Great adventure. That USMC knife is classic!

so the question is really: did you spend the night or go home?

If you carry a Nalgene bottle, you can heat water up on the fire, then pour it into the bottle, and wrap it with a sock to keep next to your body for warmth overnight. Burying the rocks under leaves or brush and laying on them will also do the same thing to promote warmth overnight. This is from Grandma Gatewood's book of tricks. She is the GOAT of bush camping!

I've got a couple of strategies for winter weather overnights in the forest.  If I'm going ultralight, which I only do when I'm not planning to spend the night. I carry 3 emergency bivis, a couple emergency blankets, a bunch of T Rex tape, and a 100' of good paracord. All that takes up little room and hardly weighs anything. Simply stuff one bivi full of leaves, use one to sleep in, and split the third to make a leanto. You can tape the two emergency blankets to the side of the makeshift bivi tarp on the sides and top of the leanto to reflect the fire. In my big winter pack, I carry all the above plus a good tarp, a military bivi, 3 42 gallon super thick contractor bags, a roll of clear plastic, a air mattress with an R4 rating, a waffle mat and a 0 F rated sleeping bag. It's bulky and well over 10 pounds of gear, but you could easily survive a blizzard with it. I've spent the night in below zero Fahrenheit, with far less. A friend and I spent the night of record-breaking cold in Missouri with nothing but cheap sleeping bags and coveralls. It was way below zero, not counting the wind, which was whipping. We used a rock overhang and built a big fire. It was chilly but not as bad as most people would think. People can survive a lot if they are dressed for it. I didn't have heat in my house for about a month in December in Minnesota years ago. It would be way below zero for much of it. A glass of water would freeze solid in less than half an hour. After that experience, I've never worried much about freezing weather. Again,  you just have to know how to dress and never overheat to the point of sweating, and you'll be fine. If you don't use your mind and panic, you'll end up being a statistic. I was always amazed at how many people would go out in freezing weather up north unprepared when they should've known better. If I were in charge of the education system, I would make winter survival classes mandatory since nowadays, most childrens parents don't teach them the importance of being prepared.

Good info! It wasn't your intent of this 'expedient' tarp shelter but had you been colder/wetter the 'long log fire' you mentioned (I listened) would have worked perfectly with that set up! Oh wait - you made that video too! You rock C!

Well done!!

Why recommend polyester? Even Seinfeld made fun of it. Useless material that doesn't breathe and makes you sweat in 5 mins. Thumbs down.

Whatever you do, do NOT purchase anything from Bearhard. Their "waterproof" tarp leaked, rain came right through the stitching. Their "lifetime guarantee" is worthless as well. Only contact method with them is via email, which they hide behind IMO. No response after initial confirmation email, no other way to contact them. I sent many including multiple pics of the leaking, showing exactly where they tried patching a piss poor job on the stitching. Spend a few extra bucks and buy a real tarp from a company who actually stands behind their products/guarantee.

Good Job Lady

This channel is underrated.

A Certified Wilderness First Responder strongly encouraged me to be certain to have with me a complete, dry fire whenever I entered the woods. It has saved the day on several occasions.

Thank you for this video. Good idea about heating up the rocks. Subscribed.

Thank you for this super helpful knowledge!

Not just tinder but different kinds of tinder. I've had many experiences where 1 kind of tinder wasn't working but something else in my pouch did the trick.

Unfortunately, Your tarp layout is a poor solution. A tarp as you set it up is open to the environment - wind, cold, cold wind, rain and snow plus critters flying and grounded. A tent is inherently warm. Optionally, a tarp, a 9 foot x 9 foot piece of plastic for example supported at the center above and fully grounded at its' perimeter confines the inside air with your body heat. A mosquito net added with waterproof zipper and hood provides temperature control and change of air. A heat reflective tarp is even better for cool and cold weather. You could have set up camp under the overhead boulder improving control of the environmental conditions. Locating fire wood takes time and using a fire over night requires a lot of wood and need for getting up throughout the night to stoke the fire and add more wood. If the available wood is wet you need to remove the outer wet layer to get it started and warm other wet wood until its' dry enough set afire.

Work on you’re audio….

That’s my favorite rainfly configuration, except the top is tipped  more downward. Tho, I’d not pitch on an incline, higher flat ground is best in heavy rain. A well stocked Tinder Kit is wise gear: fatwood, magnesium/ cedar shavings, duct tape, jute twine, cattails, lint, birch bark, abandoned bird nests etc. My Gold Armour Rainfly is 10’x12’ so I cut all my kindling & stack it under my cover on each end for wind blocking & dryer wood thruout the duration. I liked how you utilized the mylar blanket as a vapor barrier! Luv your vids, very inspiring 🤩 James 5:16! ☮️ Ciao

Good content, well presented.
I will subscribe from now on... 🙂

Great video, thank you. Only a single, and very minor, negative, please drop the background music. Otherwise it was very informative and well presented. I've liked and subscribed.

Hello from Arizona,  USA.  I've been looking for a tarp like yours with the silver reflective side.  I'd love some information about it.  Brand,  where you got it,  etc.  Many thanks, Patrick.