Our stake youth had the opportunity to participate in a Pioneer Trek reenactment this summer. I was serving as the YW president when it was announce and helped in the planning and preparation for our ward while serving as president but then passed those responsibilities on when I was released back in January. I had a really difficult time when I was released from my calling and in some ways was really sad that I wouldn't be going on trek anymore. I won't go into detail here, but I really struggled after being released and I was not very excited about my new callings, yes, I was given 2 callings. I was also struggling with some other personal things. After a few months had passed and I slowly came to accept my new callings and even felt relieved that I didn't have to take on all the responsibilities that getting ready for trek entailed. It was just as I was coming to this state of acceptance that I got a text from our new ward YW president asking if I could help out with trek. I couldn't believe it, I was getting to go! As it turned out our YW president, due to some health concerns, was not cleared by her doctor to participate in trek. I only had 2 weeks to get ready, including getting a physical done, but I was going!
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| From left to right: Johnathan, Hala, Daisy, Amerillys, Mercedes, Madison (Ma), Jared (Pa), Gramma Torrey, Cameron, Grampa Jed, Ethan, Grampa Rex, and Me |
All the kids and adults from the stake were separated into 28 families. The families were organized with 2 youth leaders (Ma's and Pa's) and a set of Grandparents (adult leaders). There weren't enough couples able to go so some families had 2 sets of Grandparents (2 women and 2 men from different wards). Our family had 2 sets of grandparents. My friend and former 1st counselor in YW's, Torrey, was with me as a grandparent. We drove up together the day before trek instead of joining the rest of the crew who left at 3 AM on busses the day of. On our drive up we ran out of gas 4 miles short of the nearest gas station. We stuck on the side of the road for just over an hour hoping that an officer could come help us but he was too far away and thankfully some friends from the ward who were driving up early, they served on the logistics committee for trek, met up with us and rescued us from the heat. The rest of the drive went smoothly and we got up north safely. I stayed with my brother, Dane, and Torrey stayed with her grandparents that night and the next day we drove together to the trek site to meet up with everyone. We ended up having to wait a while for them because one of the busses broke down. We ended up beginning our trek 2 1/2 hours behind schedule, but the kids did what was needed and after an orientation with the missionaries at the trek site and loading the carts we were on our way.
The first day was our longest trekking day. We were supposed to go just over 9 miles but with the delayed start it was decided to take off 2 1/2 miles by taking a cut-off after our rest stop.
Each family was given a baby. Some families had twins. We had a baby girl named Evelyn, we called her Evie (Eh-Vee). It was the responsibility of the grandparents to decide if the baby would survive the trek. I was really surprised with how much the members of our family bonded with our baby. They took really good care of her and we, the grandparents, were pretty sure by the end of the first day that our baby might have to be one of the ones buried along the trail.
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| Pa and baby Evie |
The first day of trekking was long and hard. The trails, although mostly flat, were difficult to navigate, mostly due to the constant, fine dust that just surrounded us. We were so dusty, sweaty, and did I say dusty? by the time we finally reached camp! The kids did exceptionally well considering they had been up since 3 AM. And I enjoyed getting to know the kids in our family, none of them from our ward, while walking. We sang songs, told stories, and laughed a lot. It was a beautiful sight as we made the final stretch that took us up and over into camp. Our bishop was waiting for us as we entered and I felt so much joy despite how tired and dirty I felt. It was a really moving and rewarding feeling to know that we had completed something so great. Before getting to rest though, we had to set up our tents and then we were treated to an amazing dinner. Following dinner we had a visit from Ephraim Hanks, who told his story to the youth and heard a few testimonies from the missionaries serving at the trek site. It was then that we were told how impressed they were of our group because as it turns out, our trail boss missed the cut-off and we trekked the whole 9 1/2 miles! They said they had never had a group complete the full length of the trek in so little time and on so little sleep! After the missionaries finished their program we then broke off into wards for a devotional with our bishop. It was really late by the time we finally got to bed and I was tired. I had gotten heat rash on my legs, mostly around my ankles. At first I thought it was a sunburn because it burned but it was just a rash and I was able to clean it up a bit and treat it with some cream and thankfully it did not hurt or bother me the rest of the trip. It sure looked terrible though.
The second day of trek was not as intense as far as milage goes, we around 6 miles. We were rushed in the morning because the leaders let the kids sleep in. We didn't get breakfast and instead were given some soda crackers and we were told to get moving. After about a mile some of the kids in our family realized that one of our "family" members was not with us. Eventually, we left our carts and headed back to camp to find the "forgotten" child. Every family had a kid missing on purpose. The kids left behind told us a story of a father who went back to find his son who was left behind. After being reunited we turned around and saw that there was a big breakfast waiting for us. The kids were so excited!
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| Heading back for the "Forgotten" |
After breakfast we trekked back to our handcarts and began again. It was hot and muggy this day. At our resting stop we hydrated with pickles and pickle juice and played some pioneer games. After our rest we headed to Rocky Ridge where the missionaries shared a story about Jens and Elsie Nielsen followed by a reenactment of Elsie's struggle to pull her husband up the rocky ridge. The couple chosen to do the reenactment also shared their testimony. We then continued on until we made it to our second rest stop and had lunch. Before eating, our Pa invited us to pray together and while we ate we shared testimonies together of trek thus far. This was one of my most favorite parts of trek. We talked a lot about how strong each member of our "family" was and how no matter what challenges we will face in this life we are capable of doing hard things just as we were each doing hard things participating in this trek.
After this beautiful experience our "family" seemed more bonded. We continued to talk, sing, and share our testimonies as we walked, and walked, and walked. We also shared stories of our own pioneer ancestors including those whom we had chosen to trek for. I thought it was fitting that on the morning before we left camp one of our Grampa's, Bishop Rex Hardy, shared the story of who he was trekking for. He was trekking for one of his ancestors who didn't make it to the Salk Lake Valley. He chose this person because he himself wouldn't be completing the trek journey with us (he had to leave for home after breakfast for work).
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| The Grandparents (minus Grampa Rex, whom we "buried" on the trail) |
When we reached camp we did our best to clean up without water, rested for a bit, and then continued playing pioneer games including a tug-of-war competition between the families. Our family took 2nd place overall! I do wonder if we would have won had we not been missing a grandpa and had I not had to let go of the rope because I had a full blown anxiety attack during the final pull. I started getting light headed and even though I was holding the rope, I just couldn't hold it tight anymore and it just slipped through my hands.
Afterwards I met up with one of the medics from the stake and just talked with him. He was so kind and gave me so much comfort. He found me a few times later during the trek to check up on me to make sure I was doing ok. I was fine after the attack passed but I think I was just so tired and probably in need of food making the onset of the attack come on quickly. Thankfully I recovered quickly because not long afterwards a big storm with strong winds and rain blew in on us. The storm lasted only about 30 minutes but in that time we could barely see a few feet in front of us and turned our camp around. I rushed to find our girls to get them in the tent but our tents were blowing away. We din't have sufficient stakes holding them down so after righting the tent I had the girls get in to stay dry and use their weight to keep the tent from blowing away. I tracked down more stakes and started staking the tent as quickly as I could. It was hard work and I was tired. I was physically exhausted from trekking and from just recovering from my attack, they take it out of you, but I worked through it. While hammering in the stakes I saw a few people, mostly men, just standing, watching me secure our tent. I was surprised that none of them offered to help. I wanted them to and I probably should have just asked them to but I just kept going. Eventually a young man did offer his help to me. I was so thankful for his help. He even helped me secure our leaders tent too and I was able to wait out the last few minutes of the storm inside our tent. Inside wasn't too great though. I just felt dirty and hot and tired, and the tent, despite not flying away still felt like it was going to. Many of the tents broke polls and needed repairing which we all tried to do after the storm. Everyone worked together. I was able to work hard and found so much strength deep inside that I didn't know was there. I was at my worst physically and emotionally from the stress of the trek and my attack but I somehow I found strength, and I know it was from the Lord, helping me to help others.
The storm passed almost as quickly as it came on and we were able to have a wonderful evening with delicious food, inspiring messages from the members of our stake presidency, and some square dancing. It was so fun to watch the kids dance and see the joy expressed on their faces. Despite being so tired, similar to the pioneers, they rejoiced and found joy in their journey.
The final day of trek was also a bit shorter on milage, just over 6 miles, but was also filled with some incredible experiences. After 2 miles of trekking, the girls were separated from the boys for a special devotional followed by a women's pull. This pull was unlike anything I had ever seen. When I was a youth and participated in trek, we had a women's pull where the boys were slowly pulled away from the family to walk behind while the women were left to pull the handcart up a very steep hill. During my youth trek my family was one of the first in the train but by the end of the pull we were last. We only had 3 girls to pull the cart because our "Ma" and other "sisters" were in the medic truck for various reason. About 2/3 of the way up the steep hill our cart got stuck in a divot and we just didn't have the strength to get out. We were exhausted and were struggling. The boys in our family had to stand behind and just watch, they weren't aloud to help us. Finally though, they couldn't stand back anymore and with tears in their eyes came to our rescue and helped us push our cart up the hill. Those boys were like the angels helping our pioneer ancestors as they crossed the plains. My testimony was greatly strengthened during that women's pull and I wondered how this women's pull would strengthen me.
There were no steep hills for this pull. Rather, we had to pull our carts through a mile stretch of 1.5 foot deep fine sand that was freshly tilled. We were given handkerchiefs that we wet down to help keep us from breathing in the fine dust. My first step into the sand shocked me. The sand came up to my calf and the dust immediately puffed straight up. I was pushing from the back of the cart and the wheels just stirred up the dust even more, making it difficult to breathe. I was covered from head to toe with what seemed a 1/2 inch coating of dust. It was not easy to push and pull the cart through the sand but we persevered one step at a time. As we came into the final stretch of the pull we saw each of the boys standing on either side of the trail with their hats over their hearts. They too were enveloped in the dust and could barely see but from the few glimpses I could make out through the dust, there were tears streaming down many of their faces.
When the pull was over we reunited with our family briefly and dusted ourselves off. Many of the girls in our family were moved by the spirit and we cried and hugged each other. We then split up again (girls and boys) and heard from our stake YW/YM president. Our stake YW president shared her testimony with us and continued to emphasize the fact that we can do hard things. We then continued our journey towards the river crossing. At the river crossing the boys pushed the cart across the river and then returned to carry the girls across.
It was only a mile more to trek after the river crossing where we reached the end of our trek and more delicious food. Seriously, the food was amazing during our trek. We were all so dirty and tired but we all had smiles on our faces and I could feel the spirit all around us as we rejoiced in accomplishing the task. During trek I bonded with the members of our "family" in a special way. I was amazed with their grit and push to just keep going. I was amazed at our Ma who was so strong. She pulled the cart almost the whole time each day and was a great example to all of us. Our Pa was a great leader. He took the time to share his testimony and to invite us to pray together and really act like we were a family. And each of the "kids" brought something special with them too, as well as the "grandparents". I was also impressed with how well they took care of our baby, Evie. After seeing how they bonded with the baby after the first day I thought for sure we, the grandparents, were going to have to make the decision to bury her along the way. But each time we brought up that she wan't looking too well or was getting sick they showed us that they were taking this responsibility seriously and kept doing things to keep her healthy. They wrapped her up if she was cold, they never left her alone, if we said she was getting dehydrated they gave her water. It was neat to see how much they loved this little baby. In the end we decided to let her live. She couldn't die, they did more than was required to keep her alive.
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| Hala taking care of his "sister" |
Trek truly was an amazing experience. I knew it was going to be hard, but I didn't know how hard it would be. It was hard, but as most hard things are, it was a great growing experience. We trekked 22 miles in 3 days and faced challenges along the way. I personally faced some challenges that helped to strengthen my testimony and opened my eyes to blessing that I didn't really understand or know were right in front of me. I was also completely blown away with the strength and zeal of my "Trek Family". They each helped to strengthen my testimony of Jesus Christ and helped show me that we can all do hard things. I wasn't expecting to get this opportunity to go on trek but I am so grateful that Heavenly Father saw fit that I needed this and allowed me this great experience. He really does know what we need and knows how strong we really are. He has given us the help of our brother, Jesus Christ to add to our own strength and give us push that we need to do hard things. With His help we can do hard things because our Faith can be Stronger than our Sight!
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| My Family |
