Natural Shelter (No tools)

[Dura Mater]

If one is to take wilderness survival seriously there should be some emphasis placed on natural shelters. Sometimes you just might not have a tent, tarp, or space blanket. I don't exactly build and use these for vacations but sleeping a night or two in one will certainly tell you what works and what doesn't. How warm do you need to be? Debris shelter versus lean to? How far does the fire need to be to keep yourself from spontaneous combustion?

I slept in this one a while back, it was from poles found on site, cattail bed, bark shingles, and a fire reflector. The reflector was cannibalized a few days later for firewood (these pictures were taken 6 weeks after the shelter was built). Temperatures were in the single digits and I eventually had to get out of my sleeping bag.

No tools or cordage were used to build this, just things we scavenged off the ground and placed on the shelter. Full disclosure: I did have have some friends to help which made very short work of this shelter. One of those friends was my mentor in wilderness survival and almost everything I know was taught to me by him.

[oldsarge]

This is great! The only time I ever use all natural tools was when I was in Panama. I feel that out there it's easier due to the climate and abundance of building materials. The only draw back was the insects and some of the wildlife being a pain.

[ChadTower]

You found clean sawcut logs on the ground in the woods?

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


Very good. If you're dressed for the weather, and have a good fire going, it will probably work out fine. Your post should also be a good teaching tool for others.

This does does not mean that you or others should go afield unprepared, however.

[Dura Mater]

Originally Posted by ChadTower

You found clean sawcut logs on the ground in the woods?

Ha! I knew someone would call me on that good eye. I used the shelter a couple times for day trips after I slept in it and had some proper firewood. There was no snow on the ground when I slept in it either for the record.

[ChadTower]

Heh. There is a shelter like that, but two sided, in some conservation land by my house. I built it one day while my kids were messing around with a partial underground stream. I didn't sleep in it but two years later it's still there.

[catspa]

Always good to have a fallback position if you need it, Chad.

Parker

[ppine]

Good job. Always carry waterproof fire starter and a blade big enough for shelter building. Your outfit is a lot warmer than most people's high-tech low weight tents.

[Dura Mater]

Originally Posted by ppine

Good job. Always carry waterproof fire starter and a blade big enough for shelter building. Your outfit is a lot warmer than most people's high-tech low weight tents.

This is sound advice. Almost nothing you can't improvise without a good knife and a method to make fire.

[Marshmallow]

The folks on "Survivor" should take lessons from you before they start out. This outdoor survival shelter is so basic, but I can see how it would work extremely well.