The Trek - Viewpoint of Grandma and Grandpa

June 18-20, 2009

First an explanation of what the trek is. It is a church encampment for the youth ages 14 – 18. It is planned and carried out by our stake. This year 144 youth went on the trek – 17 from our ward. The youth try to get into the feel of what the Mormon pioneers went through. Of course this is hard – they only have three days and the pioneers spent months. Still, some of the rules help. The youth are to dress in period clothing – long dresses and bonnets for the girls. No blue jeans or t-shirts for the boys – and no shorts – only long pants. For their three days, they could only take what would fit in a five-gallon bucket. They could take no electronic entertainment – not even cell phones. They slept in sleeping bags – but without pads or pillows.

And they walked.

The trek was held at Martins Cove in central Wyoming – about 50 miles north of Rawlins. This is a historical site for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It is the site where a handcart company of pioneers waited for rescue in the early winter of 1856. They spent 5 days in “the cove” and in that time 56 of them died of exhaustion, exposure and hunger. These pioneers pulled handcarts across the plains to get to Salt Lake City. They left late and got trapped by an early winter blizzard. If the Saints in Salt Lake City had not learned of their plight and sent rescue teams to aid them, they all would have died.

It is much different doing the trek in the Spring.

The youth walked 3 miles to their camp ground on the first day. They were divided into “families” and each family had a handcart that they pulled, loaded with their five-gallon buckets and sleeping bags. Some pushed and some pulled and some just walked beside. Each family had adult supervision – “ma and pa”. The first evening they also had a square dance – that wasn’t even cancelled by a little rain.

The second day they did the martin’s Cove trek. It was about ten miles – still pulling the handcart for most of it. It included some activities. There was a devotional at “Dan Jones Cove”, a smaller cove in the mountains. They walked up into Martin’s Cove itself where the refugees from the storm waited for the much needed rescue party – a place hallowed by their suffering and steadfast patience. There was “the crossing of the Sweetwater” where they got to cross the river as the pioneers did. This year the Sweetwater River was high because it was spring and they had a lot of rain. They didn’t pull their handcarts through the river, but they did get to cross – on foot.

They had the “girl’s pull”, where the girls had to pull the handcarts up a fairly steep and sandy hill, with no help from the boys. In fact, the boys had to watch and not say a word.

On the last day, they packed up and walked and pulled the three miles back from the campground.

Trek is a great experience for the youth. It builds faith and testimony. It builds courage to face their own trials. It builds the youth. And it is even fun.

Now this is how Mar and I got to go. Our ward had three families and three sets of “mas and pas.” Still, they wanted an alternate set, so we volunteered. We didn’t figure that there would be any worries – the three mas and pas were committed. Until one of the pas got a new job and another broke his ankle in five places. Suddenly, with only 13 weeks left, we were not alternates, we were the real thing. But as in all things in life, things changed. The pa with the broken leg really wanted to go, so he started rehabbing in a serious manner. Still, that left us going with the third family. Then some of the kids dropped out. Our ward had enough for just two families, and we had two committed mas and pas. So, to reward us for our efforts, they still invited us to go as grandma and grandpa.

Hey, how could we ask for more? We got to have all the fun with none of the responsibility. We didn’t have to walk if we didn’t want to. We didn’t have to discipline. We just got to experience.

The experience was great.

Mar did about 5 miles of the walk, but she spent more of her time as a designated driver for other adults who couldn’t do the whole walk. She also was a big help with the logistic committee, particularly in helping to feed 0ver 200 people and take care of the kitchen. She was also a great help with our own kids.

I did the walk – every step of the way. As I walked I talked with our kids and our mas and pas. I talked with others in the stake. I took pictures. I really enjoyed the whole time. I talked with one of the Stake presidency and we figured out I was the 4th oldest who did the entire walk. There was one ma and pa who were 63, and the member of the presidency I was talking to was three months older than me.

We were truly blessed on this trek. The kids behaved ideally. Not one issue to complain of, except Eric through an apple and hit me in the head – an accident and no harm was done. In fact, it was pretty funny. When we told them to go to bed – to bed they went. When we asked them to get up – up they got. When it was their turn to help with the food – help they did. On the last day, one of the boys asked me if Mar was going to drive back to the pick up spot. He said his legs really hurt from the previous days walk. Of course he wanted me to tell him that she could drive him. What I said was, “Oh, I’m sorry. Once you start walking it will loosen up and not hurt.” He didn’t complain - he just walked back with the rest of us. Yep, the kids were all great.

And the weather was great. Four years ago it was 100+ degrees with a driving wind that destroyed tents. For us this year, it rained some on the first night, then the second day, when we did the long trek, it was about 75 degrees with a mild cooling breeze. Nights were cool, but not cold. The biggest threat we had from the weather was to ever present danger of sunburn. Yep, the weather was great.

The program was terrific. I especially liked the Friday evening devotional, sitting in an amphitheater, listening to an enthralling speaker talk about the stories of the pioneers and watching deer and antelope frolic on the far side of the Sweetwater River. It was pastoral and truly delightful.

But the best thing about this trek was the spirit. I felt the faith and testimony of the pioneers like I have never done before. I realized more fully what they risked and suffered for their devotion. And I came to appreciate the greatness of those who also risked and suffered to rescue them. I am glad I went.

And I’m glad I became closer to some of the youth. As we were leaving, mar and I going on to Utah, I walked up to a group of our boys to say goodbye. What they said was , “Bye Gramps.” It made me feel good.