More shelters you can build

The shelters in this section expand on the previous ones. Almost all start from the same things: a tarp of at least 8 × 10 feet (2.4 × 3 m) with grommets, 30–50 feet (9–15 m) of cord, and 6–8 stakes (see chapter 2). The knots for the ridgeline (a taut line between trees) and for securing the corners are in chapter 17. Choose the shelter based on the weather, the material, and the time you have before dark.

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* Estimates for one person with practice and the material at hand. The first time, in the dark or in the cold, it will take considerably longer: practice beforehand in a park or in the yard.

A-frame shelter with a tarp

This is the A-frame tent described above, step by step. It protects from rain on both sides and from wind that changes direction.

1. Run the ridgeline: a tightly stretched cord between two trees spaced a little farther apart than the length of the tarp, at waist or knee height (lower = warmer and more wind-resistant; higher = more space).
2. Hang the tarp over the cord, centered, with the same drop on each side.
3. Stake the four corners first, diagonally opposite, and then the midpoints of the edges. Pull taut until the tarp has no pockets where water can collect.
4. Add drip sticks on the ridgeline, at each end, as with the lean-to.
5. Close one end against the wind with a backpack, branches, or the extra tarp.
6. Insulate the floor (see "Insulating yourself from the ground") and, if you have a second tarp or plastic sheet, use it as a floor, folded so it does not stick out beyond the tent: if it sticks out, it collects rain and channels it under you.

A-frame shelter with branches

For when you have no tarp. It is a relative of the debris hut (figure 5.2), but with two slanted sides and a bit more room.

1. Find a ridgepole that is straight and strong, one and a half times your height in length.
2. Rest it in a tree fork, on two poles crossed in an "X" and tied together, or between two trees, at waist height.
3. Lean ribs on both sides, close together, at an angle of about 45°: the steeper the angle, the better the rain sheds.
4. Weave thin branches horizontally between the ribs.
5. Cover with layers of leaves, grass, pine boughs, or bark, from bottom to top like shingles, until you can see no light from inside. In cold, the thicker the layer, the better.
6. Close the back and leave a small entrance on the side opposite the wind.

"Tent" tarp and "diamond" tarp

With a square tarp there are two quick, widely used ways:

• Low A-frame tent: same as the A-frame with a tarp, with the ridgeline at knee height. For one or two people lying down; it handles wind and rain well.
• Diamond: the tarp rotated into a rhombus. One corner is staked to the ground on the windward side; the opposite corner is tied high to a tree or a pole (about 3–4 feet, 1–1.2 m); the two side corners are staked to the ground. This leaves a wedge-shaped shelter for one person, with your back to the wind. It uses only one high point, so it works where there is just one tree or none (with a walking stick or pole as the post).

Hammock with a tarp over it

It keeps you off wet ground, away from ants, scorpions, and snakes, and out of water running during a storm. In warm weather it is one of the most comfortable shelters.

1. Choose two living, healthy, thick trees, spaced a little farther apart than the length of the hammock. Check that there are no dead branches overhead.
2. Use wide straps (not thin cord) around the trunks: they protect the tree and do not slip. Hang the hammock with a pronounced sag, not taut like a guitar string: taut pulls with great force and is uncomfortable.
3. Height: the center should be about chair height, so you can sit with your feet on the ground. No higher: a fall from height hurts.
4. Run a ridgeline about 2 feet (60 cm) above the hammock and hang the tarp (rectangle or diamond) so that it extends at least 6 in (15 cm) beyond each end of the hammock.
5. Add drip sticks or drip cords on the hammock straps, just before they go under the tarp: otherwise the water runs down the straps to you.
6. Stake the edges of the tarp at an angle; lower them more if wind blows or rain comes in sideways.
7. Lie diagonally in the hammock: you end up almost flat.

Emergency blanket shelter (and its limits)

The aluminized emergency blanket ("space blanket," made of Mylar) weighs almost nothing and fits in any kit. It works by reflecting radiant heat, but it has serious limits:

• It does not insulate: it does not slow heat loss through contact with cold ground or from wind. Lying on damp dirt with the blanket on top, you keep losing heat.
• It does not breathe: wrapped in it, sweat condenses inside and wets your clothes.
• It tears easily on branches, in wind, and with improvised grommets, and it is very noisy.

How to use it better:

1. As a lean-to roof in front of a campfire: tie it at the corners (wrap a small stone or a handful of leaves in the corner and tie the cord around it, without piercing it). It reflects the fire's heat toward you.
2. As an inner layer: under a tarp, inside a branch shelter or the car, to reflect your own heat.
3. Always with insulation underneath: leaves, branches, cardboard, or a sleeping pad (see "Insulating yourself from the ground").
4. Against the sun: with the silver side out, as a roof with air beneath it (not against the body), it reflects midday sun.
5. As a signal: the shiny side can be seen from the air (see chapter 8).

A "bag-type" or "bivy" emergency blanket is better than a flat one, and a real tarp is much better: do not trust your night to a Mylar blanket alone.

Wickiup or branch teepee

A cone of branches covered with bark, leaves, and grass. It takes longer than the others, but it gives room to sit up and lasts several nights.

1. Build a tripod with three long, strong poles (about 8–10 feet, 2.5–3 m), tied or interlocked at the fork near the tip.
2. Lean more poles around it, in a circle, with the tips together at the top; leave a gap for a low entrance with its back to the wind.
3. Weave thin branches between the poles, in a spiral, from bottom to top.
4. Cover from bottom to top with bark, grass, leafy branches, or a tarp, overlapping like shingles so it sheds water.
5. Insulate the floor with a thick layer of dry material.

Shade shelter for the desert (double layer)

In extreme heat or in the desert, the shelter has to give shade and let air flow, not enclose you.

1. Work during the cool hours (early morning or dusk): building at midday dehydrates you (see chapter 12).
2. Use what is there: a rock, a large bush, a shallow dry ditch (never the bottom of a stream: flash floods) or your car.
3. Stretch the first layer of tarp or fabric over cords, rocks, or sticks, at whatever height you can manage, with the sides open for the breeze.
4. Stretch the second layer above it, spaced about 12–18 in (30–45 cm) from the first. The air flowing between the two layers carries away the heat the top layer absorbs from the sun.
5. If one fabric is light-colored or silver, put it on top to reflect the sun; the darker one goes underneath.
6. Do not lie on hot ground: clear away the surface sand (cooler underneath) or raise your body on branches or a backpack.

Snow trench (brief)

Rare in mild climates, but useful if you travel to the mountains in winter. In firm, deep snow, dig a trench the length of your body and deep enough to be below the surface, roof it with snow blocks, branches, or a tarp covered in snow, insulate the bottom with branches or a sleeping pad, and leave a ventilation opening. Never close yourself in without ventilation or light a stove inside. More in chapter 14.

Car shelter

In addition to using the car as shelter (section "The car as shelter"), you can extend it with a tarp:

1. Shade in heat: tie one side of the tarp to the roof rack, to the open doors, or trap it by closing the doors, and stake the other side to the ground or to rocks, on the shaded side. This gives you a ventilated awning next to the car, cooler than the interior.
2. Windbreak in cold: park with the rear of the car toward the wind if the terrain allows, and use the car as the wall of a lean-to on the sheltered side.
3. Visibility: if the tarp is bright-colored, it can be seen from the road and from the air (chapter 8).
4. Clear exhaust: if you run the engine, the tarp must never cover or enclose the tailpipe: carbon monoxide builds up under a closed awning.
5. Location: never in a dry channel, at a ford, or at the foot of an embankment: the water from a distant storm can arrive in minutes (chapter 10).