Spruce Whisk

While out in the woods one weekend I was making stinging nettle and potato soup and wanted to whisk the potatoes and nettle leaves. I considered lashing a handful of twigs around a stick but then came across a fallen Spruce. I cut the very top out of the Spruce, peeled the bark away and this is what I ended up with.

Perfect for the job!

And here's the end result..

Spruce Tipi - Part 2

Four Birch poles were lashed together and set up as a quadro-pod and then other poles were laid between.

After a simple doorway was constructed we gathered Spruce boughs and began inserting them between the poles.

We put the boughs on the opposite way up to which they had grown, with the end of the bough that was nearest to the tree, pointing upwards.

The top of the structure was left open to allow smoke from the fire to get out.

Here's a picture taken inside with a fire.

and it was still in good condition when we returned the following winter.

Spruce Tipi - Part 1

On a trip to Lapland myself and my friend Heiko decided to make a Spruce tipi.

We began by finding an area of flat open ground in the forest

where there were small Birch for the frame and Spruce boughs to cover the shelter.

Using a stick we exposed Spruce roots

and gathered them.

We removed the outside of the roots and then split

and used as lashings for the framework

Lean-to shelter

There are many adaptations for the lean-to shelter, depending on the circumstances and materials available.

In this case I used a horizontal ridge pole supported by two trees at either end with dead leaned against it and a piece of parachute material secured over to wick away any rain. The bed is made of spruce boughs.

Here we used Spruce boughs as thatching for the roof and this created a very effective waterproof cover. The bed is again made of Spruce boughs. The two logs across the front of the shelter prevent the occupant rolling into the fire when sleeping.

Here we are using leaf litter as covering for the roof, held in place with a second layer of dead wood.

The most effective type of fire-lay for this shelter (particularly in cold weather) is the long log fire.

With this lean-to which I used on a survival course in Canada, I have incorporated a raised bed, lined with Spruce boughs. In this case I was sleeping in this shelter at -22 degrees, without a sleeping bag.

Stripping Spruce roots

Today I've been experimenting with different methods of removing the outer sheath of Spruce roots. By far the most affective and simplest method was to find a reasonably strong branch and placing the Spruce root over the base of the branch, pull the root from side to side while applying downward pressure. It is incredibly quick and easy.