Bushcraft: Building a Bushcraft Camp - Scouting a location, building a temporary shelter & fire pit

I've. Been meaning to get out here for a while. There's. A lot of Bush back here so my plan is to set up a basically. A bush, camp a bug-out, camp. Just. Some place that I can go hang out you, know get away from things practice. Bushcraft. I've. Got a few different spots in mind, you. Know I'm looking for the ideal, spot I've scouted it out a little bit and. There's. One area that I like. A fair amount. Then. I was looking at topographical. Maps, I saw. What. Appears to be a clearing, I'm. Gonna go check that out as well I don't know if it's a wet area you. Know or if it's just you. Know maybe trees, came down so. I'm gonna go check that out see what that's like and if. That doesn't work out I'll head, out to the area that I scouted before. All. Right well I found what. I thought was a ball. It is a semi, clearing, but what it actually is is a wetland swampy. Area so this isn't gonna do at all so, I'm gonna head over to where, I've scouted out in the past and see. How that looks. Okay, so this is what I like about the area we've got this really nice stream. That flows through and, you. Know to look at the water if the water is nice and clear, of, course I'm still going to need to either filter, or boil it before I drink it but you. Know it's a huge, bonus for setting up a camp. All. Right well this. Is the spot we've, got lots of sunlight shining, in we've, got a stand. Of Cedars that is gonna block any wind coming from the south, I've. Got the creek running behind me and also it winds around and it's on that side but. I'm up nice and high probably, 20. Feet above the creek so the ground is nice and dry, plenty. Of wood resources, I got cherry. Trees, maple. Ash some. Poplar. Plus. The Cedars. Some. Ironwood, in here, so. Yeah, this. Is the spot I'm gonna get setting up camp. Okay. So to create the a-frame tarp shelter, between two trees I'm. Going to need a few knots now, they're, the three knots that I consider the most important, knots for bushcraft or, wilderness skills the. First one is the bowline, and there's. A couple ways I can use the bowline to anchor my ridgeline, between the two trees the. First way is a running, bowline, and then the second way is a, bowline, using. A toggle, okay. So I'm going to show you both. Okay. Taste start off I'm just gonna uncoil, my paracord, here. All. Right now I've already got a bowl and established, at the end here but what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna show you how to tie it quickly or to remind you, simple. Not to do. All. You need to do is take your running, line place, it in your left hand all right if you're right-handed, okay. Form, a small loop. Then. Take your working end running, up through the bottom of the loop around, the back of the paracord, and then. Back down through, the loop that you created. Okay. Then pinch your working end and your. Other piece and just pull it tight and you've got this loop bowline, makes a fixed loop at the end of a line okay. So. From there I'm going to take my bowl and I'm gonna pass, it around the tree. Bring. It back up I'm. Gonna take a bite okay. It bites just a bend in a line I'm gonna push the fight through my. Bowline. And. I'm gonna just use a stick okay, I'm gonna put a stick up through that bite I'm. Gonna pull it tight, and. Now I'm using that stick as a toggle all, right, if. I need to I can just work it back and, then pull it over so, now I've got a tight line there okay, and I can work my ridge, line across to the next tree. Okay. So I'll show you the next option. So. Once again we're gonna start with our ridge line just as a working, line no not tied into it I'm gonna pass it around behind the tree and then back up to me I'm, gonna have the running line in my left hand and actually I'm just gonna loop it over my wrist so that I can use my left hand freely, then, I get a time my bowline I'm gonna make, a little loop then. I'm gonna pass my working. End behind, my. Running line and, then. Finish. Off my bowling come, up through my loop around. The back and then, back down. And. Pull. It tight. And now I've got basically a bowline, noose. And. I can pull that tight. So. To finish off my ridge line what I'm going to do is I'm going to use the, trucker's, hitch now I've, run, my ridge line go over to my next tree and looped it around now.

The Next thing I'm going to do is just create a fight. In. My running, line and turn, it into a, loop. Here, ok. So then I'm gonna just feed my line through. I'm. Gonna pull it tight. Then. I'm just gonna pinch, it. And, I'm gonna finish it off with just a slip, loop right here. And. Then I'll just tidy up this end, of. The rope. Okay. So the next thing I'm doing is I'm just temporarily. Staking, down the corners with just some sticks through the grommet, holes in the tarp after. That I'm gonna use a taut line and just tie everything off. Okay. So the next step is just to get these corners secured better now so I'm gonna do a bowline, and just loop it through the corner, grommets here. Okay. So I've got my my, little Bolin here, and all I'm gonna do now is I'm just gonna feed up my. Paracord. Through. My grommet. Now. These are just such small. Lengths. I'm, not gonna bother with a running. Bowline, this time I could, makes no difference but, this, is good enough okay. So I've got the bowline I've looped. It through the, grommet here and now I'm just gonna go down and secure, it really low on this nearby tree, with a taut, line now, I'm, lucky that I've got a tree over here and. I don't, in the other spots so what I'm gonna do is I'm just gonna make up some, pegs. I'm just gonna Whittle up some pegs with a notch and I'll use that as a makeshift, tent, peg and do, the same thing and use a taut line at, each corner, then. I'll just judge with. The wind I might taut, line off at a, few other Center spots on the tarp and I'm gonna secure up here, around the main tree as well that'll, just make it so it doesn't ride all around and if it gets a little bit frizzy tonight, it should be fine. Okay. So for the top line I'm just gonna pass, my. Paracord. Around. The back of this tree, and. Then I'm gonna cross. The the main line here, I'm. Gonna go inside my loop. And. I'm. Gonna wrap again but. I'm gonna do it on the inside, of my. First loop. Okay, I'm, gonna pull it tight I'm gonna go to the outside. And. Then. Pass back through. Okay, so that's my taut line hitch, now. The taut line I can slide it up, and down so. I can loosen it up. Or. I can pull it tight. Okay, now. If I want to make sure that this doesn't slip at all I. Can. Just do a din. Like. A slipknot at. The end here just, some, kind of stop or not so, that it doesn't pass through. So. There you have a simple, a-frame, tarp shelter that's going to work as a base camp for me while I set up something more permanent out here. All. Right now I better get going on the fire pit I'm. Gonna have to clear the ground of all the debris any leaves or sticks, anything that is combustible, I'm gonna have to dig down make. It a proper fire pit what. I need to be careful of is that I don't want the. Roots under the ground to catch fire, in. An area like this that'd be an absolute nightmare. Okay. So what I'm doing right now is I'm just marking out where the, fire pits actually gonna go and that way of a good idea, of, circumference. Around that, really. I want the fire pit to be about 10 feet away from any trees or my. Shelter you, know anything, that could light, up. So. This. Looks pretty good my shelter here is gonna be where my temporary shelter, is right now and. Right. Now this is about midway which is I think pretty good looks, like I'm far enough from other, trees not. To worry about them. So. Yeah time, to start digging. You. Know really these trifold, shovels, they're not, really good at all they keep loosening, up you, know and wobbly so, it feels, like it's gonna break anytime, you. Know in fact this is probably the third or fourth of these that I've owned in my life and they do break.

You. Know my option, would be to take find. A stick you. Know about kind of as. Thick as my wrist, or you, know a bit thicker and take. Off half. The, diameter, of the stick at the end so I've got a flat, edge and, use a stick out here. I'd. Much rather have something like this there's, other types of trench, shovels, out there you know army surplus that, type, of thing, but, for. The amount that I'll use this it's, a it's worth the investment you, know one bushcamp that's. A you. Know if I can get that out of it this, is probably a $10 investment, I'll. Say the one good thing about these is that it's got kind, of a serrated, edge on the one side and, now might. Be silly, to say but this edge is actually really good for breaking through the, smaller roots so, so. Yeah so that was you. Know could I dig. A hole with a stick. Yeah. I could, or. I could spend. Ten dollars and have a little. Trifold. Saw that you, know hopefully it'll last past, this. Build and. You. Know something I can keep in my pack for other trips. All, right well I thought. The tri-fold shovel, was a good idea I thought. It would last more, than one, hole that is, actually. Probably the third or fourth one of these shells, that I've owned. Yeah. This is what happens. They. Break so. Anyhow. Stick. Shovel it is. All. Right so, when, I hiked in here I remembered, seeing there was some old. Garbage metal, so I went back to have a look to see if there'd be anything suitable, for the fire pit I found. This old old. Steel. Wheel. Well so. I'm. Gonna throw that in there I had thought about, you. Know lining, it with stone but. You. Know the more I thought about it, the, only stone, that would fit is in the creek and. If. I throw those and likely, they'll explode on me so I don't want that so, I hiked over and yeah. One. Man's garbage is another man's treasure so. Throw. That in here. Well. I was just walking away from camp to look, for some stones, that I could put along the back of the fire pit and I. Noticed, something that I hadn't, seen before I guess. I just wasn't looking but. There's. A game. Trail that goes, through here right right. Past camp I'm not sure if you can see it but. Just to the to, the right of me here you can see the patch it's, a trail and then. There's some deer. Prints in it. Pretty. Cool, here's. An example of a deer print right here so, these are white-tailed deer in the area, so. You can just, press down the leaves into the print. Is. Right here. And. Then there's more obviously. Up the trail. I. Did. Find some rocks so I'm, gonna start arranging them because it's probably gonna be, more. Time-consuming for me to arrange, the rocks and we'll be to find them and I. Have enough to get started basically, I'm going to lay out the larger rocks on this side and then. Have the shorter rocks towards, the front. Well. Temporary. Shelter is up fire. Pits dug tomorrow. I'll get started building a permanent shelter out here.

2018-01-05 03:23

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