Pioneer Trek!

I recently had one of the most epic experiences of my life. It was a life-changer that I’m still figuring out. Steve and I were blessed to be Ma and Pa to a fantastic group of 7 kids on our ward’s Pioneer Trek. Such an enormous experience deserves great attention, so the next 4 posts are each devoted to a day of trekking. Read what you like or just look at the pictures. I hope you can get a taste of what we experienced and the lessons we learned. And if you ever have a chance to go on trek...do it!

We walked nearly 50 miles in the pioneers’ footsteps, pulling handcarts along the way. There was sweat; tears; blisters; singing; laughter; rain and fierce wind; wallows thigh deep with disgusting, stinky mud; square dancing; sage brush…lots of sage brush; the biggest sky I’ve ever seen where you could watch the storm roll in and know it was going to pound you hard; the same sky at night when the clouds had cleared, and there were so many stars it was difficult to see the Big Dipper through them.


Oh, and it was hot and the only thing offering shade was the sage brush and the handcart. I figured out later that I burned around 11,500 calories during the 4 days’ walk…it was hard work. The hardest part for me was leaving my boys behind. I am so grateful Steve’s parents came and took care of the kids for us; I knew the boys were well-loved and cared for. Hard as it was for me, I would do it again in an instant because of the lessons I learned, the fun I had being with our incredible youth and leaders, the satisfaction of setting a large goal and attaining it, and the surer knowledge I gained that Heavenly Father is very aware of who we are and what our struggles are and that He will help us if we reach out to Him.