Shelter comments/suggestions (56k warning)

aaronjayl

aaronjayl

Joined
Apr 5, 2006
Messages
2,310
So with recent talk of "Living in the Wild" and subsequent shelter comments, I decided to practice shelter making when I went out today as it's been some time since I have done so. Now I think I have debris shelters down pretty good but, I have never tested them in anything other than perfect weather. I'm curious as to how they would ever stand up to rainy or colder conditions. I pretty much always go out by myself so I am unable to get feedback in person. Just curious if those that "know" could provide some feedback for me. Here's pics of through the "build".

The spot I chose was about 3/4 of the way up the side of a small mountain. There was a small dip that I chose, up against a rock and there's decent tree canopy over head.
thespot.jpg


Here's the framing. It's loosely spaced to allow for weaving thin leafed branches to lock it all together and close in gaps.
framing.jpg


Here's a few shots after a basic layer of weaving.
webbed.jpg


front.jpg


side.jpg


Here's where I start the debris cover. Unfortunately, my camera battery died after this shot. Forgot to plug it in last night :o Just picture a 10" - 12" debris coating over the whole thing and a roughly 6" layer of pine needles in the bottom.
partialcovered.jpg


So what do you guys think? Thanks in advance for any help :)
 
Looks pretty good, but got some questions for you. Is there a water source nearby that, in the event of a cloudburst, could flood your shelter? Is the shelter in a drainage? Is it fair weather only? Any widow makers in that tree?:D

Actually, my questions are more for readers to consider when they build a shelter, but it would be interesting to know about the area you built it in.
 
Looks good, and agree with what Longbow said. You dont want to be next to a stream or river incase a storm comes. Other then that, I would throw a bunch of pine needles on the floor of it, as the surrounding ground looks damp, and this will keep you off the cold ground..Yeah check for widow makers as that can suck real bad LOL.:eek:

Oh yeah, what blade is that? gotta tell us about the blade and if it helped in the construction:D
 
Hi longbow. Thanks for chiming in. There is a water source about 15 minutes hike from there. As for widow maker's, are you refering to say dead limbs above? Those were one of my main concerns as there is a lot of that in this area. The spot that I chose though has good, healthy growth overhead so I don't think it would be a concern for that spot. I don't think flooding would be a concern either as even though this is a mostly level spot, there is a slight slope away from my shelter. Another thing I considered was a safe fire spot. The ground had a soft spot which will be dug out for a small fire pit. When I say small, I mean maybe a foot diameter. Any other questions? Thanks again :)
 
Hi featherstone. The bed of the shelter was lined with about 6 inches (that's packed down) of pine needles. Actually quite comfortable in there. As for the blade, it's a Busse Hell Razor. She's been working overtime on the chopping the past couple days. Here's a shot of my usual hiking trio that I took while out yesterday.

trio.jpg
 
Thanks for the kind words guys. The shelter took about an hour and a half to construct. I didn't want to just go hacking away at the vegetation in one spot for the sake of practice. So I spent a lot of time cutting a little here, cutting a little there. Plus I went at a leisurely pace. I would say, if I NEEDED to get it done, I could have completed it in 20 - 30 minutes, though it's hard to say for sure.
 
That's really neat work, much tighter than I usually build. I'd like to see a shot of the finished shelter if you get the chance.

-Cliff
 
Hi Cliff. This is my "Sunday" so back to work tomorrow. I'll be out that way again next Monday. I'll get some pics then of the finished shelter :)
 
Thanks, it would be appreciated. That is a solid time by the way for a finished shelter, especially consider how it was made.

-Cliff
 
Now the question is though, how would something like that hold up to adverse weather. Say some decent rain or snow?
 
aaronjayl said:
Now the question is though, how would something like that hold up to adverse weather. Say some decent rain or snow?
Click to expand...

I've used pine bows and bark to help shed water when I didn't have something with me that would cover it and keep the water at bay.
 
Snow is actually self-protecting really quickly because it just makes an igloo. Rain takes a lot or debris unless it naturally sheds water like large sections of birch bark, sods, etc. .

-Cliff
 
Looks good mate. Its always good fun practicing stuff like shelter building. Nice selection of knives too. I have been using my Mud Razor hard ever since it arived and love it. Its not too heavy to wear on the belt all day, but big enough to chop and split while still being good at finer work. Cheers, Nick.
 
aaronjayl said:
Now the question is though, how would something like that hold up to adverse weather. Say some decent rain or snow?
Click to expand...

You did. For a test pile up and pack leaves in a plie in your yard then hose it down, see how much it takes. Taught my boys how to build debri huts last year and it is STILL in usable shape. Try NOT(ya blasphemy)using a knife to see what you can build.:thumbup:
The more you can do without gear the easier it is to do with gear.
 
Hey aaronjayl,

It's great that you are getting out there learning to build shelters. A question - the caption for one of your pictures is:
"Here's a few shots after a basic layer of weaving." Are you actually weaving in and out of the ribs? If so, you might find that instead of the weaving, twigs criss-crossed on the ribs, to support the covering might be a lot quicker. I hope my meaning is clear.

Doc
 
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