Stowaways!

[Eric]

trying to smuggle stowaways goes against the entire concept of Burning Man, IMO, and should be turned away at the gate - they don't deserve to be a part of it, period.

Zorsha- read the very first post in this thread.

[theCryptofishist]

trying to smuggle stowaways goes against the entire concept of Burning Man, IMO, and should be turned away at the gate - they don't deserve to be a part of it, period.

Zorsha- read the very first post in this thread.

Indeed. That is pretty much what happens.

Although "...against the entire concept of Burning Man..." could lead to a nasty arguement with those who relate to the cacophony/anarchist roots of the thing.

[remotecontrol]

ok gate peeps now that the flood has broken, time for some NEW stowaway adventure stories, with pics please!!

[kvd]

I love to policy. Cheaters should be fucked over mercilessly.

[British Henry]

Haven't got my ticket yet, been reading this topic hoping to find clues as to how get around the stowaway strategy of the gate!!

There seems to be a lot of talk about how to deal with the issue of innocents picking up frauds with fake tickets and the innocents risking their whole van being turned away.

Solution:

Scenario 1: Someone briefly mentioned it, but if all 'picked up' people/ hitch hikers are asked to identify themselves at the gate and their ticket is shown to be a fake, then just they must be turned away (or wait for the next scenario to happen)

Scenario 2: The other type of stowaway will be the ones where the whole van are involved and are deliberately hiding someone, Well in this case yes the whole van should be turned away. Oh and they can take with them those frauds identified in the 1st scenario that are now waiting at the gate.

Scenario 3: The last issue would be an innocent being picked up by a van who was stowing a stowaway. In this case, if the first step is carried out then it would work both ways. The innocent hitch hiker would just have to take all their stuff off the van and hitch the rest of the way into camp with another van.

Am I missing something?

xH
(I'm not a criminal really, I just really really want to go back and have fun with you all)

[Rice]

Any vehicle that has a stow-away will have all tickets confiscated and everyone will have to go home.

Vehicles that are carrying someone with a fake ticket will need to take that person back to civilization and then they will be allowed in. Yes, they do record the vehicle and occupant descriptions.

It is unfortunate if an so-called innocent hitch-hiker gets caught up in other peoples actions.

This is how the gate works. The available tickets have been sold. The rules clearly published. Anyone who refuses to play by the rules will suffer the consequences...


It is unlikely anyone who works gate would put anything regarding gate activities online. People have a right to privacy, which includes the clueless and lost.

[Elliot]

Hmmmm.... I've carried hitch-hikers from Reno to BRC.

This year I will have a passenger manifest. Pre-planned passengers will be typed in, and any hitch-hikers added by pen. No real legal value, I'm sure, but a hitch-hiker would have to show me ID and agree to the conditions, which might filter out trouble-makers. It might look something like this:

[Drawingablank]

Scenario 1: Someone briefly mentioned it, but if all 'picked up' people/ hitch hikers are asked to identify themselves at the gate and their ticket is shown to be a fake, then just they must be turned away (or wait for the next scenario to happen)

While this might be a great way to see Darwin in action, due to the harshness of the environment and distance from pretty much anywhere this is not a solution that would be embraced by just about anyone involved other than those who have to turn around and drive the offender back to civilization.

[British Henry]

While this might be a great way to see Darwin in action, due to the harshness of the environment and distance from pretty much anywhere this is not a solution that would be embraced by just about anyone involved other than those who have to turn around and drive the offender back to civilization.[/quote]

Point taken

[Rice]

There is an exclusion zone around BRC. Anyone caught trespassing by the BLM will get a federal trespassing ticket. That could include people walking who are just trying to cut across the desert.

IMHO it is not worth the risk.

[jcliff]

Wow, I love this! Anyone who tries is so foolish! Last year I can through the gate on Tuesday morning at about 3:00 am after a 5 hour gate wait. My economy rental car was packed to the gunnels! When he opened my trunk, he probably could have guessed that if there was a human being in there, it would be dead. However, he pulled water boxes out and a cooler, etc. until he was sure I was clean. If you are thinking you may get a stowaway through, you better think again because the Gate is mother-fucking through in their search!

[Tiahaar]

Elliot you have the most interesting passengers

Gate will be a busy place this year

[Elliot]

LOL! Hey there Tiahaar! Good to "see" you!
About those "interesting passengers".... At the trucking company, I once hired a driver whose surname really was Schmuck. Pussy Galore was a character in a James Bond film, if I remember correctly. Pippi Longstocking is a character in a Swedish children's book. I considered picking up Marge Schott, but her signature would have looked something like "!@#$%^&*, and this is a family show.

Of course, I made a mistake.... Alvin Chipmunk's signature ought to have been tiny.

Now, seriously.... For those of us with larger vehicles, would such a passenger manifest be a good idea? For me it is, anyway. Peace of mind, or some such.

[gyre]

Just ask to see everyone's ticket, like everyone else does.

[Savannah]

That's what I would do if I were offering anyone a ride--ask to see their ticket, or ID and some proof of Will Call code.

It's actually just a good idea for friends traveling together from the beginning to show each other these things in the car before one leaves town. If one person leaves their ticket in their front hallway even as an honest mistake, it's really going to screw things up at the Gate.

[AntiM]

Ticket Check! Annually, in the driveway. Even when it is just the two of us in the car and I'm the one holding the tickets.

[Savannah]

In 2011, Motskyroonmatick still had my Will Call confirmation page from 2010 on the floor of his box truck's passenger side. I think he left it there because it was cheerful.

[graidawg]

In 2011, Motskyroonmatick still had my Will Call confirmation page from 2010 on the floor of his box truck's passenger side. I think he left it there because it was cheerful.

i still have my plane ticket confirmation and all my paperwork it has survived 3 culls of household junk so far. i have a very small room so have to cull regularly.

[trilobyte]

Check for all the necessary paperwork for all those traveling with you - tickets (or printouts of order confirmations), early arrival passes & ID (if arriving early). Make sure it's in hand and not either packed away someplace that'll be a pain to dig up at the gate, or worse under a magnet on the fridge at home.

If you're sending personal or camp gear with anyone else, make sure they understand the deal on stowaways. If they try something and get caught you most likely won't see your equipment or supplies until after the burn.

[SnowBlind]

It's actually just a good idea for friends traveling together from the beginning to show each other these things in the car before one leaves town. If one person leaves their ticket in their front hallway even as an honest mistake, it's really going to screw things up at the Gate.

We usually swap spare car keys, copies of early arrival passes and will call confirmations before we leave. That way if someone locks their keys in their car, there is always a spare key in another car. And if someone loses EA passes or will call confirmations, someone else has a copy. Obviously doesn't work for paper tickets, so double checking is in order for those.

[Savannah]

It's actually just a good idea for friends traveling together from the beginning to show each other these things in the car before one leaves town. If one person leaves their ticket in their front hallway even as an honest mistake, it's really going to screw things up at the Gate.

We usually swap spare car keys, copies of early arrival passes and will call confirmations before we leave. That way if someone locks their keys in their car, there is always a spare key in another car. And if someone loses EA passes or will call confirmations, someone else has a copy. Obviously doesn't work for paper tickets, so double checking is in order for those.

Yeah, if the friends are close enough and trust enough it's not even "Show me your ticket and EA!" but "Where in the car are you storing these, in case YOU forget?"

My 2008-2009 co-pilot picked up the rental van and either asked for a spare key @ HQ, or had one made immediately at a key place. Can't remember. Anyway, I got the spare. When we got to the event, we put those keys in two different places (never to roam the playa with us), and told the other where.

[Rice]

I have a newer model vehicle with a keypad on the side. Last time I drove down to Bm I set up a special unlock code for the trip and told everyone. That way we could lock our valuables (and keys) in the SUV and everyone could get in. (This reduced the "locked keys" worries I always have on the playa.)

[gyre]

It's not a trust thing, just common sense to know the tickets made the trip.

If there are printouts, I make copies, one in the glovebox, one in luggage, etc.

[Rice]

It's not a trust thing, just common sense to know the tickets made the trip.

If there are printouts, I make copies, one in the glovebox, one in luggage, etc.

I do the same. 1 copy in each piece of luggage and on my person. Ticket stashed in "the ticket place" (checked about 40 times on the trip down)...

[pink]

Yup, me too. Ticket check including right when leaving-and again a block from the house! I have all my main set of keys locked in my van, and a special burning man/festival set that just has my van key & bike key. Has worked so far!

[skyhawkecks]

So no one has any stowaway or turned away vehicle stories from 2011?

[Rice]

Anyone caught with a stow-away in their vehicle had all of the tickets confiscated and were turned back to Reno, and possibly ended up with a trespassing ticket.

Cannot say what I have seen or heard. Perhaps some other burners have a story or two??

[gyre]

What gate doesn't want to have to tell you about stowaways that bake too well in the heat.

And why they tell you not to do it.

[Rice]

What gate doesn't want to have to tell you about stowaways that bake too well in the heat.

And why they tell you not to do it.

There is that.

If the air is 120F, an enclosed space will be so much warmer...

(when it was 42C outside my tent was 70C)

[gyre]

More importantly, small spaces reflect your own body heat back.

That's why you can overheat in a small air conditioned space too.

I met a guy that tried to sneak in, because he didn't have early entry and his friend did.
Had a ticket, so they kept him in D lot for a week.
No line, so he wasn't packed in long.

Even so, he said he was glad to be found.
He was already suffocating.