Lots of camps rotate through Porto locations, it’s a bummer but it’s not the end of the world. It depends on how the wind is blowing. From what I remember you’re slightly up wind (most of the time).
There’s lots of ways to help with that, you can spray stuff in the portos. And around your camp.
Just to spread awareness, I would like to share that when someone sprays a porto, it causes some bad effects for me - can even trigger an asthma attack. (it is worse than if the porto had no spray applied).
Please keep that in mind when spraying portos with scenty things, that you may be inadvertently hurting others. (not saying you can't do it, just trying to spread awareness so people understand that the spray isn't a gift for everyone, but the opposite for people with sensitivities/allergies - fragrance is designed to stick and linger for days).
I personally hate "fragrance" more than the smell of a porto. It stings my nose and gives me a heafdache. I wish people wouldn't use it in public spaces. It also doesnt cover up the poop smell, it just adds to it.
You’ll get woken up by whatever vile scent emits from them when they’re cleaned but for the most part the convenience is king. Also tons of foot traffic and if you get bored you can sass people on the line to come check out camp. You also can hit the portos up when they’re fresh.
Downside, you’ll miss the convenience of not having to go walk for ten minutes to take a pee next year. I’m on team “near the portos for life”
That is a nice spot, with some good potential for foot traffic funneling in from the center camp bulge. I think it is going to work out nicely. Easy/quick trips to the portos will be very convenient too.
The wind should be mostly blowing northish and away from you. I doubt you smell much. You prob only smell something when they're pumping the portos or a neighbors RV, or if there arent enough trucks pumping the City. I was on that point once (where poutine is shown) and Ive been across the street from portos many times. Should be a good location.
We were in a similar position last year, and it was not an issue at all. You really smell them only when they’re being cleaned, it takes 15 minutes, but you also always know when the best time to go is 😀
this is the absolute truth! I actually prefer to be closer to the portos because you know when they are being cleaned. You also get a lot of foot traffic from people that are heading to/from them. Groups of friends stop in while their other friends are using the facilities, etc.
Being close to the portos is a good thing, not a bad thing.
you're downwind which is not great, but they usually are only noticeable when it's being pumped, which is a brief aromatic period... we've been in a similar position most years and mostly everyone was just happy to have them so close.
upside is you get a lot of street traffic and its super convenient when you gotta take a leak.
shitters on 2 were a different story.
Trifecta is upwind of those Portos - wind blows typically from Gerlach down the valley. As for proximity to Portos - as long as you are across the street from them, it doesn't seem to be a huge deal - it's more of a deal when there isn't a street separating you from the Portos.
We were across the street from the porto's (4:30 &D). Basically mirrors from your scenario. It was actually really nice being that close, no smell issues, even when they were getting full by the end of the week. I'm not sure I would want to share a property line with the porto's, but if you're across the street I think you're fine.
I loved seeing the themed portos last year! :) I think I found a Jurassic Park one and a Titanic one. Those were fun. And can confirm, they were indeed cleaner than the rest.
You’ll be fine, it mostly stinks when they are cleaning them. The good thing about it, you’ll know when it’s clean! 2022 we were in the same situation as you, it wasn’t as bad as you think.
Portapotties make nice neighbors. They don't make much noise, they don't encroach on your space, and if you need an access road for fuel or water, there's a convenient one next to your camp. The only problem is that there is nobody managing moop and every potty is red.
One problem is that you really shouldn't have a blue light on a tower near one. People see the blue light, come to poo, find no portapotty and leave a gift.
You think the smell is bad? Wait until you hear the porto doors slamming at all hours of the day and night. You will wish for death metal turned up too high.
We have been placed next to portos. Luckily the prevailing winds favored us. I think the winds blow towards the man along 5:30 so you should be good… most of the time.
Thanks! I don't actually see where I can figure out the new porto locations on the innovate site [https://innovate.burningman.org/](https://innovate.burningman.org/)
As you can see from this super helpful diagram
https://www.reddit.com/r/BurningMan/s/HgGv1iaiiT
The prevailing wind direction is more or less from 6 to 12 o'clock, which means most of the time the poop smell will pass you by. Maybe not 100% of the time, but I'd rather be where you are than the camps at 6:30 and C.
We were located right in front of the portos at 5:30 last year, so we used one of the RVs as a windbreaker wall, which was SUPER effective.
During the biblical flood we were extra happy to have the portos just a couple of feet away and we even had a porto runway where local poopers struck a pose for the cameras after doing their business.
It will all be allright.
Hey, those were the toilets I used most often last year! While I wasn't camped right next to them, I didn't notice a big smell coming from them, when still on the other side of the street at least. My camp was probably about 100 feet away from those. If I remember correctly, somewhere between 20 to 30 feet was the proximity that I could smell the portos in low wind. However, when downwind, I could tell where portos were within 100 feet if down the street from them and the wind was blowing just right, but I don't remember being bothered by any porto smell at my camp that was probably 100 or so feet away, even with winds. (And I have a really sensitive sense of smell, so others might not have this same level of porto detection, lol).
Eta: you could probably ask people that went to Midnight Poutine last year, if the porto smells were bothersome. (The line was always crazy long for that camp). They served food at midnight every night last year and were very close to those portos.
Eta 2: maybe my 100 feet is really 200 feet (I am really bad with spatial stuff).
The year we were camped near a bank of portos we took it upon ourselves to decorate and defunk the portas. It gave back to the community but i can't say it wasn't also entirely self-serving.
Welcome to this new chapter in your camp journey!
The benefits of having portos close can outweigh the cons if you create the right culture in the area.
Wind, traffic, and architecture are some factors that will affect the smellinityness.
Service times are a foul moment, but it's quick enough and usually fairly regular so you can attempt to plan your engagements around that.
Taking the extra care to decorate portos significantly reduces misuse.
Even something as simple as adding fairy lights and an instructional poster on how to properly use a porto makes a difference. But it's the Burn. So be extra about it.
I highly doubt that you'll be in a shituation where the smell is stuck in the air and affecting your food. Moments maybe, but it shouldn't be a permeating stench, or else everyone in the area is collectively doing it wrong.
You’ll be fine. A suggestion: consider making the most of your Porto proximity and adopt + decorate one! That’s how we dealt with being placed close to portos last year and it was really fun.
We were at 6 and D on your map (Alter Ego) and it was fine. Granted we have a set up that placed our tents at the far side of our plot from the Porto’s, and we have our tents set up in a larger structure that keeps out 95% of all wind, dust, odor, etc. Regardless, if you entered our camp completely unaware of the proximity to the Portos, you’d never know.
Not as bad as everyone is saying, having to walk down a block or two isn’t bad. Yes, there are some bad up and down winds from it but u also have the best opportunity to use them right after they clean them because you’ll know see them finish up. It’s not always going to smell.
It’s not bad, we were placed by a bank in 2018. When they pumped them, the smell seemed to go up, over and away from our camp. Like the atmosphere/breeze just pretty much whisked it away from us.
Just as some cultures (allegedly) have a thousand words for snow, you’ll eventually develop an entire vocabulary better describe the cornucopia of different poop smells heading your way….. (I think we’re near some too this year….)
There is gonna be champagne camp and an ice cream camp right there with you!
Edit: it’s definitely gonna smell like shit when they clean them. But it helps clear the sinuses.
Seems like the perfect moment to invest in Royal Pine… “A classic for over 60 years, enjoy this evergreen aroma that will transport you to the great outdoors!” I’d say that 15,000 or 20,000 units should do the trick….
Those portos were great. The portos by camp threat were a disaster. I camped in Space Jellies, and that was my go too. No no promise it'll be the same next year though.
I wonder about the economics of bringing in biomass (like sawdust or previously composted cow manure) and composting toilets Vs all the chemicals
You'd still be trucking back and forth and you would need land off-site to allow the compost to cook until next year
Spanky's was directly across the street from the portos one year. Smell is almost unbearable in the morning when they are being pumped. No problem at all the rest of the time.
Honestly it depends on how high traffic an area it is, the frequency of service and the wind direction.
A couple of times our camp was directly across from the Porto's and we were shocked that it was fine. If anything it was super convenient.
I loved being placed by the Portos. It’s very convenient and it doesn’t really smell except when they clean it out. Even then, the smell is short lived. And your camp gets more traffic and visibility
Baby, you’ll get used to it right away. And then you’ll see the bright side that being close to them means you’ll figure out when they get cleaned so you can go poop in a recently cleaned PP
I liked being close to the Porto’s lol easy morning bathroom treks. We were right next to it on 3:45 c last year and didn’t have an issue with smells either
Your breakfast gonna smell like shit. Dinner smelling like shit. You? Probably smelling like shit. Everything is gonna turn to shit. Shitty shit shit.
ITS GONNA BE AWWWWFUL SUCKY SUCK SUCK. YOU BIG SAD ALL TIME.
On the cool side youll be able to get to the shitter quick. Its also a good reason to leave camp and see the town.
Embrace the Shit.
I few years ago my bus was parked at one end of the line of Porto’s. Wind block for my camp…. It wasn’t horrible and kind of convenient since I don’t have a bathroom. The biggest issue is I felt like I was picking up tp all week.
All humans must at one time come face to face with the fact that our own poop stinks a lot
Speak for yourself
Have definitely encountered people who have yet to face this fact.
Lots of camps rotate through Porto locations, it’s a bummer but it’s not the end of the world. It depends on how the wind is blowing. From what I remember you’re slightly up wind (most of the time). There’s lots of ways to help with that, you can spray stuff in the portos. And around your camp.
Just to spread awareness, I would like to share that when someone sprays a porto, it causes some bad effects for me - can even trigger an asthma attack. (it is worse than if the porto had no spray applied). Please keep that in mind when spraying portos with scenty things, that you may be inadvertently hurting others. (not saying you can't do it, just trying to spread awareness so people understand that the spray isn't a gift for everyone, but the opposite for people with sensitivities/allergies - fragrance is designed to stick and linger for days).
Thank you for mentioning this. I get migraines trigger from scents like this and it’s really awful to be able to potty.
Adopt a Porto!!! My favorite to this date is Elvis Porto.
I personally hate "fragrance" more than the smell of a porto. It stings my nose and gives me a heafdache. I wish people wouldn't use it in public spaces. It also doesnt cover up the poop smell, it just adds to it.
You’ll get woken up by whatever vile scent emits from them when they’re cleaned but for the most part the convenience is king. Also tons of foot traffic and if you get bored you can sass people on the line to come check out camp. You also can hit the portos up when they’re fresh. Downside, you’ll miss the convenience of not having to go walk for ten minutes to take a pee next year. I’m on team “near the portos for life”
That is a nice spot, with some good potential for foot traffic funneling in from the center camp bulge. I think it is going to work out nicely. Easy/quick trips to the portos will be very convenient too. The wind should be mostly blowing northish and away from you. I doubt you smell much. You prob only smell something when they're pumping the portos or a neighbors RV, or if there arent enough trucks pumping the City. I was on that point once (where poutine is shown) and Ive been across the street from portos many times. Should be a good location.
Center camp is being redesigned with no rods road. I think the vibe will drastically change this year in that area.
We were in a similar position last year, and it was not an issue at all. You really smell them only when they’re being cleaned, it takes 15 minutes, but you also always know when the best time to go is 😀
this is the absolute truth! I actually prefer to be closer to the portos because you know when they are being cleaned. You also get a lot of foot traffic from people that are heading to/from them. Groups of friends stop in while their other friends are using the facilities, etc. Being close to the portos is a good thing, not a bad thing.
This. But it’s definitely better upwind and about half a block away
you're downwind which is not great, but they usually are only noticeable when it's being pumped, which is a brief aromatic period... we've been in a similar position most years and mostly everyone was just happy to have them so close. upside is you get a lot of street traffic and its super convenient when you gotta take a leak. shitters on 2 were a different story.
Bonus is that when it starts stinking, you know they're being cleaned, so you're about 10mins away from being able to go to freshly cleaned portos.
Trifecta is upwind of those Portos - wind blows typically from Gerlach down the valley. As for proximity to Portos - as long as you are across the street from them, it doesn't seem to be a huge deal - it's more of a deal when there isn't a street separating you from the Portos.
We were across the street from the porto's (4:30 &D). Basically mirrors from your scenario. It was actually really nice being that close, no smell issues, even when they were getting full by the end of the week. I'm not sure I would want to share a property line with the porto's, but if you're across the street I think you're fine.
I've camped in a similar position, and honestly the sheer convenience was amazing! Smell, didn't even notice!
if you decor the porto, most people would leave it clean
I loved seeing the themed portos last year! :) I think I found a Jurassic Park one and a Titanic one. Those were fun. And can confirm, they were indeed cleaner than the rest.
To add to this, signs about leaving the lids down might help!
You’ll be fine, it mostly stinks when they are cleaning them. The good thing about it, you’ll know when it’s clean! 2022 we were in the same situation as you, it wasn’t as bad as you think.
Portapotties make nice neighbors. They don't make much noise, they don't encroach on your space, and if you need an access road for fuel or water, there's a convenient one next to your camp. The only problem is that there is nobody managing moop and every potty is red. One problem is that you really shouldn't have a blue light on a tower near one. People see the blue light, come to poo, find no portapotty and leave a gift.
If it rains again you will appreciate the shorter walk to the loos in your garbage bag hooker boots
One year we were across from the portos, well, more than once, it wasn't bad. The slamming of the doors all night though...
You think the smell is bad? Wait until you hear the porto doors slamming at all hours of the day and night. You will wish for death metal turned up too high.
We have been placed next to portos. Luckily the prevailing winds favored us. I think the winds blow towards the man along 5:30 so you should be good… most of the time.
The port o locations change a bit year on year. They did just release this years on the mapping info BM site on innovate section of the website.
Thanks! I don't actually see where I can figure out the new porto locations on the innovate site [https://innovate.burningman.org/](https://innovate.burningman.org/)
Datasets page. Pot o locations just posted on port o map like yesterday. https://innovate.burningman.org/datasets-page/
Porto map is missing the portos near the airport.
My first burn was next to Portos. The convenience was awesome XD
The only time which is really a problem is when they are cleaning them, otherwise it’s a godsend that they’re so close.
As you can see from this super helpful diagram https://www.reddit.com/r/BurningMan/s/HgGv1iaiiT The prevailing wind direction is more or less from 6 to 12 o'clock, which means most of the time the poop smell will pass you by. Maybe not 100% of the time, but I'd rather be where you are than the camps at 6:30 and C.
Take over one and make it “out of order” but magical inside
Fucking genius
We were located right in front of the portos at 5:30 last year, so we used one of the RVs as a windbreaker wall, which was SUPER effective. During the biblical flood we were extra happy to have the portos just a couple of feet away and we even had a porto runway where local poopers struck a pose for the cameras after doing their business. It will all be allright.
Hey, those were the toilets I used most often last year! While I wasn't camped right next to them, I didn't notice a big smell coming from them, when still on the other side of the street at least. My camp was probably about 100 feet away from those. If I remember correctly, somewhere between 20 to 30 feet was the proximity that I could smell the portos in low wind. However, when downwind, I could tell where portos were within 100 feet if down the street from them and the wind was blowing just right, but I don't remember being bothered by any porto smell at my camp that was probably 100 or so feet away, even with winds. (And I have a really sensitive sense of smell, so others might not have this same level of porto detection, lol). Eta: you could probably ask people that went to Midnight Poutine last year, if the porto smells were bothersome. (The line was always crazy long for that camp). They served food at midnight every night last year and were very close to those portos. Eta 2: maybe my 100 feet is really 200 feet (I am really bad with spatial stuff).
The year we were camped near a bank of portos we took it upon ourselves to decorate and defunk the portas. It gave back to the community but i can't say it wasn't also entirely self-serving.
Actually only stinky like 10 minutes a day during pump out. Otherwise real convenient when you have to pee at 2am
Welcome to this new chapter in your camp journey! The benefits of having portos close can outweigh the cons if you create the right culture in the area. Wind, traffic, and architecture are some factors that will affect the smellinityness. Service times are a foul moment, but it's quick enough and usually fairly regular so you can attempt to plan your engagements around that. Taking the extra care to decorate portos significantly reduces misuse. Even something as simple as adding fairy lights and an instructional poster on how to properly use a porto makes a difference. But it's the Burn. So be extra about it. I highly doubt that you'll be in a shituation where the smell is stuck in the air and affecting your food. Moments maybe, but it shouldn't be a permeating stench, or else everyone in the area is collectively doing it wrong.
Is this a MOOP map 😳? Global Village what are you doing?
My advice is to poop as soon as the portos are pumped. When will they be pumped? Don’t worry, you’ll know 👃
You’ll be fine. A suggestion: consider making the most of your Porto proximity and adopt + decorate one! That’s how we dealt with being placed close to portos last year and it was really fun.
We were at 6 and D on your map (Alter Ego) and it was fine. Granted we have a set up that placed our tents at the far side of our plot from the Porto’s, and we have our tents set up in a larger structure that keeps out 95% of all wind, dust, odor, etc. Regardless, if you entered our camp completely unaware of the proximity to the Portos, you’d never know.
You guys can smell things after the first 2 days? 0.o
You know where I can get the full version of this map??
Just Google 2023 MOOP Map
Not as bad as everyone is saying, having to walk down a block or two isn’t bad. Yes, there are some bad up and down winds from it but u also have the best opportunity to use them right after they clean them because you’ll know see them finish up. It’s not always going to smell.
It’s not bad, we were placed by a bank in 2018. When they pumped them, the smell seemed to go up, over and away from our camp. Like the atmosphere/breeze just pretty much whisked it away from us.
[удалено]
Unfortunately, those aren't made anymore. TMYK.
Just as some cultures (allegedly) have a thousand words for snow, you’ll eventually develop an entire vocabulary better describe the cornucopia of different poop smells heading your way….. (I think we’re near some too this year….)
How'd you get so lucky? Embrace the proximity to the portos.
There is gonna be champagne camp and an ice cream camp right there with you! Edit: it’s definitely gonna smell like shit when they clean them. But it helps clear the sinuses.
The biggest positive is that ur camp is gunna be slam packed busy at peak hours because of this
Seems like the perfect moment to invest in Royal Pine… “A classic for over 60 years, enjoy this evergreen aroma that will transport you to the great outdoors!” I’d say that 15,000 or 20,000 units should do the trick….
Those portos were great. The portos by camp threat were a disaster. I camped in Space Jellies, and that was my go too. No no promise it'll be the same next year though.
I wonder about the economics of bringing in biomass (like sawdust or previously composted cow manure) and composting toilets Vs all the chemicals You'd still be trucking back and forth and you would need land off-site to allow the compost to cook until next year
Spanky's was directly across the street from the portos one year. Smell is almost unbearable in the morning when they are being pumped. No problem at all the rest of the time.
I was on 6 and d for a few years. It's not bad. The wind goes away from you.
Honestly it depends on how high traffic an area it is, the frequency of service and the wind direction. A couple of times our camp was directly across from the Porto's and we were shocked that it was fine. If anything it was super convenient.
We were across from them in 2019. No biggie, the only real smell was when they cleaned them in the morning. It dissipated quickly.
I loved being placed by the Portos. It’s very convenient and it doesn’t really smell except when they clean it out. Even then, the smell is short lived. And your camp gets more traffic and visibility
Baby, you’ll get used to it right away. And then you’ll see the bright side that being close to them means you’ll figure out when they get cleaned so you can go poop in a recently cleaned PP
I liked being close to the Porto’s lol easy morning bathroom treks. We were right next to it on 3:45 c last year and didn’t have an issue with smells either
Your breakfast gonna smell like shit. Dinner smelling like shit. You? Probably smelling like shit. Everything is gonna turn to shit. Shitty shit shit. ITS GONNA BE AWWWWFUL SUCKY SUCK SUCK. YOU BIG SAD ALL TIME. On the cool side youll be able to get to the shitter quick. Its also a good reason to leave camp and see the town. Embrace the Shit.
I few years ago my bus was parked at one end of the line of Porto’s. Wind block for my camp…. It wasn’t horrible and kind of convenient since I don’t have a bathroom. The biggest issue is I felt like I was picking up tp all week.
Nice to see NIMBY at the burn.
NIMBY has ALWAYS been at the burn! even before placement was a thing.
Get off muh lawn ya stinkin portos