- Joined
- Sep 21, 2009
- Messages
- 534
At the January Meet the original idea was to make a Thermal A-Frame shelter. Due to the lack of snow we decided to build another type of shelter that was suitable for cold weather. The video that Faol posted also shows us building this shelter. There was no lack of natural materials at the site we had chosen. The large windblown tree was a great starting point.
Most of us have seen these type of shelters in books and online. The idea is to have as steep of an angle as possible so water runs off of your hooch. We scribed a line in the dirt and placed the ends of our poles on it. The ends going over the ridge pole ran wild, no need to cut them off. Bark was stripped off of dead Elms and used to cover the poles.
It was to cold to rain, so the main concern was keeping any snow off of us. If we were going to stay longer than a night debris could be placed on the bark to improve the insulation and help keep out the elements.
As with most shelter systems we wanted to keep ourselves off the ground. In the past I have used pine boughs, grass, and willow branches. This time we used cattail stalks. Yet another use for this excellent plant. Logs were laid length wise to keep the bed in place and keep Koa out of the fire.
Here is the fool.... I mean brave person who stayed the night in this shelter. He offered the honor to every one at the meet and had no takers. He is now in the 5%.
The system was not complete yet. We built a reflector so the heat from the fire would bounce back onto the person in the shelter. Just so you know we used no cordage at all for this shelter. All natural. A single person could construct this in about 3 hours and survive below freezing temps.
Most of us have seen these type of shelters in books and online. The idea is to have as steep of an angle as possible so water runs off of your hooch. We scribed a line in the dirt and placed the ends of our poles on it. The ends going over the ridge pole ran wild, no need to cut them off. Bark was stripped off of dead Elms and used to cover the poles.
It was to cold to rain, so the main concern was keeping any snow off of us. If we were going to stay longer than a night debris could be placed on the bark to improve the insulation and help keep out the elements.
As with most shelter systems we wanted to keep ourselves off the ground. In the past I have used pine boughs, grass, and willow branches. This time we used cattail stalks. Yet another use for this excellent plant. Logs were laid length wise to keep the bed in place and keep Koa out of the fire.
Here is the fool.... I mean brave person who stayed the night in this shelter. He offered the honor to every one at the meet and had no takers. He is now in the 5%.
The system was not complete yet. We built a reflector so the heat from the fire would bounce back onto the person in the shelter. Just so you know we used no cordage at all for this shelter. All natural. A single person could construct this in about 3 hours and survive below freezing temps.
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