What's a Rendezvous?

The word rendezvous means a lot more in the Rocky Mountains than what the dictionary gives you. In the West, it’s a word with tradition and lots of history. Going back to a time before the Rocky Mountains were part of the U.S., fur trappers and mountain men used to meet once a year at some pre-designated spot—their rendezvous. There they would set up what’s called an encampment. Fur companies would send agents to acquire beaver, mink and other furs.

The mountain men like Jeremiah Johnson and Jim Bridger would trade the hides for alcohol, tobacco and supplies. Just getting to an assembly point was a major accomplishment. It meant you survived a winter in the Rockies.

Today, Mountain Men reenacters still setup encampments and conduct annual rendezvous. One of the best mountain men rendezvous reenactments is held annually at Encampment, Wyoming. That’s how the town got its name: it started as a mountain man encampment. If you go there check out the town’s history museum. You’ll love the two-story outhouse.

When friends rendezvous with me for a western adventure it’s a lot easier and at least a little safer. It’s a simple procedure. Just pick the nearest spot on a state highway map to where you want to go. It’s usually a town one street wide. A town, while still being on the map, that is so small you couldn’t hide in it if you wanted to. A great place to do this is Darby, Montana. It’s on the state highway map. It’s 1-1/2 streets wide and has all the services I need, such as a grocery store, post office, gas station and National Forest Service office. Best part is Darby is surrounded by snow-capped mountains and thick pine forest. Some of my favorite western sites are nearby. Places like Lake Como, Lost Horse Creek Pass, The Wilderness of No Return and some of the mountain peaks I rent. There is a lot to experience, see and do here. It’s one of my favorite places to visit, rendezvous and share.

Sometimes the rendezvous is a fly-in. A friend will fly into Rapid City, South Dakota or Boise, Idaho, where I pick them up at the airport. Then we spend the next week or two doing a big circle. Along the way we pack as many adventures into their vacations as possible. If you fly to Boise, it means we’ll probably do a white water raft ride and some mountain camping. If you fly to Rapid City we’ll do the 1880 steam train ride and also see Mt. Rushmore. The end of the trip has you back at the airport where I picked you up.

I’ve made some friends during my many trips West. Often these friends can show me places off the map or places only locals know. Then I rendezvous with them. Since I’m good at land navigation they can make the meeting point a little more challenging. During 2011 I rendezvoused with Karen Bucholz and three of her friends. I know Karen from the Adams Museum in Deadwood, South Dakota. Her directions were simple: 'they would be camped along Sandy Creek'. That’s all. I had no trouble finding them. The next three days we all followed Karen’s lead as she showed us some real gems in the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills. 

As always, check out my website: www.theghosttownhunter.com

The next blog will stress the importance of safety by highlighting the many safety rules I break.