Vehicle Hill Access for Early Arrival & Exodus
Almost no street vehicles are allowed to drive up the hill into the camping roads of Firefly to load or unload there. The vast majority of cargo brought into Firefly is hauled up from parking areas manually, hand carried or with carts.
However, to facilitate large projects and infrastructure, a very limited number of vehicles may be able to drive up the trail into the event to unload gear during the Early Arrival period, as well as the Exodus after the event.
You can request vehicle access during Early Arrival by filling out the Early Arrival Form.
If you have any questions, email the GTFO Core at gtfo@fireflyartscollective.org.
Early Arrival Dates and Times:
Monday 7/1/2024: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Tuesday 7/2/2024: 7:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Exodus Date and Times:
Sunday 7/7/2024 : 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Rules
- Hill access are contingent upon road conditions. In the case of muddy or wet conditions, access may be delayed or restricted until conditions improve. DPW will have the final say on this matter.
- During Early Arrival and Exodus, all persons in a vehicle must display a wristband and be approved for Early Arrival with Gate.
- For hill access during early arrival and exodus, all vehicles must be approved by the GTFO Team via the Early Arrival Form.
- No vehicles will be able to use the trail after 11am on Tuesday — absolutely NO vehicles will be allowed on the event site or up the trail during the event.
Acceptable Vehicles
You must have a 4 wheel drive (4WD) or an all wheel drive (AWD) vehicle to access the hill. AWD vehicles must have at least 6.5 inches ground clearance in order to successfully navigate the waterbar above the Ranger station. You should google the ground clearance of your vehicle before you come. Box trucks and vehicles that do not have AWD or 4WD will not be allowed on the hill.
Loading Zones
We will set up loading zones for camps that do not have adequate space or road accessibility. They will be marked off and staffed by a GTFO volunteer. These zones will allow you to park off the road and unload/load your gear during Early Arrival/Exodus. Be prepared to transfer your gear to a different vehicle, or to haul your gear up the trail with a dolly or cart. (If you have extra carts, please bring them!)
- Loading Zone 1: Lower Hill – Cabana Hammock turn off. Mercurial, adjacent to the bridge.
- Loading Zone 2: Mid Hill – Adjacent Lovin Lion/Pan path on Mercurial
- Loading Zone 3: Hill Top – Wild West and Mercurial
- Loading Zone 4: Bus Loading Zone
Early Arrival Process
Vehicles should arrive at the GTFO HQ (pop-up in lower parking by the access road) and coordinate hill access with GTFO Lead. There will be a queue lane set up—please pay attention to the GTFO folks’ directions. Please do not attempt to skip the process or drive by us. If you do, we will revoke hill access for you and your vehicle for the remainder of the event. Also, please come down to the GTFO lanes via the driveway by Gate, which will be set up above lower parking. The logging access/town road intersection will be for exiting the site only.
If vehicle is heading to a large camp that can accommodate off-trail loading/unloading, they will be sent there directly by GTFO Lead once trails are clear of traffic. If vehicle is heading to a campsite that is inaccessible from Mercurial or does not have a space to unload off-trail, they will be sent to the closest Loading Zone to their camp (if it is not currently occupied).
Large Camps: Vehicle driver will check in with GTFO Lead at the popup and wait to be sent up. Once cleared, you may drive up to your camp site and load/unload at your pace directly to/from the vehicle. Please ensure that you are completely off of the access trails; if you are not completely off the road, volunteers will ask you to move.
Loading Zone: For those heading to loading zones, drivers must unpack the vehicle completely in the Loading Zone before taking items to their camps. In other words, no direct trips from vehicle to camp site. There will be tarps if the ground is wet. Once the vehicle is completely unloaded, the driver will inform the GTFO Core person in the zone that they are ready to head back down the hill.
Exodus Process
To apply for vehicle hill access, fill out the Early Arrival form.
Firefly ends Sunday at noon. Please be packed up and able to leave by 3pm Saturday. Remember that everything brought up to the site has to brought back out on Sunday.
Drivers arrive at GTFO HQ (pop-up in lower parking by the access road) and will coordinate with GTFO Lead. There will be a queue lane set up—please pay attention to the GTFO folks, who will direct you. Please do not attempt to skip the process or drive by us, if you do, we will revoke Hill Access for you and your vehicle for the remainder of the event. Also, please come down to the GTFO lanes via the driveway by Gate, which will be set up above lower parking. The logging access/town road intersection will be for exiting the site only.
If vehicle is heading to a large camp that can accommodate off trail loading/unloading, they will be sent there directly by GTFO Lead once trails are clear of traffic. If vehicle is heading to a campsite that is inaccessible from Mercurial or does not have a space to unload off-trail, they will be sent to the closest Loading Zone to their camp (if it is not currently occupied).
Large Camps: Vehicle driver will check in with GTFO Lead at the popup and wait to be sent up. Once cleared, you may drive up to your camp site and load/unload at your pace directly to/from the vehicle. Please ensure that you are completely off of the access trails; if you are not completely off the road you will be asked to move by a volunteer.
Loading Zone: Camps are to bring only the amount of gear they can fit into their vehicle over to the Loading Zone. They may take multiple vehicle trips if needed, but we need to conserve space for other camps, so they are prohibited from stockpiling or storing more than one vehicle load at any given time. Once items are in the Loading Zone, the driver should let the GTFO Crew know that they are going down for their car. Vehicle driver will check in with GTFO Lead at the popup and wait to be sent up to the Loading Zone. When cleared vehicles arrive in the Loading Zone, it must pull in completely so it does not block the road. Once the vehicle is completely loaded, the driver will inform the GTFO Crew in the zone that they are ready to head back down the hill.
See you in the woods!