Rainbow Gathering and Exploring Oregon (Minus Portland)

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2011 Rainbow Gathering:

Part of the joy of traveling is exploring different cultures and ways of life. Well, you don't necessarily need to go far from home to explore different subcultures. This brings me to my first domestic blog entry, part cultural exploration and part travel.
I have heard about Rainbow Gathering for many years. Two friends of mine from Europe went in 1998.
What I knew, or thought I knew, was rather limited - that it is a giant hippie festival that takes place in a different national forest during the first week of July every year. Attendance is estimated at 30,000 to 40,000 people.
This year, 2011, the venue selected was the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in southern Washington State. Just a few miles from Mt. St. Helens, the volcano that famously erupted in 1980.
Since I love the Northwest, and had no plans for the long 4th of July weekend, I decided to check it out. I figured I would go for a couple days to the Gathering, and then spend time in Oregon on my way back.
But first, I wanted someone to share the long drive up with me. None of my friends were going, so I posted an ad on Craigslist. I ended up driving up with a 26 year old single Mom and her 7 year old daughter. They were very much hippies - back to the Earth anti-establishment types - squatting on land in Hawaii.
It took almost two whole days of driving to get there. Leaving from the Bay Area, stopping in Eugene, Oregon for the night.
It was an hour+ drive in the forest to get to the Rainbow site. Then a struggle to find parking and another long hike from the car to the trail leading to the event.
By the way, tree huggers take note: After driving through the vast and neverending forests (many of them protected national forests) of Oregon and Washington, I can assure you we are in no danger of running out of trees.
My only other experience with a large festival where people stay overnight is Burning Man, which I have been to three times. I figured this was a low-tech Burning Man for poor people. (Burning Man has a lot of art and art cars, which are not cheap to produce; it's also about $300 for a ticket).

My initial impression was that the location was beautiful. In this large forest, with a river, a pond, meadows, a marsh, some interesting plants and flowers. They definitely selected a great spot.

Upon arrival, people greet you by saying "Welcome home" and "We love you". One of the first things I noticed was there were a lot of dogs. There were also a lot of kids, but more dogs than kids.
Almost everyone with nose rings and/or dreadlocks. Guys often with long hair, and women not uncommonly with shaved heads. People with feathers, bandanas, funky hats in their hair.
People wearing rags and torn clothing. You could broadly seperate the attendants into two groups - the neo-punk, anarchist types, often dressed in rags, with safety pins in their clothes, favoring noserings and colored hair. You can see these types hanging out in the Haight district in San Francisco or on Telegraph in Berkeley, often with dogs. Then there were the neo-hippies. They often wear tie dye, men tend to have long hair, women often have dreadlocks. The first group tends to be more aggressive, the second a lot more laid back. What these two groups have in common appears to be basically two things - a love of marijuana AKA pot AKA weed; and antipathy for the "establishment" - a strong anti-institutional, anti-capitalist creed; a distrust and disdain of government and authority.

Walking around, I took in drum circles, music circles, and OM (a Buddhist prayer) chanting group hugs. There were many communal kitchens. Not surprisingly, most seemed to be serving vegan or vegetarian food. There was lots of free food. I was afraid to eat most of it, as I heard stories that some might be laced with drugs. Plus raw, vegan food is not really my scene. I did have one good slice of pizza though. Like Burning Man, there is no money. Some free stuff (mostly food and weed) is just given away, and some bartering take place. Sometimes people walk up to you and randomly ask "pocket trade?". That means they will trade what's in their pocket for what's in yours, without seeing it in advance.
There is officially no alcohol, though I saw some people drink, but lots and lots of weed. They could call it the Weed Festival, and no one would know the difference.
Trying to picture the Rainbow Gathering without weed is like trying to imagine an aquarium without water.
I also witnessed a sweat lodge - where they heat up volcanic rocks in a fire, and go into a small tent and pour water on them to create steam and pray. "It's like going back into Mother Earth's womb" is how one participant described it to me. Native American tradition. Everyone took off their clothes and went in. They called it a purification ceremony.
I noticed that people were either talking endlessly about weed - different ways to smoke it, different kinds, etc. Or about how to solve the world's problems - mostly Communist tree hugging stuff. "We need to get back to living in harmony with nature".

Some things I overheard at the Gathering:
"I heard the shroom shakes are good"
"I'm so glad I'm a hippie"
"I've been dealing drugs since I was 7 years old. Nothing wrong with that"
"I feel like I am having an eternal moment right now"

I felt like an impostor or even a spy, since I don't agree with these people about anything. I don't want to go back to living in nature - I want to appreciate it from the comfort of my car or a hotel window. I don't smoke weed. I DO eat meat, including fast food. I embrace capitalism. I don't think all big corporations are evil. I like the American way of life that they rail against. I worried about getting discovered. Even my mainstream clothing - slacks and a polo shirt by day, hooded sweatshirt with a brand name across it by night - was a giveaway in this place. Should have gotten some tie dye. To make sure no one caught on to me, I decided to mostly keep quiet. This was pretty easy to do, as almost no one was having any real conversations. People didn't ask normal things like "where are you from?", "what do you do?", "how do you like this place?", or even "Hi. How are you?". Not of me and not of each other. They were mostly making statements or monologues. It was really bizarre. What we consider a normal conversation would have felt strange and out of place there.
I brought a sleeping bag, but no tent with me. I figured I would find people to camp with or something. There were a couple tents that took in people without tents, one of them called the "Cuddle Puddle". But even with a map, in the vastness of the site and its many trails, I never found it. I did find a bonfire and sat there.
There were over a dozen people sitting around the campfire when I arrived, passing around joints and weed pipes, and not engaging in anything remotely resembling a conversation.
Rather, each was making statements at the same time as others. Here it is, as best as I can remember it. Again, keep in mind these were simultaneous, no one responding or acknowledging anyone else.
Person 1: "I need to manifest an apple". Yelling (sometime after 2 AM): "Does anyone have an apple? I need an apple here! Apple! Apple!"
Person 2: " I love when there is so much residue in the pipe, you can just get high with nothing in it"
Person 3: "We need to get rid of the nation state, and limit everyone to one child"
Person 4: "Some people make me feel heavy, and some people make me feel light. My ex-boyfriend made me feel heavy. That's why I didn't like him touching me".

This was definitely one of the most bizarre situations I've ever been in. A bunch of stoned people basically talking to themselves. The fact they think they have the solutions to the world's problems is like having a drunk homeless guy tell you he's got it all figured out. These people hardly have their own sh*t figured out. I didn't want to be there, but I didn't want to leave, because it was the middle of the night, and I needed the warmth of the fire. As the pipe made its way around, I didn't want to blow my cover, so I pretended to inhale. Seeing that I didn't even know how to pretend to smoke the pipe, the guy next to me asked if I ever smoked pot before. I asked how old he was. 20. "Yeah, I smoked pot before you were born". And most the people there were in their 20's.
I opened my sleeping bag and lay inside. A dog kept coming over and licking my face. Anyone who knows me knows that I don't usually even pet dogs. Getting licked in the face by a dog is something that would normally freak me out. But in this madhouse, it was hardly the most disturbing thing. Another dog came and sat on my sleeping bag and wouldn't move, so I couldn't fully stretch out.
I knew then that I would leave in the morning. After the sun came up and I got ready to leave the bonfire, I decided to give away my sleeping bag. It was dirty and I didn't feel like hiking with it plus the backpack. But also, I just figured it would be a nice gesture to give something back. I asked if anyone wanted it. One guy said yes, took it, and didn't even thank me. I guess manners aren't part of the hippie creed. Neither are modern conveniences like toilets. They don't even have portable ones at the Gathering, just holes in the ground for you to do your business in. Yup, nothing like going back to nature.

I lasted 15 hours at Rainbow Gathering. The Rainbow people refer to the Gathering as home, and to the outside world as Babylon, evil and corrupt in their minds. Well, I very much prefer Babylon. After less than a day at Rainbow, I couldn't wait to get in my car, go eat at a restaurant, check into a motel with indoor plumbing and electricity, have a nice long shower, lie on a bed and watch a little TV and play on my iPhone (did I mention no cell signal in the forest?). You hippies can stay in the woods for all I care, getting stoned and talking to yourselves. I love my modern, capitalist, technological civilization. I love my Babylon now, even more than I did a few days ago.


OREGON:

I hadn't been to Oregon in about 15 years, with one exception: A few months ago, I flew with 4 friends to Seattle for my birthday weekend. We decided to spend one day in Seattle and one day in Portland. We loved Seattle. It was vibrant, interesting, artistic, energetic, alive. There were great neighborhoods with outdoor art, hip cafes, beautiful architecture, unusual bars, a famous music scene, great restaurants. We didn't want to leave. Then we got to Portland. We found it dull, lifeless, the people seemed to have much less energy. The city itself was not as beautiful. We went to all the places recommended in the guidebooks as well as online and by people who had lived there. Most were deserted or had a very low energy level. The only place people seemed excited about, and where we actually saw a lot of people, is waiting hours in line for a donut from a place called "Voodoo Donuts".
The five of us, who rarely unanimously agree on anything, all agreed that Portland sucks.
But though I was not enamored with its biggest city - its only big city, I did rememeber Oregon as being an otherwise beautiful state.
I decided that for the two days I had in Oregon, my priorities would be to see as much of the coast as possible, as well as Crater Lake.
I began in Astoria, the northernmost town on the Oregon Coast, where the Columbia River (the border between Oregon and Washington) meets the Pacific Ocean. Astoria was also where the movies "The Goonies", "Kindergarten Cop", "Free Willy", and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III", among others, were filmed (thank you Wikipedia). Being the largest town in the area, it felt much bigger than its official population of only 10,000.
I continued down the coast to places like whose names I am already starting to forget, but all of them gorgeous. Rockaway Beach was having a 4th of July parade. Cute little town. The views from the hilltop of the beach below were breathtaking. There were also the "Three Coves", which required a detour from 101. 101 goes along the coast for the most part. Many of the beaches in Northern Oregon have rocks near the shore. Sometimes just one big rock, sometime several rocks, sometimes arches.
There are also many rivers along the way, forests, meadows, even waterfalls. Occasionally a deer would be grazing near the road or in the hills.
Passed by Tillamook, famous for its cheese factory, and an oyster shucking plant. Unfortunately, being 4th of July, both were closed.
After many stops to take in so many amazing views of all sorts of beaches - you would think it would get redundant, but it didn't; every beach, and every view, was different and unique - I arrived in the town of Newport. It was around 7 PM. I got up early and spent all day on the road, and never stopped for that long (except lunch), but still only managed to cover about 1/3 of the Oregon Coast.
Knowing I wanted to be home the following night, and that I wanted to see Crater Lake before leaving Oregon, I somewhat reluctantly left the coast and headed inland.

Driving up to Crater Lake the next morning, I was surprised at all the snow. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, by average depth the third deepest in the world, and Oregon's only national park. On the way in, the park ranger told me half the ring road going around the lake was closed due to snow. In July! So, unfortunately, I couldn't drive all around the lake. But I can't imagine the views getting any better than the ones you see here.
Greenish blue waters, an island in the middle, snow and forests around it. It really is one of the most spectacular lakes I have ever seen.
On my 8 hour drive home, I stopped in the small town of Ashland. Famous for its Shakespeare Festival, which actually takes place during most of the year (I was under the mistaken impression that it was only during the summer), it is also a charming and pictueresque town located in the mountains. Of all the places I saw in Oregon, if I had to choose a place to live, Ashland would definitely be at or near the top of the list. Small but cosmopolitan. Touristy, yes, but it's nice to be somewhere so international and open. Definitely can't say that about some of the towns I went through in rural Oregon.
Ashland is very close to the border, so before I knew it I was back in California.
Oregon is a beautiful state. If you like coastal scenery, lakes, forests and charming little towns, you will love it.

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Comments

[Safee]

Also check this out:
http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-27355-rainbow_gathering_in_washington_was_a_bum_trip_for_some.html

[Zaw ni Zaw]

yangon
the nature pics were awesome, but hippie gatherings would not agree with the author was fore see able, loved the whole bit...like as if I was there myself...in all quite an enjoyable experience, and i love dogs..... as I cannot do it myself, reading and seeing pictures of another person's experience is like an adventure for me....

[Erica]

SAN JOSE
Thank you Jason, those photos are inspirational! Great story.