To make an Aframe (oneperson version), first clear the area (and
create a fire pit, if necessary) and make your bed. Then, find a fallen
tree that will act as a ridge pole (around 12 feet [3.6 m] long) as well as
a standing tree with a thick, sturdy branch about 4 feet (1.2 m) off the
ground. Rest one end of the ridge pole against the inner edge of the
branch, where it meets the trunk of the tree. If you can’t find a tree to
lean the ridge pole against, use a boulder, two forked branches, a root
bed, or any other similar structure. Now line the pole on either side
with a series of branches that will serve as ribbing; these should extend
away from the ridge pole at approximately 45 degrees and be spaced a
few inches apart. The steeper the ribbing, the more effectively the roof
will shed rain.
Try to keep the top end of the ribbing poles no more than an inch
or two (2.5 to 5 cm) higher than the ridge pole they are resting against,
or you will not be able to cap the peak with shingles. If the ribbing poles
are thin or you feel the need, crisscross another layer of insulating/roof
ing material over these branches. Then cover the roof with anything and
everything that may provide insulation. Get down on your hands and
knees like an animal and even scrape up debris from the forest floor to
use for insulation.
Don’t forget to pile some insulating material at the entrance to your
Aframe, which you can pull toward you once you are inside. (Did you
remember to build the door lower than the shelter itself, or at least at
the low end of the shelter?) You can construct a door by lashing together
some sticks and small branches in a grid pattern. A door will provide more
insulation if you make two stick grids this way, place a layer of insulation
between them, and then lash them together.
Doug Getgood, who spent a winter sleeping in an Aframe, had this
to add: “The problem I had when I spent my winter in the debris hut was
that I leaned the ridge pole against a tree. When the rains fell, the water
would run down the tree, then channel down the ridge pole and drip all
over me. I would have much preferred to use two forked sticks, thus elimi
nating the problem. When I did use the tree, I extended the ridge pole
about 6 feet (1.8 m) past the tree. This gave me a working and changing
area in the front, and a smaller sleeping area in the back.”
(^162) | Survive!