Counter-culture types will be dropping out somewhere
in Wyoming this July when the 22nd Rainbow Gathering convenes. From
10,000 to 25,000 people are expected to come from across the
country to one of Wyoming’s five national forests. Rolling Stone
magazine reports that last year’s gathering drew about 10,000
people to a national forest in Alabama. Things were calm except for
16 arrests, most for public drunkenness or women going topless. Two
years ago, the group met near Paonia, Colo., home of High Country
News, and the 15,000 participants almost doubled the county’s
population (HCN, 8/10/92). Town merchants reported some shoplifting
and public urination, but more locals were arrested than Rainbows
and many residents resented the heavy hand of state police. Some
Pinedale, Wyo., residents oppose a gathering on the nearby
Bridger-Teton National Forest. But the Pinedale Roundup has
reminded townspeople that the “60s hippies and younger followers
are also consumers. The paper recently printed a list of articles
the Rainbows commonly buy. Dennis Neill, the Forest Service’s
liaison to the Rainbows for the last two gatherings, also assured
townspeople that the group has a reputation for cleaning up public
land after a gathering ends. “It will be different,” he said. “It
will be an adventure, but it’s certainly not Armageddon.”
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Rainbows over Wyoming.
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