This past weekend was a whirlwind for Burning Man. What began as a classic edition in the desert turned into a muddy mess for all. While rain was in the forecast for Burning Man, no one expected how bad it would be. If you have seen the videos, you know Playa Mud is like no other. Over 73,000 people became literally stranded in Black Rock City. Some chose to soak it all in and enjoy the moment and others decided to trek 5 miles in the mud to escape.
Free to Flee
The exodus of Burning Man has begun. The road out of the desert festival was finally opened yesterday allowing everyone to be free of the muddy conditions. While it is great news, the wait time is estimated at 5 – 6 hours. However, social media may say otherwise with people waiting 10+ hours to escape.
Many people spoke about the apocalyptic settings caused by the rainy conditions. Shoes became useless as the thick mud took over them. People would wear garbage bags around their bodies just to walk around. Bikes and their wheels wouldn’t even turn because of the mud. Forget using a car, even Jeeps were getting stuck.
Diplo and Chris Rock were two celebrities who made it out early. The two walked miles to escape the city and were picked up by a fan in their truck. The viral video showed how bad it was even for the wealthy.
just walked 5 miles in the mud out of burning man with chris rock and a fan picked us up pic.twitter.com/0uxSXLHgY6
— diplo (@diplo) September 2, 2023
Vintage Culture’s Daring Escape
Some DJs performing at Burning Man had other bookings coming up. One of those was Vintage Culture, set to close a stage and perform an afterparty for ARC Music Festival in Chicago. As of Sunday morning, Vintage Culture had just barely escaped the mud. He walked 2 hours and hopped a ride to Reno in order to make it to ARC for his sets. Looking like something out of a horror escape movie, the DJ and his crew made it out and made it for his sets in Chicago. What a trooper!
No amount of money allowed you to leave Burning Man differently than others. For a few days in the Nevada desert, everyone was equal in experiencing the same hardships. Everyone had to conserve food, water, and energy to survive. Burning Man was sent back to its roots.
