|
Natural occurring shelters
Caves and cliff
overhangs worked well in prehistory times and they may serve you
well. Something as simple as an uprooted tree can afford you shelter
under the trunk and branches or even the
root structure can offer many possibilities. Large trees with low
spreading branches such as a spruce (Christmas tree) can be an instant
form of protection. Large boulders, rock crevices, and slab
overhangs can afford some protection for one night and can be
improved upon to convert into an acceptable shelter.
- When choosing a natural shelter make certain that it hasn't been
occupied by wild animals in the past or you may get some unwanted
visitors. Survey you new location for the presence of poisonous snakes, ticks, mites, scorpions, and stinging
ants
- Stay away from low ground such as ravines, narrow valleys, or
creek beds. Low areas collect the heavy cold air at night and are
therefore colder than the surrounding higher ground. Thick, brushy,
low ground also harbors more insects.
- When selecting a tree to build around or near make sure that it is
not a lone tree or the tallest tree in a group or just when you need
it the most it may be struck by lightning. See
our safety tips
- Look for loose rocks, dead limbs, coconuts, or other natural
growth than could fall on your shelter.
Not very pretty but it is quick and effective. This is simply made by
dragging everything you can and heaping it up over a simple frame.
Always start stacking the shorter debris at the bottom in a vertical
alignment and then your longer material over top of this also
vertically. You will be leaving an opening and will need
a door to co cover the opening. To make you door save a few lengths of
sticks and lay 3 or 5 sticks lengthwise on the ground and then cross
weave sticks through these by going over one and then under the next, then
over and so on. The next cross weave stick starts out just the opposite,
under then over and under. Once you have a rigid frame you can then weave
or tie smaller material on this frame. This you put in place after you
crawl in for the night.
Perhaps the favorite amongst wilderness enthusiast is the
lean-to. It may look like just a lot of branches on a frame
and basically it is, but it is how it is done that really matters
especially if you want it to be waterproof.
1. Place the header pole in the joint where branches (if available)
meet the tree trunk Secure the cross pole to the tree with twine
by cross lashing. Make you knots as slip knots or use half hitches
or of a style that will allow you to salvage your twine later.
2. Starting at the trees lean your down poles against the cross
pole and lash them to it. Space you down poles not more than 1 foot (30
Cm) apart.
3. Begin weaving your smaller cross staffs
through the down poles. about every 8 inches ( 22 Cm) apart.
4. Begin shingling the first row at the bottom tying the material
to the first cross staffs. Lay the next row of shingling material
over the first and tie it to the second cross pole.
Weaving:
You place your primary poles or in this case the black
lines in place first , You then place a red pole over a black then
under the next and then over and so on. The next red would start
by going under the first black and the over the second and under
the next and so on. You would continue alternating this pattern
until completed. |
 |
- Place straw, leaves, pine needles, or grass inside the shelter for
bedding.
Options:
You can also ad an eyebrow to your lean-to by securing your cross
pole on the same side as the structure and then a second pole on the
opposite side slightly lower than the main cross pole. Add some
short down poles and lash them to the 2 cross poles and shingle.
Lean-to with eyebrow 
This will provide a short term place to take shelter or can be
enlarged for extended stays or even made into a full double sided
lean-to or even close in the the sides.
Add to your lean-to's comfort by building a fire
reflector wall (Figure 5-9). Drive four 4 foot
(1.5-meter) stakes into the ground to support the wall. Stack green
logs on top of one another between the support stakes. Form two rows of
stacked logs to create an inner space within the wall that you can fill
with dirt. You can also heap dirt up against the green logs to help
prevent them from igniting This action not only strengthens the wall but makes it more
heat reflective. Bind the top of the support stakes so that the green
logs and dirt will stay in place.
As an alternate you can use dirt heaped up to create a backdrop to
reflect the heat into your lean to. Be careful to not use large
stones containing moisture (almost every stone), because as
they heat up the moisture trapped internally which turns to
steam and can cause the rock to explode with damaging force.
Cattail lodge
This is perhaps our favorite long
term structure that can be built with nothing more than a good knife. If
you have to spend several months, the entire winter or
even a couple of years, this is the one to build.
Materials required:
Lots of cattail reeds (In a pinch you can use almost any long grasses
and/or brush)
Many 1" wooden spikes about 2 1/2 feet long for pins.
Cordage
or twine made from the fiber of the cattail reeds or similar. (roots of
spruce trees are fibrous)
Dead and dried Wooden poles for the door opening and roof structure.
Method
1. Harvest a large quantity of cattail reeds and cut to
about 2 feet in length. keep them all nearly the same length.
Spread them out so the can be drying while you prepare a 10" or
more, raised
and compacted earthen platform.
2. Cut a lot of cattails but do not cut these to the 2
foot length, leave them as long
as possible. Don/t forget that the roots and lower stalks as well as the
corrugated inside layer of the reed is edible.
3. Make a raised area for a floor about 4 feet wider than you want the inside floor to be.
4. Gather some 2 foot long reeds lengthwise laying them flat on each
other, alternating ends a handful at a time Set these
perpendicularly across at least 2 pieces of 3 foot long reed twine. Tie into bundles of reeds
all the same size, about 8 inches in diameter. When you are done it
should look like a length of firewood.
5. Starting at one corner set three of them facing one direction (
you can use some mud or clay as a bedding material to fill any gaps).
Drive a stake fully through each one, staggering the locations. On the
first layer place a 4 foot pole about 2 inches in diameter at an
angle across the tops of these bundle so that it is flush with the
inside corner but sticks out about 1 foot on the outside corner, Tie this to
the spike pinning the center bundle. Do this once on each corner. Next set
a layer of three more bundles facing across the first layer at 90 degrees and
stake the outer ones down into the first layer. Continue placing
alternating layers creating a column and on every second layer pin all three bundles.
Continue doing this until it is 2 rows higher than you want, as the
whole
structure will settle substantially. Then go on to the next corner and
do the same.
6. You will do the same for the doorway except you will make the
columns about 30 inches or less apart. To span the top of the door you
can lay several pieces of pole long enough to cover both columns.
Or if you have a shortage of poles available you can make long reed
bundles by using full length reeds and adding some into the bundle
offset from the ends to make it longer. If you can tie it with a slight
arch which will face upwards it will have a bit more strength and will
sag a little less. If you are using the bundles, keep the doorway as
narrow as possible and build the doorway all the way up to the last row
before adding the door sill bundles.
7. Once all columns are built then begin filling in between them
with the bundles and pinning every third one and alternating the pinning
pattern. This will give you a wall that is 2 feet thick and has
excellent insulation qualities.
An alternate to building the corner
columns first is to lay the wall rows and alternately overlapping the ends, but using the number and method of pinning as
described above in step #5. The bundles used on the top one course of each
wall, should be bundled in such a way that all the fatter ends are all laid
in one direction. This will make bundles that are thicker on one end
than on the other. When you lay them as the top row, place the widest end
facing in and the narrower end facing out. This will help shed any water
the may get up under your roof. Roof? what roof? See 8.
End wall and corners
8. When the wall are completed you need a roof. No roof - no house
right? This is made by placing an upright pole in the center ( or you could
have built this around a tree with the top cut off) Tackling a tree
with a Kabar or Bowie knife wouldn't be so
bad but a pocket knife would be laborous (when cutting a large
branch or tree trunk it is best to tap the to edge of the
blade with a hammer rock, rather than hacking away). The center pole needs
to be as tall as the room is wide or at least 50% taller than the walls.
This is to accommodate runoff. The steeper it is, the stronger and
drier it will be. You may have to make a ladder for this part of
the process by cross lashing some rungs on 2 strong dry poles.
9. Cut 4 poles long enough to reach the center pole 1 foot from the top
and to at 1 foot past each corner. Lash the smaller ends of the
4 strong corner ridge poles to the center pole one foot from the top,
and the heavier end will lay on top of the wall at each corner
and extend 1 foot beyond (don't attempt a longer overhang as this will
make it more susceptible to wind uplift). Place an upright pole as tall as the wall at outside of
each corer. Tie the bottom end to the embedded pole that you placed
on top of the first layer in step number 5 and the top to the sloped
corner ridge pole while pulling down on the ridge pole. Tie a stout horizontal pole
across the corner poles about 3 feet down from the center post. Tie
another pole from the middle of this horizontal pole, sloped down to one
foot out past the wall's outside edge. Do this on all
four sides. If it is a large structure, then you may have
place another horizontal and then 2 more sloped poles at 1/4
of the way in from each outside corner and repeat by
reducing the space by 1/2 until there is no space between
the poles greater than 2 feet or less then 16 inches.
10. Next you weave smaller poles
about 1 inch in diameter over the ridge poles and then under and over
the balance of the sloped poles. Make the weaves about 12 inches
(or closer) apart and tie off each end. The last weave
should be 6 inches beyond the outside wall. By now it should be fairly rigid. If
not then beef it up with additional material. Better now than later.
11. You will need 2 work mats to allow you to get up on
the roof. These are simply a woven mat made from sticks about 3/4 inch
in diameter and measure about 3 feet by 4 feet. You need 2 so you can
move by placing one in the direction you want to go while kneeling on
the other one. Place your weight
in towards the center of these mats and not near the edges. These work like snow shoes
by distributing your weight over a large area. Here's hoping you are not
too heavy.
12. Make many small bundles about 4 inches in diameter
from full length dried reeds for thatching material. Start tying these
thatching bundles very
close together on the second weave pole from the bottom and then cinch them down by
tying them to the first weave pole as well.. Lay on another layer on
the next weave pole tying them only at the top. Continue until the
entire roof is covered. The last layer will be lashed vertically to the upright
center pole with the ends trailing down over the previous layer of thatching.
This should make it water proof, but you can also make a cupola, kind of
like a funnel shaped hat by weaving the reed over a light weight wooden
frame, and then setting this over the top. Trim off the thatch
about 8 inches past the bottom weave pole which should be about 6 inches past
the outside wall.
13. Winterizing:
Chink all areas where a draft may come
through, by stuffing a moss and mud combination in the vents if any.
Make a drape door from several layers of woven reed mats and drag a
bunch of reeds inside to work on at night and you can make yourself al
sorts of floor mats, baskets and sleeping comforts. As the wall
dries out and settles you will have to adjust the upright corner poles to
maintain an downward pressure on the corner ridge poles.
Be careful with fire around this or any natural materials structure.
If you are anticipating staying for a winter season in this type of
structure, you will have to incorporate a stone fireplace or a fire pit
and smoke vent in the roof peak. Do not have a fire or even hot coals
while you are sleeping. (See Sleeping
Arrangements) You will find that heating this
structure is extremely easy as the dry reeds have a open cell structure
similar to foam and walls 2 feet thick will give give you an
insulating factor of about R-35 or even better if you can keep the
drafts out.
Time to build: One healthy person, about 14 -18 days, but a lot less
with 2 people.
Tree Shelter - Travelers pine (Spruce)
This is probably the simplest of al natural shelters other than a
cave. However for this to work you need to be in an area that has large
tree, preferably evergreen such as spruce. If the trees where you are at
have large branches that come al the way down to the ground you can crawl up underneath them
and almost always find a dry, snow free place to spend
a night. This works real well in areas where there is enough snow to
help seal this little cavity from the winds. You may want to trim up
some of the branches or twigs but don't remove too many or you will have
air blowing under the branches. If the branch cover isn't as dense as
you would like, you can cut some branches from other trees and stack
them wherever you need them, using the existing branches as a framework.
it is not advisable to light a fire under a tree canopy as this is almost
a certain invitation for disaster. However build a fire outside of the
branches and use a reflecting berm to direct the heat
towards you and place rocks in the fire
to bring into your sleeping zone. To sleep here see our section on sleeping
arrangements.
Following are some pictures of additional
natural materials shelter that may be adapted for many
situations.
Sand shade shelter - Beach and desert application. Built
with sticks, roots or stone slabs, cover over with sand.
Position it so that your opening where you will have your
head is facing away from the sun, Always leave your head out
in case of a cave in.
This one is similar but involves not
placing sand on the top but using a poncho or natural
materials. We recommend an additional air hole near your
head.
Sleeping
Arrangements
Actually we are not talking about who sleeps where but
rather about how to get a good nights sleep inside one of the shelter
discussed above.
In order to survive in the wilds you need your sleep
and the more comfortable it is the better you will be able to deal with
the chore of surviving.
Ultimately the main goal is to keep dry and warm. If
you are planning to go camping be sure to take a moisture proof
ground sheet like a piece of heavy duty plastic, an air mattress, or a
space blanket. Now that will keep you above the ground moisture but you
should have a sleeping bag rated for the coldest temperature that you
are likely to encounter. A tent would be nice.
Cold Conditions:
Branch blanket: Select
some leafy branches longer than you are tall and lay several of them out
on the ground. Weave some smaller branches across these to create a
flexible frame. Lay some grass moss or leaves and small twigs over
this. Then using some small flexible branches, poke them
down through this matting and then under some part of the frame and then
back up again. By doing this you will be stitching the small material to
the frame, creating a comforter quilt. The more you add the warmer it
will be. However don't make you weaves tight or it will be so stiff that
it won't form to fit you body's shape. Of course a bearskin would feel
pretty good if you should happen to stumble onto one.
Buddy system: Of course if there is more than one
person on this survival or primitive camping venture then you have the
battle half beaten. Two bodies are better than one. The heat from more
than one person helps to raise the temperature of the surrounding area
so that a single body doesn't have to use all of it's resources just to
keep the temperature in a tolerable range. If you are fortunate enough
to have a sleeping bag and 2 can fit in it then do it even if you
each have a sleeping bag. You can always put one bag inside or on top of
or under the other bag but you will be warmer together.
Hot water bottles and electric mattress warmers:
would be nice to have but the likelihood of that happening out in the
woods is slim to none. However nature has given us the equivalents to
work with. Assuming that you have fire (see our Making
Fire section) You can carry it's heat into your bed.
Mattress warmer: Perhaps one of the best things to do in extreme
situations is to make the fire where you plan to sleep. Build fire as
long as you are tall and burn it for a couple of hours before you plan
to turn in. Scrape out the coals into your reflector backed fire
pit. Place some green branches over the hot ground at least 6 inches
thick. Make up your fire in the fire pit and place a large diameter
piece of wood on it. Lay down on the branches and pull a mat of branches over
you. and fall asleep as you watch the fire crackle and feel it's warmth
on your face and enjoy the heat radiating up from the ground. Depending
on how long you let it burn and of course the ambient temperature, you
should get nearly a full nights sleep in comfort.
Natures Hot water bottle. Select some good size rocks about
the size of cabbages or larger. Place them in a fire and let them cook.
It is a good idea to stand back for the first 1/2 hour or so as some
rocks with moisture in them can explode and throw high speed fragments
for several feet. After an hour or so use a couple of sticks to pull the
rocks out of the fire and place them in your bed. These will need to be
covered as described above in "Mattress Warmer" or wrapped in
cloth. Position them so that you have one near your groin area, one in
the back of your knees, a couple along your back, one by
your feet and one to cuddle like a teddy bear. You may find
that sleeping on your side in the nearly fetal position is
the best way to accomplish this, however the ones in you
back will tend to distant themselves from you. These will keep you warm for several hours.
Sleeping Clothes: It is never a good idea
to try and sleep in damp clothes. They will just suck all the thermal energy
out of you and you will wake drained and possibly with a rash. Dry your
clothes thoroughly before going to sleep.
Everyone knows that a nice pair of flannel pajamas
adds to the warmth when sleeping. Now here is the kicker. You will be
warmer naked or with just your underwear on, in a sleeping bag if
it is dry and has a flannel lining. Not that we are encouraging or discouraging
anything but this works for two people as well. Of course if you
are not comfortable with it then don't let anyone tell you that you must,
because the difference in temperature comfort may not offset other discomforts
that may arise from this sort of arrangement.
People with poor circulation should put on a
extra
DRY pair of sox.
Long Johns made of wool or china silk makes for
additional warm as long as they are dry.
Damp or wet conditions:
Sleeping Platform
In a marsh or swamp, or any area with standing water or continually
wet ground, the sleeping platform keeps you out of the damp. Basically
it is a raised platform made of cross lashed poles covered with spruce
or similar branches and then grasses and moss. Continue to pile
on material with each layer running across the previous layer and
using finer and finer material for each layer.
Of course you could just pile a lot of branches until
you had a mat high enough to keep you out of the dampness.
Naturally if you were staying for a period of time you
would want to have this in an erected a structure.
|
