Thousands head to Burning Man for week-long festival

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- This weekend tens of thousands of people will descend upon the desert for the Burning Man festival.

The event started in 1986 and has grown into a Mecca for art and creative expression and it's also become a magnet for the Silicon Valley elite.

Good writing means never having to say you just had to be there, but with Burning Man, veterans say no amount of words, pictures, or videos can do the event justice.

A seven-time burner, Nick Fynn first journeyed to the desert in 1997.

"The first time we were sleeping in the trunk of a car with no shade structure," Fynn said.

By contrast, Friday ABC7 News reporter Tiffany Wilson toured a 42-foot luxury RV a Silicon Valley executive rented for the week.

"It's a full kitchen with a gas stove and a dish washer," said Curt Chandler, San Francisco Private RVs CEO.

Chandler will drive it out, set it up and wait for the mystery man to helicopter in.

The RV is equipped with a TV and a king sized bed and costs $20,000 for the week.

Jade Rauerzahn sent a tweet about the RV saying "This is the ultimate representation of the destruction of the authenticity of Burning Man."

But Fynn staunchly defends the tech burners.

"Everybody's going to be able to criticize the way others experience Burning Man, but remember it's about how you do it," Fynn said.

Fynn went even further and said a lot of techies gain success because of the networking and ideas exchanged at Burning Man.

Sean Cusack of Sheet Metal Alchemists is living proof.

The sculptor founded his company after attending the event. Burning Man is a pretty good testing ground.

Despite a backlash against tech taking luxury to the desert, the first principal of Burning Man is radical inclusion.

"Anyone may be a part of Burning Man."

Even those who can afford to attend in a $400,000 RV.