ManicManiac

While I was gathering up more sticks for the night... the weather started to shift. I decided it might be better to just have guaranteed warmth through the night - just in case. Between the 60-ish sticks I'd been able to gather up, and the coal I had on hand... I was easily able to find wind protected spot and build up a 12-hour fire. I did hold back about 5 sticks... I may need them tomorrow in case I run out of lantern fuel while exploring the cave systems.

@Leeanda I had no idea that's been removed. Was that confirmed by Hinterland or has it just gone missing? In either case, thank you for the heads up.

You mean the bearskin coat we used to have the chance to find is gone now? That seems a shame, but I don't really mind either way. If I really want one, I can make one.

As I was gathering up sticks for the night... I found that this spot wasn't so empty as I'd thought. I'm not sure if I'd come across the cache that goes with this note... if not, I'll use the Ice Caves later to go check on it. From here I can even see the Mysterious Signal Fire's location on the other side of the Valley (thought it's currently too windy to see the smoke). I decided this was going to be the perfect spot to hunker down for the night. If bad weather hits... I can always take shelter in the Ice Cave right next to me. And tomorrow... I'll explore the Ice Cave systems.

@Leeanda Yes, especially since I've not really been hunting in these last 95 days. Though I suppose Bleak Inlet and Ash Canyon have good possibilities for some bearskin items too. May just hold on to the pelt and see what the Pensive Lookout in Bleak Inlet has for me.

I made my way back up the slope to Peak Cave. As I was on my way back down to Monolith Lake, I thought... This would be a cheeky place for a cache. Passing Quarreling Falls once again. Also met up with Buster again... Finally, back to Mammoth Falls. Now just a short trek, and I'll have finished exploring the above ground areas of the region. Naturally there was nothing here... but I still had to come and check. It's getting rather late in the day. Now it's time to consider where I might want to hole-up for the night. 🤔

Thankfully the storm passed overnight. I managed to get up and peek my head out of the cave sometime midmorning. Started out still a bit snowy, no doubt a left over from the storm last night. Soon though, the sun broke through. It was turning into a potentially very beautiful day. A rare thing out here in some of the rather brutal expanses of Great Bear Island. I as I saw the sun peeking out from behind a cliff... I felt the urge to go out on a very small ledge to get a better look. Made it back up to the path leading over to Pensive Vista. Back to Monolith Lake... now it's just a short hike back up to Peak Cave.

I need to remember to also stop by Peak Cave today. There's a Memento Cache to finally unlock. I also need to stop off at Pensive Vista again, to make use of the spot from the polaroid. And the last little nook up near Mammoth Falls.

Turned out there was a bit more to check on further on ahead. Nothing really more to find though. I decided to head downward first. Turned out there was nothing more to find here either... but I just had to check and be sure. This last outcropping looked promising... but again, nothing. I decided on one more look around... and good thing I did. Almost missed this rather nice find. By not it seemed clear that it would be risky to continue pressing on. I know I was going to save the Ice Caves for later... but considering the weather has been turning on a dime today, I decided to just step into the ice cave to take shelter for the night. That turned out to be a good call as well... a blizzard hit while I was hole-up in the cave. Tomorrow, I'll continue following the trail upward. Just above me should be the other spot I had to pass up before (blocked by scrub brush that I previously didn't have an axe for). After that... the areas above ground will be finished, and then it will just be the caves left to explore.

The long way around was longer than I remembered it being. I had to make my way back to Offset Falls first. A wolf up ahead... I'd have to sit for a few moments and observe where it was prowling. I'd managed to slip past undetected... Then onward to Reclusive Falls. Yet another Ice Cave entrance... still saving that for later though. Made it back to Offset Falls. Now I just needed to follow the cliffs on the other side of the river back to the right path. And then a fog started rolling in... I'd finally made it trail I was looking for. Now it was just a matter of working my way across the fallen tree bridge and farther up. However, first I'd like to see about what is just below (down the second fallen tree leading to this stretch of the falls. There's only a few more hours left before sundown. I need to get a move on. With no wolves around, I should be able to pick up the pace again.

@Leeanda Well now that I know where that path put me out at... I can plan a safe enough route to where I was actually intending to go. My memory is just rusty here... I've not really been in Hushed River Valley in a long while. And I refuse to study maps.

I found out I was mistaken about my route today. I thought for sure that the route I was looking at the other day would lead me back up towards Monolith Lake and Pensive Vista ... it does not. It was nice to find another Hidden Cache though. This is easily two good night's sleep. ...Ice Cave. Saving for later... Turned out this ends up taking me back down to Hushed River (not the lowest part of the river, but rather down to the banks that would lead back around to offset falls. I guess I will have to take the long way around after all. 🤔 Oh well.. if nothing else I'll find another Ice Cave system entrance behind Reclusive Falls. I'll also be in a good spot to follow along the far side cliffs around to the actual trail I was intending to be on.

Hmm... never mind. The weather turned, now the snow is making things "deadly dark." I guess I'll go back to the cave and try to nap another hour, and hope for light.

I clearly went to bed too early last night... I woke up well before sunrise. I may have to just use a tree for a wind break and wait a bit before trying to get back to the trail that I believe will lead me back up towards Monolith Lake. Once I can spot the wolf ahead (or the bear for that matter), then I'll know I have the visibility I'll want for the rest of the day's route.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep..." - Robert Frost

On the other hand... and to fully balance out the considerations: I would argue that it's not really very important to max out this particular skill. Sure, the bonuses to how much condition you can squeeze out of materials is always good. (And reducing wear and tear on sewing kits/fishing tackle is very nice also) I'd also argue that the biggest benefit is really just the reduction of the chance for failure. That being said... once we get to level 3 (requiring only 75 xp), the benefits are such that while using a sewing kit the failure rate is almost trivial.

For further clarity... this is what I mean: Comparing alongside the other skills (XP necessary/successful actions needed to max the skill) Archery - 125 Carcass Harvesting - 100 Cooking - 350 Fire Starting - 200 Ice Fishing - 250 Mending - 350 Rifle Firearm - 100 Revolver Firearm - 100 Gunsmithing - 100 So... while I'm good with Cooking needing 350 XP to master (as this is probably the most frequently needed skill on a day-to-day basis), perhaps 350 is a bit too much for Mending. After all, for those survivors who take good care of their clothing and try not to make "wasteful" mending actions, this will likely be the slowest skill to train up. Considering this, I would not be against the idea if the XP required to train up the skill was scaled back some.

I think that a better solution might be for it to simply not take so many (350) successful mending actions in order to fully train up the skill. However, I don't think that failed attempts ought to reward skill points (in this context)... I mean, none of the other ones do.

Another good groove for a walkabout. [Alternate Sources] End of Line - YouTube Daft Punk - End Of Line - YouTube