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Post-Event Debrief Template — Lakes of Fire 2026

Session: 4 Priority: Medium — sets up Year 2 learning; should be completed within 2 weeks of returning

Purpose

This template exists so the group captures what they learned while it's still fresh, rather than relying on memory months later. A good debrief produces the inputs for a Year 2 playbook that's substantially better than Year 1.

Complete this within 2 weeks of returning from Lakes of Fire 2026.

Section 1: What worked

For each item that worked well, capture: - What it was - Why it worked - Whether it should be kept exactly or improved

Examples to reflect on: - Camp setup and shade structure - Water management system - Gray water system - Food plan and shared meals - Sleep quality - Navigation and camp landmark - Group check-in system - Packing and vehicle logistics

Section 2: What failed or caused friction

For each failure or friction point, capture: - What happened - Which failure mode it matched (see FAILURE-MODES memo), or if it was a new one - What would have prevented it - Whether it's a planning failure or an execution failure

Specific failure modes to review from the FAILURE-MODES memo: - [ ] Water underplanning - [ ] Shade structure - [ ] Sleep deprivation - [ ] Supply-gap surprise - [ ] MOOP on departure - [ ] Gray water neglect - [ ] Over-schedule / under-wander - [ ] Group member went missing

Section 3: What surprised us

Capture things that were different from expectations: - Positive surprises - Negative surprises - Things that were predicted in the playbook and turned out accurate - Things that were predicted and were wrong

Section 4: Role performance

Brief honest assessment per person: - What did each person's role assignment look like in practice? - Did any assignments need to shift during the event? - What would change for Year 2?

Section 5: Principle translations — accuracy check

Review the 10 principles memos (reports/concepts/PRINCIPLES-*): - Which translations were accurate? - Which underestimated the actual impact? - Which principles produced friction the playbook didn't anticipate?

Section 6: Infrastructure — what to change for Year 2

For each infrastructure system: - Water: right volume? right containers? - Shade: right size? adequate anchoring? - Sleep: issues? - Kitchen: worked well? what to change? - Waste: gray water system worked? MOOP clean on departure? - Power: right setup? anything missing?

Section 7: What each person wants to do differently

Brief personal notes per group member: - What do you want to do differently as an individual next time? - What do you want to do more of? - What did you not do that you wish you had?

Section 8: Year 2 priority list

Based on this debrief, what are the 3–5 most important things to address before Lakes of Fire 2027?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Section 9: New failure modes to document

Any failures or close calls that don't appear in FAILURE-MODES-first-timer-risks.md should be added here:

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Debrief logistics

  • When: Within 2 weeks of returning
  • Format: In-person or video call; capture notes in this file
  • Owner: Developer fills in and distributes; all three members contribute
  • Outcome: Update next-session.md and memory files with findings; start Year 2 queue

Decision memo

  • Keep: This debrief template as the mandatory post-event deliverable
  • Standardize: Debrief must be completed within 2 weeks before memory fades
  • Assign: Developer owns debrief facilitation and documentation
  • Test: Whether 2-week window is sufficient — some events benefit from a "hot take" capture within 48 hours and a fuller debrief later