Mountain Men Rendezvous returns to Spring Mountain Ranch

The Rendezvous is set to feature group members dressed in pioneer clothing, who will be competing with weapons of a bygone era, serving food prepared just as it might have been in the years 1800 to 1840, and welcoming traders selling products reminiscent of the same time period.

David Low, park interpreter at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, 6375 state Route 159, said plenty of signs will be available to direct visitors to the Rendezvous.

Some historical accounts claim the early 1800s were a time when men full of adventure and optimism came west to make their fortunes by trapping animals, mostly beaver, whose fur was prized by Europeans.

The life of mountain men was hard, and many died in the process. For those who survived, fur pelts could be brought to rendezvous sites, where they were traded for supplies. The rendezvous events had a practical purpose but were also so much fun that area women and children and even local Native Americans attended.

In celebrating the era of the mountain men, the Spring Mountain Free Trappers work with weapons of the time. In fact, the organization “booshway,” aka president, Dan Trousdale, said a fascination with black powder guns and rifles was the reason the organization’s founders got together 39 years ago. To this day, owners of such weapons (which are reproductions of the originals) compete once or twice a month for rankings and bragging rights. Club members also compete as archers and knife and tomahawk throwers.

“Our group has a great time with each other,” Trousdale said. “Originally, we may have gotten together to get away from the wives, but these days, our club involves whole families.”

At the Rendezvous, visitors are welcome to watch the competitions (from safe distances) and to photograph any of the other colorful goings on — the trading tents, the costumes, the food, the competitions and other activities. The original mountain men typically had beards and were dressed in leathers and fur. Many of the 2015 Rendezvous participants are similarly dressed.

Club member Mike Keesner joined the trappers twice, once before family and work interfered and most recently after he retired. In retirement, he became curious and ambitious, he said, and learned to craft his own buckskin outfit. Keesner and his buckskins will be supervising the archery competition at the Rendezvous. His brother, Tim, is also a club member and maintains the group’s website.

“Just like at the original rendezvous gatherings, we will have traders on hand,” Trousdale said. “Folks will not only be able to buy a number of handmade items; they can also watch them being made.”

Trousdale’s wife, Cheryl, is a fan of Ron and Dan Glidden‘s Dutch oven cooking and said that among breakfast and lunch items typically for sale are biscuits and gravy, fried bread with honey, chile, stew, chicken pot pie, and “anything else you can cook outdoors in a big iron pot.”

One of the questions visitors should ask the costumed club members at the Rendezvous is about their faux Native American names.

“For fun, we get our names because of something we do that is based on a mistake or a screw-up,” Trousdale said.

Trousdale’s “other” name is “Buffalo Rump” and has something to do with a fur thong he once wore. His wife is “Pistol Mama,” a name she acquired after she was able to out-shoot her husband at one of the competitions.

Admission to the Mountain Man Rendezvous is free, but park admission is $7 per vehicle for Nevada residents. Hours of the event are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. Visit smftlv.com, call 702-645-2658 or email buffalorump@embarqmail.com.