SRL THE SELF-RELIANCE LIBRARY
SHELTER
STEP 1 OF 7 · SRL-SHL-001
1-PAGE FIELD SHEET
How to Read the Ground Before You Build Shelter
Purpose — Pass all seven checks below before you cut a pole. The land gives you these signs for free; missing one costs you a wet, cold, or dangerous night.
FIELD CHECKLIST
- Slope: gentle grade, not a bowl — kneel and sight along the ground
- Drainage: no channels, runnels, or flood lines above or below you
- Wind: tucked leeward of a rise, timber, or deadfall
- Cold pockets: on a bench, below ridgeline and above the valley floor
- Ground: driest patch available, insulate thick underneath
RED FLAGS — STOP AND RECHECK
- Debris lodged waist-high on tree trunks nearby (old flood line)
- Bowl-shaped or dead-flat low ground with no drainage path
- Heavy dew, frost, or mist settling specifically in your chosen spot
DECISION RULE
If a site fails one sign badly, walk on — better ground is almost always within a few minutes' walk.
- Building where you stopped walking, not where you surveyed
- Choosing comfort in dry weather over drainage in wet weather
- Camping beside water for convenience — coldest, dampest ground in the drainage
SAFETY NOTE
BEFORE YOU ACT ON THIS SHEETRecheck drainage and wind exposure if weather shifts after you've built. A site that read fine at setup can change with the weather.
EMERGENCY REMINDERIf a site starts flooding or a storm moves in after dark, move to higher, wind-sheltered ground immediately rather than trying to defend a bad site.