Liz’s update: Nope, I still don’t go to Burning Man. I’m slowly working my way up to attending bigger SCA events. But a 69,000-person dust-choked baking-hot week at Black Rock City with a chance of severe thunderstorms? Nope. Here’s why, with updates on how to do it if you really really want to.
A confession: I’ve always wanted to go to Burning Man. I’ve got firm roots in subculture; any number of my friends have Burned. Burning Man has long since gone semi-mainstream–families bring their children to the no-holds-barred festival of art and weirdness.
But I don’t go. For a traveler with pain, Burning Man really isn’t a good idea. Neither are other big multi-day festivals, like the Coachella Music Festival in California or the Pennsic War in Pennsylvania. This is one of the big bummers of being hiddenly disabled–I/we can’t go anywhere and do everything that healthy people do. Huge crowds encamped over hundreds of acres, miles of walking over uneven ground every day, crappy bathroom facilities, zero quiet for sleeping, ridiculously awful camping conditions or insane parking…it’s all a recipe for painful disaster.
Infrastructure
It may be super-popular, but Burning Man remains a giant camping event out in the middle of the barren desert. Black Rock City has street signs, but no running water, no electricity, and only the most basic of medical facilities. While, er, certain pharmaceuticals do tend to be easily available at Burning Man, actual medications are much harder to come by. You’ll be out in the middle of nowhere, for real, with no cell phone signal and little chance of getting immediate help if your condition flares.
Climate
Here’s my most serious reason for not Burning–the climate out on the playa. Triple digit heat, endless winds, and of course the raging dust storms. As exciting as it sounds to fling off my clothes and run around in the pounding sun, then have dust particles blown into every crevice of my body, I’m going to pass for the next while. I can’t handle bunches of dust in my sinuses and lungs–and anyone with asthma or any other respiratory condition should think twice before packing up the RV.
If you choose to go, don’t just wander out into the desert unprepared. Read and reread this manifest by the operators of Burning Man about keeping yourself safe and reasonably healthy.
Smoke
Speaking of lung-clogging dust, Burning Man patrons also get to inhale plenty of smoke. Leading up to the Man’s burning, other flammable art installations go up. As do pounds of smokable substances within the encampments. Folks with allergies and sensitivities are unlikely to find their fellow Burners to be interested in accommodate requests for a smoke-free area.
Recreational Pharma
I can’t do most recreational drugs. Which does in fact mean that I’d miss out on a pretty big aspect of the festival. Why can’t I? Because reliable research (not hysterical government-inspired propaganda, nor “it’s all good man” wishful thinking) tells me that many/most fun drugs don’t play well with my prescription medications.
If you’re planning to play that way, DO RESEARCH FIRST. Then be safe first, and entertained/amused/high second (or not at all). Combining ‘scripts with recreational drugs can have severe consequences, and no high is worth having a heart attack or seizure. (Remember, on the playa you’re hundreds of miles from the nearest real hospital.)
Cost
Finally, there’s the USD cost of going to Burning Man (called Burning Wallet by an acquaintance who goes to the playa every year) or to any other major festival:
- Tickets to get in the gate cost hundreds of dollars per person.
- RV rentals go for super-premium during Burning Man. Seriously–many renters charge double their high season rates for the week before and the week after Labor Day. Expect to pay at least $1,000 for one week for a small RV, and $2,500 for a larger one. Or more.
- Food and drink: All on you, and you’ll need more non-alcoholic drink than you imagine. Figure $100 and up per person.
- Gas to get to the event, and to run a generator in your RV.
- Equipment: Why bother going to an event like Burning Man if you’re going to cower inside your RV all day? To get out and join the party, you’ll need stuff. Camp chairs, shade structures, some sort of vehicle to get around Black Rock City is big–to explore, it’s necessary to walk or bike or somehow travel several miles in the blazing heat of the day or weird dry chill of the night. Oh and a storm poncho and good sunglasses and a hat. A respirator if you’re sensitive. A giant art project or shareable community thingo.
It adds up to thousands of dollars. Thousands.
The Bottom Line
I’m not saying that it’s impossible to go to a festival with pain. I am saying that it’s likely to be really really hard. And maybe not a great idea. For me…I’d probably get about two hours of doing kewl stuff out on the playa, then get to spend the next two days of the festival in bed. That’s not the best fun vs pain ratio, and it’s always key to estimate the fun vs pain ration when traveling.
HOT TIP: Yes, you can go to Burning Man in a wheelchair. No, it’s not at all easy, and no, Black Rock City is not subject to the ADA. They’ve got some accessible port-a-potties, and that’s about it. They’ve also got square miles of alkaline dust that can harm or destroy your chair. But if you insist, they do have info about Burning in a chair here.
If you’re out on the playa now–awesome! I hope you’re having an amazing time. And I’m sorry I won’t be joining you.
Liz,
Thanks so much for this post. I’ve harbored a Burning Man fantasy without ever getting into the specifics of what it would be like to attend in reality.
Your research leaves me happy to continue enjoying Burning Man and other festivals vicariously, through the photographs and recordings of the hardy souls who are able bodied enough to attend.
Bravo for helping me strike this destination off my places-to-go-while-I-can-still-walk list.
Lanora
Hi Lanora,
I’m so glad you found this post helpful! Usually I try to be super-positive, but this weekend as I was reading about friends starting to gear up for Burning Man I was thinking about limits. A few years ago I got seriously interested in the festival, so I started looking into what it would take to do it. And…not so much. Honestly, I’m not sure “daily dust storms” would be a destination selling point for me even if I was in perfect physical shape.
Happy travels!
Liz
Hi, I stumbled upon your blog and thought I’d throw in my 2 cents as a 10+ yr veteran of the playa. It is rough out there, but, lots of people do it. I’ve seen legless Iraq war vets on crutches and their is a wheel chair camp (called “Hot Wheels”). I don’t know the nature of your pain, but it’s doable, especially with support from friends/significant others. Maybe try it for a few days??? The weather is unpredictable, but the dust storms don’t often last all day (but sometimes do). I once went with terrible back pain…my friend had to drive while I reclined my seat all the way and took pain killers. Once on playa though I slept in my tent in my bag and felt great. Of course, your mileage may vary.
There are camps that are geared to specific needs/desires. Hushville is typically quieter than other areas. So is walk in camping or camping/RV in the outer streets.
I will say this…the sheer beauty of the environment and the art there is worth experiencing. And it’s really nice to be in a no-commerce zone where all your interactions are not influenced by someone wanting to sell you something.
If you really want to go, check out eplaya.burningman.com and ask some questions. You’ll find a great many people who have found ways to cope with their particular issues and they may even have a camp for you to join which makes it easier, but does not do everything for you.
Stu,
Thanks so much for posting! I’m glad to have a different perspective on Burning Man with chronic pain, so that folks know that there are a variety of options out there if they want to give it a try.
As for me personally…we’ll see how it goes. It’d be tough now, but who knows what will happen in coming years.
Happy travels,
Liz
Apologies for the very late reply to an older post, but I just stumbled on your site — I’ve hit a chronic pain flare three weeks before my first trip to Paris, so I’m enjoying all your travel tips here. Ah well, c’est la vie.
I’m very much with you on Burning Man not being appropriate for those of us with chronic illnesses. I’m in the Los Angeles area and in the geek/counter-culture community, so I have a lot of friends who go to Burning Man every year, and I’ve been pressured (often) to go, despite the limitations my health can cause and how quickly my health can change.
Thankfully, Dragon*Con out in Atlanta falls right during Burning Man each year, and fulfills several of the things I feel like I’m missing out on by not going to Burning Man, but without any of the health-related limitations, at least in my experience.
Despite being much further from LA than Burning Man is, I find the travel is much easier than I would expect Burning Man’s to be. Atlanta is the main hub for Delta airlines, so I can get non-stop flights even from smaller airports like SNA. Dragon*Con itself takes place in a cluster of 5 hotels that are right over/next to a metro station. Atlanta’s metro, MARTA, starts at the airport, right next to baggage claim, and it’s a straight shot from there to the D*C hotels. Cheap and easy, and in my experience costs fewer “spoons” than having to worry about getting a taxi or shuttle or renting a car.
Once at the convention, there is a fair amount of walking and waiting in line — but D*C is really great with disability services, offering everything from a special “line” (waiting area with chairs) to get your badge, special seating in panels, line accommodations, shuttles between the hotels, etc. Everything they can do to make the con accessible for the many, many geeks of various ability levels who attend.
But the best thing for me personally is that it takes place across 5 hotels — Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, and just recently a Westin. All nice hotels with ADA rooms, comfortable beds, elevators, etc. In particular, the Hyatt has a tower (the Radius Tower) that has its own card-activated elevator bank, is much quieter than other areas of the con, and the circular layout of only ~10 rooms per floor means that it’s really never more than about 15 *feet* from the elevator to your room. The rooms are smaller than other hotel rooms (designed for single business travelers or cozy couples), but the trade off for being able to get right to my room for a midday nap is invaluable.
As long as I plan far enough ahead (D*C hotels have started selling out 11 months in advance of the con), I can get a room in the Radius tower at the Hyatt and know that I’ll have a quiet, comfortable place to retreat to throughout the con. Being able to rest and pace myself allows me to see and do so much more at con. I really love Dragon*Con, and the fact that it gives me a non-health-related excuse why I’m not going to Burning Man is just icing on the cake. 😉
Samantha,
I am so pleased to “meet” you! I’m a geek myself–mostly SCA with just a touch of gaming more recently. Several of my friends are burners, so I get some of the same pressure you do to attend Burning Man. It sounds like you deal with a similar frustration as me–the unpredictability of the pain flares, and other people just not “getting” that the pain doesn’t need a rhyme or reason to flare.
Thank you so much for the information about Dragon*Con! You’ve actually written a lovely Travels With Pain-styled post about the accessible features of the Con. Cons of all kinds tend to be easier for me because they take place in hotels, and I can arrange the option of a room I can retreat to. I manage the occasional SCA event that way too. Would you be willing to permit me to copy most of your comment and repost it–under your name, of course?
Nice to “meet” you too! Please do feel free to use any part of my post you’d like to. There’s more info on Dragon*Con’s disability services here: http://dragoncon.org/services.php#dis So far I’ve been lucky enough to not have to use much of their services (the naps help!), but I’ve only ever heard great things about the services.
I’m an on-again, off-again SCA’er too, and I have to say that I still harbor fantasies of doing Pennsic some day with a full encampment, complete with pavilion, bed frame, and futon mattress. Until then I’ll have to make do with just the fun of Dragon*Con. 😉
Good web-site yours faithfully Crystal Scheidegger
[…] found myself enduring three of the main conditions that comprise the reason I don’t go to Burning Man: heat, wind, and […]
[…] that’s true in the Western states. Why? Because they’re expecting you to take the RV to Burning Man and possibly to trash it. My advice–pick a different time of year to rent an […]
I always wanted to go but I have Fibromyalgia/CFS/and bipolar depression and I think the whole thing would be way too overstimulating for me and exhausting. i can’t do that to myself. I have also worked hard to get myself off of some medications and MMJ that was making things worse and I’m over being around all my pot-head and acid-freak friends. I am on a different path now. So tired of all the hype – even the hype exhausts me and makes me feel like an outsider. My disabilities have isolated me a lot form a lot of “in-crowds” and I guess by now I am grateful because I am now going through a much needed, what feels to be very real spiritual awakening and it doesn’t include hipsters, loud music, and drugs – as much as I like to add my art at times to their smaller rave parties, but that’s all I can handle anymore. Most of them are getting waay too old and not really evolving and it’s sad. I want more growth out life. Not hyped stagnation.
I feel the same way about the hype serving to make me feel excluded/like an outsider/like a cripple who can’t do cool stuff. Which is a big part of why I wrote this post. Plenty of people who have disabilities that make it hard or impossible to go to Burning Man should know that they’re not alone out there.
It’s not true of course–I can do plenty of cool stuff. Cooler stuff than Burning Man, even!