Hasty / Improvised Shelters

When we head out for a day or even an overnight, there isn't a lot of time for shelter building.  I love the romantic Nessmuk ideal of building a shelter from natural materials, but it chews up too much precious outdoors time.  Tarps are a speedy shelter solution, but what if you don't have a tarp with you?  Additionally,   a tarp may not be adequate for current environmental conditions.  

Environmental conditions might be a storm blowing in during a day hike, getting caught on foot trying to get home, or just getting out of the wind to heat up coffee water.  Through out my day hiking, hunting, surveying etc., I kind of keep my eye out for handy places to take refuge or build a fire.  In my home turf, I have a mental inventory of places like these to utilize when need arises.

My favorites:

1. Small Bridges / Box Culverts
2. Rock faces & Over-hangs
3. Blown Down Trees
4. Old Foundations and Stone Rows
5. Deep Ditches / Trenches
6. Stands of Evergreen Trees

Small Bridges & Box Culverts:

Dry Bridge Span

These are often found along roads, railroad tracks, and trails.  The ones I speak of are built to span some terrain feature that doesn't have a high volume of water.  Water may be present during heavy rains or flooding, but are usually dry.  Here in the North East, we don't typically get flash floods from far off storms.  If creeks and ditches here are flooding, the storm is on top of us.  Larger rivers and tributaries may experience this, but not local intermittent water ways.  With a tarp to block wind and a small fire, these locations can keep you warm and dry.

Rock Faces & Over-hangs:

Nice Rock Over-Hang

If you can find these places on the leeward slope of a hill, they make very good reflectors for camp fires. Adding a reflective tarp or blanket behind you facing the rock face, will trap more warmth from the fire.

Blown Down Trees:

Wind blown Tipped Trees

Blown down trees can offer two possible sides to get out of the wind.  There is the trunk side of the roots and the hole created by the roots when the tree fell.  The created hole could be filled with water; it just depends on the weather and terrain.  Blow downs will offer adequate wind protection to get a fire going and heat some coffee water.

Old Foundations & Stone Rows:

Here in my region, the woods and fields often have stone rows or walls along fields and property lines.  There is also an abundance of building foundations from the two previous centuries.  These features offer incredible wind protection and lend themselves to affixing tarps to keep rain and snow off the back of ones neck.   Caution should be used during warmer weather; keep an eye out for snakes, poisonous plants and other critters that frequent nice warm rocks.   As note, many foundations are often old homesteads;   keep an eye out for old dug wells!

Deep Ditches & Gullies:

Depending on orientation, ditches deep enough to be above your head when sitting may provide sufficient wind protection.  Snow and rain will be problematic here, so should be avoided in wet weather. 

Stands of Evergreen Trees:

Under Hemlocks in a Ravine

Stands of Hemlock, spruce and pine offer great protection from rain and snow.   They are frequented by wildlife during this kind of weather.  Take a walk through these stands during the winter and you will notice that the snow is not as deep.  Many times just one lone evergreen tree can offer protection from precipitation.   Combine evergreens with rock faces or a back stop of some sort and you can stay reasonably protected from the wind as well.

As always, please feel free to comment and share you ideas too!