Survival in the forest. How to Build a Winter Forest Shelter Winter Forest Shelter

Dugout

Dugout

In some cases, a person has to hide in a shelter in the forest in order to survive and avoid mortal danger. If it is easier to do this in the warm season, then in winter or late autumn, with the onset of cold weather, there is a danger of freezing and not holding out.

Forest shelter is made for several people or for one, depending on the situation. Usually improvised materials and tools, natural stone and boards are used. Shelter can be temporary or long-term.

Warming of the building is carried out with natural materials inside or with an awning outside, allowing you to protect people inside from cold, precipitation or wind. Before building a forest shelter, you need to choose the safest place, for which you should familiarize yourself with certain rules and advice from experienced builders:

  1. when choosing a safe place for shelter, you must remember about the possible strong wind, which breaks not only a growing tree, but also its branches. The danger of emergency evacuation in the middle of the night or the threat to life and health is not worth building a shelter under the crowns of trees;
  2. it is important to inspect the nearby places - they should not have a lot of dead wood (a dead tree dried up from time to time), as well as trunks hooked by branches to the crowns of neighboring trees. As soon as the wind rises, the crowns will sway, dropping the excess;
  3. once a location is selected, a polygon-shaped area is marked out. Marking poles are chosen thick, connecting them at the very top with thin and flexible branches. It is important to do the work at this stage very high quality so that there are no unstable supports;
  4. you can make a roof from a piece of tarpaulin or an awning. This provides protection from rain or sleet. Having made it at a fairly high level, you can make a fire. Live fire allows you to cook food, keep warm and dry clothes without going outside. If a strong wind rises, you can lower the awning lower so that it is not blown away by a gust (it is recommended to use a tree for greater reliability);
  5. if you don't have an awning or a piece of tarp handy, you can make the roof tighter by reinforcing it with branches and resin.

How to make a forest shelter for a long stay?

Shelter in the forest is necessary not only for spending the night, but also for a long stay inside it in cases of danger and threat to life. Outside of civilization, such a building should be reliable, comfortable enough and safe. Be sure to make a canopy in the form of an awning from wet snow and rain.

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If desired and possible, it is allowed not to use powerful equipment for construction. If construction is carried out in advance, then you can buy building materials. Natural boards for building will harmoniously fit the shelter in the forest and make an eco-friendly shelter.

How to make the right entry?

The main point in the construction of a forest-type shelter is its entrance. It is allowed to make an opening out of wood or put a full-fledged door, you can punch a hole and close it with an awning. As experts admit, the door is the most reliable option - behind its canvas, rain and wind, cold and bad weather are not afraid. Preservation of heat indoors will be more effective than with an opening in the wall.

If it is too warm inside, for example, in summer, you can open it for ventilation or leave a gap so that cool air masses renew the air inside the shelter. When the door is closed, all the heat heated by the house or heating will remain. Also, the door can protect against animals in the forest or intruders if there is a settlement nearby. The entrance can be made without the use of metal traditional hinges - there are many options for various adjustment fasteners.

A long stay in a forest shelter requires a thorough approach to the arrangement, so you still cannot do without a minimum set of tools. In particular, a hand-held drill is needed to make holes in the wooden sheet. With the use of a drill, wedges and fasteners will match exactly, which will significantly increase the durability and reliability of the door.

Among deadwood or wind-blown trees, one can find a large trunk, dry and smooth enough to make a door leaf out of it. To do this, proceed in the following sequence:

  • break the nearest hazel or its analogues into wedges for sequential birch splitting. Use ash or other types of wood to create a hammer, one end of which is cut like a handle, matching the size of the palm;
  • when choosing a trunk for shelter boards, it is necessary to monitor their evenness and quality, so the trunk must be split exactly in the center, for which a hazel wedge is used. The crack along the wood fibers increases until the wood is completely split. An approximate calculation allows you to get about 4 full-fledged boards from one log;
  • a pole is made for hanging the roof of the shelter, which ideally has a couple of branches for fixing the planks. To find a similar trunk, you can go around the area around, in trees one of the sides is often elongated in the sun at an angle of 90 degrees. This will be the top bar of the asylum door;
  • the lower door bar is made according to the dovetail principle - the boards are made flat and smoothed with an ax blade. A pair of hardened tree rods are drilled overlapping to the door post. Theoretically, the undried wood of the shelter, the door elements dry out over time, compresses the hole more tightly;
  • driving in the rods, they are cut from above and the cuts are arranged for the pegs. The depth of these cuts is of great importance, since the rods expand towards the edges to support the wedge. It is recommended to choose stiffer wedges than ash wedges;
  • the first rod for the door is driven in. Fixed with oak wedges. The boards are fixed with fasteners, after which the door is ready for installation by lifting around the corner;
  • a ledge the size of a large palm is left at the pillar of the doorway of the shelter. Corners are planed and rounded to reduce friction.

When arranging a shelter in the forest for a long stay, it is necessary that it "breathe" - an enclosed space must withstand bad weather, not accumulate moisture. If the shelter is damp and damp, then the materials will quickly rot and the structure may soon collapse. If desired and possible, one person can be left inside, who will support the fire for drying.

The place where the roof and walls are attached is characterized by high humidity due to straw and earth. The integrity and dryness of the structure of the shelter in the forest depend directly on the rafters and their decay. The task of construction boils down to a low level, sturdy inner wall of walnut twigs twisted around oak poles. Rafters are laid on the wall. Such a frame protects the base of the shelter and is a reliable foundation.

All parts of the shelter structure that are supposed to be laid on the ground or underground should be slightly smoked in the fire.

The supporting post should stand straight and hold the spine of the ridge inside the back wall of the shelter. It is fastened with two pillars with a slight slope and weaving near the wall. The frame has a different slope than the door, but is also fixed to the ridge and top. It is important to maintain compactness, while providing a small heating with a fire built inside. Even in ancient times, dwellings in the forest were built without chimneys - a smoky ceiling from a fire was created at head level, penetrating through a straw roof.

Additionally, it kills insects that hide in roof crevices. In the wild, the roof can be covered with fern leaves cut at the root. They are laid from the bottom of the roof towards the ridge, on top of each other. Additionally, it is recommended to use fallen leaves and mulch, moss, any camouflage materials of plant origin. Leaves on the roof provide additional protection from the cold.

Imagine the situation, you are behind your group on a ski trip, you are lost. You do not have a tent, but only a sleeping bag and matches. Evening, blizzard. You need to do something to keep warm.

Or you deliberately went into the forest without taking a tent with you (I decided to save weight).

What do you need to know?

  1. How to build a snow shelter (snow caves, igloos)
  2. How to set up your bivouac
  3. How to make a long burning fire
  4. How to make a shelter from what is (booth, canopy, etc.)

So, the tourist got lost, wandered for a long time in search of a trail and decided to spend the night. How to arrange an overnight stay?

Overnight campfire

1.Choosing a place to sleep

  • The bivouac must be protected from the wind (the slightest wind increases the frost)
  • It is best to arrange an overnight stay in dense forest or a small hollow.
  • Avoid glades, forest edges, hills (there is a strong wind)
  • If the snow is not deep, then dig a place for a fire to the ground;
  • Prepare more firewood (so as not to run and search at night) or, if you have an ax, fill up sushi(dry tree on the vine) thicker

How to identify a dry tree (dry land)

  • knock on it with an ax, the tree makes a characteristic ringing noise
  • the bark of such trees often peels off in pieces, wood is visible
  • Pay attention to the top she is "naked"
  • Do not use trees lying on the ground (snow), they, their wood is wet
  • Do not use sushi without a top, as a rule such sushi is unsuitable

Harvesting firewood (how to fill up dry land)

  • From the side where you will bring down the sushi, make a cut
  • On the opposite side, about 15 cm above the first, a second cut or cut is made
  • When the tree leans, rest against it with a stick (horn) and start swinging
  • The tree must fall

Option for a large group and for singles (BALAGAN)

You can spend the night well in the forest, making a kind of "booth" a suitable place for the camp, the snow is raked to the ground. A snow rampart is poured around the cleared place in a semicircle, 2 long poles are prepared, which are stuck into the snow rampart; their tops are shifted crosswise and tied with twine.

Then, skis are stuck along the entire shaft, the ends of which rest on the cross of connected poles. After that, the whole structure is covered with blankets, and a kind of "wigwam" is obtained, open in front. Inside, the entire floor is covered with a thick layer of needles; if there are no needles, then a flooring is made of poles, which are stuck at the bottom of the snow shaft at some distance from the ground. Pine needles or flooring are covered with two blankets - and the "booth" is ready. Backpacks are brought inside and placed near the snow bank. In front of the "booth" on a piece of land cleared of snow, a long taiga fire is made of thick trunks of cedar, fir, resinous spruce, dead wood, etc. When a fire burns, it is very warm inside such a room, even in severe frosts. "Balagan" of the sizes indicated in the figure can accommodate 8 people. Of these, 6-7 people. sleep, covered with a blanket, 1-2 people. they are on duty, putting firewood on the fire. Settle down for the night in the "booth" should be feet to the fire. This method is good for both large groups and for one person.

"Balagan" (or rather, a barrier) can be made from sticks and covered with needles. In front of the barrier, a “nodya” is bred (if there are 2-3 people in the group), or a large fire of the taiga type.

When building "booths" should take into account the direction of the wind. It is forbidden, for example, to cut wood for a fire on the windward side of the bivouac, thus destroying the protection from the wind. To adjust the thermal regime in the "booth" of a simplified design, one side wall should be made of a blanket. By throwing the blanket back to a larger or smaller angle, you can use the maximum amount of heat from the fire.

The floor of the booth should be covered with spruce branches, if spruce branches are not available, make a flooring of logs. In order not to put your feet into the fire, a damp log is placed near the entrance (the supporting log is placed at a distance of 1-1.5 meters from the fire) and strengthened with stakes or stones so that it does not roll down

Fire bed (method controversial)

Industrialists of the Far East use the following method of lodging for the night in the taiga in winter. Having chosen a place protected from the wind, they rake the snow to the ground, clear a small area, build a large fire from thick resinous or dry trunks and warm up the ground for 2 hours (during this time, food is cooked, people have dinner). Then the ashes are leveled, and the industrialists, having spread the skin, settle down in this place for the night, covered with a blanket. Almost all night, the warmth of the slowly cooling earth warms the sleeping people. (I used this method, but only in the fall). He works in the fall, I don’t know about the winter

canopy reflector


First option
:

stick sticks in a snowdrift and heat snow on them. The snow shaft will gradually begin to thaw and will look like a visor. It will be warm between the fire and this makeshift shed.

Second option:

Stick sticks into the snow at an angle of 50 or 60 degrees, hang a piece of polyethylene (raincoat, awning) or any other fabric on the sticks. Such a screen will reflect heat from the fire and the person will be warm both in front and behind

The disadvantage of the canopy is that you can’t fully relax near it, but you can in the booth.

However, it should be noted that these methods of lodging for the night are applicable only in wooded areas!!!

Snow caves, pits, snow huts

In a treeless area, having a sleeping bag, you can spend the night in a snow hole dug in a snow puff or in a place where there is a deep layer of more or less compacted snow. The opening of the pit is protected with snow bricks, a piece of tarpaulin, etc.. Such a snow hole can be dug for 1-2 people. For a group with a large number of participants, it is possible to dig out, if the density of the snow allows, a recess like a wolf pit, which is covered on top with skis and a piece of tarpaulin.

You can successfully spend the night in the mountains in snow cave, dug - in a snowdrift with dense snow or in slope of hard firn. The ceiling in the cave is made dome-shaped, then when the stove is ignited and the snow thaws, no water drips from the ceiling. If the depth of the snowdrift allows, it is advisable to make the entrance tunnel longer and a hole in the floor of the latter that communicates with the cave. With this design of the entrance, warm air accumulates in the cave, heated by the breath of people.

It is very warm to sleep in the snow cave, having a stove and sleeping bags. Such caves are often used by climbers during difficult ascents. With great success, snow caves were used for lodging and lodging during Wegener's polar expedition in Greenland.

General rules for building snow shelters and choosing a site for construction

  • Do not dig a snow cave near a steep slope (snowy) an avalanche may come down
  • Do not make shelter at the base of loose rocks, overhanging snow cornices
  • You can not set up a bivouac near dry and rotten trees (the wind can knock them down)
  • In a snow shelter, the warmer the higher the temperature outside (at zero, the shelter can “leak”) Protect the ceiling inside with polyethylene
  • The smaller the volume inside the cave, the warmer it is (it is problematic to heat a large volume with breath)
  • It is better to build a snow hole, a lair alone, while taking off your outer clothing

open shelter

1.Snow trench

Such a shelter is dug out of snow at least 1.5 meters deep. As a shovel, you can use skis, a bowl, a piece of plywood.

A very good shelter is obtained in ravines and hollows. In fact, it is just a slit-like pit one and a half or 2 meters deep and covered with cloth or polyethylene on top. The roof is made of tree trunks and branches or skis and sticks (if you are in a treeless zone). The roof can be sprinkled with snow on top (additional thermal insulation).

In the taiga, you can build a similar cave near the trunk of a fluffy spruce, cedar. Paws if they are a kind of roof. Clear the place of snow near the trunk in a circle. In such an impromptu hut, you can even build a small fire

2.Snow pit

This structure is very reminiscent of a hole. As a rule, it consists of a pit tunnel and the hole itself. The minimum thickness of the ceiling should be 20-30 cm. Otherwise, it may collapse. If the snow is loose, then a snow pit is almost impossible to build.

Closed shelters

1.Snow Cave

Snow cave digs on the slope. Remove excess clothing so that it does not get wet, fasten all cuffs, buttons, locks.

Classic snow cave

Algorithm for building a cave

  1. First a hole is made
  2. Breaking through a narrow tunnel
  3. The end of the tunnel is expanded up to the size you need

Non-classical snow cave type 1

Non-classical snow cave type 2

2. Snow lair

The snow lair digs near windbreaks and blockages in the taiga, there are very large accumulations of snow. A snow lair is being dug, just like a cave.

Single snow hole

In cases of extreme necessity, the night can also be waited out in a single hole of small thickness. It is necessary to dig a hole in such a way that the dead end side is raised. In such a nome it will be less comfortable than in an ordinary hole, but warmer than on the street. The point is that the person who spends the night in it is above the entrance level and is in an air cushion, the bottom is lined with a layer spruce branches or sticks.

If your feet are frostbitten or your shoes are lost, then you can spend the night in such a hole with your feet inside and cover your head with polyethylene or wrap it in a cloth.

solitary burrow

snow hut

50 cm long and 50-90 cm long. These snow "bricks" must be strong enough to support their own weight during carrying and laying on edge.

It is recommended to build a hut on a flat snowdrift with a depth of at least 1 m. With the help of 2 ski poles tied to the ends of the twine, a circle is drawn in the snow. The diameter of the circle depends on the number of inhabitants of the future hut and is established in each specific case by simple calculations. The first block is laid on edge, slightly trimming its inner edge with a knife so that the block leans inward (if a large snow hut is being built, the angle of inclination should be small, for a small hut a rather significant slope is required).

To the first block, close to one another, the rest of the blocks are laid along the line of the circle. Once the first tier has been laid, the second can be started in several ways.

The simplest of them is that from the upper edge of one of the blocks of the first tier, a cut is made diagonally to the lower edge of the same. a block or a second or third block of snow (fig. building a hut a1)

The first block of the second tier is placed in the resulting recess so that its end is adjacent to the block of the lower tier. Then, close to the first block of the second tier, the second block of the same tier is laid, etc., continuing the construction, as it were, in a spiral. The blocks of each subsequent tier should be tilted inward at a large angle, i.e., a more or less regular dome should be obtained. When the dome is ready, a tunnel is dug through the snowdrift leading to the hut and ending with a kind of hatch in the floor of the latter. With this design of the entrance, the warm air accumulating in the hut (people's breath, primus) does not allow cold air to enter the hut from the tunnel hatch (Fig. hut construction-e).

Drawing "building a hut"

I think that building a hut in the middle lane is a very laborious business.

If a snow hut is being built by 4 people, then usually one cuts the blocks, the 2nd carries and serves them, the 3rd builds the hut from the inside, and the 4th follows the builder from the outside and fills the gaps between the blocks with snow.

After the construction of the hut, it is recommended to dilute the stove inside, heat the air to + 20-21 ° and, having made a hole in the dome, freeze the hut for several minutes. After such an operation, the walls of the hut are covered inside with a shiny crust of ice, as a result of which, in case of accidental contact with the walls, snow does not fall on the floor of the hut. The hole in the dome is covered with snow (leaving only a small hole for ventilation).

Williamur Stefanson and his two comrades built their first hut within 3 hours. After some training on the construction of a snow hut for 3-4 people. (hut diameter 3 m, height 2 m) took 45 minutes.

In the snow hut, you can sleep in a sleeping bag without waking up from the cold at very low outside temperatures. If you light a primus stove or a fat lamp inside the "needle", then it becomes quite warm here, and you can sleep covered only with a blanket. Such a hut is indispensable when setting up a long bivouac (especially in treeless areas and in the mountains). If it is planned to build a snow hut at each bivouac on a winter trip, then the group should practice building it long before the trip.

You can make a snow hut of a simple design, but it will be colder than an igloo. Snow "bricks" for this hut are prepared in the same way as for the "igloo"; then a square-shaped structure is formed from them, which is covered on top with a piece of tarpaulin or blankets (see building a hut). You can also put skis on top and pile snow bricks on them. All cracks between the blocks are covered with snow. It is warmer to sleep in such a hut than in a tent.

When sleeping in the snow, in all cases it is very important to thoroughly dry the equipment (socks, ski suit, boots) before going to bed. At night, shoes should be removed and hidden in a sleeping bag, warm (fur) sleeping socks should be put on your feet, which each member of the group should have on a long-distance ski trip in winter.

If you have to spend the night without sleeping bags and it is impossible to make a fire due to lack of fuel, it is necessary, having built a snow hut or dug out a snow pit, cave, etc., take off your frozen boots, put on dry woolen socks or fur socks and put your feet in a backpack. You can't sleep in this position.

To set up a winter bivouac, you should have a snow shovel

Bonfires of long burning (winter bonfires, bonfires for overnight stays)

I have previously written an article about who is interested to see.

Building a fire requires great skill and skill; this is a kind of skill that needs to be learned so that even in winter it can be bred without problems.

In winter, before making a fire, they rake the snow to the ground with a shovel or skis, otherwise the fire will sink deeper into the snow, eventually forming a deep snow pit. Or they make a fire on the basis of logs.


Taiga bonfire(rice. bonfires-d) consists of solid or cut into two parts of woods 2.5-3 m long (cedar, resinous spruce, dead wood, etc.). Firewood is laid either along (a long fire) ‘or in the wrong well. The fire gives a large hot flame and a lot of coals; it is used for cooking food, drying clothes, for sleeping a large group in summer and winter by the fire. The taiga bonfire is a long-acting bonfire.

"American fireplace". This type of bonfire is a very long lasting bonfire. Thick short logs with chopped knots and small branches are stacked as shown in ( rice. Bonfires - e.) The fire is kindled below, at the base of the "hill". Burning, the lower log crumbles gradually into coals, the next log slips in its place, etc. The “American bonfire” is used by Canadian trappers when they spend the night by the fire in summer and winter. Cooking food on such a fire is inconvenient. Only 1-2 people can spend the night at such a fire.

Nodia (fig. fires- and ) - a fire of very long action (the Finnish fire rakotum belongs to the same type). For a node, it is necessary to find a suitable fuel, otherwise it will burn very badly. The best fuel for it is dry spruce or pine, resinous spruce, cedar, in the Ussuri region - elm. Fir, which an inexperienced tourist can mix with spruce, is not suitable for nodia. Spruce should be cut into logs 2.5 - 3 m long, 2. of them are stacked on top of each other and fixed with pegs, and the third, which serves as a regulator, is applied on the side. The node is kindled by placing kindling between the logs of the node regulator, or they cut down along the entire length of both logs of the trough, which form, when the logs are laid on top of each other, a semblance of a tunnel. Here! birch bark, dry moss, incendiary sticks (see below) are placed along the entire length of the gutter and a fire is lit.

Nodia gradually flares up and burns evenly for several hours, giving great heat. If it is necessary to weaken the heat, then the log of the regulator moves back a little. The taiga hunters of Karelia, the Kola Peninsula, Siberia, etc., use the Nodya for the night. Near the Nodya, 2-3 people can spend the night well by building a reflective barrier from branches or skis and an awning, so that sleeping people are between the barrier and the Nodya

A node can be folded from 3-4 logs. In this case, it should be kindled with a fire built at the base of the log wall of the node.

Survival in winter without a tent

"in the material presented by the author, it will be shown and told how to make a shelter in a snowy forest so that you can spend some time and spend the night in it. Using for construction only those materials that were found directly in the forest itself, the author shows us that even in the most difficult and extreme situation there are positive aspects.

This material is useful for lovers of hunting and fishing, as well as for tourists, and you just need to know the skills of survival in the wild, for everyone, without exception, "you never know what can happen in life"

And so, let's take a closer look at all the stages of construction, as well as get acquainted with what and how the author used.

materials
1. spruce branches (coniferous tree branches)
2. poles
3. sticks
4. snow
5. rope (bark can be used)

Tools
1. ax
2. sapper shovel
3. knife

The process of creating a shelter in a snowy forest.
And so, the construction will take place on a small hill in a cold, winter forest, all materials for construction will be taken in the nearest district from the parking lot. This type of shelter construction is designed specifically for an extreme situation, when you don’t have a tent with you to hide from the raging bad weather and spend the night, and there is also a minimum of tools and material.

The first step is to choose a suitable location for your future shelter, it is best if it is built on a hill. Then you should clear the snow cover down to the ground, digging a kind of small trench in the snow, you can lay out a parapet from the snow for greater reliability and subsequent strengthening of the walls of the dwelling. Here is an example of how the author did everything directly.

After the hole in the snow is completely open, our tourist begins to collect branches of coniferous trees (spruce, pine, cedar) around the area; in the common people, such material is called (spruce branches)
ATTENTION! Twigs should be cut from the lower parts of the tree, in no case do not break young trees! Take care of nature first!

From the harvested branches brought by the author, a flooring is made on the ground - this is done so that there is a layer between the icy ground and the feet of travelers. As the saying goes, "Keep your head in the cold and your feet warm" Because having cold feet, you can get pneumonia, at best, just catch a cold, which is highly undesirable in a hike.

Next, the frame of the future shelter is made from pine poles, the desired length of the trunk is cut off with an ax or knife and stuck into the snow, and a jib is also installed for reliability. If there is no ax with a knife, then you will have to break the branches thinner and preferably dry, it will be easier to break them.

Then a roof is made, if you can call it (a crate), the sticks are stacked next to a small interval and tied to the frame with a rope. If you didn’t have a rope with you, then you can use thin twigs (hazel, willow) or another tree, the main thing is that they are not brittle in the cold, they should also be warmed up a little by the fire.

As soon as the frame is ready, it is covered with spruce, starting from the bottom up.

For reliability, the walls of the dwelling should be sprinkled with snow, this will also help to preserve heat inside the room.

ATTENTION! The fire should be made at a more or less safe distance from the hut and surrounded with stone if possible, "although it is unlikely to find them under the snow." You also need to build a windscreen for the fire from sticks so that it does not spread in different directions. Follow the rules of "Fire Safety" because branches of coniferous trees, even wet ones, can flare up like "gunpowder"

Sometimes a person, once in the forest, can get lost. If this happens in the warm season, the chances of finding a way out (without much damage to health) are quite high. But if this happens in winter, the situation becomes more complicated. This article will help you figure out how to build a shelter for the night in the winter.

Winter days are quite short, and it begins to get dark by 17:00. If, with the approach of twilight, you have already realized that you will not be able to get to your home, then you need to carefully prepare for an overnight stay in the forest.

Housing made of snow

The first option for overnight stay is a snow hut.

To build such a shelter, you must first find a good place. The most optimal terrain options:

  • one or a group of fallen trees;
  • roots uprooted from the ground;
  • hillside (it is desirable to find the south side).

The shelter will be under the cover of these trees or roots.

To start building a hut, you need to prepare the foundation - dig a hole or make a small depression in the ground. Next, you should make a frame from branches (coniferous ones are best), and if you have a piece of plastic wrap, oilcloth or fabric with you, cover the frame with it. After that, you can pour a layer of snow on top.

Build an improvised "mattress" by laying spruce branches on the bottom of your shelter. If you don’t find any, you can use dry grass or hay.

At night, the entrance to the snow hut must be covered with branches.

Despite the fact that such a dwelling is made of snow, it will be much warmer in it than in a wooden hut.

Hut of branches

A wooden hut, like the previous housing option, can be built without any tools. Of course, if you have an ax or a knife with you, they will not be superfluous. But we consider the topic of survival and miss this option.

It should be noted that there are places undesirable for lodging for the night, these are: lowlands, gorges, foothills - in such places floods, rockfalls and avalanches are possible. You should not be placed on hills: the shelter will be vulnerable to the wind.

It is better to build a shelter on a flat surface, surrounded by trees: they will protect from the wind.

You should start by looking for the wreckage. For the base of the hut, a small broken trunk is best suited, which can be placed at an angle on a reliable support. To do this, it is advisable to find a low branching of trees or stick a log in the form of a slingshot into the ground. At this stage, it is also worth taking care of the flooring. Dry moss, leaves or branches are suitable for flooring.

So, on such a simple basis, it is already possible to build future "walls" of the hut. It is very good to cover the shelter with spruce branches. But if there are none, the usual ones will do. First you need to lay out large logs, small twigs on top, cover it all with moss and dry grass.

See the video below for more details.

How to heat a house

It is better to build a fire inside a hut. At the same time, it is important to ensure that there is no fire, and the fire is at a distance from the "mattress" and "walls". Do not be afraid of smoke. At first there will be a solid curtain, but then the smoke will begin to evaporate into the loopholes between the branches.

Even a small fire can raise the temperature in the shelter by 10°C.

Earlier, The Epoch Times talked about how, in any conditions, and if you have it with you (it’s not very difficult to make it yourself), then you can even make tea.

Going to the forest for a long time, a person must thoroughly prepare for the trip. Be sure to have a minimum survival kit (at least matches, a knife, a sapper shovel). These items will be useful to you for the organization of three vital processes.

1) Find a food source
2) Light a fire.
3) Build a shelter in the forest.

Of course, when a survivalist is armed with all the necessary items and tools, it will not be difficult for him to carry out these processes. But what to do if a person is left alone with nature, without any items for survival? In this case, you need to urgently take care of building a simple shelter in the forest. To date, more than a hundred structures for the construction of temporary shelters are known, which differ in their size, the complexity of the structure itself, and the materials used. The choice of design depends primarily on the specifics of the extreme situation - the type of terrain, the presence of vegetation, the season, etc. The main factors influencing the choice of the type of asylum are presented in the figure below.

For the construction of complex shelters you will need: an ax, a knife, a saw. It is worth noting that all these tools can be replaced by the "Soviet sapper shovel", it performs all the functions - it cuts, digs, hammers. Shelter in the forest should protect the traveler from various adverse weather conditions - wind / rain / snow. For the construction of the lodging, materials traditional for the area are used.

In the presence of some kind of fabric or plastic film, you can very quickly build a canopy that protects from direct sunlight and rain. True, the usual canopy is not intended for long-term parking. If you have enough time, you can build a chum or a wigwam. For the construction of these shelters, the same materials are used (film, fabric, long branches). The advantage of the plague and wigwam is that they additionally protect a person from insects and lowering the temperature. In addition, the design of the wigwam allows you to light a fire right inside the shelter.

In the complete absence of additional building materials (film, fabric, rope), the simplest option is to build a canopy. As a roof, the lower branches of the tree are used, on which the branches for the roof are laid. A hut is considered a more reliable shelter. The frame for such a design is a tree and poles that are leaning against its trunk. Branches are laid on top of this structure.

Fallen trees can be a good base for a hut. It is necessary to remove all the lower branches and lay them on the side ones that descend to the ground. This hut can accommodate up to two people. If there are no suitable trees nearby, then any other construction method can be used. You can see some options in the picture below.



IMPORTANT!

Branches that serve as a roof and walls should be laid from the bottom up, like tiles. This is to prevent water from getting inside. In all shelter construction options, it is necessary to dig a drain to prevent water from flowing into your shelter. In the absence of a sleeping bag, dry grass or spruce branches can be used as bedding. If the ground inside the hut is very damp, then it is first necessary to make a flooring from logs, and already on top of it a flooring from grass or spruce branches.

You can build a shelter in the forest using only the terrain. For example, in mountainous areas it can be small caves, grottoes. One of the most accessible shelters in the forest will also be a dugout. Most importantly, do not forget to determine the degree of safety of the place, whether a collapse, flooding or rockfall is possible.

In the winter season, it is much easier to build a temporary shelter. Snow is an excellent building material, it is enough to find natural snow pits, slopes or large snowdrifts and quickly dig a small cave. If the terrain does not allow you to do this, then we return to the construction of a hut. All walls of the shelter should be covered with snow to create thermal insulation.

And most importantly, when you find yourself in an extreme situation, never let fear take over you. A healthy mind and planning your actions will bring much more benefits than senseless panic. We wish you not to get into such situations and go to the forest only prepared.

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