How to build a lean-to shelter in case of an emergency – or for fun

A nearly completed lean-to shelter.

Use branches, bark
to keep rain, wind off you

If forced to stay a night in the wilds – or as just a fun activity to do while hiking with teenagers – knowing how to build a lean-to shelter can be a life-saver.

As to staying a night in the wilds, you may need to shelter to keep rain and wind off you as well as to provide a sense of security. As to hiking with teenagers, learning how to build a lean-to can provide a number of great learning opportunities that gives them a sense of accomplishment.

Roof beam
The first step is to make a roof beam. Find a log that is about three feet longer than the body length of the tallest person in the hiking party. Remove any branches from the log.

Prop one end of this log between a tree’s trunk and one of its low-lying branches, preferably one that is about four feet off the ground. The other end of the log goes between another tree trunk and its low-lying branch. Be sure to select a spot that is flat and high with no water flowing below the placed log’s two ends. Also, check the wind’s direction; you don’t want the log ends to be facing into the wind but instead want the log’s width to.

If you have rope, lash the two ends of the logs to their respective tree trunks so that the roof beam is more stable.

Rafters
Next, collect several dozen small tree branches, about an inch or so in diameter and five feet high. Strip these branches of any smaller limbs or leaves. Separate the stripped branches so that the thinner of them are in one pile and the thicker ones are in another.

Lean the thicker of these tree branches at a 60 degree angle against each side of the roof beam. Alternate them so a branch is on one side of the beam, the next branch is on the opposite side, the third branch is on the same side as the first one, the fourth branch is on the same side as the second, and so on. Keep the branches about an inch apart. These are your rafters.

Insulation
Weave the smaller branches horizontally through the rafters on each side of the roof beam. Start at the bottom and work your way up to the top. Alternately, birch bark can be used. Insulation can be added by piling leaves, bark, or pine cones against the weaving on the rafters.

Flooring can be added by placing pine boughs or mats of moss on the ground. If you have a tarp, use that either as flooring or as flaps for the lean-to’s open ends.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Guidelines for providing first aid during cold weather

Should you need to provide first aid while hiking in cold weather, you’ll want to follow some basic guidelines to ensure that you don’t exacerbate the injury – or put yourself in peril as well.

Among those “rules”:
g Don’t remove your clothing – Though helping an injured person may be easier without gloves on or with a jacket unzipped, this can create problems for you. Gloves taken off might drop into the snow becoming wet, and unlayered protection against the elements exposes you to the cold, as well.
g Perform first aid a warm place – If possible, move the injured person to a place where they can be warm and perform the first aid there. Laying an injured person on the cold ground or removing their clothing in the open only exposes them to the wind and wet.
g Don’t warm by rubbing – This actually can further damage any affected tissue if frostbite occurs. Instead, you want to use the closeness of body warmth or radiant heat to keep a person warm.
g Blankets alone aren’t enough – Use body warmth to keep a person from being cold and wrap the blanket around both of you. If a person has hypothermia, for example, they can’t generate enough heat on their own to rewarm themselves, so a blanket or sleeping bag alone won’t help.
g Loosen constrictive items – Loosening clothing and removing jewelry that restricts circulation is a good idea. Clothing should not be taken off, however, as exposure to the cold can lead to hypothermia.
g Seek medical help immediately – Cold weather injuries such as frostbite and hypothermia require skilled medical professionals working with the patient in a warm, sterile facility. As soon as the injured person is stabilized, get them to a hospital.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

How to build a snow shelter that’ll save your life

If caught in a freak snowstorm, you always can build a snow shelter
to stay alive. Be sure to carry a shovel in your vehicle.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Burrow to stay
dry, warm during
an emergency

If forced to stay a winter night in the wilds – perhaps you got lost, maybe a mountain blizzard took you by surprise – your survival in large part will depend on finding shelter. You need to get out of the cold and wet because you’ll freeze to death before you do from dehydration. But what can you do if there’s no shelter – even a ramshackle old cabin – nearby?

The answer is build a snow shelter.

Animals' example
Also known as a snow cave, this shelter isn’t perfect, but it’ll certainly keep you warmer and dryer than if you expose yourself to wind and snowfall. Burrowing is, after all, how smaller mammals stay warm in winter.

The first step to building a snow shelter is location. As you need to dig straight into the snow rather than dig down, locate a sloped hillside with deep snow.

Next, dig out an entrance. This just needs to be large enough for you to crawl and should go about two feet deep.

After that, begin excavating upward to create a domed room that is about five feet high and six feet wide.

Once the room is created, use a stick to poke a hole upward through the domed roof. This one- to two-inch diameter hole serves as an air vent and should be located next to the entry hole.

Pine bough mattress
Following that, create a sleeping bench against the back wall. This can be done by taking snow from the half of the room closest to the entry and piling it up about two feet from the floor. Add some pine boughs to it as a mattress to keep you off the ground.

You’ll want to close up the entry to keep out wind, blowing snow, and curious animals. Do that by rolling a snowball that is large enough to cover the entrance; use snow from outside of the dome room.

Finally, should you have a small candle, you may use to provide light and a modicum of warmth. Don’t start a larger fire, though, as it will melt the snow (and cause the shelter to collapse upon it) or will use up much of the oxygen in the shelter.

Stay in the snow shelter until the storm clears or daylight arrives so that you can set back out on foot to your vehicle.

Read more useful day hiking tips in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Be sure children don brimmed hats with chin straps during day hikes

A hat with brim and chin strap is idea
for young children on a hike.

Half of all body heat is lost through the head, hence the hiker’s adage, “If your hands are cold, wear a hat.”

In cool, wet weather, wearing a hat is at least good for avoiding hypothermia, a potentially deadly condition in which heat loss occurs faster than the body can generate it.

Children are more susceptible to hypothermia than adults.

In lower latitudes, higher altitudes, deserts and especially during summer, a hat with a wide brim is useful in keeping the sun out of eyes. It’s also nice should rain start to fall.

For young children, get a hat with a chin strap. They like to play with their hats, which will fly off in a wind gust if not “fastened” some way to the child.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.

Keep child comfortable by layering clothes

On all but hot, dry days, you and your children should wear multiple layers of clothing that provide various levels of protection against sweat, heat loss, wind and potentially rain. Layering works because the type of clothing you select for each stratum serves a different function, such as wicking moisture or shielding against wind. In addition, trapped air between each layer of clothing is warmed by the child’s body heat. Layers also can be added or taken off as needed.

Generally, both you and a child need three layers. Closest to your skin is the wicking layer, which pulls perspiration away from the body and into the next layer, where it evaporates.

Exertion from walking means you will sweat and generate heat, even if the weather is cold. The second layer provides insulation, which helps keep you warm. The last layer is a water-resistant shell that protects you from rain, wind, snow and sleet.

As the seasons and weather change, so does the type of clothing you select for each layer. The first layer ought to be a loose-fitting T-shirt in summer, but in winter and on other cold days you might opt for a long-sleeved moisture-wicking synthetic material, like polypropylene. During winter, the next layer probably also should cover the neck, which often is exposed to the elements. A turtleneck works fine, but preferably not one made of cotton, as this won’t wick moisture from the skin when you sweat. The third layer in winter, depending on the temperature, could be a wool sweater, a half-zippered long sleeved fleece jacket, or a fleece vest.

You might even add a fourth layer of a hooded parka with pockets, made of material that can block wind and resist water. Gloves or mittens as well as a hat also are necessary on cold days.

Read more about day hiking with children in my guidebook Hikes with Tykes.

Lost so staying the night? Set your priorities

If you are lost or a member of your party suffers a serious injury, you may be forced to stay the night in the wilds.

When that occurs, you must go into survival mode. But there’s no need to panic. In fact, if you keep a calm head, you’ll likely get out of it just fine, albeit a little tired and famished. After all, if you prepared properly, you’ve left plenty of clues about where you are, so a rescue crew will be there in a day or two at worse.

What you should do first when forced to stay the night depends on the situation. Shelter is primary if the weather is rainy or windy. If the day is clear and darkness is setting in, building a fire takes precedence. If a number of you are in the party, you can split duties. As some begin building a shelter, others can gather lots of dry fuel, such as tinder, bark and small branches, for starting a campfire.

Once done with this, begin conserving your energy. In addition, take care not to get wet and stay out of the wind so you do not get chilled.

Read more about day hiking with children in the guidebook Hikes with Tykes.