Abbott's Habits: July 2011

Here we are bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 5:30AM waiting to load the buses and have ourselves a pioneer trek.

Brinnan and Caroline looking happy to be on our way!

Katie and Aubree looking less awake. Check out the sunrise in the background.

Here we are, the cleanest we will be for the next 3 days. David isn't 14 until December and was therefore not old enough to join the trek this year. Maybe they will do it again before he leaves Young Men and then he will get to go.

This was the best way to find shade in some places although I must admit the worrier mom in me comes out when I see my child sitting under a 500 pound cart with no rocks blocking the wheels.

There were thistles everywhere and they were so bright purple and pretty. I love that I caught a butterfly on this one, so fun!

We have had so much rain in Utah this year that all of the wildflowers were so pretty and the area we went to was so green. I made a collage of what we saw as we walked.

Katie and her family pulling their handcart. Can you see the little glare in her eye? This was hard work, maybe she didn't want a photographer right now?

Caroline (in the navy bonnet) and her family the first day.

There was a pretty steady incline the first 2 days and part of the third until we felt like we went downhill. Isn't it so beautiful? Nelson and I went on trek as staff so we wandered up and down the handcart line the whole time, talking to the kids and helping out where we could. The second day I helped with the cook staff and didn't hike but was back the 3rd day to finish.

After getting off the buses the first morning, we met all together and everyone was told what "family" they would be in for the next 3 days. Each ward in the stake chose 3-4 sets of Ma's and Pa's to lead each family. We had 23 handcarts. Even the Ma's and Pa's didn't know who was in their family until that morning. They read off the names and you went and found your new family. Each family had a Ma and Pa and 6 kids. A lot of these kids didn't really even know the other kids or adults in the stake they were assigned to be with. Then they have this physically and mentally challenging experience all along sharing our pioneer history of what others went through and the spiritual strengthening of why they did this and they end up drawing closer together and being strengthened themselves. Each person on trek was asked to research an ancestor, or someone else's ancestor, who traveled across the plains in a handcart company to shadow for the 3 days. We had name tags that said "ask me about____" and you filled in the name of the person you were shadowing. It was fun to hear all of the stories these kids had learned.

We even had a sweetwater crossing recreation, without the ice and snow. The young men carried the young women across the water here. The next day they also experienced a women's pull up a very steep, rocky hill a mile long with none of the men or young men. In our history this happened where the men were called into military or church service and the women had to go it alone. At the top of the hill, they let the young men come back and help the girls up the rest of the hill.

At the end of the 2nd day there was square dancing. I guess I remember more than I thought from elementary school PE class. It was a lot of fun. That night we slept out under the stars next to a little babbling stream. It was so incredibly beautiful.

The last day was the hardest. We had about a mile up a very steep hill. Our ward's handcarts went first and it was hard work.

It was so wonderful to see what happened, though. As each cart made its way up the hill we stopped a few times to take breaks. As we did, first some and then more and more of the young men ran back to help the next carts up the hill. Then they would rejoin their handcarts, make it to the next stop and go back again and again. By the last cart to come up the hill, there were huge groups of young men helping each family push their cart up the steep hill. What awesome young men!

Almost to the top!

Brinnan and Caroline resting along the way.

Caroline's artistic efforts with the camera.

We reach the top of the mountain!

We had an American flag that let the handcarts each day. The youth took turns carrying the flag in the front of the procession.

Stopping for a break during the 8 mile long last day's trek.

I wonder if any watermelons will grow after our seed spitting contest?

Katie and I taking a break. I sure loved having my camelback! We had a refrigerator truck taking all the food along the way as we were fed incredible meals and porta-pottys that were pulled by trucks to use at each stop also. We had medical personnel who went up and down the line of handcarts helping with blisters and other problems all along the way. This trek was sheer luxury compared to the real pioneer trek's in the 1800's.