Walk in camping expectations

[mixedgas]

Good morning,
New to this whole ePlaya thing, but not to BRC. I haven't been since 2015 and it was too crowded for my tastes where I camped that year. I'm interested in your thoughts re: walk-in camping. We are completely self-sufficient tent campers needing only the occasional ice run.

1. Is walk in camping accessible by bike / tricycle? How about art car?

2. I hear BRC has been filling up early in the week, how about walk-in camping, has that remained available throughout the event?

3. How available is parking in the back row for walk-in campers?

4. Any rules (or community standards) I should be aware of for walk-in camping (generators, art cars, etc?)

5. Hypothetically speaking, could someone bike-in their supplies and set up a small camp without much drama? I was planning to use a small utility trailer hooked to my trike to move supplies in from my truck which I plan to park in the back row.

6. Any recommendations on which section of walk-in camping is better/worse for whatever reason?

Thanks all for any thoughts on the above, or any other thoughts you have on walk-in camping!

[Jackass]

No motorized vehicles, other than that everything you speak of is there for the taking.

There's virtually no one out there.

You'll want to bring your own bucket too, there are no cans out there.

[mixedgas]

Cool, thanks for the reply. We have a proper porto (Thetford curve) so that part is easy.

What is the current attitude towards e-bikes at BRC, are those still unregulated?
Thanks

[mixedgas]

From the 2019 survival guide under walk-in camping:

"A large area past L Street between 2:00 and 5:00 is reserved for
walk-in camping. Camp without cars! No vehicles or RVs are
allowed. You must leave your vehicle along L street and carry your
belongings to your chosen spot. The sheer difficulty of this
exercise keeps Walk-In Camping sparsely populated, and your
efforts will be rewarded with a sense of solitude unavailable in
other parts of the city."

I'm asking for input here because technically a bike is a vehicle (at least under Oregon law). That said, my expectation is that bikes are allowed in walk-in camping.
Thanks

[Jackass]

Bikes are allowed everywhere in BRC

[sadie]

Last time I was there, in 2018, I believe there was a bank of portos way out there...it may have been a mirage though.
I will say that finding a place to leave your vehicle along L street could be a challenge.

[some seeing eye]

Depending on where you are, it can be a short bike ride to the airport, which is mainly a dawn to dusk +- small hangout lounge, and has portos. It's not really a party camp, because they are doing stuff involved with operating safely, but they are fun-loving jokesters. That side of BRC can sometimes be less dusty, prevailing wind-wise.

Take a look at the last high res satellite map published (maybe a few years ago)

[burner von braun]

Yep, I noticed that by mid-week cars were double parked in some areas, in effect blocking the first layer of cars in. I imagine if you really needed to leave early though, you could work it out.

Regarding ebikes, I believe that there is a limit on the motor, a certain maximum of watts if I recall correctly. Personally, I've never heard of that being enforced; but possibly if you find yourself in trouble already, they might take a look. I imagine if you were to hit someone with it, you'd face consequences. (not saying "you" in particular, just you as in anybody)

What I have seen, is people riding them at high speeds out there. Not just way distant out in deep playa, which sort of seems ok to me, but also weaving in and out of heavy pedestrian traffic at night at a high rate of speed, which isn't. I wouldn't want to get walloped by one of those, and I doubt they would wind up liking it either.

There are some great threads pertaining to bikes here on eplaya, worth a read.

[Canoe]

... What is the current attitude towards e-bikes at BRC, are those still unregulated?

It's not unregulated.
It must be a legal e-bike under Nevada law.
Max three wheels, has working pedals, etc..
Trailers for bikes seem pretty liberal. Haven't seen powered trailers.
Speed limit 5 mph. This helps prevent collisions, but it's real purpose is to limit the severity of injuries when there is a collision.
A lot of e-bikes not respecting the speed limit. If they're doing an arc wide of traffic across from one side of the city to another, doesn't seem to be any harm. Even seen some at 20 mph. But there's idiots doing that through slower bikes and people walking - which in addition to risk to those present, could end up ruining it for all e-bikes.
LIGHT AT NIGHT! Be seen!
Good idea to have something on the trailer too, so people know it's there.
Light wands/whips like flag poles are a good idea. You can put LED strips up white PEX tube and run a light show from a fairly cheap controller off amazon, ebay, etc..
With that 5 mph limit, a deep-cycle 12 VDC battery can often do a fair job moving a bike/trike around in a DIY setup. A lot cheaper than a Li pack. And a trailer should have room for a spare.

(If I remember correctly, the e-scooter styled e-bikes are not allowed (I'm guessing weight, injury severity). You'd need to confirm that. And it could change for any year.)

[gaminwench]

We've been in two collisions with e-bikes, in the city.

Both were at intersections on 3, late at night.

Neither stopped to assess damage.

We've campmates that L)VE to e-speed deep playa; city speeds should be safer.

[mixedgas]

Thank you everyone! I'll do some homework on Nevada definitions of eBike before I go putting a small motor assist on my trike. That said, my ethos is "slow is the new fast."

I think I'll give walk-in (aka bike-in) camping a shot in 2021. Back in 2013 we ended up with an entire block to ourselves (out at like 8 and M or something? they added several new blocks after general admission started). It remains our best camping experience at BRC. The view, privacy, and serenity were totally worth a slightly longer bike ride.

I'm pretty sure I could find somewhere to park my truck for the week, maybe up by a bank of portos where nobody wants to camp, or the interior of a block, etc.

I recall seeing huge parking lots when I last attended for (I presume) members of large theme camps. It looked like a rental car lot and was kinda ridiculous (IMO). I'm curious if the need for vehicle passes has materially mitigated the number of vehicles showing up (I suppose it must if they cap the number of vehicle passes?)

Anyway, thanks again!
Mike

[burner von braun]

Yeah, that idea of creating a parking lot along the outer ring on the north side of the city lasted all of one burn...

It is best to park in your own camp, or in this case, on the outer side of the outermost street alongside where you plan to venture out into walk-in camping. There is a rope fence that denotes the boundary. The city is really packed these days, with most of the space pre-allocated to registered theme camps, so stray parking is frowned on.

Here is this...
https://burningman.org/event/art-perfor ... protocols/

As you probably already realize, a lot could change between now and when BMorg can pull the formal event together again.

[sadie]

yes. the parking lot...was it 2016?
it was supposed to be on the outer side of L street, but whoever was the first to go park landed on the outer side of K street....and all the ducklings followed. There was an enormous block of just cars. I'm sure it was great for the camps that didn't have to find a place for all of them, but it really sucked for everyone looking for a little plot of land to build a solo badass camp.

[Canoe]

Thank you everyone! I'll do some homework on Nevada definitions of eBike before I go putting a small motor assist on my trike. ...

That's just a prerequisite. Find the most recent e-bike rules for BRC. Those were 'published' and discussed on eplaya. You'll likely have to google to find them - eplaya search regularly fails to report its own contents.