Playa Conditions

Karma · Post by **Karma** » Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:35 pm

Ok, I've gotta ask. Anyone know how the Playas looking so far?
I've had friends telling me there have been flash flood warnings and such in the Reno area. Does the Playa still have water in it ?

Whats the weather been like in Gerlach ?

Any first hand observations ?

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:11 pm

A camp mate was up there last weekend. Report is ... DUSTY ... VERY VERY DUSTY.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 1:20 pm

Current conditions: 90ºF, wind from the SSW at 7mph, humidity 11%.

To deal with dust:

Think GLOVES

Think DUST MASK AND GOGGLES.

Think ZIPLOCS. My local Costco is having a coupon sale for those next week, you bet I'm gonna be stocking up and bagging EVERYTHING.

Think good moisturizing skin lotion. Pack lots of aloe.

DON'T think WD-40. It's a dust magnet and you'll wind up with mineral oil mud. Bad bad bad. DO think "Dry lubricant" for your bike chains.

Speaking of bikes...I hope the dust isn't going to be 6" deep like it was in '01. If it is...forget about biking anywhere.

Desert Duck · Post by **Desert Duck** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 2:36 pm

I was up there a little over a week ago. We got stuck out near the base of the Black Rock range. There was a little rain and some fantastic lightning shows. Parts of the playa are still wet. Sudden winds also occurred. Oh, and it was also very, very hot. Basically, nothing unusual.

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 9:48 pm

got this sent to me tonight.. Yikes....

Subject: ] [FW: Playa Condition Report] Thought you might like to see
this .
mark

>From: [email protected]
>To: [email protected]
>Subject: [greeters-announce] [FW: Playa Condition Report]
>Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2006 16:50:47 -0700 (PDT)
>
>This just in from Staff.
>Anyone who went in 2001 knows what may lie ahead. It is VERY important
>that no one forgets goggles and dust masks. Make sure you have enough
>stakes for your shade structures and tents.
>REBAR REBAR REBAR
>
>-Sparkle
>
>
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 23:10:36 +0000
>Subject: DPW report PLAYA CONDITIONS
>
>The Playa is very ODD, different textures. The city is in a new site
>this year, slightly north of the last 5 years' location. The "12
mile-trego"
>road
>runs right the fuck thru center camp.
>
>The different textures are on account of a drifting lake on the playa
>most of the summer. Some of the stuff has the biggest, deepest
>crevasses I have
>*ever* seen. Dont drop anything unless you are carrying a shovel.
Other
>areas are the lousy texture we all suffered from in 2001. Some parts
>were so hard it was difficult to pound in posts, many blades popped
>off.
>
>BRING DUST GEAR- IT"S HELLA DUSTY. The more traffic that breaks up
>those deeeeep fluffy crevasses the more 2001 style white-outs we can
expect.
>There
>have already been nasty ones delaying the survey.
>
>--
>
>
>
>--
>Being jaded was better last year.
>__________________________________

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 10:20 pm

Okay. Bike decoration stops NOW.

No point in prinking it out if I can't use it. I'm gonna take the EL wire off and use it to festoon myself, and using the rest of the bike-decoration budget to make some half-chaps to go over my sneakers.

The bloody TriKing Kobra is staying in Defaultia, too. Fluffy powdery Playa isn't as hard as tarmac but if my bike can't make it through the dunes, that thing sure can't.

For those who weren't around in 2001: Think six-inch deep flour. Think dunes of flour piled anywhere from 12 to 30 inches high. Think whiteouts that go for six hours, clear up for five minutes, and repeat. In short, bikes will be useless, get on the treadmill and build up your walking stamina, get out your hikers and athletic shoes.

Kinetic IV · Post by **Kinetic IV** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 10:35 pm

I was thinking about leaving my box trailer that I sleep in at home this year and using a tent that attaches to the back of the X-Terra. After reading all this I'm more unsure than ever on what would be best. Did the dust and wind in '01 wreak havoc on tents? Did it reach what people call "Alpha" conditions? If it's that bad the steel reinforced box trailer with more sheltered interior space might be the way to go for me.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 10:46 pm

I camped in my car with a liftback tent and parked with nose-to-windward in '01. It worked...somewhat. I still had to slather myself in apricot oil about Wednesday to keep from getting terminal alkali burn and the worst was yet to come.

I'm going to get a strip of cloth to tape to my yurt's groundtarp and attach to the sidecovers. No way to go completely dust-free but I can at least control what I can.

Ziplocs, Ziplocs, Ziplocs...Spacebags, Spacebags, Spacebags, especially if you're bringing electronics.

Edit: The rule of "Don't let it hit the ground!" goes double, in bold double-underlined caps this year. Anything that falls off you will DISAPPEAR INSTANTLY in conditions like this. They'll find tons of MOOP next spring, or next year, and that's not good.

tisha2 · Post by **tisha2** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 10:54 pm

Kinetic IV wrote:I was thinking about leaving my box trailer that I sleep in at home this year and using a tent that attaches to the back of the X-Terra. After reading all this I'm more unsure than ever on what would be best. Did the dust and wind in '01 wreak havoc on tents?

yes.

Kinetic IV wrote: Did it reach what people call "Alpha" conditions?

not really...

Kinetic IV wrote:If it's that bad the steel reinforced box trailer with more sheltered interior space might be the way to go for me.

that sounds about right!

i'm putting my sealed up tent inside a big ol' sealed up shade structure, with floor. and brining a cloth dustmask that i can get wet repeatedly throughout the day. traps more dust and breathing the moisture feels goooood...

Davoid · Post by **Davoid** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:33 pm

I guess my experience varied greatly from yours, DoT, but the conditions in '01 weren't so bad as to just ditch the biking altogether. Walk the bike through certain intersections, yes, but do it all by foot? Not necessary at all.

Preparedness:yes. Stop decorating my bike: no.

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:59 pm

We were in the north half of the city, around 7 o'clock. The dust conditions up there was nightmarish, especially by Saturday.

I'm bringing the bike but don't plan on using it "off road," meaning off the city streets. The dust conditions were worst in the open playa. We tried to bike to the Dice Bar but wound up taking the bikes back to camp, and hoofing it back out there. I didn't walk home but I did catch a ride on the Dragon Train; I wasn't up to walking 3.5 miles through flour but at the time, I was half again my present gravity and growing a batch of cancer unbeknownst to myself. This year, cancer-free and muscled up, I'm probably up to walking that distance.

The balance to sore tootsies is that we got to meet lots of people, also on walkabout, with ample time to chat. It was like the Volkswalk movement.

Karma · Post by **Karma** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:29 am

I remember 01 being pretty dusty and breezy too, but I dont see why that means this year will be as well.
Not making fast sharp turns made riding the bikes pretty safe. Fatter mountain bike tires with increased inflation made riding not particularly difficult.
Make sure you bring a stiff broom to sweep any carpet or astro turf you might have as a floor and also bring an old paint brush. Works great as a duster for tables and chairs.

And as we all know, windy this week does'nt mean windy next week on the Playa. Could be howling when we get there and dead calm after that.

Bring it all, hope for the best, prepare for the worst .

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 7:11 am

Ah! Drat! I'm going to need to go to Farm & Fleet and/or Menards and try to find a better dust mask, and get me some goggles (were in the H--- did those go I bought back when I was in technical college

)

I've got four 12" tent stakes-- would rebar be better? I don't have any way to bend or otherwise customize it.

Sounds like I should get back to working on the old Schwinn. I've been meaning to finish off cleaning out the old gunk which used to be 3-in-1 oil and replacing it with dry chain lube... and finding new tires.

Crud! Why do I have to work today? So much to get finished!

B.

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:25 pm

BAS wrote:
I've got four 12" tent stakes-- would rebar be better? I don't have any way to bend or otherwise customize it.
Crud! Why do I have to work today? So much to get finished
B.

Your 12 inchers are going to be just fine.....

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 6:44 pm

Thanks! Any advice about dust masks? I stopped off at the store and saw that they range in price considerably-- and all seem to be by the same company.

What sort of stuff should they be designed to filter?

Thanks!

B.

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 8:59 pm

Fuck Gang,Looks like the fakers got me/us once again. So you must decide which post to follow.. Thanks to Sputnik for passing this on

Just heard this on the ranger list:

Subject: [burningman-bcwa] ATTN: Playa Conditions Email is a HOAX!!!

That's right folks. Apparently "that" email floating around warning you of
daily dust storms was just a PRANK trying to get you all riled up and
freaked out about the potential for daily white outs.

As it turns out, playa conditions this year are much better than the email
would lead you to believe. The playa this year is much more hard pack than
it has been in years past, NOT the crispy "potato-chip" kind of surface that
powderizes so easily, as the hoax email would lead you to believe.

In fact, it seems that you can actually expect LESS dust than in the past
couple of years.

We're trying to figure out where this prank originated (no, it was not
Peterman or Ivan I know what you are thinking) because this thing has
already gone far and wide and caused enough trouble. We're pretty sure
that we've narrowed it responsibility to DPW and the other on-playa crews
(which, when you think about it is pretty obvious).

If you have forwarded that email on, you may want to send out a follow up
email letting people that it was all a hoax.

Zulegoona · Post by **Zulegoona** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 9:31 pm

Ok but they’re are still expecting meteorites ranging in size up to about the size of cantaloupes to rain down on the city Thursday night aren’t they?

Davoid · Post by **Davoid** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 9:32 pm

Fuck, thanks for the word, man.

Rock on, tricksters.

Hopefully that doesn't include the rangers (or you, ibdave!).

geekster · Post by **geekster** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 9:39 pm

Now I don't know what to believe because friends that were out there on the 4th said "potato chips", reports from several different sources include a friend that went up about 3 weeks ago said "very dusty".

So ... it will be what it will be, I suppose.

(on the playa in 4 days)

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 10:14 pm

Never a bad idea to come prepared.

'Sides, I already bought the bloody bags...might as well use 'em. I'll keep a fistful of them in my voyage bag to gift out to other Playa wanderers. Good for MOOP containment.

And since I've heard "Dusty" from multiple independent sources, I'm packing with excessive dust conditions in mind.

dragonfly Jafe · Post by **dragonfly Jafe** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 5:13 am

no matter what it is really like now, it can all change. Assume the worst.

That said, our mayor was there this weekend, and claimed it was the best surface in 10 years. YMMV. I'm bringing a mask w/ spare filters regardless.

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 6:44 am

[quote="Davoid"](or you, ibdave!).[/quote

I'm a Tricktser alright.. But I'm not in on this one..

< walks away bummed about not thinking of it 1st.>

joel the ornery · Post by **joel the ornery** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 7:09 am

when do the aliens land?

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 8:04 am

At 12:30am Monday morning Joel!

Kinetic IV · Post by **Kinetic IV** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:07 am

The Alien Invasion force has already landed, the first teams have setup the border fence surrounding the experiment area, and the mother ship will be arriving shortly.

The official Spaceport will be open on Monday, 12:01 am 08/28/06.

Please remember upon making your final approach through the atmosphere to deploy your landing gear. Otherwise your craft will be made into the next edition of "laughingstock art" like the terrestrial aircraft that seem to have the occasional landing gear deployment issues.

skygod · Post by **skygod** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 9:14 am

What size will mars be?

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 1:55 pm

As big as the waxing crescent-to-half moon.
Don't forget to howl at moonrise!

Kinetic IV · Post by **Kinetic IV** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:34 pm

Dust, no dust, Alpha conditions, cracks, hardpack, rain, it doesn't matter.

I'd take the worst the playa can dish out over a day at work and not even think twice about it. And with all the good people around I couldn't imagine more interesting company to ride out a dust storm or three with!

Bring on the dust, it's time to go home.

Gravity Mike · Post by **Gravity Mike** » Wed Aug 16, 2006 2:59 pm

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

This is more true on the Playa than anywhere - and even the worst will be entertaining, I'm sure.

Gravity

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 9:38 am

Maybe the 2nd email was the hoax...