Efficient City Travel

Learning Goal: I can determine an efficient route between two locations in the city.

Intro

It is sometimes important for a Ranger to get somewhere as efficiently as possible. For an emergency this may mean speed. During a heavy dust storm this may mean not getting lost. And for everything else, it may just be about traveling less distance overall, to keep you from wearing yourself out.

Shortest Travel

Often it is a shorter distance to get from one part of the city to another by first going down to Esplanade and cutting across Inner Playa. Just following Esplanade can save time as well, but cutting across will save the most time both in distance and in avoiding Esplanade traffic.

If you just don't have an instinct for when cutting across Inner Playa will give you the shortest distance to travel, or just need an easy rule for emergencies, remember the phrase:

"Good 4 Across."

If your destination’s radial is 4 or more clock hours away, it’s a good time to cut across Inner Playa. For example, cutting across is generally recommended when going from 4:00 to 8:00 and higher.

Good 4 Across is a simplified rule. The exact math is a little more nuanced and our rule is accounting for the crowds of Inner Playa potentially slowing you down. Later in this section, you’ll learn about other factors that can determine which route is actually fastest.

Test Yourself

Travel in Dust Storms

In dust storms, navigating Esplanade can become difficult. It is often best to stay on Street A to avoid the large Esplanade road openings and empty front yards of big theme camps, where it can be easy to lose sight of the road's edge. This usually makes it easier to see as well, as having structures on both sides can help protect from the wind. As crossing Inner Playa and getting lost can cost a lot of time if you are not adapted to it, it is often best for an uncertain Ranger to stick to the road in general.

If crossing playa is critical to speed and you have enough visibility to see two promenade lamp posts at the same time (meaning you can confidently move from promenade to promenade), follow the promenades to get to radials 3/6/9/12.

There are some more advanced tricks veteran Rangers use to maintain a straight path in low-visibility dust storms. Some carry a small compass, to keep from accidentally going off course. Some look to the sky, as right above you can often be clear enough to see the sun or stars. Some focus on the wind, with any shift in wind direction signaling that either you accidentally turned or the wind direction is no longer reliable. And some make sure they are going straight by keeping their shadow at the same angle on the ground.

iBurn has been recently reported to be able to work in emergencies. However, there have also been reports of it making some mistakes. This means learning the basic skills is still important, as we can't promise an app will always work, exist, or that your phone will be charged and functional.

Route Adjustments

Other route adjustments may be learned over time or for an individual burn. For example, Esplanade or certain camps can get very busy during certain times of day, and might be best avoided then. Radials that go to plazas or center camp (3:00, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30, 9:00) can also get quite busy at certain times of day. And some years certain roads are in terrible conditions, making them best to avoid.