Basic Shelters for Surviving in the Wild

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If you find yourself in the wild and stranded, it's a great idea to construct a shelter. Depending on your environment and materials available the shelters may vary. So take a few notes it might save your life one day. If you find yourself in a wooded forest area, you could build a shelter with branches, sticks, and with rope. To do so, form a V-shaped shape with the branches and make a Tepee like structure wrapping the rope at the top of the structure. Use some logs or rocks at the base to help keep the structure in place. Use as many branches and sticks as possible for added stability and protection against the elements. Once the branches form an angular form, you can pack mud and moss for added insulation and effectiveness.

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Try a lean-to for cooler climates. For this find something like a log or large rock. Lay long branches against it, and place smaller branches and shrubbery on top in a criss-cross pattern to provide insulation. The smaller you can make your shelter and still be protected the better it will be as it will insulate much easier than a larger shelter.If your environment is wet and squishy, it will be good to build a log bed as well to elevate yourself off of the ground. To build a bog bed simply criss-cross branches on top of one another. This will create a solid and dry foundation in your shelter. Try to build this up several layers as to be as far above the ground as possible in case of flooding.

If you find yourself stranded in a desert situation, it's best to stay out of the hot sun associated with these environments. Try to build an underground hobbit hole or shade shelter to avoid extended sun exposure. Burrow yourself in the ground by digging a big enough hole you can comfortably stand or lay in. Try keeping activity low during the peak times of the day, try getting things done in the morning or evening so you can travel more comfortably in the cooler temperatures.

 

Same concept as the Lean-to, if you find a decently sized tree trunk of a fallen or cut down tree, you can nich a long thick branch against it, so that one end is on the ground and the other is supported by the trunk, use sticks and twigs to make walls on either side of it for a low roofed sleeping hole. After lots of sticks for stability on both sides, use leaves and mud to pack on top to make your hut further insulated against the weather.

It looks sort of like this: