Survival / Outdoor Tips
Building a Debris Shelter: A debris shelter is one of the best shelters you can build if stranded out in the wilderness for its warmth and ease of construction. However, even though it is easy, it will likely still take at least two hours to build one. You can construct a debris shelter either free standing by making a tri-pod with two short legs out of sticks, and one long ridge pole that will run the length of the shelter. The ridge pole needs to be at least as big around as your wrist because it is going to have to hold the majority of the weight. The shelter can also be constructed by propping one end of the ridgepole up on a stump, rock, or in a crook in a tree. Once the ridgepole is secure you will prop sticks along both sides that run from the ground up to the ridgepole, creating a ribbing effect and a triangular shaped frame. The ribs on each side of the ridgepole still need to be wide enough to fit your body, but steep enough to allow moisture to run off. The entire shelter will be filled in with these ribs except for an area in the front (where the ridgepole is off the ground) where you will get in and out of the shelter.
Once the ribs are in place, you will place slightly smaller sticks and brush crosswise to create a litticework that will keep leaves, pine needles, and debris from falling through. Once the latticework is in place you will start piling on all sorts of debris. The key here is to make sure the debris is dry. You will cover the entire structure with the debris, except for the entry way. You should have about two feet of debris covering the entire structure. In cold weather you should have 3 or 4 feet.
To help shed rain water, make some type of shingling using bark or some kind of absorbent material. Also, stack some heavier sticks on top of the debris once you are done, to prevent the debris from blowing away. When it is completed you should be able to dump a 5 gallon bucket of water on it and not get when inside of it. Keep in mind, the bigger the inside is, the harder it will be to keep warm in it. You want to make it so you can barely fit in it so your body heat will be trapped.
Below are some pictures of my first debris shelter. This was built for a college class I took, but if I was going to use it in an actual survival situation I would need to put much more debris on it. I did sleep pretty comfortably in it.
Once the ribs are in place, you will place slightly smaller sticks and brush crosswise to create a litticework that will keep leaves, pine needles, and debris from falling through. Once the latticework is in place you will start piling on all sorts of debris. The key here is to make sure the debris is dry. You will cover the entire structure with the debris, except for the entry way. You should have about two feet of debris covering the entire structure. In cold weather you should have 3 or 4 feet.
To help shed rain water, make some type of shingling using bark or some kind of absorbent material. Also, stack some heavier sticks on top of the debris once you are done, to prevent the debris from blowing away. When it is completed you should be able to dump a 5 gallon bucket of water on it and not get when inside of it. Keep in mind, the bigger the inside is, the harder it will be to keep warm in it. You want to make it so you can barely fit in it so your body heat will be trapped.
Below are some pictures of my first debris shelter. This was built for a college class I took, but if I was going to use it in an actual survival situation I would need to put much more debris on it. I did sleep pretty comfortably in it.
Finding Food: Finding food in the wilderness can be a very difficult task. Here is a tip that may make things a little easier for you if you become stranded in the wild: Know the big 4. Grasses, Cattails, Pine trees, and Acorns. Most places in North America you will be able to find at least one of these. Grasses: Almost all bladed grasses are edible including stem, leaves, roots, and seeds. Young grass shoots can be eaten raw and are rich in vitamins. Mature grass shoots can be pretty fibrous so they can be chewed for their juices and then spit out the rest. They can also be steeped to make a tea. Grass seeds can be roasted and eaten or ground into flour. 99% of grass seeds can be eaten raw, but there are some that are very toxic which is why roasting them is recommended. Cattails: Almost the entire plant is edible, stalk, roots, and flower heads. Between young leaves you can also find a sticky substance that can be used as an antiseptic, and anaesthetic. The seed heads on cattails also make great fire tinder. Pine Trees: Pine needles can be chopped and boiled to make a tea that contains more vitamin C than orange juice. Dried needles make good debris for shelters and also are great fuel to get a fire going. Male pollen anthers can be eaten for protein. Pine seeds within the cones are also a great protein source. The cones can be opened by heating them next to the fire. The pitch can be used as a wilderness glue. Acorns: All acorns are edible and just a handful will give you as much protein as a pound of hamburger. It is recommended to boil the acorns in several changes of water to get rid of the bitterness. The water used to boil the acorns can then be used as an antiseptic.
Fire starter/fuel: To get a fire started in almost any conditions, use cottonballs soaked in Vaseline. The Vaseline soaked cottonballs are easy to ignite, put off a lot of heat and burn for a fairly long period of time. Even with only wet wood I was still able to get a fire going in a rain storm by using Vaseline soaked cottonballs. Make sure when you want to ignite the cotton ball that you kind of pull it apart a little bit to expose the fibers. Keeping it balled up will make it much harder to ignite.
Making Char Cloth: Char cloth is a very useful thing to have when you're going to be in the wilderness. Just a little bit of char cloth makes it much easier to get a fire started if you don't have a lighter or matches. Perhaps you use your last match on a backpacking trip (or an actual survival situation) and you don't have any other way to get a fire started the rest of the time you are in the wilderness; If you have a tin can and some cotton clothing you can save yourself by making some char cloth. Just follow the directions below.
Getting a fire started with a flint and char cloth: Below is a video I created to show you how easy it can be to get a fire started using a flint (to create some sparks) and char cloth. This is just an example. If you're wanting to get a good fire going you're going to need more tinder, kindling, sticks, etc.
Using a Fire Piston to get a fire started: A fire piston is a small piston that you work with your hands to compress air quick enough that it generates enough heat to ignite some char cloth. This particular piston that I made uses a copper stub out and a piece of aluminum that I machined on the lathe to fit inside the copper stub out. Rubber "O" rings around the aluminum insures a tight seal to keep the air from leaking out. Fire pistons can be made from other metals and even wood. The important part is that it is sealed good because you want the air being trapped and compressed in the piston instead of leaking out. Below is an example of how to get a fire started using a fire piston. If you're wanting to get a good fire going you're going to need more tinder, kindling, sticks, etc.
Building a Rolling Snare: When stranded in the wilderness, food shouldn't be the first thing on your priority list. However, if you are out there for the long haul, you will eventually need to get some food. This can be done by setting up a rolling snare like in the video below. This type of snare can be used to catch just about any size game. The bigger the game you are trying to catch, the bigger the tree, spring stick (the small stick), the post stick and the cordage needs to be. The keys to making it work effectively are eliminating slack between the noose and the spring stick, and making sure the spring stick doesn't get hung up too much on the post stick (you want it just barely hooked on the post stick).