“Avoid camps which are offering ‘providers’ like stylists, hair and make-up, employees, or anybody bundling housing and tickets,” Feldman says. “These are pink flags. The individuals who will likely be tenting there in all probability received’t be as a lot enjoyable, and the entire camp might get shut down mid-burn and also you’ll be caught with out shelter, meals, water, and so forth.”
If you would like a extra sustainable camp, search for one which brings their meals scraps to a composting camp, collects cans to carry to Recycle Camp, and has some type of photo voltaic array.
One trick to find out how good a camp is, is to examine how the camp did by way of Leaving No Trace final 12 months. When the Burning Man crew does a sweep of the playa after it’s throughout, they notice down how a lot MOOP (matter misplaced, or litter) is left on every camp’s website. If the camp is within the pink, that’s a foul signal.
Decide Your Shelter
Your choices for shelter embrace a tent, an RV or a trailer. You can additionally strive a Shiftpod, a reflective shelter designed by burners for desert tenting.
Hardcore burners will swear up and down that you just don’t want air-conditioning to take pleasure in your burn—only a battery-powered fan on your tent—however that may not be true for for much longer. Close by Reno, Nevada, is heating up faster than any other city on account of local weather change.
“As a lot as I hate AC items as a result of they’re dangerous for the atmosphere, they are often significantly life-saving relying on the warmth,” says Collins. She says yow will discover a used AC unit for between $200 and $500. In case your camp doesn’t present energy, you’ll must carry a small generator—photo voltaic panels can’t deal with an AC unit.
For those who do tent camp, ensure your camp has a quiet, effectively shaded, and even air-conditioned shared lounge space the place you may nap throughout the day. Or know the place your mates with air-conditioning are staying, in case of emergencies.
The hexayurt constructed from taped insulation panels was once extra widespread, however it’s annoying to construct and transport, so the Shiftpod, an insulated dome that sleeps two comfortably, has largely taken its place. The truth is, each Collins and Rueben Pacheco, who attended his first burn in 2009 and brings a gnome-themed artwork automobile to the playa, personal a Shiftpod. Feldman purchased a trailer a few years in the past however may get a Shiftpod sooner or later.
The Shiftpod sells for $1,600, is available in a big duffel, and may be arrange in 20 minutes. It retains mud out fairly effectively, and people who stayed in them throughout last year’s deluge reported that their flooring stayed dry. “Severely, an excellent funding,” Collins says.
Many burners who fly into a close-by metropolis choose to select up an RV to finish the journey. With its built-in AC, beds, kitchen, and fridge, it makes for extra consolation and lighter packing. It’s additionally far more snug than a automobile in a 12-hour-long exodus line. The draw back is the expense (price range at the very least $2,000 per individual for rental, charges, and fuel), and the stress of piloting that lumbering monster round Reno and into and out of Black Rock Metropolis, particularly since Burning Man’s governing physique, the Org, banned RV supply beginning final 12 months. Oh, and RVs are hands-down essentially the most polluting shelter at Burning Man, with a big carbon footprint and a big generator draw, which implies extra noise and particulate air pollution on the playa.
Resolve How You’ll Get There
You may get to the burn (so as of price) by taking the Burner Bus, driving your individual automobile in, driving an RV in, or flying in.
