Rides dropping us off on the playa?

pixiebird · Post by **pixiebird** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 7:47 pm

2 first timers making our anxiety-ridden way to the playa... we're bribing a non-attending boyfriend-with-car to take us, but are confused on the actual arrival part. Obviously he doesn't have a ticket and so probably can't take us through the gates, and are the gates too far away from the playa to walk of we took the car all the way in and then returned it to non-burner boy? Is taking a car in/out like that even allowed? Sorry for the gross naivete, but...any suggestions?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 7:54 pm

No, but I'm sure you can hitch a ride from the Gate into camp.

hsdavis · Post by **hsdavis** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:10 pm

pixiebird wrote:2 first timers making our anxiety-ridden way to the playa... we're bribing a non-attending boyfriend-with-car to take us, but are confused on the actual arrival part. Obviously he doesn't have a ticket and so probably can't take us through the gates, and are the gates too far away from the playa to walk of we took the car all the way in and then returned it to non-burner boy? Is taking a car in/out like that even allowed? Sorry for the gross naivete, but...any suggestions?

Pixiebird, let me give you a quick layout of the landscape of the entrance. The town of Gerlach is the unofficial "gateway" to Burning Man. This little town is about 12 miles from the road entrance to Burning Man. Once you pass Geralch and go the 12 miles on a paved road, there is maybe 3 miles on the dirt entrance toward Black Rock City. This is where your car is checked for stowaways etc. Then another half mile is where you give your ticket and get your virginic hugs and bell ringing. After this is a two mile (or so) drive to your actual camp. Your miles may vary!

Your best bet in this whole process is to go to Gerlach and find some kind person stopped there who will drive you into the event. Anything past Geralch would be an awkward mess for you. Most everyone stops in either Gerlach or Empire before continuing on to the dust festival. In my opinion, you would not have any problem hitching a ride for the last leg!

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:39 pm

I would leave would be burner boy at the gate and drive the car in and unload it and return it to him.
He will need a hat, goggles and water, if it's daylight.

Then hitch a ride back in.
You may be able to walk past all the cars at the greeter's gate and catch another ride.
Simple enough.
It would be a pain to transfer all your stuff into another ride for such a short trip.
Could be done when you find someone not too full.
Much easier to find a ride for one person without luggage.
I did that last year.

Mark where your camp is when you leave.

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 8:47 pm

Find a ride with other burners the whole way and use the boyfriend as a backup plan. Either that or convince him to attend after all.

It's a long freaking way to drive back and forth TWICE. Dropping off is one problem - how are you going to arrange the ride back home? That would be even more of a pain given the lack of cell phone coverage.

Dato · Post by **Dato** » Sat Aug 02, 2008 9:25 pm

I'm with Dork on this.

Have you tried craigslist? There are plenty of ride opportunities out of SF! Tens of thousands of people from the Bay Area heading to the same place, there is bound to be room for you somewhere.

Plus, seeing as you're both virgins, you may ride up with a veteran and get some much needed good pre-playa advice!

Good luck!

skibear · Post by **skibear** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 4:26 pm

Several issues:

1. last year anyway, They would not let anyone walk in from gate without
supplies. I found this out last year the hard way when giving someone a ride from Reno and he had to go thru Will-call for his ticket. Will-call had an extra line of an hour or more before you could return to the main line.
I was going to go in then come back to gate for him. Not allowed.
He ended up hitching with someone in the will-call line and I met him at
8:00 and C 2 hours later with his supplies.

2. Don't give rides to someone who needs to stop at will-call for a
ticket unless you plan to stop at will-call also (see above clusterfuck).
Or make other arrangements- say in Gerlach/Empire.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun Aug 03, 2008 5:17 pm

You definitely want to ride in from the gate just because of the distance.
I had no problem as they knew my stuff went in the gate already.
If there is a line at the greeter's gate, you might want to walk around that and get another ride in.

Should be easy to get a ride from SF though.

JezebelinHell · Post by **JezebelinHell** » Mon Aug 04, 2008 6:21 am

I'm gonna go ahead and agree that getting a ride is probably your best option, but if that's not possible I really don't see any reason why the gate crew wouldn't allow you to unload boyfriend, drive to camp, unload car, and then return it to afore-mentioned boyfriend. The entrance is really far from the camping area, and moreso if you're weighed down by a week's worth of food, water, and camping supplies.

Rides dropping us off on the playa?

Rides dropping us off on the playa?

Re: Rides dropping us off on the playa?