Camoflauging a camp .

K

Kevin the grey

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Aug 26, 2005
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O:K: boys its hiding time . I want to build a camp to build up some survival skills . I,m going to be building a small lean-to and a few other camp items tthat would make a campers life easier . I might also build a leaf or branch shelter just to see how well I can blend it in . This is all going to be built on land I have access to and is not being used for anything else ever . I don,t have direct permission to build even something temporary . The guy running the place is more likely to say no than yes just because he is a jerk . He is the kind of guy who has to get more out of something than people will put into something . You should have seen what he wanted to charge Scouts who wanted to use land that is not ever going to be used for anything . Its not even his land .
I need to travel to and from this camp 4 times a week . The trails leading in would be over fresh juicy grass that would leave a track easily . The camp would be in woodland with a few trees blown down and a fair amount of branches and dead grass about . Lotsa skeeters but not that much worry of
an accidental discovery . Accidental discovery could happen . It is more likely to be discovered by a trail or trails going into it and by extension observation of built items .
 
First, it should not be too hard to track down the actual owner of the land and ask permission from them. Be aware, a simple tressapassing charge can cause you more trouble in the long run than you think. I was fined for simple tresspassing in New York State about 15 years ago, and am not allowed to work in Canada anymore. It has affected other job and liberty aswpects of my life as well.
Having said that, theoretically, never go the same way to the chosen site, and consider other shelters than lean-to's. If there is good drainage, consider pit shelters being carefull to disribute the removed soil so it cannot be seen as an unatural pile or lumpy area. Possibly burrow into a small hill.
Let us know how your experiment progresses.
 
Bummpo the owner is a large corporation whose liason is the jerk I am talking about . He doesn,t work for the company . Its not an issue of being charged with trespassing . I appreciate what you are saying and I might scale down my idea a bit . I can wander around the land as much as I want . The part I want to use won,t be travelled on much until fall . I can,t really burrow in as the land is quite damp as it is on a river flood plain and we get lotsa rain . I want to build a lean-to to practice lashing and shelter making . I can take it down soon after its built and build a shelter that is easier to hide .
 
Cool! thanks for the clarification. When I was a little kid and builing forts and that kind of thing, My friends and I built a pit shelter. Time went on and we had abandond and forgotten it, moved out of town. 30+ years went by and I went back to find it. it was still there, but the comic books and essential kid things were still there but rotted too much to be any good. Some plastic army men were still ready for action though.
It is nice you have a place to practice your skills, and even if the guy is not too observant, it gives you a chance to practice your skills where there is some risk of being confronted. Have you taken a course, or if you are using books, which sources are you using?
 
Reads like you have a great place to get-away and practice some skills. Keep your camp very low profile. Build where there is a build up of debris and utilize the natural debris/tree/underbrush formations, without disturbing them too much. Keep in and out traffic to a minimum to avoid leaving established trails (if they don't already exist). Cold camping will eliminate smoke giving away your possition.
 
Of course, use materials that blend in, but
completely aside from the materials is the
profile.

A low profile dome, would be harder to detect
than a leanto with its straight lines and right
angles. I am thinking here of only the profile.
Imagine a shaded shelter against a sunlit
background. Or consider the reverse. In either
case, the profile is critical. Some dead blow-down
logs might break the lines of your shelter,
but do not over do it, or they themselves will
draw attention.

Here is a site showing, a dome (and tipi type) stuff.
http://www.kolumbus.fi/bjorn.corander/index-en.htm

Here is a article on stealth camping.
http://blackpacker.gnn.tv/blogs/10394/Sight_Unseen_Guerrilla_Camping_101_7

frank
 
In my younger years I spent alot of time tracking down pot gardens. We invariably found them by noticing new trails. A new trail that you wear into the undergrowth is a dead giveaway. The point where you turn off the beaten track is the key. If you use the same approach to the area you can't use the same final trail to arrive at your camp or exit the main trail at the same point. Stalk in to your camp, don't scuff your feet, bend, or cut vegitation. Use natural game trails to make your final approach to camp.

Likewise if you use a vehicle to get to the area you can't park it in the same place and develop a pattern. We would watch for this and then track the bootprints from where the vehicles were left right to the gardens. Pattern is everything. People are creatures of habit and those habits are easy to read when repeated.

As far as the actual camp you need to observe the campsite from a 360 degree circle from the limits of visibility in whatever vegitation you have there. What trails pass nearby? Can you see any sign of the camp from the trail, cuttings, footprints, etc?

Select your site paying attention to the prevailing wind. The smoke should be drifting in a direction that will carry it away from habitations or routes of travel. The fire itself should be covered from view. Cigar or cigarette smoke carries far and a human nose will pick it up about 150 to 300 yards out.

You have to maintain noise discipline. Aluminum pots, metal spoons, etc are a dead giveaway. The sound of breaking firewood carries far.

Remember the biggest giveaway is your mouth. Loose lips sink ships. The fewer people who know the location, even the general area, the better. We found lots of weed because people bragged about what they were doing. Mac
 
Hi,

Many good points already. Especially the patterns thing.

Camouflaging a camp is not just about camouflaging the camp. It's about camouflaging the camp, the way to the camp, the car that brought you to the way to the camp, the idea that put you in the car that brought you to the way to the camp, etc. The camp itself, alone, is only a few square feet of visible stuff, but a trail is something much, much bigger and easier to spot.

Avoid creating trails, even temporary ones if you can. Avoid creating patterns. Avoid disturbing anything in any repeated manner. Don't create a pattern. Don't leave tracks of anything, even in the people's mind. Don't even talk about it.

To camouflage your tracks, many things can be done. You can camouflage your tracks, again, but you must also camouflage the intent that your tracks will give away if found. For example : you're in a pine forest, navigating towards your camp. You have to go through a clearing with tall fat grass. It'll be easy to see your track in the grass. Much easier than in the pine needles. Well... circle a bit around the clearing and cross it so that your inital bearing is hidden. The "line" you will create in the clearing should be 45° or more off from your actual direction of travel. While crossing the clearing, walk normally, as if you did not worry about being tracked. Then, once you reach the pine needles again, go straight for a few feet, zig-zag a bit, then resume your travel as soon as you can find a few hard spots to walk on that will leave minimal signs and allow you to blur the trail. Get the idea ?

Tracking is like reading. Traveling and living is like writing. While counter-tracking, you can write lies if you know the code well enough. Everything you do leaves signs. Choose the signs carefully, and you will win.

Cheers !

David
 
If you lay any branches or grass on your shelter, they will die and stand out among the living foliage. Pick a spot that has the most shade and the the most natural cover, and try to take different paths in and out. Most people don't pay attention to things in the woods, so you may go years without being detected. Sounds like a cool plan, have fun!
 
Parked vehicles are a problem. Of course,
they can be vandalized, but as noted in
posts above, they are a dead give-away
that somebody is in those woods.

Any ideas on the parked vehicle problem?

Yes, the zig-zag, indirect path to camp
helps, but the vehicle itself and its
placement deserve some consideration.

frank
 
Sometime ago while traveling in Texas I saw a sign posted on this ranchers property. The message was clear and has stuck with me all these years. "TRESPASSER'S WILL BE SHOT, SURVIVORS WILL BE PROSECUTED!" If this guy is a real jerk he may cause you more problems than trespassing on the land would be worth. Just my .02.
 
Thanks guys there are some great answers . Especially the answers on how to minimise trail evidence . There is lots of other good stuff in there so keep it coming please .
I won,t be trespassing . I have access to the land . The guy is a jerk but not stupid . He is more of a control freak and self centered . I can handle the legal end of things . The most he will do is be a P:I:T:A: . He already is that so nothing will change . L:O:L
 
(Vaguely on-topic: ) What would y'all recommend as reading for escape & evasion techniques, more generally?

Incidentally, my copy of FM 21-76 seems lacking the "escape & evasion" elements I see advertised on some editions; am I just missing something, or do some versions come with and some without that material?

Thanks!
 
I agree with pict's suggestion of using game trails for your path. I'd guess there's probably a well-worn one somewhere in that grassy field. Just follow that to wherever it goes (so long as it goes to the other side, lol :D ), and once in the treeline, make two or three big side-steps off the trail, then stalk to your campsite. Or just follow the game trail as far as you need to. I think I'd feel safe enough with this course of action, as I doubt anyone with tracking skills would be poking around the area (and if they were, unless they were working for the corporation, they'd probably be excited about your project and would enjoy exchanging ideas with you).

As far as the actual campsite, I'd try to ring the area with a sort of brush fence, or at least accent the natural camoflage and cover, with dead tree branches, you know, dead brush. If you move any 'settled' brush, I'd suggest waiting until the next good rain before setting anything else up, to let things settle into their new spot. Maybe site the camp in a mess of fallen trees. Anything that screens and deters nosy casual wanderers.

Also, maybe you could sort of 'dome out' your lean-to by placing brush of different hights on the sides. Soften up the sharp lines a little.

In the wet areas here we have alot of vines, wild grapes, creepers, those sorts of plants. If you can find some growing in your camp area, you might be able to set them up on your lean-to's roof, giving you some living camo, and them some extra light. Just a thought.

Good luck on your project.

Take care.
 
Some years back at the Washington, DC National Zoo, a homeless man's shelter on the zoo grounds were discovered only because some smoke from his cook fire was spotted and authorities investigated to make sure there wasn't a danger of a fire spreading.

Now that's camouflage.

BTW, you might want to look into self MREs.
 
If it is possible, I would build my shelter slightly above the flood plain or valley floor if there is enough natural relief. You have tics up there in Canada? They tend to prefer areas where it is wetter.
 
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