On their website, the Washington Outfitters & Guides Association (WOGA) says “Our association is dedicated to the protection of the priceless natural assets of the northwest, to the fair, and equal access to our natural resources for everyone. For many people, the outfitted trip is the only practical means of enjoying the rich heritage and timeless beauty of Washington. Most of all, our members are committed to the highest possible quality of the outdoor adventure.”

Every spring WOGA has their annual fundraiser called Ride to Rendezvous. This event provides the finances WOGA needs for their continued support of protecting the local areas of the Methow Valley and Pasayten Wilderness. Their activities include legislative lobbying, trail maintenance, and most importantly providing outfitter services and guides to people who want to explore and enjoy this vast wilderness in Eastern Washington.

In 2015 I started my last work project (at King County) and met Kelly LaCrosse. We became friends and Rob and I had the pleasure of hosting her family on our boat in the San Juans in 2018. Kelly also has joined us on two very amazing charter adventures in Cuba and Croatia, and was along for a girl’s week with her daughter Allie in the San Juans.

Her husband Beau has teams of horses and mules that pull wagons (this I learned is the origin of the word Teamster). As much as sailing is our passion, wagons are what he does. And Beau has wanted to share that with us for a long time. We’ve talked about me joining them for Ride to Rendezvous for years, and finally this year we had time to make it happen.

Ride To Rendezvous is billed as “A week long horse drawn wagon and horseback re-enactment of American settlers in the beautiful Methow Valley”. It begins somewhere in the Methow Valley and ends in Winthrop on the Friday before the summer festival called 49er Day.

This custom Google Map is my attempt to illustrate our four day route. We started on a private ranch in the leftmost red marker, went south the first day into and through Mazama, then high up into the mountains and back down to Winthrop. It was a brand new route for this ride, and the reports were it wasn’t super interesting for the wagons. On a more normal year it would be a more adventurous off road ride, but this year we spent much of the time on forest service roads. The group on horseback took different trails and got off the road more than we did.

The night before the ride began, camp was set up on a private ranch near Mazama in an area called Jack’s River Run. The owners allowed the WOGA group to drop all the livestock and wagons and make camp in a spectacularly beautiful valley. The support vehicles and horse trailers were all driven up to Winthrop and left at the rodeo grounds there.

This is Beau and Kelly bringing in their wagon and horses to the ranch on Monday night. Beau drives a wagon that he built in high school. The frame was crafted in welding shop and the wagon in wood shop.

That’s been more than a couple of years ago, and the wagon is still going strong and comfy as can be for a horse drawn wagon. This is the wagon put up for the night, with all the gear for the three horse team laid out on the tongue and ready to go in the morning.

Kelly & Beau sleep in the wagon and I have a tent pitched nearby.

Each morning we’re up at 5:30, when the coffee is hot and ready to go. Lunch makings are available and we assemble our own for later in the day. Breakfast is ready promptly at 7:00 am, with four different outfitters providing a delicious combination of breakfast food. When we finish breakfast we pack up our belongings and harness the team for the day’s travels.

We drop our gear at the back of a huge horse trailer, and by the time we arrive at the next camp our stuff is all laid out waiting for us. Luckily this year we had no rain so everything stayed nice and dry until we collected it.

Sometime between 8:30 and 9:30 we head out, with the wagon master leading the group in a single file line.

There is no prescribed order to the wagons, and each day I’m watching different ones from my rear view out the back of Beau’s wagon.

There is a small support group called outriders who travel along with the wagons to support the teamsters when they need assistance. Occasionally one will come by the back of the wagon and chat with me while we travel. This is Tony, who has been on all 25 of these rides. He lives nearby and obviously enjoys this event.

One of the outriders is also a medic, and this is Ross. Don’t ask me how I got to know him so well, let’s just say he kept an eye on me after I spent a little time airborne and had quite a hard landing.

The first day we traveled down past the town of Mazama, then camped on a funky sloped area near a big lot that’s a Snow Park right out of town. Every night we find trees and hang lines to attach the horses to at night (called highlines), then park our wagon and tent nearby.

The next night after a long day up high into 4,700 feet, we camp in a forest service area near a creek. The space is tight and there are horses and tents and wagons spread over a big area.

We are lucky to have a spot right near camp.

Every night after dinner there is a campfire, with music and cowboy poetry. I managed to stay up for one night of music. Usually I was pretty wiped out and ready for my bunk (sleeping bag) not too long after dinner.

Our third day of riding was short but took us down 2,000 feet of elevation and out of the snow zone. That night we again stayed on private property, another beautiful ranch where the owners warmly welcomed the WOGA group.

The camp was busy that last night with a huge dinner for local family members to join in the fun. There was also a live auction after dinner for additional fundraising. It was a busy night and the food was delicious.

Our last day was a busy one. We were quite far from Winthrop, and needed to be there for a scheduled noontime walk through the middle of town. Here is a last morning picture-worthy breakfast dish made by Lynn, that included blueberries and cream cheese baked in a Dutch oven. Every meal that came out of her tent was beyond tasty.

We did manage to get off the road a bit on the way to town as we crossed through some private land between roads.

When we got to town we picked up Beau and Kelly’s granddaughter Delilah, who rode on my lap up to the rodeo grounds. Rob also hopped in the back of the wagon as we went through Winthrop. He had driven Nonnie’s Diner up from home to join us for the weekend.

We got to the rodeo grounds outside Winthrop and unhitched the team for the last time and left them in a corral for the weekend. Beau’s shirt says he’s “Busy Doing Cowboy Shit”. And honestly, this week I got to see what America’s real modern cowboys do. These guys aren’t pretending, they’re the real deal and I have so much respect for them. I’ll definitely stick with my sailing, but I’m grateful to Beau for sharing just a small glimpse of this amazing and interesting life with me.

Here are all of the pix from this trip. There are also some great video shots: R2R Pix