Thank you for not milking my time and keeping the videos to the point. The worst is sitting thru 20 minutes of youtubers repeating themselves. So thanks again!
Was gonna say the same thing. I hate the "3 easy tips" videos where it's mostly dance music and long winded explanations of complicated things. Easy sub
If you set up near a creek, look up in the trees for debris. If you see debris in low brush or tree branches it is because flood waters reach that height. I camped out by a creek once with 6 foot high bank but had debris 6 feet up in the trees or TWELVE FEET above the normal creek level. Luckily in my case the water only reached the top of the bank on my trip, but it taught me to pay attention to high flood water indications.
I grew up in the woods, taught from an early age by my grandfather who was a relocated Kentucky moonshiner in Northern Michigan. One of my earliest recollections of the things he taught me was that when setting up camp, always do so with the mentality that you were doing it in the pouring rain. Developing that as a habit has been extremely beneficial through the years. When it is mentioned, it seems like a no brainer, but it is something easily overlooked when setting up camp on a sunny day and only becomes evident during a nightime rain storm.
I appreciate that you ACTUALLY TALK during your presentation. So many ridiculous 'survival' videos, they don't narrate and explain WHY they're doing what they do. You have good info, to the point, not wordy or dramatic. Subscribed.
I live in Western Australia, in the country where everything tries to kill you... Over here one of the things that gets taught to people by those that are proficient in bushcraft is to look up before setting up camp, pitching a tent, rolling out a swag or parking up your vehicle and so on. We have Eucalyptus trees over here, certain species regularly shed very large limbs, (I have seen limbs up to half a metre diameter suddenly drop from a height of 15 to 20 metres). The trees usually shed limbs, or it is more common, during drought to conserve water or in heatwave conditions for the same reason, but not always, as it can occur during winter as well. The trees do this by building up a pocket of gas at the limb/trunk junction and force the limb to break off, there is no warning, it is sudden and the limb breaks away fast and clean. A lone camper or even a family seem to be in the news every couple of years having been seriously injured or killed by a falling branch from one of these trees. These certain Eucalypt trees get dubbed Widowmaker trees, that name should be saved for trees that are likely to fall. I think it is a bit unfair as local councils around Australia now remove these beautiful trees due to liability concerns, some of them hundreds of years old, a lot of them providing nesting for rare cockatoos in the hollows left by the gas pockets where a limb has been shed. Anyway, just look up, for your sake and the sake of the tree.
I live in SD, CA. The park I spend most of my time is full of massive old eucalyptus. I’ve seen many massive branches fall suddenly from 50-100’ high. They are beautiful, but they are crazy shedders for sure.
I'm from WA now living in VIC; I remember having a break during a hike by a river on a hot day, and a bloody big branch on a gum tree popped and dropped a few metres from me. Barely had time to sh!t myself let alone move.
I knew the critters are out to get you in Australia, but that the trees join in was a new one for me-are there more poisonous plants, like poison Ivy in the US or this gympie gympie-I didn't know it was in Australia as well, I knew it to be in Indonesia- even your stinging nettles are on steroids! Oh Boy....no wonder people from OZ are so relaxed, everyone even the slightest bit inclined to worrying would be extinct by know-panicked to death!
Learned about the low spot when I was 9, several of us boy's pitched our tent out in the woods about 3/4 mile behind the house, in the middle of the night we all woke up sleeping in a pond. That's one lesson never forgotten.
This is the dumbest guy in the woods I have ever seen. He is a guy that assumes that he knows everything and he has not got a clue. Up rooted trees are usually on high ground which makes the tops of the tree higher in high wind storms and the reasons for the uprooting is shallow roots on rocks. You have one wall that is mostly windproof and waterproof and if another tree falls down on your shelter it wont squash you flat because of the root wall is strong and good for protection from animals. You want your fire on the ground and your bed elevated with branches and soft tree boughs, insulation from the cold earth. You also have a dirt wall that won't start on fire, but will reflect heat as dark dirt heats up fast and stays warm for a long time.
You are a saint for giving away all this information and knowledge for free. Thanks so much for all the hard work on the videos, brother. This is one of the best channels on RU-vid.
This is the dumbest guy in the woods I have ever seen. He is a guy that assumes that he knows everything and he has not got a clue. Up rooted trees are usually on high ground which makes the tops of the tree higher in high wind storms and the reasons for the uprooting is shallow roots on rocks. You have one wall that is mostly windproof and waterproof and if another tree falls down on your shelter it wont squash you flat because of the root wall is strong and good for protection from animals. You want your fire on the ground and your bed elevated with branches and soft tree boughs, insulation from the cold earth. You also have a dirt wall that won't start on fire, but will reflect heat as dark dirt heats up fast and stays warm for a long time.
Hi Dan, good advice. Love how you picked out all the places that a lot of people would use. I have noticed that even on the show Alone there are some that put their shelters in low ground or even dig and hole to make their shelter. I sit there shaking my head yelling no no no. But they never listen. High ground on a hump, solid ground, solid trees, back from water source, away from cliffs and falling debris
For Alone, it depends on the season, if winter, then one wants to advantage of the heat coming out of the ground the deeper one digs. It depends on what the conditions are for surviving.
Another reason not to mess with fallen trees is that there is a possibility that the trunk is still under tension, especially when its in contact with other trees. That's also why you shouldn't walk on it or things like that. Having this tension go off in your face is incredibly dangerous.
If you step on the roots of a fallen tree then the stump will go back to its upright position and entombe you beneath it. You will die of suffocation beneath it. I always stay away from treeroots when out in the woods.
Three great calls! I remember a trip into the back country in Glacier Park, where two friends pitched their tent in a low-lying area. It rained of course, and around 3 AM all of the runoff plowed through - they dragged everything to higher ground when the tent started leaking from the bottom without too much water damage to their gear or bags, and settled back down. In the morning, there was a fast moving creek three feet deep where they had set up the night before.
I went on an overnight hike with some buddy’s last year and we ended up in a narrow canyon that seemed like a great spot. Had lots of downed trees for fire wood and a nice wide Game trail to set up our tents haha that night the wind picked up and I could hear some giant animal either a bear or elk crashing through the brush. I didn’t sleep a wink that night. I figured I was either getting crushed by a dead fall or a trampled by an elk coming down it’s trail that we were right in the middle of.
This is the dumbest guy in the woods I have ever seen. He is a guy that assumes that he knows everything and he has not got a clue. Up rooted trees are usually on high ground which makes the tops of the tree higher in high wind storms and the reasons for the uprooting is shallow roots on rocks. You have one wall that is mostly windproof and waterproof and if another tree falls down on your shelter it wont squash you flat because of the root wall is strong and good for protection from animals. You want your fire on the ground and your bed elevated with branches and soft tree boughs, insulation from the cold earth. You also have a dirt wall that won't start on fire, but will reflect heat as dark dirt heats up fast and stays warm for a long time.
Most animals are lazy and don't want to walk through bad terrain, like fallen trees or swamp. Why would anyone set a camp near a game trail. City Slickers with no Idea.
Great video. One other concern, one which I am always concerned with up here in Northern Wisconsin in the Nicolet National Forest, is that of ‘widow makers’. Those are trees, usually tall mature ones, that are starting to drop their dead limbs, which can be massive and heavy. Wondering the woods, you will occasionally see large limbs or chunks of wood protruding straight up from the ground near a tree. These are the ‘widow makers’ that broke off in a wind, or no wind, and penetrated the ground. Could well have been on top of your head. I just removed two 50’+ trees that were along our driveway and beginning to drop such limbs. A potentially dangerous situation avoided. In summary, if you’re selecting a camp site under or near a tree, observe the tree above to assure yourself it’s a healthy tree, and not one holding potential ‘widow makers’, that could harm or kill you.
Funny you should mention that , south east Wisconsin here. I just finished mowing my lawn with a riding mower and was hitting the tights spots with a string trimmer when I saw a good 400lb branch come smashing down from my maple tree on a calm dry day.
@@MrSheckstr On a good, still morning, was just leaving the yard in the middle of the park where I worked - when a huge branch just slammed right across the front of our team's van. That woke us all up!
Great video as usual. One thing, no one ever says don't camp on or near animal paths. I know of a lot of people that don't know what they are when they see them.
You mean the pedestrian trails through the forest? :D Heh, if you're raised in the forest, you know exactly what they are. But yeah, normies don't even see them.
I appreciate the "Keep these in consideration!" At the end. Situational awareness is key. Uprooted trees can often be a result of shallow soil beds due to shallow bedrock. Providing that the immediate surroundings do not present undesired hazards they are perfect spots to use. A downed tree properly assessed for stability can provide protection from other falling trees. Again situational awareness. A lowland area can set you up in reasonable proximity to a valuable lifeline water source. Again situational awareness is key. Survival is not an exercise or a plan but a predicament that will require wits and good judgement. The hazards you point out are real and important but real survival is situational.
Here's a somewhat different perspective on trees that fall and tip up their root disk. This doesn't always happen because of boggy soil; it can also happen because there is a thin layer of soil underlain by rock, so the trees are not well anchored. The resulting "divot" is still a low space and should be avoided, but on the other side of the disk the soil is level with the surroundings. In this case, assuming that the fall was recent enough that there has not been a lot of rotting of the wood, using the trunk as a support (as you described in case number 1) is feasible. You get one free wall and a ridgepole.
Uprooted tree trunk is a reflector for fire. sturdy base and windbreak. Use for building a dry shelter. Seal base with earth debris. I am old and I am Canadian who tried to spend as much time in our out of doors as possible.
I had a job at a location in a wooded area. I mentioned to my boss that a particular dead tree was likely to fall into the roadway, or another direction and land on customer aircraft or his building. I informed him of the potential liability of damages, injuries, or death especially since it had been brought to his attention. So a month or so later a storm came during the night. When we arrived the next day, we noticed an area that looked a bit different. The green “healthy” tree next to dead tree was the one that had fallen 🤦🏻
Oh wow! I had the same conversation with MY boss, telling him about this dead tree that was looming right next to one of his rental houses that I was living in since I was taking care of the property. Told him it there was a great danger that it would fall on the house and/or my vehicle in a storm, and was also a huge fire hazard. There were a couple other dangerous trees at the house next door on the same property. I reported it several times with phone calls and lengthy emails including photos. He would not do anything about it. Shortly afterward, one of our vendors was late meeting us because a tree fell on his vehicle at his home the night before during a storm. He showed us pictures on his phone, fortunately no one was hurt. After that incident I thought surely my boss would take action on our trees, but no... I left that job and moved out within a month.
Hello from Oklahoma! Good Video! All the reasons I carry a 10x10 nylon tarp. Not to mention the fact, all the time it takes to make a shelter. Plus, I believe in Leave No Trace. God Bless!
good advice i learned it the hard way was homeless for 20 years living in the woods so lots of experimentation by no choice. and he is correct on all the advice. i am not homeless now just to recap.
Valuable points for shelter Sir, totally appreciate your sense of humor and meaning, I am a decades running wild living rural-farm and ag worker, I Stay in da woods!!!👍🏼Gratitude determines my attitude
Excellent practical advice! I have seen a lot of videos promoting setting up shelters in these totally sketchy/just plan bad spots and feel sorry that someone might follow the advice. As you say, setting up a critical shelter in a bad spot might be worse than keeping moving...
Never forget getting off my fire dozer for a break; was looking at a uprooted tree when I heard a loud cracking sound. A limb broke off from the weight of a second down tree. The first tree stood right back up where it came from.
Great information, really glad you made this video. No wasted moments clean and concise. Could you do a follow-up on what you look for as far as an ideal situation to set up a shelter in? Thanks and look forward to your next submission.
I skipped ahead for the bullet points. I agree with your assessment. 👍 Emergency shelter is rarely convenient or comfortable. Blowdowns, especially are a sign that the area should be avoided. As a habitual hammock camper, I try to avoid using very large, mature trees. Limbs falling and possible lightning strikes are my two biggest concerns. Thanks, Dan!
Great information! Last summer my friend and I dispersed camped in an area with a lot of fallen trees nearby. What you said confirms our suspicions. Now I know not to camp there during the wet season!
You give so much good advice in a 5 or 10 minute video. Great job. My outdoor experience is pretty much unsuccessful hunting half a day here and there. But if I ever find myself living outdoors I will have the knowledge I need thanks to your videos and others videos. I like that you also have videos on the need for some comforts of home. Thank you for the lessons I hope I never need.
Downed trees make shelter for other animals and insects. You may be sharing your camping space with unwanted visitors. Same with overhanging rocks and caves.
I might not have clued in to the uprooted trees being a sign of the whole area being bad, depends on how cold I was. I used to hitchhike a lot and have spent many uncomfortable nights learning things the hard way, now I am older and wiser, so I don't go ten feet outside my backyard without enough gear to build a small cottage, several miles of asphalt road, and a nice bistro with a heated patio.
Trees don't always uproot because the ground is wet; often (maybe most often) they're down because of extreme occasional factors such as ice storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc., stuff that doesn't happen on a regular basis. Personally I would think this would be a golden area for shelter if the flooding issue is addressed, ie by ditching or building up, because you have a solid wall already built behind you.
Hey Dan this was awesome! Great that you pointed out that root plates aren’t good. A lot of times trees come over from a root disease and that disease can travel from tree to tree underground like Dutch Elm Disease does. So other trees in that stand may be ripe for falling over.
Great stuff, I will seek out more. While watching, I was recalling learning this from Ranger Dan at a Michigan recreation area (Rifle River) in the 1980s. Thanks for renewing those happy memories of learning how to have safe and comfortable outdoor adventures. And as another respondent noted, thanks for cutting the cackle and playing poker.
Been really into these videos lately. After watching this I watched another video of a guy literally saying to LOOK for a fallen tree to use for a shelter. And he made a shelter using the roots of a fallen tree!! 🤣🤦🏻♂️ I'm so glad I saw your video first!! Thanks for the heads up!!
My first thought for a survival shelter is a pine tree. Unmodified it works great, but if you want a bit more room take few branches out on one side at the bottom. And beside being a bit more roomy the removed branches can be repurposed to help improve the shelters weather resistance. But do not build a fire under a pine tree.
In the Canadian Rocky's, sleeping in a low spot is a death wish. Cold air hugs the ground, and "pools" in low spots and ditches. You won't get wet, you will freeze to death as you sleep. Peo Tip.
This Cat is Good Folks. I am 53 years old and take notes from this Channel, and I am trained at this!!!!!!!!! He is equal parts Genius and equal parts Good Old Common Sense!!!
Great info for all the new people getting out in nature. Many might have learned this as kids, but city kids never had the opportunity to learn about these things. Excellent video. Subed
Im very bushcraft illiterate. So when looking up vids & seeing how many were teaching the literal 'dig your own grave' technique, i was questioning my own sanity a little. Surely ppl who know a lot more abt being in the woods would be aware of those dangers, so im glad to see i wasnt wrong. It's a good reminder to always triple-check subjects where ur life is at stake, no matter how much of an expert some1 may seem. Note: i'd also caution against having most of ur survival knowledge be based upon how to make a fire. That's another one. B4 u learn the x hundred ways to light something up, be aware that we're experiencing mass drought conditions, & knowing how to survive wildfires may be a far more primary concern than surviving the cold. Carrying highly flammable substances or liquids on u w/ no foresight as to how you'd put out an unplanned fire is vry counterintuitve, & identifying high-fire-risk areas b4 making one could be life-saving. From what I've gathered, the most important survival skills are A. to avoid getting wet, getting out of the wind, or getting dry ASAP. B. Clean water sources, obv (not just filtered, but an awareness of whether a body of water could be heavily polluted by heavy metals or even near highly irradiated mountain features i.e. *cough Colorado cough*), C. Avoiding sickness & infection i.e. sanitation & hygiene, knowing when u shouldn't eat the thing, having a plan for how u would handle a situation in which u broke ur leg or how to suture & disinfect a wound. D. Navigation, in at least three diff ways. Tbh, the more i learn, the more i realize that ur best survival skill is other ppl & mitigation, (also creativity & pliability to unforseen circumstances.)
If you do want to use a dead tree trunk that's up off the ground for a lean-to support, test it first. Hop up on it, put some weight on it, or at least rock it well from side to side with your hands, see if it comes down or seems loose. Also check both ends of it to see how well anchored and stable they are. If it's solid, not rotten, and solidly held in place, i have no problem using one of those for a support pole. Just gotta know how to check it for stability.
Great video. I'd also add from the PNW that in environments that are really moist, if you can find a place that's pretty dry, you're not gonna be alone there, cause all the bugs wanna be dry too. So ESPECIALLY in areas where it's mostly wet, you don't wanna shelter up next to wood even if it won't fall on you because it's gonna be swarming with ants and spiders after you warm the area up LOL
It's just incredible what beauty, what atmosphere you were able to create. This is truly a meditative experience watching you. I myself started making videos about my adventures, so I'm interested in everything. Grretings from Belarus tourist.
Dan... another great video and got to say loving the channel. An episode request... Dealing with Ticks in long stays outdoors. Would love to know how you deal with them.
Happened to me! Last night. Tarp camping. I swear I checked overhead 4 or 4 times and didn't see any dead limbs I was worried about. 3 hours later a dead limb fell and hit my feet and legs. No injuries but pretty scary. Turned out to be a fairly heavy, solid piece of dead wood. Very solid. Glad I learned that lesson with only a small scare. Know whats ABOVE you, below you and around you.
Thanks good info. There have been a few times when out backpacking that I initially thought a place was nice and flat with little understory. Upon a little more inspection, I saw quite a few downed trees. I figure if multiple trees fell down, no reason to think that more trees won't fall down too.
Good tips Dan. I didn't think about not using the downed tree for shelter or roots being common. I used to camp in creek beds that flooded and under big dead trees before it hit me not to.
Great, solid info. Easy can seem tempting, but beware the pitfalls! Camping/bush crafting in Fla., dry ground is a first concern. Tree safety goes along with drainage in ultimately picking a spot.
Great video...a continuous reminder of what not to do...even though at first sight it looks good to hunker down a shelter for the night. I watched experts that did those instances of sheltering...I too, was impressed at first,that it could be considered acceptable...I'm now convinced...it's not. We all gotta use our common sense and observe our surroundings to keep ourselves safe from injuries or death...sounds cool for a survival situation, but...now? Nope...adding more trouble than before. Thanks Dan for the tutorial video...keep it coming and..."stay in the woods." 👍
i haven't camped out since the 80's until last month and i thought about most of this stuff. so i didn't forget. even though none of this mattered to me at the time. i was good to go. there was 4 of us and i found a nice high place with large trees around none laying down or fallen. so i was good. I THOUGHT. i just set up my tent. and one of my friends came up and said you might want to move your tent and pointed up. and i looked and saw i set my tent right under a windowmaker. about 16 inches across. i'm glad he was there so i moved. it didn't fall that weekend. but it could have.
Very good info. Basically it's just common sense. The last one I would avoid most coz of danger of potential other falling trees and exposed roots with loose ground/soil means more creepy crawlies will bother you when you sleep.
In the Southern African Bushveld, especially during the hot summers, nice shady trees where game likes to rest out of the sun, can not be not so nice. They are an absolute tick haven. Here on the Southern Coast in the Western Cape, we have numerous Eucalyptus Groves and yes, seeing big fallen branches is is quite common. I was not aware of the 'gas' phenomenon .. thanks for that.
Another interesting and largely unknown thing about uprooted trees is that on certain occasions the tree can actually stand itself up again. Like if the tree breaks in half for instance. When this happens you definitely do not want to be sleeping under the roots.
Dry washes in the desert,streams in gullys below mountains and river banks below dams are at risk of flash floods. Spots near water or out of the wind can be buggy. Boulders can be a sign of avalanche or rock slides. The actual chute can be hidden around a bend or some distance away. Fresh scratch marks high on a tree means a big bear marking territory. Something to consider. Hang your food and none in the tent. Tree roots conduct electricity in a lightning strike. Metal or graphite poles can act like a lightning rod. Not only for fishing and golf but a tent on a hilltop or flat plain could be attractive. Camping is still safer than the freeway at rush hour and we don't think twice about that.
You can use these low water collecting basins if you know how to make structures that redirect water flow. But you really have to think things through and not automatically figure it's a good option without alterations
Great video. One I'd like to add is seeing all those dead trees tells me there is to much water in the area. Case in point, the trees at the end of your video. Just an observation I've made while I'm out. Thank you for these videos. They're a big help when I head out.
