Survival guides · Shelter & Fire

Tarp Shelter

WHEN TO USE THISYou need cover from rain, wind or sun — fast.

1. Pick the spot

   • Use a windbreak: fallen tree, big rock, hillside.
   • Avoid: hilltops (wind), valley floors (cold air pools), dry riverbeds (flash floods).
   • Two anchors 8–12 feet apart — trees, posts or stakes.
   • Flat ground that drains.

2. A-frame — for rain

   
   • Rope between the anchors, 4–5 feet high.
   • Drape the tarp over it, both sides even.
   • Stake or weigh down the edges.
   • Pitch it steep enough that rain runs off.

3. Lean-to — for wind or a fire

   
   • Tie one edge high — 4–5 feet.
   • Angle the other edge to the ground and stake it.
   • Back to the wind. Open side toward the fire or the sun.
   Why

   A lean-to reflects campfire heat into the shelter far better than an A-frame.

4. Lock it down

   
   • Taut-line hitch on every guy line — adjustable, won't slip. (See: Essential Knots.)
   • Weigh down every edge and corner. Wind wrecks shelters in seconds.
   • No stakes? Rocks, or bags filled with dirt.
   • Something underneath to block ground moisture.

Sources: US Army FM 3-05.70 Survival · FEMA Emergency Shelter Guidelines

General information to help in an emergency — not a substitute for training or professional care.