HomeMy Public PortalAboutLong Valley MuzzleloadersT
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endezvous participant in colorful garb examines flintlock.
Photos by Debbie Barnet
tepping back into time
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Shooter aims during competition.
The only people missing were Lewis and Clark.
More than 100 people drove to the sylvan green of
Sater Meadows over the weekend to step into the
history books as part of the first black powder rendez-
vous of the Long Valley Muzzleloaders.
The meadows, located north of Brundage Mountain,
sprouted teepees and a variety of other outdoor lodging
as fanciers of the Era of the Trapper recreated what
likely was a typical gathering of mountain men during
the early .1800s.
Participants tossed off modern garb and donned the
buckskins and feathers of 150 years ago to celebrate
the black powder age. Seventy of those attending took
part in various competitions staged to challenge skills
in musketry and the use of the knife and tomahawk.
The gathering was a success, considering that the
Long Valley Muzzleloaders club was not even in ex-
istence eight months ago, club president Jerry Ball
said. "We had lots of compliments and we even made
a little money," Ball said.
Mother Nature even cooperated, as the wildfire
danger lowered to the point that old-fashioned camp-
fires were permitted.
In addtion to the happenings at Sater Meadows, the
rendezvous was the jumping-off point for a recreation
of the old Pony Express mail delivery system. Riders
carried letters bearing postmarks made especially for
the event the 12 miles to the McCall Post Office.
McCall Postmaster Al Apodaca said 683 letters were
postmarked and were heading to destinations as far
away as Europe and Japan.
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