For three days, the clock was turned back on grounds of the Central Whidbey Sportsman’s Club to a time when the Hudson’s Bay Company, Jim Bridger and other colorful characters from history roamed the plains and mountains of western America.

The Fourth Annual Rendezvous on the Plains of Whidbey Island brought together mountainmen and women from the 21st century to return to the time when beaver pelts were worth cash money and trappers gathered once a year to trade and swap stories of adventure and daring.

This year’s gathering was organized by David “Rabbi” Hollett, “The Boujouis,” the head of the rendezvous, and his partner, Chris “Packrat” Cagle.

Cagle said he was the “Segundo,” the second in charge, to the Boujouis. “I keep him out of trouble,” he said with a laugh, jerking his thumb in Hollett’s direction.

Hollett said this is the fourth year since the rendezvous got started back up. “There was like a three-year hiatus but before that, I think it ran for 10 or 12 years.”

“We’re happy, the shooters are happy and we’re real happy — we aren’t at work.” Cagle said.

Rendezvous are popular events and on any weekend of the year in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming one is being held.

“Some of them are just weekend events like ours, but the Pacific Primitives one we went to in Pomeroy lasted nine days,” Hollett said. “At the Western Nationals in Colorado, people came from as far away as England and Australia. You can get into and out of it just as much as you want.”

“They even rendezvous in Germany,” Cagle said. “The only problem there is they can’t have guns.”

Knife and tomahawk throwing along with black powder rifle and pistol shooting are some of the competitive events held at a rendezvous.

Single shot black powder rifles vary in make and barrel length and are either flintlocks or percussion models.

The most popular weapon the shooters were using was a half-stock .58 caliber plains rifle or a similar type of gun.

“My .58 shoots any charge I want from as little as 20 to 40 grains (of powder) up to as high as 180,” said Gary Sheets from Stanwood. “Most of the time it shoots right where I point.”

“I shot 160 grains in mine one time and that really set me back. It hurt,” said fellow shooter Terry Conover, who came from California to attend the rendezvous.

Sheets, who is president of the Washington State Muzzle Loaders Association, said he has been practicing with his rifle a lot this summer.

“I have a caribou hunt planned in Alaska for later in the year and I want to be ready,” he said.

Les “Old Crow” Butler from Mount Vernon was one of the shooters using a flintlock.

“Mine is a .45 caliber Southern Mountain rifle,” he said. “I’ve been to a rendezvous a time or two.”

Bows and arrows were also some of the weapons on display.

Don “The Ram” Abel from Kenmore and Freeland’s Dwayne Spangler spent some time talking trade and making bow strings from stinging nettle and flax.

“Stinging nettle is the stuff you don’t want to fall into,” Abel said. “You can twist it together and it makes a good bow string.”

“Flax is the same stuff they use to make linen,” Spangler added.

Indian fry bread and corn pone, along with strong, traditionally-made black coffee were the staples at many of the tents in the primitive encampment which is also a major part of any rendezvous.

“The Whidbey Island rend-ezvous is growing every year,” Hollett said. “At one time we had more that 100 black powder shooters, but now we’re down to six.”

“We’re always recruiting,” Cagle said. “The club has shoots just about every week, mostly on Sundays, and anyone is welcome to attend.”

If you want to relive a part of American history or simply to have a good time, a rendezvous is the place to be.