Strange find and starting this winters shelter

LMT66

LMT66

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Jun 18, 2008
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Last winter I found a blowdown that made a perfect natural shelter. Really didn't need anything but a sleeping bag and a body. I went out today to check it out and do a little work to it and setup a firepit. Someone beat me to it!
Not sure what to make of it but it is kind of interesting. Looks like a foxhole, a mini-mine or digging for ??? and a little garden nearbye. Neither of the excavated spots had any trace of being used as firepits.

The shelter I intended on fixing up is to the right of the covered hole.

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Closeup of the natural shelter.

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My 54" hiking staff in the big hole.

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Foxhole? Perfect size for a sleeping pad and bag.

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Garden.

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I picked up the bag of goodies I stashed out here last winter and started a simple A-frame. I had duct taped a casulty blanket to a tarp and put it and some clear plastic in a bag for later use. Surprisingly the duct tape was still holding everything after a year. I'll bring another small tarp to extend the sides down to the ground and block off the back of it.
I'll hopefully finish this up next weekend. Nothing you haven't seen already but maybe it will inspire some to get out and about.

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Jesus dude, you have some freaky ass woods, i wouldn`t much time in there unless i had a .45... that garden is strange, awesome shelter though!:D
 
It's a shame someone would make a mess like that in the forest and not clean up after themselves. :mad: :mad: :mad:

No Trace, or stay home. :grumpy:

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I do like your tarp shelter though, so long as you dismantled it afterwards. :o

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You wouldn't believe the crap that I've found out in the forests left by inconsiderate jerks and even criminals. Still, I've never seen anything like those holes.
Except once... Oval-shaped hole, recently dug and filled, and outlined with rocks on the surface with a big rock at one end of the oval.

Can you guess what was in the hole beneath the fresh fill dirt?
 
Fonly said:
Jesus dude, you have some freaky ass woods, i wouldn`t much time in there unless i had a .45... that garden is strange, awesome shelter though!:D
Click to expand...

Between the odd things I find and all the scrub brush and trees, it can be freaky!

Bob W said:
It's a shame someone would make a mess like that in the forest and not clean up after themselves. :mad: :mad: :mad:

No Trace, or stay home. :grumpy:

I do like your tarp shelter though, so long as you dismantled it afterwards. :o
Click to expand...

Not exactly pristine woodlands here as these are wastelands along a canal. One thing to take note of is that there is zero garbage anywhere around the garden and holes. Might not be as bad as it might appear considering some of the other places I've stunbled upon that had hundreds of bottles strewn about.

My A-Frame will be up for the winter months. In the spring, all unatural materials will be removed, firepit cleared and covered and the frame will stay to rot or fall down. Kind of like last winters wigwam which should provoke the imagination of anyone who happens to find it, if they ever do.

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As it looks a year later.

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Nice shelters ! I'm still stumped on the hole with the cover over it & the "Grave" looking hole beside it !
 
Great shelter there! Nice frame tie-up and tarp use. Well done!

It's definetly an interesting find. The "grave" looking hole could be a set-up for a 'hot-bed'. Simply fill in the hole with heated rocks/coals then cover with a layer of dirt/non-flamables. Put in some softer "bedding" and viola! - a nice, warm sleeping spot for a long, cold winter night.

On another note, i'd be dis-inclined to set up there because of the obvious high ground-water table which is easily visible. You confirmed my thoughts when you mentioned proximity to a canal - probably a good reason why a longer-term resident would've chose that area - close to a consistent, (hopefully) clean water source.

In winter, presuming the ground actually freezes there, it could be OK, but very muddy when the thaw comes and muddy ground soaks up body-warmth quickly. If you're pretty pleased with the camp, i'd be 'layering' the ground inside your shelter with as much leaf-depth as possible because it will all become moist as your fire warms that space (and keeping it from your stone-lined fire-pit!).

Thanks for the write-up and taking time for the pics!
 
Seems like a hobo camp to me. The grave hole is probably the start of a bed and the large hole is either a latrine or someone digging a well. Being near a canal they may be trying to get to the high water table for fresh water. I'm guessing this because of the "garden" and the fact that you say it's cleaned up compared to the rest of the area. Who knows, it could just be a fellow bushcrafter doing the same thing you are.
 
I do not think pot garden- too small, not enough sunlight. Climbing gourds "might" be used on the outside edges to block view of plants but really too small to be worth the risk.

The bed depression could be filled with greenery to form a soft mattress. The excavation is cool. Someone took the time to stabilize the rim from erosion and to cover it. Any colleges nearby? Maybe a project for a school paper on local natives?

Bill
 
The dirt from the holes is probably just scattered around the immediate area or perhaps it was used in the garden? Odd that the big hole had no clay base. It was all dirt to the bottom.

Finished the wind break/fire reflector the other day. Might do an overnighter Sat/Sun to see how it works. 6" of fresh snow since these pictures.

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Found an empty glass bottle of Mogen David -MD 20/20?

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Interesting..... I did a little looking around the 'net and that sure looks like a Mad Dog 20/20 bottle. Also, the Star of David is interesting there too (for me anyway....).

Nice find.
 
I would not be building around that place. I would find another place to do my thing. You just never know bro.
 
That is kind of strange. Maybe it was aliens looking for Ozark riches? The circular hole looks like the beginings of a hand dug well. The other looks like a grave, or a place to store things such as a make shift cool storage area (root cellar, so to speak) for veggies. Of course it would require a cover.
 
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