arriving at 0 dark 30

[art walsh]

If you plan to arrive in the middle of the night...

You will be tired and wanting some sleep, but need to mark your camp area.

I've used this when camping for marking an area (limits of where the kids could go !!)

Get some solar LED path lights - you can get them for less than $1/each in 12 or 24 packs. Fancy ones are higher.
Charge them ahead of time and make sure they are turned off.

After parking your vehicle, simply turn on the lights and stake out your camp site. A pack of 24 would outline a 20x30 campsite easily with lights every 4-5 ' Get some sleep...

Another option is tea lights - battery powered. Can get color changing and/or flickering ones. Good for 3+ days on each battery. Possibly cheaper to buy double quantity than extra batteries simply replace as the batteries dies.

[Canoe]

Cool! Look, someone's gifting little lights!

Difficult to know what's good for claiming/'reserving' territory, when if it's not a placed camp, it's supposed to be first come first served.

Perhaps to go with those lights, a perimeter rope or strap properly secured to the ground, and in a manner where it won't blow away nor trip anyone.

Astro turf and old rugs have been used to cover essential space. There's also the white picket fence as 'performance art'...

[Token]

I’ve been out there ten times and I gotta say …

There is ZERO chance of being tired when you get there. NULL, ZILCH.

Time of day makes no difference.

So the original premise is a non-starter.

And then there is this sleep thing…

If you go to BM and you actually sleep … you’re doing it wrong …

… it’s all about the naps in strange places and the stories surrounding it.

[some seeing eye]

If you go to BM and you actually sleep … you’re doing it wrong …

… it’s all about the naps in strange places and the stories surrounding it.

I don't think is is dignified to sleep in Center Camp daylight hours. Sometime in 1999-2001 someone built a building out of hay bales about 30 feet by 30 feet filled with mattresses, relatively dark, and air conditioned, deep playa, mid playa? No map, no announcement, you just had to find it. For night, there was also a dream machine surrounded by an about 15 foot platform covered in stuffed animals to sleep at night.

People have been known to just crash out in other camp's living rooms.

There need to be more nap camps!

As for the OP perimeter, someone should build a self-powered flame effect, "The great and powerful oz has spoken, get off my lawn!"

T-stakes are a PITA to drive, but construction fencing is good. Take a photo of your boundaries, in case someone tries to move in while you are asleep. Sleep zombies will do strange things in the night to get land.

[asteroid]

I’ve been out there ten times and I gotta say …

There is ZERO chance of being tired when you get there. NULL, ZILCH.

Time of day makes no difference.

My first year we pulled in to camp at 4am, in a windstorm ... some naps were had. Learned my lesson — since then, I've either stayed up to watch the sunrise, or taken the drive in two days. At 12h road time + traffic + stops + gate, Seattle is just barely too far for one day.

This year we hit a deer between Chemult and Klamath at night in the dense smoke (AQI 400+, visibility about 500ft, eyes watering). Never doing that road at night again if I can help it.

[some seeing eye]

This year we hit a deer between Chemult and Klamath at night in the dense smoke (AQI 400+, visibility about 500ft, eyes watering). Never doing that road at night again if I can help it.

Yep. I've hit a deer, different state, not Burning Man. Funniest thing, since it was a rental, I need a late night police report for insurance. The officer filled out owner of the other vehicle as State of _ Department of Wildlife.

I come from Portland and we would get a motel in K-Falls inbound.

This would be about 99. Our little downtown motel had a pool we used, and a cafe for breakfast. In the caffe we overheard a deep radio-type voice a few tables over. It was an elderly dude in a cowboy hat regaling three elderly women fawning. He was talking about the Internet coming, how they needed to get on it, and how to do that.

We have also stopped at Summer Lake Hot Springs inbound and outbound. It is a friendly burner concentration. There is a gentlemen who graciously posts here every year his hot springs way station in NorCal for a burner stop in and out.

I usually try to arrive maybe 4PM or 4AM for camp setup.