Exodus 2014 - how long did it take you?

[TT120]

By far the best entrance and exodus I've had to date. I had early entry this year so that makes sense but I left at about 6:00pm on Monday evening and drove straight out to the road. No stopping till we got to Gerlach and then again at Wadsworth. I did stop for Indian taco's at Oasis 29 like I do every year. The tacos rock and I really like the family that runs that place. They're so friendly and I believe they really do like us burners.

[09FirstJM]

2 Hours. We left camp at 3pm and hit pavement right around 5pm

[aidentrance]

Playa to pavement was great this year. One problem, I hit pavement at 7:30 pm Monday and spent the next three hours on the highway driving 25-45 all the way to Nixon. This slow speed wasn't because of the large volume of traffic because it seemed exodus was spread out evenly.

At Nixon I discovered the impasse which I was 1/4 mile behind most of the trip. It was an art car that refused to pull over to let anyone pass. Clear highway past that.

In Oregon and Washington there is a law that requires anyone holding back 5 or more cars to pull over when practicable to let the traffic pass. Even without such a law, it is a courteous and human thing to do. I watched this caravan of an art car and two RVs apparently of the same party hog the highway for three hours holding up not 5 cars, but closer to 10,000. They passed many places suitable to pull over to relieve the traffic congestion they caused. As people began to lose their minds when they saw clear highway on the other side of the convoy, I witnessed several instances of near head-on collisions as they tried to pass.

Art cars are part of Burning Man culture, but that doesn't mean that the owners should be screwing up traffic if the core vehicle they selected can't go the speed limit. It was like they spitefully decided that since they couldn't go any faster, everyone else should feel their pain. What do we do with these people who forget their humanity and decide everyone must be punished for their choices? The only recourse to prevent this in the future that I can think of is shame. When I finally was able to pass the art car I couldn't make out what art car or camp it was part of.

Can anyone identify the art car that refused to pull over and held back 10,000 vehicles from Gerlach to Nixon from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm?

[trilobyte]

We left mid-day on Tuesday and had about a 40 minute exodus, from camp to pavement.

[kittyrodriguez]

We left Monday night around 9pm. Didn't stop once. Smooth sailing from camp all the way to the Empire store. Didn't even have to wait in line to get an amazing sandwich there. BRC and Gerlach/Empire were pretty much ghost towns by Monday afternoon. Easy peasy.

[chuckularone]

I left 5&H at 11:45 on Saturday. Took 40 minutes to pavement, 90 minutes to Gerlach and smooth sailing the rest of the (total) 10.5 hour trip to Las Vegas. Given what I heard about exodus for everyone else, I wish I had stayed until late Sunday.

Oh well... Next year!

[Meat Hunter]

Arrived 7:30 am Saturday (pre-event) and only touched the brakes twice for the search (which did not happen) and the Greeters -- Clear road all the way.

Departed 3:00 pm Wednesday (post event) and only touched the brakes once at exit station - Clear road all the way.

[theCryptofishist]

aidentrance--
That road has a soft shoulder--a very soft shoulder--and there aren't a lot of places to pull over. It's completely possible that the driver couldn't find a spot they felt comfortable with until that great big spot just outside Nixon. I don't know for sure that's what happened, but my husband once feel asleep at the wheel on that road and we would never have gotten out without serious help from a tribe member. Next time, don't try and second guess what's going on. Just accept that 447 is a road not designed for the amount of traffic it gets in August and September and enjoy the scenery.

[ranger magnum]

Left Friday September 5. Used point one to exit Playa. Didn't see another car or person. Maybe 10 minutes to pavement.

[Netty58]

Left around 10:30 PM on Saturday. Pootled right out. Less than an hour

[exixx]

Left camp at about 9 PM Sunday after packing made me miss Temple, got to the pavement in about 2 hours, home in 53 more hours. Better than last year.

[Canoe]

aidentrance--
That road has a soft shoulder--a very soft shoulder--and there aren't a lot of places to pull over. It's completely possible that the driver couldn't find a spot they felt comfortable with until that great big spot just outside Nixon. ...

+100
Lots of warning from LE along that stretch to please stay on the pavement. You can end up rolling as you get off, or even after you've been stopped for a while. Not just art cars, RV & trucks, but cars too.

[mickle]

I believe the short entry and exodus times had much to do with the nice weather. Without all the dust it was much easier for people to see where they were going.

[pink]

There was a couple of white out stretches on Tuesday. Actually don't ever remember it being that bad before, zero visibility. But my time to pavement was still only 36 minutes

I think it was spreading it out over two days. I've been staying until Tuesday since 2011, and have never seen as many people still on the playa as this year.

[HappySarah]

One hour only!!!
Our friends who were giving us a ride drove their RV all the way to the fence close to the gate and parked it there, then we all rode our bikes to see the Temple Burn, we watched most of it, then hopped on our bikes right after it collapsed and rode to the RV and left!!
Fastest Exodus ever!

[torrey.smith]

Literally no line...

...leaving Wednesday (after the event) at Noon.

Hey, we got solid Green on the Moop Map. Gotta EARN that

[zeigen]

No lines except the zip lines, eh Sarge?

I left Labor Day morning around 10am. Zero line. Went the limit almost the entire time. Smooth sailing to Wadsworth by noon (where I stopped for gas; while pumping, my car was hit by an RV being driven by a very exhausted English person who didn't seem to know how to drive an RV).

Traffic over Donner Pass was pretty bad, though. But that's Labor Day.