Adele Legerski Interview. Jan. 2007.

I was hired as a camp counselor (for Skinner Brothers) in 1991 and 1992. I also did pack trips and cooked for hunting camp. I had no experience cooking. I’m from New York. I was in Jackson Hole after college, looking for a job as a camp counselor and I called them up. I liked being a camp counselor and the pack trips. Hunting camp is OK, but once they leave, you’re there all by yourself. I like riding too.

The first day I came to work I came from Jackson and got out of the car at the ranch (on Pole Creek Road). I was wearing shorts and a tee-shirt. Monte said, "Get in the car with Greg. We’re going to catch horses." I’d been there 5 minutes! Most places, you’d sign forms and all.

There were 3 sessions (of campers at Skinner Brothers). We (Adele and the Boys’ counselor – her future husband- Greg Legerski - they were married the summer of 1995) did the Leadership and it had 3 sections – a Pack Trip, the Green River (rafting trip), and a hiking/pack trip. For the back packing portion, we went to Angel Peak. It’s a walkup. It was a regular backpacking trip – 6 or 7 days. We had about 12 kids and we spent the whole session with them.

The Green River was more extensive. They take these old rafts. Mountain man rafts! You float down the river and that’s it. You steer by this wooden pole - rudder. They lash 5 big logs together. Greg actually made one. They use the same ones for years. There are some still up there at the end of the pavement. Their names are carved on them. Skinners set up a camp (along the road to Green River Lakes) and then you float down. Some areas are pretty fast with rocks and rapids. You don’t practice! They just put you on the river! I was with this guy named Joe. You have maybe 5 kids on a raft. And then they (Skinners) are like ‘Well, see you later’. So we go down the river and it’s fine when there’s no rocks and no rapids. The amazing thing is it always works out fine. No one ever got hurt. You are out there for about 4 days. You pull out and go back and sleep at the camp each evening. I don’t remember if we even had life jackets. We must have. I don’t think any kid would forget the rafting trip. Monte did the Green River, although Courtney came up for a bit.

On our pack trip we rode from Burnt Lake to Big Sandy Opening. We’d get up and one of the campers would make the fire. We’d eat breakfast, pack the horses and ride. Stop for lunch. Greg knew where we were going. To get back, they’d meet us with a semi with a horse trailer. They’d put all the horses in there and had trucks or vans for us. One kid fell off a horse. He just hopped back on. The horses are really pretty mellow. All those kids get out there and they’re fine.

I go back East a lot and meet people who have gone to Skinner Brothers. One woman had gone on the Gannett Trip and they had this bad storm. No kid ever said, "I can’t do it."

At Burnt Lake the girls had their own tepee. There weren’t that many girls. Girls camp was over by the horse tent and the one outhouse. The boys were off to the right.

I worked very little with Bob. For some reason we called him "Big Bad Bob". I don’t know why. It sounded funny. We sang it too. I only really saw him down on the ranch on Pole Creek Road, working in the shop. He lived in the big bus in the summer – he’d bring it up to Burnt Lake and sleep in it. He was always working on a tractor or truck. He always had this one-piece overall on. It was blue and grey stripes. He’d come up occasionally. He didn’t do much with the horses. He did go on a couple pack trips. Don Castor did a lot of trips with Bob.

Courtney started this program for older kids who would come. He taught them about the wilderness and doing trail work. We went up and worked on the trail from Burnt up along the ridge. All I remember is chopping the sagebrush. Courtney slept in a tepee. Courtney never seemed as organized as Monte. One morning he told me, "Well, you’re going to teach knot tying today." I was like, "I don’t know knot-tying. I can’t teach it." Courtney said, "Then you can just leave." And I thought I was fired! I went to my tepee and I went back and asked him if I was fired. He said, "No. You’re not fired." So, then Greg taught knot-tying. Courtney always had these big panniers. He always had that sourdough starter kit and it overflowed in the panniers. He’d make pancakes with it.

You have to understand that I had never cooked and I went up to the Jackson hunting camp as the cook. My first hunting trip. It was raining and took us forever to get there. We get into camp about 8:30 p.m. It’s dark. I guess that’s common. I never even thought about dinner. But they said, "OK, make dinner." So, I made this disgusting pasta. Instead of using pasta sauce, I used paste. I put water in it and boiled the noodles. I remember Bob not saying a word. How bad that must have been. Bob was just nice… and quiet. The others…no one said a word! I did get better at cooking. Greg helped me. Actually I got pretty good. Hunting camp was easy because you had all day to get ready for the dinners. The hunters and guides are gone by 6 a.m.

Monte always had high expectations that you would get the job done. He could be gruff sometimes, but only if you didn’t get the job done. Monte’s trips always went pretty smooth.

A Camp Jack? They take care of the horses, set the tents up. The paying hunters and pack trip guests don’t do anything, so you really need someone besides the guide. Keep the fires in the tents going. Get water. Feed the horses. Get them in the morning. Take extra feed or supplies up. Greg did that and Todd Martyr and Allan Porter.