Pioneer Trek

Howdy!  Earlier this month I went on a pioneer trek with the youth from Church.  The youth were divided up into 6 different families each with their own handcarts, complete with adult couples as ma's and pa's.  During the Trek their "families" grew together and worked together.  I was a trail walker, which is another way of saying "hobo".  So I jumped around from family to family.



I didn't need to push or pull a handcart like the youth, but I often helped out where help was needed.  It was a good opportunity to talk with the youth and have fun!



Wearing pioneer attire was also fun!  For the guys, it was generally wearing an old button-up dress shirt with dockers and a hat.  To make it most realistic, I added suspenders.  For the girls, it was fun to see them all dressed up in bloomers, skirts & blouses, and cute bonnets.



The first day we pulled for 12 miles!  I know that sounds like a lot.  And it was.  But the youth had a great attitude and kept it up with a great spirit!  I was completely amazed that I heard no complaining or whining!!

Early on, we had to change a wheel that was bending inwards and take care of lots of blistering feet.



It was hard, and they were tired by the end of the day.  Before we reached the end, there was a part where the men were required to leave the handcarts to let the women pull by themselves.  When the Mormon pioneers crossed the plains, many times the women had to pull by themselves because the men died from lack of sleep, starvation, and physical exertion, and also a number of men were called to serve in the Mormon Battalion.  This part of the trek was hard for us men to watch the women struggle with the handcarts by themselves.  But it was amazing to see these sweet sisters pull together and get those carts up this large hill.  The angels were surely with them.

Eventually just before dark we made it to our camp for the first night.



Never has food tasted so good!  And it wasn't just because we were super hungry, but we had magnificent cooks!



In the morning we were at it again.  Early on, I encountered these bandits!



And this delusional young lady.  We can only suppose those darn bandits have swapped out her baby while she wasn't looking.  Very clever.



When we reached our camp, we played lots of pioneer games!  It was lots of fun.  I was in charge of the sack race.  There was a lot to do!



And more pioneer activities, such as taffy candy making, quilting, and other games.



Some people needed a little extra attention after such a rough day of fun and games.



In the evening, we had a hoe down!!  It was really a lot of fun.  Since I don't dance, I took pictures.



Did I mention the food was GREAT!



In the end, there was one last 5 1/2 mile pull to the end.  During the trek, I tried to spend as much time as I could with the youth.  I could have hung out with the adults much more, but I was really there for the youth.  I asked as many as I could about who they were dedicating their pioneer trek to and why, how they felt, and whatever they were interested in.  I tried to be a listening ear.  I hope they know that Brother Kimbler cares if they don't remember any of the conversations we had (or even my name!)



At the end, parents, family and friends were waiting to cheer on their youth as they finished an incredible journey!



For me, it was an amazing experience I was able to share with my youth whom I have stewardship over.  The theme of the pioneer trek was "remember".  I hope they remember the great times we all had together, the unity we felt, the Spirit we felt, and the great children of God that they really are with such a tremendous potential!