Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Shelter...Exposure Will Kill You Quicker Than Zombies Part I

Good day everyone, I'll like to continue with our survival series, talking about shelter.  Many people don't consider shelter because there are just so many man-made structures around.
 And they're right, in an urban setting, shelter is more about finding a safe spot.  But just outside our sprawling urban environments is the place call nature.  And if you've ever had to call roadside assistance, 3 o'clock in the morning, during winter, in the middle of nowhere, you know nature can be a tough cookie.
 Even worst if your cell phone is dead.  Or that day-trip to the national park goes sideways when you get lost off the trails.  To that end, I'll like to talk about creating temporary shelters to wait out rescue, even if it's just a tow-truck.  Lets begin with weather.


What kind of weather are concerned with, well it depends on where you live, but ideally, we want to stay dry, warm and out of the sun and out of the wind.  
If it's night in Florida, and a perfect 72F degrees, you may only need a platform to keep off the ground, but if you live in Alberta, Canada, during a chilly  35F degrees fall night, I would suggest a full 3 sided shelter with a fire to keep you comfortable.
 Since we mentioned the platform first, let's give some details about it.


A platform is just what it sounds like, but it's the basis for all shelters.  A platform keeps you off the ground, because the ground pulls heat from your body and can make you hypothermic.  The simplest platform is a thick pile of leaves.
 As long as they're dry and you don't mind the critters, it'll keep your body warm thru the night.  But we can do better than that.  Let's collect a bunch of fallen stick about 2 to 3 inch in diameter, and build a platform that 6' by 3'.  Make it at least 5" off the ground so the creepy crawlies chose to go under it. Add enough leave to limit being poked by your sticks, and wham, you got a nice platform to sleep on.  This platform will work for most temperate climates and keep you comfortable until your help arrives or it starts to rain, lol.

If it starts to rain, you'll wish you had added overhead cover.  It's easily done and can make you even more comfortable.  So let's break out your kit and start building, what, you don't have a kit, I didn't teach you how to build one, huh, well I guess I got another article to write, lol.  Anyway, let's break out your kit and grab your extra large and thick trash bag, your knife, some cordage and collect about 10 small stones.
 Find 6 large stick about 5' long and drag them back to your work area.  use your knife to to cut the seam of the trash bag to maximize the usable size.  next take you large sticks, sharpen the ends, and drive them into the ground around your platform.
 Now, take your small stones and tie them into  the ends of your garage bags.  Then take those stone buttons and tie them to the tops of your sticks.  Line the top with leaves and branches...Look at that, you got overhead cover.  But what about the wind.....You ever built a shelter?  Let us know in the comments.  Cheers

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