As many as 10,000 self-described hippies are expected to camp, party and pray for world peace this weekend at the 50th anniversary of the Rainbow Family of Living Light. The leaderless group meets annually to camp out on public land, with this year’s event in Colorado’s remote Routt National Forest. The Rainbow Family was founded in part by veterans in 1972 who were struggling with alcoholism, drug dependence and what’s now recognized as PTSD. Barry “Plunker” Adams, 77, is among the group’s founders who said he needed a new way of coping after the Vietnam War. For generations, the group has clashed with law enforcement over drug use, sanitation and damage to the forests. Normally, the Forest Service requires large groups to get a permit but the Rainbows decline to participate in that process, citing their First Amendment right to gather without government approval. “We do it in peace and try not to harm the Earth, and everyone gets to feel their individual sovereignty,” he said. “We’re not perfect. We’re just people.” Photos by Trevor Hughes @hughesofthenews