Short name for the desert area that Burning Man is held on. The Playa surface is slightly compacted gypsum, and is a dried salt flat with no rocks to speak of.

According to Peter Johansson, the top foot of soil tends to crumble a bit when you drive rebar in, so figure on 1 foot minimum depth. 1.5 feet will give good holding power and two feet will give great holding power.

Handy playa tip from Janet Lee:

Just put a little petroleum jelly on a Qtip and rub it around your nostril. But you might get grossed out by what comes out!

I'm sure generic brand p-jelly is a lot cheaper than buying Alkolol. I don't have sinus problems, but I do get horrible bronchial infections during the winter because of dry air. The Qtip trick works great! If it stops working for me, I'll try this Alkolol stuff.

There are also saline nasal sprays for a quick moistening. Sprays cost about $1.25/bottle. Good stuff.

Vaseline is great for a myriad of playa dryness problems, especially for your feet and ankles.

From LadyMerv:

A few drops of vinegar in a bowl of water will nullify the playa effect. Do this daily if your feet are getting scary and it will help a bit. Not going to BM with athletes foot is wise. That nuisance that is athletes foot here, becomes a cracked dried out painful and sometimes bloody mess after you been out on the playa.

From Liz McLellan:

Cover your feet in Dr. Bronners Peppermint Soap and walk around happiliy barefoot --- for a while anyway.

From Justin Sabe:

Baby wipes are a quick fix for the many not so fresh moments on the playa. Keep them in your backpack. A little vicks vapo rub makes the morning trip to the porta pot slightly less bad.

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