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game, and tying things together!

Now individually these would all be pretty insignificant items that you may or may not take hiking or camping with you but all of them put together is a pretty comprehensive survival kit. Its light to, most of the items are no larger than a paperback novel, and weigh less as well.
In regards to the spade for creating a long lasting semi-permanent shelter or a dirt oven' If you need to do either of these or you think you are going to an area where you think you may need to create a semi-permanent structure you may want to take a large tarpaulin with you as well.

To create such a structure all you do is find an area that is flat and preferably on a rise or hill. You then proceed to dig down around 3 feet to create your sleeping space; size is entirely up to you.
You then need to dig around the hole to create ditches on all four sides and bank the dug earth up at the sides. This acts as your drainage, just remember to aim these ditches downhill! All you then need to do is find five or six sturdy branches and imbed them in the corners of the hole you made and make sure you have two longer ones for the middle. You then sling the tarpaulin over and tie them down using stones and string as anchorage, make sure your roof overhangs into the ditches.
For the earth oven it's slightly more complex, and is best done in a bank of earth. All you do is dig two holes one above each other in the side of the ditch. The top one should be larger and both should be lined with rock or stone. You should then create small holes in the partition of earth between your two caves around 2 or 3 inches in diameter and also try to make a chimney running from the top cave to the surface. What you do is light the fire in the bottom cave and put your food in the top one and cover with stone rock or earth to insulate. Although it takes a long time to cook things it works pretty well. Alternatively you can dig a hole and fill it with a fire and make a spit over the top of it.
Happy cooking!

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