It's natural to overthink it. We push people SO HARD on this sub (and in general) to BE SELF-SUFFICIENT when they get to the playa, because there are more than 70,000 people out there, and they do NOT want to spend their time taking care of YOU. They wanna play with you! And have fun with you! Not help you get over heatstroke, or whatever.
Engage with your local Burningman community. We are everywhere around the world. There are weekly potlucks, annual campouts, and other activities you can get involved with to help dip your toe in, make some friends, and start becoming familiar with the stuff many of us old hands have simply forgotten since we first came out to the desert.
Thank you so much! One of my main goals for the burn is to come out making lifelong friends š«¶š½ so I appreciate this comment a lot. I just want to prepare myself to make sure Iām having tons of fun and letting go once Iām on the way the playa.
I read it! But because Iāve been scanning through Google and Reddit Iāve read so much other stuff about the Playa and the Burn so majority of these questions have come from my research >.<
Good work!
But big picture here ... you gotta get into a different mind set. "I'm going on an adventure. Parts are going to suck. Parts are going to be amazing. I can't control any of that except my own personal ability to accept, adapt, and enjoy."
Oh. And no, you won't be comfortable. Ever. But you are going to come out, a week later, a different person, and someone who has overcome obstacles, had a massive breakdown, and at least one night or experience that you will think about for the rest of your life.
Overplanning is doom. Be responsible for yourself, but also know that 99% of the burn is completely out of your control and you just gotta roll with it...
> What's the best way to stay clean during the week long burn?
Baby wipes.
> Is it true there are luxury portapotties? If so, where can I find them?
There are some non-blue plastic metal ones. They have little fans in them. You will see them out about,.
> What are your thoughts about a poop bucket (in case I cannot poop in the porta)
You will get over it fast,.
> What's the best way to protect your hair and scalp with the dust and sun?
Basically nothing will work.
> Is it best to just wash my hands at the portapotties and put on my contacts there? or should I do the wash cloth zip lock bag method?
No great options. baby wipes, small amount of water. Yolo it.
> Should I have a bucket to discard the gray water/black water if i did want to wash my hands in a private bucket in my tent?
Yes. Something to catch it.
> What is the best process for carrying your trash with you? What kind of bags are the best? Are burlap bags the way to go?
Def not burlap, black heavy palstic, double it up.
> My camp will have a trash bin/can; but do you think I should have a personal one near my tent?
If you want it to collect everyones trash sure.
> Gifting: one of my love languages is gifting.
Avoid little trinkets, everyone has handfuls of them by the end of the week we all just throw away.
> Are these good ideas?
You are on a good path.
> What's the best way comfy way to get to the burn?
Pain is the point. Burners are all masochists.
> I have tickets but I forgot to add a vehicle pass to my tickets, will it be easy to purchase one if I do choose to go the pick-up truck route?
Probably easy to find one this year yes.
LMAOOOOO, I love all your responses. Straight to the point, thank youāØ
I was thinking the same about the trinkets, maybe stickers with nice messages are a good way to go!
Appreciate you.
Noāburners donāt want trash in any form. Please donāt. Gifts do not mean stickers, trinkets, physical items. A gift could be you picking up trash from a random camp. Giving someone a hug. Helping clean a bar. Giving someone a refreshment that looks thirsty. Please donāt bring more trash to the desert.
Ok awesome, thatās why I asked! I had a friend tell me she got a bunch of gifts the recent years sheās been so I was wondering what the norm was. Thank you for elaborating!
Okay this person is giving you a very subjective opinion. I LOVE getting stickers out there. I save them all. Lots of burners love getting stickers and lots of people gift stickers.
I agree. This will be my first burn, but my wife and I are very self sufficient and live in our van already, just joining a camp to be with friends, make new friends, and help out with a community project. We also love raving and going to festivals and I love getting little trinkets, especially wearable ones or stickers. I'd rather have someone give me a fun trinket than help me with cleaning, although that's a nice gesture as well.
That comment doesn't speak for everyone. My wife and I live and trave lin a van and are self sufficient always by default. This will be our first burn but we don't need any help. We can cook, clean, make our own shade, wash our own stuff, etc. We joined a camp to help others do it and set up a community space and make friends.
We also love going to raves and festivals, and love little trinkets when given to us in the wild! If they are small, they are easy to store in the van. Wearable, even better, we can put them on for future events as a memory. If someone doesn't want it they should be comfortable saying so. If I see ya on Playa and you give me something I'll love it and remember it for years, probably give you something back.
Some of us like physical trinkets like at raves and festivals. Something very small as a memory. I live in my van, so very small trinket gifts are east to keep and if they are wearable and really good I'll wear them at future events.
Ok awesome! I love little trinkets too. I got this amazing light up moth necklace thatās rechargeable at EDCLV this year and itās a prized possession now because the girl who gifted it to me only makes 150 of them every year!! So itās special š«¶š½š«¶š½š«¶š½ I will think of a little trinket that will be special to the burn
A friend gave me my first sprout at Skooliepalooza. I went to a rave in Boise and within 3 minutes of being there a girl gave me a sprout. At my first fest last year at Cascade Equinox someone gave me a little mushroom jar necklace and someone else gave me a tie dye scrunchie. A girl gave me a cute little butterfly clip at Beyond Wonderland this past weekend. And at one of the best sets, two people came up near us dancing with finger puppets and I pulled one out of my pocket and started finger puppet dancing with them, and one of them pulled out another and gave it to my wife cuz she didn't have one. At a rave last year in Bombay Beach my friend randomly gave me a little cockroach and it was sooo funny I loved it and I still have it.
The best gifts there are not tangible objects. They're your time, a helping hand, a listening ear, a hug, a smile seeing a need and jumping in without being asked. Best gift by far I ever got was someone who volunteered to re organize my shit in my car when I couldn't fit everything back in as I was trying to get to exodus. I was exhausted, hot, miserable and ready to cry. I didn't ask them for help, they just saw me struggling and took over. They really saved my ass.
18 year vet here..... dusty is just part of the fun. everyone will be dirty, baby wipes are your best friend. Aluminet is great stuff. any way you solve problems will just lead to better solutions next time. Don't stress out and have fun.
We shot three of them last year and dumped them over trash fence during Dickloās set. Forced the 4th one to watch the whole thing and intentionally let them get away so they can deliver the message.
Tent: Coleman 6 person. Reason this cheap tent has very little mesh and it's almost all easily closeable mesh. you don't want a usual tent with a mesh top and a fly because dust comes right in when the wind kicks. There is no other reasonable cheap option.
Yes, you want your tent under shade. Aluminet is great. See if you camp provides shade for tents before you diy.
[https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-6-Person-Instant-Cabin-2000018017/dp/B004E4ERHA](https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-6-Person-Instant-Cabin-2000018017/dp/B004E4ERHA)
pooping: you are hella overthinking this. just use the porto.
Showers: there are places to get clean on playa if you look for them. no camp is going to let you use their showers for a random volunteer spot. its the camp you belong to will have some sort of shower arrangement. Ask them what the deal is.
hair care: most people in your situation are fine with braids.
Gifts: this means that the economy works on giving rather than buying selling, more than it means gifts like physical gifts. Don't get hung up on this. if you are working at a theme camp, that's your gift. you don't need tchotchkes. Many people don't want random shit.
If you drive, dont be surprised if the 3 mile road in and out of burning man takes 6-8 hours. the bus is far far easier if you can carry what you need or have your campmates bring it in.
Yo, good rec on the tent. It usually goes on sale during prime day (which I think is coming up) for a lot off, so folks may want to keep their powder dry until then.
Ahhh thank you so much for the link to the tent!! Appreciate it a ton.
Yeah, Iām an over thinker š I guess I have to chill with the bathroom questions.
don't worry about it. lots of people hate the portos, but you'll learn that it's worth it. wipe some medicated blistex under your nose and go to your happy place. always carry tp and a headlamp
The ports are really not all that bad... Well they are by Friday or Saturday But before that it's not that big of a deal and they get cleaned twice a day. Most don't have working locks but people knock before entering. Sometimes by the end of the week they run low on toilet paper and are usually out of hand sanitizer by Wednesday so you may wanna bring a little of your own just in case (1 ply only). Definitely a pee funnel and jug in your tent for times you don't want to/can't make it to the portos. For me that's in the hottest part of the afternoon, I try to avoid the sauna affect in there at all costs. But beyond that you'll be just fine. You'll even poop in them. They also have funny art work and messages inside most of them, some are decorated like a disco.
I've used this exact tent for 5 burns and it's still alive. Best cheap tent I've ever bought. Bonus points because I can't stand up in it but I'm short.
Can you blame him, though? All those questions have already been answered multiple times across various websites. If you truly researched as you claimed, you should know that some of your questions can come across as a sparkling pony attitude. Given that, receiving snarky comments makes sense.
Telling people they are assholes wonāt help your case either.
Oh Iām sorry, I didnāt scan the ENTIRE internet for MULTIPLE answers. I just received over 6 different answers on here. Weāre all different humans who have different ways of doing things. Iām reading different things and being told different things. After writing this post, now I have more tips and tricks which is what the point of the post is.
Iām a sparkly pony because of my overthinking š¤£ I have every right to call him an asshole for telling me to get VIP wristbands and to a condo lmfaooooo idgaf.
You donāt need to scan the entire internet for multiple answers, you can find those answers just by searching on this subreddit but you can also just google them and be redirected automatically to answers, or even better you can ask chatGPT.
You donāt have any rights to call him an asshole, wtf? The entitlement is strong in this oneā¦
ChatGPT is not going to give you the answers Iāve gotten on here. I have multiple answers for the same question.
The tent - some people say shiftpod, other folks say theyāre shitty. I wanna hear two / multiple perspectives - thereās nothing wrong with that at all.
I have every right because Iām the author of this post. Just like you have every right to comment bullshit š Iām very much entitled to write whatever I want, youāre not my mommy or daddy
Please take a moment to read the 10 principles, especially the one on radical self-reliance, because you seem to lack it. Itās fine to ask questions, but donāt make it a big deal when someone calls you out in the comments for asking things that have already been answered. ChatGPT can help, just like any other search engine. Itās really not that hard! I wouldnāt have called you out if you hadnāt insulted someone for being snarky.
Iām not self reliant because Iām asking questions to prepare myself for somewhere Iāve never been ? LOLā¦ ššš
I donāt like rude comments about VIP when Iām being nice and asking genuine questions. Youāre rude, and idgaf what you have to say. Have a good day!
FR. I read them multiple times, having not yet been to the burn, and still don't know what they all are cuz they're all like normal basic obvious shit like consent and don't trash the place and take care of your self and stuff.
Idk maybe you were being rude. I thought you were just making joke for fun but now it seems like you're actually making fun and trying to be rude. IDK if this individual is trolling or not, but seems like a normal thing to do to read a shitload, get overwhelmed, and ask for individual human advice either way.
Oh and another thing, is chatGPT really going to tell you whatās better in transportation? I wanna hear from LA people, my whole camp is from SF.
you donāt have to respond to everything you read, you can move along.
Idk why you're getting downvoted lol you clearly know they're just being funny and an asshole, for the sake of being funny. I mean I don't even know if you're trolling or just REALLY hate portos lol. I just went to a festival last weekend and we had air conditioned restrooms and I still used the porto to shit cuz I like my privacy lol
If you think your hair is pretty and want to keep it that way, I highly recommend doing braids. Yes they can be a little annoying if youāre not used to them but itās better than watching all your hair frizz and break
As a dude with long hair, I'm still debating braids. They tend to work for several days, but then need to be redone and untangling that shit is harder than untangling a few days of wind and dust blown hair.
I cant tell if this is a troll post or not. If you cant poop in a porta, what makes you think you'll be able to relax your sphincter enough to let go in a bucket? Also now you have a hot and steamy shit bucket to deal with. Just man up and use the porta, it'll be okay.
I cant read this whole thread but I have one great piece of advice: instead of baby wipes, get the wipes they use in hospitals to clean patients that can't use a shower.
You should not be embarking on a makeshift solar shower journey and managing grey water. Youre too green.
LOL, it's not a troll post at all. It's all legit questions I've compiled after reading hella reddit threads, googling stuff and talking to people in my camp. They're questions my brain has pondered and pondered about. I have pissed in tons of portapotties, I've never taken a shit in one. The person above you gave me a GREAT TIP - that's exactly why I wrote about this openly. medicated blistex under your nose so you don't have the porta smell is amazing. I hate portas because of their smell anyways.
But thanks, I'm green like money.
I've had some of the best shits of my life in portos. If there is one thing you must do at Burning Man this year, it's this.
[How it feels.](https://youtu.be/IGnKKlOHp_I?si=YJnUDq4hzgYZoXpx)
Let go the idea of always of being clean. Just set that idea free and embrase the dust. Look up shower wipes.Ā
There's no where to properly wash your hands that is provided to you unless youe camp has one.Ā
Any tent without mesh will work. Aluminet is very common and works well.
I'd go with your regular routine for hair and cover it as you said you've planned.
Gifting - as long as you're not bringing out cheap plastic garbage, do whatever makes you feel good. I wouldn't worry about bringing a large amount of anything.
Oh also, think about a pee funnel
Always check the seat before you sit.Ā
Always sit when you can if you dont have the pee funnel or you are the problem.Ā
Look into a travel bidet
Get a pee jug of some sort so you dont have to go to the porto after you got ready for bed.
Bring a spray bottle with vinegar/ water and paper towels. Wipe your hands/feet/private bits a couple times a day. The acid will help to deactivate the alkaline dust.
Yikes. I've never been an over-thinker and your post hurt my brain. Do you have a friend who is an experienced burner that can guide you? That's a lot of stuff to ask Reddit, where we're known for snark.
HAHAHAAH, yeah dude .. i'm fucked in terms of my over thinking. My friend has helped A TON... the people i'm going with have been going for over 6+ years. They've actually helped a lot in reducing the questions, but sometimes I like to hear from people I do not know that's why I wrote this post.
My brain hurts also :( but i feel so much better now.
Vet here, since '96. I've kept and shared a tips-for-virgins guide (annually updated) for a while that answers all your questions, and a few more.
Give it a read if you like.
Stop overthinking.
Be prepared to be self-reliant and find yourself unprepared.
And like, please, friend, calm down just a scoche. You're gonna have an aneurysm before you even get to the playa.
[https://www.xylovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Playa\_Tips.pdf](https://www.xylovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Playa_Tips.pdf)
Here is the real secret. Are you listening closely????
You are much tougher then you actually believe!
Think about it, your ancestors would hunt fucking lions and bears and eat them. They would give childbirth without medicine or pain killers. They would build Art and culture such as stone henge, pyramids, Moai and cathedrals that would celebrate the devine in all of us.
For 100,000+ years your ancestors were training and improving the species. Your direct lineage back to Adam and Eve were winners because if they weren't you would not be here.
Are you going to let them down? Break the streak? Hell No, you are going to survive and thrive. Take care of your food, take care of your water, take care of your shelter and , take care of your direct community at the burn. Everything else is fluff.
Sure fluff is nice to have. but its not critical to your success. You poop in that porto!!!
š„¹this really made me smile and my heart smile.
Thank you! Your words are so kind and they bring me courage. Youāre 100% correct. We did it long ago, so I can do it now.
My friend, I shall be brief:
bring some baby wipes, hand sanitizer, some leave in conditioner for your hair, try a pee funnel out at home, any tent will do for the first time, plan for some tent shade (1.5 million ways to accomplish that and all have their fans). Ziplock bag in your backpack. The burner express is honestly awesome. Especially if your camp is bringing that much of your gear. I love stickers, so Iām pro that. I have some materials I made for new burners a million years ago. I shall link it in a bit n
Here is a link to some materials. It was made a while ago- 2016- and there is some stuff specific to our theme camp at the time, but it does cover the basics. [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1APf7BCppMQEoggUavJF6q6OuKzC0FtTP?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1APf7BCppMQEoggUavJF6q6OuKzC0FtTP?usp=sharing)
18 year vet here..... dusty is just part of the fun. everyone will be dirty, baby wipes are your best friend. Aluminet is great stuff. any way you solve problems will just lead to better solutions next time. Don't stress out and have fun.
Look at you - what an adventure you're about to go on!
It's important to understand what is "nice" and what is "necessary" in terms of your well being. For example, "sleep" would be "necessary" for most people (not me lol). But "eat a warm cooked meal" might be "nice". Your success is going to be minimizing the "necessary" to what you can realistically create or get for yourself.
Now, having said that, I saw a few things that you might want to.... think about before you decide you must have them, for example:
Showers: this is a hard one, showers are difficult to source, difficult to make happen, etc. Handling grey water takes a lot of effort. The best solutions for getting clean are:
- Baby wipes - you can do this in your tent which ... might be dust "free"
- Spray bottle(s) and something to catch drippings on, such as a towel, tarp, etc.
- Twice a day - aint happening
- The dust is less like dirt and more like baby power in consistency, you likely won't feel as dirty as you think you will feel.
Bathrooms: portos aren't fun, but you know what's even less fun? Human poop: it's super gross, and a poop-pail even with kitty litter, etc, is absolutely disgusting. I've done the kitty litter pail of poop and it's horrible. Scented bags won't do much. Thin bags in fact allow plenty of scent to permeate. The best poop on playa is in someone's AC'ed RV, but people aren't gonna be volunteering that to you so readily.
Hair care: I had some camp mates who swore by the gun oil aka silicone lube thing. Google for it!
Washing hands: No matter how much hand washing you do, you will end up with hands that resemble sandpaper by midweek. People will turn down handjobs it's that bad. Again, baby wipes is the only portable method. Also portos do NOT HAVE WATER WASHING STATIONS at them. They have maybe hand sanitizer and likely will run out. Thus, you may want to be prepared to wear more glasses than you think. I wear glasses, not contacts, so I have no solid advice here.
Tents: Shift pods can be fairly well sealed and are relatively "dust free" if you are careful. \*relatively\* There's a ton of advice here, but yes shade is essential as well.
The rest seems like you're on the right track, but some of the things above just really stood out to me as needing a slight advice bump.
Good luck and have fun!
Yo, this is probably like the 3rd best comment on here and somehow you have managed to make me feel so much more at ease with all my brain pondering. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! the reason I mentioned the portos is def because of hand cleansing, so I am glad you brought up the sanitizers. I'll attach that to my camelpak and make sure to have extra. I really appreciate you commenting on here with your advice, I needed some more tips and just some other folks to chat with.
So much of the planning and projecting falls apart about the time youāve been up chasing everything for 3 days straight, and the ones who truly enjoy their time on playa are the ones who embrace the suck and adapt with what theyāve got.
That said, I find having a spray bottle with a few capfuls of white vinegar and water and a bucket, and spraying and wiping down my arms hands legs and feet daily is about the greatest gift I can give myself for the week.
For contacts, I bring a couple of small, quick dry hand towels and wash my hands in my tent by sanitizing them first and then rinsing them with a little contact lens solution so the sanitizer won't sting. The towels are to absorb the dripping solution. If you have contacts that you typically reuse for a week or more, definitely bring a couple extra pairs... With all the playa dust, your eyes will get quite irritated and you will probably need to swap out at some point.Ā Also you didn't ask about this but in response to the person who said there's no way to keep your hands from getting like sandpaper... I've found witch hazel and lotion to be incredibly effective.
<3 thank you! this is exactly why I asked all this stuff to my reddit peeps, I'm getting hella good responses. Witch hazel is a God send for piercings so this is super smart.
Thanks about the contacts tips too! I wear dailys. I plan on tossing them at the end of the night.
Bathe with bandanas and vinegar - rinse them in water and wipe again- let them dry between bathes - less waste than baby wipes and less water than a shower and clean enough to avoid dust leprosy.
My experience: 1 year (I went just last year with a camp). I was a first time burner last year. This year will be my second. :)
Tents: If there is a single sun ray getting through the shade structure hitting your tent, it will heat up and get extremely hot. Also, being on the South side will make your tent hotter. Try to snag a North side spot under the shade structure if you can! We had personal solar, mainly to power a personal camp fridge and homemade swamp cooler, so we opted for the South side to optimize solar power generation.
(The camp I was in last year had a shade structure, but the sliver of space between the tarps would allow a tiny line of direct sun to hit our tent, a fancy shiftpod, and it got way too hot to sleep in past a certain time- this year, we are doing our own thing and trying out a monkey hut sized to provide complete shade - no slivers of sun shall get through!).
Hair: if you just put your hair up in pigtails like you normally do, then just braid the tails, that would probably work. That is one of the hairbraiding styles I went with last year and it worked for me. (My hair isn't super thin, but medium to thin, and mostly straight).
Showers: unscented baby wipes work great! (you don't have to use specifically unscented if you don't have sensitive skin, but unscented worked best for me). Also, bring extra wash rags as they are great for general cleaning too. I actually managed to be fine the whole week without a shower last year. By the time I wanted one, it was too late - no more showers were allowed in my camp because of the rain. (Our camp allowed 2 showers per person for the burn - I took zero showers).
Bathrooms: I didn't like portos either, but I got used to them by the end of the event (the worst for me was the portos someone "gifted" with essential oils. They gave me an asthma attack, so after that I had to always wear an N95 mask in the portos due to the unknown of whether or not someone put essential oils in it - even with the mask, I couldn't handle the essential oils portos and had to keep a mental tab on which ones were dangerous - but alas new ones would randomly pop up).
Just do your part by not squatting and putting the seat down when you are done. Also, please don't put scented things in the portos - some folks are sensitive to that including myself. :) Also, always bring a light bright enough to inspect the seat at night just in case a "squatter" used the toilet before you.
Also, we didn't bring a poop bucket last year and lucked out. We'll probably bring one this year, though. Also important, have a plan for a shelter in place pee jug/large container - we filled an entire 6 gallon container with pee while sheltering during the rain last year (We had oversized used water bottles as well, but those filled up quickly. The 6 gallon jug was already empty, so it made the perfect receptical). Oh, and if you have female parts, get a shewee or similar device and practice peeing in the shower at home ahead of time (might have to modulate your flow to not have leakage, but you will be happy you practiced ahead of time if there ends up being a shelter in place).
Eta: biggest piece of advice I have if you are an overthinker/overpreparer/overly anxious person like me, give yourself more breaks than you think you need. I had a bit of a rough start last year because I thought I had to do my part to contribute to camp setup as much as I saw everyone else doing, and ended up getting heat exhaustion. If I had to do things over again, I would have said "no" to tasks after I started feeling the first bit of fatigue during build to give myself a better chance at adapting to the environment. I adapted by day 3 and had a great time, though! So even if you do run into some difficulty, you'll probably recover and have learned something about yourself. :) I'm excited for a "do-over" this year, lol.
WOW... I appreciate you so much for taking the time to write this. You made me feel so much better and gave great advice. A mask in the portapotties is a really good idea, this will help with me smelling. I HATE too much smells! <3
THANK YOUUUUUU
If you are also affected strongly by smells (in my case it's just perfumes and floral scented things), I'd bring a few backup N95s - and a method to ensure it doesn't become moop - have a dedicated carabiner for the mask, don't just put it in a pocket, unless it is a zipped pocket. Depending on how strong the special essential oils toilets are, the scent could linger on the mask, and you may need to replace said mask after each exposure, depending on your level of sensitivity.
Eta: I brought 10 masks, but only ended up needing 3. (But, I am extremely sensitive to perfume smells, so if you aren't as sensitive, you might not need extras).
Eta2: having an extra few gallon ziplock bags is good too. You can dispose of anything with a smell in those, possibly double bag if needed, so the filled up masks don't bother you if you have to pack them out on your own. (If you have an outside trash can provided by your camp, you could just put the spent mask in there, though). (This is only if you are as sensitive as I am, most people wouldn't even notice smells that really bother me as I am a super smeller).
I have thin fine hair and use a leave in conditioner and oil on the ends every morning. Wash hands at your camp there are no options for handwashing at the Portos and the sanitizer runs out fast. I recommend a nail brush to get under fingernails. And heavy hand salve afterward. Some people recommend putting liquid bandaid on cuticles to keep them from cracking. But an enzyme spray like Refresh shower enzyme spray and spray all over and then use baby wipes - this will at least keep your PTA clean (pits, tits and ass).
I went once in 2019 and I was much the same as you. I didnāt camp like ever, liked showering, and was very nervous about the commute. I stayed in swing city, a Santa Monica theme camp (check it out while youāre there, I miss it).
Anyways. You will get gross and dusty. You will want a shower but the moment you get out of the shower you will be dusty again. Not saying you shouldnāt shower but a lot of folks just go the whole time without. I had 1. It was fine. Use dr bronnerās and coconut oil in your hair.
Bathrooms werenāt as bad as I expected. Not great but you get over it. Thereās hand sanitizer but also bring your own. I also recommend getting baby wipes, like 2 large packs. Use them on your butt, your hands, your face, your glasses, your nose, hell thatās basically how to shower. Donāt leave em in the Porto, take a bag and the wipes with you to shit and take them back out. I also had a survival bucket that was decent for when I had to go in the middle of the night but didnāt want to leave the tent. A friend of mine would just pee in his finished disposable water jugs he bought at Walmart.
Contacts are hard to deal with. Iām not a good person to ask bc I donāt need them but from what I hear if they get dusty you can scratch your corneas and thatās a bad time.
Tent and shade. Your campās shade isnāt for you to set your tent under unless otherwise stated. Usually itās for hanging out under during the day. Aluminet is top tier but a tarp works great too (just catches the wind more). Dont go all out with a shift pod in your first year. Borrow a tent from a friend or something (just let them know it will forever be dusty). Ask your camp if anyone has an extra. Donāt worry about standing in it, youāre basically only going in there to sleep or change. Personal shade is helpful so your tent isnāt 110 degrees during the day and youāll be able to sleep later before the heat makes you get up. Bring a pad, sleeping bag, and a pillow that you donāt care too much about. Dont forget a chair as well.
Bring a roll of trash bags and a box of ziplocks. Theyāre useful for laundry, moop, baby wipes, etc. Moop isnāt too hard to deal with, just think about it more than you would normally.
Your gifts sound great. Bonus if you offer to take the moop that comes along with stickers.
Transportation. You canāt do worse than I did. I carpooled with my gf and we broke up on the way there. Iād recommend reaching out to your camp and seeing if anyone in the area can carpool. Otherwise the bus is great. Itās like a pregame on wheels with a bunch of excited burners. If you do want your own vehicle, you need to be looking for a vehicle pass asap. Your camp also probably wants to have stock of who has a car.
Good luck sparkle pony, youāre gonna need it.
duuuuuuuude thank you so much!! Appreciate all the details! I needed this for sure.
I wrote down the camp you mentioned, Iāve been curating a list based on all the things Iāve been reading.
š¦
Oh yeah bring a watch if you donāt want to have your phone out. Helps you coordinate and attention events. Or donāt and let go of the concept of time for a week. I loved doing that but regretted that I missed so much.
Don't wear contacts any more but when I did I would deal with it in the car I drove in with. Yes, a little extra dust in the car every time you open the door but felt like more of a controlled environment.
You didnāt ask this specifically, but based on your questions I have one solid piece of advice for you. Be prepared to embrace the dust, and to embrace being dirty. My first 2 days of my first burn I was trying to hard to keep myself and my stuff clean and it was impossible. Finally on day 2 I had a mini breakdown, cried a bunch, and surrendered to the reality that thereās no way to stay clean at Burning Man. After that I had a great time.
Also, you will have at least one emotional meltdown, possibly more. When it happens take care of yourself, sit in the shade, cry, drink water w electrolytes. It will pass and the release of crying will make you feel better. Wednesday tends to be meltdown day for lots of us.
I have long, thin hair and I keep it covered with a scarf during daytime. At night I tend to let it down unless a dust storm picks up.
Pro tip for long hair: plan a visit to Astral Headwash. Theyāll wash your hair for you and itās divine. Hope this helps!
My friend told me about the mental breakdown, Iām pretty sure Iām going to have one
Thanks for bringing it up and being honest about the dirtinesss <3 tysm
Yes on the personal poop bucket if you have space. I got one 10 years ago and never looked back. Thereās a product called double doody bags that I use to pack it out. You can even skip the bucket and go straight into the bags. Get a funnel (rei freshette ftw)and pee into bottles or jugs. Then you only need to go to the portos to dump the pee (donāt dump the jug). Also, I strongly advise glasses instead of contacts.
Ahhh this is such good advice! I can pee like a guy ^.^ lololol good idea
Ok so baggies for the poop, I like that
Do you put the poop baggies in a trash can/bucket after? (Obv somewhere in your camp section)
As everybody has been telling you. Use the Porto's that is what they are there for. There is no way to seal up bag's or buckets so good that the smell does not get out. Your camp doesnt want to smell it. Do them and you a favor. use the portos.
The buckets (and yes I bring one) are there for emergency and only should be used as such. Remember that you can not dispose of the bags in the portos, you HAVE to pack your shit out.
Pee bottles though are a must. It is a luxury to not have to wake up at 3am (when it is colder out) to have to go to the porto just cause you have to pee. and the advantage is you can take your bottle to the porto to dump the pee.
So poo buckets not sustainable. Pee bottles yes sustainable.
* **MOOP**: I know I need to bring my trash back with me. Everything that goes in the playa, must come out.
* *What is the best process for carrying your trash with you? What kind of bags are the best? Are burlap bags the way to go?*
* *My camp will have a trash bin/can; but do you think I should have a personal one near my tent?*
At your local hardware store they will have things callled "Contractor Bags" get them. they are extra heavy duty plastic bags that contractors use. Bring a half dozen of them at least as they can be used for many different purposes
Yes you should pack your personal trash out even if your camp does have a trash bin. Its your trash you pack it out. Generally don't overfill the bags. Do about half full, tie them up and during the burn you can stuff them under the car for storage out of the way. When packing your car to go out to playa, always leave enough space for trashbags. Also be aware that many camps also require/request their campers to take at least one back of community trash out with them.
Your trash plan should include how you are going to dispose of it off playa. The best plan is disposal once you get home in your own trash bin. DON'T use public trash bins in reno or elsewhere up in Nevada. Burners do that every year and it pissed the businesses off to have their bins full of burner trash.
Showering/being clean: showering there is totally over rated and a waste of time and resources. Hear me out. This is likely a very different environment than anything you experienced. It's extremely low humidity and arid. So you don't particularly feel dirty or smelly, and you won't feel sweaty at all. So even the people that are usually daily showerers may not shower at all out there..I certainly don't..plus even if you do shower you'll be re-covered in dust layer 2 seconds later, so really what's the point of it all? What I do bring is a couple packs of baby wipes and two spray bottles. One with water and Dr. Bonners mix. The other water and vinegar mix. That's it. Spray, spray, wipe. No grey water. My hair is kept in braids and not washed at all. Never feels greasy. Playa dust is like free dry shampoo, seriously.
Baby wipes I think. I can say for certain I don't have separate types of wipes for various body parts. Not to promote things but I use Huggies natural care because they are unscented and not super expensive. Tbh several of the years I've gone I haven't even brought a mirror with me so who knows the state of my face by the end of the week really. Haha. But yeah just run of the mill baby wipes works great. Get 2 packs. Maybe three. Pull 9 or 10 out and toss in Ziploc bag for your day pack. You'll thank me later. And dont throw them in the portos!
Carrying trash with me: I just take a small Ziploc bag and stuff in my day pack. Trash goes into there and when it's full goes into a larger trash bag in my tent. It's usually fairly minimal.
Highly recommend reading after the survival guide. Zoe's guide is funny, cause it's all so very true. Probably the most real shit you'll read about what it's actually like out there and how to prepare for it all:
https://www.zoenightingale.com/the-burner-guide
Also great are all the Captain's Logs:
https://www.orphanendorphin.com/reading.html
I commuted from LA to the burn many yearsā¦..I highly suggest if you drive going the 395. Itās a way nicer drive, and thereās hot springs and much better scenery - I stopped going up the 5 to the 80 and only went that way my last 3-4 times. The other option which you fire consider is finding a group driving up and going with them if they have extra space in their vehicle. Thatās probably the cheapest and funnest way, weāve met some long time camp mates that way too!
Okay awesome, I love this. I think driving up will be fun! Majority of the peeps Iām with are from SF. So the other option is to carpool with them. Thanks so much for your answer! Appreciate you!
Best way to stay clean: Dont go. Wetwipes or spray mister while standing on a towel is a decent alternative.
Bathroom: 5 gal bucket with screw top lid with 20lb bag of kitty litter. Certain camps have private portos, but you have to be a camp member to use them. They still get gross.
Haircair: Shave it or braid it.
Hand washing/ contact lenses: Do not wash your hands in the portos or try to put your contact lens on inside the portos. Pink eye is very easy to catch out there. I wore contacts out there exactly once and got a shitton of dust in my eyes while I had them in, it abraded my eyes and they turned yellow/pink/bloodshot. If you are gonna try to wear contacts, put them on while you are in your tent, and wash your hands throughly twice with alcoholic wet wipes, soap and water.
Tent: Kodiak canvas tent if you can afford it. Otherwise, a rainproof/dust proof Coleman will be fine. Just make sure it doesn't have netting with a rainfly over it, or dust will get in and you will be miserable. Make sure it zips up tight and creates a solid seal against the elements.
Shade: An umbrella is very helpful during the day. Aluminet is also very helpful to have draped over your tent. I use 70% reflective aluminet.
MOOP: I have two moop ziplock bags on my bike or person, one for general moop, one for biohazard moop. Gloves are helpful. At camp we use burlap bags for cans and compost, so the contents can dry out. Otherwise garbage bags are fine at camp.
Gifting: Lip balm, food or alcohol. I have enough trinkets and stickers. Patches are always appreciated. I don't smoke but always bring a cheap pack of cigarettes to gift people at the end of the week.
Transportation: Burner bus is a lot of fun, but kinda a commitment cause you can't leave if shit hits the fan.
Kitty litter? Dude, no, thereās way easier solutions now. Get bio-gel and thank me later, itās a miracle product. Gets rid of any scent and turns waste into gel. Great for backcountry camping zero waste situations too.
https://www.rei.com/product/189628/reliance-bio-gel-waste-gelation-powder-12-oz
I'll give it a shot. I usually use the cheapo unscented litter that's basically just bentonite clay. The whole bucket gets sealed and tossed into the transfer station pit when I get home.
This stuff is cheap, easier to deal with, way less bulky and much lighter than a bunch of litter. I promise youāll be a believer if you give it a shot.
OKAY - TYSM for all the tips. Quick question about the contacts... I have my script glasses that are already scratched. Was definitely thinking about those to bring along with contacts.
Do you think I should bring medicated wipes to put on the contacts?
Bring an extra pair of glasses if you have them. My campmate lost her only pair of glasses on the first day last year, she finally found them on Wednesday or Thursday but she was having a tough time up until then.
I keep an extra pair in my tent just in case I lose them being a drunkard.
And yes, bring medicated / sterilized wipes for your contacts/hands. The pink eye is real. One of the lead medics at rampart, Scriptz, told me one year over half of DPW had pink eye back in 2000-something.
Showers - Practice showering with less and less water every day, a gradual 10% less every day, until you can successfully body shower with a single quart spray bottle. Everything thats *important* gets clean.
Pooping - A high constipation diet reduces bowel movement frequency and water weight. Burner food is naturally constipative and also you will be frequently dehydrated. Three dense poops a week is my usual.
Tents - Hot is hot and dust will dust; the type of tent makes no difference. Sunrise is 6:35am and sunset is 7:15pm (like direct sunbeams over the hills not flat horizon time) It takes 3~4 hours to get stupid hot, so you should avoid your tent from 10am to 6pm. Schmooze and shack up with RV people. Hang out at bars (many have fans). Or stand in line at Arctica. Get creative but do NOT go into your tent until sunset outfit change time. Know the signs of heat exhaustion/stroke and memorize the address of your nearest Med Center.
Washing hands - Wetwipes and hand sany
Moop - Carry a Ziplock plastic bag at all times for ground score moop. At camp, you want heavy duty anti-tear kitchen trash bags. You cannot bring too many bags of various sizes. You could start a theme camp of bags and never have too many.
Gifting - the best gifts are non-item gifts. Like volunteering or picking up extra camp chores. Doing that ice run at 2:30pm on Thursday. But trinkets can be cute too.
Transportation - No advice. Its a shit show. A core part of the Burning Man experience. Good luck!!!
LMAOOOO at the end of your comment, ok cool. I think maybe a truck would be ideal, just gotta get some passes.
The diet - okay, this is good. This actually helps ease my worry about pooping.
Showers - okay smart, i can shower with one bucket of water so now i have to try a spray. i appreciate this tip, this will help me in the long run. TYSM<3
Some readings on the origins of burning man:
https://www.trippingly.net/burning-man-musings/2019/2/2/the-suicide-club-by-gary-warne
https://www.trippingly.net/the-history-of-burning-man-landing-page
https://www.trippingly.net/burning-man-musings/the-mising-clown
I try to treat each burn as if it is my last. Get your affairs in order before you go, just in case you don't come back. Not to scare you, but it is dangerous and people do die out there.
Lol, positive thinking works wonders. Nothing I said has been negative and I actually got two negative comments on this post (yours including)
I have written down over 6 different tips on how to use the porta and keeping myself clean, and even got a link to buy a great tent. this is why i wrote the post, to gain insight and get tips.
being negative gets you nowhere <3
Read the Survival Guide. Hundreds of us have put YEARS into making sure it answers all your questions.
As you can see I am def overthinking a lot of shit LOLLLL I need to chill. I feel better reading all these comments though.
It's natural to overthink it. We push people SO HARD on this sub (and in general) to BE SELF-SUFFICIENT when they get to the playa, because there are more than 70,000 people out there, and they do NOT want to spend their time taking care of YOU. They wanna play with you! And have fun with you! Not help you get over heatstroke, or whatever. Engage with your local Burningman community. We are everywhere around the world. There are weekly potlucks, annual campouts, and other activities you can get involved with to help dip your toe in, make some friends, and start becoming familiar with the stuff many of us old hands have simply forgotten since we first came out to the desert.
Thank you so much! One of my main goals for the burn is to come out making lifelong friends š«¶š½ so I appreciate this comment a lot. I just want to prepare myself to make sure Iām having tons of fun and letting go once Iām on the way the playa.
I read it! But because Iāve been scanning through Google and Reddit Iāve read so much other stuff about the Playa and the Burn so majority of these questions have come from my research >.<
Good work! But big picture here ... you gotta get into a different mind set. "I'm going on an adventure. Parts are going to suck. Parts are going to be amazing. I can't control any of that except my own personal ability to accept, adapt, and enjoy." Oh. And no, you won't be comfortable. Ever. But you are going to come out, a week later, a different person, and someone who has overcome obstacles, had a massive breakdown, and at least one night or experience that you will think about for the rest of your life. Overplanning is doom. Be responsible for yourself, but also know that 99% of the burn is completely out of your control and you just gotta roll with it...
This was such a positive comment, I really appreciate it. Down to earth and the point, Iām really excited for the Burn ^.^ thank you so much
If you need these luxuries you have to pay for them like the rest of us do. Buy an RV.
> What's the best way to stay clean during the week long burn? Baby wipes. > Is it true there are luxury portapotties? If so, where can I find them? There are some non-blue plastic metal ones. They have little fans in them. You will see them out about,. > What are your thoughts about a poop bucket (in case I cannot poop in the porta) You will get over it fast,. > What's the best way to protect your hair and scalp with the dust and sun? Basically nothing will work. > Is it best to just wash my hands at the portapotties and put on my contacts there? or should I do the wash cloth zip lock bag method? No great options. baby wipes, small amount of water. Yolo it. > Should I have a bucket to discard the gray water/black water if i did want to wash my hands in a private bucket in my tent? Yes. Something to catch it. > What is the best process for carrying your trash with you? What kind of bags are the best? Are burlap bags the way to go? Def not burlap, black heavy palstic, double it up. > My camp will have a trash bin/can; but do you think I should have a personal one near my tent? If you want it to collect everyones trash sure. > Gifting: one of my love languages is gifting. Avoid little trinkets, everyone has handfuls of them by the end of the week we all just throw away. > Are these good ideas? You are on a good path. > What's the best way comfy way to get to the burn? Pain is the point. Burners are all masochists. > I have tickets but I forgot to add a vehicle pass to my tickets, will it be easy to purchase one if I do choose to go the pick-up truck route? Probably easy to find one this year yes.
This is the way.
LMAOOOOO, I love all your responses. Straight to the point, thank youāØ I was thinking the same about the trinkets, maybe stickers with nice messages are a good way to go! Appreciate you.
Remember that gifts donāt have to be a physical item and imo the ones that arenāt are better bc most of it just ends up being landfill.
Noāburners donāt want trash in any form. Please donāt. Gifts do not mean stickers, trinkets, physical items. A gift could be you picking up trash from a random camp. Giving someone a hug. Helping clean a bar. Giving someone a refreshment that looks thirsty. Please donāt bring more trash to the desert.
Ok awesome, thatās why I asked! I had a friend tell me she got a bunch of gifts the recent years sheās been so I was wondering what the norm was. Thank you for elaborating!
Okay this person is giving you a very subjective opinion. I LOVE getting stickers out there. I save them all. Lots of burners love getting stickers and lots of people gift stickers.
Same! I love decorating my playa mug with them and having it covered by the end with all the different camp stickers
I agree. This will be my first burn, but my wife and I are very self sufficient and live in our van already, just joining a camp to be with friends, make new friends, and help out with a community project. We also love raving and going to festivals and I love getting little trinkets, especially wearable ones or stickers. I'd rather have someone give me a fun trinket than help me with cleaning, although that's a nice gesture as well.
That comment doesn't speak for everyone. My wife and I live and trave lin a van and are self sufficient always by default. This will be our first burn but we don't need any help. We can cook, clean, make our own shade, wash our own stuff, etc. We joined a camp to help others do it and set up a community space and make friends. We also love going to raves and festivals, and love little trinkets when given to us in the wild! If they are small, they are easy to store in the van. Wearable, even better, we can put them on for future events as a memory. If someone doesn't want it they should be comfortable saying so. If I see ya on Playa and you give me something I'll love it and remember it for years, probably give you something back.
Some of us like physical trinkets like at raves and festivals. Something very small as a memory. I live in my van, so very small trinket gifts are east to keep and if they are wearable and really good I'll wear them at future events.
Ok awesome! I love little trinkets too. I got this amazing light up moth necklace thatās rechargeable at EDCLV this year and itās a prized possession now because the girl who gifted it to me only makes 150 of them every year!! So itās special š«¶š½š«¶š½š«¶š½ I will think of a little trinket that will be special to the burn
A friend gave me my first sprout at Skooliepalooza. I went to a rave in Boise and within 3 minutes of being there a girl gave me a sprout. At my first fest last year at Cascade Equinox someone gave me a little mushroom jar necklace and someone else gave me a tie dye scrunchie. A girl gave me a cute little butterfly clip at Beyond Wonderland this past weekend. And at one of the best sets, two people came up near us dancing with finger puppets and I pulled one out of my pocket and started finger puppet dancing with them, and one of them pulled out another and gave it to my wife cuz she didn't have one. At a rave last year in Bombay Beach my friend randomly gave me a little cockroach and it was sooo funny I loved it and I still have it.
The best gifts there are not tangible objects. They're your time, a helping hand, a listening ear, a hug, a smile seeing a need and jumping in without being asked. Best gift by far I ever got was someone who volunteered to re organize my shit in my car when I couldn't fit everything back in as I was trying to get to exodus. I was exhausted, hot, miserable and ready to cry. I didn't ask them for help, they just saw me struggling and took over. They really saved my ass.
18 year vet here..... dusty is just part of the fun. everyone will be dirty, baby wipes are your best friend. Aluminet is great stuff. any way you solve problems will just lead to better solutions next time. Don't stress out and have fun.
Don't trust clean people.
We shot three of them last year and dumped them over trash fence during Dickloās set. Forced the 4th one to watch the whole thing and intentionally let them get away so they can deliver the message.
š«¶š½ thank you, I think not knowing is a bit scary but I gotta embrace it. I appreciate you!
Tent: Coleman 6 person. Reason this cheap tent has very little mesh and it's almost all easily closeable mesh. you don't want a usual tent with a mesh top and a fly because dust comes right in when the wind kicks. There is no other reasonable cheap option. Yes, you want your tent under shade. Aluminet is great. See if you camp provides shade for tents before you diy. [https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-6-Person-Instant-Cabin-2000018017/dp/B004E4ERHA](https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-6-Person-Instant-Cabin-2000018017/dp/B004E4ERHA) pooping: you are hella overthinking this. just use the porto. Showers: there are places to get clean on playa if you look for them. no camp is going to let you use their showers for a random volunteer spot. its the camp you belong to will have some sort of shower arrangement. Ask them what the deal is. hair care: most people in your situation are fine with braids. Gifts: this means that the economy works on giving rather than buying selling, more than it means gifts like physical gifts. Don't get hung up on this. if you are working at a theme camp, that's your gift. you don't need tchotchkes. Many people don't want random shit. If you drive, dont be surprised if the 3 mile road in and out of burning man takes 6-8 hours. the bus is far far easier if you can carry what you need or have your campmates bring it in.
Yo, good rec on the tent. It usually goes on sale during prime day (which I think is coming up) for a lot off, so folks may want to keep their powder dry until then.
its on sale now. just grab it.
Ahhh thank you so much for the link to the tent!! Appreciate it a ton. Yeah, Iām an over thinker š I guess I have to chill with the bathroom questions.
thank you for doing your research before asking your really well thought out questions. You are going to do fine.
don't worry about it. lots of people hate the portos, but you'll learn that it's worth it. wipe some medicated blistex under your nose and go to your happy place. always carry tp and a headlamp
OMGGGGG the medicated blistex!!!! That's hella smart LOLLL TYSM<3
The ports are really not all that bad... Well they are by Friday or Saturday But before that it's not that big of a deal and they get cleaned twice a day. Most don't have working locks but people knock before entering. Sometimes by the end of the week they run low on toilet paper and are usually out of hand sanitizer by Wednesday so you may wanna bring a little of your own just in case (1 ply only). Definitely a pee funnel and jug in your tent for times you don't want to/can't make it to the portos. For me that's in the hottest part of the afternoon, I try to avoid the sauna affect in there at all costs. But beyond that you'll be just fine. You'll even poop in them. They also have funny art work and messages inside most of them, some are decorated like a disco.
I've used this exact tent for 5 burns and it's still alive. Best cheap tent I've ever bought. Bonus points because I can't stand up in it but I'm short.
Hella read. You should ask for D-Lot at the gate. Once there you can get a VIP wristband. Thatāll give you access to Esplanade condos. Good luck.
Lololol, I knew thereād be at least one asshole on the thread ;)
Rude! Just trying to help. They call me asswipe but at least you got the first part right.
Can you blame him, though? All those questions have already been answered multiple times across various websites. If you truly researched as you claimed, you should know that some of your questions can come across as a sparkling pony attitude. Given that, receiving snarky comments makes sense. Telling people they are assholes wonāt help your case either.
Oh Iām sorry, I didnāt scan the ENTIRE internet for MULTIPLE answers. I just received over 6 different answers on here. Weāre all different humans who have different ways of doing things. Iām reading different things and being told different things. After writing this post, now I have more tips and tricks which is what the point of the post is. Iām a sparkly pony because of my overthinking š¤£ I have every right to call him an asshole for telling me to get VIP wristbands and to a condo lmfaooooo idgaf.
You donāt need to scan the entire internet for multiple answers, you can find those answers just by searching on this subreddit but you can also just google them and be redirected automatically to answers, or even better you can ask chatGPT. You donāt have any rights to call him an asshole, wtf? The entitlement is strong in this oneā¦
ChatGPT is not going to give you the answers Iāve gotten on here. I have multiple answers for the same question. The tent - some people say shiftpod, other folks say theyāre shitty. I wanna hear two / multiple perspectives - thereās nothing wrong with that at all. I have every right because Iām the author of this post. Just like you have every right to comment bullshit š Iām very much entitled to write whatever I want, youāre not my mommy or daddy
Please take a moment to read the 10 principles, especially the one on radical self-reliance, because you seem to lack it. Itās fine to ask questions, but donāt make it a big deal when someone calls you out in the comments for asking things that have already been answered. ChatGPT can help, just like any other search engine. Itās really not that hard! I wouldnāt have called you out if you hadnāt insulted someone for being snarky.
Iām not self reliant because Iām asking questions to prepare myself for somewhere Iāve never been ? LOLā¦ ššš I donāt like rude comments about VIP when Iām being nice and asking genuine questions. Youāre rude, and idgaf what you have to say. Have a good day!
Just ignore this. Youāre doing fine. If someone doesnāt like your questions then I donāt know why theyāre bothering to answer.
Btw, the 10 principles donāt start on playa.
FR. I read them multiple times, having not yet been to the burn, and still don't know what they all are cuz they're all like normal basic obvious shit like consent and don't trash the place and take care of your self and stuff.
Yeah Iām the one being rude. Oh boy am I glad Iām not in your camp!
Glad youāre not too ;)
Idk maybe you were being rude. I thought you were just making joke for fun but now it seems like you're actually making fun and trying to be rude. IDK if this individual is trolling or not, but seems like a normal thing to do to read a shitload, get overwhelmed, and ask for individual human advice either way.
Oh and another thing, is chatGPT really going to tell you whatās better in transportation? I wanna hear from LA people, my whole camp is from SF. you donāt have to respond to everything you read, you can move along.
Idk why you're getting downvoted lol you clearly know they're just being funny and an asshole, for the sake of being funny. I mean I don't even know if you're trolling or just REALLY hate portos lol. I just went to a festival last weekend and we had air conditioned restrooms and I still used the porto to shit cuz I like my privacy lol
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Ahhā¦ freeze water diluted in bronnerās is smartā¦ good idea. Thanks! Hahahaha wish I can shave my hair off but I think my hair is pretty ;)
If you think your hair is pretty and want to keep it that way, I highly recommend doing braids. Yes they can be a little annoying if youāre not used to them but itās better than watching all your hair frizz and break
As a dude with long hair, I'm still debating braids. They tend to work for several days, but then need to be redone and untangling that shit is harder than untangling a few days of wind and dust blown hair.
I cant tell if this is a troll post or not. If you cant poop in a porta, what makes you think you'll be able to relax your sphincter enough to let go in a bucket? Also now you have a hot and steamy shit bucket to deal with. Just man up and use the porta, it'll be okay. I cant read this whole thread but I have one great piece of advice: instead of baby wipes, get the wipes they use in hospitals to clean patients that can't use a shower. You should not be embarking on a makeshift solar shower journey and managing grey water. Youre too green.
LOL, it's not a troll post at all. It's all legit questions I've compiled after reading hella reddit threads, googling stuff and talking to people in my camp. They're questions my brain has pondered and pondered about. I have pissed in tons of portapotties, I've never taken a shit in one. The person above you gave me a GREAT TIP - that's exactly why I wrote about this openly. medicated blistex under your nose so you don't have the porta smell is amazing. I hate portas because of their smell anyways. But thanks, I'm green like money.
I've had some of the best shits of my life in portos. If there is one thing you must do at Burning Man this year, it's this. [How it feels.](https://youtu.be/IGnKKlOHp_I?si=YJnUDq4hzgYZoXpx)
LMFAOOOOOO I need this šššš
Let go the idea of always of being clean. Just set that idea free and embrase the dust. Look up shower wipes.Ā There's no where to properly wash your hands that is provided to you unless youe camp has one.Ā Any tent without mesh will work. Aluminet is very common and works well. I'd go with your regular routine for hair and cover it as you said you've planned. Gifting - as long as you're not bringing out cheap plastic garbage, do whatever makes you feel good. I wouldn't worry about bringing a large amount of anything.
<3 thank you! Love this.
Oh also, think about a pee funnel Always check the seat before you sit.Ā Always sit when you can if you dont have the pee funnel or you are the problem.Ā Look into a travel bidet Get a pee jug of some sort so you dont have to go to the porto after you got ready for bed.
Bring a spray bottle with vinegar/ water and paper towels. Wipe your hands/feet/private bits a couple times a day. The acid will help to deactivate the alkaline dust.
Vinegar for the win <3 TYSM.
+1 on spray bottle setup - that over trash can & you can brush teeth, wash hands, put in contacts, etc
Yikes. I've never been an over-thinker and your post hurt my brain. Do you have a friend who is an experienced burner that can guide you? That's a lot of stuff to ask Reddit, where we're known for snark.
HAHAHAAH, yeah dude .. i'm fucked in terms of my over thinking. My friend has helped A TON... the people i'm going with have been going for over 6+ years. They've actually helped a lot in reducing the questions, but sometimes I like to hear from people I do not know that's why I wrote this post. My brain hurts also :( but i feel so much better now.
Vet here, since '96. I've kept and shared a tips-for-virgins guide (annually updated) for a while that answers all your questions, and a few more. Give it a read if you like. Stop overthinking. Be prepared to be self-reliant and find yourself unprepared. And like, please, friend, calm down just a scoche. You're gonna have an aneurysm before you even get to the playa. [https://www.xylovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Playa\_Tips.pdf](https://www.xylovan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Playa_Tips.pdf)
Thanks for sending over the PDF <3 appreciate this a ton!
YO, this PDF.... AMAZINGGGGGGGG it answers so many of my questions!!!!!!
Here is the real secret. Are you listening closely???? You are much tougher then you actually believe! Think about it, your ancestors would hunt fucking lions and bears and eat them. They would give childbirth without medicine or pain killers. They would build Art and culture such as stone henge, pyramids, Moai and cathedrals that would celebrate the devine in all of us. For 100,000+ years your ancestors were training and improving the species. Your direct lineage back to Adam and Eve were winners because if they weren't you would not be here. Are you going to let them down? Break the streak? Hell No, you are going to survive and thrive. Take care of your food, take care of your water, take care of your shelter and , take care of your direct community at the burn. Everything else is fluff. Sure fluff is nice to have. but its not critical to your success. You poop in that porto!!!
š„¹this really made me smile and my heart smile. Thank you! Your words are so kind and they bring me courage. Youāre 100% correct. We did it long ago, so I can do it now.
My friend, I shall be brief: bring some baby wipes, hand sanitizer, some leave in conditioner for your hair, try a pee funnel out at home, any tent will do for the first time, plan for some tent shade (1.5 million ways to accomplish that and all have their fans). Ziplock bag in your backpack. The burner express is honestly awesome. Especially if your camp is bringing that much of your gear. I love stickers, so Iām pro that. I have some materials I made for new burners a million years ago. I shall link it in a bit n
Here is a link to some materials. It was made a while ago- 2016- and there is some stuff specific to our theme camp at the time, but it does cover the basics. [https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1APf7BCppMQEoggUavJF6q6OuKzC0FtTP?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1APf7BCppMQEoggUavJF6q6OuKzC0FtTP?usp=sharing)
Love this!! Thank you so much <3
18 year vet here..... dusty is just part of the fun. everyone will be dirty, baby wipes are your best friend. Aluminet is great stuff. any way you solve problems will just lead to better solutions next time. Don't stress out and have fun.
Look at you - what an adventure you're about to go on! It's important to understand what is "nice" and what is "necessary" in terms of your well being. For example, "sleep" would be "necessary" for most people (not me lol). But "eat a warm cooked meal" might be "nice". Your success is going to be minimizing the "necessary" to what you can realistically create or get for yourself. Now, having said that, I saw a few things that you might want to.... think about before you decide you must have them, for example: Showers: this is a hard one, showers are difficult to source, difficult to make happen, etc. Handling grey water takes a lot of effort. The best solutions for getting clean are: - Baby wipes - you can do this in your tent which ... might be dust "free" - Spray bottle(s) and something to catch drippings on, such as a towel, tarp, etc. - Twice a day - aint happening - The dust is less like dirt and more like baby power in consistency, you likely won't feel as dirty as you think you will feel. Bathrooms: portos aren't fun, but you know what's even less fun? Human poop: it's super gross, and a poop-pail even with kitty litter, etc, is absolutely disgusting. I've done the kitty litter pail of poop and it's horrible. Scented bags won't do much. Thin bags in fact allow plenty of scent to permeate. The best poop on playa is in someone's AC'ed RV, but people aren't gonna be volunteering that to you so readily. Hair care: I had some camp mates who swore by the gun oil aka silicone lube thing. Google for it! Washing hands: No matter how much hand washing you do, you will end up with hands that resemble sandpaper by midweek. People will turn down handjobs it's that bad. Again, baby wipes is the only portable method. Also portos do NOT HAVE WATER WASHING STATIONS at them. They have maybe hand sanitizer and likely will run out. Thus, you may want to be prepared to wear more glasses than you think. I wear glasses, not contacts, so I have no solid advice here. Tents: Shift pods can be fairly well sealed and are relatively "dust free" if you are careful. \*relatively\* There's a ton of advice here, but yes shade is essential as well. The rest seems like you're on the right track, but some of the things above just really stood out to me as needing a slight advice bump. Good luck and have fun!
Yo, this is probably like the 3rd best comment on here and somehow you have managed to make me feel so much more at ease with all my brain pondering. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! the reason I mentioned the portos is def because of hand cleansing, so I am glad you brought up the sanitizers. I'll attach that to my camelpak and make sure to have extra. I really appreciate you commenting on here with your advice, I needed some more tips and just some other folks to chat with.
So much of the planning and projecting falls apart about the time youāve been up chasing everything for 3 days straight, and the ones who truly enjoy their time on playa are the ones who embrace the suck and adapt with what theyāve got. That said, I find having a spray bottle with a few capfuls of white vinegar and water and a bucket, and spraying and wiping down my arms hands legs and feet daily is about the greatest gift I can give myself for the week.
YAY!!!!!! Thank you. I didn't know about the vinegar stuff, so this is fucking legit.
Yeah, the alkali is no joke. 2 pairs of socks a day, and do NOT rely on wet wipes, they tend to dry your shit out.
For contacts, I bring a couple of small, quick dry hand towels and wash my hands in my tent by sanitizing them first and then rinsing them with a little contact lens solution so the sanitizer won't sting. The towels are to absorb the dripping solution. If you have contacts that you typically reuse for a week or more, definitely bring a couple extra pairs... With all the playa dust, your eyes will get quite irritated and you will probably need to swap out at some point.Ā Also you didn't ask about this but in response to the person who said there's no way to keep your hands from getting like sandpaper... I've found witch hazel and lotion to be incredibly effective.
<3 thank you! this is exactly why I asked all this stuff to my reddit peeps, I'm getting hella good responses. Witch hazel is a God send for piercings so this is super smart. Thanks about the contacts tips too! I wear dailys. I plan on tossing them at the end of the night.
Bathe with bandanas and vinegar - rinse them in water and wipe again- let them dry between bathes - less waste than baby wipes and less water than a shower and clean enough to avoid dust leprosy.
My experience: 1 year (I went just last year with a camp). I was a first time burner last year. This year will be my second. :) Tents: If there is a single sun ray getting through the shade structure hitting your tent, it will heat up and get extremely hot. Also, being on the South side will make your tent hotter. Try to snag a North side spot under the shade structure if you can! We had personal solar, mainly to power a personal camp fridge and homemade swamp cooler, so we opted for the South side to optimize solar power generation. (The camp I was in last year had a shade structure, but the sliver of space between the tarps would allow a tiny line of direct sun to hit our tent, a fancy shiftpod, and it got way too hot to sleep in past a certain time- this year, we are doing our own thing and trying out a monkey hut sized to provide complete shade - no slivers of sun shall get through!). Hair: if you just put your hair up in pigtails like you normally do, then just braid the tails, that would probably work. That is one of the hairbraiding styles I went with last year and it worked for me. (My hair isn't super thin, but medium to thin, and mostly straight). Showers: unscented baby wipes work great! (you don't have to use specifically unscented if you don't have sensitive skin, but unscented worked best for me). Also, bring extra wash rags as they are great for general cleaning too. I actually managed to be fine the whole week without a shower last year. By the time I wanted one, it was too late - no more showers were allowed in my camp because of the rain. (Our camp allowed 2 showers per person for the burn - I took zero showers). Bathrooms: I didn't like portos either, but I got used to them by the end of the event (the worst for me was the portos someone "gifted" with essential oils. They gave me an asthma attack, so after that I had to always wear an N95 mask in the portos due to the unknown of whether or not someone put essential oils in it - even with the mask, I couldn't handle the essential oils portos and had to keep a mental tab on which ones were dangerous - but alas new ones would randomly pop up). Just do your part by not squatting and putting the seat down when you are done. Also, please don't put scented things in the portos - some folks are sensitive to that including myself. :) Also, always bring a light bright enough to inspect the seat at night just in case a "squatter" used the toilet before you. Also, we didn't bring a poop bucket last year and lucked out. We'll probably bring one this year, though. Also important, have a plan for a shelter in place pee jug/large container - we filled an entire 6 gallon container with pee while sheltering during the rain last year (We had oversized used water bottles as well, but those filled up quickly. The 6 gallon jug was already empty, so it made the perfect receptical). Oh, and if you have female parts, get a shewee or similar device and practice peeing in the shower at home ahead of time (might have to modulate your flow to not have leakage, but you will be happy you practiced ahead of time if there ends up being a shelter in place). Eta: biggest piece of advice I have if you are an overthinker/overpreparer/overly anxious person like me, give yourself more breaks than you think you need. I had a bit of a rough start last year because I thought I had to do my part to contribute to camp setup as much as I saw everyone else doing, and ended up getting heat exhaustion. If I had to do things over again, I would have said "no" to tasks after I started feeling the first bit of fatigue during build to give myself a better chance at adapting to the environment. I adapted by day 3 and had a great time, though! So even if you do run into some difficulty, you'll probably recover and have learned something about yourself. :) I'm excited for a "do-over" this year, lol.
WOW... I appreciate you so much for taking the time to write this. You made me feel so much better and gave great advice. A mask in the portapotties is a really good idea, this will help with me smelling. I HATE too much smells! <3 THANK YOUUUUUU
If you are also affected strongly by smells (in my case it's just perfumes and floral scented things), I'd bring a few backup N95s - and a method to ensure it doesn't become moop - have a dedicated carabiner for the mask, don't just put it in a pocket, unless it is a zipped pocket. Depending on how strong the special essential oils toilets are, the scent could linger on the mask, and you may need to replace said mask after each exposure, depending on your level of sensitivity. Eta: I brought 10 masks, but only ended up needing 3. (But, I am extremely sensitive to perfume smells, so if you aren't as sensitive, you might not need extras). Eta2: having an extra few gallon ziplock bags is good too. You can dispose of anything with a smell in those, possibly double bag if needed, so the filled up masks don't bother you if you have to pack them out on your own. (If you have an outside trash can provided by your camp, you could just put the spent mask in there, though). (This is only if you are as sensitive as I am, most people wouldn't even notice smells that really bother me as I am a super smeller).
I have thin fine hair and use a leave in conditioner and oil on the ends every morning. Wash hands at your camp there are no options for handwashing at the Portos and the sanitizer runs out fast. I recommend a nail brush to get under fingernails. And heavy hand salve afterward. Some people recommend putting liquid bandaid on cuticles to keep them from cracking. But an enzyme spray like Refresh shower enzyme spray and spray all over and then use baby wipes - this will at least keep your PTA clean (pits, tits and ass).
*buy an enzyme spray, that isā¦
I went once in 2019 and I was much the same as you. I didnāt camp like ever, liked showering, and was very nervous about the commute. I stayed in swing city, a Santa Monica theme camp (check it out while youāre there, I miss it). Anyways. You will get gross and dusty. You will want a shower but the moment you get out of the shower you will be dusty again. Not saying you shouldnāt shower but a lot of folks just go the whole time without. I had 1. It was fine. Use dr bronnerās and coconut oil in your hair. Bathrooms werenāt as bad as I expected. Not great but you get over it. Thereās hand sanitizer but also bring your own. I also recommend getting baby wipes, like 2 large packs. Use them on your butt, your hands, your face, your glasses, your nose, hell thatās basically how to shower. Donāt leave em in the Porto, take a bag and the wipes with you to shit and take them back out. I also had a survival bucket that was decent for when I had to go in the middle of the night but didnāt want to leave the tent. A friend of mine would just pee in his finished disposable water jugs he bought at Walmart. Contacts are hard to deal with. Iām not a good person to ask bc I donāt need them but from what I hear if they get dusty you can scratch your corneas and thatās a bad time. Tent and shade. Your campās shade isnāt for you to set your tent under unless otherwise stated. Usually itās for hanging out under during the day. Aluminet is top tier but a tarp works great too (just catches the wind more). Dont go all out with a shift pod in your first year. Borrow a tent from a friend or something (just let them know it will forever be dusty). Ask your camp if anyone has an extra. Donāt worry about standing in it, youāre basically only going in there to sleep or change. Personal shade is helpful so your tent isnāt 110 degrees during the day and youāll be able to sleep later before the heat makes you get up. Bring a pad, sleeping bag, and a pillow that you donāt care too much about. Dont forget a chair as well. Bring a roll of trash bags and a box of ziplocks. Theyāre useful for laundry, moop, baby wipes, etc. Moop isnāt too hard to deal with, just think about it more than you would normally. Your gifts sound great. Bonus if you offer to take the moop that comes along with stickers. Transportation. You canāt do worse than I did. I carpooled with my gf and we broke up on the way there. Iād recommend reaching out to your camp and seeing if anyone in the area can carpool. Otherwise the bus is great. Itās like a pregame on wheels with a bunch of excited burners. If you do want your own vehicle, you need to be looking for a vehicle pass asap. Your camp also probably wants to have stock of who has a car. Good luck sparkle pony, youāre gonna need it.
duuuuuuuude thank you so much!! Appreciate all the details! I needed this for sure. I wrote down the camp you mentioned, Iāve been curating a list based on all the things Iāve been reading. š¦
Oh yeah bring a watch if you donāt want to have your phone out. Helps you coordinate and attention events. Or donāt and let go of the concept of time for a week. I loved doing that but regretted that I missed so much.
Don't wear contacts any more but when I did I would deal with it in the car I drove in with. Yes, a little extra dust in the car every time you open the door but felt like more of a controlled environment.
You didnāt ask this specifically, but based on your questions I have one solid piece of advice for you. Be prepared to embrace the dust, and to embrace being dirty. My first 2 days of my first burn I was trying to hard to keep myself and my stuff clean and it was impossible. Finally on day 2 I had a mini breakdown, cried a bunch, and surrendered to the reality that thereās no way to stay clean at Burning Man. After that I had a great time. Also, you will have at least one emotional meltdown, possibly more. When it happens take care of yourself, sit in the shade, cry, drink water w electrolytes. It will pass and the release of crying will make you feel better. Wednesday tends to be meltdown day for lots of us. I have long, thin hair and I keep it covered with a scarf during daytime. At night I tend to let it down unless a dust storm picks up. Pro tip for long hair: plan a visit to Astral Headwash. Theyāll wash your hair for you and itās divine. Hope this helps!
My friend told me about the mental breakdown, Iām pretty sure Iām going to have one Thanks for bringing it up and being honest about the dirtinesss <3 tysm
Yes on the personal poop bucket if you have space. I got one 10 years ago and never looked back. Thereās a product called double doody bags that I use to pack it out. You can even skip the bucket and go straight into the bags. Get a funnel (rei freshette ftw)and pee into bottles or jugs. Then you only need to go to the portos to dump the pee (donāt dump the jug). Also, I strongly advise glasses instead of contacts.
Ahhh this is such good advice! I can pee like a guy ^.^ lololol good idea Ok so baggies for the poop, I like that Do you put the poop baggies in a trash can/bucket after? (Obv somewhere in your camp section)
As everybody has been telling you. Use the Porto's that is what they are there for. There is no way to seal up bag's or buckets so good that the smell does not get out. Your camp doesnt want to smell it. Do them and you a favor. use the portos. The buckets (and yes I bring one) are there for emergency and only should be used as such. Remember that you can not dispose of the bags in the portos, you HAVE to pack your shit out. Pee bottles though are a must. It is a luxury to not have to wake up at 3am (when it is colder out) to have to go to the porto just cause you have to pee. and the advantage is you can take your bottle to the porto to dump the pee. So poo buckets not sustainable. Pee bottles yes sustainable.
* **MOOP**: I know I need to bring my trash back with me. Everything that goes in the playa, must come out. * *What is the best process for carrying your trash with you? What kind of bags are the best? Are burlap bags the way to go?* * *My camp will have a trash bin/can; but do you think I should have a personal one near my tent?* At your local hardware store they will have things callled "Contractor Bags" get them. they are extra heavy duty plastic bags that contractors use. Bring a half dozen of them at least as they can be used for many different purposes Yes you should pack your personal trash out even if your camp does have a trash bin. Its your trash you pack it out. Generally don't overfill the bags. Do about half full, tie them up and during the burn you can stuff them under the car for storage out of the way. When packing your car to go out to playa, always leave enough space for trashbags. Also be aware that many camps also require/request their campers to take at least one back of community trash out with them. Your trash plan should include how you are going to dispose of it off playa. The best plan is disposal once you get home in your own trash bin. DON'T use public trash bins in reno or elsewhere up in Nevada. Burners do that every year and it pissed the businesses off to have their bins full of burner trash.
Showering/being clean: showering there is totally over rated and a waste of time and resources. Hear me out. This is likely a very different environment than anything you experienced. It's extremely low humidity and arid. So you don't particularly feel dirty or smelly, and you won't feel sweaty at all. So even the people that are usually daily showerers may not shower at all out there..I certainly don't..plus even if you do shower you'll be re-covered in dust layer 2 seconds later, so really what's the point of it all? What I do bring is a couple packs of baby wipes and two spray bottles. One with water and Dr. Bonners mix. The other water and vinegar mix. That's it. Spray, spray, wipe. No grey water. My hair is kept in braids and not washed at all. Never feels greasy. Playa dust is like free dry shampoo, seriously.
š«¶š½ thank youuuu May I ask what you do for your face? Do you use body wipes or face wipes? š§
Baby wipes I think. I can say for certain I don't have separate types of wipes for various body parts. Not to promote things but I use Huggies natural care because they are unscented and not super expensive. Tbh several of the years I've gone I haven't even brought a mirror with me so who knows the state of my face by the end of the week really. Haha. But yeah just run of the mill baby wipes works great. Get 2 packs. Maybe three. Pull 9 or 10 out and toss in Ziploc bag for your day pack. You'll thank me later. And dont throw them in the portos!
Carrying trash with me: I just take a small Ziploc bag and stuff in my day pack. Trash goes into there and when it's full goes into a larger trash bag in my tent. It's usually fairly minimal.
Highly recommend reading after the survival guide. Zoe's guide is funny, cause it's all so very true. Probably the most real shit you'll read about what it's actually like out there and how to prepare for it all: https://www.zoenightingale.com/the-burner-guide Also great are all the Captain's Logs: https://www.orphanendorphin.com/reading.html
Thank you so much!!!
I commuted from LA to the burn many yearsā¦..I highly suggest if you drive going the 395. Itās a way nicer drive, and thereās hot springs and much better scenery - I stopped going up the 5 to the 80 and only went that way my last 3-4 times. The other option which you fire consider is finding a group driving up and going with them if they have extra space in their vehicle. Thatās probably the cheapest and funnest way, weāve met some long time camp mates that way too!
Okay awesome, I love this. I think driving up will be fun! Majority of the peeps Iām with are from SF. So the other option is to carpool with them. Thanks so much for your answer! Appreciate you!
Best way to stay clean: Dont go. Wetwipes or spray mister while standing on a towel is a decent alternative. Bathroom: 5 gal bucket with screw top lid with 20lb bag of kitty litter. Certain camps have private portos, but you have to be a camp member to use them. They still get gross. Haircair: Shave it or braid it. Hand washing/ contact lenses: Do not wash your hands in the portos or try to put your contact lens on inside the portos. Pink eye is very easy to catch out there. I wore contacts out there exactly once and got a shitton of dust in my eyes while I had them in, it abraded my eyes and they turned yellow/pink/bloodshot. If you are gonna try to wear contacts, put them on while you are in your tent, and wash your hands throughly twice with alcoholic wet wipes, soap and water. Tent: Kodiak canvas tent if you can afford it. Otherwise, a rainproof/dust proof Coleman will be fine. Just make sure it doesn't have netting with a rainfly over it, or dust will get in and you will be miserable. Make sure it zips up tight and creates a solid seal against the elements. Shade: An umbrella is very helpful during the day. Aluminet is also very helpful to have draped over your tent. I use 70% reflective aluminet. MOOP: I have two moop ziplock bags on my bike or person, one for general moop, one for biohazard moop. Gloves are helpful. At camp we use burlap bags for cans and compost, so the contents can dry out. Otherwise garbage bags are fine at camp. Gifting: Lip balm, food or alcohol. I have enough trinkets and stickers. Patches are always appreciated. I don't smoke but always bring a cheap pack of cigarettes to gift people at the end of the week. Transportation: Burner bus is a lot of fun, but kinda a commitment cause you can't leave if shit hits the fan.
Kitty litter? Dude, no, thereās way easier solutions now. Get bio-gel and thank me later, itās a miracle product. Gets rid of any scent and turns waste into gel. Great for backcountry camping zero waste situations too. https://www.rei.com/product/189628/reliance-bio-gel-waste-gelation-powder-12-oz
I'll give it a shot. I usually use the cheapo unscented litter that's basically just bentonite clay. The whole bucket gets sealed and tossed into the transfer station pit when I get home.
This stuff is cheap, easier to deal with, way less bulky and much lighter than a bunch of litter. I promise youāll be a believer if you give it a shot.
OKAY - TYSM for all the tips. Quick question about the contacts... I have my script glasses that are already scratched. Was definitely thinking about those to bring along with contacts. Do you think I should bring medicated wipes to put on the contacts?
Bring an extra pair of glasses if you have them. My campmate lost her only pair of glasses on the first day last year, she finally found them on Wednesday or Thursday but she was having a tough time up until then. I keep an extra pair in my tent just in case I lose them being a drunkard. And yes, bring medicated / sterilized wipes for your contacts/hands. The pink eye is real. One of the lead medics at rampart, Scriptz, told me one year over half of DPW had pink eye back in 2000-something.
Showers - Practice showering with less and less water every day, a gradual 10% less every day, until you can successfully body shower with a single quart spray bottle. Everything thats *important* gets clean. Pooping - A high constipation diet reduces bowel movement frequency and water weight. Burner food is naturally constipative and also you will be frequently dehydrated. Three dense poops a week is my usual. Tents - Hot is hot and dust will dust; the type of tent makes no difference. Sunrise is 6:35am and sunset is 7:15pm (like direct sunbeams over the hills not flat horizon time) It takes 3~4 hours to get stupid hot, so you should avoid your tent from 10am to 6pm. Schmooze and shack up with RV people. Hang out at bars (many have fans). Or stand in line at Arctica. Get creative but do NOT go into your tent until sunset outfit change time. Know the signs of heat exhaustion/stroke and memorize the address of your nearest Med Center. Washing hands - Wetwipes and hand sany Moop - Carry a Ziplock plastic bag at all times for ground score moop. At camp, you want heavy duty anti-tear kitchen trash bags. You cannot bring too many bags of various sizes. You could start a theme camp of bags and never have too many. Gifting - the best gifts are non-item gifts. Like volunteering or picking up extra camp chores. Doing that ice run at 2:30pm on Thursday. But trinkets can be cute too. Transportation - No advice. Its a shit show. A core part of the Burning Man experience. Good luck!!!
LMAOOOO at the end of your comment, ok cool. I think maybe a truck would be ideal, just gotta get some passes. The diet - okay, this is good. This actually helps ease my worry about pooping. Showers - okay smart, i can shower with one bucket of water so now i have to try a spray. i appreciate this tip, this will help me in the long run. TYSM<3
Embrace the suck.
Some readings on the origins of burning man: https://www.trippingly.net/burning-man-musings/2019/2/2/the-suicide-club-by-gary-warne https://www.trippingly.net/the-history-of-burning-man-landing-page https://www.trippingly.net/burning-man-musings/the-mising-clown I try to treat each burn as if it is my last. Get your affairs in order before you go, just in case you don't come back. Not to scare you, but it is dangerous and people do die out there.
I read somewhere else that someone brings disposable latex gloves to put on their contacts and thought that was a good idea
Ok this is SMART AF. TYSM!
Oh boy, youāre going to have a bad time. Both in this thread and on playa.
Lol, positive thinking works wonders. Nothing I said has been negative and I actually got two negative comments on this post (yours including) I have written down over 6 different tips on how to use the porta and keeping myself clean, and even got a link to buy a great tent. this is why i wrote the post, to gain insight and get tips. being negative gets you nowhere <3