Survival Guide

Be a Good Burner

Hello fellow Bureaucrats!

If you are here reading this you took the plunge and decided that that dusty place we know and love was going to be your home for the week. Great! We are so excited! You have chosen to be a bureaucrat and paid your camp dues. If it’s your first year with the camp or on the playa you may be feeling a tad lost so we have decided to better prepare you for the journey ahead with our own version of the Misinformation Survival Guide. So read on lest you want to end up a pony that sparkles!

Culture

Each year, Burning Man is a new experiment. The Bureau is our ever evolving contribution to this wild experiment. We are citizens of a temporary city that rises and falls in a whirlwind of love and dust and lives on throughout the rest of year in our hearts and minds. The Bureau is our slice of much bigger global family of burners, and we want it to feel like home. If you see that someone is struggling, help them. If you notice someone is leaving their mess behind, shame them. If you see someone cleaning up, lend a helping hand. If you notice someone is sick or has drank past their capacity or looks like they are dehydrated, check in and see how you can help. It feel amazing to offer help where it is needed and it is a fundamental human need to be part of a community. Remember Burning Man is not for spectators so get involved! Your fellow bureaucrats are your extended family members, so take good care of them!

Burning Man is a gifting culture. A lot of people (including myself for a long time) confuse gifting with barter. They are not the same nor even similar. When you give a gift you are giving it for the pure joy it it will give the other person; think about a child opening birthday presents and how excited they are! A barter being an exchange of goods between people is similar to commerce. You want to possess something so you exchange money for it. When someone gives you a gift or vice versa resist the fundamental urge to instantly offer them a gift. If you do, you are robbing that person of the feeling of joy they would have felt presenting you with a true gift, you have turned this whole exchange into a commerce situation and some of that playa magic was lost.  When we pour drinks for people at the bar they don’t offer us anything in return because they understand that we are gifting that beverage to them.

Every year people always ask “what should I bring to gift to people?”

A gift does not need to be a material thing. Trinkets may end up as MOOP or not. A gift is something that is desired at that particular point in time. That may be some lip gloss, a back rub, a bottle of water, a helping hand setting up, some toilet paper when tp is scarce, a shoulder to cry on in a time of need, illumination at night, advice when some is needed.

“Bartering is for amateurs! Give. Freely. and come prepared to do so. You’ll love yourself in the morning.”

What you can expect as a Bureaucrat

You knew that there would be perks joining a theme camp, but are you a bit unsure what they actually are? Aside from being part of a community which means shared resources the camp does supply some basic needs and a few playa luxuries.

BOOZE

Yes we do have a bar, and yes it is stocked with loads of sangria or playa punch as well as an assortment of cheap liquor, mixers and beer. We all went to kindergarden, and learned how to share; so bring your favorite booze and then bring extra for your camp mates or some new friends to try. Sharing is caring people!

KITCHEN

We are supplying the tables, a two burner stove, a microwave, a BBQ, and some pots and pans. You are supplying your own plates, cups and utensils. Remember to clean up after yourself! Don’t forget cleaning supplies!

SHADE

There is some camping shade available (40×40) that can be obtained on a first come first served basis. If you are planning on arriving mid-week you will certainly have to supply shade yourself.

Our bar has lights and loads of public shaded chill out space for people to hang out in.

There is also a dome set up that is semi-private in case you need to get away from it all! It will be a comfy cozy space to escape the dust and chaos.

SHOWER aka THE ULTIMATE PLAYA LUXURY

Yes it seems that having a shower is a necessity (which we obviously agree with since we have showers) not every citizen of BRC  has one, it is a luxury installation in our fair city. We have 2 pump showers and one bag shower set up. The shower pump reservoirs need to be filled with water (yes by you) and pumped to use (yes by you) oh and did I mention the water you use for showers needs to be provided by none other than YOU.

A note about water: Bring at least 1.5 gallons per person per day, more if you plan on showering. Stay hydrated, or as they say on the Playa: piss clear!

GREY WATER

If you are new to BRC grey water is a term used for water which has been used for something (washing and cooking). While it may be tempting to dump this water on the playa surface it is PROHIBITED for many reasons. Number one being that Burning Man is a LEAVE NO TRACE event. While it may seem that water which evaporates does not leave a trace, your dirty floaters like left over food or soap, do infact leave a large trace. We have a grey water evaporation pond, but please use your water sparingly. If you plan on using a LOT of water, consider a means of disposing of it yourself (either bringing your own evaporation pond or hauling it out in a barrel).

ELECTRICITY (another luxury)

We have a generator, and there will be a place set up to recharge your electronics if needed. This does not mean bring a blow dryer or a hair straightener, those use a ton of power and are impractical being that the playa will provide you with a hair style of its own choosing.

MUSIC

We love music! Yes we have a basic sound system in the bar that you can plug into with a regular headphone jack. We urge you to bring an iPOD with a sweet mix or if you want to DJ, contact Justin Jones to set it up.

NIGHT LIFE

Though you aren’t required to hang around our bar at night and we encourage you to explore the wonders of the playa; this year is the first we have decided to keep the bar open late to host parties onsite. We will probably be open late on wednesday, thursday and friday, but we’ll go with the flow and see how it works. There are plenty of parties out there, but if people want to party at The Bureau, we’re ready to accommodate!

Most importantly we will provide you with all the love, support and fun times you would expect to receive from a loving family!

 

What is expected of you

Yes my dear friends there are expectations of every single member, no one’s immune. Oh but don’t be scared the expectations are pretty simple and would be expected of you no matter where you camped!

Unless you bring your momma to burning man please do not expect anyone to clean up your mess for you. We love you like family but will not clean up after you; wash your dishes and clean up your own MOOP please. (MOOP, by the way, is an acronym for Matter Out Of Place – that is any kind of trash or other substance that is littered or ends up somewhere that it shouldn’t be.)

There is a lot to be done in a camp of this size so please contribute; sign up for a bar shift, dinner set up and clean up or MOOP patrol.

Every citizen of Black Rock City is expected to contribute in MOOP elimination efforts. Whether you plan on being the last man out or leave middle of the week it is your public responsibility to contribute 2 hours of picking up pesky MATTER OUT OF PLACE (MOOP).

Also, when you leave, every car is expected to leave with at LEAST one bag of trash / recycling to help keep the camp clean and make sure the tear down crew doesn’t get stuck with a hundred bags of trash. Please do your part!

If problems arise come and talk to us, its better to immediately resolve any issues then to silently stew on it for a week and explode.

Rules and Regulation

Rules? At Burning Man? I thought this was a place with no rules? WRONG!!!!! Though BRC is as close to Utopia that this world may get, it is a city with a police force that monitors any illegal activity. Besides the Rangers (which are regular folks volunteering for the organization much like a Peace Officer) there are also LEOs (legit Law Enforcement Officials) who will arrest you and/or fine you if the activities you are participating in are illegal.

What does this mean to our camp? Well slingin’ drinks to loving burners is a fun and awesome job, but your responsibility (if you are the slinger) is to ask for I.D. if the person you are serving to looks under age. This may sound crazy, and the person you ask may get offended, but hey they could be trying to entrap you to get you fined. There are undercover LEOs who are looking and even fishing for camps that serve to minors. There is a HUGE fine attached to this of up to a $2000 (who wants to pay that?) so lets NOT SERVE TO MINORS!

Illegal substances may be part of the burning man culture, and we are not here to pass judgment or enforce any laws, but let’s keep any illegal activities out of the camp’s public areas. If someone tries to gift you drugs while you are serving, say no thank you! If you wanna make a drug deal go down, conduct your business other places. You wanna go smoke you “special cigarette”, fine, just don’t do it in our camp’s public areas. If you get caught our whole camp could be ransacked and you could face an arrest and fine. It happens to loads of people, so be smart!

Do not drink while waiting in line to get into BRC if you are the driver, and do not have open containers in the vehicle. You will get a fine if caught.

 

Arrival at the camp and Transportation

The gates of Black Rock City officially open at 6 pm on Sunday August 26th. DO NOT arrive early, if you do you will be placed in a Detention lot for being a bad little burner. Note that the line into BRC on Sunday and Monday will be long, it will take you anywhere from 5-8 hours to get in. Be prepared! Bring snacks (enough to share of course), a book, a movie, some patience will also come in handy. Get out of your vehicle and start interacting with your neighbors. In case of white out (bad ass dust storm) DO NOT get out of the car to walk around, we don’t want you to get run over and miss the whole event!

What to do when you arrive:

Park someplace safe, meaning don’t park in the middle of the road unless you want people to start calling you an ASSHAT. Pull of to the side of the road, come find someone and let them know you are part of the camp; make sure your hands are free so you can start hugging every member of your new family like a maniac. There is a driveway located on Geranium (the street we are camped at), you can cruise down and find a place to park. Please try to keep the cars close together as space is limited! Feel free to leave extra space to unload your gear and then re-park. If you are using your car as part of your shade structure, we will park you on the LEFT hand side so you can be part of the camping area. If you are not sleeping inside of your car, remove everything you will need as soon as you arrive and lock that baby down for the whole week (DON”T LOSE THE KEY!). Playa dust in your vehicle is unavoidable but manageable.

The camping area is HUGE, but this is a camp with lots of people; there should be room for everyone, but be mindful when setting up. Don’t use more space then you need, ensure that there are pathways between tents for easy navigation.

Take a tour of your new home for the next week. No one offered to show you around? That’s ok they are probably busy meeting a punch of new camp mates  just go up and ask someone to show you around. If you see a new person coming in ask them if they would like the GRANDE TOUR of all the amenities.

Now when I said transport  I meant the transport we use while in BRC-our bicycles!!!! There will be a bike parking area right in the car parking area so please park your bikes there. We just want to ensure that your bikes do not become a tripping hazard or that they wont get run over, so please park in a safe area.

Your survival at BRC

Well your survival in BRC will largely depend on how prepared you will be upon arrival. I have compiled a list made up of essentials from Burning Man Organization, past experience and other Bureau Member recommendations so here we go:

Your ticket! You don’t want to get to the gate and realize your ticket is sitting at home. There are no ticket sales at the gate!

Your identification and confirmation number if your ticket is being picked up at will call. Though your confirmation is not essential if the spelling of your name is incorrect it might save you some stress, anxiety and a headache.

A minimum of 1.5 gallons/ 5.7 liters of water/per person/day. This water will be used for drinking, cooking and bathing. I recommend a combo of reusable water carriers and disposable jugs. I recommend using the reusable ones strictly for washing dishes or your body and the disposable strictly for drinking. In years past I have refilled the reusable jugs with the melted ice from our cooler for showering (this only works if the cooler water is not rank or filled with floaters) this does cut down on the amount of wash up water one needs to bring with them.

Your shelter. If you are using a tent make sure that all the mesh areas are covered with fabric, otherwise you will have playa all over your bedding. You must bring rebar to secure your tent to the playa!  There is no other suitable option unless you want your home flying away in a dust storm while you pretend you’re in the Wizard of OZ. Rebar is dirt cheap and can be bought pre-cut at Home Depot. If you have the tools try to bend it in the shape of a candy cane or a staple (to eliminate sharp ends). If you are unable to bend make sure you cover the rebar with tennis balls, stuffed animals or even empty plastic water bottles. People have been impaled by rebar. Legs have been cut open. Cover your rebar!

A shade structure for over your tent. If you think that you will be up all night and sleeping during the day definitely bring a shade structure. Your tent will be boiling hot and it will make sleeping either extremely uncomfortable or nearly impossible. This is not an essential item but it is nice to have.

Your bed. Although sleeping on the ground isn’t awful, making a “nest” inside of your tent is heavenly! Bring a blow up mattress (though they are major heat suckers at night time) or a foam mattress, loads of pillows the works. Sleeping bags are great, but using actual bedding is a ton more comfortable. It gets mighty cold at night especially when you’ve been playing in the sun all day, so ensure you bring bedding that will keep you warm or find a cuddle buddy or host a cuddle party!

A sheet to cover your bed when you are not in it. Yes even a closed tent will sometimes get dusty; by the end of the week it won’t be so comfortable sleeping in a dirty bed.

Bring ear plus and an eye mask. BRC is the city that never sleeps, if you have difficulty tuning out chaos put this on your packing list.

Bring food!* May seem obvious but it seems I keep running into people in BRC asking me where they can buy food, I proceed to ask them if they are joking with a horrified look on my face. I have food recommendations but will post them at the end.

Bring your favorite alcohol. Then bring some extra for your new family to try

Clothes. So 2 sets of clothes per day may be ideal. I’m sure everyone has heard that the temperatures go from one extreme to another, the difference is night and day (pun intended). I didn’t believe it my virgin year and came ill prepared, boy was I sorry! If it isn’t feasible to bring 2 sets of clothing consider bringing things like tights, or leggings to wear under your bright fun shorts; long sleeved shirts and jackets to wear over the short sleeved/cut shirts. Bring a jacket, or 2 or 3! Show off the cute outfits during the day and bundle up and stay warm at night. Bring a hat, wide brim ideal, but make sue it fits snug on your head or has some kind of securing mechanism. With a prediction of an extra dusty desert, the wind might steal your hat. Bring loads of socks and then bring some more. If you brought too many someone may not have brought enough which makes for a perfect gifting opportunity!

Shoes or should I say boots? Well boots are best. Shoes that aren’t tall allow dust to accumulate inside; add in sweaty feet and you have a mini mud pie right inside your footwear. What kind are best to bring? The comfortable kind, the kind that didn’t cost you an arm and a leg, the kind that aren’t your favorite that you cannot live without! Your footwear may become permanent playa foot wear, it is not easy to rid yourself of the dust. If you must bring your favorite pair if they are cloth, pre soak in vinegar+baking soda let the volcano like reaction happen then a few minutes later put into a bucket of water, and let them soak for a bit. It is not a 100% that they will be back to pre playa condition but they will live. If you are bringing leather boots and they look extra parched clean with a water and vinegar solution, then lovingly rub mink oil onto the leather. You will have to do this multiple times but eventually they will shine again. Bring flip flops for around the camp and for mid-night bathroom trips. Flip flops can be worn but not multiple days in a row. If you choose this route beware the playa foot and take precautions. Soak your feet in a vinegar and water solution and use foot lotion. Do not wear flip flops multiple days in a row!

Take care of your skin! Bring sunblock and aloe vera. Spray sunblock and spray aloe works better as lotion+dust=paste but whatever is effective for you will work best. Get baby wipes or the equivalent of. Always wash your skin before bed, keep baby wipes in your sleeping quarters, and give yourself a wipe down before sleep followed by lotion (especially if you are prone to dry skin). Bring lip balm (Buddha Butter recommendation) your lips will love you, and put it on a lanyard for easy access. Take care of your hair. The playa seems like a great hair product! You can make your hair look like a troll doll’s after a few days. If you don’t condition and brush it you might end up loosing some length. Remember the playa dust steals moisture from your body, so replace it! Try to braid your hair once it is clean and use loads of leave in conditioner.

Bring at least 1 towel because we have the ultimate playa luxury———–>showers!

Bring goggles and a dust mask. A particle mask works best (N95)t, but if you are using bandanas or scarves while in a dust storm pour water over the nose and mouth part; the wet cloth provides a superior filter to dry cloth. Sunglasses are ok if its not uber dusty, but will not help you all that much if it is. It is painful to get dust in the eyes so try to avoid it, and be cool walking around with red eyes, but don’t worry everyone else will have red eyes too!

If you wear contacts bring extras, its going to be a dusty one.

Bring your prescription medications, there is no pharmacy in BRC, I believe the closest pharmacy is an hour away. Plus you’ll have to pay $20 fee to leave and re-enter BRC, and wait in line all over again.

Bring garbage and recycling bags. Start sorting garbage into piles on day one; compostables, burnables, recyclables and take-with-youables. Try to avoid bringing glass of any kind, aluminum cans work best since you can drop them off at Recycle Camp (locate in central plaza). Bring a dust pan and broom to sweep out your tent (the mini one’s will do). Bring paper towels.

Bring working gloves for camp erection and tear down. Avoid playa mitt, see playa foot warnings.

Bring rope, bungee ties, zip ties, duct tape, safety pins and a sewing kit. Shit may fall apart, and then we gotta fix it!

Bring a portable ashtray if you are a smoker, an empty Altoid tin works well

Bring lights! This is an important one. You do not want to have your time ruined by having a bike ram into you breaking your leg or arm or anything else. It is pitch black on the playa at night. Please DO NOT be a DARKWAD or DARKTARD. Light up your front and back. One glow stick will not illuminate you enough, neither will 2 and they end up MOOPing the playa or as extra garbage you need to haul out. Get a head lamp and wear it around your neck (wearing it on your head may blind people you are having conversations with), get blinkies or another headlamp to attach to your back. Bring a flashlight. Bring anything that will illuminate you.

If you are bringing a bike, light it up! Bring a bike lock and lock your bike even if you are just going to the bathroom. I’m not saying someone will purposely steal your bike, but they might be really out of it and ride it home. Put your name and playa address on your bike in case who ever “borrowed” it grows a conscience or comes to their senses and returns it. If it gets abandoned somewhere a nice burner may return it. But seriously lock up your bikes…ALWAYS! Attach a bike bell or be prepared to yell “BRING-BRING” to let people know they are either in your way, or as a courtesy to let them know you are behind them.

Pack all of your things in plastic bins. Sort all of your outfits, your undies, all those socks you are going to bring, your everything in clear ziplocs so your clothes will remain clean…until you wear them for 5 minutes. Ladies put your your make up in a tupperwear bin. Put your personal hygiene products into tupperwear bins. You can wipe them off, a suitcase will be a lot harder to clean.

BYOC. Bring your own cup (preferably insulated with a lid for travel) if it has a handle attach a carabiner so you can attach it to your bike, belt, belt loop. Bring plates and eating utensils. Paper plates do not need to be carted out as they can be placed in a burn pile and save you on clean up time.

Bring extra toilet paper and make sure its 1ply. A helpful tip: most hotel carry one ply toilet paper and leave an extra roll, so bring it with you. While we are talking bathroom business make yourself a bathroom kit, include clorox wipes to wipe down the seat and some wet ones to freshen up or clean up tough messes. These items CANNOT go into the potty because they weren’t made in your body (except for the 1 ply TP) so make sure you bring a ziplock to put the used products in and discard back at camp. There is no exception to this. If everyone felt it was fine to put a wipe in the pottie hole, we would have no pottu. If the company cleaning these is unable to do so due to the inappropriate things you throw in there, they will not clean them!

Bring a bag. I do not recommend purses. A Camelbak, backpack, or a waist pack works best. You need your hands free to hug all your new best friends. If wearing a pack on your back ensure a layer between the pack and your bare skin as to avoid any possible skin irritations.

If venturing out even for a small playa adventure make sure you bring a snack like a packet of peanut butter, or an energy bar, and plenty of water. The road to hell is paved with great intentions. What was going to be a 15 min trip turns into a 2 hour adventure.

Bring money for ice and coffee. Yes commerce is allowed at 2 places in BRC; Arctica Ice sales and Center Camp Cafe. The ice is essential for food preservation and costs $4(?)/bag

Parasols are great for providing shade if you are out for a leisurely stroll on the playa

Bring a pen and a pad of paper. You will meet people that you will want to keep in contact with, so get their info! Bring a Sharpie Marker for writing in Temple. They provide markers but they tend to be quite dried out a lot of the time.

While speaking of Temple. If you harbor resentment in your soul for any particular reason, if you need to get something off of your shoulders, if you need to pay tribute to a loved one who passed or if you want to vent. Write it on the Temple walls. Have the fire sent it off in the universe. Its a magical feeling. You might cry, you might feel a little lighter, you may feel nothing. Go write a story on the wall and read other people’s stories. Acknowledge their pain and they will acknowledge yours.

While it is fun getting heckled at the Playa Post Office and they will give you postcards of BRC if you complete ridiculous tasks, they do not supply you with stamps, so bring your own.

Ladies and Gents pain your nails! Its hard to keep the fingernails clean and polish just looks a lot more appealing.

Bring your camera. Maybe avoid bringing one that cost a small fortune because the dust will get into every crack and crevice, and potentially destroy it or wear it down. When carrying it around put your camera inside of a ziplock bag to help protect it from the elements.

Leave your cell phone turned off. Disconnect and surrender yourself to the experience. I believe that having your cell phone on to check messages or post on facebook cant be a HUGE crutch. A ton of veteran burners are very passionate about this, if you choose to use your phone prepare to experience playa snark. I get that you might have a dying relative at home, but unless that’s the case kiss your phone goodbye for a week. Really what’s more important than burning man that week? Nothing!

Finally bring a good attitude, tons of smiles, open arms to hug your 60 000 new best friends, an open mind, some helping hands, some unicorn magic, some grace, child like wonder, patience for Enterus and Exodus, give selflessly, be tolerant and create genuine connections with those around you. Oh and bring a helmet because mind blowing will happen and we need to contain the potential MOOP

Leave NO trace

Seems pretty self explanatory but some people may not understand the impact should we fail. The playa condition is to be exactly the same post event as it was pre. This is why we do not throw garbage on the ground, or dump our grey water in the dust. I know I heard someone last year say that the playa is tough, it does worse to us then we could do to it, blah blah blah, he said this after purposely dropping garbage on the playa and me reprimanding him for it. Imagine if every person attending the event felt and acted like this. What would this mean to the event? Well we might not be able to have it in our desert anymore! Every year about a month after the event finishes; the playa has to go through an inspection by the Bureau of Land Management. Volunteers stay behind for that whole month to return the playa to its former glory; picking up feathers, sequins, jewelry, screws, scraps of paper you get the idea. In order to pass the inspection every acre of the playa must have less than one square foot of MOOP. We all need to take part in caring for our second home or we won’t have one to return to next year.

What can we do to increase our odds of Leaving No Trace?

Pre-event

Don’t bring items that are more likely to fall apart. Feathers, sequins, clothing with loose yarn or fabric should stay at home. If you get searched at the gate with any of these items they might get confiscated.

Reduce you packaging- after buying your food strip down the boxes or packaging that it came in, write what you need to on the now naked product (which will still most likely be wrapped in plastic).

On the playa

Don’t let it hit the ground, and if it does pick it up pronto! MOOP is a magnet it attracts more MOOP, and once a bit of dust blows you won’t be able to see it so get it off the ground!

If you are a smoker carry a portable ashtray or butt your cigarette and put the butt in your pocket. Cig butts are the top MOOP item found on the playa!

If you see MOOP on the playa pick it up! Yes its not yours and yes we should be responsible for our own actions, but the dirty MOOPer who left that behind or dropped it is long gone so be a good citizen!

Tie everything down! I have seen people’s tents be picked up and chucked across the playa by “dust devils” which are like baby tornados. This is why rebar works best!

Do not put anything in the porta potties except for what your body has excreted and 1-ply toilet paper. Be responsible for your own behavior. Don’t think “oh just this once” what if all 60 000 people thought that.

 

Burning Man Shopping List Suggestions

water

coffee/tea

eggs (hard boil a bunch and keep in cooler) or scrambled

cheese

soy or almond milk (individual 250 ml cartons no need to be refrigerated since you will use up all)

yogurt

bacon

energy bars

granola bars

peanut putter—–>individually wrapped (suggestion is a brand called Justin’s and no thats not a joke)

a few frozen microwavable meals, I would suggest only 4 unless you are getting dry ice

canned beans

canned meals (beware the clean up)

bread (but only a small amount it goes stale real quick)

root vegetables last longer and don’t require refrigeration

get only small amounts of “soft” produce: tomatoes, avocados, cucumbers, peppers

apples last a long time and are amazing

oranges

grapes (with your cheese of course)

cereal/granola

nuts (salty nuts are best) pre-shelled

pickles

vinegar

crackers

tuna

coconut water (for electolyte replacement)

electrolyte replacement mix powder like VitaLyte, Emergen-C, Gatorade

oil

spices just basic salt and pepper

chips and salsa

pre-made packaged dry meals

DO NOT GET WATERMELON unless you eat it in the first 2 days

ziplock bags, the big freezer kind

baby wipes

chocolate (keep in cooler) i recommend bacon chocolate (at Whole Foods)

potato chips

booze and mix

iced tea is super refreshing

maple syrup to gift to pancake play house

garbage bags

paper towels

sunblock, aloe vera, lip balm

duct tape

clorox wipes for bathroom kit

zip ties

working gloves

REBAR

Great places to shop for food in Reno: Whole Foods (6139 S. Virginia Street), Trader Joe’s (5035 South McCarren Boulevard), Walmart (4855 Kietzke Lane), Costco (2200 Harvard Way). All of these are located in close proximity and are right off of S. Virginia Street.

Great place for last minute playa outfits and accessories The Melting Pot World Emporium (1049 S. Virginia Street) check out their website they have a teeny fraction of what they carry in store on line!

 

 

Packing List

Need some help packing for Burning Man?  This is an ever-evolving Burning Man packing list that should get you

started!

Tent / sleeping:

  • Tent
  • pillows
  • chaise lounge chairs
  • sleeping bag
  • blowup mattress with sheets
  • Ambien

Shower / personal hygiene:

  • Towels – at least 2
  • Shampoo
  • conditioner
  • toothbrush
  • toothpaste
  • deodorant
  • camping toilet paper (they sometimes run out)
  • lotion
  • sunscreen
  • baby wipes / face wipes (for “showers”)
  • Makeup
  • hair stuff
  • Contacts (extra!)
  • contact solution
  • visine
  • glasses

Costumes!

  • furry vest
  • coat
  • hat
  • legwarmers
  • pasties
  • shorts
  • tights
  • warm clothes for nighttime
  • tutu
  • fishnet
  • bikini
  • comfy shoes/boots (no spiky heels- chunky ok)
  • Comfy sleeping clothes
  • Socks
  • comfy underclothes (put in ziplocks to keep dust-free!)
Transport!
  • Bike
  • Bike lock

Food, Booze, etc:

  • Tuna salad w crackers
  • Lemonade mix
  • Coffee mix (Starbucks) and splenda
  • Grilled cheese
  • Pb&j sandwiches
  • Juice
  • Good beer/white wine
  • Decent liquor
  • Beef jerky
  • Spaghetti-os
  • Sriracha
  • Canned veggies
  • Pringles
  • Lunchables
  • Snack/protein bars
  • Energy drinks
  • Vitamin waters

Water:

  • between 2 and 5 gallons per day

Other:

  • Super glue
  • rope
  • duct tape
  • Zip-ties
  • (you never know when you’ll need these but I guarantee there will be at least 1 occasion!)
  • Books (to read during downtime)
  • Glow/LED stuff
  • Playa cup
  • Misting fan/battery operated fan
  • Full length mirror
  • Goggles