They know how to chuck tomahawks just right so they stick to tree stumps. And they, like Pat Gonzalez, know how to make brain-tanned animal skin clothing, so named because the skins are hand-dipped in animal brains.
"It's time consuming," said Gonzalez, also known as Go-fer in mountain men circles. "I've used cow brains."
Gonzalez and many others donned their best fringed, homemade brain-tanned clothing Saturday for the 22nd annual Fort Buenaventura Rendezvous. Each Easter weekend, thousands of enthusiasts flock to the re-built historic fort to re-create gatherings mountain men held during the 19th century.
The mountain men generally lived in wilderness isolation during the early 1800s. They trapped beavers, which at the time were in demand for clothing and hats. Occasionally, these men would emerge from their isolation to attend gatherings. There they would trade wares, compete in events such as the frying pan toss and the tomahawk throw and socialize, said Glen Hunsaker with the Free Mountain Trappers Club, which hosted the event along with the Weber County Parks and Recreation Department.
"The only thing you didn't see much of in the 1800s were women," Hunsaker said. "Very few of them were married because it was a hard life."
That wasn't the case Saturday. Women strolled the park in long wool dresses, beaded animal skins and moccasins. Gonzalez, who works as an engineer at a hospital, said she and her husband, their five children and six of her grandchildren participate in the gatherings.
J.C. Bolton, who works in air conditioning and heating, brought his wife and 2-year-old son. Bolton, who wore a homemade deer-hide shirt and pants with a turtle shell pouch, said he's rendezvoused for 12 years.
"It's a time to hang out with friends, get outdoors and forget about life," said Bolton as his son pounded a toy tomahawk against a tree stump.
His wife, Shalee Bolton, wore modern clothing, though she said she has animal skins at home.
"It's kind of weird, but I guess it's fun to get away," she said.
lschencker@sltrib.com
If you go
The Fort Buenaventura Rendezvous continues today in Ogden from 8 a.m. through the afternoon. Admission is $2 but free for children under 5. Go to www1.co.weber.ut.us/parks/fortb/ for more information.
