Playa conditions for 2009?

Playa Tom · Post by **Playa Tom** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 8:08 pm

I was on the playa today, Easter Sunday.
It was a beautiful day warm with a few clouds in the sky.
Had a good dinner at Bruno's, two good slices of ham with mashed potatos, sweet potatos, asparagus and brocolli, for ten bucks.
The playa surface was a lottle soft so I did not drive very far, but at this time of year I should not have been able to drive on the playa at all. There is no standing water on the playa as there should be this time of year. There is very little snowpack in the mountains surrounding the playa and this is the end of the normal rain season so there is little hope of the playa receiving much more water. This year bring a few extra dust masks. :(

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 9:24 pm

Playa Tom wrote: at this time of year I should not have been able to drive on the playa at all. There is no standing water on the playa as there should be this time of year.

Who told you that ?

LIARS !!!

leave your dustmasks at home this year, everyone.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 7:44 am

What would one (of even two) use a dust mask for on the playa¿

The storys of dust are made up from old timers to keep newbies away..

Post by **Elderberry** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 7:54 am

Playa Tom wrote:I was on the playa today, Easter Sunday.
It was a beautiful day warm with a few clouds in the sky.
Had a good dinner at Bruno's, two good slices of ham with mashed potatos, sweet potatos, asparagus and brocolli, for ten bucks.
The playa surface was a lottle soft so I did not drive very far, but at this time of year I should not have been able to drive on the playa at all. There is no standing water on the playa as there should be this time of year. There is very little snowpack in the mountains surrounding the playa and this is the end of the normal rain season so there is little hope of the playa receiving much more water. This year bring a few extra dust masks.

Bummer.

JK

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:17 am

jkisha wrote:
Playa Tom wrote:I was on the playa today, Easter Sunday.
It was a beautiful day warm with a few clouds in the sky.
Had a good dinner at Bruno's, two good slices of ham with mashed potatos, sweet potatos, asparagus and brocolli, for ten bucks.
The playa surface was a lottle soft so I did not drive very far, but at this time of year I should not have been able to drive on the playa at all. There is no standing water on the playa as there should be this time of year. There is very little snowpack in the mountains surrounding the playa and this is the end of the normal rain season so there is little hope of the playa receiving much more water. This year bring a few extra dust masks.
Bummer.

JK

See, Told you, No dust on the playa

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:36 am

BLM -- Due to unsuitable observation of playa conditions, the Black Rock Desert will be closed for the 2009 calendar year.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:39 am

Playa Tom wrote: Had a good dinner at Bruno's

He's lying, boys and girls.

ourania · Post by **ourania** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:43 am

If conditions are much like last year, would it be worth bringing bikes? I'm coming from quite a distance and it would mean buying a rack for my car. Given all that I've heard about the bad biking conditions last year, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth the bother.

wedeliver · Post by **wedeliver** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 9:56 am

Playa Tom wrote:I was on the playa today, Easter Sunday.
It was a beautiful day warm with a few clouds in the sky.
Had a good dinner at Bruno's, two good slices of ham with mashed potatos, sweet potatos, asparagus and brocolli, for ten bucks.
The playa surface was a lottle soft so I did not drive very far, but at this time of year I should not have been able to drive on the playa at all. There is no standing water on the playa as there should be this time of year. There is very little snowpack in the mountains surrounding the playa and this is the end of the normal rain season so there is little hope of the playa receiving much more water. This year bring a few extra dust masks.

I drove 165 miles each way to Gerlach yesterday. Went to Joe's Gerlach Club, spent a couple hours talking with Gary, drove by Bruno's, went home 8 hours round trip. Nice day

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:08 am

ourania wrote:If conditions are much like last year, would it be worth bringing bikes? I'm coming from quite a distance and it would mean buying a rack for my car. Given all that I've heard about the bad biking conditions last year, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth the bother.

*fishy mutters something nasty and bitter under her breath*

ourania · Post by **ourania** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:16 am

Ooooohhh, my first potentially snarky response. I feel so special. Please elaborate.

Post by **Elderberry** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:18 am

ourania wrote:If conditions are much like last year, would it be worth bringing bikes? I'm coming from quite a distance and it would mean buying a rack for my car. Given all that I've heard about the bad biking conditions last year, I'm starting to wonder if it's worth the bother.

Even though it's tough biking on the open playa, the streets were still easily passable. I'd still bring the bikes.

JK

ourania · Post by **ourania** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:33 am

Good to know. Thanks JK. I really was hoping for some snark though. But maybe this is one of those 'be careful what you wish for little girl' scenarios...

Post by **Elderberry** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:41 am

ourania wrote:Ooooohhh, my first potentially snarky response. I feel so special. Please elaborate.

LOL

she doesn't have legs, so doesn't have the option of leaving wheels behind.

JK

ourania · Post by **ourania** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:48 am

Ok, now I totally get the nasty and bitter. I go through the same bloody thing in the ice/slush/snow with my daughter's chair. We're doing our first family beach vacation this summer and I still haven't figured out navigating the deep sand with her. I thought maybe a rickshaw type set-up would work. She'd look totally Queen of Sheba....

mojo · Post by **mojo** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:10 am

ourania wrote:Ok, now I totally get the nasty and bitter. I go through the same bloody thing in the ice/slush/snow with my daughter's chair. We're doing our first family beach vacation this summer and I still haven't figured out navigating the deep sand with her. I thought maybe a rickshaw type set-up would work. She'd look totally Queen of Sheba....

Depending on where you are going, some beaches have "beach" wheelchairs with giant light tires. Check with the hotels in the area and with the city where you are going.

ourania · Post by **ourania** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 11:57 am

Thanks for the thought mojo.
I've seen those and they are great and available in most cities and at some resorts. I didn't specify earlier that our "beach vacation" is going to consist of camping by the beach, so no resort type amenities available. I've wanted to get one but as usual, any adapted equipment is hideously expensive and I'm not sure how I'd fit it in the car. Hence my DIY rickshaw idea. I thought if I hinged the sides, I can make it collapsible.

phil · Post by **phil** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:56 pm

Playa Tom wrote:I was on the playa today, Easter Sunday.
It was a beautiful day warm with a few clouds in the sky.
Had a good dinner at Bruno's, two good slices of ham with mashed potatos, sweet potatos, asparagus and brocolli, for ten bucks.
The playa surface was a lottle soft so I did not drive very far, but at this time of year I should not have been able to drive on the playa at all. There is no standing water on the playa as there should be this time of year. There is very little snowpack in the mountains surrounding the playa and this is the end of the normal rain season so there is little hope of the playa receiving much more water. This year bring a few extra dust masks. :(

Tom: may I post this in its entirety at
http://www.cieux.com/bm/alerts.html#playa
where it says no alerts yet for 2009?

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 2:57 pm

You might want to invest in a pair of sand tire wheels. If she's on a chair that swaps out wheels.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:28 pm

I was at the frogponds this weekend, The Playa was so wet I couldn't even get down to it on the paths without starting to get stuck in the mud.

There was visible standing water on the south end toward Gerlach also.

I think this will be a good year.

It is supposed to rain again this weekend.

Post by **Elderberry** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 9:22 pm

Interesting how quickly things seem to change on the playa. Well, that is good news.

JK

EspressoDude · Post by **EspressoDude** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:51 am

oneeyeddick wrote:I was at the frogponds this weekend, The Playa was so wet I couldn't even get down to it on the paths without starting to get stuck in the mud.

There was visible standing water on the south end toward Gerlach also.

I think this will be a good year.

It is supposed to rain again this weekend.

Last June when were on the playa, headed towards Frog Ponds, we turned too soon and got stuck there. Five of us were able to get the car out but I had mud to my knees. I think there is a lot of water from the springs that seeps into the playa there.

It was dusty mid playa.

Post by **Elderberry** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:53 am

I think I'm just going to stop thinking about this and deal with whatever the conditions are when I get there!

JK

ourania · Post by **ourania** » Tue May 19, 2009 4:16 pm

Anybody seen what the playa is like right now? The last Jack Rabbit Speaks mentioned that it seemed good and wet but I just saw a post recently, by Toolmaker that things were already dry as a bone:

"I have been hearing from numerous local sources as to the lack of hydration in the region. Expect it to be dusty, just heard this past week from 2 sources that they seem to have skipped a season and went straight to hot as fuck summer season.

Its gonna be a pain in the ass for anyone trying to use wheels without motors."

I'm not sure how to reconcile the conflicting reports. I don't know why I'm bothering to stress about it. I guess it'll be what it'll be. Que sera, sera....

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Tue May 19, 2009 9:15 pm

Apparently the lake gets blown around the playa floor, so it might be dry in most places wet in some.

I'm always willing to provide an explination for any phenomenen. I'm not always right.

FilXeno · Post by **FilXeno** » Wed May 20, 2009 4:03 pm

I was there this weekend, and it felt pretty dry. It was in perfect condition, but I don't know how that will change over summer.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Wed May 20, 2009 4:06 pm

Dry is fine, but was it packed, or was it breaking up as you walked/drove on it ?

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed May 20, 2009 8:00 pm

oneeyeddick wrote:Dry is fine, but was it packed, or was it breaking up as you walked/drove on it ?

I like it when its firm, and not like walking on fortune cookies. When its like that it breaks up into dust easily.

I want Playa 2005 and 2007! those were good hard years. Was like riding bikes on an aircraft tarmac. Dust storms came, but when doesn't it get dusty?

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Wed May 20, 2009 8:09 pm

The amount of packing seems to be a big factor on dust issues. While it may rain a lil from time to time from what I've been told overall NV and the playa have been lacking in the rain dept. I'm expecting a dusty year.. the more dust the better IMO. But as mentioned.. when isn't it dusty.

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed May 20, 2009 8:44 pm

Im lucky - dust doesnt seem to bother me much. What I do hate though is having to peddle with twice the poeer, to go 1/3 the speed.

Playa conditions for 2009?

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