finding my way home at night

[maheesh]

first timer, here..im gonna try to be out in the suburbs, and I'm a little concerned about how hard it may be to find my way back to my rv at night? Should I be concerned? What can I do? Should I get a gps, maybe? Thx in advance to all replies

[sputnik]

That's a good trick, really.

1) Remember your cross streets.

2) If your camp isn't a landmark in and of itself, find something nearby that is.

3) Don't get so wasted you can't find your way home.

4) If you're going to be that wasted, bring a friend who can help you home.

5) Don't worry too much about it.

[Lorgasm]

Before the night of the burn, I like to utilize the Man as a guide. He always shows me the general direction of my camp. See if your camp is on the right side of him or left side or front (you get the picture), then look for familiar landmarks, camps, art pieces in your area to let you know how close you are. ALWAYS have your address somewhere on your person so someone can assist if you do get lost.

Hope this helps.
BTW: After the burn; you're screwed (just kidding) Use center camp or the temple as your guide.

Now looking for Johnny on the Spot at night....Well, that's a different story.

[Rusted Iron]

Street signs do have a tendancy to be altered, and late in the week, to vanish.

[unjonharley]

Street signs do have a tendancy to be altered, and late in the week, to vanish.

/
Please adopt a intersecton as per the jackrabbit speaks.

[seelivemusic]

One thing to remember is that the playa looks totally different at night as well as from day to day. My first night I wandered around lost for 3 hours.

Also, don't accept candy from strangers. That can throw you for a loop.

[Lorgasm]

...and if you hit water, you probably gone too far.

[Dork]

Do lots of wandering during the day so you're oriented. Bring a light source so you can read the street signs. Unless it's REALLY dusty, you can see the man from any intersection - so if you can see a street sign you know exactly where you are and which direction you're pointed. The named streets are in alphabetical order.

Once you're at your block remember things can change. People come and go, set things up, rearrange them, etc. Just keep track of roughly where you are on the block and maybe set up some sort of beacon. A length of PVC and a cheap solar garden light and you have a nice marker to look for from the road.

Forget the GPS. Just make sure you do lots of exploring instead of giving in and hiding in your nice comfortable RV.

[phil]

Just keep track of roughly where you are on the block and maybe set up some sort of beacon. A length of PVC and a cheap solar garden light and you have a nice marker to look for from the road.

This is a really good idea. Louise and I have a 10-foot length of PVC that we put over a piece of rebar driven into the ground. We hang up a string of lights, and we also put a string of lights in the windshield of our van when it faces the street. Other people tell us they use our van and pole to find their way back to their nearby sites.

Using other people's stuff to locate your camp is a problem when you come back and find they've gone, of course. So use your own beacon.

[Dr. Pyro]

And make sure you actually see the street signs before you venture out. My first year our placer said we were at 5:15 and Saturn. I went for a walk and when I came back I couldn't find my camp. Wandered between 5:00 and 5:30 for three hours! Our placer had made a mistake; we actually were at 5:45 and Saturn. If some other of my campmates hadn't accidentally ran into me, I may still be wandering around the playa!

[blyslv]

psssst Doc, your are still wandering around on the playa.

But remember not all who wander are lost.


Orange haired hippie.

[HughMungus]

first timer, here..im gonna try to be out in the suburbs, and I'm a little concerned about how hard it may be to find my way back to my rv at night? Should I be concerned? What can I do? Should I get a gps, maybe? Thx in advance to all replies

Any kind of flashing light will do the trick...go get a cheap strobe light that runs on batteries. Alternatively, find a flashing light or monument or light or some other kind *near* you and use that as your guide.

[seelivemusic]

wow, doc you made me feel much better for wandering lost around the playa for three hours. I tend to toot my own horn.

btw, nice gd ref blyslv....it is that day today.....

[Eric]

another trick usually good up through the Burn-

Choose a favorite street near your camp to get to Esplanade (ie: 5:00, 5:30, whatever). Learn the camps that front Esplanade by that street.

Esplanade camps don't tend to change that much after Weds so they make easy landmarks.

I had friends camped up from Space Virgins one year & it was a cinch to find them- until Sunday when the SV camp was suddenly gone and I couldn't remember if it was 7 or 7:30 I was supposed to go up.

[geekster]

GPS works on the playa.

But it isn't that hard. Look at the map of the city

http://www.burningman.com/preparation/m ... index.html

KNOW your camp's address, get a mental image of the layout and where you are on it. Use Center Camp as your reference if you have to (FUCK! mosquito just bit me on the goddamned cheek! ... anyway ...) Radials are like a clock as if you are looking down on the city from above with center camp at 6:00

You should be able to tell if you need to go clockwise our counter clockwise to get home. The streets are in alphabetical order so you don't need to memorize the names, only the first letter. Say you are at 8:30 and E. You will know that is 5 streets out from the esplanade. As long as you are sober enough to keep count for 5 blocks you are fine. If you are shroomin' just remember "red on right when returning" and you will be fine.

[unjonharley]

That is the reason I camp behind "center camp". It's not going anyplace.

[geekster]

There's a reason I DONT camp behind center camp .... that would be Lance Camp and the commisary ... freakin LOUD with the gennies.

[unjonharley]

There's a reason I DONT camp behind center camp .... that would be Lance Camp and the commisary ... freakin LOUD with the gennies.

/
I for got to mention I'm out at E or F

[Eric]

There's a reason I DONT camp behind center camp .... that would be Lance Camp and the commisary ... freakin LOUD with the gennies.

and the commisary is one long ugly wall on a major radial. You would think they could at least decorate it streetside - it looks like a prison camp.

[PurpleKoosh]

The medical stations at 3 and 9 both have neon blue crosses overhead; Fire Camp at 3 also generally has a red heart. All of these things will still be there after the Temple burns on Sunday night.

And yes - ADOPT AN INTERSECTION! How much more room will a sheet of neon posterboard and a Magic Marker take?

[geekster]

"You would think they could at least decorate it streetside - it looks like a prison camp."

Please, somebody doooooo something!


And just exactly what is preventing YOU from decorating this perfectly placed piece of exhibit space?

[ibdave]

Once you see what's going on and your still worried about finding your way home, then do this trick.. Have someone write your address on your forehead. Use a sharpie and you might be set for the whole week..Someone will then tell ya if your close or lost.

[PurpleKoosh]

My forehead usually says POOR IMPULSE CONTROL.

[Eric]

"You would think they could at least decorate it streetside - it looks like a prison camp."

Please, somebody doooooo something!


And just exactly what is preventing YOU from decorating this perfectly placed piece of exhibit space?

I am more than happy to decorate my space & stuff, and bring things to help friends do the same, but I will not under any circumstances do free decorating for the Burning Man Corporation. They are a For Profit company, they can decorate their own damn ugly blank walls.

Trust me, I am a firm believer in the "shut up and do something about it" school (otherwise do you think I'd be with Piss Clear?) and practice what I preach. I would never bitch at a camp for not doing something- have you seen our camp? Old school at it's best, simple & ugly.

However, I'm not the Corporation telling everyone else that we should decorate & make our bikes pretty and wear costumes; which then sends Larry Harvey out in an plain golf cart & decorates almost none of their own buildings. I think their commisary looks like a prison camp. I think they should follow what they expect us to do and make an effort.

But then again, I don't get people volunteering for a for-profit company either. *shrug*

[Karma]

use the force

[geekster]

I understand. I suppose nobody who is working wants to spend their time decorating. But I guess I just look at it differently. I look at it as the Corporation gave us this huge expanse of blank space to play with. That's plywood I don't have to haul out there if I wanted to do something like that.

I suppose like most anything there are two ways you can look at it. I choose the more optimistic view. Free space to display art that I don't have to set up, tear down, or cart away!

[djzip13]

Know the location. If you are near 4:00 between 4:30, think of it as 4:10. So call it Bipolar and 4:10(using last year names). Then, if you think you may forget, write it on the back of your hand with a Sharpie. That may sound like a joke, but for those who may party toooooo much, the people who find you can bring you home.

Sounds funny, but I have had newbies get lost for an entire night. It can taint your memory of bman with one bad event like that. That would be sad. I have had friends laugh at me when I wrote it. The next morning they couldn't thank me enough.

But don't worry too much. It isn't that hard. Don't bring a GPS. You will have enough to carry and it is just something you can lose.

AS FOR AFTER THE BURN, all street signs will disappear. Camps will disappear. Someone made a good note. Esplanade theme camps don't tend to change. Even after the burn. Tell everyone in your camp to be extra conscious of landmarks before you go to the burn on Saturday. I disagree with people taking the signs, but that is the way it is and I don't see it changing.

Make special note of Esplanade theme camps that have high towers with lights. Thunderdome, radio towers, etc. make great landmarks.

[theCryptofishist]

I understand. I suppose nobody who is working wants to spend their time decorating. But I guess I just look at it differently. I look at it as the Corporation gave us this huge expanse of blank space to play with. That's plywood I don't have to haul out there if I wanted to do something like that.

If you've been reading this site a while, you know I'm always willing to take potshots at the LLC. But in this case, I can see that they are so busy at this time of year, and the schedule is so tight and the logistics complicated that just let the org have it's industrial a-chic. Rather the energy and creativity goes into building the city, than into decorating the commisary fence.

[mdmf007]

Spatial orientation has always been a gift of mine, until the alcohol hits the ludicrous level.

Anyways I wonder with the man being on a rising and falling platform will it be visible at all points in its lowest position.

We are bringing 4 - 1200 watt lasers with 4 seperate colors for north south east and west. We are placing these lasers at the cardinal points and they should work as compass points.

But knowing the map layout and your address is a much better way of getting back home.

later and be safe all

[blyslv]

On the other hand, there's absolutely nothing at all wrong with being compelty and totally lost in BRC. Trust me on this.