{the experience of a lifetime}

From the time we were called in February. . . I have been non-stop stressing, worrying, and most of the time dreading. . .going on
TREK!

When we moved up here to Layton, I always knew there was a chance that we would be called to be a Ma and Pa on the pioneer trek. Our stake has the opportunity to go every 4 years.

Considering the fact that I hate bugs and I don't really like dirt all that much, spending 3 days roughing it in the wilderness didn't sound appealing to me. But as the time grew closer. . . my dread just turned to anxiousness.

Thursday morning bright and early we met at the stake center to begin our adventure. When you are a Ma and Pa, you are responsible for the needs of your "family" which consists of about 8 youth and a couple of adults. We had to be very prepared with all our gear to make sure your family would have everything they needed.


{so clean and ready to WALK!}


{the young women in our ward getting ready to go}

When we got to Wyoming they seperated us into our new families for the duration of the trek. We had a few minutes to get to know each other, packed our handcart, and got ready to head out. They tell us not to tell the kids how far we are walking the first day in hopes to keep their spirits high as long as possible.

{Our family!}


{the girls: Mattie, Ma, Kimberly, Crystal, Shannon}


{the boys: Lynn, Brian, Pa, Jacob, Travis, Michael}

We started on a dirt road that was pretty level without many hills. I think the purpose of this is just to give everyone a chance to talk a little and get comfortable in our families.

12 miles later we stopped for a long break at the river. The kids were thrilled to get their shoes off and walk around in the cold water. This break was the last stop before we moved on to the original handcart trail and began our true pioneer experience.


Once on the trail, we were in silent mode. No one was allowed to speak which wasn't a problem since they were all so exhausted. As we walked in silence, there were some pioneer scenes set up for us to watch and think about . The first was 2 women carrying another woman with an injured foot and no shoes. The second was a woman hugging a man dressed in a uniform, heading off to war. The third (the kicker) was a woman holding a baby wrapped in a blanket and a man digging where the child was to be buried. As we walked past these scenes, you could see how much we were all affected by this.

A few miles later we started what is called the "woman's pull". As we started up a steep hill covered in sagebrush and pot holes, they begin to pull the boys off one by one. They are told that they are no longer able to touch the cart.



Pulling and pushing that cart up the hill was physically the hardest thing I've ever done. The carts were so heavy and there were so many obstacles in our path. We were on silent mode again so the only communication we had was through our eyes and we could see the pain that we all were feeling. But as we reached the top, there was such a strong feeling of accomplishment as well as humility and admiration for the women that did that day in and day out while their husbands were away.

Once the boys were back on the carts we continued up the hill until we reached the top. We then walked along the top of the hill for another mile or so. By the time we could see the camp at the bottom of the hill it was completely dark. We pulled our carts down the long, steep hill towards the camp with excitement building because we knew how close we were to being done. When we arrived at camp we set up our shelter and had some stew that was prepared for us. That first day we totaled 19 miles. It was hot in the day, but during the night it reached 30 degrees.

{our shelter was nicknamed the Taj Mahal because it was by far the nicest of all the shelters in our camp}

The next morning we did some fun activities as a group and then packed up our handcarts and started walking again. That day we only walked 5 miles but it was over some hard terrain and it was much hotter than the day before.

We reached our base camp in the early afternoon and the kids were thrilled that they were done walking for the day. We set up our incredible shelter once more and then headed off to the workshops.


{First we got to wash our hair!}


{Then we made homemade ice cream. (with Kirk and Texie)}

That evening we made our dutch oven dinners and had a hoedown. We were all in such good spirits, dancing and having a great time. We finished off the second day with a short fireside.


{recreating the hoedown}

Saturday morning we ate breakfast before gathering for another short fireside. Then we headed out to solo time. They give each person a packet with 3 stories to read and a piece of paper with an envelope. We were asked to read the stories, write in our journals, write a letter to ourselves, and pray allowed about 3 things we have learned and 3 things we want to change in our lives. That's when I realized that I don't have enough solo time in my life. It was so incredible to be out there in the middle of nowhere and just be able to think. Once solo time was up we came together as a family and shared the things we learned. The kids were so great and it was really wonderful to see their minds opening up and the things they had learned.


{Our final shot before we packed up. We are doing our stoic pioneer faces}

Finally we packed everything up and headed out, only 3 short miles (up hill and back down again) until we reached the end of our journey.


There were some cool landmarks along the way that showed where the pioneers had past. We passed the mountain range called the needles where Brigham Young got sick with rocky mountain fever and stayed for a few weeks while he recovered. It was a humbling experience to walk where those great people walked and gave their lives so we could live in this beautiful valley. What an incredible gift.


{We had to cross this little river as we reached our destination}


As we were waiting for the buses we got a shot of all the members of our ward that were there.

As much as I whined and complained about having to go on trek. . . it was truly one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. I formed life long bonds there as well as had spiritual experiences that were life changing.