Burning Man on the cheap

[DrYes]

From the glossary:

Evaporation Pond: What people build to evaporate their grey water. Since you can't just dump grey water on the playa, you need to either haul your dirty water to a portapotty and dump it

Is this a legit practice?

I read recently that the portapotty servicing camp will take your water for a fee, but that seemed like potentially old info from the Earth Guardian site.

Think about this... 68 000 people dumping there gray water in the port-a-pots..

NO!!!

Hrm, to be honest, I hadn't really considered this but I see your point. I've not personally ever dumped grey water in the porta-potties but I've heard others talking about doing it when there's a little bit left in the evap pond at the end of the week. I don't think it's actually practical or possible for most people to dump the vast majority of their grey water in the porta-potties anyway, but as I don't want to encourage people to abuse community resources like that, I've removed mention of it. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

[DrYes]

Two ways of approaching it: being self-sufficient or relying on "the playa provides" mindset. Either is valid, to my mind. There's so much surplus food on the playa that one could argue NOT bringing any is contributing to less waste. Also, Burning Man is already a cheap way to spend a week surrounded by the most amazing art and entertainment to be found on the planet. $400 bucks for 7 days of that? Cheap.

If you're going the self-sufficient route, you can do food and shelter for $200 - $300 for the week for 2 people. If you already have camping gear, subtract $100 from that range. Thusly:

• hang some tarp off of your car for shade
  buy used camping gear (tent, Coleman camping stove, cooler, water container, that's all you need)
  $5 for breakfasts (2 boxes of Safeway Apples & Cinnamon oatmeal)
  $5 bucks for lunches (make a large container of pasta salad with chopped up kilbasa, always lasts the week between my wife and I)
  $40 for dinners (buy Mountain House freeze-dried meals in bulk on Amazon)

Thanks! This is concise gold! Also going to try out these Mountain House meals and see if they're good enough that I could avoid prepping dinners myself ahead of time in boilable bags. Good tips!

[mudpuppy000]

The mountain house meals are pretty good, but a little pricey. If you just want cheap, canned food is great. Can of refried beans, salsa, and tortillas and you're going to be stuffed.

[Ratty]

Dr Yes, Good job. This will be an ongoing project and I think there is a need for it. My own God-Child turns 18 this year and wants to come. I won't play Playa Mom to her but I will haul her bike and water. She will need to come on the cheap. It's not something to be ashamed of or to flaunt. I think the first time attendees was upwards of 40% this year. New Burners need to buy so much stuff that is specific to this one week in the desert. Someone should tell them not to buy that $300 coat. Tell them they CAN use the old ice chest if they raise it off the ground with a couple of 2X4s and wrap it in an old quilt. There are 1,000s of ideas on eplaya how to save money when preparing for your trip. Keep up the good work.


Forty-eight, You should pray that Robbi-Dobbs doesn't get wind of this thread. NO. You can not pour anything in the potties. We are passionate about having porta potties that don't overflow and get zip tied shut. (I'm sorry. Was I yelling? I'll use my indoor voice.)

[DrYes]

Someone should tell them not to buy that $300 coat.

God, the amount of clothing I bought my first two years that I don't even bring any more or rarely wear when I do is embarrassing.

[forty_eight]

Forty-eight, You should pray that Robbi-Dobbs doesn't get wind of this thread. NO. You can not pour anything in the potties. We are passionate about having porta potties that don't overflow and get zip tied shut. (I'm sorry. Was I yelling? I'll use my indoor voice.)

lol, it isn't my blog

i guess i should have done it more in ePlaya fashion and smashed him over the head with the instance of bad advice

it was sort of a rhetorical question

as it stands, i accomplished what i intended. he removed the reference to that disposal approach.

so, i would expect robbidobbs would appreciate that i pointed it out and that i mentioned the USS camp dumping option (if it still exists).

[robbidobbs]

From the glossary:

Evaporation Pond: What people build to evaporate their grey water. Since you can't just dump grey water on the playa, you need to either haul your dirty water to a portapotty and dump it

Is this a legit practice?.

FUCK. NO!
Ok thanks 48 for ripping that piece of bad info out. I need to make that sentence to not ever have occurred. What a nightmare. Read my Final Wipeup if anyone wants to know why.

And yes, USS will pump gray water.

[DrYes]

From the glossary:

Evaporation Pond: What people build to evaporate their grey water. Since you can't just dump grey water on the playa, you need to either haul your dirty water to a portapotty and dump it

Is this a legit practice?.

FUCK. NO!
Ok thanks 48 for ripping that piece of bad info out. I need to make that sentence to not ever have occurred. What a nightmare. Read my Final Wipeup if anyone wants to know why.

And yes, USS will pump gray water.

No worries. I've replaced it with tips on how to dispose of leftover bacon grease in the portas. Pour it into a paper bag and then wrap that bag in one-ply toilet paper, and toss it in. That's cool right?

MOD NOTE: the above is 'humor'.
If it didn't come out of your body, don't put it in the potty.
If USS continues to have problems emptying them, we could lose them, and that means losing the event. -Eric

[vargaso]

The mountain house meals are pretty good, but a little pricey. If you just want cheap, canned food is great. Can of refried beans, salsa, and tortillas and you're going to be stuffed.

They are a little pricey, but they're self-contained, you just boil water and pour it into the bag and eat from there. No dishes, minimal garbage. Trader Joe's also has some good meals in bags, not freeze-dried. Their Indian food meals are pretty tasty.

Dr. Yes, the Mountain House stuff tastes surprisingly good, we use it on backpacking trips as well. Get the burrito mixes and bring some tortillas. Good stuff.

I've never bought into the whole "Burning Man is expensive" thing. For a week vacation, it's fucking cheap, never mind all the amazing experiences you have. The cost of a ticket is basically equal to 2 nights in a modest hotel. And forget about trinkets, just gift your time on a project or volunteer on a team. Seriously, Burning Man is cheap. The toughest part would be time away from work if you don't get paid time off. That, I understand.

[DrYes]

The mountain house meals are pretty good, but a little pricey. If you just want cheap, canned food is great. Can of refried beans, salsa, and tortillas and you're going to be stuffed.

They are a little pricey, but they're self-contained, you just boil water and pour it into the bag and eat from there. No dishes, minimal garbage. Trader Joe's also has some good meals in bags, not freeze-dried. Their Indian food meals are pretty tasty.

Dr. Yes, the Mountain House stuff tastes surprisingly good, we use it on backpacking trips as well. Get the burrito mixes and bring some tortillas. Good stuff.

I've never bought into the whole "Burning Man is expensive" thing. For a week vacation, it's fucking cheap, never mind all the amazing experiences you have. The cost of a ticket is basically equal to 2 nights in a modest hotel. And forget about trinkets, just gift your time on a project or volunteer on a team. Seriously, Burning Man is cheap. The toughest part would be time away from work if you don't get paid time off. That, I understand.

I ordered a few to test them out at home and see how I like them. Also added your specific advice to that page on the burn.life site. Thanks!

[unjonharley]

I just don't know about you High Rollers..

I'm so poor,I pinch each penny until Lincoin's nose bleeds.. I still manage to get to Burning Man.. Without begging for a ticket, food, water and gas..

[Savannah]

The mountain house meals are pretty good, but a little pricey. If you just want cheap, canned food is great. Can of refried beans, salsa, and tortillas and you're going to be stuffed.

Agreed. Everyone says the Mountain House stuff is decent, but I've never bothered with official "camping food".

Vaccum sealed is also nice -- Indian food, salmon, etc.

And I think I spotted cooked, vacuum-sealed beef and chicken at Grocery Outlet the other day for the first time. The chicken was intended for spur of the moment pizza toppings, but I can easily envision dumping it into a tortilla with some Palak Paneer sauce.