Because I had consulted with local expert A rock “calf” big enough to crush you.
David Holladay before the trip, I knew that
the type of rock in this cave didn’t “calve
off,” so it was safe to make a fire inside.
The danger you’ll face in a cave is making a fire inside it. As you can
imagine, the rocks that form caves are not used to heat, so a fire may lead to
a fracture and cause a piece of rock to break off from the cave roof.
If you’re lucky enough to find a large cave, don’t get lost while exploring
it. Mark the walls or the floor, or even tie a piece of cord to the cave mouth.
Bear in mind that caves sometimes have occupants already or may attract
other animals seeking shelter while you’re there. If you do make a fire, build
it near the cave mouth to prevent other animals from entering (then again,
some of those animals seeking shelter could be a source of food!).
Complete natural and manmade shelters are rare. Don’t expend
energy going out of your way to search for one; just consider yourself
extremely fortunate if you find one.
When discussing natural winter shelters, many survival manu
als mention “tree wells,” snowless rings found at the base of conifer
ous trees and surrounded by walls of snow, which (they say) require no
additional construction (not true; they always do). I have spent many
winter nights snowshoeing around the forests of North America, and I
(^160) | Survive!