by Leon Pantenburg

Up on the ridge, the sudden autumn storm caught us by surprise. The dark clouds came boiling over the nearby mountains and headed in our direction. The wind picked up, and within a matter of minutes,  we would be hit with some really nasty weather.

This very simple Timber Hitch is easily-learned and works great to secure one end of an emergency A-Frame tarp shelter.

My brother, Mike, and I were on a backpack elk hunt, deep in Idaho’s Clearwater National Forest. We had been way down in a dark canyon, chasing a herd, when we climbed back out to regroup. Distracted by the potential elk sign, we han’t paid attention to the weather.

Our only shelter would have to be made out of two blue plastic tarps and some parachute cord. We looked around quickly, secured a line between two trees that were about 15 feet apart, and set the 10-by-12-foot tarp across it in an A-Frame fashion. We anchored the edges and corners with rocks. (Read the rest of the story by clicking on: tarp shelter. )

Here’s the point: No survival kit or technique is worth anything if you don’t know how to use it.

In this case, quick, effective knots were part of our survival gear. Because we were proficient with them,  it was easy to make an emergency shelter.

During survival situations, a basic knowledge of knots may prove to be  invaluable as you construct a shelter, tie up a food bag to keep it away from animals, or secure your boots! In fact, knots may end up being more useful than that really cool survival knife!

Most people don’t learn how to tie knots, so in an emergency situation, they lack a vital piece of gear. We’re going to help fix that.

These videos from “The Art of Manliness” provide  excellent demonstrations of  how to tie seven basic knots. 

Here’s what I want you to do: Click on  Knots and watch the videos. You’re not done with just one viewing! Then, get a rope, and practice. When you can tie several of these knots, and have an idea of where and how to use them, you’ve added a valuable survival tool to your wilderness survival  kit!

For more related SurvivalCommonSense.com tips and stories, click on the highlighted words:

• STOP: Use this exercise to reduce stress and focus your thoughts.
• Write a note to let people know where you went, before you left.
• Take your Ten Essentials on every outing.
• Dress with the right fabrics.
• Have a plan to make a tarp shelter.
• Find the most effective fire ignition system.
• It can kill you: Hypothermia
• About Leon Pantenburg