SO MUCH STUFF

[mattandjess]

Hi Everyone,

any advice would be appreciated as we are starting to panic... me and my girlfriend are 23, from England and are starting our world backpacking trip with burning man.

we are so excited for this, but we are reading up on all of these articles and trying to plan how we are going to get everything sorted. we are open to the idea of trying to join a camp, or even going solo. but the problem we have is how are we going to get all of our stuff to BRC and to our eventual camp site? we dont have any kind of vehicle and 1 gallon of water per person per day, 7 days of food, camping gear and bikes seems like an insane amount of stuff for us to try and get on the burner express and then to our site.

obviously there must be people every year with this same problem so any suggestions would be great!

we look forward to meeting you all in BRC

M&J

[VultureChow]

Calm down, deep breaths. You can do this. read this post on how someone managed to make it work.
https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic ... 0#p1043968

Having two people actually makes it easier. You share a tent and other supplies so you should have some more wiggle room. Good luck.

[Elliot]

Indeed. It will be fine.

No first hand experience, but I seem to understand that Burner Express can handle this. For one thing, each bus is accompanied by a luggage truck. Study their website. And stick around here on ePlaya where most questions have already been answered.

[Sham]

Also, read all the first timers information you can. In my signature below you will find some good reading.
Everything always works out. Plan as much as you can, and all the fill-in details will happen for you.

Welcome to eplaya and look forward to seeing you in Black Rock City.

[Popeye]

What Sham said.
If you are starting on a world backpacking tour you are not carrying more stuff than will fit on the bus. It might be tight but it is very doable. Two people traveling together carry less stuff than two people traveling separately.
What you may not have thought of is how dusty everything will be when you leave playa. Budget a couple of days in Reno with a shower, a washing machine and some calgon. https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic ... on#p989161

[dragonpilot]

And the water part...understand that bags of ice (an unheard of commodity in the UK) are available for sale in 8 lb bags and 10 lb blocks. What happens to ice in the heat? Yes, it melts! What can one do with melted ice if it's kept clean? Right again, you can drink it!

Just have a suitable ice cooler to keep it out of the dust. With a little bit of daily management you'll have a ready supply of potable water. I'd still say bring in a few gallons of bottled water, but you can get by without hauling a lot of heavy water.

[maladroit]

The survival guides will tell you what you need to bring...the ten principles tell you who is responsible for figuring out how to get it there

[graidawg]

as douglas adams put on the cover of his book "don't panic"

the bus will ave enough space for you and your stuff. dont worry too much about booze, there are more bars than you can shake a really big stick. also bikes are available (the green bikes which are yellow, or the other way round)

Personally i would think more about after - you are going to be dusty, dirty and a little disoriented. plan for a few days in reno to get clean up, get used to paying for stuff again and unwind - if you havent been to bm before it will very likely have a profound effect on you. Also your stuff will be suffering, tents are never the same after a week in the desert (much like people). Book a stay at the sands regency, which is packed with burners and has a pool or one of the other hotels burners use.
try and get your head round what just happened to you.

I personally am always a little jealous of first timers, because you can only go for the first time once and it is just incredible.

[FIGJAM]

You are starting this epic adventure at Burning Man?

I'm afraid the rest of your adventure will seem anti-climactic after the playa!!!

[Token]

This type of device becomes real handy out there and has many uses.

Can use to pack all kinds of stuff on the way in.

If you add some Tupperware containers to it, you can supplement your water by using ice melt as mentioned earlier in the thread.

It serves well as a seat, a mini-table, cup holder.

[mattandjess]

A huge thank you to everyone to replied to us, we are really so grateful and the panic has gone (almost). We have booked a few days in Reno after as cool down period is essential like you guys said. We also feel a lot more confident about bringing water/luggage.

We are so excited and thank you all so much, any other helpful tips would be very useful. Also with shade structure for the tent is it essential? and what shall we use for it? and would you recommend joining a camp before we set off?

Thanks again!
Matt and Jess

[dragonpilot]

Joining a camp sometimes solves a lot of logistics issues, but there's always the risk that you find yourself in a camp that doesn't suit you and has the potential of ruining your Burn. Many camps expect lots of time, work and money from participants...not all, but many. Use this first year to be free to come and go as you please, learn the culture, explore the various camps and get to know them before making a "sight-unseen" commitment.

[socks2]

Matt and Jess

May we offer you a place in our camp Golshan
We bring in international newbies every year
And it's been a great experience.
We have a small camp that been on the playa
for 13 years so if this interests you please contact

socks2

[Jackass]

ATTENTION Burner Express Riders: If you can manage to get one of these in Reno or bring in your luggage, you will be extremely well served to have one... Will definitely help keep you together for the schlep.


You know how much stuff you can tie, stack and bungee to one of these things?...

basket.jpg

[Molotov]

So, for those espousing the buy ice, let it melt, drink the water routine, consider the following:

10 pounds of melted ice will yield 1-1/4 gallons of water given 100% efficiency. If you use any ice for drinks, etc. it will be even less. And, if you use the ice in alcoholic or caffeinated drinks, it can be a negative sum, given that both of those dehydrate you.

An eight pound block will give you slightly less than 1 gallon of melt water.

A gallon to 1-1/4 gallon of water per day is marginal given that the survival guide recommends not less than 1-1/2 gallon per day. So, you may end up buying 20 lbs of ice or two ice blocks a day just to get enough water to drink.

And what if rain or another calamity shuts down the ice haulers?-you could be screwed.

[pink]

Bring in a few of those 2.5 gallon suitcases (2 to a case- get them still boxed) and strap them together to use as one of your luggage pieces. Do not show up without water!

[Indigoqueen]

M&J,

It looks like you guys have received a lot of helpful information. If you're looking to still join a camp we hope you'll consider Cyberia.
We've been around the last 3 years (but our members have been to Burning Man before they started to create a camp.
You can view our menu, see the details and photos of our camp all on our website: campcyberia.org
We build and maintain our camp with the help of everyone, and we want to ensure that everyone's experience in our camp is a positive one.
This year we'll feature yoga and meditation classes, snow cones, Shibari (Japanese rope bondage) and we've just had a hoola hoop artist join - so that'll be great fun!

Best to you both!

Regards,
Saphira

[Drawingablank]

Welcome, and no need to panic.