To: Future Virgins of Town Park and Warner
From: A Sophomore
I could write a ton (and will)- most of it covered in other posts- so keep reading other posts on this site too between now and then- I'll duplicate some of that but I'll try to include stuff that most regulars might not consider.
First of all, congrats. If you do this even 1/2 way right, you'll have a blast.
So, make it last. Come as early as you can. Be there for Saturday before the music starts if you can. There's lots to do in and around Telluride. Last year, one of the things we did right- if you can get the time off and afford it- was to rent a condo up in Mtn. Village for a couple of nights, relatively cheap (for T-ride, about 125/night), before we settled into Town Park on Saturday. This helped us acclimate (Telluride is 8600'), find our way around, and check out Town Park prior to Saturday. Town Park opens to festival camping Saturday, Warner is available Tuesday, but I know of nothing to prevent Warner campers from arriving earlier and camping in TP before Warner is available.
Know what you want, but be flexible. Getting what you want is directly tied to how early you can get there. There are sunny spots, shady spots and well-established "turf" spots of larger camps with a history of many years. There are noisy, quieter, darker, rockier, porta-pottier, colder and perpetually lit spots. Ask someone who's been there when you get there and let them know what you're looking for, and don't be shy- but do keep in mind that by Wednesday late, there is an scarcity of desirable spots and most folks are involved in other activities by then. One thing that surprised me last year: Town Park is smaller than the image of it I had in my mind, especially once you add 1200 people.
For us, we camped in the primitive area (quieter- notice I never say quiet), in a spot with morning sun and day/afternoon shade (there are parts that have no shade)- we sacrificed direct sound from the festival to do so, as we were farther away. The preserve area may/may not have shade, tends to be noisier at night, more pickin and partyin' and has better festival sound. Warner Field has great festival sound, quieter at night, it's a smooth, flat place to sleep but no shade as it's a baseball outfield. If you bring shade and have a tent that can vent, Warner Field is not a bad option at all (it does have glass and tent stake restrictions.)
If you arrive earlier to TP, it's easy to find a spot for a larger tent. Arrive later, and you may be better served to bring a smaller one.
Food- has its own thread(s) here and deservedly so. For us, breakfast is at the campsite, lunch is lite and easy- at camp or hiking or at festival or in town.
Dinner:
Since we are not part of an established camp- we now think of food in the evening in 3 different ways: before the music starts (arrival-Wed), after the music starts (Thurs-Sun), and going out to eat in town (anytime). Before the music starts we like to eat well and take the time to do so. The mistake we made last year was continuing to do this once the music started. It made for some great dinners, but we missed seeing some of the acts. Sound was OK at the campsite, but not great.
The food available on the festival grounds is very good and should not be overlooked once the festival starts. Food in town is good too, but once Wednesday hits, expect more time and lines or get reservations in advance where possible- this will depend on the festival line-up too. Some folks pre-prep some of their meals to save time once the music starts.
There are two little grocery stores in town and one up in Mtn. Village at the end of the 2nd gondola (the place to get decent lunch meats). Good basics- somewhat on the expensive side, but not as bad as some Co. mountain towns. There's a beer/wine shop in Mtn. Village and in town but it's good to bring a stock with. (pretty reasonable price-wise, tho) Being carnivores, we'll bring most quality meats with us, but- there's a farmer's market in town on Fridays and you can get some really good stuff there- like elk tenderloin ($$$) and grass-fed no-hormone beef from James Ranch in Durango ($-$$), locally grown spring greens and spinach too. Ice is available at stores in town and there's an ice trailer at the campground for about a buck more per bag.
If you can bring a bicycle, do it. It opens up the whole town to you. You can even take bikes on some of the gondolas up and over to Mountain Village.
I'll even post this until the moderators edit it out (actually they won't care): If a super good
spot on the festival field is critical, bring a bag and pad that you can spend a night out under the stars in a sand, dirt and dust environment. If a merely great spot will do, just something that keeps head to toe warm for an hour or so, and an alarm clock. If this makes no sense now- research tarp run and tarp line.
Festival tarps- Something big enough for those in your party, but not too big will do fine. To really do it right, bring a fairweather tarp (like a heavy cloth painters tarp) and a foulweather tarp (typical plastic camping tarp). Here's the thing- typical plastic tarp gets hotter than hell in the full sun, but is easy to clean. A tough, cloth, light colored painters tarp stays cool in full sun but gets soaked and dirty if raining. Once one is laid down, you can swap out if weather changes.
Other things to bring are as varied as your desires- here are some things I would not leave home without: earplugs (not for festival, for nights in camp), quarters ($2 for 5min warm to hot water), air mattress/sleeping pad, warm bedding (28-48 degrees), gloves, headlamp, Tarps* (for camp and for festival), festival chairs, sunglasses, hat (for warmth), hat (for shade), a spray mist bottle or squirt gun, sunscreen and non-toxic mosquito spray and raingear.
Hippie has a damn-near-kitchen-sink list:
here's a linkPacking "just right." It would really help to be psychic or an accurate weatherman, or both. You are going to live in the San Juans for X days in June. You must pack for clear, burnin' skies with highs up to 88; cold, windy snowing overcast with lows down to 28- and everything in between. Don't pack too little and don't pack too much. Dress in layers, baby, layers. Also, the town's only coin laundromat went out of business a few years ago. There's cold (and I mean cold) water in the the stream, river and the sinks.
There's Wifi in the campground, I think. And the library in town is nice. Learn about the freebox too.
The only really funky thing that I don't remember reading about (not that you can do anything about it, just FYI) is the mix of foot traffic dust and evergreen pollen that settles over everything- so if allergic, be aware- otherwise, you just might not want to leave that breakfast skillet out overnight.
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