Happy Monday-before-weekend-2-of-Coachella, everyone! Or as I like to call it, The Beginning Of The Longest Week In The History of Linear Time. Of course, if you’re just getting BACK from Coachella, this will also be a long week for you, but less because of excitement and more because your brain cells are trying to regenerate after being destroyed by booze, illicit substances, and deathlike desert heat.

For all of us Weekend 2ers, though, Monday to Thursday will creep by like a sloth, and our frenzy combined with the last minute rush to get our shit together will mean, inevitably, that we get ABSOLUTELY no work done while staring at our computers and daydreaming of the weekend to come. BUT – if this includes you, BCU is gonna help you out by providing some Coachella-related tips of the trade to help ease the pain of the longest 4 days of your life (people who aren’t leaving till Friday, you’re on your own. Mama’s jetting on Thursday at 5.). Take heed from a 6 year veteran of the greatest music festival on Earth, kids. School is in session!

Today, we talk CAMPING, so if this ain’t you, GO AWAY, YOU YUPPIE HOTEL STAYER! (just kidding. I’m jealous of you, your pool, and your black out curtains).

1. PRINT A CHECKLIST.

I don’t care how many times you’ve been to Coachella, how experienced you are or how pro you are at camping in general, everyone forgets something. Of course, the only REAL necessities are cash (or an ATM card and a willing to pay a $7 fee), your car camping decal, and your wristband, but let’s be honest – no one wants to sleep in their car or shell out the cash to pick up stuff from the general store in the campground. The mark up in that joint is unheard of, and one of the main perks of camping is the general affordability. Here’s a list I’ve found pretty useful that you can print and add to.

2. Save the location of your campsite in your phone or wallet

It’s a big, bad world out there in the desert after dark, and add in a thousand similar tents and cars and just a DASH of intoxication, and you’re in for a night of exhausted wandering. I like to write a note (in Notes on my iPhone) with the lot number, closest cross street names, and other landmarks. Also, throwing up a big, bright flag above your car will help when your eyes are hazy and your brain’s not working quite right.

3. Know which was is East

No one since Christopher Columbus has needed to abide by the path of the sun like Coachella campers. By knowing where East is, you can position your tent and campsite so the sun doesn’t bee line directly into your corneas in the morning. Plus, you can purchase a couple of these cheap and delightful thingies to duct tape to the East and top of your tent to further keep the sun from melting you while you attempt to sleep past 8 am (ha, ha, ha, just kidding).

4. Eat, my child. EAT.

Hungover. Still drunk. Still, um… on other things. Nauseous. Hot. These are all reasons people give to substitute food with beer, or to snack on a single bag of Cheetos the whole weekend. Don’t get me wrong, a bag of Puffs will be a life saver when you wanna grab something quick, but REAL FOOD, with protein, carbs, and fat, is KEY to give you the energy you’ll need to survive the weekend. Bring a cooler stocked with sandwich makings, fruit, pre-made chili or spaghetti, things that can be heated quickly and will give you the nutrients your body wants after a day of partying in the sun. Protein bars, too, are a go-to with lots of calories and protein. PS – Neither Red Bull nor Adderall are food.

5. Clean up every day.

This goes for both your body and your campsite. Few things suck more than wandering back to your site at 1 am to a clusterf*ck mess with beer cans everywhere and a tent that looks like someone put a landmine under it. Before you head out to the show, make sure you get everything at least reasonably tidied up: put clothes back in bags, do a trash run, and make sure there’s no blocked walkways so you can come back and pass out without having to move stuff or risk tripping over a cooler and breaking your ankle. Also, CLEAN YOURSELF. No one wants to share a campsite with a smelly, dirty, sweaty pig. Seriously. No one.

That’s it for our top 5 tips for camping at Coachella this weekend. Got any to add? Let us know in the comments!

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