Over the 2020 Labor day weekend I convinced my boyfriend to go with me to explore a place close to my heart, The Blackrock desert in Northern Nevada. We started out in the north bay area city of San Rafael where we are currently residing in. Only after four hours of Labor day traffic and 100 miles into the trip did we stop off at my parents house in Rocklin. Early the next morning we stopped in Reno for some dessert essentials such as ice, extra gas, and a camp shower. Where we were heading there would be no luxuries like toilets, showers, or cell service we had to be as prepared as possible.
Once we arrived to the edge of the playa we took the very poorly maintained Jungo road on the search for hot springs. Along the way we passed by a few cars packed full of very of costume clad hippies who welcomed us Home. Labor day weekend has been traditionally for the past 30 years the tail end of Burning Man. Since everything in 2020 was cancelled that included Burning Man. It turns out that many of the burners did not agree with this sentiment and decided to come out to the playa to celebrate the burn anyways. Once we found Trego hot springs, we found it to be watched over by a guardian who was sunburned and well traveled in appearance camping out of his car. Upon talking to him later, he gave us the insider knowledge that the contamination sign posted by the Bureau of Land Management to keep people out of the hot springs was really from a positive test found four years prior and they really had no idea if there were Cholera or Dysentery bacteria in the hot springs at present. To backup his claims, he told us he had been swimming/soaking in the hot springs for the past 3 days and had yet to get sick. Before deciding to go into the hot springs we decided to scope out the area to see if it would be an ideal place to camp or not later that night. During our exploration we found a wild horse that appeared to be dead for a short time, but in the desert with no moisture the horse could have been dead for many months without showing signs of decay. Having satisfied the need to survey the area and with temperatures soaring to over 110' F, we decided to head out onto the playa.
There are no designated roads on the playa so anyone driving is completely free to choose their path. The desert heat mixed with the playa dust creates the great illusion of water spread all across the playa. Once out on the playa we saw in the distance a large gathering of a few thousand campers gathered together. We decided to investigate and what we stumbled upon was the true sense of an indie burn, which was just a large eclectic of people surviving, creating art, and freely expressing themselves in the desert. In the center of the camp we saw small handmade art instillations spread out on display. There were people dressed in costumes taking shelter from the heat, dirt bikes, dogs, and ATVs being ridden all across the playa. We decided then that we would camp with the burners that night. Before we made camp we wanted to go back to the hot spring and take a quick soak.
Back for round two, we found that more travelers had gathered at the hot spring, taking the clothing optional route. They happened to leave shortly after we arrived leaving the hot spring to ourselves. The air outside was almost as hot as the hot spring making for an intense experience. As hot as it was the backdrop of the dessert in the setting desert sun, along with the solidarity made the soak immensely relaxing and peaceful. Once the sun started setting we thanked the hot spring guardian and headed back out onto the playa to find the indie burners. We found a suitable spot to set up camp and grill up a meal. Then we pulled out the alcohol and weed to get into the spirit of the burn. As soon as the sun set the art cars came out, lights started pulsating, and electronic music started blasting from many of the camps. In the center of the camps a sound stage was setup and we danced in the night celebrating the burn. Later when we went back to our tent we found out the downside of partying with the burners in that they party till dawn, and in a thinly walled tent we heard the music and saw the lights pulsating all night long.
The route is 50 miles of unpaved road deep in the desolate desert. With no cell service, or any amenities we were truly in the wilderness. We took our time traveling stopping at many of the points of interest throughout the afternoon slowly working our way north. Along the way we hiked a Mountain Plauto, saw abandoned ranches, wild horses, pronghorn and ranch cattle that were as wild as another creatures of the high desert. It wasn't until we got to the entrance of solder meadows did we see any other people. Looking for the best route in we were stopped by a road that was completely washed out and flooded by a river. It was also not until this point did we encounter our first real challenge of the weekend. The light in the truck went on indicating we had a flat tire. Neither one of us had ever changed a tire before, and without our millennial tools of the internet we really had to dig down and use the resources we had to learn how to change a tire. We pulled out the maintenance manual and got to work reading directions. Between the two of us we were able to find all of the tools, and follow the directions to change the tire within an hour and make it to our next camping destination.
There are 5 designated campsites at Soldier meadows each very large and well spaced out from the rest. We quickly found out why it was so important to camp in the designated campsites because the direct area around the designated spots are home to a handful of endemic species (plants and animals found nowhere else on earth) and too much human disturbance could easily disrupt the balance of the oasis in solider meadows and these sensitive species would be lost forever. We camped in what would have been one of the most magnificent places to view the stars, but we were in the middle of a scorching wildfire season in the west and the smoke was so thick, the stars were barely visible. We brought a handful of pallets and were able to build a massive bonfire instead and enjoyed the beauty of the fire instead. The next morning we walked along the designated path to the hot springs that make solider meadows the desert oasis it is. The night before we read the posted pamphlets and learned that native peoples have been using the same hot springs for thousands of years for healing and spiritual ceremony's. Again we were very lucky in that we were able to enjoy the hot springs in peace and solitude creating another highly relaxing experience.
After returning we broke camp and headed on the long journey back to reality. We were cruising out of the wilderness for no more than 20 min when the low tire pressure indicator lit back up for the front tire. Having seen the spare and seeing that it was full we both ignored the warning. Continuing to cruise along the car suddenly spun off to the side to the road and came to stop. We jumped out of the car to see our spare tire blown apart underneath the truck. I have never face a situation such as this before, having no chance of help in the wilderness and facing a very long road back to any sort of help fear gripped me and I really feared for the worst. Ryan having his head on his shoulders immediately got us to work changing the blown out tire for the original flat and we got back on the road traveling no more than 10m miles per hour to prevent the flat from blowing out too.
We drove for about 1 1/2 hours before a woman in a jeep drove by. Honking our horn and yelling out to her, she stopped and offered to call a friend in Reno to call for help. She told us she was with the US census and asked if she might find some people up the road to get accurate census data. Feeling better, but in no better of a situation, we were in luck when another car seeing us parked stopped and we were able to borrow a bike pump and Ryan inflated the entire truck tire by hand with it. Speaking with them for a few minutes we were then able to get on the road and drove fast with the one goal of making it back to the service station in Gerlach before the tire deflated again. We made it halfway back before again the light turned on and the tire started to deflate. We again were granted with luck and found a group of burners leaving the playa. We stopped them and asked for help and were granted the use of an air compressor. Knowing that we had only a limited time to get back we again hopped back on the road and made it to the service station in Gerlach.
Since the service station was the only one in town it was busy and we had to wait to get the tire patched and purchase a used spare. While we waited I was able to chat with the owner whom I learned was a from Pittsburg and a former burner himself. Once we were able to get service we chatted with the budding auto mechanic who told us he had only been on the job for 3 days and was called in from the countryside to help out during the burning man gathering. He told us he had moved to the outskirts of Reno from the South and was a caretaker of a ranch, which allowed him to live rent free. After getting the tire in working order, we headed back on the long road out of the desert and back to the bay area, both having felt like the many surprises the weekend brought with it made the journey all the more worthwhile and satisfying.
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