What's a Hudson Bay Start?

Spent the weekend camping at a primitive pre-1840 Rendezvous.  Back in the day (1825-1840), a Rendezvous (mountain man trapper jargon) was an annual gathering at various mountain locations held by a fur trading company at which trappers and mountain men sold their furs and hides and replenished their supplies.  Men also spent most of their hard-earned money on gambling competitions such as shooting their rifles and throwing their knives and hawks.

The event I attended included muzzleloading rifle competitions, primitive skills, cooking with cast iron over open fires, and sleeping under stars or under canvas.

Don’t let the term “primitive” mislead you.  It takes a lot of stuff to live the primitive life — even for just a weekend.  There’s the gun, black powder, lead, etc. just to shoot.  Then there’s the clothing.  Cooking equipment. Tent, sleeping bag, wool blankets.  The list goes on and on.  Admittedly, it really doesn’t need to that complicated; I just can’t seem to minimize.

The funny thing is, no matter how carefully I plan these weekends, I always seem to forget some valuable piece of camp gear or food.  Once, I even forgot my gun.  Wouldn’t have lasted one night in the real “primitive” world.

As I’ve studied history, I see that I’m not alone.  In fact, it’s a problem as old as men and women have been trekking out in the world looking for new shelter or food. 

“Look! A charging saber-toothed tiger. Quick! Hand me the spears”
“I thought you brought them!”
“Uh oh!”  

I’m sure that most expeditions throughout history discovered “Uh-oh!” moments.  At least until around 1670.  That’s when England’s King Charles II came up with a solution — at least the company he chartered came up with the solution: The Hudson Bay Company  (considered by many to be the world’s oldest continuing commercial enterprise).  The company outfitted fur traders for expeditions out of Hudson Bay in Canada.  In that part of the world, having the right supplies in the correct amounts was literally a matter of survival (unlike my weekends where I can hop in my Expedition and drive to a close convenience store for just about anything I need).

So, what was their plan?  It’s now referred as the “Hudson Bay Start.”  Basically, they would back their canoes with all the necessary supplies for the trip.  Then they set the expedition only a short distance out to camp overnight.  It was done so that they could evaluate everything they had -- before they headed into the great unknown.  Sure, it cost them precious trading time, but if they did indeed forget anything, they were only a short distance away to correct the problem.

Today's Carpe Diem Life Lesson:  Keep searching for ways to find and fix problems early on in the journey.  Oh, and when you head out into your jungle today, don’t forget your spears!

Carpe diem,
David Kuhn