6 weeks

[tonka1973]

Can you believe we are only six weeks out? 6 Weeks from today I will be headed to Arkansas. Good God people let's build some excitement. These forums have been dead.

I'm getting ready to start making my shopping list, and will be putting my tent up this weekend to clean and double check all my camping equipment.

What do you have going on in your preparations for what could be the best Waka ever.

Can't wait to boogie down and hang with kind all you kind peeps.

Making a list,
checking it twice,
gotta make sure we've got enough ice.
Wakarusa is coming in June!!!

[CCRGMac]

WAKARUSA!!!!!

I'm pumped.

[Pauly's Cheese]

I'm actually gonna go down and float the Mulberry River this weekend. May even drive through the venue just for kicks.

I'll probably have my camera with me if anybody wants a pre-Waka picture of their campsite.

[KB]

No reason to make your own list, Tonka - we already have that taken care of.....

Camping Checklist:

PDF format: http://www.freemytime.net/MyFiles/wakachecklist.pdf

Microsoft Word: http:http://www.freemytime.net/MyFiles/wakachecklist.doc

(I love posting the checklist - makes me know it's not far off!)

KB

[tonka1973]

No reason to make your own list, Tonka - we already have that taken care of.....

Camping Checklist:

PDF format: http://www.freemytime.net/MyFiles/wakachecklist.pdf

Microsoft Word: http:http://www.freemytime.net/MyFiles/wakachecklist.doc

(I love posting the checklist - makes me know it's not far off!)

KB


Get out of my head KB. I was thinking of that list while I was typing my post.

[tonka1973]

I'm actually gonna go down and float the Mulberry River this weekend. May even drive through the venue just for kicks.

I'll probably have my camera with me if anybody wants a pre-Waka picture of their campsite.

Pauly,

It would be awesome to get some pics up. If you have time some general pics of the upgraded sites would be fantabulous.

[SPelizzaro]

I was just thinking last night that the HUGE checklist hadn't been posted yet. Weird.

[RobDogg15]

Yeah Pauly, pics would be awesome. I for one have never been to Mulberry Mtn so I'd love to get a little better idea of how it all looks. I can't picture anything other than Clinton State Park when I think of Waka.

[scottt]

Here are a couple shots to give a basic idea:

http://www.mulberrymountainmusic.com/images/MulberryMountain-4.jpg

The main stage is at the top with vendor tents set up around the bottom half of the concert area 'diamond'. RV Camping and the Campground Stage are in the woods on the right. This pic was taken during Harvest Fest so there was no Revival Village...

http://www.wakarusa.com/2009/website/camp_map.gif

[RobDogg15]

That's awesome, thank you! The map doesn't really mean all that much until you see an actual picture so you have some point of reference/scale.

[gratefulSam]

sweet sweet sweet jesus its almost here!!
This is one girly who's been ready and waiting for far too long.
However, my tent finally bit it last year on the Mountain when Ike came through and tore everything up. Guess I need to find a replacement.

Does anyone have an a tent recommendation? My previous was a pretty nice Coleman, but it was too tall to handle all the wind encountered during last years season.

[scottt]

I abused my previous tent for a dozen years before it finally died a year ago. I am lucky to have a kind friend with extra tents so I was able to borrow one for my festival excursions last year - thanks again Guido!

I rode out rainy Wakarusa, as well as Mulberry's visit from Hurricane Ike in an REI Half-Dome. It held up exceedingly well - even when Thy Faery Pranksters performance tent came crashing down on top of me:

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h99/moedunkkc/Friend%20and%20Fun/2008-09-11-13%20-%20Mulberry%20Mountain/DSC00413.jpg

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that tent. Remember that REI has a generous return/warranty policy if you aren't satisfied...

Having been through a few rainy festies the past couple years, I've been shown the light: Don't be a miser when it comes to purchasing a tent. Spend the money and get something that will keep you safe and dry. Think of it this way: If you find yourself in a storm - miles from the nearest hotel - shivering and soaked with all your possessions floating in a puddle at the bottom of your tent, you would gladly fork over $50-$100 to anyone who could make those troubles go away. A tent is more than a place to crash - it's an investment in your health and well-being...

That said, I ended up purchasing a replacement tent a few months ago: the Sierra Designs Comet 3. It gets nothing but solid reviews (http://www.buzzillions.com/dz_553846_sierra_designs_comet_tent_3_person_seaso n_reviews). I can't wait to give it its first official run at MoKan coming up in a few weeks!

[Pauly's Cheese]

Does anyone have an a tent recommendation? My previous was a pretty nice Coleman, but it was too tall to handle all the wind encountered during last years season.
I bought a Mountain Hardware tent 4 years ago and it has performed wonderfully.

Hurricane Ike was the true test of it's strength. It held up through the wind with the exception of one section of a pole. That section got a very small crack in it, which caused it to poke a very small hole in my rainfly. I still stayed dry because the hole was so small.

The thing about Mountain Hardware is that they stand behind their tents with a LIFETIME warranty. During the winter, I sent that pole and my rainfly into them. They replaced the entire pole (not just the section that cracked) and repaired my rainfly at no cost. The only money I was out was the 20 bucks it cost me to ship it to them. It was completely "No Hassle" and I had everything back in 6 weeks.

So I agree with scottt. Spend some cash on a quality tent because not only will it hold up extremely well and keep you dry, but the lifetime warranty is worth its weight in gold.

[smokeythedog]

Eureka- 2-3 man for 8-10 yrs

Now have Kelty 4 man dome

Both of these are good brands and hold up to storms and wet weather if properly setup

Putting the tent up before getting hammered makes a big difference in foul weather also....

Tent is definately not a place where you want to cut costs

[KB]

We didn't go QUITE top of the line, but we bought a Columbia Bug-a-Boo II, and it was TOTALLY worth it's salt both at Wakarusa and at Mulberry. Generous warranty. I'd recommend it. Gert Boyle does good work. The only thing I would change would be the fiberglass poles to aluminum.

Got it at Bass Pro Shops for around $150 - worth it.

[moedunk]

The only thing I would change would be the fiberglass poles to aluminum.
I DEFINITELY recommend aluminum poles. On the WINDY Wednesday night in ... what was it, last year? 2007? Anyway, on that super-windy night, I was out working with St. Bernards, and helped fix at least a few people's fiberglass tent poles that had snapped in the wind.

Aluminum's MUCH better than fiberglass & duct tape. ;)

[treehugger221]

i just bought a tent through the coleman website......i got wind of a way to get a huge discount on their merchandise. when you go to the site, click on "family store" and it will ask for a password, enter: family, and WHAMMO! you've got a $180 tent for $113. there are even bigger savings on other tents, that's just the one i got. the only thing is, there is a smaller selection in the family store than the regular online store. i would've gotten the Weathermaster 10, but it wasn't going to be in stock until after MoKan, so i settled on the Montana 8. i just did the trial set up on it today and it was a breeze considering how big it is. (i had to make sure i could set it up by myself because it'll just be me and the kiddos at MoKan) it even has one of those new hinged doors which is gonna kick ass. no more getting the fabric caught in the zipper in the dark of night.
in other news, i have almost finished my (hopefully award winning)costume. i am so proud of it!
i got my replacement piece for my coleman geosport shade and will be doing a trial run with that tomorrow. should be a bit more difficult than the tent by myself.
other than that, i just keep adding things to the "festival" pile in my den as i come across them.
sorry for the length, i'm just in festival preparation mode and VERY excited about it!:p

[Wrong Hotel]

If your really looking for a deal look on sunnysports.com. I just a bought sierra deisgns electron rc for 140 and it's 260 right down the street from where I work. Alot of there tents and other camping gear are on sale. They had some north face tents 40% off. I'm telling you if you need a tent this is the place to go. I've been shoping around for about for 3 months and the cheapest and best are here and the shipping is free for any order over 50 bucks.

[KB]

Thank you for that tip, Treehugger! I'm about to buy the long-awaited carry-case for my Coleman coffee maker. So awesome.

I'ma check out sunnysports.com as well.

I love all you camping freaks. :-)

[jpeak]

great place to shop on line is
campmore.com
sierratradingpost.com

I just took the VW in to get new plugs and a rad flush and general check up and it passed! Ready to hit the road. Going camping/floating this weekend on the Jacks Fork.....I can't wait till waka and my summer break:p

[Wrong Hotel]

great place to shop on line is
campmore.com
sierratradingpost.com

I just took the VW in to get new plugs and a rad flush and general check up and it passed! Ready to hit the road. Going camping/floating this weekend on the Jacks Fork.....I can't wait till waka and my summer break:p

I've checked out both places. The trick is find out what you need and then go to shopzilla. I promise the lowest price will be at sunnysports.com.

[scottt]

great place to shop on line is
campmore.com
sierratradingpost.com


Looks like they bought that domain name too, but the company is technically called Campmor (no 'e' at the end). I've had a number of successful transactions with them over the years. Great company.


Don't forget rei.com You can sometimes find good closeout deals at their outlet: http://www.rei.com/outlet


I also have to put in a plug for my friend Dustin's business: http://www.alpinecampingsupply.com/

I don't think you'll find better customer service anywhere. Tell 'em ScottT sent you

[Pauly's Cheese]

Pauly,

It would be awesome to get some pics up. If you have time some general pics of the upgraded sites would be fantabulous.
I stopped by the Mountain on the way back from the river this afternoon and took quite a few pics of the place. Right now it's time to unpack and catch a few Z's, but when I get up, I'll be sippin' on some Sunday Stella and get those pics up.