A playa is a dry lake... dry sometimes, sometimes not so dry!
The interesting part of this for me is that the Applegate Trail crosses this playa just a few miles east of the Festival.
What is the Applegate Trail you ask?
The Applegate Trail is an alternate route of the Oregon Trail that doesn’t cross the Snake river or require you to raft down the Columbia river - both of which were quite hazardous.
This alternate branches south on the California Trail just west of Pocatello Idaho. You then follow the California Trail southwest to Imlay NV where you turn west then northwest (crossing the Playa), then north for awhile and finally west out of Nevada into northern California. It crosses northern California nearly to I5 where it runs north along the current I5 corridor.
It wasn’t an easy route with challenges like the Playa and mountains along the way - but it was safer than the rivers.
I came east of of Susanville on my motorcycle one time onto the res before turning south on the access road that leads to Gerlach. If I had realized I was that close to the Burning Man site I would have gone and checked it out - off season of course!
My great great grandfather went to the California gold rush, so it was likely that he took the California Trail to get there.
Hey, thanks for the info! I had no idea. A new word to add to my vocabulary.