The Ghosts of All That Was

[ManicManiac]

I had no intentions of lingering... or getting pinned down by weather.  I was determined to get as far along on a ring-route of some key encampments as possible.  Ideally to get myself staged for hasty exit tomorrow.

First stop, Mindful Cabin.

Second stop, the Drift Island Cabin.

Spoiler

It felt like it's been threatening a blizzard, but I had to keep moving.

Third and final stretch: the Cargo Master's Trailer, Control Tower, Terminal, and Main Hanger.

Spoiler

Having made it all the way back to the Main Hanger, I decided I'd bed down here for the night.  Tomorrow morning, I'll head back to Transfer Pass.

Spoiler

All things considered... I've got a good lead on fixing the next transmitter.

 

[ManicManiac]

I know I just ran this route recently... so I'll do my best to keep it short, and just focus on getting back to Vale Station in Transfer Pass.

[ManicManiac]

The weather felt a bit threatening... but I decided I didn't care.
I needed to get a move on back towards Vale Station.  I wasn't going to let myself get pinned down by weather for another day.  Of course, it would have been wiser to wait a little while and see what the weather was going to do...

So, naturally... I didn't do that.  

Fortune smiled, however, and it seemed that this morning's rough weather was the tail end of a rough patch that had passed over in the night.

There a head is the road back to Transfer Pass (once again).

I decided to make a stop at Vale Station for about an hour (to warm up a bit).
It was only midafternoon, so I may try to make a push to make it as far back towards Broken Railroad as I can before dark. 🤔

[ManicManiac]

I had indeed stopped by Vale Station to pass time for an hour (warming up a bit more), and then quickly set out for Broken Railroad.  Oddly, a very brief bout of Glimmer Fog had rolled in as I had started to pass the time, and just as oddly lifting as I was starting again on my way.

I'd made it back to Broken Railroad, and I was suddenly faced with a decision.  Do I just get over to the maintenance yard to sneak in and hunker down for the night, or do I risk making a push for Forlorn Muskeg?

I decided to push on and risk it.

I was already beginning to regret my decision.  I'd spotted two wolves prowling along the tracks rather than skulking around in the Maintenance Yard.  This potentially meant that if I was really unlucky, I would have to dodge wolves all along the tracks on the way out of Broken Railroad. 😖

That had indeed been the case.  Thankfully, at least the last stretch looked clear, so I didn't even bother thinking about peeking down the foot path off around to the right.  Crawling the nearly the entire stretch of Broken Railroad had cost me a lot of time to transit safely, and I'd also passed up on some good spots to hole-up for the night.  My luck was getting pushed hard enough (or at least so I thought at the time).  

I found had to first and foremost keep an eye on this bear (and hope it was going to continue on in its apparent route).

Then, just as I was starting to think I was home free, I stopped dead in my tracks. 😖

I counted five wolves in the pack skulking across the railroad tracks.
I crept a little closer to try and get a closer look.

There were indeed five wolves between me and the Poacher's Camp. 😖

I had to think fast... I didn't have nearly enough rocks, for felt good enough about pitching stones to run them all off.
Instead, I started to head a little bit towards Hat Creek... I was going to try to feel my way across the icy muskeg to try and pass by around them. 😓

I had nearly managed to make it halfway around when a fog started to roll in.  I decided it was time to get even riskier.  I would try to keep my bearing ahead to the where the Poacher's Camp was... and start feeling my way straight out across the ice ahead.  I know I was not going to be a direct route, and I had to hope I'd gotten far enough around the wolf pack to safely slip by.

Also, there to my left... that's another bear I'd need to watch out for. 😒

I had to carefully test the weak ice dozens of times...

Slowly by surely, I found my way across.

I'd managed to slip by two bears and a pack of five wolves.  
Now it was time to eat, drink some herbal tea, and try to recover as much as I could for tomorrow.
It was already well past midnight at this point.  I took a risk and slept hard for the remainder of the night.

Spoiler

 

I definitely need to remember that this is where I stashed Woodwright's Bow.
Also, found a few more little things to help repair some more transmitters.

 

Edited Tuesday at 12:02 AM by ManicManiac