on canoe trips in Northern Minnesota and the Quetico
wilderness park in Canada i have been finding more
"brush" shelters lately..this one was on a large island
on Snow Bay in the BWCA park..i assume with the new
survival shows on TV that campers are trying out their
skills.


thats the view looking down on it from the small
hill it was built against--


and a view looking into it..
someone put alot of work into this.hauling some good
size logs and cutting others to fit..there were downed
trees in the area so i was relived to see that live ones
were not cut to make a "try out" shelter..i have seen
shelters made right in the main camp from cut down
and chopped up pines..
i was windbound and had moved my tent far back into
the woods to get out of the storm that was blowing
across the point that the main camp was on..going
back farther to find wood i ran across this.....
which brings up this question..first of all i want
to be found in a survival situation..if i make a
shelter after swamping my canoe and going ashore with
just the gear in my Ditch Vest i don't think i would
do it this far back in the woods..but i don't want to
be so close to shore that i'm in the wind and rain..
i know an answer would be "in between" but sometimes
you need to get away from shore for shelter..how would
i spot and signal help??..what first came to mind was
hanging flagging tape and my flasher to attract
attention..mulling to over i thought leaving a spare
whistle and a prepaired note--" i need help-blow
whistle i am sheltered in woods"--or something like
that....any ideas--



while this may be nothing too fisherman in a powerboat
for a solo paddler it's a bad day on the water..

You're right; it is a problem. Marker tape is everywhere. Try making your tapes distinctive. Maybe leave one tail distinctly longer than the other, with an overhand knot near the end, or something like that, and let your significant other know that's your sign.

Jeff

Whoever built that shelter should spend a rainy night in it. I think they would learn a great deal very quickly.

To address the signalling question:

I think it takes something big, high, and unnatural in colour/shape to attract attention from a mile away or more.

E.g., limb up two trees as high as you can reach, and ...

- tie a space blanket across the two, so there's a big reflective rectangle

- tie flagging tape across in strips that are close together so it makes a big orange square (or a big fat X)

- wrap an orange garbage bag around the trunk of each tree.

A small signal fire or a flashing red bike light would help these items to stand out at night.

My 2¢.

Well... You don't need logs of that size for a shelter -- look up debris shelter for notes. It also wouldn't be anywhere near waterproof.

Regarding your question - you don't bother to look for help during a storm. You hunker down and stay dry. Afterwards, use a mirror, whistle, &smoke to attract attention near the shore.

Doug-Walk and others..some good thoughts..i was planning on
stringing the flagging along the shore but weaving it between
a couple trees to make a large block makes more sense and would
involve less tricky walking along rocks and such..the bike light will go on the next trip,my wife has one that flashes in
some wild patterns that would get someones attention..but the
more i hear about the SPOT the more i like it.if the by the
month plan is for real i would go that route..

I think if I had my "ditch vest" with me, I might consider hiking out on my own. Depends on the season, situation, and how far away I was. If I had a map and knew where a camp or station was, or a compass and knew which direction a roadway could be found - should be doable. You've probably got some fishing supplies in your ditch vest. Finding water won't be a problem. Hopefully you don't have any wide lakes to cross. Narrow ones you can cross in good weather by building a quick raft propelled using a long pole as a paddle. Even if you don't try to catch food you can probably walk out in three, maybe four days.

It all depends on the specifics, of course. But I think walking out on your own may be a real possibility worth considering in this case.

"... sometimes you need to get away from shore for shelter..how would i spot and signal help?"

I had wondered about that myself.

You usually don't want to stay right near a water source, due to exposure, debris and wild animals going there to drink.

If I were on a lakeshore (etc), I might make a rather long (12") tassel of orange and mylar ribbon and tie the tassel to the top of a stick, securely anchored in the ground. Any breeze would make it flutter.

If I were just off a trail up in the treeline, maybe tie the orange ribbon across the trail with a note that says "HELP" and has an arrow pointing in my direction.

Sue

Just a thought, all, but look at the "on the water" picture that Canoedogs posted. IMO you have to stand out clearly from that distance, otherwise potential rescuers won't even notice you. That means hoisting a blaze orange volkswagen (or equivalent) about six feet off the ground.

Walking out is probably not a viable option. There's a good reason why parks in shield country are "canoe friendly." Mostly the only way to get around is by boat.

Canoedogs, if your gut tells you to use some sort of personal locator, trust that instinct. I've done a lot of solo work, mostly backpacking, but a bit of river stuff too. No matter how good you are, or how conservative your actions, there's a very small margin for error, and we all cross that line on occasion. Safe journeys. Doug.