ManicManiac

no... I suppose not. However, it still allows you to safely get to know the wildlife, and that knowledge is very useful in virtually every other situation (i.e. Voyager, Stalker, and Interloper...or any custom with hostile animals in play).

Not at all. When I get the chance... I'll take time to track and observe just about every sort of animal on Great Bear Island. For example, watching a pack Timberwolves is very helpful for getting an idea of how much territory they are roaming that day. Following bears gives us a good idea of the route they will most frequent and tracking them when they are on their rarer routes helps ensure you don't get snuck up on in the future. 😉 Taking the time to study the wildlife is what has most helped me hone my evade and avoid strategies.

Usually, I don't need them and generally don't ever use them, but since I'm working on my "Stright to the Heart" merit badge, and I'd stayed up all night due to coffee... I thought it would be better to make maximum use of the day and get up the ropes so I could get set up before the next nightfall.

@Leeanda Headache affliction from the Go! Energy drink wearing off.

@Leeanda That sounds like an odd occurrence. You went fully from level 1 - 2 in Carcass Harvesting from only stripping one rabbit?! That's supposed to be something like a 15 point gap (going from zero experience to level 2, I mean)... there's no way one single rabbit should be able to provide that much experience. Last I knew, our survivors only gained about 1 skill point per hour spent harvesting.

@SlippedGear Don't get me wrong I wasn't criticizing the idea. I was only pointing out that we could essentially already do what you were talking about by exercising a little player choice. If we don't want the variants, we can scrap them rather than use them (makes the standard versions even rarer... I kind of like the sound of that). If we don't like the higher-level benefits of skills... we can just choose not to use those benefits or just use skills when we really need them (which makes skill growth... really... slow). I'm not against more custom settings. I tend to agree that more options are better than fewer (I've even said as much in many of my previous posts)... I was just trying to convey that we don't have to wait/lobby for anyone to add a feature, if we can just choose to change the way we play.

From the Archives: "From the peak of the Summit"

From the Archives: "Um... I think the sun is broken..." 🥴

From the Archives:

From the Archives:

From the Archives:

From the Archives:

From the Archives:

I spent far too much time following this rabbit to take this snapshot. 🤭

I got my things sorted and stowed, and peeked outside to see if the way was clear. Since I'd taken the side paths coming in... I decided to keep to the mainline on the way out. However, this quickly proved a bit problematic. I spotted two wolves prowling just ahead. Thankfully, they soon were both occupied with nearby rabbits. And then... a fog rolled in. 😒 I'd have to proceed with much caution. Thankfully the rest of the way was clear. As I returned to Forlorn Muskeg, I was struck by how eerily quiet it was. The air was still and visibility somewhat limited. I could faintly hear wolves prowling along the hillside from a surprising distance, but given the fog... I took this as somewhat of a kindness and proceeded onward along the tracks. By the time I'd gotten to the "center" of the railway through the muskeg... I spotted more wolves ahead. This wasn't so bothersome, however. If memory served, this would be about the spot to head off to the left for the mouth of Hat Creek. ...at least I hoped. As I made my way across the muskeg, I came upon some thin ice. I couldn't make out enough of the way ahead to be sure I was still headed where I thought I was. Eventually I decided to make a break for it, and sprint across the risky ice. Having made it across... I thought for sure I could make out the mouth of Hat Creek. And then the weather started to take a turn. Great, now it's fogy and snowing too. 😒 Nothing to be done about it but to press on ahead. Sure enough, I had found my way back to the mouth of Hat Creek. The rest of the way would relatively easy going. I'd made it up the two short climbs that would lead me onward to Milton Basin. However, when I got to the top... The weather had taken another turn for the worse. The snow was coming down heavy, and the wind kicking up. I felt like it was threatening a blizzard. I stood there a moment considering what to do. Ultimately, I decided to head back down and try taking a nap in the nearby cave. I'd had a lot of coffee along the way, so I could only nap for an hour or two... but that seemed to be enough. Rather than a blizzard, thankfully the weather cleared. Onward to Milton Basin... This was precisely the reason I'd wanted to get here early in the morning. The basin has a lot of ground to cover, and I decided I'd rather explore it all before heading up the cliff. Though to be fair, there is a possibility that I the ropes I'd need may not be in place. 🤔 Moving onward. I decided to head to the right and make the long loop around. Such a gorgeous morning... bitterly cold though. 🤭 I stopped off at the cave to warm up for a little while, but I was nowhere near tired enough to nap. So I just sat a while and dropped off a few things for myself in the future. Future me usually very much appreciates it when I leave some emergency supplies behind. 🤭 I spent far too much time following around this rabbit to get this snapshot. Hmm... there's a moose down there. Good to know. This spot served me two purposes. Checking out the trunk, yes... but also checking to see if both ropes where there for the climb up. Fortune smiles... both ropes are there, and I won't have to take the long way around. Interesting... I don't think I've ever found a flare gun in a place like this before. See now this is why I like checking these out of the way nooks... I spent far too much time creeping closer to get these snapshots of the moose. I gathered up what I could find near and around the Hermit's Cabin, and once again left behind a few things I really didn't need to be trying to haul up the cliff. You're welcome, future me... I hope it saves your life. I checked this little out of the way spot... but didn't find anything of note. Now was the time. By now I was a bit tired and most of the day was gone. I slugged down a Go! Energy drink had stared up the rope. I did peek in the cave there on the shelf... but I didn't really care about it. I had another rope to try and climb before the energy drink wore off. Much to my delight, I was able to power my way up the second climb without stopping for rest (or slugging another energy drink). And there it is Mountain Town proper. Rather than heading to the Paradise Meadows Farm or the Town of Milton right away... I decided to head and check some of the out of the way spots leading up to Milton Park. I think I'd rather setup my primary encampment there at the Park Office. When they said we'd find Oak Trees on Great Bear Island this year... I didn't think there'd be so many. And finally, my new home (at least for next handful of days). I spent the remainder of the day getting situated and gathering sicks (never know when the weather will take another turn). While gathering, I decided I'd check out the rest of the park and climbing area. Nice, I'll just add this to my toolset for this region. "Hello! I'm here to sign the park regist... oh." 😞 As I got settled in, the weather was indeed taking a turn for the worse. No matter... I have enough sticks for a fire, if need be. Perhaps tomorrow, I deal with the climbs... though I suppose I could save those for the route out. I may have to think about it more in the morning. 🤔

Hmm... it seems I'm still fairly wired from the coffee. Maybe a night hike through to Milton Basin is in order. 🤔

In either case, I suppose I have a couple more regions to think it over. Depending on how late in the morning it is when I get up... I may delay heading to the Milton Basin (via Forlorn Muskeg). If it's late in the afternoon by the time I get there. I think I will likely hole-up in the cave near the short climb out, and head to Moutain Town in earnest early the next morning. I'll have to see how it goes...

@Semple Fi I can't imagine Hinterland neglecting a platform (at least not by their own choice). I'd tend to suspect you're on the right track wondering about issues navigating through Nintendo's bureaucracy. In which case, I'd understand not hearing much about it... after all it's seldom good to bad mouth a business partner. I imagine if they were having some technical issue with porting things across... I feel like Hinterland would let us know; they have in the past.