Blog Post

Article posted on Aug 28

50 Hours on the Playa

• Posted by Ryan Finnie on August 28, 2002, 11:45 pm

So it's one day later. I've taken a shower, gotten some rest, and given myself time to compose my thoughts, mostly rehashing thoughts from the ~2 hour drive back from Black Rock City to Reno. Here we go.

At 4PM on Sunday, I arrived at Burning Man. At 6PM on Tuesday, I left.

This was not an easy thing to do, but I want to offer some sort of expanation, mostly to myself. Mostly I am pissed at myself. I feel resentment towards myself for practically wasting a decent amount of time and money in this endevaor. Hopefully the following words will help me offset this feeling.

The following are a list of reasons leading to my decision to leave Burning Man. These are loosely sorted by importance, but I should note that this was a culmination of all of these events; no single event would have prevented me from staying.

Reason 1: the injury. Like I said earlier, I arrived at about 4PM Sunday. I set up my own camp, then went exploring. However, at that time, nobody was really set up yet, so I just ended up wandering around for awhile. After nightfall, I found Sam, who proceeded to introduce me to the fine team at Spock Mountain Research Labs. In exchange for some work setting up the shack, they offered me dinner and refreshments.

On Monday morning I stopped back at SMRL and helped finish building the structure, which I must say is probably the most imaginative and best looking camp at Burning Man. Wait for some pictures... Later in the morning (or could be early afternoon, it's hard to tell the exact time when nobody cares to wear a watch) I took a more extended ride around the site, going from 255 and Bowsprit to the eastern end and back, with a detour along the main road to see The Man. As I was going through center camp, another bicyclist colided, knocking me down to my left. The injury was not bad; nothing broken or sprained, and just some small scrapes on my knee. I got back up and went back to my camp.

It wasn't until riding back from PlayaNet with Sam later that day did I feel a deep burning from the muscles above my left knee. I got some rest at SMRL, and the burning died down to nothing. After nightfall, I went over to center camp to watch some fire dancing, and the pain started up again. But I am a stuborn man; I continued on to do some late-night camp-hopping on the western half of the circle. I tried to get some sleep tuesday morning before dawn, but the lingering pain and noise of the city (more on that later) didn't afford me much.

Mid-morning Tuesday, I admitted defeat and went to the med tent. I saw the treatment coming a mile away: a ice pack and an instruction to take it easy for "awhile". I had no shade structure for myself, coming alone and all, so I spent most of the afternoon sitting on the porch at Spock Mountain.

Now, let me get this out of the way: I'm extremely grateful to Mr. Bad and the rest of the Spock Mountain guys. Your hospitality was more than expected. However, I was still technically and outsider, and I did not want to be treated like a cripple by a group of people I had just met. True, I could have found other camps to spend extended periods of the day with, but the same problem would still eventually crop up. Or I could spend time resting inside my tent. Yeah, right. Sam, when you read this, don't go saying anything like "don't think that way, it would have been no problem with you around for a couple days". That might have been, but I'm a proud and self-reliant man. That's my fault, not you guys. Again, thanks a lot.

Reason 2: my personality. If you know me, I'm a very personable man. The key phrase is "if you know me". I'm very friendly to people I know, but shy to strangers. The range is extreme. For example, I was told recently by a girl that I've known since high school that I "flirt" with her. She isn't threatened by my attitude or anything, but it shows the level of friendliness I exert. Conversely, a few weeks ago I walked into a lounge at a local casino, got light-headed, turned around and walked out. I've been fine there the several times before that I've been there, but those were when I was with coworkers; this time I was alone.

Now, at this point you may mention the activities I alluded to on Monday night. It took me some courage to go into just one camp. It wasn't until after some akward socilization that things got better and I spent some time (okay, I was also decently intoxicated too, that may have helped slightly). Later in the night a couple people from the first camp and I went over to a second camp, which I cannot remember the name of (though it could concivably be called Geodesic Dome With Weird Stuff In It #647). Lather, rinse and repeat. I met a girl at the second camp eventually. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The point of all of this? Burning Man's activities don't click with my personality 100%. Sure, the displaced reality of the whole event helps nullify this point a bit, it's still there. But is this, by itself, enough to keep me from going back at all? No.

Reason 3: sleep. Until Sunday, I thought I could sleep through anything. Oh god was I wrong. There were three things at play here: the noise, the heat/cold and the ground. Noise: Earplugs are useless. I'm considering those noise-deadening headphones for next year. To test them beforehand, I will go to Circut City's Home Theater demo room and crank up everything as far as it will go. Heat/cold: During the night, it was actually pretty comfortable. I don't think it got below 50F. However, sleeping during the daytime is pretty damn hard. From the moment the sun rises, it was like an oven in my tent. I'm still not sure how to overcome that. Finally, Ground: The playa is unforgiving. I bought a camping pad to sleep on. Utterly useless. Next year I need to buy a cot. Plain and simple.

Reason 4: Reno. Yes, I live in Reno. Suffice it to say, if I lived anywhere except for 1.5 hours away from Burning Man, I would still be there.

Reason 5: drugs/tobacco. Very minor thing, but worth mentioning. I don't use drugs. The fact that other people do don't bother me so much, but I don't really enjoy the smell of pot. Even worse is the fact that many people smoke there, while I have been off cigarettes for nearly 8 weeks now. Thankfully, the cigarettes never overcame me.

Reason 6: work. There were issues at work that could have used my attention, which I found out about via the wireless feed on the playa. Next year I think I'll just leave my laptop at home.

Again, let me reiterate that my leaving Burning Man was the result of ALL of the above items. Nothing by itself would have bothered me enough to leave.

Okay, I do feel slightly better by explaining this in words. However, there's still the practical side of me thinking, was it worth it? The money and time invested, versus the few people I met, the casual sex with a girl from Chicago who I most likely will never see again (and who I don't know the real name of), the few camps I hung out at, the few gatherings and shows I saw? I may never answer that to myself.

Here's a few tips as the result of my short stay in Black Rock city:

* Bring chapstick. I never saw the use for chapstick till spending a few hours on the playa, and remember, I survived 18 winters in Green Bay, WI without the need for it.

* Don't depend on sleep. Stockpile before you leave. Spend the 4 days before leaving for Burning Man in your bed.

* If you are going alone, DON'T. I learned the two most valuable words on the playa: shade structure. Either join an existing camp where you can help with and enjoy the mutual benefits of a shade structure, or go with at least a couple friends and build one completely by yourselves. I foolishly thought I could bounce from one camp to another for shade. However during the day, while you are going to do a few things, remember that there are a great number of sun-scorching hours of daylight, and for the most part, your body wan't no part of it. The night time is where it's all at.

* Drink plenty of water. While it wasn't much of a problem for me, I saw three people suffering from dehydration in the time I was there. Buring Man's web site said it best: If you don't have a water bottle by your side, you have a hydration problem. I recommend those camelbak things, it's great to throw on your back, and also has many compartments for stowing your stuff.

* On a lighter note... you know that special feeling a man gets when he sees a topless woman ride by on a bicycle? Well, it only lasts for about 40 boobs, max. Case in point: A girl named Juggs came by SMRL monday afternoon (she used to be a juggler, she told us. The fact that she was naked and had some very decent tits had nothing to do with it). Anyways, we talked for an hour or so before I thought to myself, "wait a second, I'm having a casual conversation with a naked woman. whodathunkit." She even taught me to hula-hoop. No, that is not a sexual metaphor.

...

Suffice it to say, I did buy a in-out pass at the gate while leaving. I will be back for the burn. I deeply regret leaving, but I will be back next year in full force.

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