Guide · Shelter
Building a debris shelter
A debris shelter uses branches and dead leaves to make a small, insulated hut. It takes effort, but it can keep you alive on a cold night with no tent or sleeping bag.
How it works
Dry leaves and plant matter trap air, just like a duvet. The shelter is built only slightly bigger than your body so your own warmth heats the space.
Building it
- Find a long, strong branch about one and a half times your height. This is the ridgepole.
- Rest one end on a stump, rock or forked stick at about hip height. Let the other end rest on the ground.
- Lie under it to check the size. You should fit with a little room to roll over, but no more.
- Lean shorter sticks along both sides of the ridgepole, close together, like ribs. Leave a small entrance at the high end.
- Lay smaller, leafy twigs across the ribs to stop the debris falling through.
- Pile on dry leaves, pine needles, bracken or grass. Keep going until the covering is at least as deep as your arm is long. More is warmer.
- Add a few branches on top to stop the wind blowing the debris away.
The bed matters most
The ground pulls heat from your body all night. Fill the inside with a thick layer of dry leaves or grass, at least 30 cm deep before you lie on it. It will flatten down.
Closing the door
Pile a heap of debris near the entrance. Once you are inside, pull it in to block the opening, or stuff a bag full of leaves to use as a plug.
Tips
- Gather far more material than you think you need. Most people underestimate it by half.
- Build before you are tired and before dark. It can take two hours or more.
- Choose dry material. Wet leaves insulate poorly and make you damp.
- Check the site first: no dead branches overhead and no ground that floods.
- Watch for insects and ticks in leaf litter. Check your skin in the morning.
When it rains
A thick, steep covering sheds most rain. If you have a plastic sheet or bin bag, lay it over the ribs before adding the leaves, or over the top of the finished pile.
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