Shi-an

"If I'm outside during a blizzard and start freezing, I take off all my clothes so that they don't deteriorate."

Day 155 After killing a Stag, I contemplate how much food this actually provides me. Since one kg of deer meat = 1000 calories (at cooking lvl 5), this deer only gives me about 15 meals of 750 calories! This makes me concerned about how long my arrows will last in providing food. For now, I am going to limit myself to 600 calories per day (which covers my needs for 8 hours of sleep)and see how that goes. Day 162 Following on from my calorie concerns, I’ve also been keeping tabs on my other source of food--rabbits. There is a little clearing to the north-east of Angler’s Den, where deer and rabbits spawn. I have set up a bunch of snares there. After not checking for only 2 days, I come back to 4 snared rabbits (two were at under 5% condition). I’m starting to feel less worried about food--a snared rabbit might barely have enough meat to feed me for one night, but considering I got 4 in 2 days from snares, they will be a very good supplement to the food I get from killing other animals.

Day 111 My Wool Ear Wrap is in bad condition, but I’m going to repair it just this once. Once I harvest it, that’s 1 degree of warmth that I will never get back, because I don’t have any animal-based clothing to replace that slot. I figured that 1 cloth is worth keeping that extra warmth for just a little longer. Day 128 Archery level 4! I really want level 5 because being able to crouch and get close to animals will make shooting them so much easier. Day 137 - Deerskin Pants 2 I finish crafting my second pair of Deerskin Pants in the early hours of the morning. Unless I decide to make a 2nd Wolfskin coat to replace my Moose coat, these Deerskin Pants are the final piece of clothing that I will ever make in this run. Now that I have the two Pants, I also think I will only hunt Stags (they provide more meat than does, while still only requiring one arrow to kill).

Day 100 I’ve reached the triple digits in my day count, and my base is looking nice and stable with plenty of food, water and clothing/repairing materials. My current stockpile is as below, and I will be taking records every 100 days. Note that the cloth count has increased, because I’ve harvested some of the clothing that I brought with me. 3 Cooking Pots 57 Arrow Shafts 16 Arrows 6 Maple Saplings 3 Bows 53 Matches 41 Hooks 22 Old Man’s Beard Lichen 0.5L Antiseptic Quality Tools 82% 2 Scrap Metal 7 Sewing Kits 5 Whetstones 12 Antibiotics 61 Cat Tail Stalk 67 Cloth Firestriker 76% 3 Flares Hacksaw 49% Improvised Knife 92% Magnifying Lens 82% 4 Marine Flares 18 Painkillers 4 Herbal Tea 7 Coffee 11 Reishi Mushroom 12 Rose Hips 3500 Calories of extra food

I had this exact issue pop up when entering Angler's Den, but only sporadically. I ended up reporting it, starting a new save, and as you mentioned making backups. I don't remember if I had a rock cache next to Angler's Den in that save. Funnily enough I have 4 rock caches near Angler's in my current run and no error.

Day 60 I finally have a Wolfskin Coat! I still have two Ski Jackets, but once those are ruined I will be using this and the Moose Cloak I made on day 35. Depending on how things go I may keep the Moose Cloak, or eventually replace it with another Wolfskin coat. Day 85 Deerskin Pants! I forgot to take a screenshot, but I had already crafted the Deerskin Boots on Day 38. I also use up my first cloth since coming to Ash Canyon, to repair my Thin Wool Sweater. Day 94 Killed my second Moose! Not without some trouble though, had to do a lot of running around the small cliff because he took about 7 shots to down (2 missed). Day 96 With my Harvesting level up to 5, the only thing left that I need level 5 of is Archery (I’m not even sure if I’ll ever get to level 5 Sewing, seeing as how thrifty I’m trying to be with repairing).

Day 50 - The Long Cold With my Interloper run on Day 50, the world is now at its coldest, and it’s 25 degrees celcius colder than it was on Day 1. I believe I made good use of the first 50 days, and my Base is nice and cozy! Below are the resources I still have: 3 Cooking Pots 63 Arrow Shafts 13 Arrows 3 Arrowheads 6 Maple Saplings 3 Bows 54 Matches 41 Hooks 22 Old Man’s Beard Lichen 0.5L Antiseptic Quality Tools 82% 2 Scrap Metal 7 Sewing Kits 5 Whetstones 12 Antibiotics 61 Cat Tail Stalk 64 Cloth Firestriker 76% 3 Flares Hacksaw 59% Improvised Knife 97% Magnifying Lens 82% 4 Marine Flares 18 Painkillers 6 Maple Saplings 4 Herbal Tea 7 Coffee 11 Reishi Mushroom 12 Rose Hips 3500 Calories of extra food

Day 36 I decide to go out to Bitter Marsh again and check the Fishing Hut. There I find some Ketchup Chips and a Storm Lantern. The lantern is actually a really good find! Not for the light, but because it’s an extra piece of scrap metal. I have already used up 2 of my 7 metal in repairing my Hacksaw, and I’m starting to think maybe I should’ve brought one or two extra metal instead of food/tea/saplings. Day 37 - Rock Cache I’ve found enough stones to create my first Rock Cache! I will be placing these near my fire pit to hold my sticks, because, you know... I’d rather not have to pick up 30 sticks from the ground in the freezing cold... Day 47 - Snow Shelter I’ve been holding off on making a Snow Shelter, as I’ve been spending enough time outside to stave off Cabin Fever. But at Day 47 it’s too cold to be outside without a fire, so it’s time to build the Shelter. This lets me pass time outside while getting a warmth bonus. Now the Shelter is going to cost at least 1 stick per day to repair, which is very costly over thousands of days. However, having a shelter right next to my base is very important for staving off Cabin Fever. Technically there is a Cave not too far from Angler’s Den, which keeps me warm enough that I could use it to reduce Cabin Fever Risk. However, it does still take a while to get there, and it’s really inconvenient to have to travel that far once or twice every 6 days, especially through potential cold weather or blizzards. Ultimately, if I make sure to repair the Shelter while it is above about 85% condition, it only costs 1-2 sticks, and I will never need to use any cloth. I believe that the convenience of having the Shelter right next to my base is better than the cost of 1-2 sticks per day.

Day 28 Firestarter Level 5! With this my fires last 50% longer instead of 25% longer. This is a huge deal, as from previous runs it appeared that the wood needed for fires might be the thing I run out of first in this challenge. Day 31 I want to make a Wolf-Skin Coat ASAP (I can’t make a Bear Coat, as the only Bear in Ash Canyon Spawns near Miner’s Folly, which I’m not allowed to go to). So as soon as the wolves respawn, I kill them again. While harvesting them, I get to Level 4 Carcass Harvesting. Day 31 is also the day where I harvest my first excess piece of clothing (Sports Socks). In the end the only clothing I will have will be Animal clothing, a Wool Toque, and a Thin Wool Sweater. But in the meantime, I will use the rest of the clothing that I brought with me until they are ruined. I have 12 extra clothing items, which will net me an extra 12 cloth. Day 35 My Moose Hide Cloak is ready! The world is slowly getting colder, so the extra 3.5 degrees Celsius that this cloak provides will be helpful. On Interloper, the world stops getting colder on Day 50, but until then it’s best to do as much as possible outside, to take advantage of the “warm” weather while I can, so every day I go out and harvest Fir/Cedar limbs.

Day 21 - More Hunting I kill the two wolves guarding the small ravine towards Bitter Marsh, so that I can check there for the Moose and bring back its meat without fear of getting attacked. The kills bring my Archery skill up to level 3. I was going to harvest the wolves, but decide I might as well check out Bitter Marsh first, and as luck would have it the Moose is there! I build a fire at the small outcrop overlooking the Moose spawn, and take my first shot at it (and miss). I take another which hits, and then run back to the outcrop. My plan is to shoot at the Moose as it charges around the outcrop, and then jump off the edge if it gets too close. Luckily my last shot is a critical hit, and the Moose goes down right beside the fire. I quarter the moose and take it back home, ensuring I have a torch at all times to fend off the wolves from the Marsh. It’s already well into the night by the time I bring all the Moose Meat back. Day 22 The next day I remember I have a dead wolf that I want to harvest (at the very least I need the skin). The sky clears towards evening, so I build a fire next to it and rip off its coat. Since the weather holds I take its meat as well, and get to level 5 Cooking! I can now eat the wolf meat and rotten (but cooked) meat with no penalties. I also still have some Quartered Moose left to harvest, and while doing so with my hands get to Carcass Harvesting Level 3.

Day 14-17 I’ve discovered something incredibly beneficial about giving myself only 15 days to get to Angler’s Den, instead of 20. On Interloper the world gets colder by 0.5 degrees celcius every day (up to Day 50). By coming to Ash Canyon from Day 14 instead of 20, the world is still warm enough that I can go out and take no cold damage when cutting a up Cedar/Fir Limb. So, while I’m waiting for the guts to cure so I can make a bow, I spend my days cutting up wood, warming up inside Angler’s Den, then going back out to cut more wood. Day 18 - Survival Bow! My first Bow is complete! I can now begin hunting Deer and Wolves to make warmer clothing (not to mention obtain more food). Day 19 Killed my first Deer. Hurrah!

Part 2 of the Challenge Now that I have gathered all the resources I can, got the Technical Backpack and am back at Angler’s Den, it’s time to start Part 2 of the challenge! This involves seeing how long I can survive without leaving Ash Canyon’s lower areas. Specifically, I can still travel the area around Angler’s Den, Bitter Marsh, and through the ravines connecting these two. Here is a map showing where I can go: I am allowed to go anywhere in the Green Area. I can also travel to the Purple Areas, but I’ve decided not to for now. I want to see how long I can last using just what I gathered during the first 15 days. As part of this, I also won’t be gathering any of the Reishi Mushrooms, Rose Hips or Saplings in the Green Area. This should help to test how long you can last if you rely only on 35kg worth of items and not use anything from the Region. Obviously I have looted a few things in the cave to Ash Canyon, and on my way to get the Technical Backpack. I am just looking for a ballpark indication of how long Ican last, so it’s a fairly approximate test. And these are my stats as of Day 14. The world explored may increase to 29% or even 30% because I am yet to go to Bitter Marsh or the Purple Areas, however the days spent in any other region should not go above what they are here. Finally, here are my resources as of Day 14: 3 Cooking Pots 54 Matches 41 Hooks 22 Old Man’s Beard Lichen 0.5L Antiseptic Quality Tools 100% 7 Scrap Metal 8 Sewing Kits 6 Whetstones 12 Antibiotics 66 Cat Tail Stalk 66 Cloth Firestriker 76% 3 Flares Hacksaw 80% Improvised Knife 96% Magnifying Lens 82% 4 Marine Flares 18 Painkillers 16 Arrowheads 23 Birch Saplings 8 Maple Saplings 5 Herbal Tea 7 Coffee 10 Reishi Mushroom 13 Rose Hips 4600 Calories of extra food

Day 13 - Technical Backpack! After sleeping, I stone some rabbits and harvest them (I will need the guts to make a Bow). Then I head towards the Gold Mine to get the Technical Backpack. Halfway up the canyon and I’ve already found the following loot: · Wood Matches · Marine Flare · Whetstone · One Birch Sapling, 2 Maple. Here's the Gold Mine and the Technical Backpack inside! Honestly I don’t need it that much in this challenge (as I won’t be moving loot around very much), but you can’t say no to an extra 5kg of carrying capacity! On the way down, there is a Moose! In my last run, I was actually stomped by this Moose. I thought about giving up, then I thought, “hey, why don’t we turn this into the reason why I can’t leave Ash Canyon? Maybe I could role-play that my broken ribs stop me from climbing, and a blizzard cut off all other escape routes? This is how I came up with the title “No Way Out”, which I have continued to use. However after 70 days of playing with Broken Ribs, I decided that the penalty to sprinting was too annoying. Plus I started having saving issues, where sometimes the game would spout an error and go back to the main menu when trying to save. So I reported this to Hinterland, and began preparing for my new run... Anyway, this time I made sure to throw some stones to make sure the Moose was in an avoidable position (I had learned my lesson from last time), and got around it without being stomped! I make it home just before the calendar ticks over to Day 14. This means I had an extra 48 hours spare (as the rule is that I am unable to leave Angler’s Den and its surrounds from Day 16 onwards. I could have spent the extra two days doing things outside of Ash Canyon, but as all previous runs had a 20-Day limit, I wasn’t sure if I’d make it in just 15. In the end, I am fairly happy with what I accomplished in only 13 days. Plus, 48 hours is a good bit of leeway to have in case of bad weather, even if I ended up not needing it.

Day 11 - To the Prepper’s Abandoned Cache With Well-Fed ready and my Fatigue bar full, I head out of the Farmstead, never to return! I was hoping to find another Thin Wool Sweater, Thermal Underwear or maybe some Combat Pants from the Plane Crash Site. Unfortunately, all I get is clothing which is worse than what I already have. At least I find another Wool Toque and 3 Maple Saplings. On the way to the Abandoned Cache, I also find some coffee and more Birch Saplings. Day 12 - Goodbye Pleasant Valley! To get to Timberwolf Mountain from Prepper’s Abandoned Cache, I need to climb a rope. This means I can only take 35kg worth of stuff. The first thing I do to reduce my weight is to harvest my Prybar and Can Opener. These only take 15 minutes per scrap metal harvested, and reduce the weight of these items considerably (this is why I only left the Farmstead with 4 Scrap Metal--So I could use these items one last time then harvest them). The plan was to drink some coffee for a momentary fatigue boost then climb the rope in the middle of the night, however I am snowed in by a blizzard. It doesn’t subside until morning, so I spend my time sleeping and preparing mushrooms/rose hips (preparing them reduces their weight slightly). This is all that I will be bringing with me to Timberwolf Mountain. I end up having to leave some cloth, saplings and wood to keep myself below 35kg. I am also a bit concerned that my clothing situation could have been better--I am missing a Thin Wool Sweater, Combat Pants, and an extra pair of Thermal Underwear. I also always had a Mackinaw Jacket in previous runs. Still, it’s not that big of a deal, and definitely not worth restarting my run over. At Mountaineer’s Hut I find: · Matches · Hacksaw (but don’t take it) · Down Vest (but don’t take it) · Cotton Toque I sleep for an hour then head off to the next rope climb to get to Ash Canyon. I know I can take the route through the ravine to Bitter Marsh instead and avoid having to climb a rope, however part of this challenge is to try and limit how much I can bring to Ash Canyon, and I believe the 2nd rope climb is a good way to enforce that. All I did was find some extra food and wood, so I drop most of this and then head up the rope. Another blizzard hits and I lose my torch, but I make a new fire in the cave. At about 6PM on Day 12 I enter Ash Canyon. As per the challenge, I am never allowed to leave this region again. In every one of my previous runs, it’s always felt really nice to get to Angler’s Den for the first time. It feels like I’ve returned home (even though it’s the first time going there that run). Angler’s Den provides me with: · Matches · Coal · Dog Food · Rifle Book · Two Arrowheads (of course) · One Cloth There isn’t any scrap metal, clothes, simple tools or a cooking pot (all of which have spawned here in my previous runs). This is what level my current skills are at, as of Day 12. Firestarting being very close to level 5 is ridiculously good, as is having Cooking already almost level 4. This means that I will be very efficient with the wood/food that I use.

Day 8 - Thomson’s Crossing In the morning it's quite windy and cold, so I spend some time gathering the resources I will be bringing with me to Timberwolf Mountain (I need 36+ hooks, at least 6 scrap metal, and lots of cloth, ideally 50+). It is pleasant enough after noon, so I head to Thomson’s Crossing. Loot found along the way includes: · Simple Tools · Prybar (I hadn’t found one yet, so missed out on some lockers at the Dam) · Flare At Thomson’s Crossing, I find some Wood Matches, another Hacksaw, a Marine Flare and a Ski Jacket. Most of the night is spent exploring and gathering cloth and metal scraps. Since I’ve picked up a lot of wood, I also light a fire in the Community Hall, and use that light+torches to loot the nearby houses and harvest whatever metal I can. At about 3AM I eat to begin preparing for Well-Fed again, then sleep for 4 hours. Day 9 - 10 My plan was to sleep for longer if the weather was bad (which often happens in Pleasant Valley), however as there’s no wind/falling snow I decide to take the opportunity to head to the Farmstead, despite being a little encumbered. Days 9 and 10 are spent gathering up all the resources I plan on taking to Timberwolf Mountain, reading my books, and repairing clothing. In the end I have 41 hooks, 4 Scrap Metal (I will get more soon) and about 58 cloth.