One Down, better than Two Over

     For a couple of weeks now, I have been watching Bear Grylls "Get Out Alive".  Each week, Bear has had to step in and teach his contestants an important lesson along their path.  The lesson that sent this weeks' contestants home was simple.  When making shelter from tarps, it's better to have one on the ground than to have two above.  Simple!  And, yet, after two attempts to provide shelter, the couple in charge had not learned better to have one under than two over.  They went home.  So, they should.  This lesson is simple and when not followed can leave you cold, wet and awake all night long.  

     Whenever we go camping, we put down a tarp before we put up a tent.  It has ever been thus, but some don't.  The tarp down provides not only a layer of insulation but a layer of protection from whatever sticks or rocks we may have missed when clearing an area for the tent.  
     Yes, I know tents have a tarp like floor in them.  Sticks don't care what you read on the box!  They just cut your floor and leave you patching and mending when you could have protected your investment with a tarp on the ground.  It's easy to lay down the tarp and erect the tent.  If you have one of those tents that is not a square or rectangle, just fold the tarp under at the points where you need to plant stakes.  If you are expecting a downpour, you can put the tarp inside the tent.  It won't protect the floor but it can keep your bedding dry if you get heavy rains for long periods.

     Once, when I was setting up my personal tent, a man, let's call him a gentleman as he was genuinely trying to be helpful, told me I didn't need to put down a tarp with that brand new tent.   I just smiled and put down the tarp anyway.  That gentleman got up the next morning mumbling as he had to dry out his bedding then patch the floor of his tent that didn't 'need' a tarp under.  
     It rained a little that night, but hours after it stopped, the water seeped under the tent, found the slit in the floor and soaked his bedding.  I made breakfast and took him a cup of coffee.  He never spoke.  By using that tarp which until it has been cut, ripped and recycled, my personal tent is in like new condition twelve years later.

www.survivalblog.com 

     When you are making shelter on the go, it doesn't matter if you make a shelter from a tarp that ends up looking like a burrito, as long as you have something under you to insulate you from rising damp, cold and critters, you are better off than someone with plenty of room to stretch out.  


     If you need additional insulation or back support for a shelter, all the survival guides and scout manuals suggest using vegetation in area.  Leaves, moss and sod are great for this purpose, but, they are also full of sticks, bugs, fleas, ticks, ants, spiders, fungus, feces, or urine.  Where do you think those bears go in the woods?  Lay it down, go ahead and use it, then put a protective layer of plastic, tarp or layers of newsprint over it.  

www.flickr.com

raggz2baggz.com 

     If you live near or travel through any urban area where people sleep out on the streets, you can take a lesson from the homeless.  They lay out a layer of cardboard, newspapers or a piece of plastic.  Even sidewalks in Florida are cold at night.  

freshgreensonoma.wordpress.com
notice the tarp under?

     If you have the chance to camp out this summer, try one night on the ground with covering over you.  Remember seeing those old cowboy movies where they just lay down and pulled their hat down?  Try that once.  You will fuss a little and mumble something about hollywood hype.  It sometimes brings home a lesson when you experience how quickly you lose body heat through the ground, no matter how well you are dressed or blanketed. 

     As kids running around in the summer heat not knowing about proper hydration, we would fall into a pile on the lawn and stare at the clouds.  If you are ever overheated, lie down in the grass and your body temperature will drop.  I still do it.  When I am outside gardening and I feel I've over done it or just feel I've done enough, I lie down in the grass.  My body temperature comes down.  I relax.  I look at the clouds.  I get up and go get some lemonade. 

Building on Building Skills

  Yesterday I posted tips on making temporary or emergency shelter.  Today we can build on these basic skills.  

First, preserve what you have.

www.wikihow.com

     In my neighborhood, we lost a neighbor four streets over and three homes were taken out by a single tree in one hurricane.  The lady across the street lost half her roof. It was weeks before her family could get together to fix it.  Meanwhile, a tarp and a couple of furring strips kept her dry.     This use of a tarp to protect a damaged roof is accomplished with a tarp, a strip of wood (1 x 2 or 2 x 2) and nails.  If you don't have the strength to hammer and nail repeatedly, make sure your battery powered screwdriver is charged and you have screws on hand.  But, know this, if you screw the screw to tight, it will spin and rip the tarp. 

     The tarp on my roof was something the FEMA adjuster mentioned.  When you apply for FEMA assistance the website encourages you to take steps to mitigate damage. The adjuster told me some people thought they should just wait for a check before taking steps to protect their possessions.  They were disappointed.  The insurance adjusters I spoke to wouldn't take your information until they warned you to do the same. 

     A tarp as a shelter may be needed when hiking or traveling in the wild, but the skills to protect your property from further damage is also an imperative.  

     You may not always need to erect a lean to or a tepee on the go.  It is good to know how, but since you have these skills, you can build on them and use them when you need.

     One of neighbors lost his shed.  It just blew away leaving the equipment from his roofing business exposed to the elements and thieves.  Without being able to speak Portuguese  I was able to offer several small tarps that he used to cover his property.    Another neighbor donated  some two by fours to make a frame.  It looked like a squared off lean to, but it served its purpose until his shed was found and he bought tie downs to keep it from ever blowing away  again.  

     If you are in dire straits waiting for an insurance check or other assistance, you may need to build on your building skills to provide shelter for yourself and family until help arrives. The basic lean to is good for a night or two but needs to be fortified for longer dwelling.   

www.ferrocement.com 

     Lashings made from grasses should be made with wet twine or leather strips.  Leather strips could be cut from belts.  If the lashing is wet when applied, it tightens as it dries.  

     Lashings can be made sturdier if you apply wrappings of cloth strips to the joints and pack them with cement.  We are still using grade school skills you learned when you tried decoupage in art class!  You are just now using cement instead of white glue.

en.wikipedia.org 

    The covering of a temporary lean to is usually branches or brush.  The next step to make a lean to more durable or permanent is to cover the branches.  You can use a tarp or a mud covering. 

sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com 

     If you are huddling up for an extended period rethink the lean to design a bit.  Re examine your landscape.  If you can find or make a living area and span the space with a lean to, you accomplish several things.  When digging in, you use the earth as insulation and protection.  You raise the roof by lowering the floor.  Take advantage of hillsides but be wary of depressions that may have been caused by wash out from rain or flood.  

www.homeintheearth.com 

Build on your basic building skills.  The Western pioneers lived for years in dug out homes made in the hills.  They also lived in the sod house, cut from the land.  Both of these could be accomplished with lashing skills and very few nails as they were expensive and scarce.

    

     

Temporary Shelter for the B.O.B.

     I have been cruising the web looking at temporary shelter and comparing what I have to what is new and available.   I am showing the results of my searches for anyone who has not bought or shopped for shelter, yet.  I have a hammock.  What I have for me is perfect for me.  I have the classic tent hammock, but I am liking the hammocks and rain flys at this site for their light weight.  

http://hennessyhammock.com

     If you have a long way to go, this style and weight might be good for you. It is worth the time and trouble to look in on these sites.

http://tentliquidator.com

     I have mentioned before two points.  One, go camping, even if it is in your own back yard or bed room.  Practice and drilling is Important.  Having fun while you drill is a bonus.  So, use your tent or hammock.  Get it out of it's storage place, set it up and check it for dry rot, bug or water damage.  Repair it or replace it.  

http://www.advantagein.com/tents/

http://tentliquidator.com/shop-products/eureka-apollo-9-dome-tent-sleeps-5

     Second, color is an important consideration.  If you are going to have to camp away from home and your surroundings are not neon orange, you should not have a neon orange tent.  I see a reason for bright colors if you are camping during hunting season and you don't want a first time hunter to think you moving around in your tent might be a bear.  There aren't any bright orange bears that I know of, but if you are going to travel in the shadows, the tent should be shadow color.  I have been far west of my home state and should I want to camp in Arizona, Texas, or other southern plains states, I think even a green tent would stick out like a sore thumb.  

http://www.kelty.com/

blogs.miad.edu

www.you-are-here.com

 Of Course, you can make your own shelter if you don't have far to go, the weather is fairly mild and you have anticipated it accurately.  A tarp is still shelter, as well as boxes, scrap wood, and branches.  I like these materials as cammo, but they can also be the shelter.  You see it used whenever you pass the homeless on the street.  People preparing for hard times should observe the career homeless and accept that this may be acceptable shelter in a societal crash.  If you plan to camouflage your tent in the city with card board, pack zip ties.

So, it's almost spring, officially, pull out your tent and drill.  Have some fun, straighten out your gear.  Maybe shop for a new one.

Temporary Shelter

     Basic shelter is cover from the elements.  The first simple layer is an umbrella.  An umbrella shelters the head and shoulders from the sun and rain.  It is great to have portable shelter with you for daily use.  A rain poncho may not be as fashionable as an umbrella but the rectangular shape is useful in creating a pup tent for the night or as a useful cover for gear when sleeping out in the air.

     Of coarse most of us have camping equipment of some kind, maybe even a tent or two.  A pop up tent is great when you have the right size and quality for your immediate need.  The draw back to counting on a tent in your bug out bag, or bug home, is a tent won't fit under your desk.  A tent is extra weight when travelling on foot, sometimes less truly is more (and I mean "more better!")

       When traveling, a tarp, some cord and some upright poles are a shelter from the day and night.  This shelter is temporary and can be adjusted throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky.  A tarp can also be quick shelter from wind or a rainstorm.  It can be thrown over the head and shoulders covering a well packed back pack or all of the gear in the back of a vehicle, depending on the size of the tarp.  

     When traveling without heavy or bulky poles to erect a lean to or tent you can travel with the tree line in sight.  A tarp shelter is lighter than a tent with stakes and poles.  When traveling on foot for short trips away from permanent shelter, a tarp is light, quick and easy to carry.

     In a pinch, a roll of plastic can substitute for a tarp.  We use a product called, “visqueen”, here in Florida for a number of uses.  We use it to cover window screens to keep out the cold in winter, by removing a screen from a jalousie glass window and covering the screen in the opaque plastic and resetting the screen in the window.  Also it can be used to enclose a screen porch or as a roofing material for a green house.  It comes in thicknesses from 3mil (a garbage bag) to 14 mil (it will hold the water of a fish pond with the right 

supports).  It is a cheap common material.

       WARNING!  Black plastic can absorb so much heat that it can take the air out from under the lean to, suffocating plants, animals and humans. 

     The next shelter upgrade from plastic or tarp is the tent.  The average family summer camping tent is made for average use by a family under nearly best case scenarios.  When summer rolls around, the family doesn't wait for high wind and rains to test out their new gear.  Most people wait for optimum conditions to go camping for fun.  This is what these products are meant for.  They will stand up under less than perfect conditions for the most part, but they are not made for long term heavy use under most stressful conditions.   Buy the best you can afford rated for the broadest spectrum of temperatures if you are so inclined.

bigagnes.comsierratradingpost.com

     Stakes should be sturdy.  If you use plastic, remember over time it breaks down and brittle stakes should be replaced.  Use them in the garden to keep the hose off the plants as you move it around the yard.  Re bar is sturdy but rusts and with no tetanus shots available in a total end of the world as we know it scenario, go aluminum or be sure to handle rusted elements with gloves and caution.

     Store ropes with the tarp, by rolling it up in the tarp with the stakes you take with you.  Check ropes before leaving permanent shelter behind.  Store a variety.  Climbing ropes are for climbing, they are best long and uncut.  Store a nylon clothesline rope and some twilled cordage for making temporary shelters.

     I pass along these notes as suggestions for temporary shelter:  An olive drab tent is best in general for staying unseen, steer clear of orange or trendy patterns.   Tarps come in white, for snow camouflage and gray as well as a printed tree pattern or basic camouflage.  Purchase for your foreseeable needs.  Fashion is not an issue! 

If you are able, try to include bug netting in your prep for shelter.