Larger-than-life art, dust, bicycles — be prepared, Burners! (Associated Press)
BY ELIZABETH KIESZKOWSKI / ekieszkowski@staradvertiser.com
I’m preparing for an eight-day sojourn at Burning Man, in a temporary camp filled with 60,000 people who must bring all the necessities of life into an inhospitable desert.
Do I sound a little scared? Oh yeah, it’s already a roller-coaster ride.
Burning Man 2012» Where: Black Rock Desert, Nevada |
One minute, I’m imagining the flights of fancy I’ll experience as I prance through the desert toward a piece of art that seems to be rising into the sunset sky; the next, I’m picturing myself huddled against a boulder as a dust storm threatens to bury me alive.
The temperature extremes at Black Rock can vary from around 100 degrees in the daytime down to 40 degrees at night. Winds can blow up to 40 miles an hour, and there is no windbreak … or natural shade. So you need to bring a certain amount of survival gear.
This is no joke, as the Burning Man organizers take pains to inform us. You can read all about it in the Burning Man Survival Guide.
We’ll be staying in a basic camping trailer with water and a working refrigerator, which resolves some of the issues about food and shelter. And I bought some boots, goggles and a sun-protective hat. You don’t wear slippahs on the playa — the alkaline dust will crack the skin on your feet!
If it rains, there will be a layer of slippery mud, but it’s definitely not something you want to wallow in.
Prepping for Burning Man is fun, if you like to plan for an adventure, but it’s also daunting. You must dress and shelter yourself against heat and cold. You have to bring your own food and water, and any trash or water waste you generate must be taken back out with you.
And on top of that, I feel the pressure to develop — or find within myself — a “Burner” alter-ego, who wears funny hats, hugs strangers, and enjoys being covered with dust.
I'm told there are no fashion "don'ts" on the playa. (Associated Press)
Will this happen? Will I become a Burning Man butterfly? I have no idea.
Follow this blog, and you’ll find out when I do.
In the meantime, my first contact with a Hawaii “Burner” has been colorful and uplifting.
La Vie McMasters, 60, who first went with her daughter in 2009, returned again in 2010 and will again be on the desert this year, says, “I don’t let people (scare me). I know it’s OK to go.”
She has generously given me lots of advice.
Some of this is practical:
» Bring a hat. Scratch that, bring several hats!
» Zip ties are your friend, and better than duct tape for attaching things to a bike.
» Gloves that cover your hands and arms can be a welcome accessory, protecting against sunburn
» You’ll want a camera, but understand that it will be filled with playa dust by the end of Burning Man.
» Put things, including your camera, in ziplock bags to protect them from the constant dustfall.
Some of this is sublime:
» Accessorize with crafts and color of your own choosing.
» Keep an open mind.
» Practice assertive joie de vivre!
Over the past two weekends, I’ve been gathering up supplies: I mail-ordered a bike to ride around the desert (“the playa,” as “Burners” like to call it). I’ve researched sun protection, loaded up on zinc cream and will be bringing several oversized scarves.
I also went online to order 60 feet of neon tubing in four colors, lengths and varieties of control — one blinks, one responds to external sounds, you get the picture. My travel/adventure partner in Burning Man is a longtime friend and public interest lawyer from the Bay Area; we’ll be wrapping ourselves and our bikes in this neon to make ourselves visible during the desert night.
Me. Wrapped in neon. That will be a first!
Burning Man at night, 2010. It helps to have light! (Courtesy La Vie McMasters)
But on the other hand, those who don’t have enough light for all of the night-tripping from camp to camp and to the Man and back are called “dimlits.” Don’t want to be one of those — ha!
Here’s a link to advice about the challenge I fear most: Adapting to the high heat of the day and cool nights, extreme dryness, alkaline soil and potential high winds, even dust storms, that characterize the playa environment.
Based on the advice I’ve been hearing, I have a plan: Train in advance (adapting to heat, and plenty of walking), wear boots, bring goggles and a mask, and drink lots of water. And I may want to look up this theme camp: the AquaZone Love Water Bar, which describes itself thus: “At AquaZone we celebrate water and all its fertility.”
Next week, I’ll have more to report about my quest to be creative in outfitting myself and my camp. Until then, enjoy this video with (unofficial) advice from an exuberant Burning Man veteran.
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Elizabeth Kieszkowski is editor of TGIF, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s weekly arts and entertainment section. Reach her via email at ekieszkowski@staradvertiser.com or follow her on Twitter.