Post by laughingcatdog on Jan 28, 2014 14:08:12 GMT -5
So, you’ve got food, water, shelter and warmth. Congratulations, you are going to survive for the immediate future. Survival is so often cast as a struggle against nature, but this is a mindset detrimental to anyone who actually wants to survive in the wilderness. Treating the wilderness instead as something to be worked with produces a much better attitude and likelihood of success. So, let’s say you’ve found yourself out and about, and you’ve found potable water, gotten yourself some food and constructed a shelter strong enough to protect you. Good job.
Fire is a very good source of warmth, and is arguably what elevated humans to where they are now. Always make sure you can start and control a fire, and you’ll stay nice and warm with plenty of leeway to cook food. However, fires are volatile things, and you should never, ever leave one unattended. This bears the unfortunate clause of requiring any adventurer to bank their fires if they want to go to sleep, unless they have someone else to watch. This can mean that nights are cold and dreary, but it need not be so. This is a simple solution to keeping warm at night without having to stay up the whole thing and tend to a fire.
First, you’ll need a rock. It should be small enough for you to roll with tools such as sticks or other rocks, but should still be large enough to last. I prefer around six inches in rough diameter, but everyone has different tastes and you should choose the size that fits you and your shelter best. Important: do NOT, I repeat, do NOT use rocks from rivers, streams, lakes or other bodies of water. These have the tendency to catch and hold water and could explode if you use them, seriously injuring or even killing anyone nearby. Use rocks from dry places that don’t catch and hold water.
Next, you’ll need a fire. If the daytime weather’s warm enough you can do this outside, but if not you’ll have to do it inside your shelter. And if you do it inside your shelter, make sure there’s a hole somewhere in the ceiling where smoke can escape. Once your fire’s big enough, plop your rock right in the middle and let it heat up. It’ll take a few hours to do, so get to this early. If you have enough room, you shouldn’t have a problem doing other things with your water like cooking.
Now you need a hole in your shelter’s floor. The depth depends on the size of your rock, but in general there should be about a foot of dirt covering the rock once it’s buried. This will keep you from burning your butt if you sit on it too long, and the warmth will distribute nicely to the surrounding area. Where you put this depends on your shelter; If it’s small enough, one rock might be able to heat the whole thing. If it’s a big shelter, it might be a good idea to put it near the sleeping area, or even use multiple rocks in different places.
Anyway, once your rock’s heated up you need to get it out of the fire into the hole, which can be accomplished with particularly sturdy sticks or even other rocks. Once you’ve rolled it where it needs to be, cover it up with dirt and pack it down.
And now you’re done! The rock will keep its heat and warm up your shelter for hours into the night, and you’ll stay nice and toasty without having to tend to a fire.
Fire is a very good source of warmth, and is arguably what elevated humans to where they are now. Always make sure you can start and control a fire, and you’ll stay nice and warm with plenty of leeway to cook food. However, fires are volatile things, and you should never, ever leave one unattended. This bears the unfortunate clause of requiring any adventurer to bank their fires if they want to go to sleep, unless they have someone else to watch. This can mean that nights are cold and dreary, but it need not be so. This is a simple solution to keeping warm at night without having to stay up the whole thing and tend to a fire.
First, you’ll need a rock. It should be small enough for you to roll with tools such as sticks or other rocks, but should still be large enough to last. I prefer around six inches in rough diameter, but everyone has different tastes and you should choose the size that fits you and your shelter best. Important: do NOT, I repeat, do NOT use rocks from rivers, streams, lakes or other bodies of water. These have the tendency to catch and hold water and could explode if you use them, seriously injuring or even killing anyone nearby. Use rocks from dry places that don’t catch and hold water.
Next, you’ll need a fire. If the daytime weather’s warm enough you can do this outside, but if not you’ll have to do it inside your shelter. And if you do it inside your shelter, make sure there’s a hole somewhere in the ceiling where smoke can escape. Once your fire’s big enough, plop your rock right in the middle and let it heat up. It’ll take a few hours to do, so get to this early. If you have enough room, you shouldn’t have a problem doing other things with your water like cooking.
Now you need a hole in your shelter’s floor. The depth depends on the size of your rock, but in general there should be about a foot of dirt covering the rock once it’s buried. This will keep you from burning your butt if you sit on it too long, and the warmth will distribute nicely to the surrounding area. Where you put this depends on your shelter; If it’s small enough, one rock might be able to heat the whole thing. If it’s a big shelter, it might be a good idea to put it near the sleeping area, or even use multiple rocks in different places.
Anyway, once your rock’s heated up you need to get it out of the fire into the hole, which can be accomplished with particularly sturdy sticks or even other rocks. Once you’ve rolled it where it needs to be, cover it up with dirt and pack it down.
And now you’re done! The rock will keep its heat and warm up your shelter for hours into the night, and you’ll stay nice and toasty without having to tend to a fire.