When we moved from Fremont two years ago, we heard that they were going to do a pioneer "trek" with the youth. Mark, David, and I breathed a collective sigh of relief. We got out just in time, we said, and congratulated each other on our timing. After our friends went on trek they would talk about how hot it was (they actually had many heat stroke cases) but they always said it was such a great experience for the kids.
I didn't believe them. No thanks, I'd say to myself.
Then in January I heard that our stake was going on trek. I was approached about Mark and I becoming a "Ma" and "Pa". You see, one of the women in my bike group was (with her husband) the trail boss. I was less than enthusiastic and Mark? Not happening. I was also in the middle of the seminary year. Wasn't I sacrificing every morning with the youth already?
When it came right down to it, we couldn't think of a good excuse. Some of the couples chosen were ones we knew and liked (some from the bike group!) and so we agreed to go.
Each couple was asked to select a family name from either the Martin or the Willie handcart company to walk in honor of and find out a little about that family. That was easy for me since I have ancestors who were in the Willie handcart company.
Wednesday night the youth had a pack check at the church and all of their stuff was locked at the church. All they had to do was show up Thursday morning in their pioneer garb at 7 am. They would find out their "families" when we arrived at the trailhead. As I scanned the group of youth, I wondered who was in my family. What was I in for?
The kids were grouped together in families in a random fashion. Most didn't know each other very well or at all. They mixed age groups and wards. We had two girls who were just barely 14 and two that had just graduated from high school. There were a couple of kids from our ward that I knew, but no one from my seminary class. Some were quiet and some gregarious. But as they pulled their bandanas out of their trek bags which indicated which family they were in, many were so enthusiastic that it spread to the others.
We had a fabulous group of kids. They all were very hard workers, all helped push and pull the cart. They encouraged and complimented each other. We laughed and sweated together. They immediately started calling us Ma and Pa and they loved Pa's sense of humor. At campfire the first night, all of the Pas performed a silly song in front of all the kids and of course Mark really hammed it up. One of our girls told me later that as they were sitting in the audience, one of the girls behind her said, "That Pa in the black hat is really funny." She turned around and was very proud to say, "That's MY Pa!"
Each day along the trail, we would stop a couple of times for vignettes. These were adults who had taken on the persona of someone who had been in one of the handcart companies. They would tell their story in first person, having memorized their part. Some were so touching that the actor and many of the kids were in tears. It helped the youth understand the sacrifices and trials of these pioneers. It was extremely effective.
Each evening (and lunch stop) we had family time - time to reflect on the things we were doing and time for a devotional. The first night we waited until dark and Mark did an astronomy lesson for our family, pointing out stars and constellations. Then he tied it in with scriptures from the Pearl of Great Price when Moses is shown a vision and told "worlds without number have I created." When Moses feels small and insignificant, God tells him that of all his creations, man is his greatest.... "for this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." The kids loved it. Some of the kids in the surrounding families were listening, too!
We slept under the stars - my first time since the 1960s. I can't say I slept well on trek, but waking in the middle of the night and seeing the Milky Way was pretty spectacular.
Each day we hiked an average of 6 miles up and down hills with that handcart which probably weighed .... 400 lbs, maybe 500? We had some rolling hills, but several 20-23% grades sometimes lasting a couple of miles. Going down that type of grade with a handcart is just as tough as going up. You are almost skiing behind that thing!
Friday morning Brigham Young came into camp as we were all packed up and ready to go and announced that he needed all of the males for the Mormon Battallion (this was a vignette which talked about that whole situation) and the girls were left to pull the handcarts by themselves. The men marched off. Before the women left for the women's pull we had another vignette about Capt. Hunt's wife and about her having to bury one of her 7 month old twins along the trail. She had us all in tears. As we pushed the handcart the girls commented on how much more difficult it was without the boys.
We had a steep climb for the women's pull and the boys were at the top, just having to watch the girls struggle with the handcarts on their own. It was very moving for them and they were dying to come and help. When their family got to a certain place, they were allowed to go and help and they rushed in.
I had been so skeptical about trek, but I have got to say I have learned some things. We had it so much easier than the pioneers. (I already knew that part.) We had food, good weather, good shoes, only 3 days, etc. But the kids got that--they knew they had it easier, but they became much more appreciative of the sacrifice and faith of the pioneers. They understood that they have their own uphill battles to face, but that the same God that helped the pioneers is there to help them with their struggles. They learned that they can become lifelong friends and very close with a family they've only been in for 3 days because they worked together and that a positive attitude can make a difference. I think that the clothing and handcart play significant roles. The clothing equalized everyone.... we all looked the same and not all that attractive. We didn't have designer clothes or jewelry. The handcart kept everyone in the family together, working hard and encouraging each other. On our lunch break on the last day, we went around the family circle and asked then to tell us one thing they had learned from trek. One boy said that on scout trips he usually hiked by himself, which is nice because it gives him time to think, but he liked the feeling it gave him of being in a group working on a common goal. That was why the handcart was important.
None of my children have been on a trek. David had just gotten a job and we didn't feel like we could have him take off since we'd just been to France. Now I wish I had had him go. If you have a chance to go, do it. Encourage your children to go. It has been such a positive experience for these kids and for us.
I know you are skeptical. I was.
Here are some pictures of our family:
The girls and their Pa:
One of the girls had to leave early for a dance recital, so we put up a cross in honor of her "death."
I forgot to mention that one of the last kids to arrive at the staging area was Forrest. I knew him by sight from seminary. He moved to our stake in January. I told Mark that he was a big kid - like a football player. When he arrived, I said to Mark who was loading the handcart, "Oh, there's Forrest." Mark looked up and did a double take. Forrest is 6'7" and weighs about 280. Mark felt like he had won the first round pick in the trek draft! But the best thing about Forrest is that he has a big heart and really is a gentle giant.
Some of the hills:
