Goodyear Stake Pioneer Trek 08'

Our Stake held a pioneer trek this summer for the youth 14 and up at the LDS Ranch in Heber, AZ. The Trek is a condensed version of the Handcart Trek the early Saints endured traveling to the Salt Lake Valley. The YM/YM where divided into family units with Ma's ,Pa's, big brothers & sisters. The youth spent two nights and three days on the 10 mile trail, with only one change of clothes and no soap, deodorant or toothbrush/toothpaste. They had to dress in clothes of that era, and required to wear a western style hat. Most of the items Nick took on the trek were purchased at Goodwill, including a nice black felt hat.

Nicholas waiting for the bus at 4am. It's hard to make out from this photo, but he is wearing a white undershirt.

On the Trek, they had an opportunity to pull hand carts, play pioneer /team building games, and scripture study. The first night out it rained so hard, there was approximately 2 inches of mud. Unable to pull the handcarts any further, the youth were transported back to the base camp... Julie and I believe Nicholas had a wonderful time and now has a greater appreciation for what the early pioneers experienced as they traveled to Salt Lake City.

Nicholas' pioneer "family" (courtesy of Sister F. thanks)

Scripture study...

Arriving in the "Salt Lake Valley". Nick's family was the first family to arrive at the end of the trek. It wasn't supposed to be a race, but evidently during the last rest stop, some of the boys, includig Nick, in Nick's family wedged rocks and sticks under the other family's handcart wheels, making it hard for those families to move their handcarts. then when it was time for the final leg, Nick' family moved to the front of the line...

Nick's trek "Big sister". Ok, remember the white undershirt? Notice the color of the shirt now... When we finally caught up with Nick, I notice that his undershirt was no longer white. So i asked Nick if they Tye-Dyed his shirt. He gave me a funny look, but would not answer me. Remember it rained hard the first evening, well it seems that black felt "runs" when it gets wet. His face was the same color as his shirt the first night due to the heavy rain. Thankfully one of the adult leaders gave him a rag to clean his face (Sister F. to the rescue!).

Nicholas' handcart

We headed to visit Grandma and Grandpa Ruppenthal in Texas after we picked up Nicholas. Not wanting to travel the rest of the day with a teenager who hadn't used deodorant or showered in three day, we stopped at the Community Pool in Show Low and made Nick shower and change his clothes (he was a stinky boy!). Later that day we had to stop and put all of Nicholas' trek clothes in a car top carrier. They remained on the roof until we arrived at Sunrise Beach.