- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
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- 2,373
This week I took some time off to run a few guys out to the bush for some survival training. We slept under our standard shelters of black plastic tarps and hammocks but did explore other shelter options. Near our campsite there was a huge rock overhang that we had already discussed as an ideal space to modify for shelter.
I asked them, “Forget about our big shelter rock for a minute. If you had to build a shelter right here it the forest with just your basic equipment* how would you do it?” They all came up with some form of ground shelter idea. I turned up the six inches of rotting leaves on the ground to reveal a mass of ants and assorted creepy crawlies. “Do you really want to sleep in all of that?”
“NO WAY!”
“We need to sleep up above it somehow.”
I found four trees that made a rectangle about seven by three feet. They only had a few meters of cordage on their machete sheaths so they started to test vines to see if any could be used for lashing. In no time they were spread all through the area pulling down vines from trees. We then lashed up a frame with two poles and cross braced it with smaller pieces of green sapling. We lashed these down with thinner vines until we had a ladder bed frame about tree feet off the ground. They then cut “comfortable looking” brush to lay lengthwise across the rungs of the ladder and covered this with a mattress of grass. A single vine above the bed created a central support for the poncho and four more vines held the corners out like a tent. The space was very liveable. This was a collaborative effort but one (experienced) person could have made the shelter in the same amount of time, as they had to feel their way through it and I was taking time to explain the how and why of it all.
Vines that bind
The lashings holding up the two main poles need to be crazy strong, enough to withstand your body rolling over repeatedly in the night.
Detail shot of the vine lashings on the shelter. Working with vines is not rocket science, either they work or they don’t and you will know right away if a vine is useful or not. Don’t try to tie them in knots, just pressure wedge the ends under the tight lashings and they will hold.
The poncho is hung over the bed frame with enough room to sit up. In a worst case scenario you can drop it directly over yourself later if the rain is coming in at a heavy slant.
Cover the rungs of the “ladder” with a perpendicular layer of leafy vegetation. This keeps the grass from falling through and takes out some of the lumps.
Finishing the shelter mattress with a layer of grass. Grass is far more comfortable than weeds and other plants.
The layer of grass is then covered by a layer of tired human meat.
The vine lashings were strong enough to bear the weight of three people.
The student shown sleeping on the bed did spend the night in the shelter. About an hour before dawn he got up to take a leak and found out the hard way (by taking a shower) that the poncho had pooled some water. He finished the last hour of the night in his hammock. Live and learn.
Mac
* Basic Equipment: 16 inch Tramontina machete, Mora SWAK, US Army Canteen w/ cup, Compass, Whistle, Poncho w/ cordage, Doan Tool, 2% Iodine solution, mini-maglight.
I asked them, “Forget about our big shelter rock for a minute. If you had to build a shelter right here it the forest with just your basic equipment* how would you do it?” They all came up with some form of ground shelter idea. I turned up the six inches of rotting leaves on the ground to reveal a mass of ants and assorted creepy crawlies. “Do you really want to sleep in all of that?”
“NO WAY!”
“We need to sleep up above it somehow.”
I found four trees that made a rectangle about seven by three feet. They only had a few meters of cordage on their machete sheaths so they started to test vines to see if any could be used for lashing. In no time they were spread all through the area pulling down vines from trees. We then lashed up a frame with two poles and cross braced it with smaller pieces of green sapling. We lashed these down with thinner vines until we had a ladder bed frame about tree feet off the ground. They then cut “comfortable looking” brush to lay lengthwise across the rungs of the ladder and covered this with a mattress of grass. A single vine above the bed created a central support for the poncho and four more vines held the corners out like a tent. The space was very liveable. This was a collaborative effort but one (experienced) person could have made the shelter in the same amount of time, as they had to feel their way through it and I was taking time to explain the how and why of it all.
Vines that bind
The lashings holding up the two main poles need to be crazy strong, enough to withstand your body rolling over repeatedly in the night.
Detail shot of the vine lashings on the shelter. Working with vines is not rocket science, either they work or they don’t and you will know right away if a vine is useful or not. Don’t try to tie them in knots, just pressure wedge the ends under the tight lashings and they will hold.
The poncho is hung over the bed frame with enough room to sit up. In a worst case scenario you can drop it directly over yourself later if the rain is coming in at a heavy slant.
Cover the rungs of the “ladder” with a perpendicular layer of leafy vegetation. This keeps the grass from falling through and takes out some of the lumps.
Finishing the shelter mattress with a layer of grass. Grass is far more comfortable than weeds and other plants.
The layer of grass is then covered by a layer of tired human meat.
The vine lashings were strong enough to bear the weight of three people.
The student shown sleeping on the bed did spend the night in the shelter. About an hour before dawn he got up to take a leak and found out the hard way (by taking a shower) that the poncho had pooled some water. He finished the last hour of the night in his hammock. Live and learn.
Mac
* Basic Equipment: 16 inch Tramontina machete, Mora SWAK, US Army Canteen w/ cup, Compass, Whistle, Poncho w/ cordage, Doan Tool, 2% Iodine solution, mini-maglight.
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