Posts Tagged → camper
ETAR 2026 is unbelievable!
The Eastern Traditional Archery Rendezvous has been kind of perking along the past few days, with campers setting up their sites, vendors setting up their tents and booths. Holy moly today was the strongest official opening day I have ever seen since 2000, when I started attending. Back then it was hosted at Denton Hill State Park in Potter County, and was a pretty decent sized event. But this, now, today….
Honestly, ETAR might almost be suffering from its own great success, because man oh gees, there were a LOT of people there. And one imagines that by tomorrow afternoon, the start of the weekend, a LOT more people will be joining the gang. Saturday will see a big push of day trippers. When I pulled out of the third parking lot at 5:00 PM this afternoon, having arrived at noon and still had to go find distant parking nonetheless, and what a beautiful afternoon it was, like Vermont kind of weather, campers were still pouring in and setting up. People were parking way up on Oregon Hill Road by English Run Road and walking quite a ways to join the event at Ski Sawmill.
This event is really an unbelievable success, and it is probably due to a natural reaction by a segment of Americans fed up with technology saturation 24/7. Toting your traditional long bow and a quiver full of arrows around to shoot instinctively at 3-D targets all day every day is about as non-tech as life can get. Lot of camaraderie and old friends. I saw my brother in law, of all people. Bought a nice new ceramic knife sharpener for camp, by Steamboat Super Sharpeners. Also got some tee shirts for family members, who could not be there with me…
Up on today’s speaking roster was Rose Anna Moore, a noted tough participant in the TV show ALONE, who was choppered out of deep British Columbia grizzly country because her inner toughness was greater than her body was tough. I first heard her speak in 2021, or 2022, at ETAR, and was impressed. Since then, she has grown her non-profit group to educate and help and heal about 500 people annually. Her place in the world is in the woods foraging, hunting, fishing. Fascinating person, and worth the event entry fee alone.
Lots of families, lots of dogs, lots of tents and custom campers and friendly strangers who are happy to talk about almost anything. ETAR is the antidote for what ails an over-technified nation like ours. It is what every family and friends summer should be, and it runs for few more days. You should go. I wish I could stay, but the Kempton Gun Maker’s Fair starts tomorrow, and a man cannot be in two places simultaneously (no marriage jokes, please, not yet, anyhow).
ETAR 2026
Everyone I know who uses sheath knives already has waaay too many knives. I myself have an awful lot of hunting knives. I do not know how this guy did selling his knives.
3-D archery targets of every shape, size, animal, alien and zombie known to humankind
Local sporting good store
The Outdoor Artist can make all kinds of outdoors stuff into pretty art for your home
Outdoor Artist, one of about 100 vendors at ETAR
The main 3-D archery field
Rose Anna Moore and some fanboys
Nessmuk’s carries wool clothing and fancy custom axes. We are fortunate to have them in the Wellsboro area
Rose Anna Moore in a vulnerable moment, when she is not battling some grizzly bear for a rotting salmon carcass
Rose Anna does interpretive presentations the old way. Her outdoor kit is laid out on the table, and the audience is invited to come up and handle stuff
Archery targets are hidden away across the entire ski slope complex
Just what you need: More camo
Prospective bow buyers testing the wares
The big tent
The Big Jim’s tent
Like a summer fair or carnival
The old steam engine that powered the old sawmill here, surrounded by campers. Lots and lots of campers
People and their bows
Main camping area
Non-stop wagons taking people hither and thon. ETAR is a big event and there are a lot of places to go
Fancy campers, basic tents, truck caps…
Parking and camping area at Ski Sawmill
David and I share the same tee shirt, and I have the hat. We hit it off immediately