Advice on finding people to camp with

[newburner13]

Hey guys,

This is my first burn, and I'm looking for people to camp with, and rideshare if both are possible. Any advice on getting in touch with burners willing to camp with people? I've registered on BM rideshare, so I'm trying to just locate my people. Any advice/recommendations would be immensely appreciated! I'm going to a local burning event tomorrow in my local area to see if I can get more info from those peeps.

[BurnerBunny]

orphan camps might be a good idea to search for too.

[Ugly Dougly]

Ur... what's your local area?

[Token]

This is the kind of thing you start working on in October.

Usual ways to get to meet folks are the local year-round events, jumping in on a project of some sorts, or even hanging out here on a daily basis and shooting the breeze with folks.

But alas, that ship sailed a long time ago.

You are gonna roll them dice this time around. It just may be your year to pull up somewhere on the playa where you get a good vibe, set up camp and have a grand solo time. It's awesome in more ways than you can imagine.

[Ugly Dougly]

Just show the fuck up. You'll be instantly surrounded by 86,000 of your beast fiends.

[Captain Goddammit]

I second the wise Uglas Douglas. You don't have to be in a camp with anyone. Just show up (you were gonna have all your own logistics and needs handled, right? You'll figure out who, if anyone, you wanna camp with next year. You'll be fine and have a ball this year.

[newburner13]

You mean I can just roll up and set up my tent? That's it? I'm working on my logistics. And yes, I'm super late to the game. But if I have to, I'll go solo. I'm from Los Angeles.

[Captain Goddammit]

Absolutely!

[newburner13]

Wow, I was given misinformation then. Well, shit. Okay, here we go!

[Elorrum]

yeah, mis informed you were.
It's a huge place, and there are lots of spaces on the map that are for unplaced groups and campers. Just find an open place, and say hello to your neighbors. See if they are doing all night drumming, or such. You want to be comfortable where you land. Your neighborhood will be your home base, look out for your neighbors and they look out for you. My first year, I rolled up in the dark, thinking I'd scope out a "better" place in the morning. I slept in the car, woke up, and someone came over with a hot cup of coffee. I decided I had found the right place already.

[Major Krash]

My friends and I camped for years before joining a "camp"....there are reserved areas that you cannot camp in (those are for camps that have registered and been given placement), generally the "better" spots, at least according to some. But much of the city is open (you will be given a map that shows this on your entry, plus it is available on the site now). Grab any open space that is not in the reserved areas, and start meeting your neighbors!

[GreyCoyote]

NB13: A prediction for you (if my trusty crystal ball, given to me by the late Harrietta Hoodunmee is to be believed). You will arrive, late, exhausted, and near death, on a Sunday. You will crash-out in a veritable heap after getting through Gate and Greets. You will HATE this fucking thing known as "Burning Man". Later, you will awake to a city in flux and turmoil, smoke and dust, and the landscape will have changed radically from just 6 hours ago. You will meet a half-naked Valkyrie who insists on cooking you breakfast and reading your fortune. The thought of a high-colonic irrigation session will not send you screaming. You may even agree to this because at some cosmic level, your Inner Hippie demands it. You will then find yourself honor-bound to be the Big King Sandwich Maker for his/her camp at lunch and discover culinary talents you never imagined you could possess. Knifes will speak to you. Cheese is putty in your hands. Bread becomes your bitch. Sandwiches will be made. And it will be Good. Someone will name you, and other will anoint you with this name. Thereafter you will be sucked-in to the communal vortex of a camp and find you can not escape. You will enjoy this. Crisis and Drama will ensue. Friends will be made, and coolers will be emptied. You will forget to drink water, and you will break down into Primal Man. You will sob. And curse. Then you will visit the Temple. And the Man. A guy named "Peaches" wearing nothing but a tutu and a marble pouch will offer you a tea ceremony in the deep playa under the stars at midnight. You will DisOrient. And then we will set you to Burn. Time will stand still and the universe will roll around you. You will meet people from an imaginary past and promise to see them in a distant future. Fire. Dust. Lust. And then you will find yourself on the road to home, and you will swear by the Gods and their Keepers that NEXT YEAR, (and fuck a duck!), you will be back.

Or something.

In other words, just follow your nose. Something as simple as someone cooking bacon may answer your Soul Call and become the nexus of your burn.

Go with it. Be the ball. Explore the possibilities. Rule nothing out. And dont even try to explain it to the folks back home. They won't believe you anyway.

[Jackass]

Lots of people this year seem to think that you must be part of a camp in order to secure real estate for their stuff. Where did they get this idea from?

[mudpuppy000]

orphan camps might be a good idea to search for too.

Unfortunately all three orphan camps are full, but newburner13, you can always start a new camp like we did our first year. See if any other solo campers on here want to group up with you and camp together. Pick an open address on the map, figure out a name for yourselves, and show up! Or just go solo, you'll have fun either way.

[socks]

Theraplst,
You will be better off with a bike than a box of TBD.

[mudpuppy000]

Fittingly, we started a camp thread on August 5th, 2010.

http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic. ... ng#p574356

[theCryptofishist]

I love it when a camp comes together.

[Ugly Dougly]

Even if you are getting together with someone else, it's always best to have your radical self sufficiency figured out.

[graidawg]

Now is a good time to start panicking, get it out of the way. don't camp on the 6-10 side of the city (thats where the perverts are)

[dragonpilot]

Now is a good time to start panicking, get it out of the way. don't camp on the 6-10 side of the city (thats where the perverts are)

I resemble that!

[BurnerBunny]

Now is a good time to start panicking, get it out of the way. don't camp on the 6-10 side of the city (thats where the perverts are)

awesome, now I know where to go!

[Oldguy]

Solo camper at BRC since 2005, I was a boy scout in the Fifties, paratrooper in the Seventies, and lawman in the Eighties. I have always gone with the motto, " Be Prepared! ". Playa Info lists opportunities, jobs, rides, and camping leads. Just ask.

[Savannah]

Wow, I was given misinformation then. Well, shit. Okay, here we go!

Yeah, people oversold camps to you. Well-meaning, wicked bastards.

I've camped with 19 hometown people my first time (knowing only one of them). They weren't a theme camp, just a camp-camp. In the 4 Burns after that: with just one other person. We always had people surrounding us and went visiting people and camps all day long. And after that, I experimented with being completely "alone" one year (had neighbors & friends) and after that, being with a large, fun but low-key group.

To this day I wouldn't say I've had the full-on super-involved theme camp experience, nor have I ever paid dues. I bring my own shade and food and water and washing up tricks. All my associations are purely social. I like all my responsibility to be to myself, and my volunteer shifts.

You've been given some great advice in this thread (loved GreyCoyote's rhapsody). Here's a little more.

Where Do I Camp?
http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic.php?t=29356

And if you still want a camp, a few camps (linked below) are still accepting people, but it's late in the game. If you don't see something awesome that fits you, prepare to the teeth and go alone. You'll be surrounded by people unless you camp way out in "Walk-In Camping". (Don't do that.) Just be in an open non-theme area.

2013 Theme Camps
http://eplaya.burningman.org/viewforum.php?f=323

[mdonaghey075]

Me and a friend are flying in to SF to get the burner express and I've been wondering about logistics myself. Finding people to camp with sounds ideal. We only have standard luggage allowance so I was doubting if I'd be able to bring a shade structure with me. I'm also a little concerned about carrying water any tips? This is my first burn!

[International Incident]

Advice from an overseas burner.
Don't worry about your "shade". You can visit your neighbours. Make sure you can stake your tent down - good pegs.
Water - pick the bus that stops at the shops and buy your water.
You can also do without a cooler. Bring shelf stable drinks, food and booze. Most camps would be happy to swap out warm beers for a coldy if you are nice!
You will be fine.
Message me if you want to ask questions outside the forum -

[pretty_monster]

didn't join a camp my first year. found an empty patch of dirt in the wee hours of the morning, set up our tent, and awoke the next day to find that we'd been adopted into a camp and that they were making us breakfast. well... all righty then. Camp Dawdle 2010!

[DiAliShea]

You definitely don't need to be part of a camp.

My first burn, it was myself and one of my sister's friends who I knew of but did not know. I was really going solo, but had some company for the drive. This year, I'm going solo but picking up a rideshare. I'm not a theme camp person. Just too selfish, I want to spend 100% of my time how I want it.

People there will welcome you with open arms, you'll be fine. Just remember that whole radical self-reliance thing.

[nnevvinn]

I have a new theme camp that still has some space. Where can I advertise to people who are looking for a place to camp?

[Sham]

I second the wise Uglas Douglas. You don't have to be in a camp with anyone. Just show up (you were gonna have all your own logistics and needs handled, right? You'll figure out who, if anyone, you wanna camp with next year. You'll be fine and have a ball this year.

Let me third this. I was meeting people in Reno my first year and knew probably 20 people before I hit the playa. I know that having loose ends can be daunting, but just let things roll and you will find 10 good spots to set things up and be making lots of new friends along the way.

[theCryptofishist]

I have a new theme camp that still has some space. Where can I advertise to people who are looking for a place to camp?

Start your own thread in the 2013 camps sub-forum. Say what you're doing and what you're looking for. Don't use the word "chill" as it makes you look like an ass.