At Home In the Wilderness

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When deciding where to erect your hut, first make sure the spot has adequate drainage and is a good distance from any large body of water. That way, you'll avoid the dampness that settles around water and the danger of having your temporary home washed away in a violent rain.

The area you choose should also be well protected—especially on the windward side of the locality's prevailing weather systems—by such natural barriers as vine tangles, trees, or rock outcroppings. Inspect the immediate surroundings for any old snags, dead limbs, or rock overhangs that could fall through your wilderness house in a high wind, and make sure there are no low-hanging boughs over the spot where you might want to build a fire.

Finally, it's a good idea to find a location that can be easily seen, so that searchers will have a good chance of spotting your position. Since natural shelters are hard to detect even if they're placed in the open, you should do whatever you can to mark the structure clearly, as well.

POSITIONING THE DOOR AND FIREPLACE

Whenever it's possible, the entrance to your shelter should face east. Aligning one's home in this direction has deep spiritual meaning to many native Americans ...and is also very effective as a survival practice. For one thing, an east—facing entrance will admit the first warming rays of the rising sun after a chilly night. In addition, since most weather systems travel from west to east, the wind will normally strike the back of such a shelter.

Your fireplace should be set in front of the hut's entrance, allowing you to sit in your home's doorway protected from the wind in back and warmed by the flames out front. This setup will also enable you to toss additional fuel on the fire without climbing out of your nest. (After all, no one enjoys getting up in a bad storm to add wood to a waning blaze.)

Be careful not to build your fire too close to the shelter, though. Since most survival huts are made of highly flammable materials, your wilderness heat source should be located a good six to ten feet away from your door. (You can increase the amount of warmth directed toward your home by backing the fireplace with a horseshoe-shaped reflector made of stones.)

NATURAL SHELTERS

Natural shelters include any wilderness spots in which a survivalist can find temporary refuge from a storm or some other disaster. Such places usually make meager dwellings at best, though, thus they should be used only in dire emergencies. When you must seek a natural shelter, simply do as the animals teach us to do: Find protection in shallow caves ...beneath fallen logs, overhangs, or brush tangles ...or next to the trunks of fir or spruce trees.

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