How to Plan for Watershed
With Watershed less than a week away, I have finally stopped procrastinating, and have started to think about the essentials for this wild country music festival located out in eastern Washington. Luckily, this year it's not 110 and full sun like it was last year, but it will still be hot and everyone will be out in full sun, all day every day. As I've begun to prepare for the festival, I thought it would be a good idea to list the things I will be bringing/doing to ensure that I stay safe, healthy, and have tons of fun, for anyone else who may also be planning for the festival this week. Keep reading for some suggestions based on my experience going to Watershed last year, for some insight on how to have the best experience at the Gorge Amphitheater this summer.
I camped in the general camping area last year and will be doing the same this year, so many of these suggestions are related to the camping experience. For people who may be staying in an RV or have a hotel room / house, there will be many suggestions that don't apply to you. However, there are still recommendations I'm giving for when you're actually inside the festival, and at the Amphitheater.
Eat salty foods prior to the festival
This is something that neither me or anyone in our group thought of doing prior to the festival, and most of us ended up having some level of heatstroke. Your body needs salts to absorb the water you drink into your system, and without them, your body will reject the water you consume, eventually ending in intense dehydration. To avoid this, make sure you're incorporating more salt than usual in your diet leading up to the festival, so that your body has a large supply of salts to absorb all the water you will be drinking. If you're someone who already consumes a large amount of salts in your diet, don't go overboard with this suggestion. You're fine, and most likely don't need to alter your diet much. However, if you're someone like me, who doesn't touch salt unless I'm eating takeout, you need to make an extreme change in what you eat this week. This will be hard for me, since I'm not a fan of salty foods, but it is a must in order to avoid heatstroke.
Bring WATER!!!
I cannot emphasize this enough… BRING WATER. By this, I mean you should be going to Costco or some other bulk grocery store and buy so much water, you worry it's overkill. Last year I didn't even think about buying water, and only focused on getting enough of the alcoholic beverages I liked, and the foods I wanted to cook up. Luckily, some people in my group thought about bringing water, but we ran out within the second day of camping and had to buy water from the festival for the rest of the time (which was so expensive). As a camper, you will be out in full sun all day everyday. If you're planning to stand in the mosh pit all day waiting for your favorite artist to perform, this will be even more so. Having water is a must, not just a suggestion, but I wanted to put it on here for the people like me, who never drink water and live life dehydrated most of the time. That's not going to fly at the Gorge this weekend.
Bring a cooler + a ton of ice
This applies for the water your group brings, the food you need to keep from going bad, and those drinks you want to keep cool. I would say having ice to make sure your food stays fresh is the most important thing. One of the worst things that could happen at Watershed, is that your milk, eggs, and meat get spoiled from being out in the sun all day and you get food poisoning, or have to dump it all and don't have any food. Last year my group bought regular ice, as well as dry ice to put in our cooler. Our food was frozen solid for most of the first day, but the dry ice definitely helped with keeping our food fresh and not needing to buy more ice at the festival (that also is very expensive).
When planning your outfit, minimal is the new fashionable
Last year, I wanted to go all out with my outfit and bought all of these accessories, like jewelry and pretty flowy blouses and skirts etc., but then the temperature every day was 110 or higher. Even though that will not be the situation this year, I still wouldn't recommend going overboard with your outfit. This suggestion is mainly targeted to all the girlies out there overthinking all their cute fits for this weekend. After last year, I literally haven't thought once about my outfits for this year, and will now probably be wearing plain low rise shorts, alternating bikini tops and cowboy boots/hats the whole weekend. You're going to be out in the sun all day, maybe even standing in the mosh pit all day, and you're going to get hot, sweaty, and sticky. So dress minimally, for your comfort.
Bring salty foods + drinks
Think about those electrolytes for your body! Bring salty snacks and drinks, like potato chips and gatorade. It's important that, like the week prior, you continue eating salts and have drinks with electrolytes in them. A girl in my group knew about this last year and brought them, the whole group used them, and we ran out very quickly. I would also suggest bringing liquid IV. The same girl who brought the gatorade brought the IV, and we were all sipping off it at the Amphitheater when we were starting to get heatstroke. So my suggestion would be, plan your outfits a little less and plan the foods/drinks you bring more.
Bring bathing suits + swim essentials
The Columbia River is literally right next to the Gorge, and that is where everyone hangs out during the day to survive the heat. With this in mind, bring at least one bathing suit, a towel, some water proof sunscreen etc., to be prepared for being out on the water.
Buy a portable shower / bathroom
The public bathrooms and showers are actually so nasty, especially after a few days of being used. By the second day, the women's showers were plugged up with hair, shampoos, body washes etc., and were overflowing onto the street. Us girls used them once, saw the horror inside, and used our portable shower from then on. The bathrooms were surprisingly not too bad, but I would still definitely recommend having a portable toilet; especially for at night, so you don't have to walk all the way to the bathroom from your campsite, while there are drunk people roaming around.
Bring a fold out table/ canopy
Bring a table to eat food and play beer pong on. When we would go down to the river, we would pack up the table with us, and use it to play beer pong in the water. I would highly recommend. A canopy is also a must, because you want to keep your food and cooler protected from the sun. You also want to have some cover for yourself from the sun, while you're hanging out at your campsite. This was something that my group used a lot last year with the extreme heat, and will definitely still use again this year.
Take a mini fan with you to the Amphitheater
The mosh pit gets incredibly hot, sweaty, and also very stinky. To keep you as comfortable as relatively possible in these conditions, I would suggest bringing a little hand held fan with you, to keep you from overheating. What would be even better, would be bringing one of those fans that blow mist at you. Someone in my group last year brought one and we were all sharing it, when we decided to stand in the pit all day for Morgan Wallen. This isn't a must, but I would definitely recommend you consider buying a few for the pit.
Plan which days you want to be in the mosh pit
Speaking of the pit, I would recommend looking over who is performing each day, and decide who is more important for you to see up close. Last year, my group wanted to be in the pit all day every day. However, after the first day of waiting for Morgan Wallen, we all decided to sit up on the hill for the rest of the festival. I would suggest picking one day out of the three to be in the pit, and then that day, stand in the pit from around 2 or 3 in the afternoon until your favorite musician performs. Being in the mosh pit is very fun, but it is an ordeal, and I would not recommend being in it the entire festival. Pick your artist wisely!
Create a group chat with your friends
This last one is simply a safety measure in case anyone gets split from the group in the mosh pit, someone is in need of saving, or there is a medical emergency. One of my friends last year fainted while in the pit, and with all the chaos, no one in the group noticed until she was revived at the medical tent. She called me and I went to go find her, but a group chat for situations like that is even more helpful.
GO CRAZY!!!
Last but definitely not least… GO CRAZY!!! Have the most wild silly wacky fun ever, because you're out in the middle of nowhere Washington, with a group of friends you love, in the most beautiful amphitheater, listening to the best country music in the industry. Go make memories that you will think back on for the rest of your life, and most importantly be yourself, love yourself, and be grateful for yourself. In a lot of ways Watershed can be hell, but in many more ways it is heaven on Earth. So go grab a slice of that heaven next weekend!
I'm sure there are probably so many more things I didn't mention in this blog that would make your experience more fun, enjoyable, and safe, but hopefully these suggestions gave you more of an idea about what to expect at the Gorge. Have a great time with friends, vibing out to some of the greatest country artists this summer. No matter what, I know you'll have a blast!
Thank you for reading and as always be sure to follow me on instagram, @aniekasarmer, for information about future blogs and destinations.
Now go out and make some memories!
Love,
Anieka ♡