EDC Hacks (Reddit)
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Super Galactic <undertheelecticsk@gmail.com>  12/04/16 at 8:05 PM
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SimerSKhurana@aim.com  Dvega_27@yahoo.com  itsforeaze@yahoo.com  kelsey.shelton22@gmail.com  laurenlouhoo@gmail.com  and 5 more...
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Hey there! Here's my lessons and hacks learned from EDC. Hope you find it of some use!


Fly in early. Thursday is a great day to arrive, as it gives you time to get settled, get a full night's sleep, and be up and ready at a decent hour by late afternoon. Be advised, Vegas is FULL of EDC-goers, and lots of people are partying in the days leading up to the weekend, and through the weekend itself. It can get loud, so you may want to make sure you have earplugs if the hotel if you aren't one of those lucky bastards that sleeps like a fucking coma patient
Vegas, as I said, is going to be chalked full of EDC-goers. I'm not fucking around when I say this - we overrun the city like a rainbow-coloured molly-fueled tsunami. You can't walk 5 feet without bumping into a raver. This means there is also a horrific amount of traffic. Driving is a god damned nightmare. Nevada drivers are bad enough, but dump a bunch of angry ass, mostly drunk Californian drivers in there and you end up with roads and freeways that hardly move. There is a reason for this: when no one lets anyone move, especially when merging, NO ONE moves. This is gridlock, and it was invented by assholes. Vegas has, quite possibly, the angriest, worst driving I've ever seen and it's because of EDC. You'll see further down where this gets messy, but for now:
If you plan on driving anywhere, give yourself AMPLE time to get there. Driving down the strip is annoying, traffic sucks, the layout sucks. It's easy to walk (if you don't mind the air temperature of fucking Venus), but simple things like going to the drug store to get some shit is a total pain in the ass. I highly recommend Amazon Prime Now (if you have Prime). Shit gets delivered to your hotel, yay. Problem solved - if they have what you're looking for.
Now, in terms of transportation to the event, you have two options: EDC Shuttle, which costs $$ and isn't always the best thing ever, or drive your car/rental car. Now, there are perks and downsides to both.

    1. Shuttle - you don't have to drive. This is nice because the very narrow freeway going out to the racetrack that EDC is held at (just outside of the city) is a fucking Mad Max Fury Road nightmare-fuel deathride full of people who are, potentially, the most batshit drivers I have ever seen in my life... and I have seen some shit, ok? Ok. So, basically what happens is you have this strip of highway running out there that cannot handle the 200,000 people that all want to get to the stadium after sundown. Just getting TO the freeway alone (a 10 minute drive on a good day) can take two fucking hours. Then there's the complicated dick fuckery of actually getting ON the freeway. People will take one onramp lane and create five more by forcibly jamming themselves in any nook and cranny they can. No one will ever let anyone merge, so it's basically a fucking standoff. Taking the shuttle makes this less of your problem and more of a waiting game, plus you run a high chance of getting a buttfucking crazy shuttle driver from Delhi who opts to just go offroading because that bus has a god damn destination to get to. Fuck the haters. Unfortunately, the shuttles aren't always the most reliable (your seat isn't always guaranteed). They are also subject to the heaviest inspections, so if you plan on bringing "party favours", the shuttle is one of the less attractive travel options. They are much more thorough and, if I recall, may have even had drug dogs this last year. I hear a lot of bad stories.

     2. Drive - this is my preferred method. Despite the hellish traffic, driving has several benefits. Not only do you decide exactly when to leave for the even and to return home, but you can keep shit in your car like snacks, water, comfy clothes, etc, to just dig right into the moment you get out of the event. Beleive me when I say there is no better feeling than tearing off your adorable outfit you wore all night in the 115 degree bullshit head that straight up RADIATES off the asphalt until 1am, dancing until 4am. That, and having something like a cooler with iced tea... it's a sort of refreshing feeling you'll understand after the first day. Now, there are some things to be hyper-aware of regarding driving. Someone could theoretically break into your car since there is literally zero parking lot security or guidance, BUT, keeping anything valuable locked away can prevent that. We just left the car mostly empty besides our cooler and pajamas. I didn't hear of much of that going on, but it's always something to be aware of. Next, you want to keep in mind what time you leave for the event. As I stated above, the traffic is jacked. There is a trick to this - depending on where you stay, you want to leave for the event around 6pm, no later than 6:30. 80% of the people go once the sun is down because duh, it's slightly less hot. It isn't worth the shit you have to deal with on the freeway. I stayed at the Wyndham last year which is toward the edge of the strip, so it wasn't quite as difficult to get to the freeway as say, being in the middle of the strip, so plan your hotel/stay location wisely. If you can stay outside the strip and somewhere closer to the part of the city and freeway that takes you to EDC, do it. You will save yourself time. So, we left the Wyndham at about 6:15, and it took us roughly 30 minutes to get to the event grounds. We arrive juuuust as the sun is setting in the sky. It's hot, but it's manageable. When you drive, you go through a different security check, and in this area, they are very very relaxed. I highly recommend it. More personal control, less fuss, and minimal walking (you'll be exhausted).
BUT, remember where the fuck you park. Make a strong mental note, or park somewhere smart. Close to the exit is wise, or right next to a good landmark. Coming out of the stadium is VERY disorientating for a lot of people. This year, I'm making a totem for my car that I can literally stick to the top of it like a little flag. It will make finding my car easy. The parking lot is also scary if you're a girl and your'e alone, so be careful. I got separated from my group on the first night when we were trying to meet back up in the parking lot (told my bf he could stay because I was super tired). Wound up walking around for about 20 minutes looking for my friends who parked exactly NOT where I told them to meet me, and I think I had at least nine different people proposition me for sex and/or group sex. Considering you can't have knives on you at the event, it was unnerving, but everything was ok in the end.
Now, if you drive, your'e doing to want to leave at the right time. Unfortunately, I really, really, really don't recommend staying until the end of each night. You get 200k people all trying to get out at once and what this results in is the single most horrifying experience I have ever had in my life: it's all PLUR until the parking lot. There is literally zero parking lot security or guidance. When you drive in, you basically just go fucking wherever. There mmmmight be a guy directing you kind of, but at the end of the night? Fuck no, that shit is pure, unbridled putried anarchy. Remember what I said about people not wanting to let anyone merge/go anywhere on the roads? Yeah, apply that x100 to the parking lot. You've got thousads of tired, probably high and/or drunk young people that are ANGRILY trying to leave the parking lot. It's a swarm. All these people want to filter out through the same tiny roadway to exit the parking lot, but no one will let anyone move. I sat there from 5am to 8:30am completely unable to turn my car around to even face the right direction to get out because my car was surrounded by a brigade of psychopathic fuckwits. The two guys in front of me were literally grinding against the side of each other's cars and cussing/flicking each other off out the window until one guy tore the other guy's bumper off and then they got out and had a good old fasioned redneck brawl. That's just a drop in the bucket. So, to avoid this kerfuffle, leave about about 4am. It's roughly an hour before the night ends, but honestly, it's worth it. You'll already be tired, more than likely, and one hour doesn't make a huge difference. Was it nice to stay for the last set and see the sun come up? Yes. Was it worth the fucking nightmare of leaving when everyone else does? No. Seriously. Don't be Icarus and fly too close to the Sun with this - just leave at 4, 4:30 at the absolute laaaatest. You'll get right home to your hotel and will get enough recovery in before the next night. Getting home at 10 about ruined me for Sunday night. Worst choice we made, but we learned our lesson. Learn from our suffering. Also, get fucking insurance on your rental car in case some crazy shitlick decides to grind down the side of your car.

What to wear - let's be real, it's hot. If you love the heat, great! Lucky you. If you're from Seattle like me and actually enjoy seasons, it's going to feel like you're breathing in the hot air of coals. It's dry, there's not much wind, and smoke likes to collect in the racetrack when they set off fireworks. What this means is, if there isn't a good breeze, the air is still and choked full of smoke and dust. This year when I went, Friday was actually pretty nice. It was only about 105 (lol only), and we had a decent bit of air movement. This kept my skin slightly cooler, and it kept the smoke moving out of the bowl of the stadium. Unfortunately that breeze went away over the weekend and Sunday, being the hottest day and the most fireworks-crazy day, was by far the hardest time I had during my stay there. The air became choked so thick with smoke that you can hardly breathe, and me, a NON asthmatic, had to use my friend's inhaler just to get a fucking taste of what breathing was like for a moment. If your asthmatic, it can be a huge pain. Regardless, bring a face mask. If it's one you can get wet, DO IT. Hell, even one of those medical face masks people wear when they are sick are great. It's hot with them on, but you can at least get some filtered air when you really need it.
Like I said, it's HOT, so what you wear for clothes is pretty important. It will probably be mostly nothing, which is obviously the norm anyways. Wear very comfortable shoes, but not ones your IN LOVE with.They're going to be filthy by the end of the weekend. Your clothes can easily get dirty, too, so make sure the stuff you wear can be washed pretty easily (aside from like, accessories). Keep in mind, you're going to be doing this for three days. It's very exhausting - you're dancing, walking around a ton, the food sucks, you're constantly in need of hydration, and the last thing you want is to wear an outfit that is either cumbersome, warm, or generally uncomfortable. Best advice is to wear something that is comfortable to wear when wet. Polyester bodysuits are EXCELLENT. Also, I recommend putting Dr. Scholl's insoles in your shoes - it helped me a lot. Bring hair ties to put your hair up if it's long - you'll need it.
Gear - bring a backpack. Clear, plastic, something convenient. Now, the BEST hack I have for this shit - and the clear plastic backpack is important - is to put a camelback/hydration pack's inner bag in there (the water reservoir). The plastic backpack is important because, when you fill that water reservoir up with ice, that shit keeps you cool. I keep it right against my back, and holy fucking shit, you will save yourself a lot of heat exhaustion. Ice is the important part: water gets warm FAST. Fill it with nothing but ice. It will melt more than fast enough for you to continuously drink, and it will stay cold as fuck. Even better, dump something like lemonade or ice tea in there with the ice, and you will be really well hydrated. I cannot convey how fucking important the hydration is, and tasty stuff helps. Gatorade is a great one if you like how it tastes (I personally don't) because of dem electrolytes (it's what plants crave). But, even lemonade/tea are great because they also have sugars. Bring chapstick, you will want it. Bring hand sanitizer, you will need it. Bring eyedrops if they let you take them in - they are wonderful. Lotion is nice too. It's hot and dry, your body is going to be screaming for that shit. Also bring:
Toilet paper - there is no guarantee the porta-potties will have any, and the only REAL restroom to use is either in VIP (which requires VIP, holy shit), or waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay up at the enterance of the fucking stadium, up 143,000 stairs. It's like scaling Olympus, except instead of pushing a boulder, your dragging your own hot, sweaty, tired, pee/poo filled self practically to fucking Mordor to go use the janky but far more acceptable toilets up there. BUT, for those who have to shit NOW, porta-potties are it. And there are not a ton of bathroom locations, so be advised that for a lot of shit you want, you have to walk a god damn mile (not joking) to get it. Water, toilet, food, lockers, stages. It's huge.
It's huge - did I say that already? Yeah, this place blows the mind. Be prepared to walk and be super lost half the time. Their maps suck. I have a solution for this year, though, which you may see if I succeed. See, they have these big maps hung in various locations, and they're well-lit, but unfortunately NONE of them tell you your god damn location and orientation. Now, this is tricky on two levels - first and foremost, there are lights going off everywhere. Lasers, stage lights, electric art, people wearing lights. It's like a billion tiny suns going supernove constantly. It makes it difficult to have your eyes adjust and discern well, the spaces of darkness (such as the ground). What i mean to say is, it's very hard to really see clearly unless you're looking at things that are lit up. SO, finding your orientation can be a bit of a pain. This is 10x harder on drugs. Especially acid, mainly because not only are you on acid (mentally), but visually the map (or anything else) won't stay still. SO, my solution: I'm brining some arrows that say "you are here" and I am sticking them on those fucking maps pointing in the direction that you are facing while looking at the map. Simple fix, the fuck if I don't know why they haven't done that. Regardless, I recommend that you spend a few hours getting the layout of the place down. It will help a lot.
Rides - FYI, the ride lines suck. Seriously. If you want to do that shit, go early. Otherwise, enjoy standing for a god damn hour to ride a ferris wheel. You don't even want to know how long the water-ride is.
Water and stuff - get wet. Get wet. It's amazing. Bring a small mister bottle. It's even better. They don't have anything like a fountain to jump through or misters to walk by (though they seriously should), so being able to get wet and cool down is the best thing ever. Additionally, bring a sturdy plastic folding hand-fan like this one, specifically this kind of fan. These are made in Hong-Kong and are a pain in the ass to find, but they are EPIC levels of durable, waterproof, and the best. fucking. thing. ever. Seriously. You can beat the shit out of them and they won't break. People will also love the hell out of you - fans make friends.
The Oasis - there is this place called "Oasis". It's a big room with air conditioning and bean bags. It is probably my favourite place because it's the only escape from the heat and it's chill as fuck. It is also a "safe place" for people on drugs. At the center is a giant booth of pamphlets all about drugs - what their effects are, which ones you shouldn't mix, what to do if you're having a bad trip, etc etc. The people working in there are part of the Conscious crew and do NOT care if you're high as balls - they're there to help and make sure you're okay. They're super nice, will offer you water and check on you a lot, and it's a very relaxing place. They usually have one or two cops hanging out in there and those guys are really relaxed as well. Basically it's a safety zone because let's be real, everyone is on drugs and the only logical approach is to just make sure you give people a good time and the support they need to not die on your fucking asphalt. Oasis is dope. The VIP has an even better one, and imo, it's worth the money. The normal 'peasant' Oasis gets a bit... used by the last day. Dirty. Anyways, the Oasis is close to the porta-potties so l learn its location. It's a great meeting point, too, because you can sit around and cool down while you wait for your friends.
Get a locker - get a charging locker. It's great. Even better, bring a small portable charger. You will need it.
You will have no data and horrible reception unless you have Verizon. 200k people is a huge burden on the network speeds. I have T-Mobile and didn't get about 100 texts until I got back to the city on my way home. So, it's a pain in the ass to contact people. If you don't have Verizon and a few people in your group don't, I HIGHLY recommend a small walkie-talkie set to divide among your fellows. It will make communication way easier, and you can bypass all that bullshit. Verizon is great though, so, have a boyfriend/girlfriend like I do and then you can just use their phone.
Security Check - If you drive and go through the regular security check, it was so god damn lax this year. The chick that "searched" my bag just laught, said "I know you have druuuugs!" with a grin, high-fived me and let me pass. Mostly in that line they seem to just be concerned about knives and weapons and shit. Hide your drugs well (if you're a lady, I really recommend the vagina in a double-baggie. I know it's totally ghetto as fuck, but seriously, it's the single most secure way to get party favours in. No one searches vaginas (nor is it legal). And for fuck's sake, do NOT smuggle in anyone else's drugs. Most drugs require a certain amount of a personal supply to eve be punishable by lay (MDMA is something like more than 6 pills for example), but the moment you hand even a half a pill to someone, it's a federal offense of distribution, and that's the sort of thing they're looking for. We usually get inside the security check and through the gates, the pop right over to the bathroom they have (the one that's by the stadium entrance) and retrieve our stash. Double-bagging ensures both safety and that the inner bag is niiice and clean. Great! Be advised, if you shuttle back home, they may do another drug search - yet another reason I prefer driving.
Food - have food at your hotel. Have shit that is nutritious. Have some ice cream (feels great on the throat after all that dancing and screaming haha). Have coffee in your room. Get everything you need the day you fly in. You will be too exhausted to do jack shit in the small amounts of time you are at the hotel recovering like Goku after his epic battle with Frieza. Relax. Don't make your day busy. EDC is the embodiment of Eat.Sleep.Rave.Repeat. It's non-stop and every wink of sleep is precious. Don't overexert yourself. You will regret it, and it can cost you your life. People die almost every year at this show from the eat - so hydrate hydrate hydrate, eat well, listen to your body, know when to take breaks, and know when you need to call it a night. It's 3 days so you'll have plenty of time to see mmmmost of it. ;)
Totems are great, I highly recommend them, but make sure they're lightweight and easy to hold. A pole that is tall enough to rest on the ground is nice. But, people need to be willing to share the burden. Personally, I use a balloon with a tiny flashing LED light attached to where the string ties off on the balloon. I'm short, so it makes it easy for my peeps to find me. Since it weighs nothing, it's super convenient.
You will NOT see all the shows you want to see. There's simply too much going on. Have a rave-buddy you spend the whole night with and never separate from. See the things you guys want to see the most, but honestly, just take it all in and roll with the flow. Explore, discover, and enjoy. The small area that actually has grass is a nice place to cool off.
The asphalt, FYI, will radiate heat until about midnight.
BRING YOUR OWN CASH - the ATM there has a fucking $10 fee, so come in with your cash. Everything wants cash. There is ice all over the place and the best place to get it is from either the Redbull stand (if your in the regular Oasis and you go out one one of the smaller back doors, that's where it's usually at - the main enterance to the Oasis are garage type doors with plastic sheeting over them to keep in the cool air - the back door is on the left side of the wall opposite to the main entryway). Those guys give you tons of free ice. The people selling drinks will ask for tips for ice. The guys pushing around carts with lemonade will straight up give it all away when they run out of lemonade, so they're a good source if you catch them all at once. Ice is the key to survival there.
Don't get too close to the fire. Seriously, it's dope as fuck but even from like 1,000 feet away it feels like all your hair is burning off. The fire octopus by the Wasteland is suck, but do NOT get near it. It's trying to murder you.
Drunk people - they suck and they are usually the ones that fuck things up for people. Beware of alcohol, and more importantly, be conscious of the effects of alcohol on your body in that kind of heat. I personally fear far less for those of us on MDMA, Moxy, or other common rave drugs and far more for the drunk folks out there. It dehydrates you and it's almost always drunk people that bring negativity in. Booze makes people do dickish things, and the cops hate it.
Don't think that the cops are cool with your drugs, though, because they're not. Be discreet. Be responsible. Do that, and no one has a problem. It's the people who are dumb about it, who are obvious, and reckless. They will arrest people. They will remove them. Be smart.
For the record, I really honest to god recommend acid over molly for this even if you plan to do any drugs. The molly has diminishing returns and a full weekend of it can have some GNARLY effects on your emotions in the week afterwards (like, dangerously low levels of serotonin). I noticed that with the MDMA, I tended to overexert myself and overheat much faster. With the acid, the visual experience was quite frankly, even better than the molly (EDC, visually, is basically one of the best places on earth to do acid). You get the euphoria and awake feeling of molly, but with way better visuals that really compliment the whole style and design of EDC, and you are far, far more in tune with how your body is feeling. Imo, it's the safer drug and it doesn't have diminishing returns like molly does, nor does it have the serotonin depletion. It's also more cost-effective. Personally, I recommend mushrooms on the first night (after you get familia with the place) because it's a shorter kind of trip, acid the second night, and molly the last night (go out with a bang). Just a tip ;)


I think that covers most of it! There's definitely a lot of learning the first time you're there, and the place is so big and full of so much to do that it's hard to see it all and take it all in. Your mouth will br agape the whole whole time, but it is the single most insane experience I've ever had. I can't wait for this year.

The most important stuff I can give you though - be safe, have fun and don't try to overplan, make sure you're with people you trust and can rely on, and do everyone like me out there a favour: be a courteous driver. It's easy to let our nerves get the better of us, but the dickish driving helps no one and just makes the problem fester. Join us in the fight to carry PLUR beyond the parking lot. :)


Cheers!! Hope you have a great time!!