 |
A partially blown-down tree, photograph by the Author.
Have
you ever been out in the wilderness and got caught by a sudden storm? You must get out of the wind and the weather,
now! Or maybe, you’re “misplaced”,
it’s two hours to dark and too late to try to walk-out. You need shelter for the night!
But,
since you weren’t planning on staying out overnight, you didn’t bring a tent
with you, so now what?
 |
An excerpt from United States Department of Agriculture, “What to Do When Lost in the Woods”, 1946.
Maybe
you’ll get lucky and you’ll find a rock shelter (for more on rock shelters go HERE,
HERE
and HERE). Or maybe you
will find a large rock that you can use as a wind break. But if you are in the woods, you are more
likely to find a blown-down tree, and they can make a great emergency shelter
from the wind and the weather.
Something
to remember, and something that I didn’t know about before I started this
article, is that sometimes, under the right circumstances, fallen trees can
spring back upright, crushing and burying anything under them like a giant
deadfall! Yikes!
The
good news, according to an article by Yasmin Jeffery who quotes arborist Kurt
Brown, is that most fallen trees, fall and stay fallen, however as many as one
out of ten trees could spring back upright.
Okay, so 90% of fallen trees stay down, once they are down, that’s reassuring,
but why do the other 10% spring back upright?
According
to Jeffery, who wrote “Fallen trees could be more dangerous than you think. Here's why”, severe storms and weather can
alter the soil structure around the tree’s roots, making it weak, this soil weakness
combined with high winds can cause the root plate to lift up and then fail. “Once that’s done, the tree root’s still
normally connected on one side, and therefore there is still a lot of pressure”,
stated Benjamin Inman, an arboriculture consultant. He continued by saying, “For a tree to
spring back, there would have to be a lot of tension or compression forcing it
back into position”. Additionally, Inman
noted that wind could be the trigger which allows the fallen tree to stand back
up. Another arborist, Kurt Brown noted
that trees can flip back upright after storms if they have fallen on top of
each other, because of the flexing of the timber1.
So,
before you decide to select a certain fallen tree as a potential shelter site,
make sure that it is fully fallen and truly down.
 |
A partially fallen-down tree, leaning uphill against its neighbor, with the opening facing downhill and northeast, photograph by the Author.
The
partially fallen down tree in the picture above might not be the best emergency
shelter to be found, even though at first glance it looks like a great
shelter. It is possible, if the winds were
right, that the trunk could be blown back upright, especially since it would
get a downhill gravity assist. I don’t
know about you, but I wouldn’t want to be under that tree if the wind was
blowing hard from the southwest.
 |
A fully fallen tree, with the trunk laying on the ground and pointing downhill, facing northeast, photograph by the Author.
The
blown down tree above, might be a lot safer.
It is completely down and the trunk, which is on the ground, is pointing
downhill. It will be extremely hard for
this tree to spring back up, against gravity, into an upright position.
“OK,
besides making sure that the tree is truly down, what should I look for?”
and “How do I stay warm?”, you might ask. Those are both good questions, so let me
answer them, starting with the first one.
 |
An excerpt from The Woodsman’s Journal Online Field Guide, by the Author.
The
first of the 5W’s is wind and besides storm winds, there are prevailing, offshore/onshore
and valley winds.
Prevailing
winds are winds that blow predominantly from one direction during a particular
season or in a particular place. Prevailing
winds are not constant all day long, as Alan Innes-Taylor noted in the Arctic
Survival Guide, “Fair weather winds usually decrease at night”. Usually, in much of northeast Canada and the
United States, fair weather winds blow from the northwest to the southeast
during the day.
 |
An excerpt from Weather, by the Boy Scouts of America, page 9.
Offshore/onshore and valley winds are
created by the daily warming and cooling of the land. During the day, the land warms faster than
water and higher elevations warm faster than lower elevations, so during the
day warmer air rises over the land pulling the cooler air over the water ashore
in an onshore or sea breeze2.
The warmer air above ridge tops and hills rises and pulls the cooler
valley air upslope and up-valley.
At
night the process reverses, and the land cools faster than the water; the
rising warm air over the water pulls the cooler air over the land away from the
shore as an offshore or land breeze. Also,
at night, the air above mountain slopes and hills cools faster than the valley air
and the warmer valley air rises and pulls the cooler hilltop air downslope and
down-valley.
 |
An excerpt from the Arctic Survival Guide, Alan Innes-Taylor, page 53.
So,
what does all this mean? The fallen tree
that you have decided to shelter by for the night, should face downhill and
across the valley or, it should be at right angles to the prevailing
winds. Which in northeast Canada and the
United States, means that the fallen tree should face northeast, that way the
prevailing winds from the northwest or the southeast will be at right angles to
the fallen tree shelter. The reason your
shelter should face downhill is to protect you from nighttime valley winds and
by facing at a right angle to the prevailing winds, smoke from your fire will
be blown away from you.
Additionally,
if you are sheltering by a blown-down tree that is at a right angle to the
prevailing winds, you should also build a windbreak to further protect you (for
more on windbreaks, read “...Seeking Shelter Against the Wind©”, HERE).
 |
Thermal belts, drawn by the author.
It
is usually better to look for a shelter partway up a hillside, because streams,
valleys and low areas can flood, sometimes with little warning if there is a
storm upstream of you. Also, a shelter
halfway between the summit of the hill and the valley bottom is often
significantly warmer than a spot in the valley or on the hill-top since cold
air at night collects in low spots and valleys and the summits of hills are
always cold.
 |
A widow maker hanging in an oak tree, photograph by the Author.
Also
always look up and around your shelter site and make sure there a no dead
trees, snags or other widow-makers stuck in the branches above you, just
waiting for the right wind to come crashing down.
Another
hazard that you have look out for with fallen trees, is rocks and boulders that
are caught up in the root ball. If they
are loose, they could fall on you while you sleep. If the fallen tree that you are considering
as a shelter has a lot of boulders and large rocks caught up in the roots, it
might be safer to find a different fallen tree.
And
lastly, don’t shelter under or near the tallest tree in the forest, it is a
lightning rod! If possible, shelter in a
grove of equal sized trees. Also avoid
hill-tops and exposed cliff faces which can attract lightening.
Any shelter that you find in the wilderness is
valuable real estate, so always check for inhabitants. Study the inside of the shelter carefully and look
and listen for wild cats, bears, bats, rodents of all types, snakes, wasps, or
insects, before you go inside. In the
spring and summer listen for the sounds of young animals. During the fall and winter, beware of denning
or hibernating animals, because according to the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation, bears will den in cavities dug
under fallen tree roots3.
The
last of the 5 W’s is wood, the shelter that you choose should have plenty of
firewood nearby, because it takes a lot of wood at night to keep a shelter
warm.
Emerson
Hough, writing in 1915, had this to say about firewood when you’re caught out
in the woods at night, “Get behind some windbreak and have plenty of wood
for your fire.” He also said that
you should, “Always have some wood close at hand to throw on the fire should
you wake up chilled and shivering.” And “When in doubt get some more
wood, for it will certainly take a lot”4.
For
more on the 5W’s, read “Woodcraft 101: Putting Up A Tent ©”, HERE.
 |
An excerpt from Handbook For Boys, by the Boy Scouts of America, June 1953, page 157.
Ok
you have found the perfect fallen tree, it is truly down, it is facing downhill
or at a right angle to the prevailing winds, it is halfway up a hill,
uninhabited, free of stones and window-makers and near a plentiful source of firewood,
so now how do you keep yourself warm?
 |
An illustration from “But If You Do Get Lost”, Outdoors USA: 1967, by Kenneth M. Cole, page 91, show the “misplaced” person sitting between the fire and the backwall of the shelter.
 |
Reflector... Fire... You... The backwall of the shelter, graphic by the Author.
With
any survival shelter, you should always sit between your fire and the back wall
of the shelter, and you should always build a reflector. If you put the fire between you and the
backwall, your back will be cold.
Instead, sit between your fire and the backwall of the shelter, that way
the heat from your fire will reflect off the backwall, warming up your back as
well as your front.
 |
An excerpt from Arctic Survival Guide, by Alan Innes-Taylor, page 62.
Not
only will a reflector, reflect heat back into your shelter, but it will also
help to channel the smoke upwards and away from you.
 |
Always keep your fire small and sit close to it, photograph by the Author.
And
remember, always keep your fire small and sit close to it. A big hot bonfire just wastes wood, and you
can’t sit near it.
You
lose a great deal of heat to the cold, cold ground, and heat conduction and
that is why you need to make an emergency ground bed. Ground beds are also called bough beds, bush
beds or browse beds and are used to insulate you from that heat robbing
ground.
You
can use anything to make a bough bed if it is fine at the tips and no thicker
than your thumb at the stem, some other materials are things like branches with
or without leaves, cattails, golden-rod stems, ferns, clover, or grasses. Make sure that they are dry, by shaking off
any moisture or snow before putting them into your bough bed.
In a survival situation use
the Mors Kochanski bough bed method, by laying the branches in a chevron
pattern with the boughs making an angle close to 90o. First put bare
branches or saplings bigger than your thumb on the ground first, and then put
the smaller branches in a chevron on top of them. As you cut off the branches from the base of
the trunk to the crown, lay the bottom branches down first, then lay the middle
branches down next and finally place the top branches down last.
 |
Lay the branches in a chevron pattern, graphic by the Author.
 |
Lay bare branches or saplings on the ground first, graphic by the Author.
For more on bough beds
read “Making an Emergency Bough Bed ©”, HERE.
 |
An emergency trash bag shelter, photograph by the Author.
And
finally, if you were smart, you remembered to put one or two large, contractor
grade trash bags into your pack or pocket before you set out and now you can
make an emergency trash bag shelter to help protect you from the wind. For more on emergency trash bag shelters,
read “Using your poncho or a trash bag as an Emergency Shelter ©”, HERE.
I
hope that you are never caught out overnight in the woods, but if you are, I
hope that you remember these tips and remember that you can use that fallen
tree to stay safe and warm.
 |
Using a fallen tree to stay safe and warm, photograph by the Author.
Don’t forget to come back next week and read ““What
to do When Lost In The Woods,
1946 ©”, where we will talk about how survival principals are timeless and
never change.
I
hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me
on YouTube at Bandanaman Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The
Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE,
and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free
to leave a comment on either site. I
announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at
bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.
That
is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!
Notes
1
All from “Fallen trees could be more dangerous than you
think. Here's why”, by Yasmin Jeffery.
2
Additionally, onshore breezes seldom penetrate far inland, but they are usually
stronger than offshore breezes.
3
Bears den in an assortment of places, besides cavities dug under fallen tree
roots, like rock crevices, hollow trees, and under, brush piles.
From
NYSDEC, May 13, 2020,
4 Additionally,
Emerson Hough, wrote that to sleep warm if you are caught out in the woods at
night, that you should “If it is very cold build a fire; then rake it away
and lie on the warmed ground.” In
addition, the author wrote “You can build two smaller fires, and so keep
warm on both sides.”
Sources
Innes-Taylor,
Alan; Arctic Survival Guide, Scandinavian Airlines Systems, Stockholm,
Sweden, 1961], page 54-58
Boy Scouts of America, Handbook For Boys,
[Boy Scouts of America, New York, New York, June 1953], page 157
Boy
Scouts of America; Weather, [Boy Scouts Of America, Irving, TX; 1992],
page 9
Hough,
Emerson; Out Of Doors, (D. Appleton and Company, New York, New York [1915]) p.
269 - 282, reprinted in https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QadnZNQ1xrsbkS3T4VJlC_uZQ8t4yj2UNH5POGbNio-1SDyFM8TAqUfl7ciDY5CuNZxvnnE0Pcxf1j6Thu_zOs5kz8rgR9MOtsbTxVgRVa3bwaKo0-D5YX2T4JaBO_z6G8vgwFNgLiJ9XCfBVnn9K4qR7ZFa0faNe3zmvfWDfmEo049sqXQlw697XIHDWNblRJj9niiabZoBB7aQHl82tf4y03cpU2hMdLVADF-7P2pvJKsZbLDnJN8ncLZ9IftMudapmn8E,
(accessed 11/8/18)
Jeffery, Yasmin; “Fallen
trees could be more dangerous than you think. Here's why”, ABC News Australia, March 26,
2019, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-26/what-causes-fallen-trees-to-spring-back-up-after-storm/10942124,
accessed February 9, 2021
NYSDEC, May 13, 2020, https://twitter.com/NYSDEC/status/1260664168732123136,
accessed February 10, 2021
United States Department
of Agriculture, “What to Do When Lost in the Woods”, 1946, United States
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest, https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5435268.pdf,
accessed January 25, 2021
United States Department of Agriculture, Outdoors
USA: 1967 Yearbook of Agriculture, [United States Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC, 1967], p 87-89, https://archive.org/details/yoa1967/page/n3,
accessed 11/02/2019
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