The trek is quickly approaching. Now that the weather is warmer, put on your walking shoes and walk a lot, particularly uphill! It is very important that you are in good shape. We will be pushing handcarts up Rocky Ridge to Rock Creek Hollow. When the Willie pioneers went up Rocky Ridge they were malnourished, wearing thin clothing and holey shoes, and they pushed in very cold, wintery weather, sometimes pulling a sick loved one in the cart.
When we go this August, we will be well fed, properly dressed with good shoes, and wearing gloves to protect our hands. It will be summer and we will have water to drink. It will be difficult, but it will be rewarding.
While we push and pull with good attitudes, we should think about why our stake has chosen to give you, the youth, this opportunity for a taste of what the pioneers went through. The pioneers had many physical trials, and they endured them with great faith as they walked to Zion. We have many trials in our lives also, and like the pioneers, we must endure them with great faith. That is a great lesson we can learn from the pioneers.
It is up to each one of us to have the right attitude as we participate in this trek. This isn't going to be a "fun" vacation, and you will leave behind all your electrical devices. The trek is not meant to entertain you.
However, with the right attitude you will discover many things: you will make lasting friendships with people from other wards; you will gain an appreciation for warm food and a soft bed; you will realize that doing hard things can be rewarding and enjoyable; you will appreciate what the pioneers went through and why they persevered; and most important, your testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ, will grow and be strengthened. You will come to love Him just as the pioneers did. With the right attitude, your week on the trek will be a memory you will cherish forever.
Buckets
Every person on the trek will need a 5-gallon round bucket with a lid. This bucket will hold everything you will need that week, except for your sleeping bag, foam pad, and pillow, which will be in a bag that will be provided for you later.
The bucket will hold the following: your change of clothes, such as extra skirt and blouse; socks/underwear; toiletries (don't forget your toothbrush and deodorant!); baby wipes; hand sanitizer; bug spray, flashlight; poncho; sunglasses; gloves; journal/pen, and small scriptures. Everything has to fit in your bucket. Your pajamas can go inside your sleeping bag if you desire. Write your name on all of your possessions.
The bucket will be your chair for the week. Be sure to put your name on it in big, readable letters. You can find buckets online, at farm supply stores, home depot, from restaurants (just make sure it didn't have pickles in it!), and some Walmarts have them too. Gamma lids are great. They are lids that twist off and will be easier for many of you to use than a pull off lid.
Water Bottles
You must bring a water bottle! There are no drinking fountains anywhere. Put your name on it.
Shoes
Everyone must wear good, sturdy broken-in shoes on the trek. No one can go barefoot, wear flip flops, moccasins, slippers or anything less than good, solid shoes.
Clothing
Look at the post of December 13, 2011, for what to wear on the trek.
Fireside and Stake Dance
The stake fireside and dance will be held April 14th at 7 p.m. Plan to be there!
Pre-Trek
The pre-trek event scheduled for June 9th in Enterprise has been cancelled.
Are you practicing your square dancing?
Sarah and Henry Squires joined the church in England. Nine years later, they sailed for America to be with the Saints in Utah. Their oldest daughter, Sarah, was eight years old at the time. Young Sarah's mother had been in ill health, so Sarah, who was also sick, walked so her mother could ride. She pushed the handcart as her father pulled. As they climbed a mountain, her well-worn shoe came off in the mud. The handcart would roll back if she stopped pushing, so she left her shoe in the mud and went on. That night her little foot was bleeding from exposure. She needed a new pair of shoes, as her other shoe was worn badly. A man in the company named Brother Booth, made her a pair of buffalo hide moccasins, that she wore the rest of the way to the Salt Lake Valley. Sarah never forgot his kindness.
(Squires Family, Martin Handcart Company, Jolene S. Allphin, Tell My Story, Too, p. 305)
