Advice on finding people to camp with

[Elderberry]

NB13: A prediction for you (if my trusty crystal ball, given to me by the late Harrietta Hoodunmee is to be believed). You will arrive, late, exhausted, and near death, on a Sunday. You will crash-out in a veritable heap after getting through Gate and Greets. You will HATE this fucking thing known as "Burning Man". Later, you will awake to a city in flux and turmoil, smoke and dust, and the landscape will have changed radically from just 6 hours ago. You will meet a half-naked Valkyrie who insists on cooking you breakfast and reading your fortune. The thought of a high-colonic irrigation session will not send you screaming. You may even agree to this because at some cosmic level, your Inner Hippie demands it. You will then find yourself honor-bound to be the Big King Sandwich Maker for his/her camp at lunch and discover culinary talents you never imagined you could possess. Knifes will speak to you. Cheese is putty in your hands. Bread becomes your bitch. Sandwiches will be made. And it will be Good. Someone will name you, and other will anoint you with this name. Thereafter you will be sucked-in to the communal vortex of a camp and find you can not escape. You will enjoy this. Crisis and Drama will ensue. Friends will be made, and coolers will be emptied. You will forget to drink water, and you will break down into Primal Man. You will sob. And curse. Then you will visit the Temple. And the Man. A guy named "Peaches" wearing nothing but a tutu and a marble pouch will offer you a tea ceremony in the deep playa under the stars at midnight. You will DisOrient. And then we will set you to Burn. Time will stand still and the universe will roll around you. You will meet people from an imaginary past and promise to see them in a distant future. Fire. Dust. Lust. And then you will find yourself on the road to home, and you will swear by the Gods and their Keepers that NEXT YEAR, (and fuck a duck!), you will be back.

Or something.

In other words, just follow your nose. Something as simple as someone cooking bacon may answer your Soul Call and become the nexus of your burn.

Go with it. Be the ball. Explore the possibilities. Rule nothing out. And dont even try to explain it to the folks back home. They won't believe you anyway.

Damn that was good.

[BurnerMelW]

I'm a newbie looking for yummy camp mates too!

Get in touch! Melissa Warshavsky

[sandfly]

Wow. I just got a shock ... discovered that none of the people I've gone to BRC with for the last 9 years have tickets. Some have dropped out. The others just didn't get tickets. Maybe they will, but I have a bad feeling about this.
So, my immediate thought was, "How long can I wait for my friends trying to get tickets before I have to sell mine. I DO NOT want to go to BRC alone, and I don't want to eat the ticket." The thought of going alone was (as the Pope said about birth control) inconceivable.
I've now read various posts about people going solo. Some say or imply that this is common, but I've seen few people camping solo in my years there.
Then I started reading about people who've found it to be an adventure to go solo. I especially liked GreyCoyote's post about how miserable it will be ... at first. Even with my friends, it usually takes me about a day to adjust, upon arrival, to the fact that I am in such a hellacious place. It also occurs to me that, since I'm in the Bay Area, it's very likely there'd be somebody who'd like to get a ride, so I wouldn't even be driving alone.
OK, you've convinced me -- I'm not selling my ticket. I'm going to Burning Man! It's been an adventure every other time I've gone, one way or another, and this will be another one.
Thanks to all who advised.

[FIGJAM]

You've been to Bm before, so this is just another aspect of the adventure.

[jasonwentcrazy]

Just show the fuck up. You'll be instantly surrounded by 86,000 of your beast fiends.

Your impulse to hyper-plan your trip to the playa is understandable. The basics of shelter, food and water are obviously worth having completely figured out. But as far as trying to find even a few people that you might be able to sync up with I think you're expending more energy than you need to. I'd definitely suggest what Ugly Dougly advised. It's just the truth for sure. Show up. You're friends and camp mates are already there.

When you come to Burning Man with your basics covered and a willingness to participate in the whole of the event you'll see how fast you'll meet your new lifelong friends. and I figure it'll work like this:

You'll arrive alone but you'll be prepared enough for the basic survival needs. Since you're not a formal part of a Theme Camp proper then you'll drive in and look for some vacant real estate that feels groovy to you. You'll know where to camp because you'll probably know where not to camp. [Theme Camps will have their spots taped off and you'll spot the lots that are claimed already.] You'll stop at a place that looks good and you'll ask any of the nearest neighbors if that's a cool place to pitch your tent.

Your neighbors will notice that you have supplies and a tent and water and that you aren't some instant-burden on their good will and they'll help you finish setting up. Then you'll help them and, buddy, you've found people to camp with! As the hours pass you'll see more people driving slowly around looking for a spot to camp and you'll yell at them and ask if they need a place and you'll start helping them like you were earlier and they will feel like lucky noobs for having found a friendly and knowledgeable neighbor such as yourself.

And next year none of you will have to do it that way since you'll be working this out a couple of months after the Man burns.

[AntiM]

And next year none of you will have to do it that way since you'll be working this out a couple of hours after the Man burns.

ftfy

[leafx]

newbie13

im a first timer as well and i am straight up camping by myself, not sure where exactly but i think ill be around the 6 or 615 & I area
you can see me get ripped apart by eplaya here where i asked some stupid questions and pointed out glaringly wrong details on my burn plan - viewtopic.php?f=3&t=73942
and see a conversation on shade setup for soloers here - viewtopic.php?f=277&t=70367

i was born and raised in la/orange county but now temporarily transplanted in chicago, i could use a meetup with a stranger from home cough i need a buddy to roam the playa with cough

[Savannah]

newbie13

im a first timer as well and i am straight up camping by myself, not sure where exactly but i think ill be around the 6 or 615 & I area
you can see me get ripped apart by eplaya here where i asked some stupid questions and pointed out glaringly wrong details on my burn plan - viewtopic.php?f=3&t=73942
and see a conversation on shade setup for soloers here - viewtopic.php?f=277&t=70367

i was born and raised in la/orange county but now temporarily transplanted in chicago, i could use a meetup with a stranger from home cough i need a buddy to roam the playa with cough

This is how Stag Camp and Hotel Rug camp formed, possibly Orphan Endorphan Camp too, if I remember correctly: people just banding together and sharing their stuff.

Wow. I just got a shock ... discovered that none of the people I've gone to BRC with for the last 9 years have tickets. Some have dropped out. The others just didn't get tickets. Maybe they will, but I have a bad feeling about this.
So, my immediate thought was, "How long can I wait for my friends trying to get tickets before I have to sell mine. I DO NOT want to go to BRC alone, and I don't want to eat the ticket." The thought of going alone was (as the Pope said about birth control) inconceivable.
I've now read various posts about people going solo. Some say or imply that this is common, but I've seen few people camping solo in my years there.
Then I started reading about people who've found it to be an adventure to go solo. I especially liked GreyCoyote's post about how miserable it will be ... at first. Even with my friends, it usually takes me about a day to adjust, upon arrival, to the fact that I am in such a hellacious place. It also occurs to me that, since I'm in the Bay Area, it's very likely there'd be somebody who'd like to get a ride, so I wouldn't even be driving alone.
OK, you've convinced me -- I'm not selling my ticket. I'm going to Burning Man! It's been an adventure every other time I've gone, one way or another, and this will be another one.
Thanks to all who advised.

I camped solo in 2010. (I did have a rideshare there, but had my stuff dropped off a block away). I knew people at the event, that is true. But still, the first day or so (before Gates opened) were a little spooky. Anyway, it was a great year. If you can pound rebar and tie knots, I recommend it to almost anyone.

Sandfly, Leafx and Newbie, make sure to drop by . . .

ePlaya Meet & Greet
Wed 6pm of the Burn
Barbie Death Camp and Wine Bistro
7:00 and E.

It's a potluck, so bring a bit of food, booze, or a bag of ice to share, if you can. It doesn't matter if no one on ePlaya has met you yet; say "I'm so & so, and I'm new." These folks are a lot of fun, believe it or don't.

[jneilvindy]

You didn't give them the password to the meet n greet!

[Savannah]

You didn't give them the password to the meet n greet!

That's because I wanted them to do the little dance at the door for those who can't come up with it.

. . . Kidding.

NO ONE STEALS MY LITTLE DANCE.

The dance is mine!

The password is PINEAPPLE.

[mudpuppy000]

This is how Stag Camp and Hotel Rug camp formed, possibly Orphan Endorphan Camp too, if I remember correctly: people just banding together and sharing their stuff.

Yep, random group of people from eplaya and here we are 6 burns later. Do it, do it NOW.

viewtopic.php?f=162&t=35441&hilit=orphan+camp+forming

[pink]

I was camped next to you that year. I'm trying to put out of my mind the camp I was with; just think of it as Clusterfuck Camp. The Orphans were just a little camp, and now have two spinoffs besides!

[mudpuppy000]

I was camped next to you that year. I'm trying to put out of my mind the camp I was with; just think of it as Clusterfuck Camp. The Orphans were just a little camp, and now have two spinoffs besides!

Was that the one with the giant parachute structure and a Bob Marley flag? I forgot what they were called, we just refered to them as bob marley camp, hehe.

[GadMatt]

God--damn! There is some priceless stuff in this thread.
Really...
Thanks G.C.
You touched upon the very heart and soul of the burn. Priceless.

The burn is, or can be, a fluid continuum of moment by moment interactions.

Follow the flow, and you'll be alright.

Discover what you discover. Nicht var ?

Fur what's worth:

Love and kisses. GadMatt

[pink]

I was camped next to you that year. I'm trying to put out of my mind the camp I was with; just think of it as Clusterfuck Camp. The Orphans were just a little camp, and now have two spinoffs besides!

Was that the one with the giant parachute structure and a Bob Marley flag? I forgot what they were called, we just refered to them as bob marley camp, hehe.

No we had a flat tarp & pole shade. Small dome, EZ up. I was one of the early arrivals with a camper van, and I needed help getting the generator out of the van. Big heavy honda 3000, which then didn't work. Not my gen, I was talked out of bringing mine (tiny Honda 1000), as was one other guy. Lugged the thing up there for nothing. That was only the beginning. Clusterfuck camp. The Marley Camp was next to us, I think.

[Sic Pup]

I was there that year as well, hard to forget that milk cartoon/cereal bowl MV across from us.

To OP: Orphans are a great group, I'm grateful to have had the security of a (mostly) newcomer group. But what I'm most grateful for was gaining the knowledge that I could do it alone and make a new experience each burn. I go to BM to change things up, to do what I want to do when I want to do it free from social constraints and peer pressure. It's the one time of the year where I can just go with my whims unencumbered by outside forces (and living with the consequences is probably the most important part of it), in a nutshell freedom. Not to say that you couldn't accomplish that to some degree in a camp, just that going solo gives you more latitude free from the natural tendency to wonder what the group thinks when you zig and everyone else is zagging. I can get that in defaultia anytime. That said, one can't downplay the importance of prep, I would recommend a fully prepared Birgin join a camp to put the toes in the water and then go from there (I wouldn't recommend anyone that's not fully prepared even think about going)

Mudpuppy: Is the Prof still around? I know he had a great reverence for the 4 corners area. In fact, this year I'm hitting it on my way in specifically inspired by my chats with him.