Rick Kranz 4-19-07 (Rick was the paid wrangler for Skinner Brothers in 1995. In later years he and his wife Jan helped the Skinners as volunteers.)

Monte and I met at the ranch on Pole Creek Road and drove up to Burnt. My first view of the Skinner camp I thought, “I’m home”.

My first job was to tear out the old wood floor in the cook tent. It was rotting. Jan came up and helped. It was early season – May – before any campers were there. Monte brought in bucket loads of dirt and we leveled the floor. Then Bob & I set hundreds of concrete blocks, grouted them and put in a drain system so you just had to wash it down. We brought up some hay. I remember Monte showing me around camp. He showed me the corral system and then took me to where the water goes out of Burnt. He was in his 60s and jumping from stone to stone like he was 20. That was the year he wore sandals a lot. He was having trouble with his feet!

Another time Jan and I met Monte and a Kid counselor at the Pole Creek Ranch so we could take a bunch of horses up to Burnt Lake. Jan and I started herding the horses from the ranch while Monte & the Kid took the trailer and meet us at the end of Pole Creek Road. The Kid had no idea what was going on. As soon as he swung into the saddle he took off hell-bent-for-leather, chasing the herd as fast as he could go and scattering them all over the country! Jan and I took off after him to gathered up the horses. I can still hear Monte yelling at the Kid: “Damn it! This ain't no damn movie!” Jan and I got the horses together and up to Burnt. The Kid was already there. He said, “The horses just couldn't keep up”.

Courtney came up later, when camp started. No tepees went up until Court got there. We were staying in the cook tent until then. The campers had to put up the tepees. They got off the bus, everyone said, “Hello. What’s your name?” and then “Get to work”. Courtney talked to them about putting up tepees the traditional way. How the different poles stood for north, south, east & west. It was a tribute to the Indian way.

I became the wrangler and counselor’s counselor. I was older – in my 30s – and the counselors were young. I did a lot of teaching - horseback riding, packing, training the kids. I went on every trip the kids did. The camps were Boys 8-15 and Girl 8-15 years of age. The younger kids had everything – archery, horses, survival, fishing, shooting with a 22. When it came to firearms, the kids were pretty closely watched.

Bob did the climbing trips where the older kids in the co-ed Leadership camp would backpack from Burnt and climb Gannett. That was their mission.

Courtney did the Survival Hike where the younger kids went out for 3 days and 2 nights. All they had were a few rations and a sleeping bag. Before the trip he taught them how to make fish hooks out of thorns and line out of grass. Bob gave them a lesson on making an Alaskan survival backpack. They were taught skills to fish and catch gophers. They were trained well. Courtney took 2 backpacks when he went with them on survival. He’d carry one in and then go back and get the second one. And then I took him more supplies! When I showed up with the extra gear there were some candy bars in the pack. Court had me sneak them to the kids, so they wouldn’t thing he was getting too soft on ‘em.

Monte took over when the kids got involved with horses. We went to Black’s Cabin on Belford Lake and on to Horseshoe. Monte and Bob and I had set up the Horseshoe camp before the kids arrived. We used it as a break, away from the kids. I remember hauling firewood from Maggot Springs because of what had happened to the trees from the Fires of ’88. We had a special sling for the horse to carry the wood. Well, another reason we cut wood at Maggot Springs was because it wasn’t in the wilderness. We could use a chain saw.

There was this kids’ counselor named Tex. He was pretty much useless so they gave him to me. I made a hand out of him. One time we went in to Horseshoe. Monte and Courtney would remind us over and over again, “Don’t forget your sleeping bag”. Tex forgot his on purpose. He thought he’d be tough and he just took his oilskin coat. He didn’t sleep at all that night. Then when someone crawled out of their sleeping bag the next morning, he crawled in and went to sleep. He was a paid employee and is suppose to be working. Monte got after him. Wouldn’t let him sleep. But he also found Tex a sleeping bag for the next night.

I worked for Skinner Brothers all of the 1995 season until about halfway through hunting when I banged up my knee. Jan and I volunteered up there after that. We did it for the joy of being in the mountains and learning from those guys.

For 3 or 4 years on President’s Day Court would do a ski trip in to Kelly Park for a Winter Survival. It was overnight. He used dogs to haul in the gear. Another thing I remember is Courtney teaching the kids to tie ropes without using clips and harnesses. They wondered why. He’d just answer, “What happens if your harness breaks?”

This one 8-year old kid was small for his age. He felt that the other kids would pick on him, but they didn’t. The kids all stuck up for each other. I think it was because Monte and the brothers seemed so big and intimidating to them. They had to stick together. Well, this kid was shy and scared of everything. But in the 3 weeks he was there he’d grown up so much that he wanted to stay the extra week of ‘extended stay’. At the end of that time, his mom was coming to camp to get him. It was maybe an hour or 2 before the parents arrived and everyone was happy and laughing. This kid was just bawling! He said, “My mom’s gonna be so disappointed.” We said, “What? Now, you’re not afraid. You’ve come so far.” He answered, “When I came here I was just a kid and now I’m a man and she’d gonna be disappointed I’m not a kid anymore!”

One of the biggest rewards was working with these kids who had the attitude that they didn’t want to be there and ‘my parents made me come’. About 90% of those kids with bad attitudes wanted to stay the extra week.

Skinner Brothers were very strict. If they said, “Line up at the tent at 8am”, that’s exactly what they meant. Absolutely. But the kids had 100% freedom of expression. They could work off steam, be angry, swear. It was OK. But they did have to obey the rules.

I did all the drop packs and pack trips. I rode 50-60 miles/day for Skinner clients. One 24-hour ride I was coming off Black Mountain and it was midnight. I got a call on the radio. They were all wondering “Where are you?” I answered that I was enjoying the ride. Bob got on the radio and said, “You been picking belly button fuzz?” When I got into camp in the middle of the night, Bob and the cook and Tex were all there to greet me, take care of my horse and cook me a meal.

Another trip I took out a group that was studying the ozone. A ‘scientific trip’. They had 2 cases of those big cans of Foster beer. We took it all up. My ‘tip’ was one of those cases of Fosters. I put it in the ice chest in the back of my truck. Then I went on another trip. Monte and Don (Castor) called me up on the radio and Monte said, “I have an emergency here.” I’m wondering what I could do about it way up in the mountains. Then he went on, “I got bit by a snake and I think it’s poisoned. I noticed you had some snake bite medicine in your ice cooler in your truck. I need some”. I said, “OK. Just leave me one.”

You know that saying about bringing everything BUT the kitchen sink. Well, when you went on pack trips with Courtney, he’d bring everything PLUS TWO kitchen sinks! It was worth it. 1995 was the first year he and Maria were together and their meals were WOW! They’d make stuff I can’t even pronounce and then they’d light it on fire! Flaming!

The Pancake Pole is in the cook shack at Horseshoe Lake. You had to eat something like 25 pancakes plus a full breakfast of bacon, eggs and sausage to be able to carve your name on the Pancake Pole. It was my 35th birthday, so I ate 35 pancakes and carved my name on the pole.

Interview by Judi Myers