Lost People
Every year people go to the gathering and their loved ones worry. Just a reminder, there usually is no cell phone reception at the gathering. This year, there were a couple of places on the road where Verizon and Creedo could get out sometimes but not all the time. If you haven't heard from your friends and/or family since they went into the gathering, odds are they are still in the meadow and can't call you. The other usual event is that the person decided to go on the rainbow trail for a while and didn't feel like letting you know. Either way, it's generally safer for people to stay inside the gathering, then to run the cop gauntlet to make a phone call. Most people usually surface by July 15th as the clean up crew starts shrinking by then, but people will be on the land until at least the end of July (and on the land means no or haphazard access to telephones). If in a few days you still haven't heard,
email me and include this information:
- How old is he/she?
- Was this her/his first gathering?
- Was he/she planning to camp with any camp in particular?
- Did she/he travel to the gathering with friends who have since left the gathering?
- Did she/he have any mental and/or physical health issues?
- What kind of drugs (if any) does he/she typically use?
- Was there a specific previously agreed on plan for he/she to return home at a certain time or at least check in?
Lost Things
For those people who went to the gathering and lost something, found items are taken to Info or sometimes to the nearest kitchen so don't give up yet. If you didn't check the lost and found items and Information, your stuff may be there. Even if you did, many items are discovered during cleanup. At the end of cleanup, all the valuable lost and found items will be taken out of the gathering site. To try to get reconnected with your stuff, at the end of July call
the Northwest Tribes Lightline @ (503) 727-2498. Leave your name, phone # and a brief description of what you lost. Someone will call you back if your or similar items are there. Keep in mind, lost and found at this level is for things like wallets, cameras, expensive gear. We don't try to reunite people with lost t-shirts, bliss wear, etc.
Lost Animals
For those people who left without all the animals they brought, please go back to the site and retrieve your pets. If you don't, folks on the land will find a home for your pet. We never leave any pets behind. Every pet will leave the gathering with a human companion ~ hopefully the one they came with. If you can't go back yourself, try to connect up with a friend in the area to retrieve your pet.
Just a reminder, pets on leashes don't get lost as often as those not on a leash.
Thanks Karin... I had a great time when I was home, only problem was that I lost my backpack that had all my meds in it. I will try calling the lightline in a week or so. I last saw it at montana kitchen on the back road when we were loading out..between there and the road... I wish we could have met, I would have liked to get to know you...Taree
ReplyDeleteThanks Karin for the info. I, too, have been "freaking out" because I have not heard from my son since June 28th as he was traveling in to the Rainbow Camp. He usually contacts us every couple of days to let us know how he is doing while he is on the road. If I don't hear anything by the 15th I will contact you. It is just like Maty to stay and help with the clean-up so I am trying not to worry.
ReplyDeleteGood choice Mom or Dad. Know that it's likely he's in the woods, out of cell phone reach. It's a gauntlet to get to town to use a cell phone...miles of hiking, followed by the "law enforcement" booby traps, so on and so forth. He's likely wandering around the woods with some really great people, looking for accidentally dropped candy wrappers and twist ties, eating lots of really good food, and making great friends. He'll call as soon as he can! Blessings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the not worrying about your son thing. Getting out of the Gathering and back into the gathering to go into town and make a phone call can be an ALL DAY AFFAIR. You have to hike really far to parking, find someone going into town, get a ride from them, drive a loooong way, and often hope to find a different ride back into the Gathering (which is rare at this date because of the huge amount of people just leaving.) So most folks don't catch a ride unless it's coming back, and most folks who are staying for clean up, are cleaning, and not running into town for supplies. They are often well supplied because the kitchens leave their leftover food for the cleanup crew. So, hang tight, and don't worry.
ReplyDeleteAnd honestly... it's hard to leave the Gathering because it's just so freakin' FUN!!!
ReplyDeleteI was just up to the meadows and saw 3 cats that had been left behind, a fourth one died before finding help, and we saw a dog that has been trying to survive on his own. Two of the cats are in the care of a man named Ray for now, who is being harassed by the forest rangers because he is still camped up there. I brought the third cat home, but we could not find the dog after seeing him from a distance. I am horribly disappointed in the owners of these pets! The snow will be coming soon and usually that area gets about 10 feet, these animals are not going to make it and Ray has no way to get them out. I appealed to the rangers to try to get help but it didn't look promising. Ray's camp is the first dirt road after the 151 road that everyone took to get out to the meadows. I hope someone has the heart to go help him.
ReplyDeleteWe have some folks going back up to the site at the end of September for other reasons. If Ray is still up there with animals, I'm sure someone can help him out. I'll pass the word.
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