Mark BC,
I also have been to the Alvord many times over the past 30 years and a few time to the Black Rock and it never once entered my mind as a concern. With Burning Man, however, while sitting in the lineup of rigs waiting to get in, I quickly realized it was an entirely different environment. All those fine particles of dust lifted off the surface by tire tread go airborne. It's not that the vehicles are going fast. There is a speed limit. The event has heavy police presence to enforce it. Even though driving is restricted to art and official vehicles (as well as new arrivals) once it gets going, it's amazing how the surface of the streets start to pile dust moguls from all the foot, bike and mutant vehicle traffic. The streets that were smooth going at the start become rough 7 days later on Labor day.
The other thing that was amazing was how quickly it all turned to muck when a light shower hit on opening day last year. The BM Organization immediately stopped all traffic at the gate for almost 2 hours and encouraged no driving within BRC. My wife and I were on our bikes and had to dismount after a quarter mile because the tires and chain stays were too packed with wet playa mud to continue. Fortunately, we dismounted next to one of the many theme bars that was serving up tasty Bloody Marys. Good idea to carry your own cup or mug to take advantage of these Oasis. Of course, like all bars on the Black Rock, it was free. Nothing is for sale, anywhere, during the event, accept for coffee, tea, soda and ice. We later reciprocated the bars generosity by dropping off some cans of V8 as they were running low on tomato juice.
My wife and I are very experienced campers in boondocking situations as we usually avoid campgrounds whenever possible. The main difference we found when camping at Burning Man for a week was dealing with the dust and handling the gray water. We carried goggles with us at all time as well as bandanas. Even wore dust masks a few times during a couple of strong blows. Having to either evaporate or carry out all or our gray water was also an interesting learning experience. We did pretty well the first year and the 2nd time it went smoother, meaning we evaporated more and carried out less. I will say that if you have a large RV with a black/gray water tank, you can flag down one of the pump trucks that cruise the event and have them empty your tanks. Of course, that is not free. I've found that some of our friends who are very interested in attending and who are also very experienced campers, are put off by the heat and dusty environment. However, we found with an adjustment of attitude and sense of adventure, it wasn't that big of a deal.
We are not going this year, but may return at some point if we some of our friends get motivated. The biggest draws backs to attending are really not the time camping during the event. It's entering and exiting. There is only one entrance on the two lane road from Gerlach. Once you leave the pavement when entering, they split it into to 8 entry lanes. Every vehicle is stopped at the gate for tickets and inspection for stowaways, if the rig is capable of hiding people. I was told last year they found a guy inside a 120 quart cooler. Hard to imagine. We pulled up to the gate 4:45 AM Monday and did not get through the gate till just before 8:00 AM. We left a week later at 3:00 AM on Labor Day and it still took us 90 minutes to go the 3 miles of playa road to the pavement. In 2009 we were off the playa in 20 minutes. Our friends headed out around 5:30 PM on Labor Day and it took them 4 hours to get out.
So, unless one has a pass to enter early, or stays on for clean up after it's over, long waits are part of the cost of admission. As the event grows, it can only get worse.
