For those familiar with Half-Life 2 Ep 2, you may have noticed the achievement list. Many of these are easy to do even on a first run, but there are three in particular that take some effort: “Neighborhood Watch”, “Little Rocket Man” and “Get Some Grub”. The requirement for the second really is somewhat mind-boggling: yes, it really means getting the garden gnome you find in the first building aaaaalll the way to the rocket in the White Forest base at the end. This seems insane – it is insane. But I finally managed it:

For others attempting this: the only really taxing part is across the train-tracks with that damn chopper on your tail. My strategy was to carry the gnome to safe-points first by hiding under the wagons, then going back for the car. In the second leg, the chopper will at the base once you get close enough; you can use this to secure safe passage. Also, once inside the garage do not leave the gnome on the table: the table will disappear when you get back from the auto-gun, apparently taking the gnome with it. Once you reach the rocket, close the hatch yourself! This is also part of the requirement. The rest is mostly getting out of the car because there's no gnome-sized seatbelts, although I hear there's a way to get it stuck in the rear window somehow.

With that done, I only need the Grub achievement for the whole set. I missed eight of them. Eight! Out of 333! :(