The Burning Man Hangover Survival Guide

[Caveday]

The Burning Man Hangover Survival Guide

Medina Maitreya, San Francisco – Burning Man is an annual week long event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening. In 2008, 49,599 people attended Burning Man. The event is described by many participants as an experiment in community, radical self expression and radical self reliance. To some it’s a spiritual experience. To others it is ultimate artistic fulfillment. And to a select few thousand it’s hedonistic debauchery at its finest.

The Black Rock Desert is a thoroughly flat, huge prehistoric lake bed, composed of a hard pan alkali, ringed by majestic mountains. Daytime temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees with nighttime dropping to 40 and lower. Also the humidity is extremely low, which rapidly and continually wicks the moisture from your body. Because the atmosphere is so dry, you may not feel particularly warm, but you’ll be steadily drying up. At nearly 4,000 feet above sea level, the atmosphere provides much less filtering of the sunlight which causes sunburn. As a result, you will burn much faster and more severely than at lower elevations.

If you are already cringing at these facts imagine being supremely hungover on top of all that. Oh and lets not forget the most exciting part of the whole event: rogue sand storms, called white outs, that are so intense they rival the ten plagues of Egypt.

As with any event that focuses on radical self expression, there are as many ways to get hungover as there are naked people hula hooping on a pink double-decker bus. So lets just focus on these two.

Scenario A: The Jolly Daytime Drinker

If you are gonna get a hangover this is without a doubt the best possible way to go. You wake up at 10 am, having slept a hearty 3 hours and immediately reach for a breakfast beer, swig of warm sake, or the leftover Jim Beam that some douchebag left at your camp. Slippery slope time sets in as the temperatures get higher and you need to get drunker to deal with how uncomfortable it really is. Next thing you know youre changing into jogging shorts and a bow tie and doing jazzersize with a hundred people at the “80′s workout campâ€

[Coastburner]

Well said -- so true on all points. I've been out there 7 years and hungover only once -- ONCE was enough. Coconut water is a great for re-hydration and has electrolytes and does wonders for your hangover. The 100 degree heat definitely adds to an already bad feeling. You can get it at health food stores and it's worth it. Drink it before you pass out in your tent and drink it first thing in the morning and then grab a beer or if need be, throw some vodka in it and you're off and running again.

Can't wait to hit the playa!!!!

Coastburner

[Token]

But what do I do if I'm hung over and it's 38 degrees at night and 68 degrees during the day, like it's going to be on Monday?

Should I just smoke some pot for medicinal purpose?

Will a shot of spiced rum keep me warm and clear the hangover?

Can you give me medical advice about all the prescribed pharmaceuticals I take just to stay sane and how they interact with these remedies?

[lucky420]

Token, i'd say #2 on your list is your best bet, then take a nap

[theCryptofishist]

You can get it at health food stores and it's worth it.

And Safeway

And the earth turns on it axis...

[Bexx]

Will a shot of spiced rum keep me warm and clear the hangover?

yesh! try some Kraken.. it works great on cold nights!

[Token]

OK, I'll bring some aged spiced rum and find a burn barrel.

[klondike_bar]

look into vitamin C and a chemical called piracetam (available as a health supplement). piracetam especially has the capability to wake up in the morning-after with no hangover or grogginess whatsoever, be it after alcohol or mdma

[jagermonster]

#6 is your best bet! In 10 years i've yet to have a hangover that a nice bloody mary couldn't fix!

If your smart unlike me and want to prepare for it, take some B-Complex (B12) vitamins the night of.

[knowmad]

Camp Drama. Believe me if you had some of the nags I got with me. you won't even dare look at the stuff. Lame I know.

[snowflake916]

that was hilarious! thanks for the great advice.. if the past is any predictor for the future i wont need it... but who knows... with the elements being as extreme as they are out there i just might