Sonoma County Burning Man attendees call this year’s muddy fest ‘extreme,’ 'magical’

Despite the historic muddy mess at this year’s Burning Man, a longtime attendee from Santa Rosa called the gathering “one of the more magical years“ for those who came prepared and acted with a sense of community.

Nevada’s Black Rock Desert got more than a half-inch of rain Sept. 1, equal to more than two months worth of rain for the region, according to the Washington Post, creating foot-deep mud.

Officials at the annual arts festival issued a shelter-in-place warning for attendees, who were also told at one point to conserve food and water. The festival’s main event, the burning of the Man, was postponed twice before finally taking place Monday night.

“It’s not the first time it’s rained out there in the 25 years I’ve been going,” Santa Rosa’s Tristan St. Germain said. “I feel like the media sensationalized this whole thing.”

Despite the shelter-in-place warning, St. Germain said no one was “stranded” in the desert, and that most attendees who came with enough food, water and shelter were happy to hunker down and share what they had with others who needed assistance.

“Maybe some weekend warriors and newbies or celebrities panicked and walked out for whatever reason, but most of us just hung back and had a great time and took care of each other,” she said.

A semiregular Burner since 1999, St. Germain, 47, says she enjoys the festival’s inspiring art and gift economy, where attendees give without expecting anything in return.

She and her husband, Mathieu St. Germain, were camping and working this year with more than 100 other Burners at a camp called Skinny Kitty Tea House, which served free hot tea to passersby, provided shelter, shade, couches and staged performances.

“There’s something about the community, where there's this sharing and giving and gifting and people taking care of each other, it’s really a beautiful energy to immerse oneself in,” she said.

This year, that energy showed up in a big way, according to St. Germain.

“We had meetings after the rain started at our camp and made sure everyone was dry, and if they weren’t, who had extra tent bedding or space for them to be taken care of,” she said, adding that extra water and food was also shared among the campers.

St. Germain said the shelter-in-place order that came after the rain was meant to keep people from trying to drive out in the muddy conditions. Despite the order, several vehicles became stuck and had to wait to be towed out.

“We could walk around and hang out in our tea house or at our base camp,” she said.

Other local Burners shared St. Germain’s sentiment.

Santa Rosa resident Cheryl Humbert said this year’s Burning Man should be dubbed “Learning Man.”

“As always Burning Man brings many challenges, mentally and physically. This was a pretty good one for the record book as far as that goes,” Humbert, 54, said in a message to The Press Democrat.

Humbert spent three weeks in the desert working on Petaluma artist Michael Garlington’s 60-foot tall “Chapel of Babel,” a six-story wooden structure covered in Garlington’s photographs that burned at midnight Monday.

“Our camp just hung out and got to know each other better. We had a good kitchen with lots of supplies so we had no problems. Porta-potties were pretty gross but aren't they always? Many people handled it in many different ways. And if you stuck it out you were rewarded with a beautiful burn.”

Cloverdale resident Mike Maloney called Burning Man “extreme camping with a purpose” and said this year was as extreme as it gets. Yet, he called the experience, his fifth time going, a demonstration of what a compassionate community can achieve.

“I understand the headlines focused on early protests, a tragic death, heavy rains causing even heavier mud, and a couple of celebrities being rescued from their walk to freedom,” Maloney, 37, said in a message to The Press Democrat. “But in my opinion, the most important headline of this year’s burn was the triumph of the human spirit and a community of like-minded individuals from all walks of life coming together to overcome incredible adversity.”

Seeing a break in the weather Sunday, Maloney said he and his small camp of three heard tales of closures, steep fines, and washed out roads, but experienced none of that during their exodus.

“We passed a graveyard of abandoned vehicles who must have tried the same when the playa was still too wet for travel. Slow and steady won the race and we had a sigh of relief when our 4x4 finally hit the pavement.”

St. Germain and her husband had originally planned to leave Sunday, but stayed long enough to see Monday’s burning of the Man. Their exit from the festival Tuesday afternoon was what she called a “smooth exodus.“

While the rain and the mud may be the most talked about aspect of this year’s event, St. Germain said she will remember the people who came together, worked together and made sure others’ needs were met.

“In some way it was like being in a refugee camp in the moment because there was so much uncertainty when the rains first fell, but what I actually saw was that we were really prepared for this, especially folks who have been coming out for many years,” she said. “We come out with enough for our needs and to share with other people, and my hope has always been to see that attitude and that generosity spill into our communities and our everyday life.”