20 Forest Bunkers People Hide for Under $2,000 That Rangers Never Find (A Ranger Explains)

Twenty kinds of hidden forest shelter, none of them over $2,000, told by a retired search and rescue ranger. How each one is supposed to disappear, and the one thing that gives it away. A dugout under a Washington state park, found by a mushroom hunter. A hut on Burnt Mountain dated by the newspaper plates in its roof. A Maine camp that lasted 27 years and was never found by searching. I'm Cliff Hollis. Thirty-two seasons as a backcountry ranger in the mountain West, the last fifteen running search and rescue. This video describes how shelters get found. It is not a build guide. The only one I would point you to is number one. THE RULES I QUOTED, AND WHERE THEY COME FROM Structures and big holes on national forest land: 36 CFR 261.10 (a) and (b), written authorization required. Ceiling: 36 CFR 261.1b, up to six months; forest orders set fines up to $5,000. Stay limits: set forest by forest under 36 CFR 261.58. Umpqua NF order 06-15-25-01: 14 days, then move outside a 5 mile radius. BLM: 43 CFR 8365.1-2. BLM camping page: generally 14 days in any 28, then often 25 to 30 miles. Ceiling: 43 CFR 8360.0-7, up to 12 months. Archaeological sites: ARPA, 16 U.S.C. 470ee. First offense up to $10,000 and a year; serious damage up to $20,000 and two years. Overhangs: Glen Canyon NRA camping page, "Do not camp under overhanging rocks." Pallets: IPPC stamps, HT heat treated, MB methyl bromide (EPA: extremely toxic). Moss: Forest Service special forest products rules. Regrowth 15 to 25 years: Biological Conservation, Pacific Northwest study. Snags: NWCG S-130, "Stay away from snags." Widow makers: OSHA logging glossary. Streams: Leave No Trace, 200 feet from lakes and streams. NOAA and the Weather Service: six inches of fast water can knock you down. Root plates: New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, storm damaged trees. Carbon monoxide: CDC, "Never use a portable gas camp stove indoors." Snow shelters: Scout Life, a vent hole and no stove inside. Blinds: Virginia DWR blind licenses. Illinois DNR permits and daily drawings. Hiawatha NF: portable, temporary, owner's contact information posted. Hammocks: Leave No Trace hammock guide, straps 1 inch or wider, 200 feet from water, trails and campsites. Rules change by forest and by year. Call the local ranger district before you go. The documents behind the real cases are in the pinned comment. CHAPTERS 00:00 Twenty hidden shelters and what gives each away 01:19 20. Camouflage net lean-to 02:24 19. Pallet cabin under a net 03:48 18. Moss-skin tarp 04:48 17. Rock overhang with a stone wall 06:09 16. Earthbag micro bunker 07:13 15. Standing deadwood lean-to 08:18 14. A-frame under a thick canopy 09:39 13. Stream bank undercut 10:48 12. Sod dugout 11:55 11. Root cellar bunker 13:19 10. Blowdown bunker 14:20 9. Waterfowl pit blind 15:17 8. Hunting ground blind 16:08 7. Snow quinzhee 17:18 6. Poncho hooch 17:57 5. Debris hut 18:54 4. The full system 19:52 3. Stealth hammock 20:41 2. Boulder camp 22:15 1. Legal dispersed camp 23:50 What the woods keep a record of Stay found, folks. #ParkRanger #HiddenShelters #Bushcraft