Hey guys how you doing thank you for tuning in my name is Joe we're out in the forest today this is give me a brand new series this is a start of building a fort in the woods a fort Wow okay so first order of business is obviously gonna be shoveling down this is wintertime.

Could you tell there's lots of snow could you tell the problem is building this I want this to be a permanent shelter I don't want to build it up on top of snow and then the snow melt and have everything kind of loosen up or fall through because it wouldn't be on the actual ground not this the actual ground so first order of business it's.

Gonna be getting this snow removed if you guys watch my last video the one with Boosh you'll understand how much snow there was I'll just show you now so there's not as much here as there was where bush and I were she's up to there two two and a half feet easy so yeah it's gonna be some work getting this all down but but I do want it all gone you.

Know I mean that way I can be comfortable I can walk around with no snowshoes I'll have like a big big spot dug out I don't want to like this is winter right there's a lot of snow so if I prop logs up it's not necessarily going to be like that in the spring so I want to remove all that snow like I said I'm gonna pile it on the sides probably.

That way I can create a little bit of like walls and and then in the spring or summer I'll revamp it when all that snow is gone build some walls or whatever but I think this is a good general spot let me show you why so I've got a really nice sturdy spruce here right that is not gonna come down anytime soon and then for my next site I have a clump of.

Cedar trees Eastern white cedar so what I want to do is probably get rid of this first one here I'll use it for part of the building and then tie off my Ridge pole to this Center one here this guy here that'll do two things that's gonna get me about a foot maybe two feet more room width wise I'm looking for about ten feet wide and then it's giving me.

One that's more straight up and down as opposed to leaning and I'm clear out all this stuff that's gonna be above my fire because the shelter the fort rather is going to face open that way the back will be leaning down this way I'll have this all open so getting rid of all this stuff is important and then.

Even better right in front of the fort is this big open space yes like definitely still closed in inside a forest but I do have this big clearing right here right here and this will be good for sunlight for filming purposes it'll be good for star watching at night and it's a good like landmark or whatever next to the big old clearing oh.

No my my fort is there so I'm pretty excited about this spot on the other side behind us there's a bunch of yellow birch and maple stand of those so the firewood will be readily available and then here it's all these spruce and balsam fir and cedar which are easy to take down very usable for shelter building and yeah wrists thick you know.

I mean the proper size so I'm excited I'm excited about this spot I think I need to get the little axe out and clear away a bunch of these branches because I don't know pokies and I trust you'll hatch it and one more big plus is that there's no deadfall no widow-makers anywhere around there's a small little cherry here that's broken at the top but.

I can cut that down use it for firewood or building material most of these twigs and get rid of them but there is a couple things I do want to keep I want to keep big nubs from the limbs from the bigger limbs on a few around so that I can hang my gear from it if I want to it's always nice to leave that option you can take them off later on if you.

Want to but it's a good option to have and then cutting with the saw we'll leave it nice and clean for me and have it cut exactly where I want it the length I want like here for example there now I got a sturdy little holder hanger knob whatever you'd like to call it this is going on here.

Yeah much more sturdy so we'll keep doing that just a little bit around high like really in the back is gonna be covered off so I'll have a couple here two or three good ones all right okay now we can use the fun tool everybody knows it's the truth saws are efficient easy and good to use but the old hatchet nothing beats it a for the fields for.

The fuels maybe I should try to get away from the falling snow okay close anticlimax yeah okay well so is this I guess this is the next thing to come down now this the cedar I gotta get down hope that was in frame oh my gosh brisk brisk baby Johnny Johnny want to cut it low to the ground.

Obviously all right Oh No snowy snowy Joey okay hung up cheesy boys hung up as they eat as they can get it's vegan eat it sucks on the snows like this cuz it just punches through and then it's hard to get back up out yeah I know I'm not moving that alright well I can cut.

It up here I'll try and cut it long enough but I still have a use for the length so I'll cut it long let's pry it under the snow about a foot and a half I figure I cut it up here let's plenty of room I don't want to waste it either I don't cut it too long but right around here seems to decent I don't want this to break and hit me in.

The face so I ought to be careful enough she's gumming up on me bet you if I pull it'll break perfect the break wasn't bad enough to ruin any either part of the wood oh yeah she's long eight feet or so there's a fork up in the tree too so that could be handy for something Forks are always useful.

Oh she's bushy she's very pushy no Joe yeah I'll be able to use that people use a lot of stuff on here the limbs in the trunk itself see well this looks much better ready to dig this is a good location I'm about a half an hour drive from my house and about a 20 minute walk in through the woods it's not bad at all temperatures pretty easy.

Today when I left home was about negative seven Celsius I think it's supposed to go up to negative one today very comfortable no long johns nothing covering my ears this stormy Cromer that's pretty cool I can tuck it down cover my ears if I want to but doing all this work and it not being very cold it's all good it's like a it's like a.

Spring day out here alright so the plan is to dig go far enough probably out to here in a u-shape come back and have all that dug out I'll push it to the sides and the front and then the back I'll dig out till probably maybe two or three feet back from the trees yeah so right about here dig here that's gonna be a lot of.

Digging I better move my stuff that I need end up burying my my axe and this log they'll use this as a marker for the side so far nobody's it has to go huh all right little start these little snow shovels are awesome and I was really bummed out when I didn't have mine oh yes I got this new from Moose Jaw anyway.

I was using I did use my shovel from home one time and it worked amazingly the thing about these is they're light they're easy to pack what they they're small you know I mean even though this is a pretty good shovel head on that one they're smaller somebody suggested that I cut the other one and carry it with a smaller handle but it's just so.

Cumbersome so big anyways these are very handy people have built a lot more than this with them I'm will cumbersome snowshoes man there's ice I assume the ground that's right after it so many different types of snow in here when you're in very granular gets the heart pumping oh man.

Take a breather here Oh camera look lopsided once again all right well that still looks lopsided we're making progress we've got a good I don't know eight by ten foot six buy templates oval dugout just getting overheated thirsty parched heart Stephen so call this a fork you know what I mean this is all we're doing anyways everyone you see out.

In the woods on Instagram or YouTube is just playing around just playing bushcraft maybe practicing some skills but in the long run we're all just grown men grown men playing bushcraft in the woods building forts making fires eating hot dogs in Top Ramen mr. noodle so let's call it what it is I'm uh I want to use this place to have a base camp.

It's a camp at to bring my family to to maybe bring buddies to to potentially build on to later on to make videos here to have a little backdrop for some outdoor videos where where I'm not potentially going and exploring some new land and doing it overnight are there so this would be a cool spot I don't know if I mentioned it earlier but obviously.

Things are going to change in the spring like this snow is up to two and a half feet here the things will settle even if I get it all dug down and everything things will settle so it'll be like a little bit of changing well that's fine I'm totally cool with that it'll give me more content it'll give more things to do excuse me it's quiet I.

Was looking for tracks I didn't see anything no deer tracks at all a couple squirrel not even any snowshoe hare when I try to do this in a series and I'm going to try to make them about a half an hour along each if I can't I'm so long-winded that it's hard sometimes but and then put them up in quick succession maybe every two days every.

Three days or so but yeah we shall see I just want these to be shorter videos they're not overnights or anything like that shorter being a half an hour which is still a decent amount of time for those who do want the update I did I put a big post on Instagram and then I put in a pinned comment in my last maybe two.

Videos ago about autumn and her hip dysplasia I for those who know what I'm talking about it turns out she's fine we was like not even a misdiagnosis so we travel all the way down there we see a lot like a week down there cuz we don't know what's gonna go on or whatever we're in or the hospital in one hour we saw the doctor and this is.

Exactly what these doctors do this is this is their livelihood they work on children and for like orthopedic stuff right was orthopedic the right word bones and joints and stuff so he takes her he tries to manipulate her hips and he says if her hips were popping in and out by this age they'd be out already and he couldn't get them out he's like.

She's fine sent us for x-rays the next door came back saw him in 20 minutes after getting those x-rays done he's like no look at here it's all good I'm a hundred percent positive that she's fine he's like what it could have been is some cartilage things grow quick when they're babies whatever he was he but he was completely 100% positive that she's.

Totally fine that is amazing that's it's such a relief it's so very very very cool I my daughter's not going to delay in walking or have any osteoarthritis and things like that so thank you all for the well wishes and prayers and thoughts and and emails and messages and everything it's really appreciated very much so so if she's a.

Happy baby we're all very happy about it okay better get back to shoveling I hope today to get a ridgepole tied up or maybe a tarp up for temporary temporarily I won't keep the tarp up or maybe I will but we who knows right now I want to be temporary I'm not sure if I'll even get it up today or not but we.

Will keep digging and clear up the spot maybe have a little fire I'm surprised I haven't come across something like this sooner digging down in here this big hole this is the only real obstacle that I've come across so that's pretty good let's see if I can get it with the hatchet if not I'll saw it oh well as far as now it's concerned that's pretty.

Much out of my way I do want to make a bench back here to sit down on lay down on and if this gets in my way I will get rid of more of it depending like I think I think I'm dug out enough back here I just got to straighten it out to be honest with you so I don't think that is gonna be in the way any more than it is and then come spring I can just get rid.

Of it easily my thinking behind this is I don't want to just rip it up and out of here because then it's gonna disturb this wall of snow that I've kind of created behind me so yep I think it'll be fine there crisis averted alright I'm just cleaning it up now now actually is really in line with the back.

Wall so this tree is dead for sure let me use it for building you can see it's dead it's not green inside it's not wet or spruce piney it's dead it's a decent-sized tree so I'll be able to get a bunch of building materials out of it plus some firewood so just looking up and which way this needs to fall and.

Everything it's probably gonna get hung up but the best way to go is right this way towards this tree this tree is dead too so I can get rid of that this one I meant hey you you can see that this is considerably bigger around than this one and this is gonna take a lot more effort to saw up into pieces I'm gonna be using this for my bench to get height up off.

The ground that's why I want the big thick log so I can only use one one down two across and then I'll be good to go whereas if I had was gonna be using a smaller one I might have to do more layers this will be sturdier in the long run as well because I want this to be a temp earn a parent a permanent shelter not a temporary one that's why I'm going.

With this and he's just solid like even breaking these twigs off when I was cutting them you saw earlier I was able to take pigs off easily these are like almost petrified obviously they're clean off easy to just not as easy the other ones wasn't a good example anyways let's get rid of this tree and fell the big one.

 this is balsam fir and once it's dead kind of like birch it doesn't really have a long shelf life now the tree itself is nothing like birch the birch rots from the inside and the bark holds it together this whole thing just kind of goes to Punk pretty good but there's also it's a good stage where when it's.

Dry it's got a check in it you can use it for a bow-drill good shavings all that stuff a short window short window actually right here if you can see that there you go now you can see very dry don't look punky at all okay so I've cleaned up a lot of the twigs that we're in the way on here a lot of them not all of them so I want.

The tree to fall that way so put the notch on this side and then I'll cut above the notch on this side I'll start the notch with my saw and finish it up with the axe I believe oh man it's not that easy walking in these snowshoes all this tight quarters backing up and everything right there.

Now I'll start to make the wedge or the the notch now it'll be it won't be a V it'll be a flat in and then a view on the top but that's okay there it's nice and cleaned up I'll show you exactly what I want to do here so you can see the notch pretty clean goes in a little bit less than halfway so what I wanted to do now take my saw and.

Go about an inch above the point the fulcrum point if that's what it's called on the back about an inch up and saw right through to about here and it'll break and I'll leave a hinge and it should with any luck fall that way right to the left of my coat in between that broken tall sanding tree.

 oh ho it's just barely hung up he's like hung up by twigs on the top week week week week that is not what I wanted to happen it's literally like twigs Go Go bonus okay that's a decent piece of lumber and get a lot of work done with that man.

Very cool very cool that was dead too let me show you my hinge she didn't work out as good as I had hope but the trees down without too much effort so I made my back cut a little bit too high I believe but no big deal she worked out so I'm not gonna deal with this guy like I said this is what I'm gonna make my heavy-duty bed bench.

Out of I want the pieces on the bottom roughly the same size I'll show you exactly what's going on when I do it but to measure I want to use my axe so to there I'll just cut a little guide then again cut another guide I need four pieces from here so it's quite a bit of saw but it will be worth it in the long run not rushing anything I can come back.

Here and work on it at my leisure but today we'll get these four pieces done for sure there we go this is a good saw you know I mean I've used it a lot same blade and it's still going strong the old Eagle Canyon boreal 21 there are prettier saws but this is the most high functioning efficient compactable buck saw that I've seen.

My arm has just been pinching I guess it was I thought it was hold up but it couldn't pinch it okay one down as you can see that's a decent sized log  couple ways of doing this I know which way I'm going to do my preferred way but I'll tell you both ways that you can do it so first off is the way I like to do.

It or you take two on both sides two there two down there you lay one or two smaller ones across on that that way and then you run your top your bedding like it's not your bedding but your your mattress your top part lengthways same way these are running that gives you a little bit of give depending on how thick the sticks are if they're live if.

They're not all that stuff it's really not the biggest deal in the world the other way to do it is just to use one right and then put two long ones going and then your top mattress whatever part have short ones running the same ways as boom boom boom boom boom boom across I prefer the first way so that's the way we're going to do it I cut enough for.

That way as well so there's obviously four pieces here are varying in and thickness so I'm going to adjust it all accordingly to to the ground into it's its partner the the log partner of the log meet these cleaned up so things sit flush this is just rough I'm just roughing it in now we'll see what it really needs to.

Be here in a second I didn't dig the pet out as far as I thought I was going to I think I'm gonna save that for the next day I'm here but I do want to get that bench built and gonna tarp up here at least just to get a rough idea another thing I do have to remember is this ground again is a two and a half feet lower than the snow so if I stand on.

That snow and tied up of a super-high Ridge pull a ridge line which I might like another thing I realized is I initially initially thought it was gonna be that tree that I tied off to but I think this one lines up better with this one so I assume that's what I'll be doing and then right now I'll put a tarp up and just block it in and this this.

Wall will be my back and then we can see where it goes from there I don't know I might want to leave that snow as my ground for now until it melts and prop up my back wall on that and have like feel like I have much more protection like I'm down in something rather than my whole shelter being down in something if that makes sense.

Who knows again lots of options lots of time so yeah we'll get some long sticks cut now to put on the bench and then yeah continue making our bench and then get some food because I'm hungry I think I'll take the two a little bit longer ones for the bench from that down to spruce that I took as well nice big fat piece.

 I want to take a lunch break from building I need to go get myself some birch bark to start this fire it's like the snows going down - already collected some really fine stuff from the top of that spruce done some really dry stuff and the spruces and Cedars have been taken down and a platform platform is.

Important I'm gonna push this fire no I'm not I'm gonna have it right in the middle so I can actually sit on that bench once it's done and get a little bit of warmth from it later on the fire will need to go farther front in front or not actually if the beds back there I could stay here the whole time there's just a nice good work area in here.

Anyways I probably that's probably true I probably don't have to shovel any farther in front which is which is good to realize I'm done shoveling for today the old heart can't take it all right I'm joking I'm joking get our good platform down that's a decent platform I'll actually use these as a little prop.

Oh I've got something new I've got a fire steel calm fire steel but it's square it's a square fire still and I love the idea of this okay so when you shave your fire steel or when you spark your first deal it creates divots it creates grooves already with a squirrel and all that's gonna happen is it's gonna become.

Circular you're gonna knock the edges off to the best of my knowledge so I'll get a nice close-up here out of me using it I've got this from fire still calm the whole setup on this little necklace lanyard it's got a magnesium rod a scraper and the square fire steel it's pretty cool pretty nifty thanks guys at first ill calm they're always really.

Good to me those guys and I always I've been using a products for a really long time like the whole time and it's we've had some back and forth within the past couple years and it's really nice it's nice to actually be using gear and get the gear manufacture the gear maker to understand that you actually use it in there they're appreciative of it it's a.

Good good relationship anyways good stuff good stuff first calm so I want to spark my yellow birch and then I'll put the soft fuzzy or kindling right on top and then yeah we've got lots and lots of twigs to go check it out I've not even scraped it or anything yet that's with a scraper that's provided all on at once.

First Hill goes away quick and easy fire it's good because my gloves are so too yeah love it when a fire comes together easily steam coming off of there oh yeah it's nice it's nice to have a fire these are first two pieces for my bed top part the mattress part keep saying mattress but it's just sticks just logs well you know what I mean the top part of it the.

Part that I will be laying on putting something on to lay on need it cleaned up because I don't want to get poked and I don't want my sleeping pad or whatever also I might put on it to lay on oh man feels nice to sit down well it's so much dirty these are rolling I can always tie them on or I can if the grounds thought if the ground is not.

Frozen because of all the insulation from the snow I might be able to pound steaks in what there's options it's no big deal because I feel like I'm gonna have to move it around after anyway depending on whether or not I continue to dig out the wall behind me or leave it there the big thing is to have all the materials here ready pre-cut.

Pre-measured ready to go I can tweak it not too concerned about that but it is time for lunch I do have that salmon like I said it's pretty cooked I cooked it last night for the family this is just the leftovers all I'm gonna do is rewarm it and I have some chaga I'm gonna make some tea out of Oh sounds good I'm excited excited for it I've.

Been over here since the morning it's 1:30 now I'm hungry I had a granola bar  okay this is coming along man I'm having fun too I feel very comfortable here this is uh there's a good woods good easily to get to to me not too far feel still like I'm out far enough it is snowing man it's snowing.

Right behind the camera like in the opening quite a bit okay well maybe I'll tie my Ridge my tarp op I'm going to leave my tarp here I'm gonna set it up and leave it here until I decide whether or not a I leave it on permanently I switch over a canvas tarp I can't start with B C I do all natural who knows but right now I'll leave you here it's a.

White tarp it's not gonna stand out by any means and collecting chugga and drying it at home for those who don't know this is a fungus that grows on birch trees yellow and white alike it's a good anti-cancerous all-around good health tea you can crumble it up or use the chunks I'm just going to use a tea ball.

Here with some chunks I got powder in there as well I'm gonna throw it in my water and put it to boil for a while it's you're supposed to do it just under boiling but it's hard to regulate out here I'm gonna sit in there until I'm ready to eat cooking and doing it cooler for longer it's supposed to preserve the properties but we're out in the bush.

With one pot alright here we go here we go we're gonna do it we're gonna do it very wet very wet rain no the wet rain some wet water here Oh in the North okay let's go check that out we have snow shoot like a camera the camera is getting soaked man look is it picking it up there it is there she is like I just showed you guys.

My backpack about five minutes ago that's what she looks signal hey I'm glad I got this tarp up I need to get this this camera underneath it oh yeah we got some room some room boys and girls we're not done yet so outside it but that's alright for now whole mood changed the whole mood of the day changed it got dark dark and snowy look.

At their mind okay well have to fix that now excuse me anyways let's go for today do you hear us and see the amount of snow coming down here right that's all the snow on the turf  I'm gonna cut coverage here this is ugly this is super ugly I got to fix this up.

You know what the problem is is that the trees are close enough together are there far enough of trees are far enough apart where if I had a shorter Ridgeline then everything will be taut the problem is the ridge line is long so we're gonna do the taut line hitch it creates like two two lines coming out and I cannot pull the tarp tight enough.

So I can I can remedy that again next time it's no big deal this is good I'm glad I got the tarp up I'm super glad I got the tarp up like my camera is underneath it now I gotta get that salmon on that those coals before they are just completely done this salmon was super good last night hopefully it's intact oh it's pretty.

Intact look at that that's not bad that's not bad if I can I'm gonna peel the skin right off that way I don't have to mess around I could just eat it off the grill yes yes yeah usually like to take this little brown stuff off but it's not that big a deal all right that's a good hunk of salmon this chaga T's gotta be almost done.

We're done oh my goodness would you look at the snow pokey smaller joke guys this is some snowman like no joke big old flakes it's pretty awesome it's pretty awesome yeah that's harp looks ugly look at this that's that's all gonna be restrung up yeah I'll probably use a canvas tarp or something natural or different though for sure.

Than that that's ugly I can't believe the amount of snow coming down right now all right I cannot wait any longer this is has done as it's gonna be all my snowshoes are just causing a ruckus there we go ah the teens gotta be done - okay that salmon smells heavenly flames in the back.

Work oh oh danger almost lost the salmon all sauces okay guys oh my cameras white with snow okay dig in oh yeah I'll risk it I got to show you guys the color of this chaga tea at my ball tea ball over here anyway just to show ya you see the color of it it's like a dark yellow white brown color I don't know why it was so.

Important for me to show you yes yes hmm I have not tasted that in some time I'm putting it right on the snow breaking my own rule but it's hot hot hot so that'd be all right this is good I'm enjoying myself out here by myself oh man this salmon is very good listen I'm probably gonna wrap it up here I feel.

Good about the progress I made here we're a snowmobile somewhere anyway um we got this pit dug out we got a bunch of firewood we got that huge tree felled you've got a good good start to this bench I need maybe no no five more logs or something which I can probably get off of two trees depending on how tall there we know that that white tarp in.

Conjunction without that rope that ridge line is no good that ridge line has to be shorter or I need probably a foot less long of a tarp which I do have it's fine this is a 10 by 10 I can put it nine by nine I put eight by eight I can put a all natural if I want to we found all this stuff out today I chose the spot as well.

In all honesty it didn't take me very long I hiked in about 20 minutes looked at this spot and looked at two other potential spots but this one was the nicest because of the opening in the front I do like that that light advantage I remember being in back in Windsor in my little patch of woods and in the in the summertime it would get.

Very hard to film because it was so crowded with trees and leaves alright guys I hope you enjoyed the video there will be much more building to come this is just episode one you guys have a good day be nice to someone don't do anything I wouldn't do till the next one Cheers.

I got that tarp there now I want to just drop it on to it obviously all right this is a light tree I would not have done that if it was a heavy tree   another nice and dry dead one I've had to cut any live for the shelter just to move the that one cedar so far at least.

I thought I could use it here the forks to put my gloves on and put it over top of the fire you know I mean I probably will still use that for that I'll keep this one as gloves get hard to put on and take off wet your hands and looking like a bed looking like a bed what's up now oh yes not too shabby then those extra three.

Poles made all the difference in the world then there is spring to it it did it all honesty does have a slight slant down towards that side so I put my head here I can fix that again after no big deal all right I can put but I can afford to put probably three more logs on here to make it even wider Oh buddy shop buddy.

Oh man feels good on the old back I'll tell you how much very well my fort stopped snowing that was really crazy for a minute there