One woman pushed her gear and supplies to the camp in a baby carriage.

'Family reunion'

Lilasara, a delicate woman with a parasol, journeyed to Utah from San Diego with her 12-year-old son, Josiah. The boy has been to "all but one" of the annual gatherings since he was born, she said.

"It's like a family reunion that we come to every year," she said.

Besides the parasol, they were protecting themselves from the fierce sunlight by staying in the shade. "We're covered with mosquito repellent," Lilasara added. "We are prepared. We feed ourselves. We take care of ourselves."

A 19-year-old woman from Russelville, Ark., was making her first trip to a Rainbow gathering.

What's interesting about the event? "Oh, man, just things like this," she said, while one friend played drums and another prepared to strum his guitar. "I mean, this is what's going on the entire time."

She said she has met all sorts of new people, learning lessons and hearing stories. She is happy about "not having to worry about Babylon's problems out here, because this is a world to itself."

Brian, her guitar-playing friend, sported impressive dreadlocks. He said he is enjoying "the beauty that Ja (Rastafarian for God) has provided us."

On his guitar were stickers announcing "Bush lies" and "Question authority," along with a picture of the late Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie.

The gatherings are a time to "get all the kids together and, like, share things, love and care for each other," Brian said. "You know, just have fun."

Megan Bracken, a 27-year-old graphics designer from Utah, said the gathering is teaching her not to be so self-sufficient.

"It's hard for me, because I don't know how to ask for what I want," she said. "So I'm spending a week here learning how to ask for what I need, what I want, what I think I deserve."

"Lovin' you guys," said a girl as she left the group. "Lovin' you," responded a young woman.

Protecting the forest

Bernard Asay of Wasatch National Forest's Evanston District and two other Forest Service officials inspected streams through the meadow, checking to see if the Rainbow campers were protecting the aquatic resource.

"A lot of them are real careful about it, but there's a lot of folks here that just don't know," he said. "And it's kind of a constant job of education."

Once people know about protecting the trout, they're almost always willing to move their camps or take other action to protect the fish. They have built small log bridges at points suggested by the service and posted signs about protecting the streams.