Howdy all, I'm looking for some good ideas for a weekend trek with the club. I want it all to be period correct and not like a rendezvous event. Not much happened out here before 1840, but there is some history. Joe Walker's expedition went through here, and the first was Ogden. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

IDEA FOR A TREK
Let's say you have 10 club trekers.
All get general hunting licenses for critters.
Two mules okay for heavy packing. Need booshway. Pick a sight on a lake or river
and trek into it. Make camp. Need detail
to gather 5-times more wood than you think you'll need, assuming it's cool/cold at night.
Whole group branches out shooting critters, squirels, wood chuck, grouse, quail, fish etc.
Bring all the take into the central cookpot
and all share equally, one starves you all
starve. Pick one man to eat in case of dire
circumstances. Trek good for 25-points towards
club mountain man of the year contest, first prize flintlock smoothbore made by club rifle
builder.

Hey Oracle, Those are some good ideas, I like that. I already know who we would eat if we had to! Thanks

Sawbones
If you want a active club you need some incentives. The Mountain Man of the Year Award
is a good way to get it. Hold ten point winning
contests, Mountain Man Run, shooting contests,
trek participation, canoe trip, best costume/camp, etc.
To get max participation have prizes down to 20th place, good prizes. I have been in clubs
with thousands of dollars and too stingy to buy
a shoot prize, the **** money is for insurance
and the members. Old saying, "gotta spend it to
make it". Best clubs I was in were very active
clubs.
Oracle

If you alway do
what you've always done
you'll always get
what you always got

Sawbones
I forgot a big one, INCLUDE THE KIDS!!
I noticed at our monthly club shoots we had
five or six ADULT matches and the kids hung
around the tomahawk block, bored, waiting for their parents. I suggested we have a kids day.
No adult shooting, but coaching the kids shooting. Use shooting sticks, 12 and under
25-yards, 12-14 50-yards, over 14 are adults.
Set up a trail walk, throwing sticks, stones,
hawks, knives, at knock down targets (bunnies,
fox, birds). The long term investment will pay
in kids staying in the club and taking over.
IF, if you call yourselves a family oriented
club you need to include the wives and kids.

to add to the Kids event. Before hand ,someone will drop Chocklat Covered Rasins in the woods.
then the leader will show the Kids how to tell
what kind of animal they are tracking ...By eating the Dropings.. this will get you started
lot of fun.

Many Lodges
Now that there is funny.
I will try it. Will probably pick
up the wrong raisin and be eating
rabbit turds.

Sawbones,
Jest whar is Surprise Valley California? I lived in Calif. as a child and young man.. Born in Los Angeles... Graduated from HS in Redding... Still visit family in California...

My HS friend BRAZ lives is Yuba City and has a family place on a lake N.E. of Redding.. Has Deer in the back yard at the lake feeding...

Well if you want to bond with history I would read some of the journals (Smith, Etc) and see if any of the areas are still public land or if private, you can get the okay to trespass. You could then retrace their steps.

Howdt all, Thanks for the responses. For TinType, Surprise Valley is in the uppermost Northeast corner of California. In Modoc county. A great and beautiful place, with a lot of history. I just wish there was more history here from before 1840!

Sawbones
One hard fact about active clubs is you work
your same 8 or 9 guys to death making fun for the other members. After a while they get burned out. I was leading the meeting one night and asked for volunteers to help us cut wood for our upcoming rendezvous. We needed about 15-cords for camps an council fire.
One member said he didn't join to work, that
he expected me to do the work and he just have
fun. He said he'd quit if he had to work.
At least he was honest. Yep, the same loyal
nine showed up and worked the rear ends off for
the good of the club. My point, don't make
committments without securing support.

Sawbones! my Mom and Pop live in Adin, CA. Pop grew up there-- and now is retired and fishes the creek that he used to fish as a youngin. He used to have a dairy hay ranch outside Alturas for about 10 years.

Hey Axel, Thats great! You know this area then. If you ever come up this way, come join us. We usually meet on the second Saturday of the month. We are having our first rendezvous this weekend.
Adin is a nice town, great country!

Sawbones,
Braz informed me I was wrong... So what else is new??? They don't live on a lake, it is a stream that runs by. OPPS!!!

Anyhoo, he has set up a camera on his deck that fires by remote. Calls it the Braz Cam... Lots of critters come by at night and feed... Again it is on 299 east of Redding.. My grand parents had a small farm at Palo Cedro back in the 50's and 60's. I went to H.S. in Redding. The last time I went by their old place, it was a parking lot for a shopping center. It was on Hwy 44. So I know the area somewhat... When we lived in N.E. WASH. north of Colville, we took Hwy 395 from there down to 299 then into Redding and the I-5 south to L.A. area to visit the family. When the parents lived on the colorado river, would take 395 to Reno then south to Vegas, then down to the river. Lots of driving on the east side...

TIN TYPE

Just what does "let your nightmares become
saddled horses", mean. Who said it, where?

Here's one of my favorites like your nightmare
quip,
It's better to be a little fish in a big bush
than to keep your bird in the pond.

The Oracle

Oracle,

I have no idea where the saying comes from... I have heard it all my life in my family... My parents were big dance and movie fans of the 1930's. It most likely came from a movie or the radio sign off of some one like Arthur
Godfrey [ sp? ] Yours is pretty good too!!!

Club (two night 3-day trek)
Pick a lake or safe river.
Put in canoes (rented, borrowed, owned)
2 men per canoe with 200-pounds gear
Go about three miles up lake to remote
spot, beach canoes and make camp.
Set up competitions shooting duck decoys
from canoes (sub bow if no shooting)
Have a race. Close to shore play Tip the Enemies Canoe.
Branch out and hunt for edibles and critters.
Bring all together for evening pot luck.
enjoy

Hey thanks Oracle, you have given me some real good ideas. I sure appreciate it, and I appreciate this forum!

Hi, I'm up north of seattle looking for folks to trekk pre-1840 style.Anything going on?

Hey, Picker,
I just moved to Montana from Seattle. There's a guy called Critt'r who does a trek like that once in a while; and there are tons of clubs and a good umbrella group of reenactors focusing mostly on the War of Independence. Google Washington State Muzzleloaders' Ass'n. and Northwest Colonial Reenactors' Ass'n. and see what you come up with.

Dick