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Decision Memo — DM-003 — Session 3 Psych Prep and Failure Modes

Session: 3 Date: 2026-04-20 Topic: Remaining principles, psychological prep, comparison memo, failure mode identification

What was completed this session

  • PRINCIPLES-remaining-three.md (Communal Effort, Civic Responsibility, Immediacy)
  • PSYCH-PREP-social-and-psychological.md
  • COMPARISON-lof-vs-camping-vs-festival.md
  • FAILURE-MODES-first-timer-risks.md

Principles status: COMPLETE

All 10 principles now translated: 1. Radical Self-Reliance ✓ 2. Decommodification ✓ 3. Leave No Trace ✓ 4. Gifting ✓ 5. Radical Inclusion ✓ 6. Radical Self-Expression ✓ 7. Participation ✓ 8. Communal Effort ✓ 9. Civic Responsibility ✓ 10. Immediacy ✓

Key findings this session

Psychological prep: - The emotional arc (Day 1 overwhelm → Day 2-3 opens up → depth → departure grief) should be named explicitly before the event - Pre-event group conversation is a required deliverable, not optional - "Camp is always a retreat" permission needs to be stated and normalized in the group - Simple group protocols (check-in, "I need space" signal, phone contingency) prevent mid-event friction

Failure modes: Eight specific failure modes identified, all filtered for this group's backgrounds: 1. Water underplanning (Matt's festival baseline doesn't include carry-in water math) 2. Shade structure under-built (standard EZ-up staking insufficient for weather) 3. Sleep deprivation compounding (Amber especially; permission to sleep is needed) 4. Supply-gap surprise (no stores; both Amber and Matt have festival/store reflex) 5. MOOP on departure day (nobody in group has prior MOOP discipline outside developer) 6. Gray water neglect (new system for everyone except possibly developer) 7. Over-schedule, under-wander (Amber's activities-coordinator instinct) 8. Group member goes missing (site navigation failure in dark)

Comparison memo: - Gray water and MOOP discipline are the two things with NO prior-experience analog for this group - Both should be explicit in group orientation

Decisions

Keep: - Emotional arc framing — name before, not during - Pre-event group conversation as required deliverable - Packing checklist as physical, reviewed 48 hours before departure - Visual camp landmark as required infrastructure

Standardize: - Every prep session should include explicit reference to the comparison memo for first-timer orientation - Failure mode check: ask "are we susceptible to this?" for each item in this list before packing

Assign: - Developer: runs pre-event group conversation, designs gray water, owns departure sweep - Matt: water volume calculation, shade structure build, camp layout

Reject: - "I think we got everything" as a departure standard - "We'll find each other with phones" as a navigation plan

Test: - Visual landmark (flag + LED string) — this session makes the case for it

What still needs work

Operational planning not yet written: - Packing framework memo — who brings what, vehicle packing sequence - Early logistics decision memo — what to decide now (campsite registration, vehicle plan, group food plan) - Contribution / participation memo — optional, but if the group wants to do anything beyond private camp - Post-event debrief template — what to capture for Year 2

Research still needed: - Lakes of Fire 2026 dates and registration info - Campsite assignment process (pre-assigned vs. arrive-and-find) - Generator/amplified sound rules - On-site water availability

Next session priorities

  1. Packing framework memo — who brings what, vehicle sequence, packing checklist structure
  2. Early logistics decision memo — what decisions need to be made now, what can wait
  3. Post-event debrief template — brief; sets up Year 2 learning
  4. Queue review: build-queue items 3–8 partially addressed; what's still needed?