So I was at this nutty mostly-metal festival and I was moshing, couple years ago, this tall kid hit me and I fell on this sharp ass rock that was 3/4 in the ground.. with my knee. Ate some orange ecstacy and drank a lot. Woke up with blood caked beneath my jeans the next morning. Ever since then, my right knee will give out randomly and I'll fall the fuck over and scream for a bit. I regret nothing.

And yeah, girls in the pit makes me extra fatherly. Like I'll try to shield them from getting mangled lol.

Aw, CAUGHT IN A MOSH!!

checklist : a boxcutter !!!

Unless your girl is in some way handicapped and unable to function on her own, she'll be just fine staying back while you go mosh it up. Just agree on a designated meeting spot for after (such as crip mountain) and it'll all work out. Plus, you can leave all your shit with her. Everybody wins. If you're dead set on dragging her in there though, hit up your local Lenscrafters before you go and get her some of them basketball glasses. Or just hit up Home Depot and get some of those big ass safety goggles. Those should fit over regular glasses though will likely be uncomfortable as fuck.

I usually leave the cooler in the car all weekend. If you fill it up with ice before you leave, you'll probably only need 1 additional bag during the weekend. You can ride into town and get it way cheaper.

Pack a hoodie and some long pants. It gets cold at night.

Disposable grills can be purchased at the dollar store. If you get some foil, you can cook up mass hotdogs and just wrap up the leftovers. It'll be hot as fuck in your car so that should keep em safe.

Take a hat and/or umbrella. Even if it's not raining, an umbrella will block the sun and keep you significantly cooler during the day.

Lots of baby powder. One year, hot as fuck . Got the sickest jock itch . It hurt to walk cause my inner thighs were basically raw, from being damp, hot, and rubbing. Nobody had baby powder for sale. The med tent gave me like a tea spoon, ain't help. I ended up cutting some of the garbage bags I had, wrapping up my thighs in them, just to reduce the friction. I take least 3 things of baby powder and 2 cans of spray powder/ jock itch spray every year now. In case I loose one, or in case I run into someone else who needs it. And its always fun to powder someone last day, if u can find someone who will let you. 

Speaking of getting sick after Gathering, last year I made sure to take some drinks that were high in vitamin C (Hawaiian Punch and grape juice) and drank them every day. I also took Zicam mouth spray, and used that twice a day regardless of if I felt sick or not. Zicam isn't cheap, but it boosts your immune system and it kept me from getting sick! I'm absolutely going to do the same thing this year.

I also recommend taking a hoodie because one of the nights last year, you were able to see your breath! A good, warm blanket is a must, but I also took a battery operated fan to keep me cool on the warmer nights (I think I used the fan the first two nights, then moved to the cozy blanket for the last four nights).

And as far as food...I took enough stuff to have one meal at camp, plus some snacks, and planned on buying one meal a day. The gyros are OFF THE CHAIN so I would definitely suggest planning a few bucks to get one. I took some packs of powdered and chocolate donuts, which were a nice, filling snack at like 1:00am when I was waiting for someone at 2nd stage.

And the one thing I definitely won't go there without is rubber gloves. I used them every time I went in a port-a-potty because there are no sinks anywhere to wash your hands.

-Jules

flash light is a must. and extra batteries for it. hand sanitizer too. and couple cases of water.

New socks really do get maximum bang for buck at GOTJ. I highly recommend it. Spare batteries. Some contingency cash. Sharpie. Maybe asprin or whatever if you are prone to headaches. Stay hydrated.

You should take a signature book too. I always take a new one every year. But i'm in to that kind of thing. It's just a hard bound book with thick blank white pages. Get anyone and everyone you like to sign it, most of them will do it without a second thought. Something cool to look back on. And leave the first couple pages blank so you can write shit in them you want to remember like dates, cool ninjas you met numbers and shit.