GatherGuide.FYI

This page is read only. You can view the source, but not change it. Ask your administrator if you think this is wrong.
====== Camping ======

If you've never camped before, don't worry! Other folks at the Gathering almost certainly have and will be more than willing to help. But, if you're looking for general advice here's a few things that will be helpful to know.

===== Leave No Trace =====

Leave No Trace is a set of principles meant to conserve spaces with no/low human traffic being visited upon by humans. Often summarized as "Leave only footprints; take only memories" There's 7 of them:

  - Plan ahead and prepare
    * Look up the park. What are the rules? Can you drink, smoke, swim, or start a fire? If you're driving, what are the rules around cars? How many people per site?
    * How far away is emergency medical care?
    * Know what kind of weather to expect.
    * What kind of wildlife are in the area? Have there been animal warnings lately (e.g. bears wandering through camp. The camp website will usually have this kind of info somewhere)?
  - Travel and camp on durable surfaces
    * "Good campsites are found not made": where possible, pitch at existing sites, walk on existing paths.
    * Camp at least 200 ft away from bodies of water
  - Dispose of waste properly
    * Don't litter. Bring a trash bag.
    * Do not piss or shit in the lake/river (minimum 200ft away)
        * Use the bathroom if one is provided.
        * Alternatively, for peeing, just keep it away from the water. For poop, dig a narrow hole at least 8 inches deep, go in there, bury it completely, then disguise it so it looks no different than the dirt around it.
    * Do not pour dishwater in the lake/river (minimum 200ft away)
  - Leave what you find
    * Don't take rocks, plants, animals, historical objects, etc.
    * Do not break bits off of plants like leaves, branches, or flowers.
  - Minimize campfire impacts
    * See [[#Campfires|Campfires]]
  - Respect wildlife
    * Don't approach and definitely don't follow wildlife.
    * Don't let them get at your food. Store it in a car or hang it up high. Many animals can and will shred your tent to get at the tasty treats inside.
    * Treat your food waste the same and store it securely. Do not teach the animals that humans are safe providers of food.
    * Do not for any reason approach a baby animal. It doesn't matter how cute it is. You will be shocked by how fast their parent will go from 0 to 100, and deer hit //hard//.
  - Be considerate of other visitors
    * Do not fuck with trail markers or create your own with paint or cairns.
    * You probably don't need to yell.
    * Don't graffiti the site. No one is taking political advice from a campsite bathroom, so your manifesto on the toilet paper dispenser is just another thing someone has to clean before they can go home.

So, the above is all good advice, but it is worth noting that you will //not// "Leave No Trace". You are not separate from nature, and these sites see routine human usage. Your gear and travel also have environmental impacts. Keep these things in mind and, instead of buying a pile of new gear, ask around for used gear and learn how to maintain and repair existing gear.

===== Pitching a tent =====

If possible, it's a very good idea to do a trial pitch at home before you get out into the wilderness and have to figure it out in the dark while it's raining.

Your best bet is to read the directions that came with the tent, but the general process looks like this:

  - Clear large debris like rocks and branches.
  - Spread the footprint out flat. It's a tarp that your tent sits on top of. Not every tent comes with one, but they're easy to DIY (look it up). They protect your tent from wear and make for a comfier sleep. Some footprints have an "up" side and "down" side; it will be labeled if so.
  - (Optional) Pre-stake the corners of your tent. If the wind keeps trying to take your tent, staking the corners first can hold them in place while you set up the poles. You will want to restake them to be taught afterwards.
  - Set up the poles. This step will vary wildly by tent, but it's usually pretty intuitive. Be gentle. It's tragically easy to bend or break a pole while you're putting it together.
  - Attach your tent to the poles. Again, this varies pretty wildly, but it'll generally be a bunch of clips and loops.
  - (Re-)Stake down the corners. Drive the stakes straight down, and leave just enough aboveground to tie the cord to.
  - (Optional) Attach the rainfly to the corners of the tent. Your rainfly may have loops on the bottom. Stake these taught away from your tent to create a little "patio" area (called a "vestibule". Leave your shoes under the fly, but outside the tent when you enter). Check the rainfly for vents. Keep them closed in cold and/or rain; open them if it's hot with clear skies to allow airflow.
  - (Optional) Guyout. Your tent is already staked, so it can handle some wind. If it's going to get real bad though, guying out will provide more stability. About halfway up the fly, along the poles are a set of loops called guyout loops. Using cord, tie a strong knot to the guyout loops, then loop the other end around a stake that's farther away from the one holding the corner. Tighten the tensioner on the cord. In an ideal world, put a pole or stick about halfway along the cord and set the cord on top of it. You're trying to bend the guyline so it comes off the rainfly at a 90° angle.

==== Tent tips ====

  * Tents and sleeping bags are rated for certain temperatures. Make sure yours is appropriate for where you're going (e.g. "three season gear", so called because it works in spring, summer, and fall, will not protect you from cold).
  * Tents are sized like fucking coffins. You can technically fit 3 people in a 3-person tent, if you all press in and have no gear. Go 1 size up if possible.
  * If there is definitely //no// chance of rain, leaving the rainfly off gets you a wonderful breeze and a beautiful starscape to sleep under.

===== Campfires =====


Fire is great.

Parks generally have their own very specific set of rules that you should be aware of and follow. These rules are catered to their specific environment, and should be followed over anything said here. Failure to do so is a frequent cause of forest wildfires. Specifically, check for a "burn ban". These can be total bans (i.e. no fire of any kind), or partial (e.g. "propane fires only"). You'll also want to check fuel requirements. Bringing in wood from outside of the area can bring invasive non-local species that might be hiding in the wood, but most parks do not allow collecting wood on-site. If you are allowed to collect wood, look for wood that's been dead long enough that you can break it up with your hands.

A wood fire has 4 components: wood, kindling, fire starter, and air. You'll want to break the wood up and strip off the bark; the inner part is what burns well. Prop the wood up to allow air to flow underneath. You can do this by making a little tipi or stacking them like jenga blocks without the middle ones. Keep it small. You can always add more later, but you can't take away once it's burning. Kindling is stuff like twigs and dry brush. It burns faster than the wood, but slower than the fire starter. Fire starter is anything that catches easily, like shredded paper (or just more kindling). Mix the kindling and fire starter together and stuff it in the space between the wood. Then light some of the fire starter and wait. If the wood doesn't catch, most likely the you either don't have enough air flow or the wood is too wet.

Once the fire is burning, do not leave it unattended for any reason.

You'll want the fire to burn down as much as possible before putting it out (you did keep it small, right?). Ideally, you want to be extinguishing a pile of powdery ash; unlit coals will retain enough heat to reignite for hours. Regardless, if it's bed time or the wind starts to pick up, your best choice is water. Absolutely soak the thing. Once you're done, use a poker to spread the ashes and any remaining coals as wide as possible within the pit. If you don't have water to spare, start by spreading the coals as far from each other as possible, put on a layer of sand or dirt, then mix it up. Repeat until the fire goes out. Then do it 2 more times.

===== General advice =====

  * Drink water. So much water. You should be peeing like every hour.
  * Use sunblock and reapply as directed.
  * Use bug spray. I'm not going to wade into the arguments about DEET vs whatever.
  * Avoid bringing your shoes into your tent. Best tactic is to put the top half of your body into the tent, turn so you're on your back, sit up, take off your shoes, then bring your legs in and leave the shoes outside.
  * Drink water. I promise you aren't drinking enough. Like, do it right now while you're reading this.
  * Merino wool or polyester will keep you cool and dry. Cotton will absorb liquid and be a bad time.
  * If you brought a car, keep the doors locked. Many animals that hang around campsites have not only figured out that cars often contain snacks, but also how to open the doors.
  * When you spit out toothpaste, spray it like a spit take. Globs are worse for local critters than spray.

===== Park rangers aka twigpigs =====

Park rangers are in a rough spot. On the one hand, they're the enforcement hand of the state out in the parks aka cops. On the other, they're tasked with keeping dumbasses from destroying the area. Some rangers take different parts of the job more seriously than others, and some are specifically hired to do one part more than the other. If someone from the forest service comes up to you, assume good will. A lot of them are just there to do site maintenance and there's a decent chance they know and do more conservation work than you. If they tell you to do something, it's a good idea to comply because more than likely they're just trying to keep you from killing a refoliation patch. //However//, it is still worth remembering that at the end of the day, some of them are literally just cops, and can still do cop shit. Just, be aware, and don't pop off right away when someone tells you to move your tent.