From Coyote Tail Ridge (wither you fast-traveled there or walked there from a nearby area) head east until you find Bitter Springs to the north. Infamous Bitter Springs, where terribly things transpired between the NCR and the Great Khans. Now it’s a refugee camp protected by the NCR. Take a break from all that running around from one Ranger Station to the next and explore Bitter Springs, which is largely uninteresting save for the tents on a hill to the north of the refugee camp.

Here the NCR have set up camp, looking down on others, as usual. In the large tent at the top of the stairs you’ll find Lieutenant Markland, the resident doctor at Bitter Springs. Loot his tent to obtain some chems, then loot the smaller tents around this one for ammo. In another large tent to the north of the medical tent you’ll find some food to steal, some Footlockers to loot, and five Ammo Boxes. You’ll also locate Captain Gilles during the day, who oversees the NCR presence at Bitter Springs.

No, Not Much¶

Talk to her and ask about the place, then offer to help out and… well, like the whiners at Camp Forlorn Hope, she’ll ask for everything. Troops, supplies, medical supplies, and of course for help dealing with some sniper who is plaguing the camp. Talking to her about these matters will start the quests No, Not Much and Climb Ev’ry Mountain . Return to the medical tend and talk to Lieutenant Markland and ask him what he needs and he’ll suggest that you pick up some books to help him deal with some areas outside of his expertise, which starts the quest Bitter Springs Infirmary Blues .

Wow, three quests in one paragraph? These quests are all terribly interconnected, but if you’re following this guide, your reputation with the NCR should be high, and most of the map should be explored, making these quests much less of a chore than they’d otherwise be, even if they do require more running around. That’s right, put the running around associated with the quest Return to Sender on hold and instead focus on these quests for a bit, which can largely be summed up in a few quick steps:

• Fast-travel back to Camp Forlorn Hope and enter the Camp Forlorn Command Tent, where you’ll need to talk to Major Polotli. Ask him to spare some troops and he should somehow find the resources to indulge Captain Gilles (if your reputation is “Liked” or “Idolized” or you’ve completed his quest, Restoring Hope ).
• Next make your way to Camp Golf and talk to Sgt. McCredie, who will be only too glad to send some troops upon your request, after what whipping the Misfits into shape during the quest Flag of Our Foul-Ups .
• After this, make your way to the Crimson Caravan Compound and talk to Blake, who sells a variety of books including “Stress and the Modern Refugee: A Primer” and “Tiny, Tiny Babies: All You Need to Know about Pediatric Medicine”. Buying these will set you back 25~ Caps each, but they’ll satisfy Lieutenant Markland’s reading needs.
• Alternatively, if you have Arcade Gannon with you, he’ll teach Markland what he needs to know, and you won’t need to go buy the books, but it doesn’t hurt to visit Blake anyways, as you’ll need three Doctor’s Bags to satisfy him, as well.
• Doctor Usanagi at the nearby New Vegas Medical Clinic may also sell a few; between the two of them you should be able to score three of the things.
• Finally head over to Camp McCarran and talk to Col. James Hsu. Ask him for reinforcements for Bitter Springs and, if your reputation is high enough (“Liked” or “Idolized”) he’ll help you out.
  Once all that’s done return to Bitter Springs and give Lieutenant Markland the two books and the three Doctor’s Bags he requires for a reward. If you ask for more compensation in the form of meds he’ll throw in 2 Stimpaks, 4 Rad-X and 2 RadAway. If you ask for chems and cash you’ll get the same medicine as well as 40 Caps. After the latter case, if you then ask for even more, he’ll reluctantly toss you another 100 Caps, but you’ll lose Karma. If you turn down further reward you’ll gain Karma.

Climb Evry Mountain¶

Now it’s time to look for some supplies for Bitter Springs, and while doing so, to find and eliminate the sniper menace. Head north from the NCR camp, climb a hill, then enter a Great Khan Supply Cave to the north-west. Continue deeper into the cave by heading west and smash an assortment of Giant Ants that are thriving near some radioactive barrels. Then the bugs are gone, turn north, head behind a partially collapsed fence and grab a Radioactive Supply Cache off a metal shelf. Eh… it might count as supplies, but cancer is a poor substitute for starvation.

Leave the cave and continue uphill to the north-west to find another Great Khan Supply Cave. Once inside, make your way west into a large cavern, where you’ll find several Young Nightstalkers. Giant Ants and Nightstalkers a stone’s throw away from the NCR tents? They’re lucky they’re doing as well as they are! Continue west down a tunnel and turn north to find a locked gate [Easy], behind which you can find some Frag Grenades, a Machete, some smokes and alcohol, a Produce Sack, a Footlocker an Explosives Crate and two Ammo Boxes (one of which is locked [Average] on and near a metal shelf. Oh, and don’t forget to grab the Great Khan Supply Cache, too. That’s kind of important.

There’s still one more map tick to explore, but to continue north-west, you’ll have to backtrack. Return to the NCR tents and from behind the medical tent turn west to spot some sandbags pointing at a tree, behind which is a steep - but scalable - hill. Ascend it, then turn north, north-west and head up a ravine littered with red rocks. When you find some gray cliffs to the east, run along side them to the north, north-west and ascend a rocky ramp to reach the third cave.

Sneak when you enter the cave, as a Great Khan named Oscar Velasco lurks in a cavern to the east; the sniper plaguing Bitter Springs. He’s not terribly dangerous on his own, but you’ll get a great deal of Infamy if you kill him openly, so try to sneak up on him and take him down with a melee attack or use Ratslayer to get the job done from a distance. Alternatively, if Boone isn’t present and you’re not dressed up as a member of the NCR, Oscar Velasco will chat with you. You can learn the whole sad story about the Bitter Springs massacre from the perspective of a Great Khan by talking to him, and if you succeed a at a [Speech 50] check you can convince him to give up his vendetta here and take it out on Camp McCarran instead (which results in some negative Karma) or you can suggest that he head to Red Rock Canyon and rejoin with the Great Khans.

Once he’s been dealt with, one way other another, loot him for his Great Khan’s Supply Cache Key (if he died, if he left peacefully he’ll have given it to you), then plunder two Ammo Boxes, a Metal Box and a Footlocker in the cavern beyond the sandbags. Once done, either backtrack to the west or take a side-tunnel to the south back to the entrance, watching out for a Frag Mine and a Bear Trap along the way. However you return, you should spot a gate [Easy], which Oscar’s key opens. Disarm the two Frag Mines under the gate after you open it, then loot the room behind to find some food, a Hunting Rifle, some .308 Rounds, a Combat Knife, a Footlocker, an Ammo Box and another Great Khan Supply Cache.

Return to Bitter Springs, having satisfied every request made by Captain Gilles. Talk to her and tell her the good news, and either give her the irradiated supplies without telling her about the death they’ll bring to lose some Karma, gain 300 XP and fail the quest. Give her irradiated supplies and pass a [Medicine 25] check to suggest using Rad-X on them or give her the clean supplies then ask how Bitter Springs is doing to complete the quest No, Not Much . You can actually give her all three supplies, if you wish, but aside from scoring the extra 25 XP from succeeding at the [Medicine 25] check, there’s not much point. After turning them in, if you demand a good reward you’ll lose some Karma and get an additional $100 NCR and Case 5.56 x17. Ask for a more modest embellishment and she’ll hand over two cans of Pork N’ Beans, two bottles of Purified Water and $20 NCR. Turn down any further reward and you’ll get some Karma.

Next, tell her about the sniper to get another, more modest reward and complete the quest Climb Ev’ry Mountain . She’ll tell you a tiny bit about the events of Bitter Springs afterwards, if you ask, but it’s probably nothing you haven’t already pieced together already.

Ranger Station Bravo¶

Bitter Springs is done for now… at least until Boone is ready to talk. In the meantime, let’s continue with Return to Sender by heading east to reach Ranger Station Bravo. After an uneventful trip you’ll find the camp, a ring of trucks and fencing that forces you to circle around and enter from the north-west. Inside this fortification you’ll find Ranger Ericsen, who has as little to say as any of the other rangers at these camps did. Talk to Comm Officer Tilden and ask him what they’re doing out here to learn about a nearby Camp Guardian to the south, which mysteriously went quiet. If you give him his codes he’ll complain about getting the wrong supplies, which seems to point to Camp Golf. Ask for some of the surplus ammo and he’ll refer you back to Ranger Ericsen who - if your NCR reputation is high enough - will share the spoils, giving you 5.56 Rounds x60 and .357 Magnum Rounds x30.

Super Mutant Camp¶

You can now return to Tech Sergeant Reyes with your findings, but while you’re up here… why not finish off the north-eastern part of the map? It’s really the last bit of the Mojave that needs to be mopped up aside from Nelson. From Ranger Camp Bravo head north to find some cliff walls, which you should follow north-east to find an unmarked camp with three Super Mutants lurking about. They’re not the friendly type of Super Mutants, either. Put them down and nab their typically good loot, then search the wooden benches near their campfire to find a Weapon Repair Kit and some Hydra.

Devils Throat¶

From the camp follow more cliffs to the south-east until they eventually terminate at a large, radioactive crater crawling with Centaurs. Put Ratslayer to good use and quietly snipe them all from above, then head south-west along the edge of the crater to find a ramp descending into the depths. Consider popping a Rad-X to reduce your vulnerability to the radiation down here, then head into the back of the blue truck to find a dead Prospector wearing a Party Hat and some Combat Armor, Reinforced. If that’s not nice enough, the unique Minigun - the CZ57 Avenger - nearby should be.

Camp Guardian¶

If you think fighting nasty critters is cool, but rewards are over-rated, you can continue to the south-east to find some Feral Ghoul Reavers standing around, guarding absolutely nothing. You can fight your way south to reach Camp Guardian - the next destination - or you can fast-travel back to Ranger Station Bravo, head south to reach the a road, then follow that east to reach Camp Guardian with little difficulty. Your call.

Reach the parking lot north-west of Camp Guardian, hop a railing to the east, head back a scenic overlook sign, descend down a hill and go south at the earliest opportunity. When you discover the Camp Guardian Radio Signal, pop it on with your Pip-Boy to learn that… well, Camp Guardian’s radio troubles were apparently the least of their problems.

Follow the cliffs to the east and head past the vandalized Guardian Peak sign. As the path turns south-east, keep an eye out to find Camp Guardian Log Pages (Log Pages 7 and 3). Further along the path you’ll find Log Page 18, after which you’ll ascend some stairs where you can find Log Page 12 on a wooden step. Continue following the linear path until you find a bridge to the west, guarded by some Giant Radscorpions. Kill them and cross the bridge, and once across immediately turn north to find two Crates near a barricade. Grab the Frag Grenades from within and on top of the Crates, then turn south, pass the bridge, and ascend some stairs. Continue down a tunnel at the end of which you’ll find more Radscorpions. Kill them, grab Log Page 20 near a cliff edge, then turn north-west to find Log Page 13, also near the cliff edge, but before a fence. Follow the fence, cross a bridge, leap over some rough ground, pass some wooden tables, ascend some stairs to the south, then crush a batch of Bark Scorpions. Cross a final bridge to the east, south-east and pick up Log Page 5 at the end of the bridge. Finally turn north-east to discover Guardian Peak, and the ransacked NCR camp here.

Speaking of the ransacked camp, give it a search to find plenty of food items, several Footlockers in a tent, and a Sunset Sarsaparilla Star Bottle Cap on a crate near a fireplace. Whatever sacked the camp wasn’t interested in material gains. Go up some stairs to the south-west and grab Log Page 8 on a wooden landing, then continue to the top of the stairs, where you’ll find Log Page 15. Near a chair to the south-west you’ll find Log Page 19, and to the east you can loot two Ammo Boxes. Aside from some Giant Rats, however, there’s no sign of what devastated the camp.

Camp Guardian Cave¶

Return to the camp and head north, north-east to find a cave. Shouldn’t somebody have scouted this out? Blocked it up? Something? According to the Log Pages, they did, but either the job wasn’t thorough enough, or it was too little, too late. From the entrance to the cave head east, then south to find a small chamber where you can find a Crate, a 9mm Pistol and plenty of C-4 Plastic Explosive.

Continue down a tunnel to the east and follow the linear - but winding - path until you reach a fork, where you’ll find an abandoned lantern and a dead Lakelurk. Guess that explains the things Jackson kept seeing in the water. Turn east to Private Halford… a very relieved Private Halford. Talk to him and he’ll understandably want to leave. Unfortunately, he was injured by the Lakelurk he killed, and unless you pass a [Medicine 50] check, he’s not going anywhere… or you can just clear out the caves, first, so he can leave on his own power. Either help him on his feet, and escort him out, or succeed at a [Speech 50] check to get him to help you, although he’s more of a liability than an asset, and you’ll get no reward if he dies. If you get him to agree to help you out, then take him to an exit, he’ll have a change of heart and leave. If you ogled his rifle earlier and ask for it now, he’ll give you his Service Rifle along with 5.56 Armor Piercing Rounds x 15 and 5.56 Rounds x36. He’ll also give you Halford’s Note and the Schematics - Dog Tag Fist . Whether you helped Halford out or not, it’s now time to clear the caves.

From the fork head south and at another fork turn east. Follow the tunnel until it forks yet again, then turn north to find yourself on a ledge overlooking a cavern where several Lakelurks dwell. Snipe them, then continue west to find a small chamber, where you should take a tunnel to the north. Pass a fork by continuing north (the eastern path just leads to a ledge overlooking the cavern you should have sniped clean earlier) go down two slopes and kill any Lakelurks lurking in the tunnels to reach the chamber you sniped earlier.

Make sure no crab-men are alive in here (Crab people! Crab people!) and make your way down a tunnel to the south. At the top of a slope leading down you’ll find a dead NCR Troopers, and shortly behind, a Lakelurk. Must be getting close. Loot another dead NCR Trooper then proceed to the mouth of a large chamber, with the Lakelurk King holds court over a half a dozen or so of his peasants. If you keep your distance and snipe carefully the Gobi should be more than capable of annihilating the Lakelurk King and his cronies, just try to whittle down the numbers of Lakelurks before you provoke the king, and if you’re getting too much attention, just retreat deeper into the caves and wait for the heat to die down. Once they’re dead, loot the room to find the bodies of the NCR Troopers that were stationed at Camp Guardian. Some possess intact armor, all can be looted for their NCR Dogtags. Plunder the corpse of a dead Pack Brahmin for some goodies, then head down into a slope to the west to reach a watery cavern, where the last few Lakelurks can be found.

Once they’re all gone, return to Private Halford, if he’s still around and he’ll give you his note and the Schematics - Dog Tag Fist . It’s time to stop messing around and get back to Sergeant Reyes and tell her you’re done with her errand…

Return to Sender (Part 2)¶

…or so you thought. Tell her about Charlie, if it was wiped out, then she’ll give you another task; to return to some of the Ranger Stations and check on some dubious-sounding reports that have been coming in. Oh boy, more running around… Return to Ranger Station Delta to the north and talk to Ranger Pason, then head further north to find Ranger Lineholm at Ranger Station Alpha, and finally return to the mountains and talk to Ranger Kudlow. The connection you’ll get from all three Ranger Stations? The reports coming out of Camp Golf are bogus. Return to Sergeant Reyes and tell her the news and she’ll finger Chief Hanlon at Camp Golf, the very head of the Rangers.

Confronting Hanlon¶

Return to Camp Golf and enter the Resort House, then go out onto the balcony to find Chief Hanlon. Confront him with the evidence and he’ll ask you go somewhere private, and will head for his office. Follow him there and talk to him, and he’ll begin to make up poor but plausible excuses before he drops the facade and admits that he’s guilty, and is trying to sabotage the NCR so they can lose as quickly and cleanly as possible, amputate the Mojave, and return home, rather than slowly bleeding out fighting for Mr. House and the New Vegas families. Afterward you’ll have come options; you can let him go and he’ll try to convince you this is a good idea by expressing his plan to die a glorious death at the Dam. He’ll throw the battle, lose the Dam, and take a lot of good Rangers with him, but the war effort will be discredited at home and a lot of NCR Troopers may be spared. You can also threaten to turn him in, in which case he’ll ask you to get a Ranger to apprehend him. Do so, and as soon as you leave the office he’ll lock the door behind you, make one last speech and take the coward’s way out. The last and least appealing option is to just pick a fight with him, but since this will turn the rest of the Rangers hostile, it’s not advised. Resolve it however you wish, or wait until later when you have more options. If you complete the quest here you’ll earn some XP and the Achievement/Trophy Return to Sender.