A Waking Life

Not to sound melodramatic, but I feel like the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme song is playing in my life right now. Today, I am embarking on a journey in to the unknown. If all systems are a go, we will launch from Boulder, Colorado on a trajectory across the Rocky Mountains and westward in to the desert… touching down in an otherworldly and planetary destination: Black Rock City.

Also known as the “playa,” this ghost city plays host to the yearly event/festival/transitory country known as Burning Man. Alive with phenomenal art, music and performance, this city of 30,000 spends a week in the Nevada desert before – you guessed it – “burning the man,” a larger-than-life statuesque representation of this year’s theme: the American Dream.

We’ll see. I don’t really know what to expect. Scared? A little. Excited? You bet. What I’m most excited to see is the way this otherworldly city will put Leave No Trace in to action. Back in 2006, Burning Man adopted an environmental statement for their project to address the potential environmental impact of this event. With a commitment to Leave No Trace ethics, the city highly emphasizes alternative, minimum-impact technologies that leave less of an impact on the desert. Everything from waste to grey water is packed out after the event, ensuring that campsites are left in the same, if not better, condition than when they were found.

Burning Man continues this commitment throughout the year as a part of Leave No Trace’s Corporate Partners community, and also through the work of the Earth Guardians.

Luckily, I don’t have to digest this experience on my own, as I have the privilege of traveling with a colleague, Kurt. Even better, we will be meeting Alexis and Topher, Subaru/Leave No Trace Traveling Trainers, out on the playa.

Stay tuned… this may not be one for the history books, but I’m sure it’s going to rock my world.