I had this same issue back in '86. I was in a tee pee in the Mojave...or was it the Tusceegee Swamps. Either way, there was a drwarf named Julius who followed me around...you see, I was a CutCo Cutlery Salesman and had a tough time making sales. There was a huge teepee with several hundred rooms on 5 floors and Julius followed me from room to room asking if I was hungry. I finally told him "Sure, what do you have?" Julius reached into his old patchwork sack and pulled out a crock of lamb stew with a hard, crusty baguette. Well it took us several hours to heat up the stew, the clay pot was cold and Julius had a bunson burner that fell low on fuel. The old cherry tree near the native settlement offered heat with broken limbs that Julius quickly turned into kindling. Once it was warmed, Julius served me a warm plate of stew and baguette. We ventured further into the teepee and I think it was similar to what you are experiencing. Scary but invigorating.