Puking at Burning Man

[cpart]

This will be my second year at Burning Man. Last year I caught a bad cold a day before we left to get there, was sick the whole time and didn't drink as much as planned. This year I plan on drinking, but I am wondering what is the proper thing to do when you feel the watery-mouth coming? If peeing on the playa is moop then puke for sure is moop... What do most people do if they have to puke and cant hold it in?

[Savannah]

I've seen this happen to a friend at a camp. (That's what happens when you play spin the bottle throughout an 8 hour windstorm). Someone got a shovel--good thing one was there--and scooped it all up (and some dust too) and put it in a trash bag. I have never seen puke on the playa before or since, thank goodness. It's bad form. It's not like you can just go get a hose and erase your misdeed.

Though it's probably too far away for the barf-inclined, a portapotty (not in the urinal) or bucket or plastic bag would also do. You should have a plastic bag in your backpack anyway. Make it a thick one. I'm pretty sure you could empty this into a portapotty later, since it literally came out of your body, but raise the seat, don't slosh it about, and don't stuff the bag in . . . that's yours to treasure.

[Sham]

I look for someone who foolishly took their boots off and left them sitting around.

[essjay]

I carry a trash bag and one of those handled pan/shovel sets that are used to pick up dog crap. When I puke, I place it in the bag and take it back to camp. At camp, I pour it out on in an evaporation bin and let it dry. After it has evaporated, I use tweezers to pull out pieces of playa that still look safe and return them to the ground. The rest goes home with me.

[Savannah]

[Turnip]

my boyfriend had a bad mix of absinthe and ham.

He tried to get his backpack open so he could throw up in there, but couldn't do it quite in time and threw up on the playa. Sadly we didn't have anything to clean it up so we had to settle with kicking as much dust over it as we could.

We both felt horrible. And have learned from that mistake.


Always carry a vomit bag. Not very glamorous but we owe it to the event and the people there.

[cpart]

Vomit bag. Check.

[lemur]

In 2007 a friend of mine woke up and wasnt feeling well... they sat down and about 30 secs later had to puke.. without even seemingly thinking about it they grabbed a almost empty FAMILY SIZED Lays Potato Chips Bag and hurled in to it..

quite a good job at saving the day... cleaning out puke from the middle of the shade structure woulda sucked.

[Savannah]

Vomit bag. Check.

Since you might've been too sick to drink last year, you should know that booze will hit you harder out on the playa than in the real world. There's the altitude issue, and the fact that your appetite will almost certainly be reduced, so you will have eaten less and will be a "cheap date". The hangovers are also worse.

Drink a little less, at least 'til you know how you do in that climate. Bonus: not having to use your vomit bag.

I never imagined saying those words before.

[knowmad]

Restraint, it's sexy, and shows some depth of character. you might even get laid and remember how good you did.

Seriously, if you are planning to "lose it" so much that you'll be planning to barf, why stop there? You could go shirtcocking, while smoking meth, yelling at folks in hushville with your megaphone about howmuch you hate the goverment.

[motskyroonmatick]

It is perfectly acceptable to puke in the porto potties. Use whatever skill you have to make it a puke with low or no collateral damage.

If it doesn't come from your body it doesn't go in the potty!

[The CO]

my boyfriend had a bad mix of absinthe and ham.

I've been going to BRC since '96. That sentence sums up how I've been trying to describe Burning Man to people since then.

"Burningman. It's like when you drink to much absinthe and eat too much ham."

(steal away, that shit is genius.)

[alkalinenerd]

In 2008 I drank an entire fifth of Jagermeister, was lying face down halfway out my tent and couldn't move so I puked in a puddle around my head and fell asleep in it.

When I woke up, it was gone.

Inform the hippys in Gerlach because I found a real playa miracle.

I no longer drink Jager and plan to never puke on the playa again.

[The CO]

I no longer drink Jager and plan to never puke on the playa again.

You're doing it right.

(I think this topic is worthy of a sticky)

[robrob]

Seriously, if you are planning to "lose it" so much that you'll be planning to barf, why stop there? You could go shirtcocking, while smoking meth, yelling at folks in hushville with your megaphone about howmuch you hate the goverment.

that's not entirely fair- even mild doses of certain substances can wreck havoc on a stomach.

to answer the OP: yeah, obviously puking on the playa- or god forbid- someone's camp- is pretty fucking poor form. I like to take my bike with me at night even if i'm walking along side it. It's el wire helps me locate it it quickly, and the basket lets me carry some extra stuff like more water, a cup, and a spare nalgene. It's great to have a little mobile basecamp to help you get your bearings- and yes... if you start feeling funny, you can puke in your spare nalgene then go dump it in the potties (i did, lol).

[alkalinenerd]

I no longer drink Jager and plan to never puke on the playa again.

You're doing it right.

Thanks, last year I did that wdydwyd and my answer was "because everyone else is doing it wrong"

Also, the mere thought of the heinous mixture of absinthe and ham makes me want to vomit.

[C.f.M.]

Geez louise, how about not drinking? If I thought there was the chance of me puking b/c of booze, I'd abstain. Moop aside, who wants to feel like crap while they're at BM?

My first afternoon EVER in BRC, I got violently ill. I was doubled over in my tent, seriously wondering if I was dying. I'd never vomited so much in my life. I was just wracked and shuddering with dry heaves.

Luckily, my travel mates had some sort of thing for stopping at every darn WalMart they saw, so I had some shopping bags. I went through...four or five.

Emptying them out later was about the least enjoyable experience I think I've ever had out there.

Or yank a bunch of airline bags if you're flyign to fold up in your backpack - but the plastic shopping bags (check for holes) work just as well.

[Turnip]

my boyfriend had a bad mix of absinthe and ham.

I've been going to BRC since '96. That sentence sums up how I've been trying to describe Burning Man to people since then.

"Burningman. It's like when you drink to much absinthe and eat too much ham."

(steal away, that shit is genius.)

It was straight absinthe, too.


Actually within 2 seconds of him puking and trying to compose himself, a ranger was on him seeing if he was okay.

When we told him about the bad mixture he recoiled in horror and gave my boyfriend an ice cold bottle of water.

&It's not like he drank so much that throwing up was warranted. Obviously it was just a bad mix.

[Sham]

What the hell is up with the porto's on Sunday morning after wild Saturday night of drinking and puking? I understand that if someone is going to vomit, they don't want to stick their face close to the bowl in the stall, but that is some serious defiling going on Saturday night. I swear, they must just open the door and puke inward.
A slightly different subject, I was at Center Camp a few years back on a Saturday night, and a real heavy guy was passed out, sprawled back on a plastic lawn chair. It was a perfect picture to take of this guy, but it was not until I printed this classic photo that I realized he had completely pissed himself. There was a two foot wet spot down his leg and crotch. I want to party with this guy!

[CapSmashy]

I puked from mixing one too many forms of intoxicants a couple of years ago. It was essentially a case of vertigo mixed with motion sickness while I was laying down and praying to the Playa Gods I would not puke.

I had the foresight to get one of my handy 5 gallon buckets and fresh bottle of water to await the inevitable though.

[CapSmashy]

[junglesmacks]

You do realize that now you are semi-obligated to post it, right?

What the hell is up with the porto's on Sunday morning after wild Saturday night of drinking and puking? I understand that if someone is going to vomit, they don't want to stick their face close to the bowl in the stall, but that is some serious defiling going on Saturday night. I swear, they must just open the door and puke inward.
A slightly different subject, I was at Center Camp a few years back on a Saturday night, and a real heavy guy was passed out, sprawled back on a plastic lawn chair. It was a perfect picture to take of this guy, but it was not until I printed this classic photo that I realized he had completely pissed himself. There was a two foot wet spot down his leg and crotch. I want to party with this guy!

[knowmad]

You do realize that now you are semi-obligated to post it, right?

What the hell is up with the porto's on Sunday morning after wild Saturday night of drinking and puking? I understand that if someone is going to vomit, they don't want to stick their face close to the bowl in the stall, but that is some serious defiling going on Saturday night. I swear, they must just open the door and puke inward.
A slightly different subject, I was at Center Camp a few years back on a Saturday night, and a real heavy guy was passed out, sprawled back on a plastic lawn chair. It was a perfect picture to take of this guy, but it was not until I printed this classic photo that I realized he had completely pissed himself. There was a two foot wet spot down his leg and crotch. I want to party with this guy!

yeah!
Photos, or it never happend!

[cpart]

Most of you are a bunch of pussies. Tell me not to puke when I drink out on the playa? Well, shit, now I HAVE to, probably at the Meet and Greet too. Just for bonus points.

[Igneouss]

my boyfriend had a bad mix of absinthe and ham.

Happens to everyone...

Bummer

[joya]

If you have to puke and you have no bag, etc... hopefully you have the wherewithall to try to aim AWAY from people's camps! Our second morning on the playa we awoke to find lovely red-wine colored puke decorating the side our our shade structure. blech

[dragonpilot]

If you're in the encampment just burst into someone's RV and use their toilet...they won't mind because at Burning Man we are all brothers and sisters...

[Igneouss]

1) don't over indulge. The high desert does not forgive. BM is about the worst place I can imagine to be sick/hung over. Bad enough when you have a bed and a bathroom...
2) shit happens. If you get sick then be prepared to clean it up. Do what you can. Try to be considerate of others. Take responsibility for your actions.

How do you clean it up? Seems to be highly, situationaly dependent...
Obviously, puking in any remotely appropriate container beats alternatives.
Dig a hole and bury it. Not optimum but beats doing nothing.
Scrape it up into a trash container.
Scrape it up and find a burn barrel...

If you or your friends are a candidate for playa puking, small trash bags fold into very small sizes, easily carried.

[The Bee]

Two years ago we were enjoying a quiet supper in our camp when a young inebriated burner approached us, weaving and stumbling yet miraculously staying upright. He plopped himself down in a chair and offered us a drink from his almost empty quart of cheap tequila. We politely declined and offered him some food. He graciously accepted some of our dinner and began to tell us a rambling story of his missing bicycle. Suddenly, without pausing or missing a beat, he started vomiting. He kept right on with his story as if nothing was happening out of the ordinary. The vomit was spewing from his mouth and dribbling all down his shirt and he never stopped talking. We were awe-struck at this display of incredible dexterity, and horrified that he might aspirate and choke himself to death. Finally, I broke our stunned silence by suggesting that his lost bike was not to be found in our camp, but maybe if he looked up the road and around the corner he might locate it. And off he rambled on his toxic adventure. So, if you need to puke, just do it on yourself and move on. But don't give me a hug afterwards.

[Sail Man]

my boyfriend had a bad mix of absinthe and ham.

Happens to everyone...

Bummer

Heyyyyyy, I just finished a ham sammich, anybody got some absinthe?