The S-4 reporting!
We have had one hell of a day. As Burning Man is only five months away, it's time to get serious about getting things in order. It's my inner staff officer shouting at me. I want a plan, a load sheet, and a detailed examination of what we are taking. Stuff that was just along for the ride last year is being left out. My goal is to minimize the weight we have to haul over the Sierra Nevada mountains. Less weight overall means better power on the climb and better fuel efficiency.
We started our day at Harbor Freight. Yes, we looked at gauges. So . . . many . . . gauges . . . But we steeled our hearts and looked for things that will be used. Last year, for example, we had the devil's own time getting the stakes that held down our shade structure out of the Playa. Our small prybar simple didn't have enough leverage. Today, we picked up one that is twice as long as our old one. If it saves us five minutes pulling stakes, it will have paid for itself.
We also needed a moving blanket. Our solar panels came packed in styrofoam. That stuff is a MOOP nightmare. For those of you who have forgotten, MOOP stands for "Matter Out Of Place" and we Burners are constantly on the prowl for even the tiniest piece of matter that does not along. We take great pride in cleaning up after ourselves. So disintegrating styrofoam is not a good thing.
With our purchases in hand (we bought a couple of other goodies) we piled into the truck and headed to Kirsten's warehouse, which is where we are kindly allowed to store our gear. The first thing on the agenda was wrapping the solar panels in their new blanket. Worked like a cham. The came the long process of pulling all the parts of the shade structure out of their box, identifying them, and taping them with a band of colored tape so we know which part goes where. This was tedious, but again, it will save us time setting up in the desert once we get there.
Next came my favorite part: inventory! We had three storage boxes filled with stuff. two were already labeled as boxes one and two. So we dove in. Most the materials were obviously needed, like the stuff in box one that turned out to be our kitchen supplies. But for everything else, we triaged every item. Some came home with us because they should be stored in the trailer. Others got tossed. Some came home because while we will probably take them to the Burn, they should be packed yet.
When all was said and done, we had everything in two boxes. I'm very pleased with this result. There will be revisions and changes, and we haven't even begun figuring camp dues and where our bikes are going, but if we can stay at two packed boxes, I'm a very happy burner.
So here's the current list.
Burning Man Packing List
Updated: 11 MAR 16
The Man burns in 174 days!
Currently on the pallet:
1x Coleman 120 quart cooler
1x Camp Kitchen
3x 7-gallon water jugs
1x 5-gallon water cooler
2x 5-gallon gasoline containers
1x 20lb propane tank
1x 36” pry bar
1 shade structure duffle bag containing:
4x 13104 Short Roof Rafters (blue tape)
4x 13103 Long Roof Rafters (blue tape)
2x 13106 Roof Cross Piece (purple tape)
4x 13103 Roof Cross Piece (purple tape)
1x 13106 Roof Peak (pink tape)
2x 13103 Roof Peak (pink tape)
6x Corner Connectors
12x Canopy Bungees
1x Canopy
4x 13103 Legs (orange tape)
4x 13105 Legs (orange tape)
4x Stakes
4x Securing Rope
2x LED light strings
2x Viewpick LED Lights w/batteries
1x carpet
Box 1
1x stew pot
1x saucepan
1x folding wash basin
1x tea kettle
1x lantern
1x Ziplock bag with cooking tools
1x partially used box of 1 quart Ziplock bags
1x collapsible bucket
2x oven mitts
1x camp stove
2x collapsible water bottles
1x bag of small drawstring bags
2x camp wine glasses
1x dish scraper
1x kitchen scrubber/sponge
1x bottle of orange hand cleaner
1x box of four (4) 24 oz mason jar mugs
Miscellaneous signage for MASH 4207
Box 2
1x First Aid Kit
1x 4lb sledgehammer
1x 15” pry bar
1x 20’ heavy duty extension cord
1x bag of miscellaneous Playa swag
1x 5m LED strip
1x hairbrush & comb set
1x package of on-rinse baby wipes
2x goggles (one in original box)
1x combination bike cable lock
3x rolls of single-ply toilet paper
1x bag of earplugs
1x small purple bucket
1x lantern w/four (4) D-cells
1x bag of Playa scarves
2x Traffic Control Implements, 3 each (tennis balls)
1x bottle of SPF 100 sunblock spray
1x heavy-duty purple water mister
1x IKEA bag
1x bag of dehydrated camp food containing:
2x chicken teriyaki
1x beef stew
1x beef pho
9x biscuits and gravy
This list does not include items currently in the Free Trailer Beowulf or items slated for use before we leave for the desert. Not to mention my Jolt Cola.
We started our day at Harbor Freight. Yes, we looked at gauges. So . . . many . . . gauges . . . But we steeled our hearts and looked for things that will be used. Last year, for example, we had the devil's own time getting the stakes that held down our shade structure out of the Playa. Our small prybar simple didn't have enough leverage. Today, we picked up one that is twice as long as our old one. If it saves us five minutes pulling stakes, it will have paid for itself.
We also needed a moving blanket. Our solar panels came packed in styrofoam. That stuff is a MOOP nightmare. For those of you who have forgotten, MOOP stands for "Matter Out Of Place" and we Burners are constantly on the prowl for even the tiniest piece of matter that does not along. We take great pride in cleaning up after ourselves. So disintegrating styrofoam is not a good thing.
With our purchases in hand (we bought a couple of other goodies) we piled into the truck and headed to Kirsten's warehouse, which is where we are kindly allowed to store our gear. The first thing on the agenda was wrapping the solar panels in their new blanket. Worked like a cham. The came the long process of pulling all the parts of the shade structure out of their box, identifying them, and taping them with a band of colored tape so we know which part goes where. This was tedious, but again, it will save us time setting up in the desert once we get there.
Next came my favorite part: inventory! We had three storage boxes filled with stuff. two were already labeled as boxes one and two. So we dove in. Most the materials were obviously needed, like the stuff in box one that turned out to be our kitchen supplies. But for everything else, we triaged every item. Some came home with us because they should be stored in the trailer. Others got tossed. Some came home because while we will probably take them to the Burn, they should be packed yet.
When all was said and done, we had everything in two boxes. I'm very pleased with this result. There will be revisions and changes, and we haven't even begun figuring camp dues and where our bikes are going, but if we can stay at two packed boxes, I'm a very happy burner.
So here's the current list.
Burning Man Packing List
Updated: 11 MAR 16
The Man burns in 174 days!
Currently on the pallet:
1x Coleman 120 quart cooler
1x Camp Kitchen
3x 7-gallon water jugs
1x 5-gallon water cooler
2x 5-gallon gasoline containers
1x 20lb propane tank
1x 36” pry bar
1 shade structure duffle bag containing:
4x 13104 Short Roof Rafters (blue tape)
4x 13103 Long Roof Rafters (blue tape)
2x 13106 Roof Cross Piece (purple tape)
4x 13103 Roof Cross Piece (purple tape)
1x 13106 Roof Peak (pink tape)
2x 13103 Roof Peak (pink tape)
6x Corner Connectors
12x Canopy Bungees
1x Canopy
4x 13103 Legs (orange tape)
4x 13105 Legs (orange tape)
4x Stakes
4x Securing Rope
2x LED light strings
2x Viewpick LED Lights w/batteries
1x carpet
Box 1
1x stew pot
1x saucepan
1x folding wash basin
1x tea kettle
1x lantern
1x Ziplock bag with cooking tools
1x partially used box of 1 quart Ziplock bags
1x collapsible bucket
2x oven mitts
1x camp stove
2x collapsible water bottles
1x bag of small drawstring bags
2x camp wine glasses
1x dish scraper
1x kitchen scrubber/sponge
1x bottle of orange hand cleaner
1x box of four (4) 24 oz mason jar mugs
Miscellaneous signage for MASH 4207
Box 2
1x First Aid Kit
1x 4lb sledgehammer
1x 15” pry bar
1x 20’ heavy duty extension cord
1x bag of miscellaneous Playa swag
1x 5m LED strip
1x hairbrush & comb set
1x package of on-rinse baby wipes
2x goggles (one in original box)
1x combination bike cable lock
3x rolls of single-ply toilet paper
1x bag of earplugs
1x small purple bucket
1x lantern w/four (4) D-cells
1x bag of Playa scarves
2x Traffic Control Implements, 3 each (tennis balls)
1x bottle of SPF 100 sunblock spray
1x heavy-duty purple water mister
1x IKEA bag
1x bag of dehydrated camp food containing:
2x chicken teriyaki
1x beef stew
1x beef pho
9x biscuits and gravy
This list does not include items currently in the Free Trailer Beowulf or items slated for use before we leave for the desert. Not to mention my Jolt Cola.