Wilderness Rake for Debris Hut Building

The Tom Brown school of wilderness survival likens the debris hut to the squirrel nest. It consists of a thick layer of leaves that act as insulation. Every day the squirrel must pack more leaves into its nest due to the tendency for them to settle and not hold the heat as well. If you look at the density of the nest compared to the squirrel, you'll see that the nest is several times larger than the squirrel. If you take that example and compare it to the human body, you'll see that building a debris hut requires a LOT of leaves. The leaves should be so thick at the end that you can put your arm all the way into the pile up to your shoulder before touching your frame for the hut. The process can be overwhelming if you are trying to gather them by the handful. So rather than waste all that energy, create a quick wilderness rake. Find a stick that has a fork at the end and tie a piece of fabric to it so that it stretches across the length. The rake will tend to just push the leaves and not the heavy stuff and thereby conserve your energy.