Recreational pilots in small planes have flown in and had parties on the playa. A film crew constructed a giant pterodactyl and filmed it swooping over the Racetrack. Military jets, which use that side of Death Valley for practicing maneuvers, dip low over the flat expanse. People like to walk barefoot in the mud, squish it between their toes. Unfortunately, just like the rocks' trails, people's footprints can last for years.
Golfers whack golf balls across the playa.
And there's the 'Let's help nature along' sideshow. Groups of people love to put rocks out there. Dillenges shakes his head in amazement. But they don't know much about how the Racetrack works because they put 'em out by the Grandstand. They drag them, leaving a little scrape mark that doesn't look anything like a rock trail.