Why the Mountaineer's Hut Makes a Great House

[Glflegolas]

Hello folks,

So, why do I think the Mountaineer's Hut makes a great house? Here's why...

The View: Let's go right ahead and admit it: the view from the Mountaineer's Hut is great. Living right on Crystal Lake, with its dock and fishing hut, and the view of Timberwolf Mountain in the background... yeah. It's a great view.

Firewood for days: If you need to forage firewood, pretty much any location south of the hut is going to have plenty of wood for the taking. If you need coal, just go northward a bit and you'll come to a cave which spawns loads of coal.

The Weather: Although Timberwolf Mountain is known for not having the most pleasant weather, its weather is far more benign than the (un)Pleasant Valley nearby, with fewer blizzards, and it's not a particularly foggy region either. There is also no annoying Glimmer Fog to worry about, given that it is in Lower Great Bear.

Did I mention the game? There is so much to hunt around Crystal Lake, it's ridiculous. Aside from the fishing hut, there's usually plenty of wolves and deer on the lake, with several rabbit groves to the south, east, and west. Two bears may be found in the nearby area, along with a moose. In short: every major renewable food group is readily available in the local area, something which can't be said for many other locations.

What's Inside the Hut: a 40 kg hatch, perfect for storing all your junk. You also get a workbench, fireplace, and two beds. Pretty much all the essentials of life.

What's nearby: For those who like to use firearms, have no fear: Blackrock is only a day's walk away, and you can refill your ammunition casings there. Birchback is plentiful near the Wing, and Forest Cave can make for a good spot to sleep if cabin fever becomes a concern.

Any challenges with living here? The largest drawback of living here is that the hut acts more like a shallow cave, and doesn't have a fixed temperature. Luckily the ready availability of coal and firewood makes maintaining a fire much easier. The other drawback is that there is no forge anywhere nearby for making improvised tools or arrowheads.

[TonyInPleasantValley]

The other major advantage is you are near a *ton* of loot from the crashed airplane! There are a large number of crates that you can break into scattered all around and a motherlode at the summit. So much that it will take you 5 or so trips up and down to get it all to your base, if you are so inclined. You are also very close to the OTHER crashed airplane on the way to PV which has a lot of clothes and food items (and a nasty old bear). So food, clothes, and tools are readily available nearby.

I would say the other challenges are lack of some items, like scrap metal, lead, and cloth due to lack of buildings and vehicles in the area. This is easily overcome by making treks to PV and Carter Dam to bring in as much of that stuff as you can ever use. 

I totally agree about the view. During the aurora it is especially nice! Love just walking out on that front porch and staring into the scene, trying to figure out what I need to do next to survive or advance the game...

Never gotten cold in the cabin and never light fires at night. I will have to monitor this because I don't want to freeze to death!!

[hozz1235]

Yup, my favorite spot.

[Leeanda]

20 hours ago, TonyInPleasantValley said:

The other major advantage is you are near a *ton* of loot from the crashed airplane! There are a large number of crates that you can break into scattered all around and a motherlode at the summit. So much that it will take you 5 or so trips up and down to get it all to your base, if you are so inclined. You are also very close to the OTHER crashed airplane on the way to PV which has a lot of clothes and food items (and a nasty old bear). So food, clothes, and tools are readily available nearby.

I would say the other challenges are lack of some items, like scrap metal, lead, and cloth due to lack of buildings and vehicles in the area. This is easily overcome by making treks to PV and Carter Dam to bring in as much of that stuff as you can ever use. 

I totally agree about the view. During the aurora it is especially nice! Love just walking out on that front porch and staring into the scene, trying to figure out what I need to do next to survive or advance the game...

Never gotten cold in the cabin and never light fires at night. I will have to monitor this because I don't want to freeze to death!!

What difficulty are you playing on?  

[ManicManiac]

@Glflegolas
Timberwolf Mountain is my favorite region to live in... and the Mountaineer's Hut is always my main encampment whenever I'm staying in the area.
On lucky runs we have Deer on the ice, two rabbit runs nearby, ice fishing... possibly two moose spawns (one very very conviently "next door"), and two bear dens nearby.  If we're very careful, we can even get a wolf on Crystal Lake to hunt Deer for us.  

It's a very rich area in terms of food options.
(the gear and equipment from the cargo containers is nice too )

Edited March 28, 2023 by ManicManiac

[TonyInPleasantValley]

7 hours ago, Leeanda said:

What difficulty are you playing on?  

Currently Voyageur...likely to bump up a level next sandbox.

[Leeanda]

1 minute ago, TonyInPleasantValley said:

Currently Voyageur...likely to bump up a level next sandbox.

Either you've got lucky or I'm unlucky with the temps , I've had to light fires quite a few times  there and that's pilgrim..

[TonyInPleasantValley]

1 hour ago, Leeanda said:

Either you've got lucky or I'm unlucky with the temps , I've had to light fires quite a few times  there and that's pilgrim..

What are your clothes like? I have a 39C warmth and 10C wind bonus and that is with worn clothes, averaging 80-85% wear. No wind chill inside, so only the first number comes into play, I think? I have never lit a night fire in the cabin and I have been there for at least half of my 320+ nights. The only time in recent memory that I got cold while sleeping was at the summit in the cave, when I accidentally stored my long underwear in the plane the day before, prepping everything I wanted to take in one container, and not noticing I was getting a lil nakey in the process...gotten cold plenty of times outdoors, but usually indoors is solid with the clothes I am wearing.

Wonder what the average temps are per region. I am sure someone has a page somewhere with that info...lol.

Edited March 28, 2023 by TonyInPleasantValley

[Leeanda]

12 hours ago, TonyInPleasantValley said:

What are your clothes like? I have a 39C warmth and 10C wind bonus and that is with worn clothes, averaging 80-85% wear. No wind chill inside, so only the first number comes into play, I think? I have never lit a night fire in the cabin and I have been there for at least half of my 320+ nights. The only time in recent memory that I got cold while sleeping was at the summit in the cave, when I accidentally stored my long underwear in the plane the day before, prepping everything I wanted to take in one container, and not noticing I was getting a lil nakey in the process...gotten cold plenty of times outdoors, but usually indoors is solid with the clothes I am wearing.

Wonder what the average temps are per region. I am sure someone has a page somewhere with that info...lol.

They're usually the best regular clothes  you can get ,with the exception of the bunny hat and gloves.  I haven't had a long enough run to warrant the wolfcoat  for some time.     I have the same problem at bricklayers retreat in BlackRock too with needing fires.  I could just be unlucky with the weather though,it wouldn't be the first time!😁 

There is a list somewhere on here about the warmest coldest places but I don't think they worked out the average temps.. that'd take a very long time to do I reckon!  It might've been the op who did that thread but I can't remember.   I usually find that mystery lake and mountain town are the warmest places overall  and the coldest PV and BlackRock.  That's not including forsaken as I don't have that yet!!

[PilgrimReaper]

I really love this place, too, and have not particularly had issues with lighting fires, I'm also playing pilgrim.

[Leeanda]

Ok so it's just me!😁.