Important Things You Need to Know
Money...Clothing...Pre-Trek

Money
Everyone who is going on the trek in August will end up paying $275. That is a wonderful price that includes your transportation, delicious food, and the opportunity for you to have a once-in-a-lifetime memorable experience.

Please observe the following payment schedule. Turn your money into your bishop. Since you have all paid a deposit of $50, you will only need to pay an additional $225.

By February 2012--pay $75.00
By April 1st--pay additional $75.00
By June 15th--pay final installment of $75.00

Feel free to pay all of it early if you have the resources to do so.

Clothing
Dress for success on the trek!

Women
Long-sleeved shirts (one or two for the week; D.I. or Goodwill are great places to get these--for the men too)
Pioneer-style skirts (one or two; not too long so you aren't tripping); light fabrics
Scrubs--you must wear something underneath your skirts; it is preferable that you wear scrubs (the pants) underneath your skirts, as opposed to tights or pantaloons (sometimes you can get used scrub pants from the hospital)
Bonnet (for a bonnet pattern go to http://handcart-trek.org/bonnet_pattern.pdf)

Men
Long-sleeved shirts (one or two)
Light colored pants, such as khaki pants; absolutely no jeans
Wide-brimmed hat (no baseball caps)

Everyone
Broken-in shoes such as tennis shoes or boots
Poncho
Light jacket
Neck cooler
Leather gloves (these are a must for pulling the handcarts)

Pre-Trek Activity
A pre-trek activity will be on Saturday, June 9th, in Enterprise. The time will be put on the blog later. Put this on your calendars now! Everyone going on the trek should be there, so it is important that you attend. It's a lot of fun too! The Enterprise ward does a fantastic job of feeding everyone. Be sure to wear your trek clothing.

Remember to be in shape for the trek by walking and drinking lots of water.

"My son, William, was taken sick with the mountain fever 700 miles from Salt Lake City, and myself and Jesse had to pull him in our cart till we arrived at Sweetwater where teams from Salt Lake City met us and there we left our carts. Previous to this time we had to subsist on four ounces of flour a day for nine days in the snow knee deep . . . Many had their limbs badly frozen. William and myself among the number. [The flesh fell off her toes and side of left foot. Protruding bones were removed with scissors.] We arrived in Salt Lake City on the last day of November of the same year after suffering many hardships and privations for the truth's sake, but I know my record is sure . . .truly we suffered much for the truth's sake, but the reward of the faithful is sure."

(Mary Soar Taylor, age 31 when she came to Zion with the Martin Handcart Company, Jolene S. Allphin, Tell My Story, Too, p. 311)

Trek Fireside/Stake Dance

A fireside will be held right before the stake dance on November 12th. It will be at the Island City chapel at 7 p.m. and will be for the youth ages 14 and up. Sister Warburton has written a wonderful program to get you excited for the trek next summer.

Joseph F. Brickey

Ever Onward

"Mother used to tell us children some of her experience. She would say, 'I could write a book of my life and not tell half of the suffering we went through on our journey over the plains. We took all our bedding and the family Bible with our records written in, but we had to throw them away on the plains.' . . . [Her father, Ole Madsen] pulled his handcart all day without having anything to eat. At last one evening he rolled up in scanty covers, laid down and passed away. That same night several others died . . . they who died that night were laid in a small ditch with their boots or shoes on and covered. That night the wolves howled all night. They believed the wolves had uncovered the bodies and were eating them."

Anna Johansen, speaking about her mother, Christina Madsen Christiansen

Jolene S. Allphin, Tell My Story Too, p. 78.

17 Miracles

This summer a film came out called 17 Miracles. It is the true-life story of the Willie handcart company, with some Martin company stories mixed in. The main character is Levi Savage, who was instrumental in helping the European Saints in the Willie company as they trekked to Zion. Although they suffered great tragedies, the members of the company experienced the Savior's love through many wonderful miracles. If you want to see this moving film, you can purchase a copy movie at Deseret Book, Amazon, or anywhere else movies are sold. It will touch your life.

For even the poorest of the handcart pioneers, such as Ann Rowley, a widow traveling with eight children, the luggage limit of 17 pounds meant leaving behind things they valued greatly. Ann recalled that in Iowa City "everything that even hinted of being a luxury [had to] be eliminated. There were many keepsakes that I wanted to take but couldn't. But there was one thing I didn't consider a luxury and that was my feather-bed. It wouldn't be so bad to walk 1,300 miles if one had a feather-bed to sleep on at night, but no matter how I folded it, it was too bulky. But a feather-bed is a feather-bed, and when it came to choosing between Zion and a feather-bed, well it was a little too late to turn my back on Zion, so I ripped it open and emptied the feathers on the ground and used the tick to cover the supplies on the handcart."
Ann Rowley Chooses Zion, The Price We Paid, p. 65

Ancestors In the next few months each person going on the trek will be assigned the name of a person who was in the Martin or Willie handcart companies. You will represent that person on the trek. Your love and gratitude for the handcart pioneers will grow as you learn about your pioneer.

If you have an ancestor who was in any of the handcart companies (there were ten companies of handcart pioneers that journeyed to Utah between 1856 and 1860), please let Sister Dawnie Baxter, our stake young women's president, know the name so you can represent your ancestor on the trek. Email her at sisterbaxter.stake.yw@gmail.com.

If you aren't sure if your ancestor was in a handcart company, go to the following website. Enter a last name and see what comes up. You may find one of your ancestors, and if you are lucky you may find an attached journal entry that was written by one of them or about them.

http://lds.org/churchhistory/library/pioneercompanysearch

"We suffered beyond anything you can imagine, and many died of exposure and starvation. . . . [But we] came through with the absolute knowledge that God lives, for we became acquainted with Him in our extremities.

I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, I can only go that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it. I have gone to that sand, and when I reached it, the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there.

Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin handcart company." Francis Webster (Andrew D. Olsen, The Price We Paid, 2006, pp. 2-3).

Prepare Now for the Trek

In one year you will have one of the GREATEST weeks of your life. At Martin's Cove, Sixth Crossing, Rocky Ridge, and Rock Creek Hollow, you will experience firsthand what it was like to be a member of the Martin or Willie handcart companies. You will have the opportunity to get to know our Savior, Jesus Christ, in a way you never have before.

The trek will be for the youth who are 12 years old by August 5, 2012, up through the youth who graduate from high school in 2012.

Start preparing now to have a wonderful experience:

• Financially--The trek will cost each person $275. Work hard to earn the money yourself. Turn your deposit of $50 into your bishop by October 1st.
  
• Spiritually--The pioneers kept their faces pointed toward Zion. This year, exercise your faith and determination to be temple-worthy as you prepare for the trek.
• Physically--get yourself in shape before the trek. You will be doing a lot of walking.
  

"It is good to look to the past to gain appreciation for the present and
perspective for the future." President Gordon B. Hinckley