There’s a lot of good info on the internet, including Burning Man's Survival Guide.  In fact, there's so much information, it can be a bit overwhelming, so we’ve highlighted some important things below.  

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Downloadable Packing List

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Dust

You and everything you bring will be covered in dust.  The dust gets EVERYWHERE and is very caustic, so either embrace the dust or don’t take things you highly value.  The dust can be dangerous if you inhale too much.  This is a bigger issue on windy days, so you need to protect yourself.  Because whiteouts are unpredictable, never leave camp without goggles and something to keep you from breathing the dust.  Two sets of goggles, one for nighttime and one for daytime, is a good idea.  To prevent breathing dust, you can use a few different things, depending on how much prevention you want:  a cool, steampunk respirator (see below); face masks; neck gaiters; bandanas or an N-95 mask.  Bring multiple types to cover different conditions.

 

If you’re in the Sacramento area, the Original Cheap Thrills on K Street has cool respirators and goggles, but they have a limited supply. 

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You may want to keep your costumes sealed up in ziplock bags until you wear them.  Some people cover their beds with an extra sheet to hold the dust at bay.  Once you get home, vinegar removes the dust fairly well.  Wipe down everything with a mixture of vinegar and water, as well as add vinegar to every load of laundry.  

 

The dust is especially hard on your car, but there are things you can do to protect it:

1. Bring a car cover

2. Bring plastic sheeting to cover your seats and dashboard after you empty the car, then don’t open it until time to load up for the trip home.

3. After the burn, have your car cleaned, have the dust blown out of your engine with an air compressor and replace the cabin and engine air filters.  Doing a vinegar-and-water rinse before the carwash is helpful; don’t forget the undercarriage!

 

Heat/Cold/Dryness

It will be very hot and dry during the day, often over 100 degrees.  It can also be chilly at night, so bring warm clothes and bedding.  Be sure to protect yourself from the sun and to stay hydrated.  We have three large shade structures:  the kitchen, the lounge, and a large area for tents.  In addition to a sunhat, sun shirt, sunglasses and sunscreen, a parasol, a spray bottle filled with water, and a rechargeable, electric fan are handy.  Keep in mind that drinking a ton of water without interspersing electrolytes is a recipe for disaster. You can end up drinking too much water and suffer from electrolyte depletion.  It’s also nice to put part of every bag of ice into a 2-gallon ziplock bag for adding to your water bottle.  Ice cold water is a wonderful thing!

 

Water and Grey Water

You have to bring all your own water for drinking, washing, cooking, dishes, showering, etc.  The Burning Man site recommends about 1.5 gallons/person/day.  You can bring less if you supplement with melted ice water from your cooler.  One idea is to pour your (reasonably clean) melted ice water into a large beverage dispenser (2-gallons or larger) and use it for everything except drinking and cooking.  Place some kind of basin or tub below it to prevent spillage.  Your water will go farther if you bring wipes for daily personal hygiene.  You can remove the residue from the wipes with a wet paper towel.  

 

You cannot pour any water onto The Playa.  You need to capture your grey water in a basin, then dump it into the camp’s grey-water catchment pool called the "evapatron."  Anything that doesn’t evaporate, we have pumped out by a truck.  

 

Shelter

You’ll likely be staying in a tent with a shade structure over it.  We do have a large, communal shade structure for those that prefer it to bringing their own.  The main things to consider when designing your “home” are dust and wind.  Tents with a lot of mesh allow a lot of dust in; that said, they are cooler.  If you have one with a large mesh area, use a rain fly to help keep the dust out or just embrace it.   You should wax all your tent/shade zippers; the dust can render them inoperable.

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Wind is a real problem!  (See video above.)  Both your tent and your shade structure need to be well anchored with 10- or 12-inch, 3/8” lag bolts or 12” heavy-duty stakes, NOT the ones that typically come with tents and shade structures.  In addition, you’ll need to use guy wires with at least 1/8” cord and lag bolts or heavy-duty stakes.  We’ll have impact drivers on hand to help you with the lag bolts.  The lag bolts go farther if you use them on the upwind side of everything and stakes on the downwind side.  

 

In order to attach a guy wire to a lag bolt, you’ll need to construct a link using a washer, a couple of chains links, and some 1/8” cord; otherwise, the cord will slip off the bolt.  Some structure footings are too small for a lag bolt or large stake.  Just add some cord to connect the links to the footing.  Use a square knot for this purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Rain is rare, but obviously possible (2023!!!); another reason to use your rain fly and to bring a poncho.  Shoes are useless in the mud which quickly cakes your shoes, making it difficult to walk; walking in just socks seemed to work best.  

 

Side note:  If we do have rain and the vehicles that service the porto-potties can’t get through, they will be locked up.  Burning Man recommends bringing a 5-gallon bucket with a toilet seat and liners for this purpose.  The camp has a supply of liners and a small number of buckets for people to share. 

 

Safety and Security

LIGHTS LIGHTS LIGHTS!!!  The biggest risk to your safety is being run into at night out on the Open Playa by either a Mutant Vehicle or another bike.  Make sure you and your bike are well lit at all times; carry extra batteries and lights or charge your lights every day.  

 

Whiteouts and dust storms are not to be taken lightly.  They come on quickly with little or no warning.  The first thing to do is to put on your googles and mask.  If you get hit by one while away from camp and there is shelter nearby, head for it quickly.  If there is no shelter, you’ll have to shelter in place.  The Mutant Vehicles are supposed to stop and wait it out; they can be a good place to shelter.  DO NOT walk or ride your bike until it’s over.  If there is no shelter, stay next to your bike and keep your lights on.  Cover yourself as much as possible with a jacket or small sheet of some type.  There’s no telling how long one might last (20 minute or 2 hours).  All you can do is be prepared; it’s mostly just uncomfortable.  You’ll likely need to shower afterwards as you will be totally covered in dust.

 

Keep your bike locked up at all times, especially when you’re away from camp, even if you’re just a few feet away.  This is the one item that walks away most frequently.  Label everything with your name, your phone number, our camp name (Pepperland) and its location (5:30 and Baffle).  There’s always someone in camp, so theft in camp is not a big concern.  It’s important to lock things up during Saturday and Sunday nights when the Man and the Temple burn.  Check with Lost & Found if you lose something; it may turn up.  If you use labels, BM organizers will contact you if they find your stuff during the cleanup.

 

Overall, Burning Man is a reasonably safe place, but you should use a buddy system at night and use caution when accepting drugs from someone.  There is a ton of free alcohol, so there are a lot of drunks.  Burning Man has an emphatic “No Means No!” and “Maybe Means No!” and “Incapacitated Means No!” policy with signs in the porta-potties reinforcing that policy.  

 

Always know how to get home!  When you’re out on the Open Playa, it’s easy to lose your bearings, especially at night.  This year it will be easy due to our placement at 5:30 and Baffle.  You just have to align the Temple and the Man, head for Center Camp, take Baffle to 5:30 and look for the Pepperland sign.  When you go out at night with someone or a group, it’s good to have a “what if we lose each other” plan.  It happens a lot!

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Health/Grooming

Your skin, hair, lips and feet will take a beating!  Chapstick, heavy-duty moisturizer/oil, Bag Balm, scented vinegar, and a large tube of Neopsporin are your friends!  Argan hair oil is great for your skin; use it multiple times a day.  Coating your feet and hands in Bag Balm, then covering them with cotton socks and gloves every couple nights before bed makes a huge difference.  Some people are prone to “Playa foot,” and others are not.  If you get it, you’ll need to soak your feet in vinegar (scented is best), coat them with Neosporin and wear socks and shoes.  You won’t be able to comb or brush your hair after soon after arriving The Playa.  A lot of women braid it and leave it braided for the entire time.  You’ll likely shower once or twice; however, it can take a lot of water to wash your hair.  It’s hard to keep your hands and feet clean; a gel mani-pedi really hides the dirt!

 

Prohibited Items

Items that cause MOOP like feathers, sequins, glitter, etc., anything that will break up and/or blow away in the wind, and, of course, weapons, drugs, drones, fireworks, etc.

 

Many people bring pot; you just don’t want to get caught by the BLM police.  The main ways to get caught are:

 

1. Getting pulled over because you’re speeding. Follow the speed limits carefully once you leave I-80!!!  There are a lot of very low speed limits through the reservation and the towns.

2. Getting pulled over because of something like your bike is blocking your taillights or your license plate.  This will cost you a federal drug charge on your record.

3. Openly smoking pot in front of the BLM police; their sense of humor is lacking.

 

We have criminal defense attorneys in our camp who volunteer as Legal Observers with National Lawyers Guild. Along with other Observers, they will be monitoring police actions on Gate Road during arrival, from Saturday morning to Tuesday, and will also be patrolling Esplanade and the open Playa during the week. They can’t provide legal advice while working Observer shifts, but they are all happy to help you report police misconduct and discuss general legal issues while they’re off-duty.

 

Gifts and Costumes

A lot of people think that bartering takes place at Burning Man; it’s really about gifting.  Camps give to Burning Man by hosting events or offering food and drink.  Individuals usually bring gifts to distribute to your fellow campers as well as to strangers, but it’s not a requirement.  (There will be about 60 of us).  Avoid anything that may be a source of MOOP like candy that has wrappers.

 

Camps offering food and drinks expect you to bring your own cup, plate/bowl, and utensils.  Carrying a mug with a lid, a plastic bowl with a lid, and a spoon work nicely.

 

Burning Man is about flying your freak flag high and proud.  If you want to be a pirate half the week and a kitty the other half, go for it.  This year’s theme is Curiouser and Curiouser, so go wild!  Other things to dress for are:  Tutu Tuesdays, White Wednesdays, and the Billion Bunny March on Thursday (be a bunny or a carrot).

 

Bring a clean set of clothes for the trip home.  It’s nice to put on clean clothes before getting stuck in your car for 10+ hours during Exodus.  Better yet, skip Exodus and leave on Tuesday!

 

Bikes

Don’t bring a fancy bike, but do bring one that isn’t too hard to ride.  You’ll spend a lot of time on your bike.  Burning Man is about seven square miles, and there are deep patches of sand.  Make sure your bike has lots of lights visible from the front, back and sides.  You’ll want to attach a milk crate to a rear rack.  Put distinctive lights on the back, so someone following you doesn’t lose you at night.  Use a cheap combination lock to avoid having to keep track of a key; the lock is mostly to deter a drunk from riding off on your bike.  Use one with a word combination; it’s easier to remember.  Also, you want a bike with a kickstand.  Stick a tennis ball on the end of the kickstand to keep it from sinking into the Playa and falling over.  If your bike is particularly unstable when parked, using a bungee cord to keep the front wheel straight is helpful.  Gears are not necessary and can cause maintenance issues.  E-bikes are great; however, e-bike theft was high in 2023 and there are some restrictions.  Check the Burning Man website to see this year’s rules.

 

Food

It’s easy to bring too much food, and it goes bad quickly if you don’t keep it cool.  Your appetite will be low due to the heat and dryness.  Camp provides dinner every night, and that’s often all one eats.  We have two large freezers, and Burning Man sells ice if you bring a cooler.  (It’s the only thing you can buy on The Playa.)  The kitchen has a propane griddle and a small stove for cooking.  A lot of camps serve breakfast.  Tons of them serve alcohol.  There’s lots of suggestion regarding food online:  what lasts longest, how to store it, etc.  A good tip is to make your food list, cut it in half, then cut it in half again!  

 

Trash/Recyclables

There is no communal garbage.  We tried it in the past, and people “forgot” to take home their designated bag.  Bring 3-mil bags and dry your wet stuff (e.g., fruit peels) before putting it in the bag.  Bring a mesh produce bag and hang it up outside your tent for drying scraps.  In addition, the meal team you’re on will be divvying up the garbage from the meal for people to take home.  Double bagging is helpful to avoid leaks in your car.  Also, there are places on the highway to dump your garbage for a small fee.

 

Transportation

Fill up your car with gas when you exit I-80.  Make sure you have plenty of water and food on hand for waiting in line to get in or out.  If you have an RV, fill up in one of the last towns before hitting The Playa.

 

If you know or suspect your car leaks oil, bring plastic sheeting to put under it.  You’ll need to weigh it down with something or park on top of it.