Funx Virgin from the UK ...

[funkyjigsaw]

Hiya! Well, I hope I've done all the reading ... but am going over and over it all again. I've camped in some harsh places in my life, but this whole experience is gonna be awesome!
49 years old ... 21 still in my head. Been around ... seen things. But many more miles left to burn!
Coming on my own, 'cos friends who could do this financially / time commitment wise look at me as if I'm fuckin mad ... poor saps!
I certainly won't be a burden on anyone ... at least not for want of not being prepared! I hope to be so prepared that once on the Playa I can get my shit together real quick, and then help out those around me ... accelerates the making friends thing yes?!
After much thinking, I've decided to be independent and not join a camp. I think I'd like to find my own way on the Playa for the first year ... I have no doubt I'll be back next year! I'm sure I will find my Playa family this year.
OK ...so! Questions, if I may?
(1) I have a certain amount to invest on tent(s) / shade. I have the normal 2 man tent. I'm thinking it would be nice to stand up? But I'm also thinking it would be nice to have a sealed (as much as possible!) room in my tent(s) to try and keep the dust out? (e.g. a two room tent). Am I kidding myself about keeping the dust out - I assume it just fuckin gets in any and everywhere? Also ventilation ... I'm assuming that mosquito vents will NOT keep the playa dust out? But ventilation is good in the heat yes?
Then there's the need for shade ... I can't see anything online to buy that does it for me. Is it sensible to just buy a tarp in San Fran (where I fly into) and some rope, wood, rebar??
Am I over thinking this? Shall I just turn up with a 2-man tent and survive?
(2) Grey water. Gonna bring a garden spray to wash. Need to create / buy an evaporation pool. I can build one from a few bits of wood and some plastic sheet. Is this the best way? I could just stand in a dustbin ... but will it evaporate? A small kids paddling pool?
Again, am I over thinking this?

Anyway ... HELLO!
By the way, I live in Cambridge UK. And I have space for a rideshare from/to San Fran (I will post on the rideshare site (is it up yet?)

F xx

[Elderberry]

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

Have questions? Read this first: http://www.burningman.com/first_timers/
Everybody on eplaya is always excited to help first timers; but in sympathy for some of us old timers, please get your required reading out of the way before posting. As hard as it is to rein in the the excitement and enthusiasm, and as unbelievable as it might seem, most of your questions have already been asked and answered, if you just take a moment to read.

Now, let the adventure begin!

[dragonpilot]

(1) I have a certain amount to invest on tent(s) / shade. I have the normal 2 man tent. I'm thinking it would be nice to stand up? But I'm also thinking it would be nice to have a sealed (as much as possible!) room in my tent(s) to try and keep the dust out? (e.g. a two room tent). Am I kidding myself about keeping the dust out - I assume it just fuckin gets in any and everywhere? Also ventilation ... I'm assuming that mosquito vents will NOT keep the playa dust out? But ventilation is good in the heat yes?
Then there's the need for shade ... I can't see anything online to buy that does it for me. Is it sensible to just buy a tarp in San Fran (where I fly into) and some rope, wood, rebar??

(2) Grey water. Gonna bring a garden spray to wash. Need to create / buy an evaporation pool. I can build one from a few bits of wood and some plastic sheet. Is this the best way? I could just stand in a dustbin ... but will it evaporate? A small kids paddling pool?
Again, am I over thinking this?

(1) If at all possible I'd go for something you can move around/stand up in...10 X 10. That size will also give you more room to store personal items. Playa dust is pervasive and gets everywhere, but can be minimized. I've hand stitched cut-to-fit blanket material into the mesh screens to prevent dust from sifting in from the top of my tent. When the dust is flying you'll want to keep the tent zipped up and the contents covered with a sheet. When the wind settles down, and it does much of the time, then unzip and go for ventilation.

Shade's a tough call because it increases your logistics load, but if you can overcome that go for light weight shade cloth that can easily be erected and guyed down. If you have a vehicle, use that as an anchor for one side of your shade system. The other thing that often works is set up camp near another camp that has a large enough shade system to accommodate visitors...chocolate chip cookies are a good way to gain access...

(2) Evap ponds are covered extensively in the forum...everyone's got good ideas, some not so good. My system is simple: hand held garden sprayer...not the big 3 gallon pump...and a small plastic storage bin, plus liquid soap. Stand in the bin, spritz down, lather, rinse, repeat as necessary. The accumulated grey water will be very small and can easily be funneled into an empty water bottle and carried out when you leave. Evap ponds tend to collect dust, debris, and cigarette butts.

A supplement to self bathing is to make your way to The Human Carcass Wash for a nice refreshing group scrub down. Located with Poly Paradise Camp...check schedule for hours. Lotsa fun!!

[Savannah]

Hi Funkyjigsaw! Dragonpilot gave you good advice.

A kid's paddling pool will only catch (not evaporate) the water from a solar camping shower, but the spray method cited by Dragonpilot generates so little grey water that would work w/ a pool. (One year I did try a kiddie pool and the water stood for days).

I use the evaporation pond recipe here:
http://www.burningman.com/environment/r ... water.html

But I still catch the water in a concrete mixing tub first.

[marck]

If you consider a shade structure also consider that the more sun the fabric blocks, the more wind it will catch.

70% shade cloth will keep your tent considerably cooler throughout the day. if it is mounted flat and horizontal, it is less affected by vertical gusts of wind.
Sometimes smaller overlapping sections of shade cloth work better because each section has less surface area.

Make sure your stuff is secured to something to keep it in place, winds can get higher than 95kph, a vehicle works really well for this.
If you came back to your camp to find your tent missing it would suck, but if the wind gets strong enough to blow your car away, you won't care as much about your missing tent.

[snake]

considering you're flying in...keep it light. i never had a shade or an evap pond in my first 8 years. i did baby wipes and squirt bottles for the first 4. BUT i did meet my neighbors and made new friends that had shade and welcomed the visits (just bring your own chair).

[Savannah]

The lumber for an evap pond is indeed a bit big (10 feet; though I use 8 since I'm just one person). I think a new garden sprayer (~$20) and a tub to stand in makes a lot more sense when flying in because you don't need as big a vehicle, and have less to toss after.

[dragonpilot]

Hi Funkyjigsaw! Dragonpilot gave you good advice.

Just makes my day when Savannah agrees with me... ...not that she's ever disagreed...

[Savannah]

[funkyjigsaw]

Guys n Gals ... Thanks so much for all this!
Grey water ... sorted : garden spray plus a cheap plastic tub to stand in. Tick.
Tent ... Hmm .... still undecided, but probably gonna go for a stand-up-in tent. Shade ... I will decide when I land @ SFO!
The really good news is that I used to live in the Bay Area, so getting around to sort myself out is no problemo!

Thank again to all. Good luck with all the final preps!

F x

[Savannah]

It's very nice to be able to stand up in your tent. When you can't, if you're as thin-skinned as I am, your knees start getting bruised by day 3 or 4 . . .

Although one of those little gardening kneeling-pads could have saved me some unsightliness.

[funkyjigsaw]

Oh ... btw ... that human carcass wash just has to be done - could not forgive myself if I returned to default and I hadn't experienced that one!
(I know I'm gonna regret saying that ...)
Words to get me to do ANYTHING = "I dare you ..."

;0) xx

[funkyjigsaw]

For anybody who is interested, I have decided on a tent ... well a Nordic Teepee actually ... very useful for my non-BM adventures too!
Should be fun decorating it on the Playa!

Safir 9 cp.jpeg

[illy dilly]

Those tents look sweet!
But, (if thats the brand I think they are) sadly they are hard to find state side. And shipping from the UK is expensive.

[marck]

That looks like it should work out well.

The UK tent I drool over is the SoulPad


I like canvas, it stands up to the alkali much better than synthetics.

Bring a bottle of silicone lubricant for the zippers. It works better than water-based lubes at keeping the zippers working. A little paraffin wax also helps.

[funkyjigsaw]

Hey guys!
The tent is a "Tentipi" (http://www.tentipi.com/). I have bought the Safir 9 c/p, which is the canvas model. Sleeps 9, so tons of space for little old me! It's meant to be cool in hot weather - we shall test that one, me thinks! Also will be interesting how much dust gets inside. It's a big investment, but I will use it all over the world. I just hope it's not wrecked by the Playa. The whole weight for shipping (outer + inner) is about 18kg I think.
Great tip re the lubricant - will add to the ever growing list!
Now gotta get the brain around a separate shade structure - this is gonna have to be bought cheaply in the US and left behind.

Cheers, F x

[marck]

Nice tentipi, that goes on my list of tents to consider.
It's larger than the soul pad, comparable to the Hilleberg Atlas or the MountainHardware StrongHold but not as large as the MountainHardware SpaceStation
Bonus is that it has the Tipi top and is a durable cotton blend fabric.

Search for innovative shade ideas for quick and easy setup. You might be able to get away with, fabric, four poles and your vehicle.

Good shade can become a big investment of time as well as cash, If you want to discard it consider donating it to someone.
Or if at the end of your week you start thinking about making this a regular thing, consider storing your unneeded camp parts locally.

You might make friends who are also wanting to do this, some may be more local than you.

Have you considered your bicycle options yet?

[funkyjigsaw]

Hi Marck,

The Hilleberg Atlas was in serious contention ... but then I got carried away! ... because I'm thinking a real kiack-ass set up would be two Atlas tents linked with a tunnel, and then a vestibule too. Just a groundsheet in the first tent and then a full 8 man inner in the second tent. But then we're talking around $6,000 ... and I went white at the thought! Hadn't seen the MountainHardware tents. North Face do a similar single skin dome base camp tent. I discounted the single skin - how bitching hot would that get!
In the end I decided for the Tentipi cos I like the canvas, the tipi top ... and for non Playa use it can have a log burner or a fire inside easily. Also, fucking easy and fast to put up for one person if needs be. Putting up the SpaceStation by myself would be a challenge!
I'm really interested how the Tentipi copes with the heat ... it's meant to be Very good .... we shall see. If you see it on the Playa, come say hello or drop a note inside the door with your address!

Yep, I know what the challenge is for shade. Whatever I do will have to be done in San Fran when I get there.

Yes! If BM becomes a regular thing - and I hope it does, then I will definitely invest in storage - investment decisions then also become easier. And let's face it, if I join a Camp at some point in the future, then the investment decisions become even easier still. I think it's especially tough for a Virgin from overseas on their own, and who takes it seriously. And not cheap at all.

Yep bicycle sorted some weeks ago now. Renting from Black Rock Bicycles. But thanks for the heads up anyway!

Take care, and happy preparations!

F x

[Savannah]

Funkyjigsaw, that canvas teepee is dangerously cool. It's singing me a siren song . . .

I have something similar that I love to pieces, but I imagine it's not going to last forever (it's a synthetic).

[funkyjigsaw]

Hi Savannah! I know, I know ... it sings to me too ... I'm already its bitch! Ha ha! x

[Savannah]