Sol 80

256 kTi

Alright, here we are at Camp B. I'm at the edge of the Aluminum Hills at present, and right now I'm debating whether or not to just skip around the edge of it. I had some time after finishing putting the base up to just look around to try and plan out the next leg of the trip.

Something that I failed to mention when I was first scouting out the Aluminum Hills is that there's a kind of canyon that drops between the plains that Beta Base is on and the Hills themselves. Maybe canyon isn't the right word, it's more of a gully, but it's wide and deep enough to be a hassle to cross over. Lucky for me, though, there's a set of rocks that fell across part of it. I have to jump around a little but it's a lot more useful than trying to slide down one side and climb up the next.

Gulch. I'll call it a Gulch. Matter of fact, I'll call it Carlos' Gulch for the poor bastard that I got the message from a while ago. So I'm at the edge of Carlos' Gulch right now, and I have two options for how to proceed. I could cross into the Aluminum Hills and work my way around through there, which might be useful. Statistically, there's probably a wreck somewhere in that mess I might be able to go dumpster-diving in, since there seems to be a wreck just about everywhere on this planet.

My other option is that I could skirt around to the north of it. I've had a few paths through the Hills, but there's a large sort of flat lowland to the north of here. When water starts collecting in basins on this planet there'll probably end up being a lake around here. For now though it's a relatively flat and rock-free area of compressed silt, so it'll be nice and flat and perfect to walk along. It'll make it easier, but I'd miss out on the opportunity to possibly find some new salvage since I can't see anything out there.

If I go through the Aluminum Hills, it'll take longer, but I might find something useful. If I go around the basin, I'll get further but won't find anything. It's a difficult thing to balance in my head...but I suppose that since the point is to explore, I'll go through the Hills and pass through the basin on my way back. Seems a decent enough compromise.

Sol 81

264 kTi

Found my way back to Gamma Base at last. I've made sure to mark the route thoroughly, there'll be no getting lost this time. I had plenty of time when I got here, but I still haven't found my way to Camp A yet. My footprints from last time have already gotten blown away now that the atmosphere is getting thicker, so I'll just have to find it later.

I did end up re-finding that one wreck, though. So the gamble was well worth it. It's sticking almost straight up out of the ground, and I can't find any real access points from here. I'll stick around here for another day, and tomorrow I'll spend some time trying to figure out what to do with that wreck. I might be able to figure something out if I think on it a little.

Sol 82

273 kTi

So I can't say I'm proud of what I ended up doing, but I did it anyway. I'll start from the beginning. This wreck is a small one, it's basically a lifeboat. Larger ships have them for evacuations, or for shuttling people back and forth between ships. The weird thing is that it's landed on its ass, its engines are rammed into the ground and it's sticking up into the air, so the main entryway is up at the top.

Now here's the thing of it. I'm not extremely familiar with these wrecks, but I know that it wasn't too deep into the ground. It was too large for me to just push it, but there were a piece of its shell plating that had come off. It's pretty strong stuff, and I was able to lift it up. So here's what happened. I figured I could tip it over.

I think it was Aristotle who said something like "Give me a lever long enough and I'll move the world." Don't quote me on that, though, I'm probably wrong. Point is, the lever is one of the simplest and oldest machines ever made by humans, and it's for good reason. I moved a rock over and got a bit of the plating wedged under it. After that, I started to try and pull down on the lever to get the wreck moving, but...nothing.

So I got a bit bolder. I got up and tried to stand on the edge of the lever, and I could feel it starting to budge. I started to jump up and down on it after that. The gravity on Planet Steve is right around Earth's gravity, so I could put my full body weight to the task, and then all of a sudden the lever dropped down from under me and I fell to the ground. Didn't end up cracking my helmet this time, but the wreck was moving.

It was almost graceful in a way, it bowed over to one side and came crashing down on a giant boulder on the other side of it from me. I didn't hear anything, the air's still too thin for that and I have my helmet on. I could feel it though, it hit the ground with a pretty decent impact.

I climbed up to the front of it and found all the glass in the cockpit had been shattered, which made it easier to get inside. Since it was a lifeboat meant to try and keep people alive, there were a bunch of basic supplies that'll be extremely useful for me. On top of that, I did find some more food packets, which will give me more leeway in my calorie usage on this trip. Plus, after all the work I did to try and get the thing knocked over I probably could use a full ration of 2500 calories instead of the usual 2100 I give myself.

Actually on that topic, I'm wondering if I might be underselling myself. I'm not starving or anything, but I felt like I wasn't as heavy as I should have been. Maybe that's because the gravity is a little lower here, or is it higher? I can't remember. Point is, I'm going to try going up to 2200 a day instead of just 2100. We'll see how that works.

Sol 83

282 kTi

Back to walking. The lifeboat was mostly salvaged, and anything that I didn't think to just take with me was left at Gamma Base for when I come back through, whenever that is. Marking my path this way wasn't entirely important, but I was able to find the path I'd left the first time I walked through. If I wanted to, I could walk back around to the Pinnacles and stop in on Delta Base, which should be right where I left it. I might also take a second pass at those shipping containers, see if there's anything that I missed the first time around. But I've already gone through there, and the whole point of this expedition is to try and find new places. I've got 7 days left before I have to turn around and head home, so it should be okay...

Y'know what, better safe than sorry. I'm stopped at Camp C tonight, but tomorrow morning I'm going to head back over to Delta Base and poke around there a little more.

Sol 84

291 kTi

I'd almost forgotten how dusty this part of the world is. When I finally found Delta Base it was starting to get buried. Not too badly, but I had to brush some sand away from the airlock before I could make my way in. Everything inside was still functioning perfectly. While I'm here I want to try and stock up some provisions to leave behind. That meant going out and collecting some ores to build a new chest and a crafting station.

I've got a water bottle and a food pack stored here now, which isn't much but it's better than nothing for the time being. If I end up stuck out here it'll be better to have it than nothing, even if I could possibly go around for a little while without eating.

Sol 84 (2)

296 kTi

So, quick update on my travel situation. While I was walking around outside, I was keeping one hand up against the rock walls that surround this area when I felt it curve inwards a bit. It took me a little while to see properly, but there's a long indent into the rocks that goes for a way before it turns sharply to the left.

Now, there's two possibilities here. One is that this might be a slot canyon through the rocks, and I might be able to navigate my way all the way to the other side. If it is, I could save myself a lot of time walking back out past Camp C. The other is that this is just a fissure in the rock that ends at some point, and I waste a bunch of time and effort. I could also possibly get stuck.

If I get stuck there then that's game over. I would be there until my oxygen runs out, and then I'd suffocate right where I was.

That might just be me catastrophizing, though. I'll have to be careful, if there's anything that I can't fit through without struggling it's not worth the effort. I also won't be able to fit the A-frame through there if that's the case, which makes my logistics that much more difficult.

It might be worth the effort, though. So I'm going to try it. I know I said I need to play it safe the other day, but right now it might just be worthwhile.