Secret bushcraft shelter

[Gcckoka]

Hello everyone and thanks for joining , today I will talk about progress in my hidden shelter , I was there , I decided to make only the middle part folding , covered it with debris and actually stay dry in a small rain , also I made a Georgian corn bread with cheese , also thought I almost lost my dog but turned out he was hiding in the shelter so guess the hidden part works , lol
So to not bore you with much talking here is the video and some pictures

Next time I plan to make a bed , cover it with moss and then debris , cut all the roof pieces one size and put ground around it to help keep the water out a bit
Thanks for watching

 

[Gcckoka]

 

[Janne]

I hope you do not mind me saying so, but that looks lethal.

You have just created a human sized rat trap.

I know you ex-Soviets are tough as old boots, but still.....

 

[Silkhi]

Some buddies and I made something remarkably similar as a kid and it worked really well as a den

 

[Robson Valley]

That looks warm and comfortable = easy to open up. I would like a visit!
Plant something on the roof. I see green all over the forest floor.
Don't make any cuts straight and square = no such things in any forest.
Can you keep making it bigger?

 

[Gcckoka]

I hope you do not mind me saying so, but that looks lethal.

You have just created a human sized rat trap.

I know you ex-Soviets are tough as old boots, but still.....

It is not finished my friend , the poles will be better and I plan to attach rope , put a small wheel on the tree above it so that I can open or at least secure it with a rope and poles and this way it will be very safe

 

[Gcckoka]

That looks warm and comfortable = easy to open up. I would like a visit!
Plant something on the roof. I see green all over the forest floor.
Don't make any cuts straight and square = no such things in any forest.
Can you keep making it bigger?

I plan to go a bit deeper to make the bed and make it wider to make small kitchen and small carving place , I some very good ideas as long as noone destroys it I will make good stuff
Well you're welcome to visit , I can give you a place to stay at my home as well as my shelter

 

[Erbswurst]

I am sorry to write it, but in my opinion your construction is wrong.

I think, you should keep the wood how it is and use it for a new roof construction.

You should dig a trench into the hill, that means 90 degrees rotated to your direction now.

In the end you make a chimney. Open or better a stove with tube made from stones or better a metal container like an old gas bottle or an ammunition box or whatever you find.

You put the logs over the trench, left and right placed on logs in 90 degrees orientation, some soft twigs on it, and a garden-pool liner plastic foil on top of it.

The roof has to go down slightly diagonal to the valley and to one side of the shelter, ending with the lowest corner in a draining trench towards the valley.

The foil has to go at the ends of the logs down, through a trench and up. So you get rainwater gutters both sides, but the water will not drop you in the neck from the roof at the entrance, because it's diagonal.

5cm of soil and some leaves on the roof.

No ropes in the construction, only pegs to secure it! (Your ropes will degrade in a couple of weeks.)

The smoke of the fire inside can go along the roof upwards.

The door you should construct far lighter, using rope of course. And cover it with a piece of camo net. It should be vertical, that it doesn't become a trap for hikers.

If somebody dies, because he broke his leg in such a trap, you will be sheltered by the state for a very long time!

That's the reason, why the whole construction has to be destroyed after a couple of years or rebuild.

Like that it would work technically.

Another point is what the owner of the forest thinks about it. Probably it depends of the area.

If I would find in my forest somebody with a tarp or a normal survival shelter, I would employ him to clean up my forest a bit by burning dead wood or constructing something in a corner where it doesn't disturb me.

If I would find somebody in my forest digging trenches, like you did it or I told you about the construction, I kindly would ask him to bring it back in the state how it was before, and never enter my forest any more.

Surely it's different in Siberia.

 

[Janne]

Georgia.
Where they invented the hangover
(Olderst wine making in the world)

 

[Janne]

Personally I would make a ’classic tent’ shape from the logs, then do whatever covering you fancy.

The one I made in East Sussex 15 years ago is still there, son told me last year.
I used an automotive tarp as water barrier, and nylon rope.
( ok, not 100% bushcrafty but I care not)

Edit: but as you already spent a lot of time on yours, I would just extend the earth cutout on one side and make the entrance there.
Much safer. You only have one head and neck.

I think the local little animals will love your construction when late Fall arrives!

 

[Robson Valley]

Wanuskewin pit houses were built and rebuilt for a continuous occupation of at least 6,000 years.
You can walk among them. I did. I want to find the kitchen gardens.
I suspect that the pit house technology all across North America is composed of many good ideas.
Remember, Neolithic Paleo living is only 2-3 centuries ago here. Much still exists.

I like to see Gcckoka exploring this habitat. I recommend a visit with a shovel. Or, dig your own better one.

 

[Janne]

That is because they did not know any better.
What do they prefer today, an above-the-ground house or a dug down house?

In early paleo times they used teeth covered with hide to build the shelters, some of them were partially below ground.

In Iceland whale ribs were used.

The only constructions I am aware of in Fenno Scandinavia are the old rootveg ( plus later potato) cellars.
Keeps the cold in summer, and above freezing in winter, plus a decent humidity so the food does not dry and shrink.

 

[Robson Valley]

If I ever stumbled across a pit house such as Gcckoka is developing, I would hope to add to it in some way.
I expect that my interests would be in weather-proofing and size.
Let's see it in a year. Extraordinary for one man's labor, so far (even with the dog's help!)

Paleo village housing varied all over the world, that's an easy fact to uncover if you're the least bit curious.
There's quite a diversity across Canada from the "Long Houses" of the eastern tribes.
Across the interior, summer tipi and winter pit houses were common. I've seen modern pit houses with glass windows!
These are paleo dwellings that had slate lined cold air duct ventilation for the house fires. Not stupid.
-
Some villages were conspicuous, I'll guess that some were not. What variety exists across the UK?

Europe never saw a potato or maize until Columbian contact. Even so, the Euros were clueless regarding the agriculture.
Read the interview (200 pages?) titled Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden to see how productively stupid they were for a year's food.
The "trinity" was survivorship ( beans, corn & squash) The dried meat was something apart.

Because of the dramatic difference in the west coast climate, all housing was post & beam with cedar planking.
The house boards were so valuable that the coastal people took the boards with them to use in seasonal camps.
The very best sheltered winter village site was rarely near the best weir fishing site or clam garden.
The Heiltsuk have more than 9,000 years proof of occupancy.

Read some of the illustrated reports derived from the Jessup Expedition.
The biggest Haida house they measured was post & beam, 40' wide and 100' long.
The biggest split cedar house board was 14' tall, 36" wide and less than 1" thick.
Their canoes are still made from single cedar logs, sea-worthy to Peru and back and 40' to 60' in length.