First and foremost: I'm not your mother. I'm not going to hand hold or answer stupid questions. If you have a question, re-read the article, then read it again. It's probably answered in there. You may disagree with the contents of this article. You may think you have something to contribute. Feel free to comment and if its good I'll update this. It's really a draft at this point.


TEF: HOW TO FIND A SPOT

1. Be systematic. Create a polygon in google earth that is a 10 mile x 10 mile square. Systematically look at shit, drop pushpins at possible spots (see guidelines below), and remove obvious things inside that square, such as cities and populated areas.

2. The farther you are away from people, the safer the spot.

3. The farther you are off of a main road or secondary road, the less likely you or a party-goer will run into local traffic.

4. When looking around, especially in light residential, put yourself in a local's shoes; If you're way out in the middle of nowhere, and were one of the few houses on the way to the spot, would you notice traffic? Would you notice a bunch of cars?

5. Google isn't always right. Satellite imagery can be outdated. Find out what the area is; if its wilderness it could be a state park, federal land, or county-owned land that is zoned as a wilderness preserve or "open-space" preserve.

6. All land isn't your land. There is no such thing as 'unclaimed territory' It's either owned by the state, the fed, the county, the city, or a private landowner. Personally, I avoid private land for fairly obvious reasons: It's THEIR land, and most large private landowners HATE people on their shit.

7. County GIS systems are a boon. With enough research you can find out who owns what, which opens the possibility of simply asking the landowner for permission

8. Note the terrain. on flat land, plains, or light brush, a 'decent' sound system can be heard a mile away. Well, at least mine can (I think) , and I paid about $400 for it. Hills and canyons block sound from reaching a neighborhood but reflect and amplify in every other direction. Anything that looks like a cone geographically will most likely amplify in that direction, or at least carry the sound much farther. Forests deaden sound, and extreme heights let the sound field go over other areas (think the bunker area) or hit a wall and reflect back/up (think steep ravine)

9. Be creative! Geography works well in some cases, not so in others. Although, risk increases significantly the more you "need" to be creative to make things work. It's a boon for more local events, unnecessary the farther out. If a crew has to drive 2 hours then do weird stuff like shuttles, its probably not worth it.

10. Don't be lazy. Just because you can't drive up and drop sound on a spot doesn't mean its out of the picture. Gates can be picked or bypassed by foot. Equipment can be moved by hand truck or cart. My suggestion is up to 1 mile of flat land for walking equipment by cart/hand, and 1/4 to half a mile for inclines. As long as there is a paved or packed path to walk on, it makes it easier for "us".

Assuming you think you found "the spot", you don't need a sound system to do a preliminary test. Some guesswork and your voice do just fine. Here are some field tips:

-Accessibility: Can you get to the spot just fine? Can some riced out Honda 1" off the ground get there too? Is it 4x4 access only?

-Safety: No-one can prevent stupidity, but if you can't navigate or stay safe sober, what are the chances for those that aren't. (Examples are hidden drops, lots of poison oak, unsafe proximity to ocean, unsafe debris)

-How many people can you park unobtrusively? Assuming everyone carpools, a 400 person event would require at least space for 100 cars. Assume 125 cars then (because not everyone carpools), if you're expecting your spot to handle that many people.

-How much space is there to kick it? How many people can sit or dance without falling off a cliff or into a river?

-Are you comfortable there? If you're not comfortable at your spot, likely others won't either.

-Go there regularly! Going there often helps you get comfortable with your location, and establishes a pattern. If you start noticing fresh tire tracks, things being moved around, gates opened/closed that tells you that the spot is fairly active. Doesn't mean its out of the picture it just means you gotta really vet it.

-Do a voice check. Can you hear a buddy screaming from the closest main (or paved) road? What about near a nearby residence or building? If you can hear one person, you can likely hear a sound system or a bunch of people screaming at the DJ.

-Do an all-nighter. Go take drugs and hang out at your spot..from say 11PM to 6AM. If anyone comes out there routinely on the weekend and you run into them in the early AM, it'll give you (and us) an idea as to when to be out of there.

Hope this helps Remember, it's just a guideline, and there are exceptions. Stuff like #4 is negligible, (its midnight, so they're PROBABLY asleep) but still a concern. If you can fullfill all of these requirements, it's likely a REALLY SAFE spot.