Getting Ready for a Gathering

Location | Before You Leave Home
What to Bring | What to Leave Home
Local Resources

Some recommended further reading: WitchVox's Festival Tips. Our guide was inspired by Silver Ravenwolf's Festival advice page.

Location

Camp Ramblewood is in northeastern Maryland, about 90 minutes south of Philadelphia, and 45 minutes north of Baltimore. You can use our standard driving directions or use your favorite mapping site to find Silver Rd, Darlington, MD. If you're coming from south of DC, be aware of the ongoing Wilson Bridge and associated construction projects; we recommend that you check the Wilson Bridge Project site for information about how this might affect your trip.

The Camp's phone number is 410-457-4228. Please use & distribute this phone number for emergencies only.

Before You Leave Home

• Check the weather. You can find a current local forecast for Darlington at the Weather Underground. As usual, we've put in for warm and sunny, but you never know.
• If you're driving, make sure your car's in good shape, especially if you're driving a long distance. Check your hoses, belts, tires and your spare tire and jack. If your car is getting elderly, you might want to spring for AAA.
• If you're using mass transit: The nearest airport is BWI, and it's very unlikely that we can pick you up; there are, however, several options for ground transportation linked from the BWI homepage, or you can google 'bwi transportation' for more.
  Amtrak stops in Aberdeen, as does the MARC Penn Line (weekday service only). We can probably arrange a pick-up from Aberdeen; if not, there is cab service available for ˜$20–$30. Drop a note to American Taxi (put Ramblewood in the subject line) or call them: 410-272-3000.
• If you're traveling by air:
  • Check the TSA Website for up-to-date information on what can and can't be carried on and/or checked, and other useful trip-planning information.
  • Pay attention to the TSA's/your airline's suggestions about how far ahead of time you should arrive for your flight.
  • Carry at least one change of clothes plus your prescriptions and your jewelry in your carry-on. Airlines seem to delight in sending people to one destination and their bags to the other side of the planet.
  • Wear comfortable clothes and comfortable shoes that you can get on and off easily.
  • Be aware that large, conspicuous jewelry can sometimes set off the metal detector and may single you out for closer inspection.
  • Don't try to carry on anything like an edged weapon. We strongly suggest that you think twice about whether you want to transport one at all.
  • Remember that airport security people conspicuously lack a sense of humor about things they consider to be safety threats.

What to Bring

• Housing & Bedding: Bring a sleeping bag or sheets & blankets. The cabins have standard single beds. It will get cold at Beltane and the fall events, and there's usually at least one rainy, chilly night at Gathering, too. You'll also want at least 2 towels, one for showering and one for the pool, plus a grubby towel if you're participating in a Sweat Circle.
• If you're in a tent, do not use anything that produces a flame—torches, lanterns, candles, stoves—inside your tent; you risk setting yourself, your tent and/or your bedding on fire and/or poisoning yourself with carbon monoxide. If this is the first time you're using your tent this season or it's new, we strongly suggest that you get it out and test setting it up at least once before you come. You might also want to test its waterproofing and re-seal it if it leaks. There are few things more miserable than sleeping in a leaky tent in the rain. You'll also probably want an air mattress or pad between you and the ground; sleeping on the ground, even with a sleeping bag, will make you feel old and creaky before your time. Make sure that you have all the pieces (tent, poles, stakes, ropes, fly, tarp/ground cloth...), and a mallet (for pounding stakes) and a claw hammer (for pulling them). We also request that you flag your ropes with reflective or brightly-colored tape so that people can avoid them in the dark.
• Clothes: While our camping events are clothing-optional, clothes are often a good option. Layers are your friend. We strongly suggest at least one warm outfit, a rainproof of some sort and one pair of rain-friendly shoes. Bring ritual garb, sandals, hiking shoes, outrageous costumes, comfy clothes, a swimsuit if you don't want to skinny-dip...
• Food: At FSG, the Camp Canteen sells ice, soda, snacks and (at certain hours) minimal food (e.g. hamburgers). At other events, you can usually buy ice by asking at the back door of the Camp kitchen.
  • If you're on the meal plan, please bring dinnerware—plate, bowl, glass, mug, knife, fork, spoon—and you'll still probably want to bring some snacks and/or drinks.
  • If you're not on the meal plan: when planning your camp kitchen, please remember that fire regulations prohibit using camp stoves or grills inside your cabin or on the porch. We suggest:
    • a pop-up, dining fly, other other shade piece
    • at least one cooler (neither the events nor the camp can provide food storage)
    • a camp stove or hibachi (remember fuel and/or charcoal) and a lighter or matches
    • plates and eating utensils
    • cooking utensils and a hot mitt
    • a can opener and a churchkey
    • a dishpan and dish soap. You can get hot water from cabins, but you can't wash dishes in the cabin sinks.
    • napkins and/or paper towels
    • trash bags. Remember that there are raccoons and other critters that like people food at Camp. It's a good idea to hang your trash bag up high to discourage them, and to store your non-refrigerated food in sturdy containers.
• Personal Care: If you're taking prescription medications, please bring enough to last you the whole time you're onsite and appropriate storage. If you have a Medic Alert bracelet, please wear it all the time. You'll probably also want: soap, shampoo & conditioner, baby wipes, a basic first aid kit, razor, comb & brush, toothbrush & toothpaste, aspirin/ibuprofen/acetominophen, bug repellent, sunblock, poison ivy remedies... We, personally, use Dr Bronner's for both people and dish washing.
• Infrastructure:
  • Shade: We suggest at least one pop-up or similar shade piece for your camp. If you're running a camp kitchen, a second shade piece for your cooking & food storage is a really good idea.
  • Light: We suggest a flashlight and spare batteries (It gets dark at night, even with a full moon, and it can be difficult to navigate up and down the hill to the drum circle even with the torches in place), tiki torches (if we're not having drought conditions), bug buckets (big citronella candles), and a propane (for outdoor use) and/or battery lamp.
  • Chairs & Tables: You're going to want someplace to sit while you're in camp, and somewhere to set your plates and drinks. If you're cooking, you'll also need a sturdy table to set your stove on and to prep food on. You might also want a small portable chair for taking to classes or workshops.
  • Tools & Miscellaneous: Stuff we've found useful and/or necessary: a fire extinguisher, a mini sewing kit that includes a couple of safety pins, both a sledge hammer (for pounding stakes) and a claw hammer (for pulling them), extra bungee cords, extra tent stakes, duct or gaff tape, a clock, extra ziploc bags and extra trash bags, a rain poncho, a pair of binoculars (for sky-watching or birding), and a folding shovel.
• Fun stuff: Musical instruments, drums, games, cards, camp decorations & banners, windchimes, your imagination, your dancing shoes...
• Ritual garb & tools: Bring your staff, wand, athame (with the travel caveats mentioned above), sword (ditto), pentacle, cups, robe...

What to Leave Home

• Do not bring pets, animal companions, or familiars. We do welcome service animals accomanying people with disabilities; please let us know ahead of time if you'll have one with you.
• Do not bring firearms.
• Do not bring illegal items or substances.
• Please don't bring fireworks, including sparklers. There's no safe place to set them off.

Local Resources

• Havre de Grace has various restaurants, a couple of grocery stores and a liquor store
• Aberdeen has a Target, Wal-Mart, bed & breakfasts and motels, a couple of big grocery stores, another liquor store, a Radio Shack, a Home Depot, the aforementioned Amtrak/MARC stop, and more restaurants.
• Bel Air has a Staples, lots and lots of restaurants, a good liquor store, and a BJ's.
• The closest place for essentials is the gas station mini-mart on US1 a couple miles south of Shuresville Rd (left onto Shuresville from Silver Rd; left onto US1 South; it's on the left).

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