How to Prep for Burning Man
Hey campers! Here is a list of how to go about having your best playa experience. You need to bring Everything you can think of to survive camping in the desert for a week. Burning Man provides only porta potties and a place that sells ice. Radical self reliance is the buzz word.
BURNING MAN TICKETS: Chakralicious Camp prides itself on conscious honesty within the camp. So if you have an extra ticket to sell, PLEASE SELL IT AT THE FACE VALUE/SHIPPING COST OF THE TICKET and no more that that please.
- Get your car maintained before you go — and fill it up completely with gas when you get to Reno or Sparks. Don’t wait until you’re in Gerlach.
- Make sure your AAA bill is paid. Flat tires do happen.
- pack everything in ziplocs
- put the ziplocs in large plastic bins.
- put your toiletries in little ziplocs, arranged by how often you use stuff (most frequently in one bag, rarely used in another bag.) And then put those baggies in a medium sized plastic box. Label the box.
- bring a makeshift “sink” – like a bowl — for doing contact lenses and such…saline in squirt bottles for cleaning lenses.
- Charge your cell phone BEFORE you get to the playa. A car charger is a great thing to have, and there’s no guarantee of being able to charge anything once you arrive.
- Spray bottle & soap makes a nice personal shower.
- bring work gloves
- a pee bottle is a good idea. Make sure you use a clear bottle and mark it. You can empty it later at the port a potties.
- babywipes. the makeup remover kind, the unscented kind, the antibacterial kind…you can’t have too many. Buy the refills — they seal up better than the dispensers, which tend to evaporate.
- bring extra trash bags for blankets, etc. to be stored in.
- bring a trash bag for your dirty clothes
- bring an old sheet to go On Top of your bed during the day. If there’s a dust storm when you’ve gone, your bed is protected. Shake it off and then you always have a clean bed!
- a copy of all your favorite events, workshops, parties, etc from the playaevents.burningman.com website
-a wristwatch to attach on to the handlebars of your bike. No need to carry around your expensive cell phone, tell time the old fashioned way.
- if you ever want to see it again, put your name on it, please.
And…
Bring a CLEAN CHANGE OF “NORMAL” CLOTHES IN ZIPLOC BAG to leave in car for the drive home:
-sandals
-shorts/jeans
-t shirt
-socks
-underwear
-clean towel
AND Put your “Playa Bag” of playa essentials and your work clothes and work gloves next to you in the front seat. If you arrive on playa at 4 am, or it’s storming…you can grab the bag and have your necessities (like goggles) at hand – it’s a drag if they are buried beneath boxes and you haven’t unpacked yet.) If you arrive late, you’ll need a warm coat handy too.
Here is the packing list–it’s just the basics and does not include costume
Documents:
Burning Man ticket-don’t leave home without it!
BRC early arrival pass(if you’re on the early arrival crew)
Map of CA and Nevada
Directions or GPS
Pick up ICE, fill water bottles and Dry Ice in Reno