Drifter Man

I liked it! Sounds like a fun mod. Can you exit the game and reload it with your friend later, to continue?

I agree - I see no reason for CF. It just prevents you from living like a civilized person and drives you into caves instead.

I clearly remember than CF was off in deadman mode back in my days, but it came to haunt me anyway after 50 days. Doesn't turning CF off in the custom settings only give you a 50-day grace period?

On 6/8/2022 at 10:19 PM, Pillock said:

I find Bleak Inlet quite enjoyable - but that's probably because I always switch Timberwolves off completely in the Custom settings.

I've encountered them in the Story Mode, but that's led directly to me not playing Story Mode at all since shortly after Episode 3 was released! I just can't be bothered with them - they only make the gameplay worse, in my opinion. But the Custom survival mode does allow you to play TLD without them, and it's still a lot of fun. It's got the same feel for me as it ever did - if I hadn't started looking at the forums again recently, I'd have forgotten that Timberwolves ever existed!

Bleak Inlet does feel a little empty, I suppose (though there is a bear). But it's still one of the more challenging regions to start out on, even without wolves.

I returned to this run after a break. I decided to discontinue it: I didn't feel the connection to it any more after I'd quit the game with my character in danger (sort of) and later reloaded from a save. But for the few days I played, I got remarkably good weather in BI - it was still very cold and windy, of course, but there were more frequent breaks with reasonable weather conditions, whereas in my earlier play it was just max wind all the time. It might be just random, or the weather may have been tweaked.

Good to know that the timberwolves can be turned off in the custom settings, although I don't mind the timberwolves per se. I was put off by their spawning in the cannery yard based on the player's movement, which violates the Law of Impartiality of Nature. I still hold a grudge 😐 The fact that the region is full of predators with next to no prey is strange, though. An empty region that you play in may be more believable.

On 1/30/2022 at 10:14 AM, Sito said:

Truthfully... I always go back to TLD. I was waiting for the despawning carcass bug to be fixed to I could start a new run with some more difficult settings but I cant wait now. BI is brutal and will be some more good training for my soon to be new character. It will be Astrid this time. She is not so whiney. But she will have plenty to whine about with the new settings I am planning!

I agree, TLD has a great "return to" potential as a game. Good luck in BI.

I tried the female survivor once, I called her Jennifer Interlopez. I abandoned that run, I couldn't get used to the voice.

On 1/15/2022 at 5:32 AM, Looper said:

Could a good challenge bring you back? 🙂Also love your writings ✊

Probably not, but maybe one day I will feel like I miss the sight of Coastal Highway on a clear morning 

On 12/26/2021 at 9:51 PM, jeffpeng said:

Timberwolves are their own bag problems when it comes to this, and it's for that reason Bleak Inlet at least is just not on the map. I'm taking a 35ish days Interloper to Blackrock at the moment, I fully expect to end the run there, but I want to have at least given it a shot in earnest.

I always thought the run I was describing in this thread would be my last one - but preferably a long, very long one. I had the plan to start writing about it once I am well past 1000 days. The objective was to search the whole map first, thoroughly, and achieve all there is to achieve. Then to see, what's next? What can a survivor do when there is nothing more to do, and the expiration date is still years away? But the first objective meant suffering through Bleak Inlet - a region that is, in my opinion, poorly designed from the ground up - and there I realized if I have to suffer though it, then it is not worth playing. Good luck at Blackrock!

On 12/26/2021 at 9:51 PM, jeffpeng said:

Anyways: it's been a good ride. I've learned a lot from you, as I am sure many others have. Really do drop in from time to time 🙂

On 12/31/2021 at 2:16 PM, Morrick said:

The community could use your expertise and guidance

On 1/1/2022 at 5:02 PM, Gooner77 said:

I poured over your pages of vast knowledge and wisdom and applied it to the Kegstand as my own little piece of TLD history.

I suspect I am getting way more praise than I deserve, but it is great to know so many people found my writing useful and inspiring to start their own great virtual adventures. See you around and keep warm out there 

Thanks @Salty Crackers - it has been a great pleasure to be here on hinterlandforums.

Great read, I enjoyed it sitting warm, wearing my double underwear 

[I wonder if that means that I win a third pair?]

On 12/6/2021 at 3:58 AM, Hotzn said:

Arrrgh... the notorious @Drifter Man quitting? This cannot be real! You are one of the reasons I keep coming back to these forums. It's been a while, I have taken an unintentional break, but it's important to know that people keep returning here from the early days...

Professor @Hotzn! I can't complain I didn't get a good run for my money from TLD. I lived ~800 days in the Dam... I met Fluffy while she still was at home there... I bled out numerous times while tearing up my socks... I found my way to the top of TWM without a bedroll... I dropped the fish (bam!) on Crystal Lake... I became officially dead, then doubly dead, and then triply dead in one run of the Deadman challenge... I respectfully handed over my only pair of Combat Pants to the bear at Spruce Falls... I jumped off the Ravine rail bridge to avoid death from starvation... the list could go on.

In large part, my enjoyment of TLD has been due to the great community here, which helped me stay focused on my silly projects. And whenever the going got tough, I pictured Old Hotzn standing in the Cave of Engines, looking East... what would he do in my situation?

I hope you will stay around. I guess I'll be dropping in from time to time, too.

Thanks for reading and commenting. As great as the game used to be, I has been disappointing me lately. Wolves spawning out of thin air because there needs to be a "story" was the last straw and I stopped playing TLD afterwards.

Lately I have seen a shift in the game towards this kind of heavy-handed design putting the player's character at the center of the universe (in survival mode I mean). It didn't use to be like that and it made TLD special. It made me feel small in the world, insignificant, and it felt real. But I see that this TLD is gone.

I wonder which was the last version that still worked for me. It would definitely have to be before they made animals stop moving when you aren't looking at them... I still have no clue why they did that.

Anyway, thanks again and to everyone who has been following my exploits and sharing the fun in the past few years. Time to say goodbye!

I quit the game and I don't think I'll be coming back to this again.

Bleak Inlet has been an utterly unenjoyable experience - a region designed with the intention to kill you - but I could get over that. What broke it for me was when I realized that there are triggers along the obstacle course that lead to multiple wolfpacks spawning in the yard. First one when you go up the rope - that's how the first wolfpack spawned on me a few nights ago. A second one when you jump down on the ship and go upstairs in the warehouse with the two hugging corpses on the ground floor. A third one further down the obstacle course. There may be more - I don't care. I was armed to teeth up there and I could deal with them. But they are meant to catch you up there if you aren't prepared. That's not nature's design, that's Hinterland's design 👎

I had always appreciated how TLD's nature was impartial - randomly dangerous, but paying no regard and no attention to the struggles of my little survivor. I am not interested in playing through scripted events. You can keep them in the story mode, but they have no place in the sandbox. Sandbox has always been my story and there is no reason why nature should spawn a pack of wolves to go after me when I step on a particular spot in the world.

Day 826

I sleep until midday - this has become my routine in BI lately, to make the best use of the relatively warmer afternoons and night Aurorae. I leave the trailer, crouched, expecting the remaining three T-wolves lined up and ready to attack me. Instead I just hear one wolf die nearby (the one I shot last night). I tiptoe to my food stash and start cooking. Soon I see a T-wolf patrolling the yard. I kill it with the bow. When I go over to collect the meat, another one sees me. I run back to the fire and try to ward off the attacker by firing the revolver, but I miss. I win the struggle easily with the revolver again - it is over just after it starts. It looks like it was a very good idea to wait for Level 5 before coming down here.

The wolf morale bar is still up and a while later I can hear a wolf approaching, growling. Then it suddenly runs away and the bar vanishes.

Fog descends on BI later in the day. This is a seriously rare event and must be taken advantage of, before it is gone. I check out the woods around the cannery to collect some sticks - I keep running out of fuel - and notice that the other T-wolf pack is still patrolling on the ice. I end up searching the space under the wooden jetty. I find some old clothing and also a blue toolbox, very handy - I don't have to haul one over here when I need to repair the hacksaw. I go on and run into a pair of T-wolves - probably the ones I dealt with earlier today. They howl and approach me. I start a fire and take aim at the closer one with the rifle. I expect it to charge or dodge, but it does neither and just keeps walking towards me. I pull the trigger and kill it. The remaining T-wolf runs away in panic and I get the eponymous achievement.

I notice a short but very perceptible delay between the hit and the moment the wolf yelps and collapses. Seems to be a new thing, but it may also be specific to T-wolves - I haven't killed anything else lately. In any case it looks unnatural.

I have also noticed that the noise made by crows has changed. It scared me at first, before I realized it is probably something that came with the Episode 4 update. The sounds tend to sync together and become very loud. I already miss the old sound, it was so characteristic for TLD, you could hear it all the time.

Why does Hinterland keep "improving" things that are perfect?

Anyway, I take the meat out of the wolf carcass, cook some, then return to the trailer to warm up. The blood at the door reminds me of last night's proceedings, although I didn't bleed and neither did the wolf I fought.

The day ends and the Aurora appears. I want to continue exploring the cannery. I search again for the rope, at first in the wrong building. Eventually I find it and climb back to the office upstairs. From there I see only one way out - jump back down from the roof. It leads me to a safe room with a makeshift bed and a fire barrel. I notice the room is warm - felt +12C. I search it by the lights of the Aurora. Where to go from here? Some junk, including old palettes, is blocking a doorway. Maybe I have to break it down? I found an improvised hatchet in the room and I break the planks. Still no way to open the door. I check the temperature: felt +9C, around midnight. I am not comfortable sleeping here unless I start a fire in the barrel. But it is a safe place for cooking.

I go to the next room and find myself at the rope again. I return across the yard to the trailer to get some sleep. The Aurora is blinding.

Day 824

OK - there is only one source of food, the T-wolves, so let's do it. I go to the cannery, approaching from the highway, and see them patrolling right next to the fence. I start a fire between two trailers first, to warm up. Even in this terrible weather it turns out to be one of my most successful fires so far in BI - it takes about 4 hours before the wind eventually finds a way to kill it.

Then I go after the wolves. Unfortunately, this time I am pretty bad with the rifle. I end up firing 7 rounds and 2 arrows to kill them - and only two die on the spot, the other two run away. I'll never find them. I need the food, so I make a fire next to one carcass. I get enough time to get the meat out and cook two steaks - starvation averted - then the wind turns around and the fire is extinguished. In desperation, I carve out the meat out of the other carcass without fire. I take a heavy condition hit, but at least I have a supply of raw meat.

I return to the trailers for the night.

Day 825

A blizzard rages long into the afternoon. I eat cattails from my emergency reserve to push off starvation, although I consider letting myself starve again. Eventually the blizzard ends and I return to the cannery. First, I search it for a safe place for a fire - ideally a fire barrel. Nope. Not a single one. Is there no way to burn a safe fire in here? In the end I start a partially sheltered fire and cook some meat. While it is cooking, I take another look around and find a trailer. Great - I can stay here for the night.

I continue cooking and making water into the night, even after the Aurora lights the sky. The wind reduces the fire but I am able to feed it stick by stick. Meanwhile I roam the area and search it. I continue even after the fire goes out (I keep a few sticks to be able to start another, otherwise I have spent them all), returning to the trailer for warmth. Eventually I find the famous rope - or at least I think it's the rope that leads to the workshop. After a brief hesitation, I climb up. I end up in an office and can go out on a roof, but I am not sure where it ends.

The Aurora is ending - it is foggy now. I am freezing. Enough for tonight. I return to the rope and jump down - I don't see why they couldn't make this climb a two-way one. As I run back to the trailer, I end up nose to nose with a T-wolf. The pack must have spawned while I was up there. It howls, calling its friends. I fire several shots from the revolver - one hits. This clears the way to the trailer. I run to the door, but another T-wolf blocks the way. A struggle ensues. I choose the revolver - they say it is very effective on Level 5 - and yes, the fight ends quickly and I take little damage. As soon as I get up, I open the door to the trailer. Safe for now.

Man, I am so tired of this region. Let me just get this over with and get out of here. I want to chart it, search for resources, and get out. Only return to do repairs or make ammo. This place is uninhabitable: horrible weather, no shelter, no way to keep a fire going for longer than 30 minutes, no food, and wolves spawning on you out of nowhere.

Day 823

I run a fire in the morning, making water and waiting for warmer weather. I eat the last moose steak and climb a nearby hill to look for food. Nothing in sight. The weather gets worse.

In the afternoon in leave towards the third blind. My old campfire reminds me of my encounter with T-wolves a couple days ago - I should watch out, but they are not here today. Strong winds force me back.

Eventually I climb a high hill in the evening - possibly the highest peak in the area that I can reach. I find a dead campfire on the hilltop. There's a pack with 58% MRE - the only edible food, along with salty crackers, that I can still find on day 800+. This is great, it should put off starvation until tomorrow. Plus there is a cold cup of coffee. 800 days old, but who cares. I put it in my backpack.

I start a fire sheltered by rocks and tree trunks and warm up. I collect sticks and take a look around. I find a wooden bridge under the hill - I do not notice anything else as the trees obscure the view, but the charcoal map reveals trailers there.

I warm up again and decide to go down there to the trailers for the night. I am not leaving anything critical at the cave - I am out of food anyway, save for the emergency reserve of cattails and crackers I always carry on me.

The trailers have some loot - a red flare and a hatchet, plus there is a fair amount of cloth in pillows and old bedrolls. I don't need cloth now, but in the long run it is a valuable and finite resource.

I take a look in the direction of the sea. There is an island but I am not sure if the ice can be crossed. Some T-wolves patrol between the cannery and the island, so perhaps it is accessible.

Days 818-820

The weather only allows me to work for short periods of time, usually in the evening. Winds rarely slow down - and I have the feeling that BI wind have some windchill "bonus" that makes them colder - even if the wind looks tolerable from my experience from other regions. I think I am able to find reasonably good locations for sheltered fires, but few of my fires survived more than one hour in BI. Feeding them stick by stick does not seem to work, either.

The cold is punishing. Without fire, I run a lot, which saves me condition and leaves me exhausted at the end of the day, so that I can recover over a 10-hour sleep. It is risky, though: I wouldn't want to run into T-wolves in exhausted state.

In these conditions I explored much of this end of the Frozen Delta. I found a second hunting blind, with a deer carcass nearby, a ruined bedroll (good source of cloth) and more empty cartridges. A pack of T-wolves operated on a nearby island. I take care to avoid them.

Days 821-822

I'm done here and it is time to move to the next cave - the one I found after leaving the trailer on Day 809. I do it in two days: first haul of non-smelly things (mainly scrap lead), second haul with the rest of the moose, which is running out anyway. The weather makes every effort to slow me down, but the T-wolves leave me in peace. Apart from them and some cattails, I see nothing to eat in this corner of the map.

I find the third blind near my new cave, so I should have them all now. Some more empty cartridges...

Day 815

Trip to Camp Office and back for arrows. ML is very wolfy today, wolves on all sides of Camp Office. It's a howling fest. I grab my 7 spare arrows I did not have space for when I left for BI the first time.

I get caught in a blizzard on the way back to Trapper's.

Day 816

With a can of gunpowder, 9 kg of scrap lead and 50 empty cartridges, I return to BI via FM in good weather.

I bring the good weather to BI and use it to do a bit of exploration before nightfall. The winds and snow set in quickly. I stay too long and burn two moose steaks on my fire near the cave.

Day 817

More exploration in the direction of the Ravine's End Waterfall. I find a cave - probably the one that is too far from the Cannery for Aurora runs. I find a gunsmithing book, my fourth. That's great, it will get me halfway to Level 4. Also, a bottle of painkillers. Expired, of course.

My map is showing a corpse that I can't find, until I notice a ledge high above. I don't know how to get there. Perhaps from the other side, from the Ravine entry?

On 10/5/2021 at 6:08 AM, stratvox said:

I actually use the moose cloak over the bear coat when I get into the end game; I have cold set to max in the special settings and the two of them work well together, not least because the rate of decay of the bear coat on the inner slot is INCREDIBLY LOW (0.033%/day) and the moose cloak takes it much better than the bear coat when wolf/bear/moose struggles happen. Also, the ability to harvest and remake the cloak to 100% condition with four gut and "sixteen point six six six ... repeating of course" hours is ... pretty darn sweet.

Those are great points. In regions with mild weather (ML, CH, DP) you don't need the warmest clothes and the moose cloak can actually be quite economical.

Considering you can rebuild it from itself, investing exactly 16.6666660 hours (I think Unity works in single precision). It is amazing how much research they put into getting such an accurate estimate of the time needed to make a moose coat.

Days 811-812

Two days of blizzards. I notice an interesting phenomenon: blizzard without snow. Then I realize that it only happens when I am at the cave exit (which is a transition to another region). When I leave the exit zone, the snow reappears.

There are brief moments at dusk when I can leave, so I take a few short trips for the meat, sticks and some charcoal surveys. I am surprised how close the FM exit is to the Ravine exit. They should be much farther apart, in my opinion. But there are many more issues in the geography of Great Bear.

Day 813

No blizzard this time, clear skies, but the wind is not tolerable. I wait until the afternoon, then drop my rifle and marine flares and pass through the cave to FM. I want to visit Trapper's Homestead and the Camp Office and bring more supplies - arrows and material for ammunition.

FM inherits the ridiculous weather of BI and I have to walk in the wind, freezing. At least it blows in my back. I make a fire at the rail tunnel and try to bring down a wolf, but it runs away with my arrow stuck in it. I let it go and continue to Trapper's. I didn't bring any food with me (I rarely travel with any meat on me), so I place snares and hope for a good catch.

Day 814

I kill a deer in early morning near Max's Last Stand. I process the carcass and add two rabbits to the lot from the snares. I want to go to Camp Office for the arrows and also look for the wolf I killed yesterday, but the weather looks like a blizzard might be coming. I stay near the Homestead and spend another night there. The blizzard does not come.

9 hours ago, stratvox said:

I like the moose because I like the cloak and the bag, not to mention that it's a bear sized meal package without the parasites. However, six arrows are not enough; I'd much rather have at least a dozen, and twenty is better. I don't want to have to sneak around to pick up arrows I've missed with in the middle of the hunt because keeping your distance is important with the moose.

I agree that 6 (in my case only 5) arrows are not enough... I was out of options, so I had to kill it with whatever I had. I like the bag, but I got mine from the Signal Fire and it only asks for a piece of leather once in a year or so. And I prefer the Bear Coat to the cloak. For meat, I'd rather hunt 4 deer than 1 moose - for the same usage of arrows and the same amount of meat, but with much less risk. But in BI I may need to change some habits.

Day 810

Disclaimer: The following entry is not a recommendation on how to hunt moose, rather the opposite. Certainly not with your 800-day survivor

I wake up with ~100 calories in my stomach. I stand still and prepare some birch bark, waiting for the counter to run out. When it hits zero, I head out. Felt -14C, light fog, moose is on station, one arrow stuck in its massive body. Ideal conditions.

I begin by starting a fire to warm up. Initially, charging moose were afraid of fire, but I believe this has changed and fire is of no use for protection against them. I wait for the moose to come closer and take a long shot. It nearly misses and the moose runs away.

While I wait by the fire, my concerns grow for the weather. I need to get the kill fast. The sky is clearing up. My next shot is a miss again, so I let the moose come closer and take a third one. A hit. Mr. Moose has seen me and is not pleased. My plan for the situation was to switch the bow for the flare gun - I dropped the rifle for this reason, so that the switch is quick by pressing 2 - but I make a mistake and holster the bow.

I panic and run, with the angry moose in pursuit. I jump off a steep bank of the delta, hoping that this will break off its pathing. It maybe works, for a second, as the moose seems to have paused, but soon it attacks again. In addition, I sprained an ankle and landed on weak ice. Now I am a candidate for an icy bath plus broken ribs in one package.

I limp out of weak ice onto the bank, moose charging towards me, and remember that I also have a revolver. I fire three shots, which turn the moose around. Crisis averted.

I return to the fire and check my status. Clothes ok. Wrists are not sprained - I can shoot. Condition ok. I reload the revolver - a life saver today. I warm up and wait for the moose to return, then repeat the procedure but this time I use the flare gun. I miss the flare gun shot - I never hit anything with this thing - but avoid the attack. The moose now has three arrows in it - two in the torso and one in the leg. For the next shot I want to get behind it and from a longer distance. It is hard because the moose keeps returning close to my fire, and I have to sneak around a lot. Eventually I find the right angle ... only to find out that I am out of arrows! I only took six with me from the Camp Office. One broke a few days ago, the moose has three, and there are two more lying somewhere in the snow.

I tiptoe back to the fire, pick up my rifle and finally kill the beast with one shot.

35 kg meat. I prefer taking what I need piece by piece to quartering the carcass, especially in a region with such unpredictable weather. I fill my stomach with the first two steaks and work on the carcass until nightfall, taking also the hide. During a break I collect the two arrows that missed. I leave all the raw meat next to the carcass and return to the cave for the night.

This was the second moose I got on this run. The first one was comfortably with the rifle from a long distance. I normally avoid them - too much trouble, better get a couple four deer instead. But this time I was desperate for food and there was nothing else.

Edit: I just realized I used all four weapons in this hunt - bow, rifle, revolver, flare gun...

Thanks for the tips @stratvox. I think I'll continue sniping them with the rifle - it is kind of fun and it gives me some use for the rifle, which otherwise collects dust in Trapper's cabin. But I should look for some good hunting places. I thought animals will track you down and attack you in a blind - or is it only when they can actually see you (as opposed ) that they can path to it?

Day 809

I gulp the last wolf steak in the morning. There are two more carcasses, but one is on thin ice and the other is who knows where. So, no food for me. I have spent all my coal and am down to 15 sticks. In this situation, I decide the best course of action is to bolt out of here and find something to kill. But the morning has thick fog for me. I can't go in this weather, but I can wait - eventually heavy fog will turn into light fog.

When it happens, it is still felt -17C, but I set out towards Frozen Delta. Mindful of the math (17 degrees, 15 sticks), I collect the first sticks I see. Navigation through the Frozen Delta is tricky, so I turn around and seek out the edge of the map. Freezing, I find a cave waiting for me. I approach it with the flare gun in hand, standard precaution when I find a new cave, but it is uninhabited. I claim it for myself.

Once I am warmed up, the fog has lifted and the superstrong winds have started blowing again. It's too cold to be there now. I wait in the cave for over 2 hours before the winds back off a notch. This, plus the warmer afternoon temperatures, will allow me to keep my warmth for a little longer.

With an eye on the radio tower as a reference point, I walk by the edge of the map, struggling against the wind. Nothing moves - no deer, no rabbits, not even wolves in sight. I find a patch of birch trees and make a stop with a fire. I collect some bark and also make birch bark tea from my supplies. Then I visit a hunter's blind I can see from here - I find a marine flare and a few empty cartridges. Fitting for a blind.

Then I pull torches to recover some of my firewood and walk on. Right around the corner, I find potential food... a moose. Should I take on the beast? Or is it too late in the day already? It is in my way, so I take some long range shots with my bow. The fourth one is a hit. The moose runs away, which gives me the chance to collect the other three arrows.

I conclude it is too late - I still need to find shelter for the night. Soon I find the exit to FM. There is a wolf carcass next to it. I strike a match to get the meat. 0.5 kg. I struck a match for 0.5 kg of wolf meat.

I collect coal in the transition cave, eat a few cattails and go to sleep. I am nearly exhausted.

Tomorrow I will let my well fed buff lapse. I don't carry a heavy load - I left the tools and scrap metal in the trailer - so I am travelling light. But I need to be careful. With only 16% condition recovery per night, I cannot afford to lose much condition during the day. If the weather is good and the moose is still there, we will have a moose hunt. If not, I will hurry to FM to find something to eat.

18 hours ago, stratvox said:

BI is challenging. I have managed to live there for months, but it's not easy and where you are is extremely important... and as far as I can tell you haven't yet found some of the good spots.

Are you interested in some suggestions about how to manage the timberwolves?

Yes, I am interested to hear your timberwolf management tips!

So far they have been manageable, they don't seem to see me even at relatively close distances. I may be able to switch to bow. What gets me is that there is nothing else to eat.

Day 808

Clearly, my priority is to get food. I can't eat cattails for long - I have about one day's worth and I should start rationing them in case I can't find anything to kill. I check out the area behind the trailer and decide to keep walking until I find something to eat. I don't have to go far - I find a T-wolf on the river close to the trailer. Does this region have anything else? Do I have to fight T-wolves at every corner? I have seen a few deer here and there, but otherwise it's just these grey beasts everywhere.

I am a bit surprised it did not see me - maybe I overestimated their detection range. I start a protective fire in a bout of panic, then calm down and shoot the wolf. While warming by the fire - my temp bar has run out long ago, it is felt -35C - I watch for more wolves, but none are coming. My fire is very exposed and within an hour, the wind picks up and kills it. I can't even feed it stick by stick, which, as I have noticed, is normal in BI. It is always "too windy to sustain this fire".

Nevertheless, I have enough warmth to approach the carcass - I find it is on thin ice. I'm getting no food from it. Before turning back, I notice another T-wolf in the area. The pack is here.

I return to the spot later during a lull in the wind. Two T-wolves are crossing the river and walking towards the trailer. I shoot one - bad shot, it runs off. The other one is not scared away - strange evolutionary trait of the T-wolves. I shoot it and kill it on the spot. I start a fire next to the carcass - only 4 kg, but it will do for now. I cook the first two steaks, but while the other two are cooking, the winds return in full force and kill the fire. Another wolf approaches me but wolf fear takes over - it runs away. Is it the one I fired at, which then ran away? Or is it another wolf?

I manage to keep the fire alive this time, stick by stick, but the winds won't stop. After a few hours I give up. I take a look for the other wolf - I see it but don't get an opportunity for a shot.

BI is a tiring region. Too many predators, too little food, not much firewood, and WIND WIND WIND WIND WIND.

Day 807

... starts with a blizzard. I arrange my gear to make sure that I don't leave anything important behind - an at the same time that I don't end up hauling too much. I find a cooking pot hung above the fireplace, I had not noticed it before. Then I repair my clothes, every degree counts, plus it means that I don't have to take the material with me.

The blizzard ends in the afternoon. I take a look outside. Still heavy snow and wind. I wait for another hour and get rewarded - light fog. Felt -7C. Dream weather everywhere and especially in BI.

I can see a deer in the direction I'm going. That's great, I'm getting some food for the way. As I approach the deer, I notice T-wolves in the area. Soon one attacks the deer and kills it. I forget my hunting plans, quietly back off and take the route via Raven Crossing.

At the Long Bridge (I think that's how it is called) I am running out of warmth, but I press on - I don't want to take a break here. I search the cars. The inside of the cars is now just warm enough to keep me from losing condition. I am rewarded with a box of salty crackers, a wool toque (ruined, but still pronounced "tuke") and some matches. In addition, two of the cars have batteries, bringing the total to 8 batteries that I've found so far on Great Bear. Enough for almost 300 bullets. I could craft a machine gun.

As I pass the Cannery - I think this is the Cannery, I've never been inside - I catch a glimpse of a T-wolf patrolling the yard. So there must be at least two packs of T-wolves. Maybe one stationed permanently at the Cannery and another rotating through the region.

When I reach the trailer, I finally start a fire and make water. I am disappointed that there is no bed in the trailer, and that there is no fire barrel outside - somehow I expected both. On the good side, the trailer is full of metal shelves. No need to bring scrap to BI for a long time.

I take a look around to see if I can find anything to eat, but there isn't anything apart from the T-wolves and two rabbits too close to the Cannery for my liking. I eat crackers and cattails for dinner and go to sleep. I lost more condition than I can recover in one night.