[Gojubrian]

Pit Shelter:

Dig a grave, long enough for your body, plus a foot or so extra, and deep enough so you can lay down, but can bend your knees without touching the ceiling (I like lots of roll-over room).

Then dig down another 6-8 inches for the hot coal bed. Digging takes about 2 hours with a stick. Start a fire in the pit and burn hot for 1-3 hours, depending on soil moisture (burn time not included in total construction time).

A hot coal bed on the surface will produce steam when the dirt is put back on it, but in a pit shelter you can cover the coals with the now-dried dirt from the pit walls. The dirt puts out the coals, what you want is the hot mass of the ground. This covered, put a roof of sticks/logs across most of the top, except for a narrow doorway at one end. Cover the roof with debris to fill the cracks between the sticks, then cover with earth. Properly constructed you can sleep in shorts and a tee-shirt, without ever closing the door, down to about 20 degrees F. A coat draped over the hole is sufficient for a door if necessary.

[Jesse17]

Originally Posted by Gojubrian

Pit Shelter:

Dig a grave, long enough for your body, plus a foot or so extra, and deep enough so you can lay down, but can bend your knees without touching the ceiling (I like lots of roll-over room).

Then dig down another 6-8 inches for the hot coal bed. Digging takes about 2 hours with a stick. Start a fire in the pit and burn hot for 1-3 hours, depending on soil moisture (burn time not included in total construction time).

A hot coal bed on the surface will produce steam when the dirt is put back on it, but in a pit shelter you can cover the coals with the now-dried dirt from the pit walls. The dirt puts out the coals, what you want is the hot mass of the ground. This covered, put a roof of sticks/logs across most of the top, except for a narrow doorway at one end. Cover the roof with debris to fill the cracks between the sticks, then cover with earth. Properly constructed you can sleep in shorts and a tee-shirt, without ever closing the door, down to about 20 degrees F. A coat draped over the hole is sufficient for a door if necessary.

Tip # 32.......

[LegatoRedrivers]

Need another bump?
I've been overly busy this weekend, but I'm still interested in more tips

[hunter Joe]

If it looks like you going to have to spend a night outdoors, the first thing you should do is gather enough wood for all night, second build a fire, and third, if your clothes are wet, dry them by the fire. This will keep you alive through the night.

The letters in the word STOP are an acronym for:
Sit down
Think
Observe
Plan

If you become lost in the wilderness and you panic, you die. See stop acronym.

[dnthmn2004]

A couple ways to start fire:

Waterproof, strike-anywhere matches are your best bet. Matches may be water-proofed by dipping them in nail polish.

Lighter, preferably a Zippo. It can also be salvaged for parts, fishing hooks, arrow heads, cotton as fire starter.

Steel wool across battery terminals.

Remove half of the powder from a bullet and pour it into your firestarter nest. Next place a cotton rag (preferably soaked in a flammable liquid) in the cartridge case of the gun and fire (not directly into your firestarter nest). The rag should ignite and then put it into the nest.

Magnifying glass on a sunny day (as long as you don't get distracted by the ants).

The classic steel and flint method. I have witnessed the use of this, and it is amazing.

[Jesse17]

Originally Posted by hunter Joe

If it looks like you going to have to spend a night outdoors, the first thing you should do is gather enough wood for all night, second build a fire, and third, if your clothes are wet, dry them by the fire. This will keep you alive through the night.

The letters in the word STOP are an acronym for:
Sit down
Think
Observe
Plan

If you become lost in the wilderness and you panic, you die. See stop acronym.

Tip # 33....

[Jesse17]

Originally Posted by dnthmn2004

A couple ways to start fire:

Waterproof, strike-anywhere matches are your best bet. Matches may be water-proofed by dipping them in nail polish.

Lighter, preferably a Zippo. It can also be salvaged for parts, fishing hooks, arrow heads, cotton as fire starter.

Steel wool across battery terminals.

Remove half of the powder from a bullet and pour it into your firestarter nest. Next place a cotton rag (preferably soaked in a flammable liquid) in the cartridge case of the gun and fire (not directly into your firestarter nest). The rag should ignite and then put it into the nest.

Magnifying glass on a sunny day (as long as you don't get distracted by the ants).

The classic steel and flint method. I have witnessed the use of this, and it is amazing.

Great stuff!
Tip # 34...

[Jesse17]

bump......

[Jesse17]

Originally Posted by JoeCool

Bigger branches typically grow on the south side of trees, so if you are in the woods in the dark, and you can't see the moon as mentioned in a previous post, you may be able to ascertain which direction is south by looking at the branches.

Lately I've been paying more attention to trees around town. They don't have any leaves yet, so you can see the branches easily.

What I've noticed is they don't seem to have "bigger" branches on the south side, but they tend to have more branches on the south side. Some trees are completely simetrical, and others tend to have more branches on the south side.

I also sugest sampling several trees to determin if the heavier foilage is due to the southern sun, or just randam local occurances such as wind, shade, etc.

This is what I've noticed in my area anyway. Thanks for the great tip Joe!

[Jesse17]

OK, I'm reducing this to 50 survial tips. We're at tip # 34 right now, IIRC. When we get to tip # 50 we'll vote on the best survival tip, and whoever posted that tip will get a free year membership paid for by me.

Let's get those ideas out there!