Cleanup at Rainbow’s end

GIFFORD PINCHOT NATIONAL FOREST, Wash. – With a rolled-up lavender yoga mat in her left hand and a can of cold chili in her right, Kalea “Cake” Holden departed the forest she called home the past week.

If not for the need to make money and a desire to attend the upcoming Oregon Country Fair, the 18-year-old Seattle resident said Thursday morning she could have stayed at the Rainbow Family Gathering in Skookum Meadows “forever.”

“Just because we’re leaving the forest doesn’t mean we’re leaving the circle,” she assured after eating a scoop of cold chili. “We’ll bring the magic with us.”

Bearing their scant camping supplies and abundant warm memories, Holden and thousands of other Rainbow Family participants left Gifford Pinchot National Forest on Thursday, the Rainbow Family Gathering’s final day.

Forest officials estimated 20,000 attended the seven-day event. The vast majority left before Thursday, officials said.

The Rainbow Family Gathering started in 1972. The nonprofit organization does not have official leaders or members. People from across America and Canada journeyed to Washington to celebrate nature, pray for peace and enjoy the harmonious vibes at the event.

Several hundred campers will remain behind to clean the Skookum Meadows area where the Rainbow Family gathered. They will fill in trenches used for latrines, plant flowers, reseed grass and remove trash.

Dozens of black trash bags rested atop one another near the camp’s entrance. The bags would be hauled to a local dump, campers said.

The cleanup process will take about a month, campers estimated. Forest officials are taking a “wait and see” approach to the cleanup, said Ken Sandusky, a spokesman with Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Skamania County sheriff’s officials said the limited parking space near the campgrounds led to quite a few collisions during the weeklong event.