The first time I laid eyes on the Ochoco National Forest at Indian Prairie was in mid June of 1997. I traveled by motor home when a man I lovingly refer to as "Luke Skywalker" (passed away two years ago)after hitch hiking with my partner Cephas, known in Rainbow circles as "Raven". We set out to attend a Mountain Man rendezvous leaving our mountain camp in Utah. Information passed on by strangers told us to head into Idaho then westward to find one of these gatherings.
In Salt Lake City, we encountered a young man named Seth, who was searching for a better life than the streets could offer. We urged him to first call his mother to share his whereabouts and his intent to travel with us. Seth was 16. Being a mother myself, I know what its like to have a teenager run away so I did not want Seth's mother to worry. Seth's mother was happy to receive a call and sent him on his journey with her blessings.
A long trek ensued with three of us backpacking and hitch-hiking with three large back packs filled with supplies, food stuffs, and wild medicinal plants that we had been harvesting in the Utah mountains. It was our hope to trade these medicines at the Mountain Man Rendezvous and possibly teach some wilderness medicine. After several nights of getting small rides, walking a lot and exploring the areas where we tred, Seth, Raven and I decided to hold up at a small park in northern Utah in an outlying area of town. It was not the wilderness, but close enough. Here we rested two days.
Knowing that we needed to continue our journey, we set off again heading north into Idaho. Rides were short and far in between. Some of our days were almost fully spent hiking the highways and biways of Idaho or sitting along the roadside with our thumbs out. Food became short, so we used our wilderness knowledge and foraged on the plant life growing around us.
A pack of wild burros offered some enjoyable hours as we veered westward across southern Idaho. It was the first time I had seen a herd of wild burros. Raven really got into petting the creatures and talking to them. I enjoyed watching this unique exchange.
When we began to think we would never find a Mountain Man Rendezvous, or a ride for that matter, along came a motorhome already half filled with people. Luke was driving. He pulled over on I 84 to and yelled, "Need a ride?!" Of course, we said "yes" and piled in. Luke later told us that the Spirit told him to pick us up and take us to the Rainbow Gathering. That marked the first moment that we had met our destiny.
more on this story to follow.
