HUN Chapter 38: Upgrading the Shelter

At Chilko Lake, autumn was deepening. Though the sunlight still carried a hint of warmth, the temperature had noticeably dropped, hovering between 5°C and 12°C. Standing in the sunlight was still bearable, but once you entered the shadows between the trees or when a mountain wind blew through, you could clearly feel the chill.

The once lush, green reeds that had flourished by the lake and stream shallows had now mostly shed their verdant color, transforming into a vast expanse of withered yellow. The reed flowers at their tips had become particularly fluffy, with some already eagerly scattering their mature seeds on the wind, heralding yet another cycle of life.

Lin Yu'an stood outside his stone shelter, feeling the slightly chilly air. He needed to improve his shelter's cold resistance in advance.

"Hey, good morning. It's getting colder and colder, nighttime temperatures have already dropped below freezing."

"My shelter is solid, but when it comes to warmth, there's still plenty of room for improvement."

He walked to the lakeside, his gaze turning toward the patch of withered yellow reeds not far away. He snapped off a completely dried reed stalk with his hand and examined it carefully.

"These reeds might have looked like ordinary weeds during summer, but now they're treasures."

He pointed toward the reed patch, "These reeds are excellent material for upgrading my shelter! I've decided to use them to upgrade my shelter."

But regardless of what he was making, he would definitely need plenty of rope for binding and weaving.

"Paracord is useful, but the amount I brought is limited after all, I must save it for the most critical places."

"Fortunately, nature never stints on its gifts. It provides us with many natural materials that can substitute for modern tools."

"Take these willow trees behind me, their inner bark fibers are an excellent choice for making rope."

"It's now mid to late September, so the bark will be tighter and more difficult to peel, but with the right method, we can still obtain quality bast fibers."

Lin Yu'an used his multi-tool blade to make ring cuts around the selected willow trunk at both ends.

"These two ring cuts should be just deep enough to cut through the bark. Then between the two rings, make another lengthwise cut, this way we can peel off the bark relatively intact."

"Though autumn willow bark isn't as easy to peel as spring bark, with some effort we can still strip off autumn willow bark."

Before long, a large piece of willow bark with a pale green inner layer peeled away from the trunk with a sound, releasing the willow's characteristic slightly astringent scent.

After collecting enough willow bark, Lin Yu'an returned to camp and began careful processing.

"What you see now is this layer of dark, rough bark, that's the willow's outer bark. Its fibers are relatively short and lack toughness, so it's not our target for rope-making."

"What we need is the soft, tough inner bark underneath, also called the bast, that's where the essence lies."

After scraping off the outer bark, he put these flexible inner bark strips into a clay pot, placed it on the stove with enough stream water, and kept the water warm.

"Warm water soaking helps soften the fibers, making them easier to separate, while also removing some of the impurities and natural resins from the bark."

"In traditional rope-making crafts, this soaking and fermentation process might take many days."

"With limited conditions now, I'll use hot water, boil it then soak for several hours, then use physical pounding to accelerate the process."

When he felt the inner bark had absorbed enough water and softened, he pulled it out and placed it on a flat stone slab, picking up a thick, short wooden stick.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The wooden stick collided with the moist bark, producing muffled sounds.

"The purpose of pounding now is to make those tough fiber bundles separate more easily."

He pounded while rotating the bark strips, ensuring every inch received even pounding.

After prolonged pounding, the originally intact inner bark strips became loose, revealing pale white fibers inside that looked like coarse hemp.

He squeezed a bundle of moist fibers in his hand and showed them to the camera.

"Look, these are our raw materials for making rope, they have excellent toughness."

"Separate these extracted fiber bundles into small strands and let them dry slowly by the campfire."

During this time, I'll collect the reeds first.

Lin Yu'an didn't bring the camera as he went to where the reeds grew, cut them down, used his space to transport them back to the shelter, and began careful sorting.

He cleared excess leaves from the reed stalks, leaving only the smooth stems. The reed flowers were carefully collected as tinder reserves.

When the willow fiber bundles were basically dry but still retained just the right amount of flexibility, the reed collection and processing work was nearly complete.

Lin Yu'an began his core rope-twisting work.

He sat cross-legged with a pile of pale yellow fiber bundles in front of him.

Taking a small strand of willow fibers and dampening the ends, he said to the camera, "Moisture increases friction, making it easier to twist together."

He placed the fiber bundle on his thigh, pressed his right palm flat against the middle section, and pushed forward forcefully while rubbing.

Each push carried a twisting force, compelling the fibers to intertwine with each other.

"The key to this technique is continuous rubbing in one direction while maintaining pressure."

"As the palm rubs, the fibers become tight and gradually form a spiral-patterned single-strand rope."

"This single-strand rope, as long as it's twisted tight enough, is completely adequate for daily binding."

When the fiber bundle was nearly exhausted, he would take new fibers and overlap them several centimeters with the old rope's end.

"When splicing, the joint should have multiple overlaps, and rub with more force to ensure tight binding."

This process took a long time, but Lin Yu'an finally accumulated enough willow bark rope.

He picked up the processed reed stalks and laid them parallel on the ground.

Two slightly thicker reed stalks served as "warp threads" about a meter apart, with another reed stalk as "weft thread," placed horizontally one by one on top.

Using willow bark rope, he secured the connection points between the warp and weft threads at both ends.

"With each one secured, push it tight against the previous one to ensure the reed mat is dense enough for good insulation."

He wove two reed mats of the same size, carefully finishing the edges with willow bark rope.

"The reed mattress layer is complete! Laid on the bed frame, it can effectively insulate against cold and moisture."

"Next is the most labor-intensive item, the 'reed insulation panels' for these stone walls."

Lin Yu'an picked up a bundle of thick reed stalks and began weaving again. This time the "reed panels" were larger and thicker.

Before long, two thick reed panels had taken shape.

He first spread one reed panel on the ground, then scattered a layer of dry moss and fine pine needle debris about two to three centimeters thick.

"These are natural insulation materials that can form air layers to prevent heat loss."

After laying the filling, he covered it with another layer of reed panel, pressing the upper and lower layers tightly together with the filling in between.

Then, using willow bark rope in a "quilting" method, he bound the entire sandwich reed panel with crisscrossing ties.

Each tie was pulled very tight, firmly compressing and securing the two-layer structure into a thick, resilient sandwich reed insulation panel.

At the four corners and middle edges of each panel, he wove sturdy rope loops with thick willow bark rope for subsequent wall mounting.

"Alright, the insulation panels are complete. Next comes installation."

Lin Yu'an picked up dozens of sharp wooden wedges he had previously carved from hard wood.

"Though this stone wall is solid, we can still find breakthrough points in the gaps between stones."

He walked to a stone wall, found a suitable gap, aimed the wedge's sharp end, and using the thick axe back as a hammer, forcefully drove the wedge in firmly.

"Thump! Thump!" Muffled striking sounds echoed within the stone house. The wedge drove deep into the stone gap, firmly anchored to the wall surface.

When the wall surface was studded with enough wedges, Lin Yu'an moved the completed reed insulation panel to the wall, lifted it with effort, and pressed it flat against the cold stone surface.

Then he threaded thick willow bark rope through the rope loops at the panel's edges, repeatedly wound it around the protruding wedges on the wall surface, and finally tied slip-resistant knots.

Following the experience he had gained that day, he made more reed panels.

After two days of diligent labor, the interior of the stone shelter was transformed.

The bed had a thick, flat reed mattress, the wooden door had a tightly fitted door curtain, and the originally cold, rough interior walls were now covered with a thick layer of "reed cotton padding."

"Alright, folks, the shelter has now undergone a comprehensive warmth upgrade. The shelter has no problems whatsoever now."

"Next, I can wholeheartedly focus on storing food and fuel for the approaching harsh winter!"

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