We’re headed up to the gorgeous Pacific Northwest for the 2016 Sasquatch Festival this weekend, where we’ll be rocking out alongside 50,000 people to to Kendrick Lamar, The Decemberists, Modest Mouse, St. Vincent, The War on Drugs and many more (full lineup).
We’ve walked you through the basics in our Sasquatch Survival Guide, our recommended Sasquatch playlist and more, but for the tens of thousands camping out, a whole new level of excitement awaits – and with it, a new set of challenges. There are a few important details to remember when you get to your campsite, and we’ve compiled them all in a list of 13 Sasquatch Camping Tips.
1. Water
It’s obvious, a total no-brainer, but it’s the first and last item on this list for a reason. With a main-stage lawn set at a 45-degree angle, you’re going to get quite a workout moving between stages. Don’t be the dude passed out under the tree by nightfall on Thursday because you didn’t stay hydrated.
2. Earplugs
Regardless of how hardcore you think your eardrums are for the musical mischief, the campground is always hustling and bustling. Drunkards, partiers, drama queens and night-owls are going to keep the decibels at a level that can be outright hostile to sleep. So plan accordingly, and find something to stuff in your ears so you aren’t a hulking murderous rager at 3am.
3. Towels
In addition to showering, between the rivers of sweat, the inevitable rain and whatever spills are bound to occur, you’ll want a few towels nearby to handle whatever needs absorbing. With this weather forecast, it could make all the difference in your camping experience.
4. Leave the kid at home!
You may think it’s cool to bring your 3-month-old infant along for the experience, but to everyone else you’re a buzzkill and a bad parent. The kid isn’t going to remember the experience, there’s a damn good chance you’re going to mess up their hearing, and you won’t be the only one catching the contact high. Think this one through and get a babysitter.
5. Toilet paper
The true mark of a civilized society isn’t the written word, or fair and just laws – it’s toilet paper. Are you really going to rely on the portable toilets being stocked all day, with 50,000 people eating the same terrible festival food as you and swarming to the same cramped plastic bathrooms? Don’t make that late-night shuffle to the john an unforgettable one for all the wrong reasons.
6. Tent flag
Get a flag or balloon and fly it above your tent. When you’re exhausted at the end of a long day of rockin’ in the sunshine, it can be a soul-crushing experience to stumble around trying to find your tent among the tens of thousands in the campground at the Gorge.
7. Padding
Whether blankets, an inflatable raft, an air mattress or a camping pad, you’ll want something to give you a little leverage off the hard ground. Sleeping will be far easier when you’re not spending the night trying to navigate around a rock poking you through the bottom of the tent.
8. Dry Ice
A bit tricky to find depending on your location, but dry ice can make all the difference in maintaining the coolness of your cooler, far beyond regular ice. Buy a few pounds to last you a few days, and you’ll be able to bring perishable foods for the trip (burgers, eggs, etc) and be a full baller with cold water all weekend long.
9. Rain gear
Ponchos, extra clothing, ziplock bags, tent seam sealant, the works – be prepared for wetness. It’s commonplace for Sasquatch to experience downpours, and this weekend’s forecast isn’t entirely reassuring. If you’re ready for whatever the skies are bringing down on you, a little rain isn’t going to ruin your fun.
10. Food
If you want to keep it cheap and easy without feeling like crap all weekend, pack as much healthy food as you can ahead of time. Apples, granola bars, trail mix, beef jerky, peanut butter, salami, cheese, crackers, etc. Bring enough to share, and make some friends at meal time.
11. Flashlights
Your silly glowsticks and iPhone flashlight apps aren’t going to suffice. Throw down a few bones for a couple mini Maglites or equivalent, or splurge and pick up a battery-powered lantern for $20. The key here is comfort – when you can’t see a damn thing inside your tent, tempers are going to flare. And let’s not even talk about watching for poison ivy. Speaking of which…
12. Tecnu
If you’re not generally the outdoorsy type, you’ve never heard of it – but this could save your weekend. Tecnu was originally intended to wash radioactive dust off a person’s skin, it’s more practically used to eliminate the oil from poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac. In other words, keep it on hand when you’re stomping through the wilderness and avoid a miserable tangle with Mother Nature’s tentacles.
13. Warm clothes!
Last but most certainly not least, make sure to bring warm clothes for bundling up once the sun goes down. Temps can drop as low as the 40s at night, and festival mornings suck when you’ve spent the night shivering and sleepless on the hard ground. You can return to the campgrounds at any time throughout the day, so don’t worry about lugging an extra hoodie around with you. Sasquatch makes things easy.
Have a blast this weekend! We’ll see you out there!
