards Monolith Lake and Pensive Vista ... it does not.  

It was nice to find another Hidden Cache though.  This is easily two good night's sleep.

...Ice Cave.  Saving for later...

Turned out this ends up taking me back down to Hushed River (not the lowest part of the river, but rather down to the banks that would lead back around to offset falls.  

I guess I will have to take the long way around after all. 🤔

Oh well.. if nothing else I'll find another Ice Cave system entrance behind Reclusive Falls.  I'll also be in a good spot to follow along the far side cliffs around to the actual trail I was intending to be on.  

[Leeanda]

8 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

I found out I was mistaken about my route today.  I thought for sure that the route I was looking at the other day would lead me back up towards Monolith Lake and Pensive Vista ... it does not.  

It was nice to find another Hidden Cache though.  This is easily two good night's sleep.

...Ice Cave.  Saving for later...

Turned out this ends up taking me back down to Hushed River (not the lowest part of the river, but rather down to the banks that would lead back around to offset falls.  

I guess I will have to take the long way around after all. 🤔

Oh well.. if nothing else I'll find another Ice Cave system entrance behind Reclusive Falls.  I'll also be in a good spot to follow along the far side cliffs around to the actual trail I was intending to be on.  

You have my sympathies , that place is a maze 😁

[ManicManiac]

@Leeanda
Well now that I know where that path put me out at... I can plan a safe enough route to where I was actually intending to go.  

My memory is just rusty here... I've not really been in Hushed River Valley in a long while.
And I refuse to study maps.  

Edited August 19, 2023 by ManicManiac

[Leeanda]

2 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

@Leeanda
Well now that I know where that path put me out at... I can plan a safe enough route to where I was actually intending to go.  

My memory is just rusty here... I've not really been in Hushed River Valley in a long while.
And I refuse to study maps.  

Lol..😁   sounds like you're learning it again though..

[ManicManiac]

The long way around was longer than I remembered it being.  
I had to make my way back to Offset Falls first.

A wolf up ahead... I'd have to sit for a few moments and observe where it was prowling.

I'd managed to slip past undetected...
Then onward to Reclusive Falls.

Yet another Ice Cave entrance... still saving that for later though.

Made it back to Offset Falls.  Now I just needed to follow the cliffs on the other side of the river back to the right path.

And then a fog started rolling in...

I'd finally made it trail I was looking for.  Now it was just a matter of working my way across the fallen tree bridge and farther up.  However, first I'd like to see about what is just below (down the second fallen tree leading to this stretch of the falls.

There's only a few more hours left before sundown.  I need to get a move on.
With no wolves around, I should be able to pick up the pace again.

 

 

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by ManicManiac

[ManicManiac]

Turned out there was a bit more to check on further on ahead.

Nothing really more to find though.

I decided to head downward first.

Turned out there was nothing more to find here either... but I just had to check and be sure.

This last outcropping looked promising... but again, nothing.   

I decided on one more look around... and good thing I did.

Almost missed this rather nice find.

By not it seemed clear that it would be risky to continue pressing on.  I know I was going to save the Ice Caves for later... but considering the weather has been turning on a dime today, I decided to just step into the ice cave to take shelter for the night.

That turned out to be a good call as well...  a blizzard hit while I was hole-up in the cave.
Tomorrow, I'll continue following the trail upward.  Just above me should be the other spot I had to pass up before (blocked by scrub brush that I previously didn't have an axe for).

After that... the areas above ground will be finished, and then it will just be the caves left to explore.

[ManicManiac]

I need to remember to also stop by Peak Cave today.
There's a Memento Cache to finally unlock.
I also need to stop off at Pensive Vista again, to make use of the spot from the polaroid.

And the last little nook up near Mammoth Falls.

[ManicManiac]

Thankfully the storm passed overnight.  I managed to get up and peek my head out of the cave sometime midmorning.

Started out still a bit snowy, no doubt a left over from the storm last night.
Soon though, the sun broke through.

It was turning into a potentially very beautiful day.  A rare thing out here in some of the rather brutal expanses of Great Bear Island.  I as I saw the sun peeking out from behind a cliff... I felt the urge to go out on a very small ledge to get a better look.

 

Made it back up to the path leading over to Pensive Vista.

 

These vista views are impressively effective... just one charcoal and I've nearly got a complete and clean map of the entire region.

Back to Monolith Lake... now it's just a short hike back up to Peak Cave.

Edited August 20, 2023 by ManicManiac
Fixing errors

[ManicManiac]

I made my way back up the slope to Peak Cave.

Neat... I have a snuggly warm pelt.  Perhaps I might find time to turn it into a bedroll.

As I was on my way back down to Monolith Lake, I thought... This would be a cheeky place for a cache.  

Passing Quarreling Falls once again.

Also met up with Buster again...

Finally, back to Mammoth Falls.  Now just a short trek, and I'll have finished exploring the above ground areas of the region.

Naturally there was nothing here... but I still had to come and check.  

It's getting rather late in the day.
Now it's time to consider where I might want to hole-up for the night. 🤔

[Leeanda]

2 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

I made my way back up the slope to Peak Cave.

 

  Hide contents

Neat... I have a snuggly warm pelt.  Perhaps I might find time to turn it into a bedroll.

 

As I was on my way back down to Monolith Lake, I thought... This would be a cheeky place for a cache.  

Passing Quarreling Falls once again.

Also met up with Buster again...

Finally, back to Mammoth Falls.  Now just a short trek, and I'll have finished exploring the above ground areas of the region.

Naturally there was nothing here... but I still had to come and check.  

It's getting rather late in the day.
Now it's time to consider where I might want to hole-up for the night. 🤔

That's a handy cache to find..

[ManicManiac]

@Leeanda
Yes, especially since I've not really been hunting in these last 95 days.
Though I suppose Bleak Inlet and Ash Canyon have good possibilities for some bearskin items too.
May just hold on to the pelt and see what the Pensive Lookout in Bleak Inlet has for me.  

[Leeanda]

3 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

@Leeanda
Yes, especially since I've not really been hunting in these last 95 days.
Though I suppose Bleak Inlet and Ash Canyon have good possibilities for some bearskin items too.
May just hold on to the pelt and see what the Pensive Lookout in Bleak Inlet has for me.  

SPOILER......  (Forgive the lousy tag😊)

The bear loot in ash is no longer there,or shouldn't be...    if that's what you meant...   I'm not sure if there are more than one other possible sites for it but I found it a long way from where it used to be..

 

 

I can't remember what's in the preppers or where you've already had them but it's possible I suppose to find more .

 

[ManicManiac]

As I was gathering up sticks for the night... I found that this spot wasn't so empty as I'd thought.

I'm not sure if I'd come across the cache that goes with this note... if not, I'll use the Ice Caves later to go check on it.

From here I can even see the Mysterious Signal Fire's location on the other side of the Valley (thought it's currently too windy to see the smoke).

I decided this was going to be the perfect spot to hunker down for the night.  If bad weather hits... I can always take shelter in the Ice Cave right next to me.

And tomorrow... I'll explore the Ice Cave systems.

[ManicManiac]

6 minutes ago, Leeanda said:

he bear loot in ash is no longer there, or shouldn't be...

You mean the bearskin coat we used to have the chance to find is gone now?  That seems a shame, but I don't really mind either way.   If I really want one, I can make one.  

[Leeanda]

1 minute ago, ManicManiac said:

You mean the bearskin coat we used to have the chance to find is gone now?  That seems a shame, but I don't really mind either way.   If I really want one, I can make one.  

I do sadly..  it was a good find..

I mean it could've been moved somewhere else and I either haven't been there or I missed it.

 

[ManicManiac]

@Leeanda
I had no idea that's been removed.
Was that confirmed by Hinterland or has it just gone missing?
In either case, thank you for the heads up.

[Leeanda]

4 minutes ago, ManicManiac said:

@Leeanda
I had no idea that's been removed.
Was that confirmed by Hinterland or has it just gone missing?
In either case, thank you for the heads up.

There are still items up there but seriously changed...  no confirmation from htl about if it's still in the game anywhere though.. but I think it's intentional...  the bear roll is still around,at least on pilgrim. At least if you have the DLC anyway.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Leeanda

[ManicManiac]

While I was gathering up more sticks for the night... the weather started to shift.
I decided it might be better to just have guaranteed warmth through the night - just in case.
Between the 60-ish sticks I'd been able to gather up, and the coal I had on hand... I was easily able to find wind protected spot and build up a 12-hour fire. 

I did hold back about 5 sticks... I may need them tomorrow in case I run out of lantern fuel while exploring the cave systems.

[ManicManiac]

I spend most of the day exploring the Ice Cave system. 

As it turned out (and I had long since forgotten)... this cave system has three entrances:
Just "below" Mammoth Falls (on the map, I mean)
Near the Bear Den in the main expanse I consider serves as the "heart" of  Hushed River Valley.
Behind Reclusive Falls on Hushed River itself.

So then... considering the Ice Cave entrances I've found, means that the other cave system must extend between:
The path above Long Shot Falls
The path just below Valley View Point
The middle of the upper shelf between Lonely Cave and the Mysterious Signal Fire location above Many Falls Vista.

If night falls before I'm done sorting and organizing... then I'll rest here in my primary encampment for the night.  Also, to keep in mind are the two wolves prowling dangerously close to my cave.  

Edited August 21, 2023 by ManicManiac

[Leeanda]

That's a lot of loot😁. 

[ManicManiac]

@Leeanda
Certainly more weapons and clothing than I was expecting to find.  

Edited August 21, 2023 by ManicManiac

[Leeanda]

1 minute ago, ManicManiac said:

@Leeanda
Certainly more weapons and clothing than I was expecting to find.  

What are you going to do with it all?  All those boots alone must weigh a lot😁

[ManicManiac]

@Leeanda
I'll just leave them behind... if needed one day, they will get stripped down for leather to keep my insulated boots and leather gauntlets nice and healthy.  

[Leeanda]

I'll gladly take that bow off your hands if you don't want it😁

[ManicManiac]

@Leeanda

Oh, well if I could send it off to you, I would.
However, the bow is about only thing I plan on taking back out with me (along with the ammunition perhaps).

I don't plan on carrying around with me everywhere, but likely to stash it at the Camp Office in Mystery Lake (for future use).

Edited August 21, 2023 by ManicManiac