Neal Katyal’s ‘Incredibly Harrowing’ Escape at Nevada’s Rain-Drenched Burning Man Festival
- The Indian American law professor and former Obama-era Principal Deputy Solicitor General, who was attending the event for the first time, trekked through heavy and slippery mud, but got safely out.
Law professor and former Obama-era Principal Deputy Solicitor General Neal Katyal had to undergo an “incredibly harrowing” 6-mile hike” early yesterday to escape the Burning Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. Heavy rain overnight Friday into Saturday stranded thousands in the mud at the annual event, and one reported death.
More than 70,000 attendees are unable to drive to or leave the event, news reports said, “after hours of wind and rain turned the festival’s desert campgrounds into sticky mud.” Attendees were first advised to “shelter in place” and “conserve food and water on Friday,” NBC News reported, citing notices from organizers. “All inbound and outbound traffic was halted and will remain so until further notice,” the report added.
Each summer, tens of thousands of people gather in the Black Rock Desert each summer for about nine days “to create a temporary city known for its communal living and eccentric displays of art and expression,” according to the festival website.
Katyal posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he undertook the hike with a group of other attendees. “It was an incredibly harrowing 6 mile hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud, but I got safely out of Burning Man,” he wrote. This was his first time at the festival which was “fantastic (with brilliant art and fabulous music)…except the ending.”
The Indian American also posted some advice to others at the festival who are trying to escape. “No one should try this unless in good shape and part of a group,”he warned. “It was quite hard, and will get harder if/when it rains more. Talk your friends out of the hike unless you really think they can do it safely. There are treacherous places where it is worse than walking on ice.”
Stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker Chris Rock and disc jockey, songwriter, and music producer Diplo have also documented their journeys out of the festival.