Burning Man a muddy mess

[Buly]

More than 73,000 Burning Man attendees were told to stay at their camps Saturday and are blocked from leaving the event after a slow-moving rainstorm turned their desert playground into a soupy, muddy morass.

Organizers banned vehicle traffic from the roads Friday afternoon and kept the exit gates closed as of 8 a.m. local time Saturday. Even walking was treacherous as thick, slimy mud clung to shoes and anything else it touched.

 

[Rich W.]

Having camped in various locations on the Black Rock Desert several times (in very small numbers and never during BM) I know exactly what that mud is like and while I’m sure many “burners” took exception to the decision, I can only imagine the havoc that many vehicles would cause in all that muck. Even in the dry seasons, mud can be found in some areas and it will get anything stuck. What a horrid mess it must be with all those people out there. I would also never take my coach out on the Playa for any reason even in completely dry weather. Also I’m sure the decision was made by BLM and not “event organizers”.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

So, although I had heard about bm I had no idea what it was about.
As such another rabbit hole opened up.
I saw park rangers literally bust up a protest on Awaken With JP. and other great news that reminded me why it ain't on the bucket list!
But everyone has their own dreams.

 

[Rich W.]

Well it is a lake bed after all. This time around the burners get to experience another aspect of nature in the desert. What fun!

 

[jbh]

An attendee reports that it's actually the best burn in years and that the mud is really putting the kibosh on posers and city-slickers who came expecting everything to be peachy-keen. She also brought a couple of weeks worth of food, water and tank capacity in her Forerunner and old travel trailer.

 

[Rich W.]

An attendee reports that it's actually the best burn in years and that the mud is really putting the kibosh on posers and city-slickers who came expecting everything to be peachy-keen. She also brought a couple of weeks worth of food, water and tank capacity in her Forerunner and old travel trailer.

That does seem like a very unreasonable expectation. I got caught in a sand storm out there on one camping trip that lasted around 16 hours and I imagine most burners have also had that pleasure. It is not an environment to be taken lightly. That said, I’ve had some great adventures on the playa and in the surrounding mountains exploring, checking out hot springs, old mines with jeeps and dirt bikes, etc. Great place to camp, but not so much when wet.

 

[Buc]

Years ago (early 2000s), I worked for a company that had so many Burners that they had to have a lottery to determine who got that time off each year. Many of them still go every year. I kind of regret having never gone.

 

[Buc]

From a friend who is a Ranger there:

 

[Rich W.]

Yes running out of necessities would be a problem. I ran into a couple volunteer Burning Man Rangers out there one year on a camping trip north of the BM site a week or so before the event started. Danger and Dusty they called themselves, male and female although I don’t recall which was which. I had just managed to seize a Kawasaki KX500 and had about a 5-6 mile walk back to camp, and when they found me walking the bike across the barren playa, they gave me and the bike a ride in a very battered F250 carrying a port-a-poti. Very kind of them to do so - a memorable experience to be sure.

Black Rock Lake surrounding Burning Man:

Zoom in on the pic - all that clutter in the middle of the lake bed is 73,000 burners and their various attractions, abodes, and conveyances.

 

[Joe Dutchstar]

Only event that I attended that came even close to this was Woodstock. That was enough for me

before the rain

 

[Buly]

I don’t know if it is true, but I heard the tickets to get in are $575 per person

 

[J&JD]

When we left home on August 25th, our first stop was Sparks Marina Rv, a nice clean park. There was a big sign that said people returning from Burning Man would not be welcome at the park. I guess they have had some bad experiences. I have never seen such a thing before. I wondered how they could tell, but this year, the mud coated rvs will be obvious. Judy D

 

[Rich W.]

When we left home on August 25th, our first stop was Sparks Marina Rv, a nice clean park. There was a big sign that said people returning from Burning Man would not be welcome at the park. I guess they have had some bad experiences. I have never seen such a thing before. I wondered how they could tell, but this year, the mud coated rvs will be obvious. Judy D

Its usually just the a generous helping of white powdery dust that is caked on everything that crosses the playa. And I’m sure they’ve had experiences with people hosing off their rigs and even just driving in and staying the night they would leave a mess behind. Add mud to that and it would just be a disaster. But yes its obvious - any vehicle coming back from BM is always completely coated with tan colored grime.