History of the Rat Root Rendezvous

Recently we were asked “How Did the Rat Root Rendezvous Start”.

The Rat Root Rendezvous started for Mors Kochanski and Randy Breeuwsma to sharpen their skills when Karamat Wilderness Ways was contacted by Time Warner Television to do a reality television show for German television in September of 1998. Time Warner television was going to send 10 executives from various German companies to Alberta to do this reality show. Mors and Randy would set up a camp in the Rocky Mountain’s to teach these executives different survival skills. Time Warner was to bring satellite trucks and for 1 hour of live television each day the students would be asked questions and show what they had learned.

Mors and Randy wanted a weekend to sharpen their skills before they went to do this reality television show. They invited numerous former students for the last weekend in August to Randy and Lori’s place.

Then a scandal hit Wallstreet and Time Warner television had to cancel this reality television show, we never did hear from them again.

Lori and Randy decided to continue with the weekend which was first named the Boreal Wilderness Networking Weekend. One of the highlights of the weekend was to go harvest sweet flag (Acorus calamus) also known as rat root. Mors 65th birthday was approaching, so we came up with the Rat Root Rendezvous. The year Mors turned 65 birthday We called it the Rat Root Retirement Rendezvous.

Lori and Randy hosted the Rat Root Rendezvous for the last time in August of 2025. WILD 25 was the theme, Wilderness, Instruction, Legacy, Developing Skills and Friendship.

Dale and Colleen Kiselyk of Nature Alive approached us to ask permission to continue Rat Root Rendezvous in 2026. They have just posted the dates for it, August 20-23, 2026 at their home base of Goose Lake, Alberta