Plot Holes and questions

[Whitebeard]

The girls at the lake can only get back to Two Forks the same way Henry does. Yet they somehow got there first and vandalized the place. You know it was the girls because you found your sheets in their camp. So how did they get there before Henry?

Delilah says the cable car is locked up, and she has never used it. The implication is she does not have the key or combination. It was She apparently, who put the white radio in the cache box at Cottonwood Creek. She mentions changing the combination to 5,6,7,8 and not something better because she was in a hurry. This means she had to use the cable car to get to the Two Forks area to reach the creek. This, after telling Henry it was only used by Rangers and was locked up (and the rangers are two days away). Which means she had the key all along, and lied to Henry about it. Yet, Henry does not question this.

Also, if she came across on the cable car, she could have delivered the radio to Henry in his lookout. Why all the cloak and dagger nonsense? This has all been skewed a bit by the plot development, to keep these two apart.

In Brian's notes he has a drawing for retrieving his backpack with a contraption from the top of the rocks above the backpack hanging in the tree. If you look, you can see the trailing ropes from the rocks above, presumably part of Brian's plan. But Henry just walks up under it and swats it to get it down. Brian could have used a stick to do the same thing. Why the nonsensical machine to fetch it from above?

In Ned's hideout I found the boombox diassembled. I threw it in the lake, so he must have dragged it out. I haven't not thrown it in the lake, so I don't know if it shows up on his workbench if I don't. I suspect it will still show up. Can anyone verify this?

At the Girl's camp, there is no evidence of the boombox. Why would they take that one thing, and leave the booze, their sleeping bags, and clothing? Considering the above, did Ned tear the place up and steal the boombox to fill in its appearance in his hideout?

[galacticcorgi]

That first one, I have a feeling that it was actually Ned who trashed the lookout. Keep in mind you come up behind him, he knows the park far better, and he has plenty of time to go there and do it while you climb up. Just because the girls have the sheets doesn't mean much since it appears Ned is the one who trashed their camp--he could have easily dropped the sheets there as "evidence" of who "really" trashed the lookout.

Keep in mind the girls thought Ned was another camper, not a lookout. Why would they go to Two Forks? as for why he stole the boombox, it's because he could use it for parts.

Delilah does lie. And she probably figured the radio thing was an emergency. Why would she use it prior to delivering the radio?

Also Brian was a kid with a love of building things. Sometimes you probably go out of your way to do things just because you enjoy it.

[Whitebeard]

It was Ned in the canyon with the flashlight, he mentions it in a tape later. But is Ned coherent enough to plant evidence to implicate the girls? There is no evidence the girls were even aware of Ned: They blame you for the damage at their campsite. The same guy that hassled them at the lake over fireworks.

The girls would go to Two Forks because it is the only lookout in the sector, and Henry was hot about the fireworks. Meaning in an official capacity. Two forks is the nearest "establishment" facility. But I think it is impossible for them to reach Two Forks before Henry, so you may be right about Ned trashing the place. Which means Ned planted the sheets when he tore up the girl's tent. And the "guy in the canyon" was Ned. When Henry finds the sheets, Delilah is the one who connects the dots and blames the girls, thus diverting suspicion from Ned.

Delilah used the old radio to tell Henry how to get the new one. She was acting strange and made sure he didn't say the word "Cottonwood", but Ned, having been a lookout, was probably familiar with the ONLY creek around there named after a tree. She doesn't give Henry the combination to the cache box until he is actually there, so that part makes sense.

Another little problem: Brian hid the pitons so he wouldn't have to do anymore climbing, you find them in his hideout. So where did Ned get the one that Brian used that got him killed him after he wrote that note to the ranger to send the hidden ones to his home address?

As these plot elements are revealed, I keep wondering if we will ever figure out the "real" story. I mean an irrefutable story accounting for all the pieces and clues.

[Whitebeard]

Another plot element:

In the note at the girl's camp, they say "it is gross that you stole our panties at the lake", but you didn't. Then one of those panties appears where the communication line is cut with "go to hell" wriiten on it. This would indicate that Ned stole the panties to plant evidence of the girls at the point where he cut the line. Ned has reason to cut communications, the girls do not. It appears that Ned is becoming quite the puppet master.

[galacticcorgi]

That's kind of my point. It was Ned who did the trashing. The girls just caught the blame.

As for the pitons, Ned probably borrowed some just like he "borrowed" the key. It's probably why the equipment failed. It was like the old rope. Maybe in one of the cache boxes.

Also, Delilah couldn't have known the guy listening in was a guy who was a former lookout. You're assuming things here--that Delilah is in on it. But she doesn't. It's the only way everything fits. She assumed he had left. Otherwise, do you think she'd be so devastated over the discover of Brian's body?

[Whitebeard]

Ned is apparently doing almost everything, using his knowledge of the area and of Delilah and what he thinks he knows about Henry. It's like having a sociopath after everyone, convincing all of them that the others must be at fault. He has gone to great lengths to implicate the girls in all the things he has done. Convincing Delilah and Henry the girls did everything.

In reality, from my last go through, the girls get caught at the lake shooting fireworks. My interaction was to have Henry pick up the boombox and Yell "Nice Stereo" then " You have to cool it with the fireworks" the girls say "hey, that's expensive. put it down, we won't shoot anymore fireworks" So I put it back on the rock, confiscated the fireworks and left. They moved their campsite and discovered their panties missing when they were getting ready for the move (They suspect Henry because they haven't seen anyone else). Ned followed and did exactly what Delilah told Henry to do (maybe he was listening): Wait for them to leave and trash the campsite. He brought the sheets from the lookout and planted them at the girl's camp (to confuse Henry and Delilah). The girls came back from a dip at the waterfall to find the camp destroyed, and the stereo gone (suspecting Henry again). Didn't notice the sheets, wrote the note and bugged out. Ned, meanwhile, goes to Beartooth Point, cuts the wire, plants the panties and scatters bear cans around so Delilah and Henry would think the girls were responsible. Then retreats to his lair. He really is a PTSD jerk, but very clever about confusing the people involved. Eventually, I may be able to write the whole story.

Another odd point in the game: On the hike in, Henry passes a sign that says "Two Forks Tower 8 miles" Jumps over a log, looks at the sun setting behind the moutains, then camps for the night. He arrives the next night at the tower. The full moon is well up and full moons rise at sunset, so it was a fair amount after sunset whe he arrives at Two Forks. It took him all day and part of the night to hike 8 miles? Even with my years, I could walk that in two and a half to three hours, depending on terrain. What was Henry doing out there all that extra time?

[galacticcorgi]

Probably enjoying his trek tbh.

[Whitebeard]

A thin excuse. Most people in the wild do not waste time. Maybe he took a side trip somewhere, or "overslept" after a long first day. Of course, if he overslept, he wouldn't have been exhausted when he reached the tower. Just another unanswered, possibly unknowable detail.

[galacticcorgi]

It's possible, if he was out of shape enough, he overslept both times. Or mabe even got lost for awhile if he lost the trail or had to go around because of overgrowth. Lots of logical reasons, either way.

[Whitebeard]

Solved. I read Henry's typed journal on Day 1, and in it he says "I got lost a lot" on the hike in.