full moon survival guide

Full Moon Survival Guide

For fun desert adventures 👽

1. Leave no Trace. We are not a festival, concert, or ticketed event -- we’re more like a camping trip with hundreds of your best friends! Everyone is responsible for their own garbage/waste/recycling and belongings (bring garbage bags!). “Pack in/Pack out” means that whatever you brought here, you leave with it too! Don’t drop your trash on the ground (or speakers, amps, dancefloor, altar, etc), and if you see some on the ground, please pick it up and dispose of it properly! If one of your camping neighbors has trash on the ground, feel free to ask them to tidy up and offer them a trash bag!. Read more here: Leave No Trace

2. Cigarette smokers: Please don’t drop butts on the ground. Carry a mint tin or other small container at all times to keep your butts, and dispose in your garbage bags at your camp. (And please be mindful of non-smokers around you, especially on the dancefloor.)

3. Moderation. The desert is a harsh but beautiful environment, and the music, full moon and hundreds of people can affect our nervous systems and our tolerances. Please practice moderation. Don’t overdo it, and make sure you are hydrated. Please only bring friends whom you’d trust with your life -- no random folks you just met and have no idea how they would act in a group gathering like ours, or friends in any kind of psychological crises.

4. DOGS: Please do not bring your dog. If you *must* bring your dog, please keep them on a leash. The crowds, the full moon, children running around, the music, and the general intensity can make dogs uneasy. Uneasy dogs = dog fights, dog attacks, dog mating, and dogs running away. We have seen it all over the years, and we simply want everyone (canines and humans) to be safe.

5. Fires and fire spinning: Please read the directions email for specific information about fires/fire safety for each gathering, as every location and season are different. If fire spinning is OK, make sure you are in a clearing, nowhere near trees or bushes, and practicing safe fire-spinning techniques: Include a proper, *sealed* fuel dump and a duveteyne, or fire safety blanket, and someone manning the safety blanket at all times.

The dancefloor is sacred space -- please be mindful of smoke and fumes going toward the dancefloor. Notice the wind direction, and keep your distance.

6. Going potty: Please use the porta-potties if they are available! If ladies pee outdoors, bring used TP back to your camp for disposal. (Carry a small baggie on your bathroom walk! Finding toilet paper blown all over the desert is nasty!). If you must poop outdoors, dig a hole at least 6” deep, and bury your waste.

7. Love the land. Do not cause any damage to the environment (trees, shrubs, flowers) or wildlife. “Take only pictures, and leave only footprints.” Desert shrubs may often look “dead,” but they are often just dormant in the dry seasons and will bloom in the spring. 🌱

Packing list and preparation:

1. Drinking Water: Bring 1.5-2 gallons of water per person, per day! Stay hydrated! Bring electrolytes like Emergen-C, Nuun tablets, etc. You need water, vitamins and minerals.

2. Garbage/Recycling bags: Bring enough for the number of days you will be there, and some extras to share! We each handle our own trash. There are no trash cans or dumpsters in the middle of the desert! Everyone is responsible for bringing home their own trash and recycling.

3. Reusable water bottles! Instead of bringing lots of plastic water bottles, bring a reusable water bottle and keep filling it up from larger jugs (i.e. 2.5 gallon bottles, or reusable 3-gallons like this are great, and can be found at “water stores” around town.) Camelbaks are great ways to stay hydrated.

4. Refillable mugs/cups instead of cans and bottles on the dancefloor. Bring a reusable travel cup/mug and fill up your drinks at your car. Carry your reusable mug to the dancefloor! You can put it at your feet while you’re dancing, and you won’t be littering when it’s empty. And you can put cool stickers on your mugs so your friends know you’re a non-littering moon-freak fancy-pants. :)

5. Bring a first-aid kit. Everyone is responsible for their own safety. You and your friends are responsible for handling your own minor injuries.

Bandages
First-aid ointments/solutions like tea tree oil, calendula, arnica, calamine lotion
Ace bandage--Aloe vera and sunscreen
Bug repellant (non-toxic, please)
Over-the-counter meds such as Advil/Tylenol
If you have medical conditions: Your prescription medications
If you have allergies: Your allergy meds (EpiPen, Benadryl, Claritin, etc.)
Menstruation supplies (but don’t drop them in the potties!)
Hand sanitizer
Face masks (protection from viruses AND dust!)

If you have a medical condition, make sure you have your medication, and follow your physician’s guidance.

6. Desert driving skills! Don’t get stuck! DON’T JUST FOLLOW THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU.

If they make a wrong turn or dumb move, then you’re both lost. Follow your own set of directions. Some tips for safe desert driving:

1) Don't follow too close behind someone else, because if they make a silly move and get stuck, then you're stuck right behind them. If someone is following you too closely behind, pull over safely and let them go ahead of you.

2) Keep a good speed... about 20-25mph... in sandy parts. If you feel your wheels start to spin, turn the wheel a bit so you're creating traction. If it's really sandy, you may need to weave right/left a bit as you drive.

3) Go slowly over rocky parts, and drive your WHEELS -- not the CENTER of your car over big rocks, so you don't bust your oil plan, which is in the center of your undercarriage.

4) If you DO get stuck, do NOT keep spinning your wheels trying to get out -- it just buries you deeper, and could require a tow instead of just digging you out.

7. Weather! Desert weather is very unpredictable. Always be prepared for unexpected hot and cold temperatures! Sunscreen, hats and sarongs in the summer, warm hats/gloves/scarves/coats in the winter, and bring all-weather clothing in fall and spring, when the weather is the most unpredictable!

8. Buddy system: If you want to wander off away from the gathering, take a buddy with you or at least inform your friends where you’re going. Don’t leave your friends wondering what happened to you, causing unnecessary stress or panic.

9. Sound System: Please folks, don’t put your drinks on the speakers or other sound equipment. It’s very precious and doesn’t like getting wet. :)

10. YOUR MINDFULNESS AND RESPECT FOR OTHERS: In general, be mindful of people around you and that they are wanting to have a wonderful time at the gathering as well. We all have an impact on each other, and we all take a huge part in creating wonderful, safe, trash-free fun experience for everyone.

NO MEANS NO, and everything else except yes means NO. -- respect others’ bodies and privacy. Do not ever prey on others, and please step in if you see others doing so.

11. Children’s ear protection: If you are bringing your baby or small child, make sure to protect their tiny ear drums! Protective ear muffs are great for baby/toddler dancefloor visits.

Great earplugs for kids: (available at CVS/RiteAid/etc): http://www.amazon.com/Macks-Pillow-Silicone-Earplugs-Value/dp/B000067NMJ Great ear muffs for wee ones: https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Meter-EM100-Protective-Earmuffs-Adjustable/dp/B01LWYWH43

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