“Keep away from camps which might be offering ‘companies’ like stylists, hair and make-up, employees, or anybody bundling housing and tickets,” Feldman says. “These are pink flags. The individuals who might be tenting there most likely 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 many others.”
If you’d like a extra sustainable camp, search for one which brings their meals scraps to a composting camp, collects cans to convey to Recycle Camp, and has some form of photo voltaic array.
One trick to find out how good a camp is, is to test 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 word 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 nasty signal.
Decide Your Shelter
Your choices for shelter embrace a tent, an RV or a trailer. You would additionally strive a Shiftpod, a reflective shelter designed by burners for desert tenting.
Hardcore burners will swear up and down that you simply don’t want air-conditioning to get pleasure from your burn—only a battery-powered fan in your tent—however which may not be true for for much longer. Close by Reno, Nevada, is heating up faster than any other city as a consequence of local weather change.
“As a lot as I hate AC models as a result of they’re unhealthy for the atmosphere, they are often critically life-saving relying on the warmth,” says Collins. She says you could find a used AC unit for between $200 and $500. In case your camp doesn’t present energy, you’ll must convey a small generator—photo voltaic panels can’t deal with an AC unit.
If you happen to do tent camp, make sure that your camp has a quiet, nicely shaded, and even air-conditioned shared lounge space the place you may nap through the day. Or know the place your folks with air-conditioning are staying, in case of emergencies.
The hexayurt constructed from taped insulation panels was once extra common, however it’s annoying to construct and transport, so the Shiftpod, an insulated dome that sleeps two comfortably, has largely taken its place. In reality, 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 would possibly get a Shiftpod sooner or later.
The Shiftpod sells for $1,600, is available in a big duffel, and might be arrange in 20 minutes. It retains mud out fairly nicely, and people who stayed in them throughout last year’s deluge reported that their flooring stayed dry. “Severely, a terrific funding,” Collins says.
Many burners who fly into a close-by metropolis decide to choose 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 a minimum of $2,000 per particular person for rental, charges, and gasoline), 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.
Determine How You’ll Get There
You will get to the burn (so as of value) by taking the Burner Bus, driving your personal automobile in, driving an RV in, or flying in.
