FINDING A PLACE TO REST

A good place to relax is essential, but don’t think you can sleep on open ground

Shelter can give you both a physical and mental boost. In cold environments, the only way you can rest is in a warm shelter, out of the wind. In a hot place a shelter could protect you from getting too hot. But even when things are fairly comfortable, a shelter can give an added boost of better sleep and feeling cosier. It will protect you from unpleasant changes in the weather, or interruptions from animals and biting insects.

The kind of shelter you choose will depend on how much time you have available to set one up, and how long you intend to use it. For just one night there are various simple shelters you could make, or you could use a natural shelter. If you need to stay for longer, you should improve the shelter to make yourself more comfortable.

There are also unique considerations in different environments. If you are somewhere cold and snowy your shelter needs to be easy to build, because the cold saps your energy. It should also be windproof and warm, but let enough air out to avoid suffocating yourself.

Insects are a big problem in jungle environments, and can be hard to avoid if you haven’t planned to be sleeping wild. At the very least you should try to shelter away from bodies of water, and with something between you and the ground. That could just be a piece of fabric, but if you can raise yourself higher off the ground, that would be even better.