Wednesday July 29-Saturday Aug 1, 2009
WOW! That's all I can think to say about the awesome experience that is Pioneer Trek. It was so much fun and even though at first I was very reluctant about going, the closer it got, the more I wasn't dreading to go and now I have to say that I am SOOOO glad I did. It was so spiritually uplifting.
On Wednesday after our rides dropped us off we all waited to be put in our "families". I was excited when I got put in the Anderson's Family. They are a couple about my age and when I suggested that maybe I could be an Aunt, everyone said "No we want you to be a sister." It was pretty cool. We played a name game to get to know our family members. There were 6 boys and six girls in our family and right away we had a bond.
After a bag check, we loaded our handcarts and started out on our journey. We made stops here and there for drinks or snack breaks and we wound up pulling the handcarts about 10 miles then came one of the toughest and most spiritual parts of the whole Trek. It was the Women's Pull. The young men were taken off of the handcart and had to walk along side. Everyone had to be silent as we walked and as we pulled the handcart up this hill it started to get tougher and tougher and we were getting tired, but as soon as we made it to the top of the hill we were relieved, but then we looked up ahead and saw that our journey was not quite over and waiting for us was another hill. We were a very strong and determined family of girls and we made it up the hill. We wound up pulling the handcart 1 1/2 miles on our own, and as soon as the boys were allowed to get back on and help, each one of us girls were in tears because you could just feel, not only the strength from these young men, but also the love and respect that they had for us. That night we all pretty much crashed we were so exhausted. We had gone about 15 miles that day.
Thursday morning we got up, ate our oatmeal, and headed back out on the trail. We only went about 5 miles until we reached the Base camp. At base camp we got to find a campsite for our family and set up our sleeping quarters. That afternoon we played fun pioneer games like a 3 legged race, and log toss, and they even let us wash our hair! That night we had a Ho-Down where we learned square dancing. It was a blast.While at base camp we made our own food in dutch ovens. We destroyed bread that we made, and laughed about it for hours, and so did most of the Trek Company. We had a blast just spending time getting to know each of our family members. We had a lot of fun playing a handkerchief game, and a game called signs.
Friday was our "Sunday" and we had Priesthood Relief Society and Sunday School, then we had a solo time where we reflected on what we had experienced over that past few days. That evening the whole company had a testimony meeting and when went back to our family camps we just spent the rest of the night talking with each other.Saturday was the day we headed down, and even though we were all excited to be going home, there was definitely a feeling of sadness that we were leaving our Trek families,
After a bag check, we loaded our handcarts and started out on our journey. We made stops here and there for drinks or snack breaks and we wound up pulling the handcarts about 10 miles then came one of the toughest and most spiritual parts of the whole Trek. It was the Women's Pull. The young men were taken off of the handcart and had to walk along side. Everyone had to be silent as we walked and as we pulled the handcart up this hill it started to get tougher and tougher and we were getting tired, but as soon as we made it to the top of the hill we were relieved, but then we looked up ahead and saw that our journey was not quite over and waiting for us was another hill. We were a very strong and determined family of girls and we made it up the hill. We wound up pulling the handcart 1 1/2 miles on our own, and as soon as the boys were allowed to get back on and help, each one of us girls were in tears because you could just feel, not only the strength from these young men, but also the love and respect that they had for us. That night we all pretty much crashed we were so exhausted. We had gone about 15 miles that day.Thursday morning we got up, ate our oatmeal, and headed back out on the trail. We only went about 5 miles until we reached the Base camp. At base camp we got to find a campsite for our family and set up our sleeping quarters. That afternoon we played fun pioneer games like a 3 legged race, and log toss, and they even let us wash our hair! That night we had a Ho-Down where we learned square dancing. It was a blast.While at base camp we made our own food in dutch ovens. We destroyed bread that we made, and laughed about it for hours, and so did most of the Trek Company. We had a blast just spending time getting to know each of our family members. We had a lot of fun playing a handkerchief game, and a game called signs.Friday was our "Sunday" and we had Priesthood Relief Society and Sunday School, then we had a solo time where we reflected on what we had experienced over that past few days. That evening the whole company had a testimony meeting and when went back to our family camps we just spent the rest of the night talking with each other.Saturday was the day we headed down, and even though we were all excited to be going home, there was definitely a feeling of sadness that we were leaving our Trek families,
and all the wonderful experiences behind. We only went about 5 miles that day and when we made it to the pick-up point, there were family members there to cheer us on for what we had accomplished. Our family said a teary goodbye and promised a "family reunion" in the future!
It was such a great experience to go on Trek and I am SO glad that I got past the "no toothpaste and deodorant" rule and took a chance.
It was such a great experience to go on Trek and I am SO glad that I got past the "no toothpaste and deodorant" rule and took a chance.
2 comments:
Holy cow. I can run 26 miles but I don't know if I could pull a handcart 20 miles. I think the Lord knew that and sent me to the 21st century. Way cool experience!
I always wanted to go on Trek. I have never had the opportunity, but hope some day I will. It sounds like an awesome experience. I haven't seen you for a long time. I hope you are doing good. I wish we had had a chance to be neighbors. Maybe someday I will move back and build by you.
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