The best rules are the ones you set for yourself. If you want to just get by then those rules are fairly easy to come by. At an NMLRA or even most non NMLRA rendezvous you can do pretty much what you want as long as you don't show any modern gear to the world outside the privacy of you lodge. So you can have your coolers and beer cans and catchup bottles and milk and sleeping bag and at some point you have to ask your self why am I here? I could camp in a KOA and not have to hid most of my gear!
The idea of Rendezvous is to re-create as closely as possible the flavor of the original event. It doesn't matter whether it is a National Rendezvous with 700 or 800 camps like the Rocky Mt. Nat's in Elk Park UT. this past month or you and a few friends slipping into some quiet meadow well away from the maddening crowd. The more you try to do do it historically correct, the more satisfaction you will derive from your outing. Mst folks take too much stuff (read that junk). I have found that the more stuff you take the less time you will have to have fun. You have to define what you can get by with for each outing and its special conditions. I admit to taking more stuff when I take the wife than when I go with my mates or alone.
Dennis Miles had some real good advice for you and his words should be heeded. You can tune into Scott Allen's web site and down load a very complete list of what is needed for trekking or lonesome camps. As Dennis said you don't need much.
The cloths on your back: what that consists of depends on the
era you are playing in. It needs to be what you need to be comfortable
standing away from a fire. Maybe some extra socks and mocs to take care
of the unexpected.
Some food: Jerky and cornmeal or parched corn for basics and
perhaps some seasonings and dry fruit and tea. From there it depends on
what you are prepared to carry or take care of (fresh meat). I like some
bacon along. All in cloth bags.
Cooking gear: A corn boiler and a small handle less skillet
with maybe an extra cup for drinking. Mine is horn. A spoon, but that can
be carved on site.
Extras: emergency stuff like a sewing kit, and some twine, a
sharpening stone, things like that. Limit what you carry.
A way to carry the above: Some roll it all up in a bed roll
and some carry their gear in knap sacks or haversacks. I like the way a
knap sack rides on my back (but the jury is still out).
Shooting gear: Your shooting bag and gun etc.
Shelter from the elements: A good blanket that will wrap you
up and perhaps a ground cloth or oil cloth to keep the dew off. I use a
very light weight oil cloth of muslin to cover my blanket top and bottom.
That is usually enough to keep me warm in frosty conditions along with
what ever I was wearing during the day. I don't sleep in the nude! Perhaps
a rain fly if you feel you need it and I usually feel I need one. Being
from Eastern WA. where it doesn't rain much, when it rains and I get wet,
I swell up.
You: Your clothing needs to reflect the era you are playing
in. It's OK to be a new man to the Mountains. But if you dress like a tourist
or some one that looks like he is just getting by, you will be looked at
as someone who is just getting by. If you can't afford brain tan, my advice
is save until you can. Don't waste your time and money on modern leathers
that are made to look sorta like brain tan. If all you have is cloth garments
that is fine with most all. Take the time to make them out of the proper
materials and the proper styles for the era you are playing in. Remember
that brain tan wasn't the only type of leather available in the 1700's
or 1800's, quit the opposite. But the leather they had did not look like
golden tan buckskin! There were bark tans and oil tans and even some very
basic chemical tans.
More than this: If you have a lady that needs some special shmoozing
to get into the mountains, my advice is to let her dress as a white woman
or europeanized Indian Lady and make your camp appropriate. She will not
have to rough it quit as much as a native american woman would have. Now
if she is gutsy, then go for it.
Did this answer your question or get you thinking? Perhaps you were looking for permission to take your modern gear if you can figure out how to hide it? I hope not. There are few of us who always do it without a crutch here and there but I and my companions try to be very personally imberasted if we are doing something we know is not "period". We try to figure out how it was done in the old days rather than how we can get by. I hope that is what you are striving for too. If you are trying, no one will look down their nose at you! If you have some more specific questions, feel free to ask. There is no shortage of opinion on these pages! As always I remain...
YMOS
Capt. Lahti'
Mill, Kirk wrote:
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank [SMTP:MedicineBear@Hawken54.sparks.nv.us]
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 1998 4:06 PM
To: hist_text@lists.xmission.com
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: pilgrim outfitexpectations of a good time only to have those with "well worn
skins" look down their noses at you or worse, whisper and point! Sure does
take the fun out of a weekend.
this is exactly what I am trying to avoid. Also I get conflicting
advice about just how strict these "rules" are. For instance on some lists I
see talk of bringing coolers to voo. Now I am pretty sure that an AMM rondy
would forbid this, but what about an NMLRA rondy? I'll play by the rules, I
just need to know what they are first.
Kirk Mill
It's really hard sometimes to imagine what a particular piece of
gear or clothing looks like. I live where there is virtually no one to look
to for help and the books I have don't have the best pictures. I imagine
there are many greenhorns in the same fix. Just a thought...
Medicine Bear