4 ms·

Last year was tough - it rained for hours 5 nights in a row and the first rain night was accompanied by 70 mile an hour winds that did a massive amount of damag

Last year was tough - it rained for hours 5 nights in a row and the first rain night was accompanied by 70 mile an hour winds that did a massive amount of damage to camp infrastructure throughout the city. The roads in half the city were ruined by emergency traffic that kept on running throughout the storms, and the result was a lumpy nightmare that shook things loose from cars and bikes at a much higher rate than most years. The mud absorbed and hid things and made cleanup a far more grueling process than it usually is. We endured and did our best to still find and remove everything - breaking up mud clumps and raking/sifting through the dirt at the end of the week to find all that embedded trash. There are no public trash cans, no event dumpsters, etc. I can say from having been there almost every year since 07 that this was by far the hardest year for "mooping" - the process of spotting and picking up any item that shouldn't be on the ground - but that the group mindset endured and we somehow still trended downward in terms of overall trash. I think the main difference between this and 2023 (the previous "mud burn") was that this time we had all the rain in the first half of the event, and then had relatively great weather for the second half. In 23, it closed out with the mud and people fleeing, leading to a spike.

joenot443 5mo ago
Yeah, last year we were calling it Building Man cause the first three days were just rebuilding the setup from the previous day's storm.
- quux 5mo ago
  We called it "Continuous Improvement Man" because by the 3rd round of building our camp we had the process really dialed in
  - HoldOnAMinute 5mo ago
    Do you use the scrum methodology?
    - quux 5mo ago
      It was a bit more Kamban-ish
  - dylan604 5mo ago
    The Burning Man of Theseus.
- ruleryak 5mo ago
  lol, yeah - we got really good at tearing down the public space and getting everything into the container truck and then pulling it back out and building again. Party for whatever portion of the day we could, and then speed-run the teardown when the first drops of rain started coming down.
- inside_story 5mo ago
  *Rebuilding Man
SoleilAbsolu 5mo ago
Hmm, group mindset...or moop grindset? Either way great work to leave no trace!
sonzohan 5mo ago
Theme camp based on an area famous for getting hit with hurricanes and other natural disasters here. During the rains we were one of the few places still open and where you could party, eat, and grab a solid drink. Being on Esplanade also meant we were a shelter for people to wait out the weather. Loads of great moments by doing that.
evilelectron 5mo ago
Two of my GP&E shifts got rained out. I had walk from Black Hole to 2&E one night with garbage bags over my shoes. The next time when they had to close the gate and all traffic over night, we had to come back in SxS with mud flying everywhere and in places it should not be. It was an experience, all good, still an experience to remember. The caked roads next morning were a sight :D
- SOLAR_FIELDS 5mo ago
  The unanticipated side effect of all roads being so bumpy after that from being torn up by the vehicles in the mud then solidifying to rock also made biking the remainder of the week quite the teeth chattering experience
  - evilelectron 5mo ago
    I saw a few one wheelers getting close to teeth shattering when the fell.
leptons 5mo ago
Since experiencing a deluge the day after the event ended in 1998, I know that the end of Burning Man will be a massive rainstorm at the wrong time. Fortunately in 1998 it happened after almost everyone had left. It was Tuesday after the burn, and we were packing up. Clouds coming in from Gerlach were worrying, we could see the downpour happening over there and heading our way rapidly. We closed the trailer door as the rain started. It came down so fast that by the time we were half way to the road it became almost impossible to drive in the mud, we were jackknifing with the trailer, almost losing control. There was an RV also racing to the exit that I witnessed doing accidental 360 spins in the mud, they totally lost control of the vehicle. I'm not sure they made it out. I heard that the heavy rain continued for a few day, and the cars that were still there sunk into the mud. If you didn't get out before the rain, you were stuck there for weeks. Now imagine this happens on Saturday, burn night. People have gone through almost all their food and water by then. Then the rain makes it impossible to leave, for weeks. All the vehicles sink into the mud. You can't even really walk through that mud to make it to the road, because it sticks to everything. "Playa platforms" are what you get when you try to walk through the mud. Now add 70,000 people, running out of food and water, and unable to exit the playa for possibly weeks? That's National Guard rescue territory. I doubt Burning Man would be allowed to continue after that. Ever since 1998 I watch the weather closely, and you can bet I'll be the first one out of there if it's looking serious.
- fragmede 5mo ago
  Wetsuit boots, for scuba diving, are the cheat code for walking on muddy playa.
- quux 5mo ago
  2023 came pretty close to your nightmare scenario
  - 0xbadcafebee 5mo ago
    And yet the "worst" didn't come to pass, because we act as a community... people shared food and water (and dry space), gave rides to people who needed to leave early, used sat phones to call out sick, etc. The biggest problems were from people who didn't want to act collectively, and tried to drive out through the mud by themselves, then (predictably) got stuck, and blocked the way for everyone else.
SOLAR_FIELDS 5mo ago
Last year was my first burn, and boy was it an experience. The most insane and hilarious part of the rain is how the lakebed silt mud attaches to your shoes. It gradually accumulates in layers as you walk so you get taller and taller as you walk and heavier and heavier and eventually end up walking around on these 6 inch tall dried mud platforms barely able to lift your legs normally anymore. The tactics to avoid it are also hilarious, there is one where you put a sock on, then a plastic bag, then another sock on top. Apparently this makes you immune to the mud stacking
- stonegray 5mo ago
  My tactic is walking around barefoot then having a "oh no" moment when I get to my tent and realize I have no plan to get the mud off my feet :)
  - SOLAR_FIELDS 5mo ago
    I eventually went barefoot out of frustration one time and sat down with feet sticking outside the tent for a good 45 minutes trying to dig the stuff out between my toes. What an experience
gosub100 5mo ago
> There are no public trash cans, That's okay, your attendees just dump it on the roadside or overflow public trash bins at random businesses and parks along their way.

joenot443 5mo ago

Yeah, last year we were calling it Building Man cause the first three days were just rebuilding the setup from the previous day's storm.

quux 5mo ago
We called it "Continuous Improvement Man" because by the 3rd round of building our camp we had the process really dialed in
- HoldOnAMinute 5mo ago
  Do you use the scrum methodology?
  - quux 5mo ago
    It was a bit more Kamban-ish
- dylan604 5mo ago
  The Burning Man of Theseus.
ruleryak 5mo ago
lol, yeah - we got really good at tearing down the public space and getting everything into the container truck and then pulling it back out and building again. Party for whatever portion of the day we could, and then speed-run the teardown when the first drops of rain started coming down.
inside_story 5mo ago
*Rebuilding Man

SoleilAbsolu 5mo ago

Hmm, group mindset...or moop grindset? Either way great work to leave no trace!

sonzohan 5mo ago

Theme camp based on an area famous for getting hit with hurricanes and other natural disasters here. During the rains we were one of the few places still open and where you could party, eat, and grab a solid drink. Being on Esplanade also meant we were a shelter for people to wait out the weather. Loads of great moments by doing that.

evilelectron 5mo ago

Two of my GP&E shifts got rained out. I had walk from Black Hole to 2&E one night with garbage bags over my shoes. The next time when they had to close the gate and all traffic over night, we had to come back in SxS with mud flying everywhere and in places it should not be. It was an experience, all good, still an experience to remember. The caked roads next morning were a sight :D

SOLAR_FIELDS 5mo ago
The unanticipated side effect of all roads being so bumpy after that from being torn up by the vehicles in the mud then solidifying to rock also made biking the remainder of the week quite the teeth chattering experience
- evilelectron 5mo ago
  I saw a few one wheelers getting close to teeth shattering when the fell.

leptons 5mo ago

Since experiencing a deluge the day after the event ended in 1998, I know that the end of Burning Man will be a massive rainstorm at the wrong time. Fortunately in 1998 it happened after almost everyone had left. It was Tuesday after the burn, and we were packing up. Clouds coming in from Gerlach were worrying, we could see the downpour happening over there and heading our way rapidly. We closed the trailer door as the rain started. It came down so fast that by the time we were half way to the road it became almost impossible to drive in the mud, we were jackknifing with the trailer, almost losing control. There was an RV also racing to the exit that I witnessed doing accidental 360 spins in the mud, they totally lost control of the vehicle. I'm not sure they made it out. I heard that the heavy rain continued for a few day, and the cars that were still there sunk into the mud. If you didn't get out before the rain, you were stuck there for weeks. Now imagine this happens on Saturday, burn night. People have gone through almost all their food and water by then. Then the rain makes it impossible to leave, for weeks. All the vehicles sink into the mud. You can't even really walk through that mud to make it to the road, because it sticks to everything. "Playa platforms" are what you get when you try to walk through the mud. Now add 70,000 people, running out of food and water, and unable to exit the playa for possibly weeks? That's National Guard rescue territory. I doubt Burning Man would be allowed to continue after that. Ever since 1998 I watch the weather closely, and you can bet I'll be the first one out of there if it's looking serious.

fragmede 5mo ago
Wetsuit boots, for scuba diving, are the cheat code for walking on muddy playa.
quux 5mo ago
2023 came pretty close to your nightmare scenario
- 0xbadcafebee 5mo ago
  And yet the "worst" didn't come to pass, because we act as a community... people shared food and water (and dry space), gave rides to people who needed to leave early, used sat phones to call out sick, etc. The biggest problems were from people who didn't want to act collectively, and tried to drive out through the mud by themselves, then (predictably) got stuck, and blocked the way for everyone else.

SOLAR_FIELDS 5mo ago

Last year was my first burn, and boy was it an experience. The most insane and hilarious part of the rain is how the lakebed silt mud attaches to your shoes. It gradually accumulates in layers as you walk so you get taller and taller as you walk and heavier and heavier and eventually end up walking around on these 6 inch tall dried mud platforms barely able to lift your legs normally anymore. The tactics to avoid it are also hilarious, there is one where you put a sock on, then a plastic bag, then another sock on top. Apparently this makes you immune to the mud stacking

stonegray 5mo ago
My tactic is walking around barefoot then having a "oh no" moment when I get to my tent and realize I have no plan to get the mud off my feet :)
- SOLAR_FIELDS 5mo ago
  I eventually went barefoot out of frustration one time and sat down with feet sticking outside the tent for a good 45 minutes trying to dig the stuff out between my toes. What an experience

gosub100 5mo ago

> There are no public trash cans, That's okay, your attendees just dump it on the roadside or overflow public trash bins at random businesses and parks along their way.