List improvised shelters

Greg Davenport

Greg Davenport

Joined
Nov 29, 1999
Messages
632
Challenge:

Without reading the other answers...

LIST AS MANY DIFFERENT types of shelters you might consider building... if surviving in a temperate forest (continental climate, Examples: Olympic and Rocky Mountains and the North Cascade Range). List them in order of preference.

Old Growth....(if you've never been to one then answer for a New Growth area with 40 foot trees)...Grand Fir and Cedar.

Order of preference: Remember when improvising (a shelter) you should make sure it is built safe and durable and expands the least amount of time, energy, and materials.

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Greg Davenport
http://www.ssurvival.com
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?

 
I've never been to one of these ranges so I may be a little off on my shelters but here goes! I don't know the difference either...

Considering the weather, I'd be mostly worried about RAIN!

1) Using a downed tree, I'd build a lean to with a THICK layer of tree boughs! Hopefully this will shed a LOT of water.

2) A hollow tree with an "awning" built over the front.

3) A poncho/emergency blanket/garbage bag tent. I don't think these will keep you as dry as the first two. They could be used as BEDDING with the first two though!

4)Debris hutch- but I'd be afraid of water making its way in too easily.

5) Scout pit-long trench dug in the ground covered with logs and then covered with dirt. I don't think it would be very effective in a wet environment, but it may be useful. One own body heat with the insulation of leaves, grasses, etc can keep one warm enough without a fire in some weather.

If there is snow on the ground, then I'd try to build either a snow cave or quinzee! Depending upon temp., speed of shelter needed, and type/amount of snow on the ground. Then I'd go to #1 above.

Good luck!


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Plainsman :)
primitiveguy@hotmail.com


 
hmmm.

i used to like to hide behind the rootballs/disks of uprooted and felled trees, i guess i could use that as a back for a shelter(assuming i could find one) only thing, there is usually a dip where the roots were, and that might collect water, and i dont really want to sleep in a puddle.

if i can find a decent sized log/trunk on the ground, i could just lean sticks and branches against it, cover with moss or big leaves or something for water repellance, wouldnt be much, but should be enough space for me to lie down and sleep(maybe dig a trench around outside in hopes of diverting water away?)

if i get lucky, maybe i could find a hollow log (unoccupied by anything bigger then my hand) and crawl inside with some leaves.

i guess i could cut/break Y-shaped sticks, put two in ground, and one across, and then lean branches up against for a primitive lean-to/tent type thing.

if there is an area full of saplings or something, i could maybe bend some together to form a sort of dome shape, interlace with branches and such, cover with moss/bark/grasses and what not. that would take quite a bit of effort, so would probabally only be a long term thing.

ive noticed some holly trees around here(Long Island) that are pretty big, and seem to have a 'hollow' type area in the center. would be kinda painfull getting in, but ive heard they make good shelter from rain(havent tried it though)

maybe i could pile sticks togethre in a kind of bird-nest type fashion, and build up a semi-circular type wall, once i get up to about 4 feet or so, pile them across the top, fill with leaves and such, and cover with leafy branches, mosses, sheets of bark, whatever to repel water.

mostly, i think i would try to find somehting natural so i would only have to add a wall or roof or something, hopefully i wouldnt have to do to much building.

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AKTI member #A000911

 
My first night would be in a lean-to facing my fire. Easy to construct, fairly warm, goes up fast.

Long term shelter will be decided somewhat on what I can find in terrain. My first choice will be a dry cave, preferably stone. I can have fire in here, it's somewhat defensible.

Given flora and soil for construction materials, I'd next choose a wattle hut or a wickiup, depending on small stuff available and soil in the area. (Wattle would need plenty of long, sturdy, somewhat thin branches and soil I can drive them into, wickiup wouldn't) Both I'd add a layer of soil to if I could for better rain/wind protection. Both I'd dig out a floor in, to get down to mineral soil, and to lessen the heighth need on the constructed part.

One idea I've seen, and think would be nifty to attempt, is a heated bed. Build the shelter on a hillside, and place your fire downhill. Dig a ditch under where you intend your bed to go, and a chimney on the other side of it. Line the ditch with rock/inorganic soil, and cover it with flat rock followed by inorganic soil, and pine boughs (Or cushion of choice). If done right, and the chimney draft pulls properly, the bed stays right warm. This could also be effective for heating a shelter without keeping the fire inside it. I prefer my fire to be outside, but that's personal preference.

Depending on length of stay and weather, a sod house or a dugout would be next on my list of things to build. I've sort of gone opposite, choosing not preference, but ease of building. I'd choose a dugout, which I could reinforce relatively easily with timber and little tools. It's also got the warmth (Or coolness, depending on season) of the ground. I would make an effort to put a functional fireplace/chimney into the dugout, probably on the dug side of it, to save as much heat as possible and vent as much smoke outside.

More than type of shelter, I will be looking for placement, and tailor type to locale. The short, mid- and longterms described above would stay generally, but I'd be looking for a place with access to water without being in danger of flooding, close to food, but not in the midst of somethings forage area. Open area, or close to one so I can have signals available (Assuming I want to be found). Out of obvious wind channels, somewhere where I will get the amount of sun I want (Shaded in desert, sunny in cold climes...) and etc.

Stryver, who'd probably build a log cabin if he had an axe, just 'cause he could...


 
My first choce is the base of a conifer, a younger one is the best, not the 40 foot variety where you can ties down branches and weave other branches into a "dome" that is both fairly weather proof and insulating. The ground is usually full of nice soft needles and this can be added to for warmth and comfort. I know lighting can be a concern but I still like this shelter

2.. You can build a framewrok with flexible limbs stuck in the ground and tied together at the top, a smoke hole can be left if you build it large enough to have a fire. Then you can weave smaller branches through the uprights and add cover material to make a decent shleter.

3. Stipping long sections of deadbark from trees and stacking/leaning them can make a shelter too, a framework of poles will add rigidity to this also. Layering somewhat like shingles will help tremendously in weatherproofing.

4. A cave make sa good shelter, but make sure it is uninhabitated first. A goo dway to warm it is to build a reflector in front of your fire to help send the heat back on to your space.

5. A leanto is another fairly easy shealter that can benefit from a fire and reflector in cold weather.

6. A hollow tree can make a tight but nice shelter also. Make sure it is uninabitaed first.


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Lee

LIfe is too important to be taken seriously. Oscar Wilde
 
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