Improvised Rock Wall Shelter

This is an improvised hasty rock wall shelter. Anytime you are out looking for aplace to shelter down if you run into a rock wall it is an ideal place to set up. The rock wall is not just protection from the elements on one side of your shelter but also an all natural air conditioner. If its hot, sheltering in a rocky outcrop like this will keep you cool as the rock, in shade all day and col from the dampness will stay cool. When its night or cold, starting a small fire along the rock wall at an opening to the shelter will heat the shelter up immensly as the heat warms the rock, which will retain the heat, and then bounces heat off the rock and the poncho. Leaving a gap at the bottome of the shelter is a good choice to allow ventilation because you can quickly over heat in this type of shelter if you have a good fire going.

Simply two logs, one tied to each side of the poncho build the shelter. Then lean support poles against the wall forming a frame. Then pickup the two poles with the poncho and place it over the frame leaning the poles in place to stretch the poncho over the frame. Its optional to make one end pole tied to the poncho shorter to allow you to place the stick closer to the rock wall wraping the poncho around the frame acting as a door to close off one end and then leave the other end open for your fire.

This is merely a hasty shelter but with a few improvements, such as, tamping the outer poles into the ground and digging support holes for the frame poles to strengthen the structure would be good to strengthen it against wind. You can also add more straighter frame poles as you find them flattaning out the shape and making more of a wood wall and the poncho then becomes like a shingle material waterproofing tour structure.

You can find more pics on my facebook page and I will soon have a video of this posted up as well.

Sgt. Speakman