To Hell and Back: The AshLopers

[conanjaguar]

Hi @DsnowMan, thanks for reading!

On 12/21/2023 at 1:56 PM, DsnowMan said:

There's a rope attachment point rock near a wooden structure at the top of that cliff you goated down.

That’s a good idea, on my next expedition I can climb down to the mine, sleep in the bed, and continue without having to worry too much about fatigue .

[conanjaguar]

I just realized that I’ve been labeling these Ash 4 🤦‍♂️. Oh well, too late to turn back now…

Ash 4 / Day 9 / Onwards and Upwards

Morning shows that today is another one of those snowy days that could turn into a blizzard at the drop of a hat.  I decide that I’ll do as @DsnowMan advised and keep exploring! My mission for today is to go off on that little side trail before that first rope bridge. Who knows, maybe there’s something worth checking out.

The first leg of the journey is about the same as the last time I came up here, so I won’t bore you with unnecessary details. I make hot tea, wave off wolves, get my feet wet, and harvest a ravaged deer carcass that spawned in the cave at some point. I then make more tea and continue on my merry way, into the light fog. It’s beautiful, but I didn’t get any screenshots.

I don’t get far on the path before I stumble across bones… and footprints… and the very large furball that made those footprints. Fortunately, he’s going the way I’m going. Unfortunately, he’s going very sloooowly. I have to follow him for what seems like hours but is probably more like 15 minutes until I stumble across buildings! Go figure. Apparently this is Miner’s Folly, and for some reason the Angler came all the way up here to put a note on the Miner’s door, as well as a key to his memento cache.

Awfully nice of him.

Anyway, the bear notices me and starts to get feisty so I duck inside the cabin. I sleep an hour and tear down all the curtains before looting some food and a second pair of jeans. Nice.

I head back out to confirm that the bear is gone and… wouldn’t ya know it, there is ANOTHER building up the hill a ways. This, apparently, is the Foreman’s Retreat. Not much of a retreat, if you ask me, it’s 20 seconds away from the workers. Anyway, I loot the joint (of course) to find some cooking ingredients, a skillet (nice), a pair of running shoes (nicer), a sewing kit, (nicest), and a recipe for Forester’s Stew. Sounds yummy.

I cook taters, boil water, and harvest curtains well into the night before calling it a day.

[conanjaguar]

Ash 4 / Day 10 / Double Digits

Woo hoo, double digits and it’s only my fourth attempt!

Of course there’s a blizzard outside. I harvest my leather shoes, break a chair, repair my cotton toque, and do some inventory management while I wait for it to calm down.

When I go out in the late afternoon, it’s light fog again, my favorite weather. I begin walking down a ravine, casually gathering sticks, until I come across a cave with the most adorable tiny rose hip bushes that you will ever see. I pause for a screenie and continue on my way, across bridges and down ropes, heedless of the cold. I can see Angler’s Den at one point.

Eventually I come across Fire Overlook and snap some screenies, then look down to see Bitter Marsh and ANOTHER CABIN.

This one is the Homesteader’s Respite. Within I find a bunch of canned food, a rope, a pack of matches, some fuel, and COMBAT PANTS!!!

State of the badass art.

[conanjaguar]

Ash 4 / Day 11

I goat down to Bitter Marsh and gather cattails on the way back to Angler’s Den. Once there, I use the memento key from Miner’s Folly to unlock the memento cache in the rowboat. It’s full of fish. Fish that I spend the rest of the day cooking while grinding Firestarting.
 

Ash 4 / Day 12

Another uneventful day. I ferry stuff from Angler’s to Homesteader’s in preparation for the next big climb and spend FIVE pieces of cloth to repair my lousy sports vest for a gain of 0.3C.

Ash 4 / Day 13

A blizzard in the morning (actually more like early afternoon) throws a wrench in my plans. I huddle inside, munch cattails, and read a Sewing Primer… and then, cabin fever risk strikes. Not surprising, actually. I’m forced to huddle in the bed until the blizzard dies down before I can go anywhere. I take a bunch of food, water, and fuel, and make the long and uneventful trek to Miner’s Folly, where I know a perfect spot to build a snow shelter… and I can’t build a snow shelter indoors. Rrrrgh. I then head around Foreman’s to a fairly decent spot to build a shelter and light a fire, cooking bannock and grinding to Firestarting level 4. 

Apparently this is “indoors” as well despite being little more than a glorified rock arch, but there is a moss bed to sleep cabin fever off in. I use all my fuel to sleep through the night without hazard.

Heres some screenies of the sunset:

[conanjaguar]

This is going to be the last update for a while because my PC decided to die shortly after these days were played...

Ash 4 / Day 14

I awake in the late afternoon and cabin fever is averted. Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better! The weather is a light fog that is a bit chilly for my purposes. Nonetheless, I heat up a cup of tea and get going. Of course I have to sneak past the bear, but other than that, the trek back to the mine is very long and boring. The only noteworthy events are finding some more rose hips and spraining my wrist on the goat down to the mine. I gather coal on my way to the main chamber and pass time repairing clothes and boiling water well into the night. I treat myself with a can of tomato soup and pork and beans for supper.

 

Ash 4 / Day 15

A blizzard rages throughout the morning. When it finally calms down to clear skies and mild FLT in the late afternoon, I’m eager to get going and try to find that bunker…

… I don’t find it. I end up spending the entire day walking… and waking… and walking through the birch forest and gathering birch bark and sticks. I have to make some tea on the way to avoid freezing but otherwise the trip is uneventful besides finding us harvested rose hips. That makes me hopeful, that means I haven’t been here yet. About 30 minutes into the hike, things get a bit hairy when I take quite a bit of damage on a goat, but fortunately I make it the rest of the way down safely and discover that I’m back by Angler’s. Sigh. I’ve been going in circles.

I duck into the cabin to shake off a wolf that picked up my trail and make 8 cups of BBT whilst crafting some fishing tackle to replace my nearly-worn out sewing kit.

Supply stocks are lookin’ good. I’ve got plenty of food and oodles of fuel. Water supplies are a bit short at the moment but I’ve got more back up at Foreman’s.

 

Ash 4 / Day 16

I spend the day doubled over in bed with pain as a result of eating ruined bannock.

[Hotzn]

On 11/30/2023 at 6:55 PM, conanjaguar said:

Ash 3 / Day 3 / Into the Unknown

[...]

Of course, FLT rises to a steamy -7C as soon as I start freezing again. I see a few does and debate hunting them the Hotzn Way, but decide against it: I’m tired, cold, and hungry, and I need to nurse myself back to health. I head

 

Somewhere in the distance, unbeknownst to the intrepid @conanjaguar, there is a movement under the snow. What is it? There... again! Then something lifts from under the white blanket. A head emerges. Unbelievably, it's Old Hotzn.

"Surely it cannot be that I heard my name uttered?", he mutters into his beard. "No... nothing... nobody alive here. All long gone. They should have stuck to the Hotzn Way, then maybe... who knows..."

His gaze travels off into the distance. How long had he been hibernating under the snow? Weeks? Months? Maybe even years? He had been having weird dreams. Dreams of changing the diapers of a child, three years old. Discussing with such child whether it would not be time to start using the toilet and saying goodbye to diapers. Such request being refused by the child with great eloquence. Weird...

But then Hotzn's thoughts returned to the reality he was living in. Surviving in. He knew he wasn't finished with the snowy wilderness. Not yet. If there were other survivors left... he would show them...

[conanjaguar]

On 1/24/2024 at 5:22 AM, Hotzn said:

Discussing with such child whether it would not be time to start using the toilet and saying goodbye to diapers. Such request being refused by the child with great eloquence.

He/she already has the makings of a champ TLD player in that case... we all know toilets are for drinking only 😁.

Edited January 26 by conanjaguar

[FaT McMarlin]

So are you doing a single region survivor to learn Ash Canyon or just going for how long can you survive? 

Going in circles is definitely a Hallmark if the region. For now small the region is, the different levels keep it interesting. Don't forget there's a bunker with a bed on the south east end somewhat near the TWM transition cave, up on the middle level. Good luck and cheers!

[conanjaguar]

@FaT McMarlin

Yeah, seeing how long I can survive without knowing the region beforehand is the main goal... if I just wanted to learn the region I probably should have gone in on Pilgrim but that wouldn't make for as interesting of a read .

I've been trying to find that bunker for a while... assuming the save file is still there when/if my PC gets repaired I'll try to find it again. Knowing my luck it'll probably be empty anyway 😁.

[FaT McMarlin]

2 hours ago, conanjaguar said:

@FaT McMarlin

Yeah, seeing how long I can survive without knowing the region beforehand is the main goal... if I just wanted to learn the region I probably should have gone in on Pilgrim but that wouldn't make for as interesting of a read .

I've been trying to find that bunker for a while... assuming the save file is still there when/if my PC gets repaired I'll try to find it again. Knowing my luck it'll probably be empty anyway 😁.

No matter what there's a warm bed, so it's not a complete loss to find. You've got to make 1 one way jump from climbers cave. 

Ash isn't that difficult once you figure out where things are and what connects. The middle area by climbers connects to basically everything. Most are one way trips but there's a few rope climbs to take advantage of.