At Home In the Wilderness

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A leaf but is so sturdy that it might well remain standing for months or years after you vacate it. I recommend pulling down the shelter when you leave, though, so that the structure won't detract from the landscape or hamper small animal travel.

By the way, many of the natural shelters mentioned earlier can also be used in conjunction with leaf but construction methods. Cave entrances, rock outcroppings, and root networks can be blockaded with the basic dome-of-debris structure. Indeed, the resourceful survivalist will adapt the leaf but to satisfy his or her particular needs.

SNOW SHELTER

A modified leaf but can even serve you well in deep snow. In fact, I don't recommend (as many survival publications do) that a person caught in a severe blizzard simply tunnel into a snowdrift ...because only the extreme northern states and high mountain passes stay cold enough to assure that such a cave won't collapse. Besides, snow tunnels are very chilly and damp even when they do hold up.

An effective wintertime shelter can be constructed by simply building a leaf dome over a depression in the snow. Evergreen boughs will substitute ably for the normal debris insulation, but if you can't find such limbs, just pack snow over the shelter's wooden frame. A snow-sided home may not be as comfortable as would a leaf— or evergreen-lined one. but at least it won't collapse on you.

TRY IT

Finally, let me stress that the best time to learn how to build a leaf but is not during a survival situation ...when a beginner's mistakes can be costly. Instead, simply leave your tent at home the next time you go camping, and make your own shelter. When you do so, please show respect for our Earth Mother, and don't break off any limbs or gather any woodland material that you don't need. You'll probably be able to find plenty of sticks, debris, and leaves simply lying on the ground.

And the job can be both easy and fun if you let your whole family join in on the shelter-building project. That way, you'll all have a chance to discover how comfortable wilderness survival can be!

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