Segmentation Fault: Brain Dumped

I will not go into how long it’s been since I last posted. I was caught between “haven’t absorbed it” and “what I have to say isn’t interesting and it’s been said many times before.”

So I’m taking a new angle at this. I’m going to attack my report on Burning Man as a newbie talking to another newbie who has reservations about going to Burning Man.

Disclaimer: Burning Man isn’t for everyone. If it’s not your thing, don’t sweat it. Don’t go.

But it’s too hot!

Probably the #1 reason why people are afraid to go. Yes, it’s in the desert. Yes, it gets really hot. However, if you’re smart, you brought shade structure and have put it up either in the early morning hours or at twilight (when it’s less hot). You’ve also brought enough water to not only drink, but also to mist yourself on occasion (1.5 gallons per person per day). You can also buy ice at Center Camp, keep it in a cooler, and occasionally drop some cubes into your decolletage. A lightweight, wide-brimmed hat is also a necessity. You can also bring an umbrella around with you if you’re walking around the city, or construct a shade over your bike.

It’s hot, but it is a desert. This means it’s super dry too. Average humidity is 6% (average humidity even when it’s low in most areas is 20%). This means that a) temperatures are much cooler in the shade and b) sweating works.  The dry air immediately wicks away moisture, leaving you cool. Drench yourself with mist from your mister bottle, and you’ll be amazed how cool you’ll feel. But this also means you have to chug water constantly. If you’re not peeing clear, you’re risking dehydration. Bring Gatorade if you want to be sure, but just stock up on food that’s salty and have at least one serving of salty food a day.

The smell has to be horrific!

Yep, I’ve heard this one. It’s actually not a big deal out there.

First of all, some background. My husband teases me about my nose and how sharp it is at detecting odors. While we’re walking it’s not uncommon for me to say, “Oh, hey, a rodent farted here six years ago.” So if a place is stinky, I’m the first to be miserable about it.

Black Rock City is situated on a prehistoric lake bed that is alkaline dust. You learn to live with it. Dust gets into your food, your water, in your clothes, and in your nose. One of the benefits of alkaline is that it absorbs odors. I spent a week amongst people who were not bathing regularly, probably weren’t being very mindful of deodorant application, and we were camped right across the street from a bank of porto-potties. I smelled nothing. It was a blissful week – a vacation from my nose. The only time I smelled anything was when the porto-potties were being serviced, and that was every six hours, if I was at camp.

That gets me to the next obstacle…

You can’t take a proper shower!

I’m a stickler about bathing. During the hot summer, it’s not unusual for me to shower twice a day. I don’t like being sweaty or sticky or smelly.

For the week that I was on the playa, I took one shower, and that was a quick cold one in the RV. We had bought way way way too many baby wipes, and I used baby wipes twice a day to sponge bathe. The only thing that bugged me about not being able to use running water was that gunk piled up under my fingernails. I had No-Rinse shampoo and conditioner to wash my hair (although the playa gets in there anyway and makes it a mess – bandannas are your friend).

It didn’t bother me that I couldn’t properly shower. The dry heat wicked away any sweat and after awhile you get used to being coated in Playa dust. Of course, when we left the Playa and got to Reno, the shower at the hotel felt like angel tears on my skin, but during the week I was comfortable despite the lack of bathing.

Eugh! Porto Potties! I can’t abide them!

Porto Potties are a fact of life on the Playa, even if you bring an RV. You need to use them regardless if you plan on exploring the city, and you don’t want to use up all the RV water.

I was pretty impressed by the Porto Potties at Burning Man. Like most Porto Potties, they don’t compare to your bathroom at home. However, they were serviced every six hours. They were quite clean as Porto Potties go, and again, because of Playa dust, I never got a strong Port Potty odor when I was in one. Just don’t try to glance or give thought to the contents.

One thing to consider, however, is that you do have to bring toilet paper and hand sanitizer with you wherever you go. After a couple of days, toilet paper and hand sanitizer isn’t consistently re-stocked at all Porto groups. Life is also much easier if you’re camped by a Porto Potty.

I’ve heard there’s a long line to get in

Yes, there is. Eight hours to drive from Reno to Burning Man. Two hours to drive from Burning Man to Reno (once we got on the road – three hour line to get from Burning Man to the road). An RV helps if you don’t have the equipment to pee by the side of the road (and/or prefer not to defile the environment with your bodily fluids). It also helps if you are going with people you like a lot. Conversation and good music pass the time very quickly. An RV also helps if you’re willing to swap places with the driver so everyone can get a nap in and arrive fresh to the Playa to construct camp.

I heard old/ugly/fat people walk around naked. Icky!

I can’t help you there. If you have those sort of hang-ups, maybe Burning Man isn’t the right place for you. However, I do have to say that nudity gets pretty common after a day or so on the Playa. You get used to it, and it just becomes the background to a really cool event. Burning Man really is where hang-ups go to die because the people around you being utterly comfortable in their own skins become quite infectious.

You find yourself relaxing, and if it’s your first time, you might not take as many pictures as you thought you’d like. You just want to walk around and experience the place through your own eyes, and you find yourself realizing next time, yes, there will be a next time, you’ll be able to handle having a camera between your eyes and what is happening.

Did I leave out any obstacles people put between them and Burning Man? Leave them in the comments.

I’ll post some pictures soon that can be public, but for the whole collection you have to be my friend on Facebook. Privacy is important to Burning Man participants.