primitive shelter is labor intensive and mostly boring, time consuming drudgery
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Unega waya
I'm just now getting interested in survival skills and recently went into the woods to see if I could build a good shelter. It seemed pretty good to me personally, but it took me 4 hours to build because the sticks I put on the sides to let the dead leaves and stuff rest on kept falling off. I'd like to know some tips on survival shelter building and what if anything is wrong with this one. I would post a pic but I'm on my phone and it won't let me for some reason so I'll describe it. I leaned 4 big sticks against a tree into a half tipi shape and then layered sticks on the gaps between them and then piled leaves and debre on it to form walls and the middle I left open for a entrance. There was a small gap between the end sticks and the tree so I just piled leafs into the crack.
This actually sound good, thanks for the report. Important factors as you probably learned first hand (much better than reading online, youtube or in a book) include but not limited to are build on high ground (not easily flooded), near your source of materials (less time hauling) and start early! I use fingers against sun to horizon to make sure I have 4-6 hours before sun set and if no clouds perhaps hour of light after that. Hope no major Thunderstorm slows me down. This is why a super compact light weight SilNylon or polyester coated tarp or just a cheap one from Walmart is SUPER helpful. SilNylon or Cuben Fiber fits in your pants pocket, cargo pocket etc. but a military poncho is also very useful and multipurpose, tarp or walking/hiking weather protection better than holding leaves over your head. Also I prefer clothes that dry fast as base layer, even in summer you can get hypothermic.
It takes a lot of leaves and sticks layer after layer to shed water effectively and at a fairly steep angle. Then if a strong wing blows or a branch falls on it, all is lost, you go hypothermic. So make is just barely big enough to craw into, trap heat and not waste materials, unless you are going to stay there for several days. If moving from site to site, wake up at first sound of birds when dawn begins to break move when you can see well enough to not stumble on path to get to next site early to start next camp setup. I function this way at BLM, NPS, National Forests, Wildlife Refuge areas so I have best selection of sites and avoid afternoon heat but mostly to give most time to set up camp and find food. Fish, small game, herbs, starch etc. The more you can forage the less you must carry, the faster you can move and the longer you can stay out there, away for stresses of civilization, ... work, clients, family demands, traffic, etc. Most folks who did not grow up in the wilderness or in elite branches of military don't adapt well to this style of camping, a few do but they are the rare exception.
Extreme fun for boys, with sticks, leaves, stones, mud in tropical jungle
Quote:
Originally Posted by
crashdive123
This did not look overly extreme to me, except that the final shelter was NOT done in a day or two!!! The basic pole barn shelter can be made quickly. Clear brush, then especially if you use an existing tree or two, use your tarp for the first night then gather palm fronds and use properly for the second night, sticks and mud/clay walls take much longer if you are not committed to an area just use palm fronds or fur branches or something similar to block wind. Chimney is WAY more than I would ever bother with for a temporary wilderness survival shelter, that fellow must have a woman or something, but his bed was very narrow, ha ha ha. Perhaps his girlfriend complained he smelled like dirt and smoke. Hey! I resemble that remark. I just hope his girlfriend liked it when he finally showed the shack to her. She was probably like "What a pile of sticks, leaves and mud?! You spent a MONTH on THIS? I'm out of here!" :scooter:
BTW does demonstrate importance of a steel blade, stone especially very crude is PITA!!! But can work in worst case, all skin on you hands will be gone in a few hours unless you are extremely well prepared for it.
I have lived in homes/shelters similar to this but larger, they are fine, when the army ants came we either diverted them or grabbed everything food and fabric let them clear out the other insects and then returned when they were done. More effective than Terminix but they have a crazy middle of the night schedule and not long residual effect. Sound is also a little Creepy when you hear them coming, ha ha ha, OMG we are going to die from an army of ants!!! Leave the hut NOW!!!
