Escapist Utopia Gets Real: Burning Man Revelers Stuck in Mud | Hacker News Reader

Escapist Utopia Gets Real: Burning Man Revelers Stuck in Mud

wsj.com

8 pointshodgesrm11 comments

I don't understand the outsized media attention to this festival. Every music festival I've been to eventually turned into a huge puddle of mud, where you're stuck for hours trying to leave the festival as all the cars get bogged down. Has no journalist ever been to a music festival?

Burning Man isn't a music festival, it's all about self-reliance and stuff, so it's especially ironic that people are bailing when there is a slight discomfort in the scheme of things.

Are people bailing? So far it seems like the self-reliance is working as planned. We kind of need to see if something bad happens to those people waiting it out.

It’s not ironic that people don’t like being rained on and stuck in mud. It’s not a sight discomfort. And people aren’t bailing as the roads are closed and they are stuck there.

It's not a music festival, and this has never happened before; the event takes place in an extremely arid desert. Normally one struggles with heat, dust, and wind - not mud.

Getting stuck for hours trying to leave is normal, but that's due to the narrowness of the remote desert highway which offers the only exit.

> this has never happened before; the event takes place in an extremely arid desert

This doesn't seem to be true. Just Google something like "burning man mud" and filter to see results from before this year. Example from 2014 below

https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/burning-man-...

I suppose it is all in the definitions. Yes, it has rained before, and 2014 had a legendary rainstorm: but this year we have had multiple rainstorms, wet day after wet day with no chance to dry out in between. It has felt like a new experience.

Today it is sunny and warm, so the mud is starting to dry out, and things are starting to move. We'll probably get on the road tomorrow.

A little bit of context: Driving on wet playa is prohibited (and pointless, you get stuck no matter how good your offroading capability is). So while music festivals may get muddy, when it gets muddy at Burning Man vehicle usage has to stop, otherwise fines get levied ($500~800 per ticket, and BLM will keep ticketing you if you keep driving).

> Escapist Utopia > this desert playa

I hate that mocking style of writing, as if the editor in the office was delighted that the rain spoiled the fun for those free spirits, something he can't open within himself.

> A spokeswoman for Kimbal Musk didn’t immediately return a request for comment, and neither did a spokeswoman for Brin. Pierce also wasn’t immediately available for comment.

The editor even used their official channels to confirm the presence of certain well-known individuals. All from the comfort of their desk with a view of the city. Come on... It's pathetic.

EDIT: To add.. it is four souls in the office, who collaborated on this magnificent piece.

https://archive.is/7bpwn

I bet next year, a lot of people will bring some lumber for laying makeshift roads on top of the mud along with providing the off road recovery product MaxTrax a healthy amount of business

But then it all has to be dragged out again, right ? Maybe too much trouble for an event of small probability.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com