YOur Shelter Box Making the caves look good
Personalizing our living spaces is nothing new. Our ancestors painted the walls and ceilings of some of their caves. The oldest cave paintings are over 40,000 years old!
www.thinkoutsideboxes.com
SHELTER UP Dear fellow OUTSiDER, Outdoor adventure often means being resourceful and creative with what you have: either with what's provided by nature or with what you have brought in your backpack. As you will find out, learning the critical outdoor skill for safe overnight stays requires a lot of resourcefulness. Throughout this booklet you will learn how to create a safe and dry environment in the outdoors with minimal tools and equipment. We know that most people don't necessarily think of building a shelter outside in the winter months, but that is the time when some of the elements can be at their worst. So give it a try outdoors - you might be surprised how much fun you'll have! Over & Out!
What these icon mean
Learn it
Try it
Live it
You Can’t Run Through A Campsite. You Can Only Ran Because It’s Past Tents!
This Month's Gear Emergency SHELTER
Wire Saw
This shelter provides effective protection f rom the elements for 2 people, using reflective materials to help conserve body heat. Simply unfold and tie to trees or posts to form a tent!
This compact saw can easily cut through wood, rubber, and plastic
BACkPacking SHovel
Foldable LANTERN
Batt incl eries uded Having a durable shovel allows you to cut through hard ground.
A good flashlight that opens up into a fun lantern with three different lighting modes is a must-have for shelter life at night!
Resource Cards Water resistant reference cards around shelter building
UV-sensitive beads
SURVIVAL PRIORITIES You and your parents find yourself lost in the wild. It is getting late in the day and you are cold, wet, and shivering. What is the first thing you should do? Here is a decision tree that can help you make the right choice.
X
If you do NOT have cell phone service Build a Shelter If you can't find an existing shelter, look around to find materials to make yourself a make shift shelter so you aren't exposed to the elements.
Make a Fire A fire will provide you warmth and light, keep animals away, boil water, or serve as a signal (remember S-O-S).
Find Water
Water is your next vital survival priority, as you can only last for a few days without it
Look for Food
While you could go several weeks without food, the impact of malnourishment can hit you quickly, especially in the cold.
If you HAVE cell phone service: Call 9-1-1 for help. Explain your trip and your surroundings in detail.
Stay Warm Keep yourself warm until rescue arrives by using a survival blanket, your emergency tent, or moving around.
WITH OR WITHOUT A CELL PHONE: Always Keep Signaling! Use a fire, a loud whistle, or any other signaling device (think: Morse Code) so that a rescue crew can locate you more quickly.
WHY SHELTER FIRST? Shelter is so important for survival because it creates a micro-climate which protects you f rom the elements, be it a thunderstorm, snowstorm, windchill, the sun, or even unwanted animals. Most importantly, it can give you a feeling of well-being during a stressful time. As you will read in this booklet, shelters don't have to be complex. Depending on your situation, they can be a natural shelter, such as a cave, or a simple self-made structure.
Size Matters A shelter must be large enough to protect you but also be small enough to conserve your body heat, especially in cold climates. The most common error in making a shelter is to build it too large. The reason this would be an issue is two-fold:
1.
You are expending a lot of energy looking for materials, carrying materials, and building your shelter
2.
Warm air rises, and a larger volume of air is hard to keep warm.
Location Matters Choosing the right location is a combination of opportunity and safety. Try to choose the best location given your skills and situation. Below are things to remember: Don't build your shelter on damp or wet ground as it can quickly drain your body heat and also make it harder to start/maintain a fire. Avoid mountaintops and open ridges where you are exposed to cold wind, storms, or lightning. Stay away f rom the bottom of narrow valleys where cold air collects at night. Don't stay near ravines, rivers, or creek beds where water runs when it rains. Rainfall far away can quickly raise the water level far downstream.
A Good Bed Matters Your shelter isn't complete until you have made a bed. Your bed can be as simple as laying on dry leaves. Bedding is important as it keeps your body f rom direct contact with the cold ground Make your bed a little bigger than the space your body covers and at least 8 in (or 20 cm) thick. You'll learn how to build your own wood/debris bed later in this booklet!
DEBRIS SHELTER TYPES Your Resource Cards show several types of shelters. We decided to elaborate on debris shelters here so you have a better understanding of how to make a good one. So, what are the basic characteristics and benefits of debris shelters?
Versatile & Easily Constructed Debris shelters are very versatile as they can be built in almost any habitat without any special equipment. They are constructed using sticks and any type of debris, such as leaves, ferns, bark, moss, or other stuff.
Natural & Camouflaged Since you are only using "natural materials", you are creating a shelter that fits right into the environment and would be hard to detect if you didn't know what to look for. Therefore, you may want to hang up something bright, like a flag, to mark your shelter so you can easily find it if you ever need to walk away f rom it.
Basic Protection from the Elements A debris shelter can provide you, at a minimum, very basic protection f rom the elements. How protected you are depends on how many sides/walls your shelter has, how tightly the debris is placed together, and if the sides are facing the opposite direction of the wind or rain to protect you f rom wetness and cold.
We c a any n’t fin d w a fi ood f re, or so.. ...
Wh y sti ck fig ure s sho uld ne ver go ca mp ing !
A-FRAME DEBRIS HUT Below is a quick description on how to construct your own A-f rame shelter using a log, sticks, branches, and debris
1. 2.
Scout It Find a location that has a lot of building materials, e.g. sticks and debris. Make sure it is safe f rom falling branches, pooling water, and other hazards.
Prop It Prop up a sturdy 8 ft (or 2.5 m) pole-like branch, that can support some weight, on a stump or crook of a tree. The space underneath the lifted pole should be just large enough to fit your body plus 6 in (or 15 cm) of debris on all sides.
Then lay shorter sticks (also called "ribbing") perpendicular against the length of the ridge pole on both sides, leaving room for a doorway. The ribbing sticks should touch the ground roughly 6 in (or 15 cm) beyond the space needed to fit your body.
3. Add to It
Add smaller sticks on top of and perpendicular to the ribbing sticks to create a latticework which will keep any outer debris f rom falling inside the shelter. Then collect large amounts of leafy debris to have at least 3 ft (or 1 m) of debris piled up on top and on all sides of your hut. Add some more sticks on top of the debris to avoid wind blowing the debris off the top on a windy day. Use only really dry and soft debris inside your shelter, and as your mattress, to stay comfortable
4. Plug it
Plug your "door" using a shirt stuffed full of leaves to keep out any cold air!
Lean-To Shelter A more basic shelter is the simple Lean-To Shelter, which is built in a similar way as the Debris Hut but with only one side built against the direction of the wind and rain.
TARP SHELTERS If you have a tarp, rain gear, or a poncho, you can also create your own tarp shelters, Here are four ideas. As you can see, all have angled sides to allow for rain to run off. To hold down the corners of the tarp, use stakes or heavy rocks.
Lean-To
A-Frame
Minimal protection f rom elements
Decent protection f rom elements
C-Fly Wedge
Plough Point
Good protection f rom elements & allows for covering of the ground
Great protection f rom elements & warmest as it only has one opening
Your box's reflective emergency tent can be used as an a-f rame structure with built-in ground covering to help keep you warm and safe f rom the elements.
TENT SHELTERS If you’re heading outdoors on a weekend camping trip or for an extended hike, you need to make sure you’ve packed all the camping essentials, most importantly your tent.
Dome Tents Dome tents are the most common tent type. They are rather cheap, can be used for a wide range of camping trips , and are easy to set up. They work with an interlocking pole system that feeds into a simple webbing structure to hold the tent in place. Note that they may struggle in strong winds.
Backpacking (Tube) Tents If you are planning to spend a few days hiking, you don’t want to be carrying extra weight in your pack. You want a compact, small, light-weight tent that is very portable and easy to set up after a day of hiking. These tents typically only hold 1 - 2 people.
Family Tents Family tents are ideal for family camping. They generally sleep four or more and are designed with two sections meeting at an internal shared area. The extra weight and size means these tents are fairly heavy and generally not good for backpacking. They can also be more difficult to set up.
The best type of shelter is the one you bring with you!
TEST YOUR SHELTER SKILLS No matter if you are in your backyard or the woods, there are many creative ways to build a shelter. The most important part is that it will hold up against strong winds and rain, and that it can keep you as warm as possible So when you are thinking about the type of shelter to build, look around to see what makes most sense with your surroundings. For example, if you are in the woods, you have plenty of trees. If you are in an open area, you may see picnic tables or other structures you can use
YOU NEED
INSTRUCTIONS FOR A DEBRIS Lean-To Shelter
1.
A natural structure, like a large rock, a large over-turned tree stump, two V-shaped tree branches near each other, or two trees near each other 1 thick branch to act as your support beam Branches, sticks, leaves or other debris Paracord, if you have any
Fasten your support beam. Your options are:
Lay your support beam against your natural structure
Lay your support beam between 2 tree branches with a natural v-shape
Tie your support beam to 2 trees with rope
Test the beam before going further. You'd hate spending time building a shelter just to see it collapse.
2.
Start leaning branches against your support beam at about a 45 degree angle so you can still sit under your shelter
3.
Now pile debris onto the branches of your wall to insulate it and cover up any holes.
4.
Finally, build your bed as described later.
And then there was light! Add lighting to your new shelter by hanging up your lantern f rom the support beam. You can use a carabiner (or even paracord and a knot) to secure it to your structure and illuminate your space!
Build-A-Bed Now that you have built your outdoor shelter, you need to figure out how to get off the ground - away f rom the cold soil and insects! It is critical to avoid laying directly on the ground in order to prevent the cold earth f rom drawing away your body heat. There are two ways you can do this:
1.
Simply collect a bunch of dry leaves, soft pine needle branches, boughs, limbs, or other debris. Pile these up as high as possible to create true insulation between you and the ground.
The added debris creates air pockets between you and the ground. This is important as air is a great insulator. Be careful when gathering your "bedding" and make sure there aren't any small animals, like ants, mice, or snakes living in it!
2.
Build your own box bed structure that lifts you about 12 - 18 in (30 - 45 cm) off the ground.
When designing your bed, make sure that its length and width are only a little wider and longer than you. Use large logs and tie them perpendicular to each other to create a stable surface. Finish it up with debris.
"Saw" That? Take your family on a trip to the woods. Once there, pretend you are collecting firewood. As you are looking around, you may see a dead tree with great size branches that are a bit too big for you to simply break off. Luckily, you remember that you brought your lightweight wire saw with you so you go to work!
Using your saw Unwind the wire saw. Loop saw around the branch you are trying to cut. Now apply pressure, keeping the wire tight on the branch, and start moving the saw side to side. It is critical to always keep the saw wire tight against whatever you are sawing and to avoid any slack.
Comfort Tip For better comfort, you can either use some paracord or place a small stick through each ring to serve as a handle
Safety Tips A saw cutting through wood causes lots of f riction. Friction causes heat. Heat causes burns. Therefore, don't touch the wire after cutting, it can burn you! Don't stand under a branch while sawing it, and be careful with potential sawdust getting into your eyes. Wear sunglasses, if you have them.
HYPOTHERMIA If you are exposed to cold temperatures without proper clothing or shelter for too long, you risk getting hypothermia, which is a potentially dangerous drop in body temperature. In the winter months, the risk of cold exposure is obviously higher, but it's not the only time you could experience it. Normal body temperature averages 98.6° Fahrenheit (37° Celsius). With hypothermia, core temperature drops below 95°F (35°C). In severe hypothermia, core body temperature can drop to 82°F (28°C) or lower
How does cold exposure cause hypothermia? When you are exposed to cold temperatures, most heat loss (up to 90 %) escapes through your skin, and especially through your head; the rest you exhale f rom your lungs. Normally, the activity of your heart and liver produces most of your body heat. But when your core body temperature cools down, these organs produce less heat. With lower body temperature, your brain activity, breathing, and heart rate will start slowing down. Shivering is your protective response to produce heat through muscle activity. As soon as you start shivering, find a way to get warm quickly, either by going inside or covering up with an emergency blanket. Our First Aid box will provide more detailed tips & tricks
Signs & Stages of Hypothermia
First stage: Shivering and reduced circulation. Second stage: Slow, weak pulse; slowed breathing; lack of coordination; irritability; confusion and sleepy behavior. Third stage: Slow, weak, or absent respiration and pulse. The person may lose consciousness.
If cold exposure is due to being immersed in cold water, heat loss can occur 25 times faster than if exposed to the same air temperature.
SUN EXPOSURE A sunburn is your skin's response to extreme ultraviolet (UV) exposure and can happen in as little as 10 minutes. This means your skin starts to turn red and feel irritated. How soon you get sunburnt depends on your skin type, the sun's intensity, and how long you are exposed to the sun.
Fun Fact Tanning is your body's way to reduce damage to your skin by producing a chemical called melanin that will try to prevent the rays f rom penetrating deeper in the skin.
Avoid Sunburns Stay out of the sun as much as possible, especially between 10 am and 4 pm Regularly apply sun lotion. Wear hats (like the one f rom our Weather box) and other light layers of clothing.
Treat Sunburns Drink plenty of water. Stay out of the sun. Take a cool bath. Use after-sun gels like aloe, and avoid greasy creams. Seek medical help if severely blistered.
1st indication of damage: Redness of skin Red skin is the result of your blood vessels dilating (getting larger) due to your body trying to release the excess heat. This results in your skin losing moisture and creating a feeling of tightness. "Red like a tomato!"
2nd indication of damage: Burning sensation If your sunburn is severe, your skin will feel very hot to the touch and give you a burning sensation. "It burns like fire!"
3rd indication of damage: Peeling of skin Peeling after a sunburn is your body’s way of getting rid of the damaged cells. Layers of damaged skin will come off, only to be replaced by healthy cells underneath those layers. "Peeling like a banana."
KEEP IT SHADED! We've talked a lot about the importance of shelter to make sure you are warm and protected and to keep you out of the sun. Let's practice how to keep us and our animals shaded with this fun activity
Materials Needed For your Figure UV sensitive beads Pipe cleaners Scissors Pen
For your Shel ter Different types of recyclables, like egg cartons, newspaper, lollipop sticks, fabric pieces, paper plates AND tape or glue
To Build your Figure Get creative! Below are just a couple ideas of what you can build with your beads and pipe cleaners.
Test their UV-Sensitivity As you can tell, the beads are white when indoors or in the shade. But check out what happens when you take them outside as they react in the sun!
To Build your Shelter To keep your figure protected f rom the sun, it's time to build a shelter! Again, creativity and resourcefulness with materials you already have in your home are highly encouraged. Think through how best to desig a truly shaded space. Then take your structure and figure back outside and test their UV bead reaction once more. If they stay white, your shelter is sun proof!
If the beads change colors, it's time for a redesign!
KEEP CHECKING YOUR UV-EXPOSURE When you are out on a hike, take your UV beads with you by wearing them as a bracelet or hanging them f rom your backpack. This allows you to quickly see if you are exposed to the sun or truly covered by shade!
Digging a Cathole Everybody poops. Even when you are out in the woods, nature may call. A toilet out in nature is called a "cathole" (for a single person) or a "latrine" (for several people). When considering digging a cathole, you need to know the following four key points:
LOCATION
SIZE
Dig about 200 ft (60 m) away f rom your campsite or trails. Avoid digging near water to not pollute your water source. Dig downwind of your campsite so bad odors can't creep back to you.
Dig 6 in (15 cm) deep, because top soil has microbes that help break down the waste. Dig 4 in (10 cm) wide for a large enough hole.
USE If you have and want to use toilet paper, make sure it's biodegradable so you can dispose it directly in the hole. If you don't have toilet paper, use natural items like large tree leaves (avoid poison ivy!), clean stones, or snow for clean up.
CLEAN UP After each use, cover the waste inside your cathole with a little bit of soil and debris to deter insects and animals.
Before leaving your camp, make sure the entire cathole is covered with soil and branches to disguise the location!
Shovel That Hole Woohoo, it's time to play in the dirt! Get your orange shovel, also called a trowel, and dig up some soil. Who knows, you might even find some treasure! Read through the information on the left and practice digging a cathole. If you built a shelter, think about where to dig. If you didn't build a shelter, try digging in different areas
What happens if you dig near tree roots?
When you dug your hole, did you find any insects or worms?
If you dig in a damp area, does your hole fill with water?
GLOBAL FEATURE:
Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park Mongolia The Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (Говь гурван сайхан байгалийн цогцолбор газар) is located in Southern Mongolia and lies on the Northern edge of the Gobi desert. It is the country's largest park and was established in 1993. It expanded to its current size of 10,400 sq mi (or 27,000 sq km) in 2000. The park is named after the Gurvan Saikhan Mountains, which translates into "Three Beauties." The park contains steppe at its higher elevations (up to 8,500 ft or 2,600 m) as well as areas of sand dunes. You can find rare types of plants and animals in this park, including the snow leopard or the Gobi camel.
YURT (OR GER) LIVING Yurts or Gers (as Mongolians call it) have been around for at least 3,000 years in many Central Asian countries. A yurt is defined as a portable, round tent covered with skins or felt. Nomads, who are people that travel f rom place to place without a permanent home, are still using yurts today. Yurts vary in size and weight and can easily be adjusted for both summer and winter living. In fact, you would be surprised by its good insulation and protection f rom the cold during winter and its airflow and coolness during the summer. In the Mongolian desert and steppe, camels or yaks often carry the yurts during travel. Setting up a yurt takes about 2 hours History Fun Fact: The first written mention of yurts was by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus who described them as the dwelling place of the Scythians, a horse riding-nomadic nation who lived in the northern Black Sea and Central Asian region f rom around 600 BC to AD 300.
A "TENTS" WORD SEARCH Good luck finding all the words below in this crazy word search puzzle. Look Down, Up, Diagonal, or Backwards!
Ghost Stories
Camping | Tents | Yurt | Heat | Campfire | Hypothermia Survival | Rescue | Weather | Windchill | Shelter | Smores Can you find the Bonus Words?
CAMPING JOKES We are having way too much fun reading and thinking of jokes for this booklet, so we decided to capture them here. Share them at your next camping trip. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go on a camping trip. After dinner they lay down for the night. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his f riend. “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson replied, “I see millions of stars.” “What does that tell you?” Watson pondered for a minute. “Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Holmes?” Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke: “Watson, really? I think someone has stolen our tent!”
Chap goes to the doctor and says: “Sometimes I think I’m a yurt, and sometimes a teepee”. The doctor says: “You’re two tents”. I got camping insurance. But apparently if someone steals my tent in the middle of the night, I’m no longer covered. When does a detective stay in a tent? When he under cover
SHELTERS USED IN HISTORY In the earliest prehistoric era, before we knew how to build shelters, we looked for shelter that was provided through the natural environment. The earliest forms of shelter were trees and caves Trees provided minimal protection against sun or rain, but helped protect against animals that couldn't climb up the trees. Caves gave greater protection against weather but offered less protection against wild animals. As humans learned how to make their own tools that would allow them to build better structures, their forms of shelters gradually evolved in shape and form. The first man-made shelter was likely made out of stones and tree branches. The stones were placed at the base of the structure to hold the branches in place. Over time, people built more complicated and durable places to live, f rom small huts to wood cabins and concrete homes.
Fast forward to today: We are now able to construct very complex buildings, such as sky scrapers that use steel and concrete
EMPATHY: THIRD WORLD "Third World" is a phrase f requently used to describe a developing nation, mostly in Asia, Af rica, or South America. Most Third World countries are poor and underdeveloped. In these countries, quality of living is very low, with little educational opportunities, improper sanitation, poor inf rastructure, and poor access to doctors and medicine.
1.
Living Conditions
Houses in third world countries are often very primitive, meaning they don't have running water, electricity, or gas. Depending on the region, their houses are made of mud, sticks, wood, bricks, or metal. Their roofs often leak and their floors are just dirt - no tiles, carpet, or wood flooring.
2. Show Support You can support many organizations by donating money or by volunteering as you get older. One way to show your support today is through an international pen pal program. Check with your school or community if they offer a sister city exchange program.
3. Be Grateful In the meantime, remember how lucky you are to have a permanent shelter - your home - that keeps you warm, safe, and protected. Give thanks to your parents and send good thoughts to those who need it.
NATIONAL PARK SPOTLIGHT
Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado spans the Continental Divide and encompasses protected mountains, forests, and alpine tundra. It is 76 million years old, and its highest peak is Mount Elbert in Colorado with 14,440 ft (or 4,300 m) in elevation. The Rocky Mountain Range is actually a series of more than a hundred separate mountain ranges, rather than one uninterrupted mountain chain, and stretches f rom western Canada to New Mexico.
The park is divided into five geographical regions, each displaying unique features. Depending on which region you visit, you will find gorgeous wildflower meadows, beautiful waterfalls, majestic mountain tops, clear blue lakes, and fantastic wildlife to observe, such as birds or moose.