Temporary shelter for survival in the forest. Extreme shelter in the forest DIY shelter in the forest

Lovers of outdoor recreation need to know how to act in unforeseen situations, have basic survival skills and setting up a camp. This is especially true for those who love outdoor recreation in the winter. When going on a hike in the forest in winter, you need to prepare in advance and take more useful things that will come in handy. One of the important knowledge needed to survive in the forest in winter is to know how to stay warm and not freeze. It is necessary to build a winter shelter and know how to properly heat and build it.

Shelter in the forest: features of the structure

Winter hikes have their own characteristics due to weather conditions, and the construction of a winter shelter is significantly different from a summer one.

1. In winter, it is more difficult to find available materials for building a shelter, as well as to find the right place to build it. In summer this task is much easier.
2. In winter it is more difficult to stay warm. If in summer you only need to warm up at night, then in winter you need to maintain heat constantly.
3. It is important to build the shelter correctly so that the structure does not fall apart and to heat it correctly so that the heat is retained.

How to build a winter shelter with your own hands in the forest - step-by-step instructions.

Search for a place

The first thing you need to decide on when building a shelter is the right place. If you are in the forest, these are good options:

If you are in a mountainous area.

• You need to choose a place that resembles a cave, some large gorge in the mountains, in order to fit freely there.
• A flat area is suitable if you have a tent or tarpaulin.

Tools for building a winter shelter

Having decided on the location, you need to move on to construction. Let's consider each case separately.

woodland

To build a winter shelter in the forest, you need to decide on the type of shelter. The most suitable temporary shelter is a winter cave. An interesting paradox: to escape the snow and cold, you need to hide in the snow. If the location you choose is a small hill or flat area, then you need to dig yourself a hole.

Make sure that the cave or hole will not fall through and that the place is secure. Dig a hole of the required length to accommodate the required number of people. Make a small trench along the walls. With its help, cold air will fall down and accumulate there. Remove all snow outside. The exit can be covered with snow so that less wind gets inside. If you are digging a hole on a flat area, then build a roof from scrap materials.

If you have tarpaulin, use it. In its absence - with branches, leaves and everything else you find. Finding something in winter is much more difficult than in summer. Your shelter is ready. If you have a tent, you need to set it up on a more level surface and clear the area of ​​branches and thickets.

Shelter in the crevice

Mountain landscape

Having decided on a location (most likely a gorge or cave), dig the necessary hole, if necessary. If you find a real natural cave, you won't have to build it yourself. Rules for building a cave shelter like in a forest. It is necessary to additionally take into account that stones or snow may fall. You need to make sure you don't get hurt if this happens. If you have a tent, set it up on a flat surface, having first cleared the area of ​​debris. Make sure that it will not fall from the wind, as the winds in the mountains are quite strong.

Snow Shelter

The next step is heating the winter shelter. The rules are the same here. Inside the shelter you need to make a fire from branches and sticks, but you need to be careful that it does not get too hot. Don’t rush to throw away wet branches; try cutting or breaking them in half. They may be dry inside and burn better.

You may have taken candles, they will also work. Any source of fire will warm the shelter if it is built airtight. The peculiarity of heating a snow shelter is that due to temperature changes, the snow begins to stick together inside and the walls become strong. During this process, cracks may form; they need to be covered with snow. The fire should not get too hot, otherwise you may be injured by the fire.

Ideally it should be small and create a lot of warm coals. Then the heat will remain for a long time. Find stones and put them in the fire. They will create additional heat like a stove. We should not forget that you need to dry things thoroughly so as not to sit in wet things. This will make it harder to stay warm.

Types of winter shelters

What other types of winter shelters do you know? Briefly about the types of shelters.

1. Open type shelters. These are natural caves and gorges. There is an opening in the shelter and it can be ventilated. It is advisable to do this if you plan to build a strong fire, and if there is no strong snowstorm.
2. Closed shelters. Pits, “burrows” in the mountainside. Such a shelter should have as little ventilation as possible and be closed on all sides.

There are a few more useful tips that will work in any situation and in any area.

Construction of a shelter in the forest does not imply the construction of a capital camp hut or the installation of a tent, but the construction of an extreme shelter in conditions of lack of time, lack of tools, strength or health. A shelter in the forest is necessary for survival when, by chance, you need to quickly build a place to spend the night. What distinguishes a person who finds himself in an extreme situation and needs shelter from a lost tourist is that he uses any available means to arrange an overnight stay, and sometimes he only needs to have a knife to survive and find a roof over his head in nature. There are many ways to build a temporary shelter.

Summer forest

The main rules that should be followed when in the forest when it gets dark are the following:

• You don't need to keep moving through the forest when night falls, you can get even more lost.
• You should not choose a place to spend the night in a depression or hole, especially in areas with heavy rains.
• It is necessary to choose a flat place, but with the presence of a large tree with roots or a stone behind which you can hide from the wind or on which you can sit at full height.
• Before it gets dark, you need to collect as many branches as possible - they will be useful for making a fire, covering a shelter, and making bedding.
• If possible, it is better to choose a place near a stream for an overnight stay.

Do-it-yourself shelter in the forest: types of shelters

Types of shelters constructed in the forest under extreme circumstances can be divided into types:

1. Regarding the protection of shelters from climatic conditions, animals: closed and open shelters. The first type includes a tent, a wigwam, a dugout, and a hut. If a person does not have the tools necessary for their construction when exposed to extreme conditions, only open types of shelters become available: canopies, hammocks, decking on the surface of swamps.
2. Regarding the capacity of shelters, there are group and individual (single) shelters.
3. Purpose: the shelter can protect from wind, winter cold, precipitation, sunlight, insects.
4. Regarding the service life, the construction of a shelter in the forest can be temporary, intended for a one-time overnight stay, protection from natural disasters, bad weather. It can be capital, intended for shelter in the forest for a long period.
5. The labor costs invested in the construction of shelters also divides them into types: these are easily erected buildings for temporary shelter, as well as labor-intensive ones that require the use of special skills and tools.
6. Regarding the materials used, buildings can be divided into frame-deciduous, earthen, frame-fabric, stone, snow, adobe, wooden

The worst option for a person in an extreme situation is the lack of a knife, other tools, or matches. In this situation, the only option is to spend the night under a tree, but this option is fraught with unpleasant consequences, such as: hypothermia of the body with the occurrence of various diseases, encountering unpleasant insects and reptiles on the ground, and it is also impossible to get a full sleep under such conditions. Therefore, this option only provides for the equipment of extreme shelter in the forest. You can do the following: find a large tree with a wide spreading crown, as well as a small fallen tree with a usable trunk that can support the weight of a person. You need to drag the second tree to the first and place it so that it protects it from gusts of wind with its trunk. Spending the night will take place in a sitting or lying position on a tree trunk. Having the necessary skills and the ability to start a fire will help keep you warm at night. The advantage of this method of spending the night is that the tree is warmer than the ground, and this will allow you to maintain health than when sleeping on the ground; moreover, there is less chance of encountering insects or other forest reptiles on the tree. The trunk of a fallen tree will help protect your back from the wind.

A storage shed is the simplest and most quickly erected structure in the forest. To build it, you need to find two trees located opposite each other at a distance of up to 2 meters. Between them you need to attach a pole on which to secure the branches at an angle relative to the ground. They need to be covered with branches on top, thereby creating shelter walls.

How to build a shelter in the forest

The second option on how to survive in the forest requires more favorable conditions - the presence of matches and a knife, as well as some small things that can usually be found in a tourist’s pocket. Under such favorable conditions, you can make a fire, and use a knife to cut and process the branches that will be necessary to build a shelter. To do this, you need to find a suitable trunk, surrounded by small trees, which are pulled to the central one with the help of laces or rope so that a kind of “umbrella” is obtained. Further, this structure is strengthened with long poles in a cone shape. From above, the structure is covered with branches with leaves with the convex side outward to protect from rain. A thick layer of litter is constructed from leaves and branches. If you don't have rope to tie the branches together, you can use tree bark fibers. While the bark is fresh, a thin part is cut off and tied with ropes, and when they dry, they become very strong. The only downside is the time it takes to find the right tree, which is especially inconvenient in bad weather conditions.

The construction of a shelter is easily possible with the help of some kind of slope. You need to find a place under the hill and start building a frame: one pole is driven into the hill almost perpendicular to the ground. Its end is secured by two more long sticks inserted into the ground at an angle. You need to attach several branches to the resulting frame using a rope to create two sides of the shelter. It is advisable that their length does not exceed the height of the shelter. You need to throw moss and branches on top of the sticks. Moss placed at the bottom of the shelter walls protects it from the penetration of insects and moisture in case of rain. Spruce branches will help ward off annoying mosquitoes and midges. An improvised door made of branches will help protect from the wind and keep warm inside the shelter at night.

Building a shelter is much easier if, by luck, you happen to have a hiking backpack with plastic film with you. At the same time, to build a shelter in the forest, you need to find a large tree, preferably with thick roots. Using a knife, two long poles are cut, which at both ends rest against the tree trunk. Their tops can be tied with rope. Next, a film is stretched over the fastened poles, preferably secured so as not to be torn by the wind. Inside the structure you need to build a bedding of leaves and branches, and make a fire at night. The overnight stay is ready: plastic film protects from rain and wind, a fire warms your feet, a bedding of pine needles, branches or leaves prevents your body from freezing from the ground. More complex options for how to make a shelter should not be considered, since they are not realistic for recreating in an extreme situation when you need to survive without special tools.

Since ancient times, the most important skill has been building a home. Housing saved people from cold, heat, and wild animals. Even now, a tent is a must-have item when camping. But if you find yourself in an extreme situation, you will have to find and equip shelter yourself. In this article we will look at how to arrange a temporary shelter in the forest.

Shelter classification

Shelters can be divided into the following types:

1) According to the construction method. Open (canopy, flooring) and closed (dugout, wigwam, hut).

2) By capacity. The shelter can be designed for 1 person or for a group.

3) By purpose. A shelter can protect from cold, rain, snow, animals, and insects.

4) By time of use. The shelter can be temporary, used for spending the night, resting, or shelter from bad weather. Capital shelters can be used for long-term living.

5) According to the expenditure of effort. They are divided into prefabricated (usually temporary shelters) and labor-intensive (capital, long-term shelters).

6) According to the materials used. You can use many different materials to build a shelter:
— Fabric shelters (tent, canopy)
— Frame-fabric (wigwams, tents)
— Frame-deciduous. In the absence of fabric, branches, grasses, and ferns are used to cover the shelter.
- Earthen ones. Such shelters are dug in the ground.
- Snowy ones. Caves are dug in the snowdrifts, and igloos are built from snow blocks.
- Stone.

7) By origin. There can be natural (caves) and man-made.

Summer forest shelters

A shelter consists of three main elements: floor, walls and roof. Depending on environmental conditions, some of these elements may be discarded. Let's consider the main types of forest shelters in the summer.

A canopy is the simplest type of shelter. It is built quite quickly, but the functionality is very limited. A canopy can help provide shelter from precipitation and nothing more.
To build a canopy you will need polyethylene or a piece of fabric. Find two trees standing next to each other and attach a ceiling pole to them, or string a rope. Place polyethylene on top and press down the ends with stones.
If there are no trees, then several poles will do for construction. Drive 2 poles at an angle to form a triangle. It will serve as the entrance. Place the third pole on top of the formed fork with one end, and lay it on the ground with the other end. Place a film or cloth over this pole and press it down with stones.

Wigwam

It is a frame building. Able to protect from rain, wind, and help keep you warm. If you are going to make a fire, then take care of the hole for the hood.
For construction you will need poles. On the ground they are lined up in a circle, and connected at the top into a bundle. The resulting structure is covered with film or cloth. If they are not at hand, then tree bark can be used as a covering material. They begin to lay it from below and fasten it with willow twigs.
The frame can be built around a tree trunk. But in this case, you shouldn’t light a fire inside.

Adyghe house

To build this type of shelter, you will need flexible branches or bushes. Flexible branches must be dug into the ground in two parallel rows, and the tops must be fastened together. You should get arches. Attach branches horizontally to the arches. Spruce branches are placed on the resulting crate.
If the area where you want to build an Adyghe house is overgrown with bushes, then instead of branches you can use nearby bushes. To do this, tie their tops and you will uproot everything between them.

Winter forest shelters

In winter, a shelter can be dug directly in the snow. You will need a snowdrift; if there is none, then you need to rake the snow into a pile.

Trench

In deep snow it is very convenient to dig a trench as a shelter. If you don't have tools, you can trample it with your feet. The width of the trench must be at least 1 meter, the length depending on the covering material. After digging a trench, place rafters on top; skis and branches are suitable for this. Cover everything on top with film, cloth, and cover it with snow 20 cm thick.

Cave in the snow

On slopes with very thick snow cover, it is most convenient to dig snow caves. Be sure to make sure that the terrain has minimal chance of avalanches.
For construction, knock out a hole in the snow with your feet and start digging a tunnel. Dig the end of the tunnel slightly at an angle to the top and expand it to the desired size. This will help the warm air stay inside.

Den

Another good shelter in a snowy forest is a den. You can build it in deep snow among windbreaks and roots. Make sure the trees won't move and start building your shelter. A den is built by analogy with a cave.

Snow dugout

Building a snow dugout is very similar to building snow trenches. For a snow dugout you need dense snow. Using a hacksaw or other tools, snow slabs are cut out and placed on top of the trench.

Surviving in the forest is not so easy, unless, of course, you have long-term survival experience. Of course, in our age of high technology it is difficult to get lost in the forest with different GPS technologies, but what to do if you have an accident and the nearest populated area is no closer than 100 km? Or did you crash somewhere in the taiga and your phone broke? In this situation, our forest survival tips will help you. If you have carefully read our website, you know that we have already raised many questions, so we will simply refer to them here.

The article will be divided into subparagraphs, or rather into the sequence of actions that you will need to take. So, let's begin.

Plan

Once you find yourself in the forest and realize that you won’t be able to get out quickly, then it’s time to think about shelter. Experienced survivalists put this point first because shelter helps solve many problems. It’s easy to do it yourself in a very ordinary forest.

So, if you find yourself in the forest in winter, then first you should follow simple rules. We have already written detailed articles on this topic:

• Emergency overnight stay in the winter forest

By learning these instructions now, you will be able to last much longer when you are in this situation.

In these articles, everything is chewed down to the smallest action. Now you know how to build a shelter in the forest at any time of the year. Next, you need to think about how to stay warm.

Types of fires - simple and complex methods of ignition

Of course, alcohol and other traditional methods are a good way to warm up, but not in the forest, where it is unclear how long you will remain. Therefore, you need to learn how to make a fire using almost all available methods. But first, a little theory about the rules and what kind of fires there are.

After studying this material, you will understand how to properly make a fire and what is needed for this.

Foraging for food

Shelter and a fire are of course good, but everyone always wants to eat. Now we need to find out where to get food in the forest and how to determine whether it is fresh or not. I have already published articles on this topic:

You won’t be satisfied with simple berries, so you often have to hunt. In this situation, you should read the article - Cutting elk, wild boar, hare, because suddenly you will be able to catch someone.

After you've resolved the food issue, you might want to make some homemade dishes with your own hands.

Homemade dishes in the forest

Making dishes is a second matter, because if you have a strong desire to eat, your hands can become a tool for eating food. But if you are thoroughly stuck in the forest and you have time, you can make your own dishes. In my article - how to make dishes in the forest with your own hands, you will learn how to make simple spoons and bowls.

Mining devices

I wrote above that it is possible and necessary to obtain meat in the forest. Of course, it’s smart to do this with a weapon, but most likely you won’t have one. Therefore, you will have to get meat with your own hands. Traps will help us with this, which we will have to learn how to make, because catching even a hare with bare hands is not easy. It will also be useful for you to read about hunting snare traps, which will also help catch the animal.

If you know how this is all done, even in its simplest form, then for sure your chances of getting food will be much higher.

Water extraction and purification

Water is simply necessary in the forest, otherwise it will be very difficult; fortunately, getting water in the forest is not as difficult as, for example, in the desert. You can read how to find water in the forest in my article - how to find, extract and purify water while in the forest. Additionally, I advise you to familiarize yourself with the material - filtration, disinfection and storage of water.

Exit from the forest - orientation in the forest.

So, this is the final point in which you will learn how to get out of the forest. By the time you leave, you should already be able to make a fire, get food and water.

To begin with, you should stop and take no further action. Sit on a tree stump and think about landmarks (railway road, lake, river) that you might have noticed before. Remember the direction of movement, for example relative to the sun or moon. Next, it’s worth listening, because the noise of a tractor can be heard 3 kilometers away, railway roads 10 km away, and the barking of a dog 2-3 km away.

If everything is in vain, then just follow the stream to the river, and the river should lead you to people. If there is a big tree and you want to climb it, then look at what’s around. It is also worth paying attention to the road; if you see that there is a path, then feel free to follow it. The main thing is to determine in which direction you need to move. If you keep bumping into branches, then most likely this is an animal path. If there is a fork in the road, then it is better to take the one that is more trodden.

Now about orientation. If you know approximately where to move (for example, before entering the forest, you looked at its approximate position relative to populated areas), then you can try:

It is worth remembering that many “wanderers” walk in circles, because a person is designed in such a way that often the right leg takes a step wider than the left and, accordingly, over time it turns out to be a circle, so it is worth doing Serifs and create landmarks.

Now let's talk about animals. You can meet animals in the forest, but more likely they will find out about you sooner and simply leave. The only thing is that they can attack you if:

• they are injured;
• frightened by your appearance;
• protect their young.

In this situation, you should run away or try to scare away the animal with fire. You can knock a stick on a tree. In any situation, of course, you should avoid direct contact with animals, because they may be infected.

This concludes my article. I tried to put in it everything that I considered necessary and that I learned from other resources dedicated to survival. If you have questions, you can write in the comments.

It's easy to get lost in the forest, even if you've been there many times. If you have no idea how to get back, and the sun has long passed its zenith, then the surest thing is to set up camp. For the most protected and safe overnight stay in the forest, build a temporary shelter; it will make you more invisible to forest inhabitants and protect you from rain and wind.

If you set up such a shelter in an open area, equipping it with signal signs, then from the air it will be much easier for rescuers to notice it than a lonely person.

Selecting a location:

• When choosing a location for your shelter, try to avoid river shallows, low-lying banks near water, dry river beds and other places where there is a risk of flooding your shelter when the water level rises due to rain. Any lowland is a place where cold air currents accumulate; setting up camp in such a place is a bad idea.
• To avoid trouble during a thunderstorm, you should also avoid high places, such as the tops of mountains and hills. Moreover, your shelter will be exposed to strong winds.
• Do not camp near animal trails - you will interfere with each other. Try not to litter around the camp, this can also create a lot of problems with the local inhabitants. Store your belongings in a place inaccessible to animals, for example, hanging on a tree. Stay away from anthills and rotten or hollow tree trunks that may fall in windy weather.
• Try to choose a place where you have access to both water and wood for the fire.

The choice of shelter location also depends on the nature of the terrain:

• In the tundra and taiga, choose the dryest possible places away from swamps, preferably on rocky or sandy elevated soil.
• In the steppe, your task is to protect yourself from the wind, so choose places behind a hillock. If mosquitoes bother you and the weather is hot, you can choose an elevated place blown by the wind.
• In deserts and mountains, day and night temperatures vary greatly, which means you need to provide protection from both heat and cold.

To save time and effort, you can use terrain features as an aid in organizing shelter, for example, the trunk of a broken tree. Just be sure to make sure that the tree doesn’t fall on you completely.

Here are some visual ways to make a very simple canopy:

• Unilateral:

• Bilateral:

• Inclined- its advantage is that such a canopy better retains heat and protects from the wind, and there is no need to build a third wall:

If you have an awning or, then you can build a more reliable shelter. To maximize the windproof and heat-preserving qualities of the shelter, you can combine plant material and an awning.

More options for installing shelter using an awning:

You managed to put a roof over your head, but what to sleep on?

Never lie down on the bare ground! You risk not only freezing, but also getting serious illnesses due to hypothermia.

Surely, within the radius of your parking lot there will be dry grass or moss, cattail stalks or sedges - these soft materials will serve as both a mattress and a blanket. For maximum distance from the cold soil, thin elastic branches can be placed under the soft layer. The more there are, the softer your sleep will be.

The main thing is to remember that such a shelter is a way to preserve your life in extreme situations; breaking off branches and cutting down bushes for fun is not a noble thing!

Take care of the forest, and one day it will help you out!