This past week I went on Pioneer Trek! It was SUCH a great experience. Last Summer, I went on one with my old stake, then since I moved, I got to go again! (: I wasn't as excited about it before, but all the experiences I had were so truly amazing. Here are some highlights of my trek!
Day 1, Monday, July 30
Monday morning, I had the "opportunity" to wake up at about 4:15AM so that I was ready and at the church by 5:30! Lucky me, right? We left the church to head for Wyoming on buses, and let me just say there were some pretty loud people on my bus..but hey! At least they were having fun..! We took a rest stop about 4 hours into the drive at the Little America in Wyoming. We got the strangest looks from people! We were all in our pioneer clothes and bonnets. Some people were even secretly taking pictures of us. I couldn't help but laugh!
We had been driving for 8 hours when we finally got to the Martin Center. We watched a movie about the pioneers who had walked on that trail and we heard some pioneer stories.
Time to start walking! We walked with our handcarts for around 3 miles which wasn't bad at all. It was cloudy and sprinkled a little, so we weren't too hot. We set up camp and ate dinner! I was especially excited for this first night, because we got to learn to square dance! My group was SO MUCH FUN. Almost everyone got into it, which made it even better.
Afterwards, we had a family home evening with out trek families. We had a little lesson about the pioneers, and our Ma told us a story about a pioneer woman whose husband was so unwell that he couldn't walk. He told her to leave him and to just go along without him, but she wouldn't. She told him to get in the handcart, and she pulled him the rest of the way through the freezing blizzards, and 18 inches of snow. That, my friends, is courage. After the lesson we played a family game! It was actually really funny. One person had to stand at the front with a blindfold on, (We used our bonnets) and hold a stick out in front of them. Next, someone would walk up, hold onto the stick, and make a snorting noise. The person with the blindfold on had to try to guess who the snort came from. Needless to say, there were some strange noises coming from everyone! Then we got to eat brownies. Woopty woop! Time for bed!
Day 2, Tuesday, July 31
5:30AM..WAKEY WAKEY! Yes. We got to wake up this early everyday! We ate breakfast and packed up all our stuff and took down the tents. We trekked with the handcarts for 2.4 miles, then walked without our handcarts up to Dan Jones Cove, and Martin's Cove. It was SO HOT. Then we had lunch with our wards, which was great! After lunch, we got to go see these amazing statues of 4 men that carried people across the Sweetwater River. When the Martin handcart company made their trek to Salt Lake City, they left late. Which meant they had to trek through 18+ inches of snow, and the temperatures were below freezing most of the time. When they came to the river, it was terrifying. The pioneers didn't have the proper nutrition to keep their bodies warm, and going into the river meant death for most of them. 2 men and 2 teenage boys from a rescue party started pulling the handcarts across the river. The river was so cold, there were several inches of ice in it, with ice chunks floating everywhere. The river was waist deep in some places. These men carried children, women, and weaker men across the river multiple times. They were in the water almost all day long. There were some serious after effects on these men from performing this completely selfless service for these pioneers. The only way to describe these men is that they were truly Christlike. They possessed the Charity, the pure love of Christ, to carry these pioneers through the Sweetwater River. After we heard these stories, some members of the rescue party that came along trek with us carried whoever wanted to be carried across the river. We got to pull our handcart across as well, with a couple members of our family in it. It was one of the biggest spiritual experiences I had on this trek. We were properly equipped with 2 pair of sturdy shoes, we didn't have to cross it in life threatening circumstances. These pioneers sacrificed everything for this gospel. I admire that so much.
About 2 miles later, we arrived back to the Martin Center, and the buses took us over to the Willie Center. For dinner, they said we were going to eat Flour Rations. (what the pioneers ate). We really only had to try a little bit before getting sloppy joes for dinner. Since the pioneers were trekking through such awful circumstances, they didn't have any way of getting proper food along the way. By the time they were in Wyoming, each member of each family was only able to eat 4 oz. of flour the entire day. Sometimes, fathers would give their share of daily rations to their wives or children. Once again, they sacrificed for the ones they loved, and the gospel, even to the point of sacrificing their own lives.
Day 3, Wednesday, August 1
This was my very favorite day of the whole pioneer trek. We got to hike Rocky Ridge! 14.8 miles! It was also the day of the Women's Pull. The boys in our family were so amazing. They didn't want us pulling the handcart until the Women's Pull, so they took it around 3ish miles by themselves. The missionaries there came along the trek on horses with us, and informed us that we wouldn't be doing the Women's Pull up the usual spot, and that we would be doing it up the actual Rocky Ridge instead. Which was steeper, but a little shorter. When we were about to start, they had all the boys hike up before us without the handcarts. One of the sister missionaries told us how many pioneer women had to hike alone with their children and without their husbands; when their husbands would pass away, or when they would be called to go away from their families. It all became very real to me how courageous these women were. We had 4 girls in my family, and our Ma. Some of the leaders and girls sang As Sisters In Zion and I felt the spirit so strong! The sister missionary talked about how angels would help us, but we had to be giving it all we had, and we had to do our very best to get the help. I was in the back of the handcart pushing with another girl in my family, and the other 3 were pulling up front. We got up the first hill with little struggle. It was pretty hot, but we could do it. We walked for a while going up and down hills, then we came to the top of a hill close to the end and saw it. Rocky Ridge was pretty steep. Once we came to the hill, we had to push our complete hardest! Every time I thought about letting up, I remembered what the sister missionary had said; we had to give it all we had to get help. We got to the rocks, which were really big! One of the rocks even caused our handcart to start falling backwards, but with the help of every individual girl in my family, we got through it. We worked together, and suddenly a girl came on the other side and helped push it a little ways. When she left, another came to help. These were our angels. We got it to the top, sweaty and tired, but I couldn't help but run down the hill to help the other handcarts. The spirit was so strong, and I know some of the pioneer women were with us, assisting us push our carts to the top. That experience changed me. The boys in our family were eager to pull the handcart, but I just wanted to keep pushing! So I did. I got to know some of the people in my family better for the next 6 miles. They were all so amazing. We took a break at a patch of grass, and they made an announcement. Since the beginning of the trek, some of the families had a baby doll that symbolized a member of their family. The announcement was that the baby had passed away, and they had to leave it on the side of the trail. I just imagined these pioneer mothers having to keep moving along, leaving their babies on the side of the path covered in snow, because the ground was too hard to dig a hole. These pioneers were amazing! The next 4 miles felt like forever. The road was so long, and I kept thinking we had to be coming up on camp soon. We took a rest, and it was still about 2 miles away. We were so close! We walked and walked and walked and walked..when finally we saw an American Flag around a corner. We could see our camp! The tents were already set up as well! What an amazing sight to see! We had finally arrived. Later that night, we had a testimony meeting with the whole stake and I head some amazing testimonies. We had a little meeting with our family afterwards, where I bore my testimony.
There is no way this Gospel isn't true. These 2 handcart companies suffered through all of the freezing temperatures, the blizzards, the deaths of family members, to get to Salt Lake City for this gospel. It also hit me how selfless our ancestors were! They went all that way, not only for themselves, and their families, but for me. For their descendants who would be able to grow up in this gospel! Who would be able to be sealed to their families, and partake of the ordinances that were only available there at the time. I truly love them for that. They suffered through the worst of conditions, and sacrificed their own lives for others. I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only completely true church on this earth. My Heavenly Father Loves me, and every single person in this world. I love this gospel. And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Yours truly, Brookelle (:
TOP SONGS AT THE MOMENT
- Demons- Imagine Dragons
- I Will Follow You Into The Dark- Death Cab For Cutie
- If It's The Beaches- The Avett Brothers
- Lovesick Fool- The Cab
- My Kind of Perfect- David Archuleta
