How to Make a Log Fort in the Wild

A lean-to provides shelter from the elements.

If you get lost in the wild, you face the danger of dropping nighttime temperatures and harsh weather conditions. Lost campers and hikers last for a few days without water, but extreme cold causes hypothermia and possibly a frosty death. A simple wood fort known as a "lean-to" gives you protection from the elements. You construct one of these temporary shelters with materials found in any wooded area and without tools, although a Swiss Army Knife helps to speed up construction.

Things You'll Need

• Swiss Army Knife (optional)

Instructions

1. Look for two trees about six feet apart in a flat area. Do not build your fort near a hill or at the top of one. Rain or snow can cause a mudslide or avalanche toward a fort at the base of a hill while rainfall can cause the soil at the top of a hill to give way and weaken the base of your fort.

2. Test the wind direction by wetting your thumb and feeling which way the breeze hits it. You want to build your lean to with the opening pointing in the direction the wind flows, rather than opposing it and leaving you exposed.

3. Find a fallen, though not rotted, tree with a diameter of about two to three inches to serve as the crossbeam of your lean-to. Saw the tree to about eight feet in length with the saw blade of the Swiss Army knife. Otherwise, lay the tree diagonally across a fallen log and drive the heel of your foot through it to snap it at an eight-foot length.

4. Gather two, 10 to 15 foot stretches of vine. If there is no vine, remove your shoelaces and use these to tie the logs.

5. Align the crossbeam against the two trees so that it is parallel to the ground at the height of your hips. Tie the crossbeam to each tree with the vine (or shoelaces) by wrapping the vine around the tree and the crossbeam several times and fastening the loose ends of vine with a square knot.

6. Strip about two dozen one-inch or greater diameter branches about eight feet in length from nearby trees. Grab branches covered in leaves, if possible, as these provide greater protection from the elements. To strip a branch, grab it with both hands where it connects to the tree and yank it downward until it detaches.

7. Lay the branches across the crossbeam so that one end of the branch touches the ground and the other extends over the crossbeam. Cover the branch ends on the ground with piles of dirt and heavy stones.

8. Gather up loose moss, leaf-covered tree branches and clumps of dirt and fallen leaves and pile these on top of the branches. Lay down inside the lean-to. If you see any light coming through the branches, add more debris.

9. Construct the sides by laying branches diagonally across the roof from the ground on each side. Cover the branch ends on the ground with dirt and then cover the branches with debris.

Tips & Warnings

• For extra warmth, clear an area in front of the opening of your lean-to and construct a fire pit by making a circle of stones around a six-inch deep hole. Build a fire inside the pit.

• Start building your fort before nightfall. If you're lost and think you'll have to spend the night in the woods, get started as soon as possible. Darkness will make it much more difficult for you to locate the materials to put your fort together.

References

• Practical Survivor: Wilderness Survival Shelter - Lean-to
• Wilderness Survival Skills: Emergency Survival Shelter
• Practical Manliness; "7 Wilderness Survival Lessons From The Swiss Family Robinson"; Nate Desmond; June 4, 2010
• Animated Knots: The Square Knot (Reef Knot)
• Camp Belzer: The Best Indiana Outdoor Resource Site
• YouTube: how to build a Lean-To shelter part 1

Resources

• BC Adventure: Basic Wilderness Survival Skills