Bushcraft Shelter 2023

I started camping in 2021 and I kept going back to one location since that first time.
It was starting to feel like my actual home. Nowadays I even (half) jokingly tell people that I have a house just for my cat, spiders and scorpion, as my house is in the forest somewhere in the Netherlands.

I decided to actually build a small shelter for me to camp in. That way I would not have to carry my tent (and some other equipment) with me anymore whenever I spontaneously decide to go camping/to go home.
I already watched countless of bushcraft videos on YouTube and had a good idea on what I wanted to build.

I started with digging a ditch, that way I can keep my shelter as low as possible to avoid being spotted. This proved to be hard work as the ground is littered with roots (what a surprise in the forest). I then cut down some tree branches as a ground floor.

Now it was time for some bigger trees to fall down. (Same trees I got the branches from). In total I cut down 8 trees (and had 16 trees replanted in my name) to create the whole shelter. 









After digging some more - the bigger branches need to be in the ground - it was time to place the tarp to make the shelter rainproof; it is the Netherlands after all and rainfall is pretty common here.

Now it was time to ensure the tarp was tied to the poles and to create some walls. 



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I gathered some loose branches from the ground and cut some more branches off the trees I took down to create said walls.

Now came the time to ensure the shelter would blend in perfectly with its surroundings.

The top is camouflaged by moss I took from the forest floor.
​I camouflaged the sides of the shelter with the left over branches that still contained the leaves of the trees I took down.
I know this will not hide the shelter anymore when the leaves die, I just wanted it to be camouflaged good enough for this trip.

I did forget about one thing, my length. The shelter has a length of 1 meter 50 while I have a length of 1 meter 87. To cram myself and my bag in this tiny shelter is a challenge, so I needed a place to put my bag while I was sleeping.
A side canopy was the answer for it.

After nearly a year the shelter still stands, it has withstood 2 storms and snowfall. Only the side canopy for my bag broke down, but that was to be expected as it was by far the least sturdy part of the shelter.

I still come here every few months to collect my thoughts and enjoy nature.

Unfortunately with a visit I found my shelter in ruins. (April 2024)
I am not sure if a human or animal has destroyed it. I was already planning on taking this shelter down and to rebuilt it somewhere else in the same forest, but this was still a blow for me as I called this shelter home.

Somewhere in the 2024 summer the location was found by forest rangers, they demolished the last bit.