Imagine 2,000 naked hippies smoking weed and tripping on acid and magic mushrooms at a place called Freak Mountain. The year was 1973 and it actually happened right here in Wyoming.

Legendary author Bill Sniffin recently recounted the infamous event he covered as a young reporter. A nudist commune called the Rainbow Family of Living Light had selected a basin in the Wind River Mountains near Lander as the location for their annual convention which drew hippies from around the country. After a dispute with tribal leaders on the Wind River Reservation, the commune agreed to move their event to the aptly named Freak Mountain.

When the horde of hippies arrived, Park Rangers in the Shoshone National Forest had two challenges: protecting the nudist colony from the locals who didn't want them there and encouraging the self-proclaimed naturalists to use sunscreen.

"We only had 2,000 of the most peaceful folks you would ever hope to see. Most were dressed like hippies and as soon as the famous Wyoming sun came up, off came their clothes," Sniffin recalled in his syndicated My Wyoming column. "Each morning and each evening the hippies would gather in a big circle and do some kind of chanting and nature prayers. At least one actual rainbow did appear and it caused a sensation."

Sniffin insists that he didn't take any drugs during the week-long event. That's his story and he's sticking to it.

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