Emergency trash bag bivvy with umbrella

Part 2 of 4
Urban survival, Emergency Shelters, Palmer Furnace, Trash bag bivvy – So the decision is to make do with an emergency shelter.  Let’s do some trash pickin’.  First thing that comes to mind for many folks is the classic “sleep in a box.”  I don’t really have much to say about that choice.  It’s an already constructed shelter that most likely will hold up to the elements, weather-wise.  It could be improved by putting a garbage bag over it to repel rain and snow.  It’s not very portable and it’s not even close to invisible so it will attract undue attention.  My preference is very light-weight, you can carry it in your pocket, and it’s also easily scrounged:  a big or a couple big trash bags.  Three is even better.  Cut one open and you have the makings for a tarp shelter.  You can use dental floss for cordage in securing it to whatever you’re attaching it to.  Even better, in my opinion, is to use it for a waterproof bivvy which, if you’re trying to picture it, is used like a super light sleeping bag.  Some would say it resembles a body bag.  Most likely, you will need two as I’ve never encountered a trash bag large enough that I can just completely slip into it and I’m done.  Most likely you will need to have that extra second bag of which you will cut open the bottom and slide it like a sleeve onto the intact bag and adjust so it does fit.  If you have a small umbrella, you can use just the one bag and place the open umbrella at the head of the bag to cover the part of you not covered by the bag.  Stake the umbrella to the ground with a couple sticks or something.  It's going to be an extremely uncomfortable night.   If you’ve made the two-bag bivvy, you can place the umbrella at the head of the bag and open it such that it holds the bag open while still protecting you from the elements.  The advantage of the umbrella technique is that you reduce the amount of condensation due to better airflow.   I mentioned in an earlier post that my grandfather was a hobo during the Great Depression.  One of the things he told me was to scrounge newspapers for insulation and for cover.  Newspapers are easy to scrounge out of garbage cans or left discarded at public places.  Get as many as you feel comfortable carrying.  My grandfather advised wadding up the newspaper and stuffing it inside your clothing.  Primarily that tactic will provide some insulation but it also gives a wee bit cushioning from whatever hard surface you may be trying to sleep on.  They didn’t have plastic trash bags back in those days so I’ve improved some on that technique.  First, you want insulation from the ground.   Otherwise, you’re gonna get bone cold.  Here’s where the third trash bag comes in.  Wad up newspaper pages and stuff them into the third bag.  Wad up a bunch ‘cause you’re gonna use that bag as a mattress to provide a relative degree of comfort but more importantly to insulate you from the ground.  When it’s filled to a thickness you feel comfortable with, tie it off (don’t seal it ‘cause you want it to flatten out in the form of a mattress), and place it in your bivvy or under your tarp.  I recommend you place a couple pages of newspaper on top of your mattress to prevent “swamp butt” while you’re sleeping.  Swamp butt occurs due to condensation between your body and the plastic mattress which means you’ll wake up damp and uncomfortable.  Obviously, if you can’t find any newspapers, you can stuff your mattress with leaves or such to get that insulation and comfort.  If you were in a more natural environment like out in the boonies, you would most likely not find newspapers and have to use the natural materials anyhow.   Even with this setup, it's going to be an uncomfortable night but better than sleeping uninsulated from the ground.  When you break camp in the morning, you just fold up your bivvy and take it with you.  You will have to make a decision on the mattress:  hide it for later retrieval, empty it in anticipation of finding more newspapers during the day, or just staying in the bivvy all day which I don’t recommend due to security concerns and you need to get out there and scrounge up some food and determine if your situation has changed. 

Still on the subject of emergency shelters, I would like to address two additional areas.  The first one is site selection.  You want to select a location that provides some security and that you can exploit its features to increase the effectiveness of your shelter.  Whilst roaming around during the day, you want to be on the lookout for suitable sleeping places.  Gather some intel and watch the homeless folks.  Check out their routines and evaluate why they have decided to be at that location at that time i.e. what are the advantages they are exploiting.  Today, if you go out and about, look at what the homeless wear, carry, and where they are at.  There is a reason they are where they are at that time of day, what they carry, and how they are dressed.  Once attuned to the homeless, you can put yourself in their place and suddenly you will see opportunities and strategies.  When I walk in cities now, I usually spot the homeless encampments.  The encampments are typically just out of sight, take advantage of natural structures, and there are typically a few paths leading in to the camp.  In bigger cities, I’ve noticed alleyways and doorways as temporary shelters.  The one sign I see from most of them is trash strewn nearby.  Personally, I consider the trash strewn about as a security concern because it advertises the place.  But then I’m a Leave No Trace camper and I just can’t abide trash strewn all over the place.  My bivouac would be clean and not draw attention.  Security-wise, you want folks to not know you’re there—to be invisible.  To that end, hold off on bedding down for the night until dusk and break camp at dawn.  If you find that someone has already taken your location, go to a backup location.  You don’t need the confrontation.  Keep in mind you’re simply making do until the situation that made you temporarily homeless clears up.  Site selection should also take advantage of features in the area such as a windbreak, roof, or stone/brick wall facing south (the south facing masonry will absorb the solar heating during the day and radiate it out during the night).  I was doing some work in Alexandria, VA, a few years ago and walked past a Lowe’s or Home Depot (don’t remember which) and noticed garden sheds for sale at one edge of the parking lot.  I thought to myself one of those would be a great sleeping spot.  It snowed overnight.  I walked past the sheds on the way to the local McD’s restaurant and noticed a pair for what appeared to be female footprints in the snow leading from (not to) one of those sheds.  She had been taking advantage of the features of the shed—a roof over the head, walls to block wind, private, and nearby to a source of food.  She probably had a sleeping bag to provide warmth.  Speaking of keeping warm, your travel partner provides warmth as well.  Sleep back to back or spoon if you’re tarping it.  I don’t think your trash bag bivvy will be big enough for two.  Who knows?  Might be worth a try.  Another method to keep warm at night, other than stuffing newspapers in your clothing and use of that emergency space blanket in your first aid kit, is to use a modification of what some call the “Palmer Furnace.”  The classic Palmer Furnace is where you sit on some insulation cushioning you from the ground cross-legged with a blanket or poncho over you.  A lit candle is placed by your feet in such a manner that it won’t cause the blanket/poncho to catch fire.   Within minutes, you will be so warm you will want to remove the covering.  I prefer a candle lantern for this purpose as it’s safe and the candle typically lasts all night.  I doubt you will be able to find a candle lantern in the trash but you will be able to buy one of those religious candles in a glass (my title, don’t know the official one).  They last a long, long time and are typically also found in cemeteries in Europe.  Whether you go to a cemetery and happen to get one or two depends on your situation and morals.  Survival sometimes alters your morals thresholds.  Anyhow, the modified Palmer Furnace is to simply place the lit candle in your bivvy or box or tarp area in such a manner that it will not catch the structure on fire, be knocked over (reason for the glass candle holder being a good choice), or being blown out by the wind.  Obviously there are other options for a do it yourself shelter but these are my thoughts on the subject.  Game this in your mind and even test construction on your solution ahead of time.  Think scroungeable from trash sources.  And, really, watch the homeless now.  Learn from them.  It could be a matter of life and death or at least safety and comfort.  Before I leave this area, a personal security tip of an improvised protection device you can keep with you in your shelter:  place a rock in a sock and keep it nearby.  If a confrontation occurs that you cannot back away from and you must protect yourself, use the “sock and a rock” by swinging at the head of your adversary or flicking it (like you flick towels in the locker room) at your assailant’s face.  Once he’s down, leave quickly.  Next up:  water, food, miscellaneous thoughts on the “what if” subject.  Then back to more happy things.

Abandoned one-person homeless camp with trash