Trekkin'

I have always wanted to go on a pioneer trek. A year ago or however long ago it was our ward decided to go on one, I decided it would be a great opportunity for Jay and I to go as a "ma and pa" since Kaitlyn and Landon would both have the opportunity to go. Jay agreed to go, he said he had always wanted to do it too, so I signed us up. We have done many activities in our ward to prepare for it, spent a lot of time getting ready, and about two weeks before it was time to go, I started kicking myself. I dreaded going. Every day I would wake up and that was my first thought "one more day closer to trek." Oh how I regretted signing up to go. In the back of my mind, I knew it would be a good experience, I just had no idea that those 4 days I spent at Martin's Cove would be one of those "treasure for the rest of your life, make lifetime friendships, cry when it was over kind of experiences."

The hardest part of the whole journey for me was the first couple hours after we got to camp. Now, I have spent plenty of nights in a tent. But this place was primitive. A latrine was our luxury. It was, however, the nicest latrine I have ever been in, but still a latrine. When Landon asked me where the sink was, I said, Oh in the bathroom. NO, there were no sinks. There was no running water in camp at all. My face is covered in zits due to a lack of washing it for 4 days, and just piling on sunscreen and bug spray. But once I got over the fact that this was my home, it was no big deal. It was home, and it felt like home.

We spent the next 4 days living out of our buckets. Everything you owned existed in a bucket, it was simple. If you needed anything, you knew where it was. Every day we loaded our buckets, (not however our tents or bedding, THANK HEAVENS!!) and as a ma and pa you had to make sure your children had everything they needed for the day, filling the water jugs and making gatorade, and headed off. The couple that were over the trek were amazing, and made sure we experienced everything there was to experience in that area. It was unbelievable. Their attention to detail they gave to every activity was incredible and we really had a great experience.

If you are a "ma and pa" you are assigned a trek family. Jay and I had 6 children, and a big brother and sister. I can't say enough about my trek family. I loved them from the start. We had the greatest kids. I knew when I got a text the day after we got back from one of the kids moms saying that her daughter missed her trek family that the kids felt the same way. I knew when one of them gave us a hug at church the next day that we all had the same great experience. I knew when a group of the leaders were standing in a circle crying because we were so sad it was over that it was a privledge to have been a part of it.

You can't go there and not come home a changed person. Whether you just grow more appreciative for our forebears who have gone before, or just learn to appreciate their will to survive, you can't go there and have the experiences we had and not feel of the spirit that is there. It truly is hallowed ground. You can feel it to the point it's almost tangible. I'll never forget my experience there at Martin's Cove, and I'll never forget theirs. The Mormon Handcart Trail is a trail of tragedy, a trail of misfortune, but more than that, it's a trail of faith. It's a trail of conviction, that leads you to deepen yours. Like the pioneers that traveled that journey 150 years ago, I learned that we all are pioneers, and we are all on our own journey, with trials and experiences that will test us to our very core. I learned that someday we will all leave behind a legacy, and it is up to us to decide what that legacy will be.
My awesome trek family. Loved these guys.
My awesome real family. Love them too. My trek daughters.Jay & KaitlynLandon & Jake