ManicManiac

@Leeanda There is one wolf prowling around right now... usually I'd find 3-5 in total, but not today I guess. I suppose that I've covered enough ground since the last time the packs drifted... and I imagine that right now it's just that they are off prowling elsewhere. By tomorrow morning, I'd be willing to bet that the basin down will be swarming with wolves.

It's really turning into a beautiful evening here at the bottom of Hushed River Valley.

Surprisingly, the fog lifted not too long after I'd decided to settle in... so I went out for another look around (and to gather sticks in case of bad weather overnight. There's the signal fire up there... Though there's not likely going to be the needed second rope there, so I'll still have to get there the long way. Tonight should be pretty comfortable.

[Accompaniment] Doki Doki Literature Club! (Main Theme) Early in the morning, I left a couple of recycled cans behind (for future me to use) and made my way down to the first climb from Pensive Vista. Very nearly fell off the ledge... but I was able to goat around the scrub brush. Oh... this will create a problem. My pack is already rather heavy. I won't be able to carry the riffle and everything else. I'd have to make two trips. Not idea, but I'm not likely to be coming by this way again in a long while. So I'll have to manage a way to get everything I want from the bottom of Hushed River back up the cliffs on the other side. Great... more stuff to carry. 🤭 Oh well, not complaining... as far as problems go, this is a nice problem to have. I did end up leaving the riffle with found ammo and a bottle of lantern fuel. The fog was getting denser rather fast. There's a very shallow cave right near the climb... I think I will bed down here for the night. It'll give me a chance eat (lightening my pack a little more) and rest. I do have Go! Energy... push comes to shove; I can make this climb twice. However, I'd like to avoid that if at all possible. I'd managed to make it up the last rope twice to get the rifle down here with me. Just above, I'm not too far from the cave near Stairsteps Lake. Which means I can stow all this stuff and get that hatchet, so I can tidy up those "hard-to-reach places." I have easily 8 hours' worth of coal... and sticks are reasonably plentiful. I'll go gather up what I can find before dark. I shouldn't have anything to worry about (should a blizzard kick up during the night).

I made up my mind... I'm pressing on ahead. True that does mean I might end up stuck on ledge... but I've gotten myself out of worse scrapes. I'll chance it. 🤭

Jeremiah & Astrid To my mind it's no contest, really.

@J.W.P Welcome to the wilderness.

Nope... 🎶"never gonna run around and ... desert you. "🎶 😋

Finding that first bedroll in Stalker or Interloper... 🎶 "Never gonna give you up!" 🎶

Every time my Astrid finally gets geared up and ready to take on anything on Great Bear Island...

@Leeanda updated...

[Alernative] Nine Inch Nails - Beside You In Time - YouTube

No reason... just a good groove. 😋 And since my last one was from a video game OST... here's one more. ... and for all the SCIENCE we do on Great Bear Island.

For when you're out walking on a bright and sunny day on Great Bear Island, and there's not a single wolf in sight. Doki Doki Literature Club! (Main Theme)

A strange nightmare... but in its own odd way, also soothing.

Don't know how I missed this thread... but overall, well said.

@Leeanda A makeshift cairn... I like that. We could even then place items inside... in memoriam.

@SpanishMoss While I don't store meat in containers (last I was aware most "ruined" items in containers despawn; if that's changed, please let me know)... I do use them for organizing some specific items that are sometimes a pain to pile and have to pick back up later one at a time. The biggest thing I tend to use them for is to essentially "bundle" sticks. I find that I generally don't really ever need more than 200 sticks at anyone given time anyway.

@Leeanda Yes, that's a possibility. I've run into so many instant kill-walls that I've been conditioned to generally not be so inclined (which is why I refer to it as risky goating). It's a lot to consider... Though, I suppose the safest way is to just head back down the long climb I came up to get to Monolith Lake to begin with... but I'm trying to avoid backtracking if I can. I'd like to keep pushing for progress. I find that risks on Great Bear Island are usually either very rewarding... or devastating. Funny enough, the bad weather I was worried about the night before... might be what is going to save my life. The blizzard buys me more time to mull it over.

@Leeanda The biggest concern turned out to be the mistake I made early after getting into the region. Since I almost never use the hatchet... and I forgot a hatchet was a little necessary for scrub brush at times; I left it to save weight in the cave near Stairsteps Lake. Now I have to decide whether to risk it and head down to the lowest stretch of Hushed River anyway (trusting that I can goat around the brush), or route back down the river from Quarreling Falls... and hope I can get back down to Stairsteps Lake (without also getting stuck) to retrieve the Hatchet I'd left behind. I made a mistake... and now I have to hope it's not fatal. 🤭

The weather was looking a bit dodgy before setting down my sleeping bag in Peak Cave. Rather than sleep the night through, I opted for a two-hour nap. Due to the long climb that morning, I was already thoroughly knackered and had laid down fairly early in the evening. When I woke to check... I saw the weather was threatening a blizzard. At that point, I decided I'd rather spend the night down at the Watchful Falls Cave. I figured, if I had to weather a storm... Watchful Falls was a bit closer to Mammoth Falls (so a shorter trip if the storm lasted too terribly long). And that's when things started to get harrowing... The wind was beginning to kick up... snow fall was quickly getting heavier and heavier. The moose kept wandering closer to Watchful Falls Cave... I had to get low and stick close to the bank in order to get to the cave without getting trampled. I ate some of my worst condition food... it was 12% condition tomato soup, so I suppose it wasn't surprising to get food poisoning. I took the opportunity to slug down most of my worst condition food (really filling my stomach). It would be very important not to go hungry tomorrow. I was going to be feeling half-dead as it was already. I took some antibiotics and slept for 10 hours straight... and then two more just to try and recover a little bit. So, waking up the next morning. I was still feeling pretty lousy, but I'd consumed most of my "risky" food supply. At least going forward, food poisoning was going to be a little less likely. As it turned out a blizzard didn't hit overnight. Seemed fortunate, but I didn't trust it... felt to me like one was still coming. I'd be hyper-aware of the weather for the rest of the day. The moose was much easier to deal with when I could see better. I got back to Mammoth Falls... and this is when I realized I made a mistake, potentially one far riskier than eating low condition food. The mistake was very simply this... I'd forgotten about the Scrub Brush. 😖 I found a hatchet... but I choose to save weight and stashed it in the cave near Stairsteps Lake. I knew that most of the scrub brush I'd be able to goat over, but what I didn't remember was how many of those were truly one-way paths. Every time I encountered scrub brush today... I really wasn't sure if I was getting myself stuck somewhere with no way out. 😖 This first bunch was easy enough to goat over... An Ice Cave entrance (I'll use it if I find I'm stuck... but otherwise, saving it for later). Just beyond this barrier (if memory serves) is an overlook. I didn't find a good way to goat over... but I wasn't super enthusiastic about doing so anyway. I was pretty sure this would have been one of those spots that might have been a one-way deadend... or at the very least a risky bit of goating to try to get to a lower path to get out again. Considering that... I'll just come back here when I either find a hatchet or go back to Stairsteps Lake to get the one I left behind. I quickly found that I did have a good way back to Monolith Lake... but I had to cope with a wolf prowling in a triangle right at the "crux" of this three-way path. I did manage to slip by undetected... I think my heart might have stopped as I was half-way up this slope; the wolf's howl was so loud and sounded like it was right over my shoulder. 🤭 The view of Mammoth & Quarreling Falls... just as I reached safety. This path here, was more of a pleasant side trip. Spots like these, I don't often find anything except some wonderful views. Sometimes just finding these neat little goating opportunities are their own reward. The next leg of the day is where realizing my mistake potentially led to the most important observation of the day. I was making my way to Pensive Visa... I hadn't remembered there was a cave here... but I'm thankful for it. I already wanted to bring up what I'd stashed in Watchful Cave to the cave here at Pensive Vista. Spotting this wolf carcass is what lead me to check the way below... I knew there was two climes to get down to Hushed River... but again, I'd forgotten about the scrub brush. I do not remember if I can goat over or not. Had I just made the decent without checking. It's possible I might have been stuck. Though perhaps I can goat over... but I really don't remember. I'm going to have to have a long think about whether I can make it through without a hatchet, or if I have to find another way. 🤔 I decided I was going to head back to Watchful Falls Cave, pick up coal & sticks, and get a fire going in the cave at Pensive Vista. I was going to be staying there for the night while I think about this. As I was returning to the Pensive Vista Cave... that blizzard I was waiting for hit. I'd spend the rest of the day thinking things over while keeping warm and replenishing my water supply. ...what an exhausting day...

Okay... this was kind of a harrowing day. Mainly owing to the fact that I may have made a mistake... but I'm not sure yet it's a fatal mistake; I'm still breathing... so there's a chance to figure it out. I'm going to try to chronicle it before I fall asleep... but if I can't, then I'll finish up journaling tomorrow.