SRL THE SELF-RELIANCE LIBRARY
SHELTER
STEP 3 OF 7 · SRL-SHL-003
1-PAGE FIELD SHEET
How to Read Wind Before Making Camp
Purpose — Site your shelter using terrain-indicated wind direction, not the wind you feel at setup.
FIELD CHECKLIST
- Identify saddles, gaps, or exposed shoulders nearby and avoid facing them
- One-sided tree crowns checked for prevailing wind direction
- Site chosen on leeward side of a rise, timber, or solid deadfall
- Shelter's lowest wall set toward the prevailing wind
- Terrain-based decision held even if evening feels calm
RED FLAGS — STOP AND RECHECK
- Open, wind-scoured ground with thin leaf litter nearby
- One-sided, wind-flagged tree crowns pointing away from your chosen orientation
DECISION RULE
No clear leeward spot: block the terrain-indicated wind, not the wind you feel now.
- Siting for the view instead of the wind
- Trusting evening calm over terrain shape
SAFETY NOTE
BEFORE YOU ACT ON THIS SHEETWind direction can still shift with an incoming weather front regardless of terrain — recheck if conditions change.
EMERGENCY REMINDERIf wind speed increases sharply or a front visibly moves in, reinforce or relocate your shelter before dark, not after.