Tag Archives: 81st Green River Rendezvous

The Itch

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Itches, we’ve all had them. They can be little tiny ones that barely register as an itch. Or great big huge ones that take over your whole life for a moment, or somewhere in between. If you’ve ever had one of those plaster casts they used to use in the last century when you busted your whatever, you probably have a good idea what an itch is. In fact you’re probably one of those that bent a coat hanger just right so it would slide down between the cast and your affected part so you could get at it and scratch like the devil. Even though you knew you shouldna done it. You done it. Any price was reasonable when you could scratch that one place that was driving you nuts.

I think it is pretty safe to say that mountain men had their share of itches. And being the resourceful souls they were they quickly figured out how to get them scratched. Some of them had a favorite scratching stick they carried along in their possibles bag that they had whittled during non-scratching times, just in case the scratching thing came up they wouldn’t be caught flat-footed.

Other’s, the deep thinkers, the more inventive mountain men, developed special ways to get the job done. Now we’re not saying that this scratcher deliberately went out and killed this bear to satisfy his scratching needs, in fact the bear may have been in the act of doing some scratching to him as sort of a volunteer action before it was killed. If so it wasn’t a great leap to figure out that his hide would make a good scratching vehicle in times of need, but also keep him warm at night. And look awfully darn good too.

Mountain men are more than admirable figures. They had to solve a lot of life’s problems on the fly anyway they could, so if they could get the job done and look good doing it that was even better. If you went to the 81st Green River Rendezvous at Pinedale, Wyoming, there were a bunch of them there. Mountain men that is. They’re just downright cool. Ask any one of them.

81st Green River Rendezvous

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The 81st Green River Rendezvous was held in Pinedale Wyoming last July 7th thru July 10th and what a get together it was. There were Traders at Traders row that had Mountain Man paraphernalia for sale, a Midway with vendors and food sellers of all types, a parade with everybody that could fit into it that was two hours long! There was a rodeo at the rodeo grounds that was as exciting as any you could go to, and a pageant Sunday morning that told the story of the Rendezvous with local actors and horses and wagons and everyone in character and regalia from the time of the first rendezvous. Pictured above is one of the participants in the parade who was also a featured actor in the Sunday morning Pageant. This was all good stuff. Spectacular in fact.

For those of you who do not know what a rendezvous is, it was a gathering of the Mountain Men after their trapping season was finished for the year. They brought their pelts, usually beaver, to the rendezvous to sell to the traders and obtain the goods and supplies they would need for the next year’s trapping season. It was also the time they had to have an epic blowout, carousing, drinking, raising hell of all types in particular, to let off steam from the previous trapping season. These men waited all year to have this one big party that had to last them to the following year where they got to do it again, unless of course they ‘went under’ or ‘lost their har’ to whichever enemy happened to be around. It was a tough life and for some this party made it all worthwhile.

Another huge part of this Rendezvous was the encampment of the American Mountain Man group that was held on a grassy area next to the Mountain Man Museum. These folks are the real deal. Everything they do is authentic from making their own clothes and gear, to the tents and teepee’s  they sleep in. Some of the participants of this encampment have been featured in Articles in the National Geographic magazine and numerous other publications and media where authenticity was required. This encampment was worth the price of admission alone. Of course there was no admission charge, the entire weekend was free except for a couple of things like the rodeo ($7.00 ! Cheap at twice the price) and the pageant ($5.00 !). This was a tremendous event to attend and if you ever are in the area when this event is held, drop what you’re doing and get yourself to Pinedale, Wyoming for the time of your life.

We will be posting more images and stories about the Green River Rendezvous as time goes on. Stay tuned  and check back often for more information about the Incredible Green River Rendezvous. We have already marked this event on next years calendar. You should too.