Rendezvous

Each year from about 1820 to 1840, trappers, hunters and traders from throughout the Rocky Mountains gathered at predetermined valleys to exchange the season's furs for equipment, tobacco, whiskey and news of the outside world. These events were known as "rendezvous," from the French word for "appointment" or "meeting place." While Jackson Hole never held one of the big, two-week gatherings, travelers would use the distinctive Teton Range as a landmark meeting place before heading on to the more hospitable Pierre's Hole or Green River gather- ing sites.