Trashed by a Moose in Ash Canyon... :(

[Sherri]

After getting settled at the foot of Timber Wolf Mountain, I decided to go for the Technical Backpack in Ash Canyon before climbing the summit. Carry more loot? Yes please!

The backpack is something I've only ever gotten once, and Ash Canyon is probably my least familiar map. But, what heck I thought... the weather is lovely, off we go!

Travelled around the lower bottom left of the Ash Canyon map, sticking to the lowest elevation route. Smooth sailing all the way to the Stone Shelf Cave (see attached image).

I rested in the cave and gamely set out for the rope climb. Why yes... the map clearly indicates - moose in this area. But, just 2 days ago I killed the moose in TWM and thought (wrongly) that only ONE moose can spawn anywhere in the game at a time. So if the half-harvested moose carcass is still in TWM, and knowing you get a couple days between carcass despawn and the animal reappearing... I thought I'd be ok.

Oh no... oh nonono....

Half way to the rope climb I hear the terrifying grunts of something much larger than a deer... I try to sprint up a nearby rock, but the damn nimble Goliath followed me up and stomped me into the snow!! AAAaaa!  As I stumbled groggily to my feet, vision blurred and moaning in pain, I saw the beast turn and gather itself for another charge. Luckily my hands weren't broken and I emptied half my rifle into the monster!

Well... as you can imagine... I'm now effectively stuck in this burnt glade with just the Stone Shelf Cave to live in. 120 hours of rest to heal my very broken ribs. Nothing to do, but plenty of moose to eat.

I've never had to spend this much time without a building to shelter in. Can't move forward and can't really go back. Might head to Angler's Den if I tire of the cave. But I'm really not comfortable with this region yet. Might have to do it just to pass the interminable amount of time these broken ribs will take.

Anyway, just thought I'd share the story for fun. Any suggestions - or commiseration are welcome!

I do hope and pray that this moose doesn't respawn back in this same place, before I get the chance to continue up to the Gold Mine. 

Edited July 28, 2023 by Sherri

[Retro Seamstress]

Oof, that's a nasty spot to get moosed. Reminds me of my very first encounter with a moose, which was also my first (and only so far) moose stomping. I was in Hushed River Valley. I'd never seen a moose before as I was still fairly new to the game. I was doing the Faithful Cartographer challenge and had made my way to Monolith Lake. I climbed up the little island in the middle and thought, this is an excellent spot to map the area. The moose must have been out of my line of sight when I started mapping as all I heard were these angry grunts and stampeding hoofs. I finished mapping, turned around and BLAM! Got pounded into the icy ground by a very angry moose. I didn't survive long enough to heal my ribs after that. I didn't know HRV very well and as the Moose walked away, a blizzard rolled in. I just tried to limp away in the opposite direction to the moose. Got completely lost, was freezing, then as the blizzard eased up I stumbled around a corner straight into a wolf who ended that run. Needless to say, it was a memorable experience.

Moose are terrifying.

[Sherri]

8 hours ago, Retro Seamstress said:

Oof, that's a nasty spot to get moosed. Reminds me of my very first encounter with a moose, which was also my first (and only so far) moose stomping. I was in Hushed River Valley. ...

Oh wow that's brutal.   It's those desperate stories that make this game so fun (and tough!)

My first moose attack was outside Trapper's cabin in ML so I had a nice place to camp out the recovery!

[Leeanda]

Ouch...  That's a sneaky place for a moose..   

I have transitioned through three/four maps in one day and had the moose in each one .  Not so long ago I went from killing the mystery lake moose then saw the one in lower forlorn and then two in bleak .  So it's not too unusual to see them ,but it could just be lucky rng on my part.

[Retro Seamstress]

These days I make sure I'm a good distance away from the Moose, preferably somewhere it can't get me. I had a heck of scare when I discovered the one at the cove in Forsaken Airfield can indeed make it up to the cabin. I had gone down the stairs to the bottom of the cove, hit the moose with an arrow and sprinted back up the stairs without even checking to see if he was following. Ran out of stam at the top of the stairs but thought "I probably overacted, he's not following". I was just getting to the cabin when I heard the  grunts and stampeding hoofs. I ran inside so fast and closed the door. Then nearly had a heart attack as the moose's head clipped through the wall near the kitchen sink. I just crouched in the dead centre of the room until my heart rate came down. At one point I stood up and the moose must be able to see in the windows as he came charging back. I decided this was a good time to take a nap for a few hours. I think I stayed crouched until I decided to sneak out the back of the cabin and have a look down to the cove. Thankfully Mr Moose was back down in the cove. I don't know if he actually could get me from inside the cabin, but I wasn't going to risk standing near the doors or windows to find out.

It's these heart pounding moments that keep you from getting too complacent

[Sherri]

3 hours ago, Retro Seamstress said:

Ran out of stam at the top of the stairs but thought "I probably overacted, he's not following". I was just getting to the cabin when I heard the  grunts and stampeding hoofs.

That's a fantastic story! When they clip through the walls it's terrifying.