“Winter Survival ... a Low-hanging Tree Shelter©”

 

 

This week I planned on writing about digging a hole in the snow to shelter from the wind in a survival situation....but, alas, it is a green Christmas and there just isn’t any snow!  So, let’s talk about huddling under the low-hanging branches of a tree, instead.

 

Huddling under a tree?  That’s crazy!  Or is it?

 

In a survival situation, it is all about the wind and the wet, you need protection from both, IMMEDIATELY, especially if it is cold or it will get colder.  And don’t forget that while most cases of hypothermia occur when it’s cold, hypothermia can occur even at temperatures above 50^o F (10^o C)¹ particularly if it is windy and/or you are wet from rain or sweat.

 

At a temperature of 5^o F (-15^oC) and a wind speed of 5 to 10 miles per hour (8 to 16 kph), you are in little danger from the cold, as long as you are properly dressed and are dry.  But if the temperature drops to -30^o F (-34^o C) and the wind speed doubles, then it’s going to feel like -58^o F (-50^o C) and prolonged exposure becomes very dangerous and exposed flesh can freeze within 30 seconds!

 

During the winter of 1971, as described in “A Candle and a Plan”, by Major Samuel A Munch, Jr., survival experts from K.I. Sawyer AFB made a quick and simple shelter, by wrapping a parachute, as many times as possible, around a young, medium-sized bushy evergreen². 

 

They stomped the snow down over edges of the parachute, to hold it down to the ground.  The lowest limbs of the evergreen, which were relatively snow free, were cut off and used to brush away the snow from under the tree, and afterwards to provide ground insulation. 

 

Total time to construct this shelter was 14 minutes, and it gave good protection from the 10^o F (-12^o C) temperature and 17 mph (27 kph) winds, since once inside the shelter, they found that the wind chill effect was completely negated.

 

In addition, the survival experts were provided with a candle from a SEEK-2 survival kit³.  They lit this candle after crawling into their shelter and it was able to warm up the interior, in conjunction with their body heat, to 32^o F (0^o C), within six minutes!

 

Now, most people won’t find themselves stranded in the wilderness with a parachute, so what should they do?  They can still take shelterunder a medium sized evergreen, and they can wrap themselves in a piece of canvas, plastic or in garbage bag emergency shelter (for more on this read “Using your poncho or a trash bag as an Emergency Shelter ©’, HERE), for protection from the wind and the wet.

 

Oh, and if you are wearing a garbage bag emergency shelter, or wrapped in a piece of plastic or canvas, don’t try to use a candle as heat source INSIDE your coverings.  That is just asking for some nasty burns and a bad ending to your survival emergency!

 

Also, never sleep or sit directly on the ground, ALWAYS put something underneath you to protect you from the cold and wetness of the ground.  Evergreen boughs, dry weeds, or whatever you find that can be used to provide insulation from the heat stealing ground (for more read “Making an Emergency Bough Bed ©”, HERE).

 

And don’t forget the lesson learned by the main character of “To Build a Fire”, by Jack London.  If you build a fire under an evergreen covered with snow, once the fire gets going, the snow is going to melt, fall, and put out the fire.  For other lessons from “To Build a Fire”, read “Survival Tips From Jack London, Part One©” and “Part Two©”, HERE and HERE.

 

So, which tree would you choose?

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 “Colorado Winter Weather Preparedness Week - Wind Chill Temperatures and Hypothermia”, by US Dept of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service

 

² While the author didn’t specify the type of parachute, we can assume that it was a T-10 parachute with a diameter of 35 feet (11 m), since this parachute was introduced into U.S. military service in the 1950’s, and continues in use today, HERE. 

 

An additional fun fact is that full grown evergreen trees can spread across a diameter of 30 feet (9 m).

 

³ I couldn’t determine the actual size of the candle that is in the SEEK-2 kit, but it appears to be similar in size and shape to a Coghlan’s ¾ wide by 5 inches long, (2 cm wide by almost 13 cm long) emergency candle, which has a burn time between 4 and 5 hours. 

 

Sources

 

Hockman, Lyndell L., TSGT; “Survival”, Combat Crew: Magazine of the Strategic Air Command, November 1960, page 17, https://books.google.com/books?id=-SH0nzkSdP0C&pg=RA16-PA17&dq=tree+shelter+parachute&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjojrTP4LeDAxXfk4kEHcozCQ04FBDoAXoECAkQAg#v=onepage&q=tree%20shelter%20parachute&f=false, accessed December 30, 2023

 

Koskella, K. R., Captain; “Cold Weather: Are You Prepared to Survive?”, Approach, Volume 30, Issue 7, February 1985,

https://books.google.com/books?id=Vt3fueQgHu0C&pg=PP26&dq=%22survival+kit%22+candle&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj227eMiriDAxVOrokEHRCDBlQQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=%22survival%20kit%22%20candle&f=false, accessed December 30, 2023

 

Munch, Jr., Samuel A., Major; “A Candle and a Plan”, Approach, The Naval Safety Center's Aviation Magazine, January 1972, pages 26-29, https://books.google.com/books?id=vO9Gc8mF2G0C&pg=PP352&dq=%22tree+pit%22+survival+how+much+warmer&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj7rqD296aDAxVhg4kEHWhmD14Q6AF6BAgHEAI#v=onepage&q=%22tree%20pit%22%20survival%20how%20much%20warmer&f=false, accessed December 30, 2023

 

USAF; “Survival Training in the USAF”, Air University Quarterly Review, Vol. 5, No. 4, Winter 1952-83, page 77, https://books.google.com/books?id=q90IAAAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA77&dq=tree+shelter+parachute&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjojrTP4LeDAxXfk4kEHcozCQ04FBDoAXoECAoQAg#v=onepage&q=tree%20shelter%20parachute&f=false, accessed December 30, 2023

 

U.S. Dept of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service, “Colorado Winter Weather Preparedness Week - Wind Chill Temperatures and Hypothermia”, https://www.weather.gov/gjt/wwpw_co_day5, accessed December 30, 2023

 

U.S. Marine Corps; Commander's Guide to Cold Weather Operations, FMFRP 7-24, [United States Navy, Washington D.C., , August 22, 1988], page E-3, https://books.google.com/books?id=TRy5-eizh9wC&pg=RA3-PA1&dq=%22tree+pit%22+survival+how+much+warmer&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj7rqD296aDAxVhg4kEHWhmD14Q6AF6BAgFEAI#v=onepage&q=%22tree%20pit%22%20survival%20how%20much%20warmer&f=false, accessed December 30, 2023

 

United States Army; “PEARL’s”, United States Army Aviation Digest, Issue 7, July 1969, page 51 to 55, https://books.google.com/books?id=Guu3U6usU0oC&pg=PA55&dq=seek-2+kit+candle&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiDlM_bhriDAxV7kokEHVY7CI8Q6AF6BAgGEAI#v=onepage&q=seek-2%20kit%20candle&f=false, accessed December 30, 2023

 

 

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