Marking of camp layout

[Elliot]

For years I have felt the urge to use up-side-down spray paint to mark camp layout, but of course we don't do that.

I have used flagging tape attached to spikes, but the wind tears the tape, as does driving over it.

DPW and Placement use wire shaft flags. This seems near ideal, but I have not had much luck pushing those into the ground by hand. How do DPW and Placement do it? Is there a tool for shooting those into hard ground?

Marking becomes more important this year, what with the new Fire Lanes. Here's an idea:

I put a 3/8 grommet in a scrap of fabric, and drove a 3/8 spike thru the grommet (tight fit). Hammer this flush with the ground.
To remove such spikes I use a small crow bar (wrecking bar, the flat kind) with the nail slots ground out to fit the spike. Easy peasy.
You would want to use sturdy fabric that will stay intact.
8" long spikes should do it in most places, but I will bring some 12" for loose ground. We don't want these to "go walkabout".

Grommets and spikes (large nails) are at the hardware store -- or at least some stores. HD has spikes, I think. Grommets come in two kinds of packages: with the tool, and without ("refills"). Buy one with the tool and as many "refills" as you need.

[Captain Goddammit]

Well you could mark your territory the way the animals do...

[lucky420]

^^

We use wooden stakes. We're therefore also protected by vampires

[trilobyte]

Fire lane requirements (for camps 150x150 or larger) are not new. If your camp is smaller than that, you are certainly welcome but not required to have one.

Using placement flags is really easy. With one hand at ground level, hold flag in place and guide it. With the other hand further up, push down. Your guide hand will keep it heading in the right direction and keep it from buckling or getting horribly bent.

[maladroit]

Guiding stuff so they go in the right place and don't get horribly bent is always important.

To mark boundaries and lanes, I'd probably go with 12" nails or tent stakes pounded into the playa, and bright colored paracord looped between the pegs like string art. The key element of that plan: it uses things that are generally useful and multipurpose and possibly already on hand.

[Ratty]

I cut 10" triangles of sparkly , non-moopy fabric and sewed them onto some sturdy trim. (Just like a used car lot banner only pretty). I worry that after the gates open I'll come home and find strangers camped with me instead of strange friends.

[TT120]

I've never had any trouble pushing those DPW marker flags into the Playa by hand. I must have done about 200 last year and it was easy peasy.

[Elliot]

Sounds like I must have hit an unusually hard area when I tried it. So I reckon I will bring a bundle of those. They have the advantage of being cheap, which the spikes are not. (I still want a tool that shoots them into the ground with a .22 cartridge or some such. )

[LowePro]

Yeah, never had too much trouble using pin flags out there,
but there's this: www.flagthumper.com

[Elliot]

I knew there had to be a tool for this. But at $179.... Now I need an old rifle barrel of just over 1/4 inch bore. Then I can use common 1/4 inch rod as the ram.

[Rusted Iron]

We pound in t posts in every corner then drop a road cone over them. We thought about running string line between them but never felt that motivated to do so...