Lance and I were the Ma and Pa for 7 youth (4 boys and 3 girls). We were all one big family as we pulled our cart along. When we arrived at the beginning, we were each assigned a handcart, like the pioneers used many years ago to cross the plains. Then we stuffed them full of our gear. 
Within minutes, we were heading down the trail and into the woods. There we found ourselves with 3 large descents. We secured the carts with ropes and lowered them down to our first river crossing. 
Most of the men had left the company to assist in the river crossings. So, it was up to the youth and me to get our handcart down and across. 
Once we arrived on the other side, we climbed up a hill to reach the TRADING OUTPOST. It was there that we received our ration of food for the trek, and of course…our chicken. Yep, a real live chicken, that we were to keep alive for the next few days. 
We continued up the road, and traveled for about 8 miles. Late in the day, we reached our camp for the night. It was a beautiful spot in the hills, with a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier. 
We spread out our tarps and began to set up camp. Each family was in charge of cooking their own meals. Dinner on this night was BBQ beef sandwiches with potatoes…MMMMM…I have to say that we were fed very well on this trip. We closed the evening with a fireside and quickly returned to our camp before all the daylight had disappeared. On this night, the stars were incredibly brilliant. I know this because I was up all night with a large rock under me…. so I pondered and wished upon many of the twinkling stars. 
The next morning brought much excitement as we devoured our breakfast of pancakes and homemade syrup. Since the warm summer sun was melting the snow pack rapidly, this day brought one of the hardest river crossings. (The river rose nearly a foot on this morning.) The river crossing was swift and treacherous. Many families found themselves immersed in the chilly mountain runoff. I was grateful that prior to each crossing, our Stake President said a prayer with each family. This crossing proved to be difficult as the most direct path to the other side meant traveling and pulling against the rising current. Ashley was rather frustrated with this crossing, because she wasn’t allowed to cross with the handcart. 
She had to cross on the safety rope. I was very grateful once the 19th handcart reached the rocky shore on the other side, and all the men were on dry ground. 
Once we reached the other side, the day brought another challenge. From this point on, the women would be pulling the carts through the woods, beginning with a 20 foot vertical hill. I patiently watched the first group of women pull their carts, so that I might better understand what would be required of me and my girls. 
Each wagon was coupled with another group, this allowed us to combine the strengths of all those to raise the carts up the hill. I chose to walk alongside the handcart and guide it up the hill. All of the girls and women in our duo pulled the rope to lift the cart. We stayed back and helped a total of 4 handcarts up this embankment. We then entered the woods for our next challenge. This part of the course proved to be most difficult on the carts. We were required to maneuver tightly around trees and over large stumps and rocks. 3 handcart handles were broken under the stress of this pull. 
All of this was done while the men watched from the not so distant tree line. I was very proud of my girls through this part of the Trek. They did a marvelous job getting our cart through the woods.Once we were out of the woods, the men rejoined our group. We then traveled down a moss covered road that had large muddy areas. It was incredibly beautiful, unlike anything I had ever seen. Once again, we had to lower our carts down several steep hills. We came to another river, and this crossing soon became a challenge, as we had to carefully plan our route over the large river rocks. This was best accomplished by several families joining together and guiding each cart to the other side. Upon exiting the river, we ascended a large muddy hill, and then down another mossy covered road. Covering nearly 5 miles on this day, we arrived very late in the day to where we would be camping for the night.
Our second camp area was heavily treed, and the soft ground made for comfortable sleeping conditions. Nightfall was arriving quickly as we all entered the woods. We quickly prepared dinner which was rice, chicken and vegetables. Many of the 19 families were arriving later than expected, so we offered to share our dinner with them, there was plenty for all. Again, we gathered as a large group for a fireside, and in the dark, returned to our beds. This night’s sleep was wonderful.On our last morning, we greeted the day with hot oatmeal and fry bread. We eagerly packed up camp and marched forward on the trail, knowing that this was the last leg of our journey. We sang songs as we strolled down the last 3 miles of path to our rendezvous with the big yellow buses. Several steep hills welcomed us into our checkpoint. It was here that we unloaded our handcarts and ate a fantastic chicken lunch…YES, those chickens that we picked up on our first day…DELISH! We also learned how to play pioneer games and washed our hair…Ahhhhhh.
Amid the afternoon dust, we boarded the buses and returned to the church building for a Pioneer Day Celebration with the friends and families of all those who participated. Like I said, it was INCREDIBLE!! I can't wait to do it again!
2 comments:
Totally awesome!!
LOVE the Hollywood kiss at the end in the pioneer clothes!
Looks like you all had a wonderful time!
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