Birgin Oopses, Surpiseses, And Aww Shitses

[Kairielise]

Here's one not on Google (I looked)

When you were a birgin, or any year really; assuming you THOUGHT you were totally prepared; what unanticipated bummers happened to you? In other words, what were the most obscure, "I never would've thought to bring/do/save", occurrences made your burn less pleasant than it would have been had you known in advance. Things like, "I went to pick up/drop off my rental truck/car/bike, and I never expected they would charge me for (insert unexpected, not mentioned on website hidden fee)!" or, "I brought my _______, but I totally forgot the ______ to go with it!", or "I totally expected Store X in Reno/Gerlach to have _____ but they were totally sold out and I was screwed!", or "I brought X amount of money to pay for this particular thing in Reno/Gerlach because that's how much the website said they were, but when I got there the price was MAD GOUGED cuz of all the demand!" Stuff you've never seen mentioned in the survival guide, preparation section, blog, etc. Stuff the 20+ year veterans just expect/take for granted cuz it's always tucked in their BM gear year after year after the first year they realized they needed it and immediately bought it for the following year.

I'm not looking for, "I didn't do any research my first year and showed up with no water" stories. I'm looking for "I researched for 10 months before my first Burn and never found anything mentioning that THIS might happen!)

[FossaFerox]

My EL wire wasn't battle tested, turns out my inverter was a lemon and has a problem with vibration. Dancing would randomly turn it off.

I failed to try on certain components of my gear TOGETHER so that I could make adjustments/plan accordingly. Turned out neither my headlamp nor backpack fit properly in my favorite nighttime outfit even though the pack worked well for daytime wear. This was especially a problem since the pack was my main lighting and water supply. I wound up only wearing the pack during the day, stripping the EL wire and attaching it to a belt (though it wasn't nearly as visible, made me paranoid), carrying a jug of water at night, and wearing the headlamp like a collar. I was stressed about my lighting all week and carrying a 3L jug of water was a pain in the ass. Definitely the main thing I'm looking to improve for next year. I've already started looking into both lighting and water transport options.

I prepared for the dust in all the conventional ways (dust "proofed" tent, plenty of 9211 masks, goggles, etc) but failed to consider the effects of having my nipples effectively sand blasted 21/7 (gotta sleep some time). They HURT by the end of the week.

I misjudged my appetite out there, particularly where snacks were concerned. A wonderful girl in my camp made me a nice batch of jerky and offered to make me more, but I assumed the first batch was enough. I finished the bag Wednesday night/Thursday morning and mourned its absence the remainder of the week.

[lucky420]

my virgin year was spent with my kids, who were also virgins (early 20's)

I had reserved a 16ft truck but was given a 24 ft truck instead. I do not drive big things well around corners, curbs, etc. I ended up running over/hitting 2 stop signs and backing over a camps (not mine) 20 ft bamboo pole that had been set into the ground. I broke it . The male person at that camp came forward to holler at me while his wife (?) was very sweet about it. we found a place to camp shortly after that. I think the deisel fumes and exhaustion were also a contributing factor to my obnoxious driving.

oh and we forgot our cook stove too...

[TT120]

My burgin year I forgot hand lotion and chap stik. I managed to find a half tube of super old chap stik in my truck about halfway through and that saved my lips but my hands were TRASHED by the end. I do NOT forget those items any more.

Also, all my fancy cooking plans go to shit when I hit the Playa. I will only bring snack food and easy to heat canned stuff. Some stuff for sammiches and forget all the fancy steaks and potatoes and stuff.

[JayBobBoy]

Not really a Burgin Surprise, but I had issues all week trying to get drinks at bars. I'm 45 and clearly of age, but many of the camps had been advised to card everyone. A bit of overkill, but I understand why. Because I wasn't prepared I had to keep my ID with me during my travels which made me uneasy.

I met a few people (in my age group) who had taped a color photocopy of their ID right onto their travel cup. I saw a picture of it somewhere too. While it's not a valid ID and might not work if your within striking distance of 21, for those of us who are older, it was an awesome fix.

The first time I was carded, it was flattering, after that it was just a pain in the ass. Adding this to my to do list for next year!

[FossaFerox]

Not really a Burgin Surprise, but I had issues all week trying to get drinks at bars. I'm 45 and clearly of age, but many of the camps had been advised to card everyone. A bit of overkill, but I understand why. Because I wasn't prepared I had to keep my ID with me during my travels which made me uneasy.

I met a few people (in my age group) who had taped a color photocopy of their ID right onto their travel cup. I saw a picture of it somewhere too. While it's not a valid ID and might not work if your within striking distance of 21, for those of us who are older, it was an awesome fix.

The first time I was carded, it was flattering, after that it was just a pain in the ass. Adding this to my to do list for next year!

I also taped a photocopied ID to my cup. I had to show my real ID at several of the larger bars, though. Next year I'm bringing an expired one to carry so if I lose it I don't care so much. Slightly more legit than a photocopy, should bridge the gap nicely.

[AntiM]

Every year we forget something. Always, even when I make lists and supervise the packing. I do a last minute ticket check, and sure enough, a couple years one person had left their ticket at home.

One year we forget the broom to sweep our carpets and groundcovers. One year it was the bucket of spring clamps, and those hold our freaking camp together in many ways. I've forgotten the camp art, which wasn't needed, but made me sad. A trash can a couple years. Dish soap. Our big jug of vinegar. A bag of light up hoods which are to be gifts. I still don't know where my vogmasks went, and this year I've lost my new prescription glasses.

Nothing we couldn't live without.

I haven't found much gouging in Reno, there's simply no need.

[FossaFerox]

I haven't found much gouging in Reno, there's simply no need.

From what I could tell as we idled past Empire the prices there were absurd, and the Wail-Mart in Reno DEFINITELY marked up their prices on "Burner" supplies. They were nice enough to group most everything in the outdoor/covered "Garden" area of the store so we didn't have to actually go inside, but everything they laid out for us was marked up across the board.

If you were brave enough to venture into the store you could find similar products that hadn't been price gouged for most of the stuff, but the store was a nightmare to navigate with that many people in it. It would have been a little upsetting, except that a solid third of their parking lot was taken up by buses, trucks, and RVs clearly headed for the burn, so they probably need to cover their losses.

[lucky420]

oh fuck walmart! losses? those cunts suffer no losses! it's their employees who suffer losses

not venting at you Fossa, just walmart!

[danibel]

This year I could not find my funnel when it was time to drain some gray water into gallon containers. A smart campmate saw me searching through bin after bin and inquired as to what I was digging for. When I told him it was just a funnel, he offered to cut a single use water bottle he had in his tent. Ha! No funnel needed! He snipped the bottom off the plastic bottle and the top fit perfectly into the one gallon. A good use for a single use water bottle, who knew?

[theCryptofishist]

It might do as a pee funnel as well...

[FossaFerox]

It might do as a pee funnel as well...

Oh god, the sharp edges. I don't even have a vagina and I'm cringing.

[Kairielise]

Yeah...ow. But maybe with some duck tape?

[Eric]

Bring multiple pairs of comfortable, well-broken-in shoes. My first year I brought one pair of boots I loved & that were super comfortable - at home. By the end of the week they had totally dried out, and I was having to slice vents into them to relieve the pressure on my feet.

Here's one not on Google (I looked)

Similar topics, but there's probably no way you'd find them, because you'd have to (a) know they were there, and (b) have a vague idea of the names:
Pointless tips that might or might not help you out at all.
The things I did right and things I wish I did right
Give your virgin self ONE piece of advice...

I know there are more, but these are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.

[maladroit]

Yeah, my burgin year actually went really well. If anything I was overprepared...though I did make the same mistake as Eric, which really sucks the joy out of everything. This year I had an array of sock, shoe, boot, powder, and lotion options, and my feet came through 12 days unscathed.

[ygmir]

I'll, too, chime in on the "overprepared" side......in fact I still take too much stuff.

Every year, I leave stuff out, and wonder why I took much of it (other than thinking the ZA my occur while I'm there).
List makes seem to do best, if you can do that.

Even last year, I ended up dumping a couple hundred gallons of clean water, that went unused.

[Elliot]

...

Even last year, I ended up dumping a couple hundred gallons of clean water, that went unused.

Considering you drive a fire engine with a water cannon on top, I'm disappointed in you.

My first year I brought something like 30 pairs of socks, each pair in its own zip lock bag. And I performed the ritual of wash-lotion-socks about three times a day. I've eased up on that a little, but since I knew how much a cracked heel can hurt, I played that one safe.

But I've since had my fingertips crack, which was a big OOOOPS, so now I wear gloves a lot -- with lotion.

[mgb327]

My first year was after I spent 6 months reading everything I could find on what to do/bring/expect. Survival guides, beginners guides, eplaya, I read everything. It was obvious when I arrived on playa, I was so overprepared it was ridiculous. If anyone within earshot of me needed anything, I had three extras of whatever it was. Bacon? 100 pounds. Propane? Tanks of it. Water? I had 30 gallons left. Food? More than I could use, I gifted lots of stuff. I guess the thing I did not even think of then was energy drinks. Monster. Red Bullshit. I stayed up on coffee. Now I pound down Monster and stay out all night. The only other thing I learned after my first year was how wonderful a 3 wheel bicycle is. It is the best. Simply the most perfect mode out there....for me, at least. I do the socks with lotion when I go to "bed", but otherwise, it's flips all the time. Have had zero problems in 3 burns.

[Sham]

My first year I thought of every scenario that could possibly go wrong and prepared well. My luggage was so over weight, but I had everything. I think I even packed a calculator just in case I needed to add some numbers in the desert.

In 2012, I forgot all my shoes and boots. I only had my sneakers that I wore on the plane for the entire time on the playa, then wore them home again. I set them on fire once I got home.
In 2011, I didn't pack any short pants. I just missed it altogether. I have learned not to worry about anything in BRC. It all works out.

[Ano]

I didn't think about a place to put my dirty clothes... or even my clothes I planned on wearing again. Putting them back in the bin makes everything else nasty! And what about the bottoms of my costumey pants, which were definitely touching that weird MOOP on the floors of the potties?

Hmmm... a separate cup for alcohol and water was a dumb epiphany... and then, I thought I'd only drink water from my Camelbak and just have a cup for alcohol... before realizing how un-fucking-pleasant it is to drink from that goddamn hose all the time.

My first year, I also decided that I would just buy a whole bunch of brand new packs of socks to use on the playa. I brought 32 pairs of socks, totally fucking overkill. 32 amazingly soft and fresh pairs of socks. 32 pairs of amazingly soft and fresh childrens socks. To top it off, I wore my brand new shoes to the playa and forgot my worn-in shoes, so I got to break in brand new shoes in childrens socks.

I make dumb mistakes.

[mgb327]

"32 pairs of amazingly soft and fresh childrens socks"....hilarious. You walked me right into that one....

[MikeGyver]

I forget every year that I don't use my Bike... I've brought one every year and only end out using it once or twice then hating it because I worry about it all the time.

Never had a problem with forgetting things though, Like mgb, I usually end out giving things away.

My assumption is living in SoCal and going to the desert all the time makes burning man pretty easy to survive.

[BoyScoutGirl]

I packed too much.

This did not get better on repeat visits.

Sham said it better but it bears repeating, I think: it generally works out.

[ranger magnum]

This is probably true for most you, but I always bring waaay too much food. The upside is that it was all stuff we eat at home, so it wasnt a big deal. Other than one big dinner night with friends, We usually cook pasta and other easy dishes.

Plus, I eat at commisary most of the time, which further eliminates the need for my meals on those days.

[BBadger]

I didn't go for the whole week (though that made it even better the following year).

I didn't bring any shade except for a tarp my friend laid over our oven-tents (we didn't know it would suck so much).

My friend only brought some glow necklaces and glowsticks. I only brought headlamps. Those glowsticks sure weren't very bright after an hour, so we ended up as a bunch of damn darktards. Boy did I overcompensate with lights the following year.

We didn't lock our bikes, despite the fact that I had bought a bike lock and it went with the bike that got stolen, leaving me with the key as my albatross of shame. I was obsessive about locking up the following year.


Oh well. Every time, the moment I arrive I'm always planning for something better to bring the next time.

[VultureChow]

Didn't bring work clothes. I wore jeans and a longsleeve shirt for the drive, and then wound up wearing the same outfit for the first 36 hours as I was getting set up. Some people can weld in a skirt and bunny ears, but I need jeans and boots just to set up shade.

Also, I love cooking, but found the only time I had the stomach for it was for breakfast. So now I only cook breakfast. Steak and/or some backed goods. It's cool out, I'm hungry, it's quiet and I can share my food with others.

[Drawingablank]

My first year I was overprepared to the point of my neighbors not believeing we were birgins, but several things that could have been done better come to mind:

1. Renting an RV - I found this to be a complete waste. We spent virtually no time in there other than sleeping, so It was like a 4,000 dollar moble tent. I have been tent camping all my life, so those who are less outdoorsy may feel differently about this. If I lived closer I would consider bringing one that I owned, but the expense of renting is not worth it for me.

The others have been mentioned above:

2. Shoes - I brought cheap boots that I had broken in and a pair of sneakers. After 2 days the boots were giving me blisters so I wore the sneakers for the rest of the week. By the time of the man burn my feet felt like they were on fire. The first thing I did post playa is buy a new pair of shoes for the drive home.

Year 2 I brought broken in boots and a higher quality pair of sneakers - which self destructed after 4 hours on the playa leaving me with just boots for 11 days. I had blisters under callouses and was limping for a week post burn. The first thing I did post playa is buy a new pair of shoes for the flight home. Being on playa with just lace up boots drove home something else to me - always have at least one pair of slip on footwear (for late night porto runs if nothing else).

This year I learned my lesson well and brought boots, moccasins, and 2 different styles of sneakers. By changing up my footwear every 1 to 2 days I managed to go 12 days on playa without any foot issues.

3. Night time lighting - Although my head lamps, bike lights, and EL wire coat worked out well, all we brought for personal illumination was several hundred glow bracelets. These are a complete and total waste. They lose most of their brightness rapidly and are barely visible 5 yards away. Since then I have used only EL wire and LED blinkies. Just be aware that cheap blinkies have lots of issues with playa conditions so bring a lot of spares (both in quantity and variety), or buy higher quality products such as LED lightsticks (they don't look as cool, but tend to hold up better).

One of our neighbors first year gave me this tip. A good source of colorful 360 degree illunination is to take a 10 foot length of EL wire, coil it into loose loops and wear it like a necklace with the driver in a shirt pocket. Added bonus is that one light will work with anything you wear.

4. Playa Paw - After 2 days I had alligator skin on my hands, after 4 days they were cracked and bleeding. I've given much consideration about why only my hands are affected, after all virtually my whole body gets covered in dust including many areas that are much more sensitive than hands. I have come up with the theory that it is from frequently sticking my hands in the cooler to grab a PBR. Getting wet frequently is the only thing that makes my hands different from any other skin on my body on the playa. I suspect many playa foot sufferers are having a similar issue with sweaty feet. These days I minimize cooler water contact as much as possible and, apply hand lotion a minimum of 4 to 6 times a day.

[FlyingMonkey]

...

Even last year, I ended up dumping a couple hundred gallons of clean water, that went unused.

Considering you drive a fire engine with a water cannon on top, I'm disappointed in you.

My first year I brought something like 30 pairs of socks, each pair in its own zip lock bag. And I performed the ritual of wash-lotion-socks about three times a day. I've eased up on that a little, but since I knew how much a cracked heel can hurt, I played that one safe.

But I've since had my fingertips crack, which was a big OOOOPS, so now I wear gloves a lot -- with lotion.

LOL, having read your other posts I now have a mental image of you working on bikes wearing only bright white socks & gloves.

Now that’s a Burning Man post card moment. Suitable for framing.

[Savannah]

Playa Paw - After 2 days I had alligator skin on my hands, after 4 days they were cracked and bleeding. I've given much consideration about why only my hands are affected, after all virtually my whole body gets covered in dust including many areas that are much more sensitive than hands. I have come up with the theory that it is from frequently sticking my hands in the cooler to grab a PBR. Getting wet frequently is the only thing that makes my hands different from any other skin on my body on the playa. I suspect many playa foot sufferers are having a similar issue with sweaty feet. These days I minimize cooler water contact as much as possible and, apply hand lotion a minimum of 4 to 6 times a day.

Agreed about the moisture being a catalyst. It took me 4 or 5 Burns before I ever tried limited exposure, & the only year I ever started to get playa foot I was wearing snug-fitting, fashionable flip flops that trapped both sweat and dust.

If I wear loose, inexpensive flip flops around camp instead, my feet don't sweat and the dust doesn't get trapped under my toes.

(Nevertheless, I still limit my flip-flop time, inspect my feet, & observe a cleansing/moisturizing routine.)

[FlyingMonkey]

Like many others, I planned on going to Burning Man a few years before actually doing so, so I read everything I could find, hooked up with my regional group, & in the end over prepared. Way too much food & water, but that's not a bad thing when you have a bus. I did find that as I got closer & closer to the event I had less & less time for making costumes & such. I really stressed out about this & probably only got around 20-30 hours of sleep the week before heading on our 2000 mile journey. I even taught myself how to sew two nights before leaving (poor time management). In the end I only did about half of the stuff that I planned to, & to this day I have not worn my glowing speaker boots.

The one thing I learned upon arrival was "DON'T PANIC" it will all work out. If you don't get everything done to your level of perfection, it's Ok. Don't try to do too much on your own & focus your efforts on what you can reasonably get done. Above all else start early (like NOW). I have plans for a new Playa bike and would love to build an art car(some year) if time permits. I have prioritized what I need to get done & in the end it's just the small "nice to have" stuff that will get dropped.

Trust me when I say that stressing out before the event can really affect your attitude & get in the way of actually enjoying what this is all about.

START NOW!