TREK

TREK 2011

Of all the things I thought
I would love to do...
going on a 3 day trek through Wyoming
was not on the list.
Funny how something I thought
sounded just miserable,
turned out to be
one of my most cherished experiences.
I'll try not to bore you with too many details...
I'll save those for my journal.
Our theme for the stake was
STAND
Stand Together And Never Doubt
Each day we had morning/evening firesides
around this theme.
Stories were shared of other
pioneer companies,
and we each shared personal ancestor stories
as a family during our lunch times
and our evening family time.
We pulled for 17 miles...
actually, it was the kids and Tim.
Everytime I got my hands on the cart,
one of my kiddos jumped in and took it back.

Kenzie and her girls just before boarding the bus.

It was a long ride up to Fort Bridger...
made longer because the bus could only
go about 30 mph up Echo Canyon.
We arrived late, waited in a LONG line
for the last port-a-potty we would see
for another two miles,
loaded up our buckets,
and headed out.
We were on the actual mormon trail
for nearly the entire trek.
We took a detour for the last 2 miles
to get ourselves back to the buses.

This is our cart all loaded up...
notice our very clean, non muddy clothes,
that didn't last long.

We started out at Brigham's Arrow
These rocks pointed the way so the
pioneers would know which way to the valley.

These were my "daughters" for the trek,
and they were amazing girls.
Notice the baby...we were blessed with a baby girl
as we arrived in Fort Bridger.
The note with our baby said:
"Your mother is weak from childbirth,
and will need help carrying the baby,
as the baby cannot be pulled in the cart."
We named her Annabeth Bertha..
Annabeth--the girls name choice
Bertha-- the boys name choice
Of course, the brothers all called her
Baby Bert for short.
Annabeth stayed with us until
lunch on the 3rd day.
She died of exposure
and we had to bury her along side the trail.
As we talked about
the mothers and fathers who had to
leave their children like that,
I couldn't help but think of my own babies,
which of course, brought me to tears.
My daughters cried with me...
I truly can't imagine how heartbreaking
that must have been.

Tim and our "son" Josh.
Josh was the skeptic in our family.
This was his 2nd trek,
and he was sure it would be just as awful
as his first experience.
But, I watched him jump in to relieve his sisters
whenever the trail was tough.
Even when we were standing in the middle
of a hail storm, soaked through,
he did his part.
Funny how quickly you grow to love
kids that you have only known
for such a short time.
It's so true what they say,
that going through hard things together
brings you closer to those you go through it with.

Awwwh...my favorite pioneer girl.
Kenzie was in a different family,
but our ward was all one company
so I got to watch her from a distance.
I never once saw her walking alongside the cart.
She was always pushing or pulling.
I never heard her complain, not once.
Even when she was covered in mud,
with water squishing out of her shoes,
trying to set up a tent with her sisters.
She is such a hard worker
and I was so proud of her and all she did.

Kenzie with her momma and sistas

Kenzie and her family starting the trek.

Just after lunch on the first day
the clouds rolled in.
It had been sunny and hot all morning,
so we were pretty happy about the clouds.
Pretty soon, it started to sprinkle.
The sprinkle lasted for about a minute,
and then turned into a huge storm.
I have never been so wet, so fast.
I was literally soaked through in minutes.
It rained, hailed, thundered for about 10 minutes.
There was so much water that the ground
turned to small rivers of mud.
It soaked through our shoes,
and at one point we had to leave the carts
for fear of lightening strikes.
I watched families huddle together and offer prayers.
With the rain still coming down,
we pulled up the hill.
Kids were slipping and sliding
as were the carts.
Just as we reached the top,
the rain subsided and the sun broke through.

My little family just after the storm.
And yes, baby Annabeth stayed all dry and warm.

Our company after the storm.
If you look closely,
you can see the mud caked on the wheels.
Just after the storm,
we came to our Sweetwater Crossing.
We had a fireside with our ward
where we shared the story of the boys
who carried the members of the
Martin Handcart Co. across the freezing water.

Kenzie and her family starting across the water.
You really can't tell from the picture,
but the water was deep.
It was past my waist and running fast.
Men lined the river to help us across.
Once we reached the bank on the other side,
there was a steep incline that was now
8-12 inch deep mud.

After Kenzie helped her family cross,
she ran back and stood in the water
to help the other carts.
Proud mama again.
We rolled into camp that night almost 2 hours late.
Our camp was more of a swamp.
We set up tents in the driest spots we could find
and lined up to get dinner around 8pm.
Another major storm hit by 9pm.
We just had time to get in the tents.
It rained hard, and the lightening was so close
it lit up the tents.
Again, more prayers, and lots of calls out to
surrounding tents making sure kids were okay.
One of our favorite trek stories from that night:
A boy in our ward woke up during the night
and realized his tent was leaking
and his sleeping bag was soaked.
We could literally wring it out in the morning.
He went to the port-a-potty
and realized it was warm and dry.
He put down the lid, latched the door,
sat down and went to sleep.
After that, we made a new rule,
if you were cold during the night,
get a extra blanket from ma & pa
INSTEAD
of snuggling up in the port-a-potty!

The next morning, we pulled on our wet muddy clothes,
and our soggy shoes, packed up our tents,
and started again.
As you can see in these pics,
we were worn out before we got going.
We did the women's pull later that day.
I don't have any pictures,
but it was just amazing watching
those girls pull alone.
I was able to walk with my girls,
but not supposed to help.
The boys lined the top of the hill,
standing in silence with their hats over their hearts.
As girls finished, they ran back down
to help the others.
Of course, Kenzie ran back down
and helped pull 3 more carts up the hill.
Very sweet moment.

My family on day two.
The attitudes from our youth were
nothing but positive.
As our company walked along,
they sang hymns, primary songs,
disney music... it was surreal.
You have never heard "Follow the Prophet"
until you've heard the youth
belting it out along the trail.

Back home today,
I am sunburned and peeling.
My garage is filled with tents
waiting to be cleaned and returned.
My sinks are filled with white shirts soaking in bleach
Wyoming mud is tough stuff.
And if you asked me
to do this whole thing again tomorrow,
I would. No hesitations.
My love for the pioneers and their sacrifices
has grown so much,
and my testimony has been strengthened.