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Learn about me & my missionSeptember 22nd, 2026 | Let It Be Thunder. Burning Man 2026.
This text was fully written by a human.
Burning Man is something else for everyone, and every time. The desert will test you and reveal some truth about you. It’s almost like a mirror.
This was my third burn. They say it’s three times charm.
Burning Man is something else for everyone, and every time. The desert will test you and reveal some truth about you. It’s almost like a mirror. Burning Man 2026 was no exception.
This was my third burn. They say it’s three times charm.
My first time in 2022, it was just the first time. The whole point was to enjoy and to get familiar with the concept. And that year, 2022, went down in history as the heat year.
The second time, 2025, I took a spontaneous decision to go, as I realized that eventually AI puts us apart and the more real-world connections you get, the better for you, long term. Many consider this a high-effort and high-cost festival. But in fact, I’m not sure if we can afford not going instead of going.
This time around, I had similar thinking and a little bit different strategy for how to meet people at the Playa.
And this was my hardest year yet, and not necessarily because of the weather, but because of the personal challenges and struggles I had to face.
One remark: some topics mentioned in the article might trigger you (I’ll put an asterisk on that content).
What Happened Since Last Burn?
In the meantime, since last year’s Burn, I worked on myself.
I went on a little trip to Clear Oaks in Northern California in January — just a weekend with my girlfriends: one summer house, five girls, two nights and two sunrises to enjoy.
That trip was magical. We had girls’ night with tarot cards, as one of us was fluent in reading tarot. I’m not superstitious, and I don’t really follow any non-scientific practices like that, but she told me one interesting thing. She said that a lot of abundance is waiting for me, including all I want and need in life; all the wealth, love, and all the blessings are waiting… but I need to first regulate my nervous system, calm down, and silence this internal thunder that’s in my head at all times.
Well, she was right. We all enjoy self-sabotage and putting our brains on fire, whether it’s conscious or not. And it made me think a lot about how I might just soothe my nervous system and calm down in the presence of uncertainty and in the chaos that we all experience today.
Some factors are independent of us, but a lot of little everyday habits also make our lives harder, like diet, lifestyle, and the choices we make. Plus, there is more AI in the picture, and more chaos, layoffs, and whatnot. So, there was increasingly more and more to fix in our heads.
So I tweaked my daily practice a little. I started making morning affirmations to put my mind in a good state every morning.
I went to the mountains of Wudang and completed a tai chi course in the Wudang Daoist Wellness Academy, and then started conquering skyscrapers around San Francisco and practiced there.
What Was My Plan for Burning Man 2026?
Sober.
Since then, I have been working on my brain and its ability to calm down. And over the summer, I dropped alcohol and caffeine at the same time in the name of brain economy and increasing my overall ability to withstand stress and also think logically.
By the way, I don’t care all that much about people’s perception, and I never quit because of what others think of me; I did it fully for myself (alcohol is not as bad if you keep a hygiene of drinking, after all).
Since then, my skin has gotten much smoother (especially on my neck). I thought to myself: in ontogenesis, skin cells are right next to brain cells. If my skin got so much better, what does that mean to my brain cells? They are probably better off as well, even though I can’t see it explicitly.
And so this was about to be my first time sober.
I can say and do stupid things without booze. So, I wasn’t all that concerned about my potential to generate a good conversation.
Still, I was a little bit anxious about the outcome. I knew it was going to be a completely different experience this time around.
Why Try Burning Man Sober?
If you never resign from addictions, you don’t even know what you’re capable of. Imagine that you’ve never stood naked in front of the mirror, so you don’t even know how you look. And similarly with the brain, if you’ve never had, like, a sober period when you’re not under any psychostimulants, you don’t really know yourself fully.
And so I was curious how I would perform and behave if I said no to all the booze that is served all around me. Will I sleep more or less? Will I endure more physical effort? Would I like different people than usual? Will I choose different types of activities? And will I enjoy the experience at all?
The truth is: when you get entirely sober (just entirely, entirely sober, excluding refined sugar and so forth), you will feel more high than on any drugs. The only issue is: given the processed American diet, it’s hard to get to that state of perfect sobriety.
Serenity.
And so, the main theme for this year was serenity — finding peace of mind amidst the thunder. At the same time, I felt I needed fire, literally and figuratively.
I thought to myself I would be most happy if I found opportunities at the Playa to (1) learn how to play with fire, (2) do tai chi in the sandstorm.
The Top 50 Camps.
Last time in 2025, I made the full distance through all the streets and alleys of the Playa (50+ miles). This time around, I didn’t have such an ambition to do sports at all. I decided to be more strategic instead.
Some time ago, I wrote a text about my expectations toward other people, which is, in large part, also a text about myself. Now, given Claude’s agents in the picture, I could use this text to screen through the Playa and get the list of camps where — according to Fable — the probability of meeting people similar to myself is the highest.
And so, Fable indeed gave me the list of the top 50 camps where I should look.
But you must know that this is not all that simple. You only receive the full detailed map of the Playa after you have already arrived at the gate — so, you cannot prepare at home, and you need to look for camps only at the site.
Moreover, some camps don’t come to the Playa every year, and you only find out after you arrive. Some camps are also listed under a different name on the map than online.
Eventually, given all that, I could spot perhaps 15 of the 50 listed camps. Those were the ones I might actually find on the Playa.
How Do You Keep in Touch with People from the Playa?
This time around, I also changed my strategy regarding contacting people. A year ago, I brought stickers with my QR code on them. Now, I know that if I leave people my contact, most of them will never reach out to me.
Therefore, this time around I brought a phone with a good battery, and every time I wanted to save someone’s contact, I was just writing it down. You always have to keep in charge of your own CRM; that’s that. Just collect people’s Instagrams; that’s the most effective way of keeping in touch with people at the Playa.
The Bunny Attire.
A lot of people at the playa go with a crazy outfit, taken from Mad Max or some other extravaganza.
But for me, in 2025, simple bunny ears worked really well for a few reasons. First of all, in daily life, I chase things. Here, bunnies are often being chased — which is a nice change.
I also thought to myself that a bunny is something that always gives people positive emotions and positive reactions. Both boys and girls don’t want to see a sad bunny, and bunnies are seen as innocent and cute. Once you are a bunny, people are willing to help you out right away.
So, this was just an easy choice — and just like last year, I also only had good outcomes of being a bunny.
You also need to know that bunnies have their own lore on the Playa; for instance, at every Burn, on Thursday afternoon, there is a march (or a battle) of Bunnies versus Carrots — hundreds of people with bunny ears show up to make noise together. If not the sandstorm, I’d join them this time around.
It’s hard to find footage online, I only found this:
I took two pairs of ears just in case I lost one, which obviously happened. On the other hand, though, I was so much in a hurry while packing that I indeed forgot a few crucial items that I had prepared before, and so I had a hard time dressing up at the playa. Namely, I forgot all the bottoms—skirts, shorts—and I also forgot to take my goggles with me. That was painful!
The Burner Express.
Just as last year, I went to the playa by Burner Express. This time around, though, I departed from San Francisco rather than Reno. It was really convenient because you go straight to the Playa. It takes six hours, and people on the bus are already in party mode. You can count it as the actual party.
And I sat on the bus next to a newbie who was about to go to the festival for the first time in his life. And you could see the excitement. But he was also asking me a lot of questions as if I had all the answers already.
In fact, you need about five to six burns to even get to the point where you know all the basics that you should know. So I didn’t feel competent to really explain to him how Burning Man works. I thought to myself he should just go explore and learn it all by himself, and he would just be fine. Also, this festival is almost a living and breathing creature, and people create it — every year it will be a little bit of a different beast.
The Hoverlandia.
And just like the previous year, this time around I also stayed at Hoverlandia, next to the Burner Express. It has a lot of advantages. First of all, you are sort of anonymous there — if someone doesn’t know your precise location, it’s hard to locate your tent and bother you.
Secondly, it’s not true that you are alone. Your direct neighbors will all learn your name and offer you some food. You’ll also be able to have breakfast together.
And of course, if you want to go somewhere together, you just go. So you can make friends easily with the people around you, and then once… So you have your network of support, and you can make friends just like everyone else.
What’s also good about Hoverlandia is that we don’t have any camp duties — we are free to go explore any way we want, and since we don’t have any structure, we also don’t have any drama, like many camps that bicker about the duties and the division of tasks and the planning and equipment. Unlike them, in Hoverlandia we all have good banter and don’t have any problems.
We also have camaraderie binding us through trauma ;) After every sandy or rainy night, we crawl out of our tents and eat breakfast in silence like bitten dogs. I value these moments.
Of course, staying in Hoverlandia is not utilitarian. If everyone made such a simple choice, the festival would essentially not exist. But this is just a step in my development as a Burner. Perhaps I will have my own camp, or find a camp that I’m so sure about that I just join them as a campmate. Who knows? For now, Hoverlandia as a stage of development works for me.
What Were the Ups and Downs of This Burn?
As mentioned before, this was my hardest burn yet. Let me just go through some highlights.
The Dip #1.
Is going through Burning Man sober hard? Yes, it is, but not necessarily for the reason you might think. People in bars actually respect that about you and want to actively help you stick to your decision. They will go the extra mile to make you a mocktail and support you with warm words.
However, when I came to the Playa sober, I soon realized I was different. It was almost like a personality change — I was much more shy, reserved, and introverted than before.
And then it occurred to me why. You see, most teens learn how to get out of their comfort zone and build social bonds before they start drinking. American teens have plenty of time to learn before turning 21 — roughly 7 years. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, every US state prohibits people under 21 from possessing alcohol.
In my case, I was introverted and aloof until the end of high school and started drinking while moving to the university. Effectively, I started building my environment only after I started drinking and never had that buffer time to learn.
So, whatever American teens have roughly 7 years to learn, I had seven days for.
What Did Seven Sober Days Teach Me?
These few days were one big school of communication to me: while sober, I’m nearly as open to experience and experimentation as I thought. I tried to dance with a stranger and got so stressed that I wanted to cry.
Just imagine that you have that one area of your life that feels easy no matter what (grades, health, making money, and whatnot) —no matter if you are sick, jetlagged, or depressed, it just works. And then someone suddenly takes this thing away from you.
And then you need to finally start talking.
Hearing my own voice talk about my needs, or a problem with opening up, was such a new experience.
At the same time, I’m less prone to take bullshit when sober; I’m better at reading little signs that someone disrespects me — small things that often manifest as one twist of an eyebrow or so.
The Highlight #1.
After the initial dip that took me the first two days, I got a little bit of hope that things would eventually get better. I met someone whom I already knew from the year before. He greatly helped me open up to people again. That required a lot of patience and cooperation but greatly helped me regain confidence.
* The Dip #2 (this part can trigger you; you might consider skipping).
Then, once I thought the bad times were behind me, something nonconsensual happened to me in one of the camps. And then I learned that despite all that you are being told about safety and consent at the Playa, in fact, you are alone.
I came to that camp to report what happened, and they kept me there for over two hours so I could tell them what happened in detail again and again, sitting alone in front of four people: the camp consent team and two rangers.
Eventually, they told me that they talked to the perpetrator, and he has a bit of a different version of what happened. In other words, it’s word against word, so they are unwilling to do anything.
In this situation, I only had two choices: do nothing or call the police — which I wasn’t about to do for personal reasons. So, it ended with nothing at all, despite me proposing some other solutions (namely, causing the guy a bit of inconvenience), but I wasn’t taken too seriously.
Eventually, I went to the Artery, which is a service responsible for solving such problems, and they also expressed concern and willingness to help out… and told me to write an email to the dedicated email account at burningman.org
All that left a really bad taste in my mouth. This is not treating people seriously…
Luckily, what happened wasn’t bad enough to leave me with a trauma, an unwanted pregnancy, or a disease. It was more of a cautionary tale for the future. Now I know how things look here for real — when something goes wrong. Namely, they look dim.
The Highlight #2.
Right after that, another highlight of the festival happened—I was just passing by when a sign caught my eye; it said, “Rope Bunnies Wanted.” It was a camp run by Shibari artists offering artistic knotting. It would be a pity not to try that! And so I let Vince, the shibari artist, knot me up.
The knot was a bit tight, but I thought to myself, “Hey, come on! You’ve got to suffer for art and beauty.” Then I left their camp and went on to visit Sharkie’s — one of my favorite camps visited last year.
I planned to jump in just to say “hi,” but it soon turned out they had a surprise in store—they were about to start a… wedding in their camp, between their beloved camp mates Tim and Shelby. And that’s how I became an impromptu wedding guest.
The wedding was a weird experience. Cast amidst a sandstorm, we could barely hear the vows. The ceremony lasted five minutes, and then the festive dinner started right after. Lasagna, gelato — the table was full of good things.
The Dip #3.
And then, the next dip happened to me.
Everyone at the table was like, “Come on, little bunny, get some more!”
So I ate a bit too much. Then, I expanded and started painfully feeling the shibari on my body. It got so tight that I almost passed out.
It was yet another windy/rainy night and after the wedding, and I had to slowly head home to Hoverlandia. I danced here and there on the way, although it wasn’t easy. With no alcohol in my veins, I felt the cold on my skin more than ever before. Dancing wasn’t even that pleasant.
Plus, I saw all these young, beautiful, wealthy people enjoying themselves on the dance floor, and it was one of those moments when you think about all the things you don’t have in your life.
The rain caught me literally two blocks away from the camping. It started raining cats and dogs, and so I found shelter in the nearby camp, The Raccoons. The couch I sat on was out in the open, but they had some shade and gave me a blanket. It kept raining until morning, so I spent the night out in the cold. I was suffering from tight shibari and waking up time after time.
I felt very, very down that night.
The Highlight #3.
Eventually, on Friday morning, sunshine came back and lit us all up. The weather was perfect again, and I managed to somewhat regain a good mood, despite all that had happened before.
I walked around a lot again and covered a long distance that day. Eventually, I went to see the Titanic’s burn. A friend of mine was in that camp and wanted me to come see their show.
The show was spectacular indeed; however, it took the whole Friday evening to wait for it. I was there at 8 pm, and eventually, they put the thing on fire at 11:30 pm. That made me miss some other interesting events. I thought to myself: you should never wait for anything at the Playa.
What Is Fusion Dancing Like at Burning Man?
After sitting and waiting for so long, I was in the mood to party. Luckily, while just passing next to central camp, I encountered a fusion dance party at the Partner Dance Adventures camp. And that was just great — people danced for the fun of it, with no hidden intentions and no hidden agenda. Strangers gave me a lot of praise that night, telling me they don’t believe I’m a beginner. It was my first fusion dance ever, so that felt really flattering.
Why do we often forget about solutions to problems that we already know and enjoy? Dancing was always a medicine for all kinds of problems to me. And yet, I don’t dance all that much in daily life. According to a 2024 meta-analysis in Sports Medicine, structured dance eases depression and anxiety as well as other exercise does.
People at the dance floor told me about West Coast swing as well. “Try it. You have the vibe of a West Coast swing dancer already.” And so I made a resolution to try it as soon as I come back to San Francisco.
That was a fantastic night. “I need more of this” — I thought to myself, and so I spent the whole Saturday dancing, from dawn to dusk.
And then, I attended the burn. Spectacular!
Which Camps Are Worth a Night Walk on the Esplanade?
Then, late at night, I decided not to go to sleep but to meet as many interesting people as possible. In previous years, I overslept way too many parties; this time around, I took the resolution to party hard for as long as the weather allowed me to.
And so I walked up and down the Esplanade visiting multiple camps just to have a conversation. I was amazed by the personalities I met at multiple of these camps, especially at Lamplighters. So many interesting people in one place! I know it sounds trivial when you talk about Burning Man — “interesting people” is an obvious outcome.
Sunday was pleasant too; it was sunny and peaceful as most Burners were already packing on that day. Unfortunately, I left some of the camps on “my list” for Sunday, and so I was simply too late: when I arrived, they were already closed to visitors. Well, that’s a lesson for the future.
I also visited the Magic Lantern Society on that day — it’s friends whom I camped with four years ago at my first Burn ever. Every Burn, they organize a little party on Sunday, and it was the same this time around: they organized an amazing variety show with kinky, quirky, and a little stinky humor — I loved it. What a talent!
Then, we all went to the temple burn in a group. The temple burn was also spectacular — somber as always, but majestic and thought-provoking.
Why Is El Pulpo Magnifico My Favorite Art Car?
Right after the burn, I took a friend with me, and we started chasing after El Pulpo, my favorite art car of all time, who watched the burn together with the crowd and then drove back toward the Esplanade.
Not only did we find it, but we could take a seat in the lodge at the back (it can squeeze up to three people), and we enjoyed a full-fledged concert from those seats. In other words, this time around I didn’t just see or touch it — I sat on it! That was hot, literally and figuratively.
You know, the more time I spend admiring El Pulpo, the more I can understand why some people have atypical sexual preferences that involve cars and other machines. I thought to myself, “And here we are! We’ve just touched second base.”
It’s one of a kind, truly. And, el Pulpo Magnifico es romantico — while looking at this thing, you might think it must play Metallica and such, while it plays Latino music instead.
That night was special indeed. And I finally got a shot to try my luck dancing with fire as well. I loved it; fire in the dark looks beautiful, and it’s not nearly as dangerous as one might think. Playing with it is almost meditative; I should do more of it.
Conclusions / Lessons / Discoveries.
Let me share a number of remarks, lessons, conclusions, and personal discoveries from the Playa this year.
1. If you enjoy making love in a sandstorm, this was your year.
A little dirt hasn’t yet killed anyone. And perhaps we all need a little dirt sometimes — Well, I’m talking us, the Tyler Durdens of the world.
2. I noticed that some camps cross and collaborate.
For instance, El Pulpo & Thunderdome hosted an event together, where El Pulpo was playing and blasting fire, accompanying the Thunderdome crew during their event: air fights using two giant cranes. That was pure Mad Max vibes, I must admit.
There are other befriended camps like Spanky’s Wine Bar and the Orgy Dome, which were neighbors this year (what a quarter!).
Anyways, it’s interesting to dig deeper into Burning Man’s folklore and discover the next layer of the onion.
3. As mentioned before, you don’t wait for anything at the Playa.
I lost some time waiting for Titanic’s burn. It was like a domino effect — it made me late for two other events.
4. You always need a buffer.
The weather is moody here; you have a plan to conquer the Playa for 7 days? Make sure you can squeeze it in 4 days, as the weather might stop you any moment.
The next time I’m here, I’ll put up my tent and run straight to the camps that I care about most without waiting for anything.
5. Consent at Burning Man can take hilarious forms.
Can I kiss your ear? Can I kiss your neck? May I touch your left arm? Can I touch your right arm? There is no “skip all approvals” version.
Unfortunately, as mentioned above, nonconsensual things also happen. But most of the time, people would rather be safe than sorry.
6. Pashmina scarf does wonders.
I brought my pashmina scarf to the Playa. I was hesitant at first as it’s a good scarf and I was afraid to lose it, but eventually it was a really good choice. Pashmina is a material that’s both cooling and warming depending on the conditions—it cooled me down on hot days and warmed me up on cold nights. It’s priceless to have a shawl like that with you.
7. Do you want to have friends everywhere at the Playa?
Tell every camp they are the best camp. Is this a little Machiavellian? Yes.
8. You can find all kinds of exotic practices on the Playa.
Out of curiosity, I took part in some popular orgasmic meditation workshop at Naked Heart. The tent was huge and full of people, and the lecturer literally taught us how to stroke a clitoris to induce an “orgasmic wave” (claiming that it has nothing to do with sex).
He used a volunteer participant to show the technique, and we all stared at her clitoris, observing what happened to her body and face while she received this treatment. She started laughing like crazy and kept on laughing for fifteen minutes straight. Now that was interesting.
I think this was one of those things that’s perfectly normal at the Playa and would be ridiculous (or even illegal) anywhere else.
9. The sky here gives me Studio Ghibli vibes.
After coming back from the Playa, I realized that at least half of my photos are photos of the sky and the clouds. It’s so beautiful out there, especially around the golden hour at 7 pm…
10. Next time, I will be more pushy.
Due to the sandstorm, I had to skip the famous white party in the Opulent Temple or the annual Bunnies versus Carrots. Next time, I need to make sure I always have the mask and goggles with me. I will attend no matter what.
11. Ancient Greeks believed any stranger can be a god.
That’s certainly true here; any stranger can turn out to be an extraordinary person. Like my neighbor: the guy in the nearest RV who helped me charge my phone. It turned out that he is a kung fu master making Hollywood movies with Jackie Chan.
I was really happy about meeting him… until he got obnoxiously drunk at the dance floor and started beating up every guy I danced with, claiming that “they just want to sleep with me.” Of course, they threw us out of that club.
12. Fire makes me go on fire.
I figured that fire in the dark evokes some wilderness in me. I should do more of that in daily life.
13. Cold resilience while sober.
If you thought that being sober is cool, you are totally right. You feel itching cold on your skin every night and barely sleep. Alcohol helps you cope with temperatures and rain much better. I will remember this Burn as freezing cold.
14. It pays to smell well at the Playa.
Many people approached me to praise me for smelling well. So it seems that most people don’t care anymore once away in the desert. I do care (something learned at the family home).
15. Hoverlandia is full of serial hoverlanders.
One thing I also learned for next year: the first thing you should do after arriving at Hoverlandia is walk around and see if you find friends by any chance.
The thing is: there is a whole large group of people who prefer staying in Hoverlandia over staying in camps. On my last day, I discovered that many of the people I met the previous year were there again. “Dammit!” — I thought to myself. “I should have checked that earlier!”
16. The post-Burning Man experience is getting increasingly hard to bear.
Burning Man is a hard experience, but what is much harder for me is the time after Burning Man. When you’re a bootstrapping solopreneur, the amount of work you have to catch up with after coming back is just extraordinary. And that’s while being swollen and sunburned and having plenty of micro-wounds on your body.
This year I had substantially more on my plate than four years ago. Back then, I attended the festival for the first time. And when I think about my future burns, I already feel that anxiety of losing clients, projects, and all kinds of opportunities.
17. Is Burning Man dying?
Don’t listen to the press that announces the death of the festival every year.
Yes, the attendance was visibly lower this year (~10,000 fewer people than last year), and the average age of Burners goes up, but the festival is not going anywhere.
The truth is, Elon Musk’s brother is on the board. There are too many wealthy people who consider Burning Man life-changing. They will never let it die, even if the festival were losing money year by year.
Plus, Burning Man has its hardcore fans who will come back every year no matter what. Perhaps I’m one of them.
So, Was It a Good Burn After All?
I think it was, even though it hurt. I made huge personal progress and didn’t break my commitments. I didn’t avoid alcohol entirely, i.e., I had a glass of champagne at the wedding and a glass of wine at Vines without Borders. But overall, I didn’t drink the way I used to in previous years; I didn’t drink any coffee either, and I can be overly proud of myself.
So yes, it was a hard year — but I want to live for real, not just pretend. And I felt really, really alive. And Burning Man always leaves an aftertaste. You just need to wait and see how the experience will change you in the long-term. I will look back at it next year, and only then will I be able to tell if all the pain was worth it (although I bet it was).
See you there, perhaps!
Please cite as:
Bielczyk, N. (2026, September 22nd). Let it be Thunder. Burning Man 2026. Retrieved from: https://nataliabielczyk.com/burning-man-2026/
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