[Hexoatl]

Hi, as the title says im looking to attend in 2011 i know its awhile away but burning man fits in almost perfectly with my plan for that year so i plan to make the most of it.

A basic run down is, i live in scotland and over the summer of '11. I'm going to visit family and pick-up a job for afew months while im there but to cap off my journy im looking at going to BM before i travel back to Scotland.

What im wondering is what are the best ways top get there from LA and what travel times are likly to like. I've read alot of the info on BM over the last little while and sat down tonight and got thru alot of very useful bits of info about keeping safe and such. Just a main consern is will a standard camping tent hold up out there or am i likly to need something abit more sturdy than your average?

Thanks in advance.

[goathead]

Welcome.

I have never used a tent on the playa so I don't know.
Read the survival guide and then read it a few more times.
Hang around, you will be able to pick up lots of things here.


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Cilwenu, gwneud eu rhyfeddu.

[theCryptofishist]

What is a "Standard Camping Tent"?
My husband and I had a tradition. We'd buy a tent. We'd use it. We'd struggle to pack it up at the end of the event. We'd go home. I'd go to work and he wouldn't cope with cleaning it and putting it away. We'd start to get ready for the next year. The tent would be a mess. We'd buy a new one.
It was stupid and wasteful. But you can get an okay tent for cheap enough to throw it away. God Bless Chinese Slave Labor.
If I were you, I'd be more concerned about the working in this country bit. I don't think you'll get a work visa, and, well, under the table work is problematic. Think Canada, you get some sort of Commonwealth deal there, which I think parlays into a much easier time of it all round.
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Catch and release thrift store books.

Oops! I squid it again!!

Terminal City BM 08: http://www.apokiliptika.com/terminal_city_page.htm

[Hexoatl]

the works not an issue so long as i can get a visa as i have a job i can jsut walk into with family nad a place to stay with them as well. so thats not the problem.

just what i was wondering was if i was going to have to spend a fair whack on a tent that i do plan on only using for Burning Man as there is no point in me taking a tend all the way from scotland and back just for 1 small portion of my time over there.

thanks for the help! :D

[Shambala]

As far as your tent question, I bought the cheapest tent I could find when I first attended BM about 9 years back. It only had to make it through 4 or 5 days. It was a 4 person tent with all the features that I needed and very roomy for one person. All these years later I am still using the same tent. I have put a few patches on the fabric, but when I stay in it, it's like my own little vacation home in the desert.

Everyone will have their own opinion on this, but I suggest that you buy an inexpensive tent and make sure that there is not too much mesh screening for the dust to get in under the rain fly. Also, you MUST set up the tent prior to bringing it to the desert. You should know how this tent works so you are not dealing with instructions in the middle of a wind storm, or if you find pieces missing you can get parts.

I hope this helps and hopefully we will see you in two years!
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Please accept my resignation. I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.......Groucho Marx

[Roberto Dobbisano]

[Sail Man]

Hex, Im, with Shambala on this one. Just look for a decent Coleman tent, at Target or Walmart for exp. and while your there buy a couple funky comforters and some office binder clips to cover the mesh with and art it up a bit. Grab a bunch of the 12" tent stakes and toss the flimsy weenie ones that come with the tent.

Also, what are your plans for a shade shelter?
Camping with a group?

And what kind of experience do you have camping in extreme environments? We do have our minimum standards after all




though some of us do slip through the cracks
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O2 is good, blue is bad.
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Another rule of EMS: If the pt. vomits, hold the head to the side of the rig with the easiest cleanable equipment.

[motskyroonmatick]

Don't throw the little wimpy stakes out! They are perfect for holding a tarp or piece of carpet to the ground. Then you put your chair on that and it does not dig in to the playa. Easier to pick moop off of a tarp or carpet too.

Building shade over your tent and small hang out area will dramatically improve your quality of life out there.
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Black Rock City Welding and Repair. TIG and Stick arc welding for repair of your broken things on Playa. Repair, adjustments, trouble-shooting and general tinkering. Provider of D.V. Golficus Carticus.

[Shambala]

I use beefy steaks (stakes) 10 inches long in the corners of my tent and the wimpy (cocktail weenie) ones for the centers and sides. I also put my unopened water jugs inside the tent in the corners. It gets them out of the way and keeps the tent from taking off to Oz should the wind kick up.

While I'm offering my sage tent advice, I might suggest that a tarp be put on the ground under the tent to separate the ground from the tent. It's important NOT to have the tarp sticking out from the bottom of the tent, so it won't catch water in the case of rain. This will keep the floor of the tent dry in a rain storm.
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Please accept my resignation. I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.......Groucho Marx

[Sail Man]

[jkisha]

Hey there, welcome to eplaya!

JK
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And now a 45 second pause while I wait for my post to post. This board really needs to be upgraded--both the hardware and the software.

[Shambala]

[Hexoatl]

[Dork]

Having a sturdy shade is key - any old crappy tent will survive and be reasonably comfortable if it has some isolation from the sun and wind. Camping with an experienced group is great for sorting this type of thing out, or there are a number of different options for rigging something yourself. Just be sure to try it out ahead of time (as much as possible given your plans) and post your ideas here for feedback.

It's not really "normal" camping where you have to prepare for being isolated in the wilderness - it's more about combating the heat and staying reasonably comfortable.

[TomServo]

I prefer heavier canopies, but the cheap $20 10'x10' canopies from Rite Aid, work ok as a shade structure....provided you duct tape all the pipe joints and "splint" anchor each leg. I used scrap conduit...drove it in about a foot and a half, alongside the canopy leg and duct taped the leg and conduit together, with one long piece spiraled from top to bottom.

How much as camo netting in Scotland? I'm hesitant to spend the $75 or so here, for it... but works great as shade, and is less wind resistant than any tarp..
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anything worth doing..is worth overdoing

[theCryptofishist]

It doesn't matter what camo netting costs in Scotland. Once you've shipped it here, it's at or past the $75 mark.
_________________
Catch and release thrift store books.

Oops! I squid it again!!

Terminal City BM 08: http://www.apokiliptika.com/terminal_city_page.htm

[TomServo]

[theCryptofishist]

[gyre]

Some of the high tech stuff may be lighter, like silvicool.
And in europe you can get the solid aluminet by tenax.
Ship some in to sell and help pay for your trip.

[TheBurningFish]

Scary coincidental: I too am Scottish hoping to burn for the first time in '11! I really want to go in '10 but I can't afford it (don't even think about starting with the thrifty tripe ).

[Oso]

This is insane.... no, it's gotta be a joke. Wait until '11?! There's still time.... get it done and make it to '10. Don't take any chances! The world may not exist as we know it in '11!
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There is a land not far from the ears of sound,
The eyes of sight can't see, It's over the trees,
You'll be there by tomorrow's breeze.

[Deb Prothero]

There's a Hollywood movie coming out next week that previews the end of the world and on that high authority, it's clear that the end of the world is not until 2012.

[Oso]

[Deb Prothero]

Yes, of course, three burns would always be better than two. However flying from Scotland plus all the extra expenses of buying gear here makes it difficult if you're on a tight budget, I would imagine.