The bottom of the mountain seemed blocked off by this pile of rocks but I figured I should be able to find a way to climb over them.

(Once I get there, I'll be climbing the right side of the mountain over that ridge.)

Ends up it was pretty easy to pass the rocks, afterwards I was greeted with a pleasant empty field leading up to the foot of the mountain.

Judging from the lack of trees and rocks here, I was sure that I must be approaching the end of the map, and the edge of the map was right behind the mountain.

I was halfway up the mountain when I decided to turn and look behind me. Suddenly everything looks like Fallout 3.

The sun was just about the go down so I waited for the night to end.

Once the sun rose I climbed the rest of the way to the top of the mountain. Turning around I got a good view of the entire Rust map we've been playing all these hours.

Notice how tiny the road is, and how much extra map there is to the right. I always thought the rust map was pretty big just from wandering around that road, never realized how much more there is over south-west.

Also notice the ridge to my left, and how the map doesn't immediately end after it.

In fact, there appears to be mountains and trees behind that ridge…

Oh mah gaud…

At this point the ridge we were looking at is off to the right of the screen. Behind this mountain is a mass of land several times larger than the area of Rust people spawn in, and over beyond that fog, is that another mountain range? Is this area purely to set a backdrop? Are there resources? Cities? Does it end after that mountain?

I grabbed my chicken and began my decent down the back side of the mountain into the unknown.

Still too far away to load any details.

Details!

Just like the side of the mountain I came from, the bottom is covered in rocks to keep players off the mountain. I no longer believe this area was made purely as a backdrop since these rocks won't load until you are nearby.

I hop off the rocks and enter a valley.

Not very many trees but there aren't many trees in some parts of the main map too, I'm excited to find a new flushed out area devoid of any players! [anti-social intensifies]

Walk for a good while… still no animals. No resources. No towns. Giant mountain!

Well so much for an area with untapped resources. At some point, someone bothered to set down the giant rocks on the hills and sparsely place trees. It's eerily empty. But hey, giant mountain, maybe the map ends just behind that.

Ends up that mountain wasn't so big after all.

I navigate around the mountain and see another mountain range behind some hills. Surely the map will end after that.

Take notice of how empty and far apart the trees are, why were they even placed?

To my right was the first naked hill I found.

No rock spires or anything. In fact I won't see any more rocks for the rest of the venture.

I'm not sure what this picture is for, but hey, look at them naked hills!

Ah the mountain range.

Getting closer.

It's getting dark, but I'm set to climb up to that bulging area a little to the right.

Just as I did at the last mountain I look behind me to see where I've been.

I can't even see the original mountain I climbed… was the mountain I passed the one I saw originally across the land?

Almost at the top.

I'm expecting blackness, I'm expecting the end of the world, where all the terrain just stops.

…

Oh god it keeps going. Is it generating the map as I explore? Will it never end?

I'm in a land ruled by trees. It looks just like the land I was in before but ever more lonely.

I took this picture and decided I would take no more until something significant happened, because there really isn't anything to show here for several kilometers.

I like tacos and hot dogs.

That is until I could see the ocean.

It's so… so.. empty.

I walked up over that hill and found this odd piece of geometry.

I decided I'd call this area "Prism Beach" for obvious reasons.

This place has pretty sunrises.

I walked up the coast a bit and the ocean side keeps getting steeper and steeper.

In the distance I see a mountain on the edge of the ocean, but it's too far away, and I decide that Prism Beach is most likely the most significant thing I will find over here.

I took the wood I carried over here and built a house atop the hill above Prism Beach by the tree. I figured this would be a nice thing to look forward to if I come back here anytime soon.

However I ran out of wood before finishing the second floor and spent an excruciating amount of time hitting trees that are few and far between.

The lonely tree on the hill is not so lonely anymore.

Last picture I took before I returned to the mainland. Kinda sucks after all of that I have to leave this behind.

Here is a crappy mspaint map I made:

I tried to draw this to scale. I know I kept turning left when avoiding hills. Not guaranteed to be accurate. That question mark is pointing at at huge mountain I saw in the distance but not in the direction I was going.