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Group Communication and Connectivity Plan

Lakes of Fire 2026 — Luther, MI

The Communication Reality

Luther, MI is a small rural town in Mason County. The Lakes of Fire site is on a new 80-acre raw property outside town. Cell coverage at rural Michigan festival sites is consistently unreliable: - Tower capacity in rural Mason County is low - On-site attendance adds thousands of devices to limited local cell infrastructure - Signal degrades significantly during peak hours (evening, night) - A new raw site has no established repeaters or local infrastructure

Baseline assumption: cell service is unreliable or absent during peak event hours. Plan for it to fail; treat working cell service as a bonus.

This is not unusual for regional burns. Do not rely on group chats or phone calls to coordinate at night.

The Three-Person Group Structure

Three people (Developer, Amber, Matt) will be moving independently through the event at different times. The group will naturally split for: - Art exploration - Music/performance watching - Rest/sleep - Volunteering (if any) - Solo exploration

This is expected and healthy — the goal is not to travel as a unit at all times. The goal is to be able to reconnect when needed and to have a baseline safety awareness of where each person is.

Communication Tools

Tool 1 — Camp as Home Base (Primary)

The camp is the reliable meeting point. It doesn't require signal, doesn't require battery, and it's always there.

Default rule: "If you're not sure where someone is and need to find them, go to camp."

This rule works because: - The camp landmark (flag + LED string) is visible at night - Camp is a finite space — if someone is there, you'll find them in under 2 minutes - It requires zero technology

Every group member should know the camp location from multiple approach directions (see NIGHT-NAV-lighting-guide.md — landmark orientation walk).

Tool 2 — Time-Based Check-In (Simple, Zero-Tech)

Establish a loose time-based check-in rhythm at camp: - Morning: ~9 AM — coffee/breakfast window, natural gathering point - Midday: Optional — split if desired - Evening (before dark): ~7 PM — dinner/prep window before night activities - Late: No required check-in after dark — each person is mobile independently

The 7 PM evening check-in is the most operationally important. It's the last coordination point before nighttime, when communication is hardest and terrain is most disorienting.

This is not a strict accountability system. It's a rhythm that prevents "I haven't seen Amber since noon and now it's midnight" from becoming a genuine concern.

Tool 3 — Physical Note at Camp (Backup)

Low-tech but genuinely useful at events with poor cell service:

Keep a small notepad + pen visible at camp (clip it to the shade structure or leave it on the table). If you're leaving for a long time and want others to know, write a quick note: "Went to forest stage, back by 10" and leave it visible.

This sounds old-fashioned. It works.

Tool 4 — Walkie-Talkies (Optional, Worth Considering)

For 3 people on a new raw site with unpredictable terrain and no guaranteed cell service, a pair of basic FRS walkie-talkies adds genuine value:

Arguments for: - No cell dependency — works on open terrain - Instant contact if someone needs help or gets disoriented - Useful on setup day (Matt coordinating with Developer on shade structure) - Useful if anyone has a medical concern

Arguments against: - 3 people don't need 3 radios — 2 works (one at camp, one circulating) - Battery management is another task - Most of the time won't be needed

Decision: Recommend bringing 1 pair of FRS radios. Matt or Developer owns. Used primarily during setup day and as emergency option. Leave one at camp if only one person is there.

FRS (Family Radio Service) radios require no license. Range on open terrain: 0.5–1 mile practical, more than sufficient for on-site use.

Meeting Point Protocol

Define one non-camp meeting point that every group member knows before the event starts. This is used if camp is somehow inaccessible or if you agree to meet somewhere mid-event.

Recommended: Center Camp or the main entrance landmark — these are fixed, findable, and will be clearly identified once the site map is released (expected June–July 2026).

What to do: - When site map is released, identify Center Camp or equivalent on the new Luther site - Communicate this meeting point to all three group members before arrival - "If we ever get separated and can't reach each other, meet at [specific landmark] at [top of the hour nearest when we realize we're separated]"

Lost-Person Protocol

If a group member is genuinely missing (last seen > 3 hours ago, no contact, unknown whereabouts):

  1. Check camp — is their gear there? Did they return to sleep?
  2. Check the common gathering areas (Center Camp, main stage, food area)
  3. Ask neighboring camps if they've seen the person (small communities are watchful)
  4. Go to Ranger HQ — Rangers are trained in locating missing persons and can coordinate

Developer owns: knowing the location of Ranger HQ and ESD on arrival day. This was in the Day 1 orientation protocol from CAMP-OPS. It also applies here — the first thing the developer does on site is locate Rangers and medical.

See MEDICAL-SAFETY-quick-reference.md for Ranger and ESD protocols.

Cell Service Expectations and Logistics

Before leaving home: - Download offline maps of Mason County, MI (Google Maps or Maps.me allow offline downloads) - Download the Lakes of Fire app or any official site map PDF before arrival — don't rely on loading it on-site - Screenshot key pages from the playbook (QUICK-REFERENCE-summary.md) so they're accessible without signal

If cell service is working: - Group chat is fine for casual coordination - "I'm heading to [area], back around [time]" texts are sufficient - Don't expect real-time tracking to work

If cell service fails: - Camp as home base - 7 PM check-in rhythm - FRS radio if needed - Physical note at camp

Responsibility Summary

Item Owner
Define meeting point (when site map released) Developer
Procure FRS walkie-talkies Developer or Matt
Offline maps downloaded before event Each person individually
7 PM check-in rhythm (initiate) No single owner — anyone can call it
Notepad at camp Matt (logistics)
Know Ranger HQ location Developer (communicate on Day 1)

Packing Additions

Add to PACKING-framework.md if not present: - 1 pair FRS walkie-talkies + batteries - 1 small notepad + pen (leave at camp) - Offline maps downloaded to each phone before departure

References: NIGHT-NAV-lighting-guide.md, MEDICAL-SAFETY-quick-reference.md, CAMP-OPS-minimum-viable-model.md, SITE-arrival-new-luther-MI.md Session 10 — April 21, 2026