Our stake took the youth to Martin's Cove last week.

[cowboy]

I'm no photographer, but it was my responsibility to take pictures, probably because I was in shape enough to run back and forth getting shots of everyone. Here are a few.

When the rescue party reached the Martin company, they had to get them out of the wind, so they took them across the Sweetwater here into some rocky breaks.


At that point, they were so tired and cold that they didn't think they could cross, so four young men carried many of them, and a monument has been erected there to honor their service.





The rescuers took them to Dan Jones cove first, but it wasn't as protected or as large as it needed to be.



So they left Dan Jones' Cove and headed up a long draw into the larger, more protected Martin's Cove. At this point, one of our young men played Come Come Ye Saints on the violin as the youth filed out and up to Martin's Cove.




They stayed in the cove for several days, resting and trying to warm up.


The back side of the cove was where they buried their dead in snow banks, and the wolves often took them away before the mourners made it back into camp.



Continued....

[cowboy]

We don't know if this tree provided wood for the company, but the ax marks are consistent with the way trees were chopped down with a double bit ax.



After some rest, they were on their way again with the rescuers, and reached the Salt Lake Valley around a month later, November 30, I believe.





Meanwhile, the Willie Company was around 100 miles west, near what is now Sweetwater Station, starving to death and in just as desperate situation. They were in this meadow when the rescuers came.



They area they were in was open and windswept, with very little opportunity for cover from the wind.



The worst was yet to come for them, as they still had to climb Rocky Ridge, a steep climb that took them nearly 24 hours, according to some accounts.





Once atop the ridge, they still had to travel over 10 miles before they could camp.



It was a good trip and I'm glad I went. I got a couple of cool shots, and even made a friend in the rocks.

[RC Vikings]

I'm sure testimonies were strengthened and the kids gained a greater appreciation for what they forefathers went through but when our ward did this taking a vacation to the beach won.

[smokymountainrain]

of cowboy

[Eddie]

I got to go with our stake's youth on a trek experience.

It was a pretty neat experience.

Yes, we talked about pioneers, told some stories, did the testimony thing, etc.

But I don't think it was the "pioneer trek" that made the experience. I think it was the details of how things worked that made the experience.

We were in family groups and did everything together. Many of the youth come from single parents homes, so they got to see how a (mostly) functional married couple interacts.

Wearing the pioneer clothing might be somewhat cheesy. It also lead to EVERYONE looking like a dork. So there were no issues regarding who has the designer clothing and who is wearing hand-me-downs. Everyone had equal status.

The youth had to do some difficult things. Pushing the hard cart. Walking all day. Setting up camp. The "women's pull". Doing all of the cooking, etc. I swear, there was one girl who had never made a PBJ sandwich. They gained some confidence in their own abilities. And those difficult situations also create some bonding and relationships. It's been 3 years and I still hear from some of the kids.

I've heard both positive and negative aspects of doing a pioneer trek. I certainly think you have to do it the right way. And I think that you've got to have the right people there helping the kids along. But it was an experience that can be very memorable and get you thinking (as a kid) about what is important to you and what you believe.

And I liked the fact that during the part of this activity that was focused on that, it was presented to the kids by the Stake Presidency as "I'm not going to tell you what to believe. This is your opportunity to read the scriptures, think about your own life and what you've experienced here, and figure out for yourself what you believe."

I would do it again. Without a doubt I would do it again.

[cowboy]

I had one of me crossing the river, but I took it off. I was holding up my shirt so my shirt tails didn't get wet, and you can see my white hairy stomach. Not too flattering.

[LiveCoug]

I had one of me crossing the river, but I took it off. I was holding up my shirt so my shirt tails didn't get wet, and you can see my white hairy stomach. Not too flattering.

You post it right now and let us be the judge of that!

[Moliere]

Thanks for posting. I've always wanted to do a pioneer trek but I've never been asked to help out, which is understandable considering my situation.

I have pioneer ancestors and about four years ago I found some journals detailing the adventures of one of them. It was interesting to read through those journals (they were very short but somewhat detailed) and hear first hand some of the things that transpired while crossing to the west. If I ever make it to a pioneer trek, I think I'll take those journals with me and read them again during the experience.

[PaloAltoCougar]

Those are nice pics, cowboy. Thanks for posting about this. Mrs. PAC and I have been impressed into service as a Ma and Pa for our stake's Trek next week. I've not been looking forward to this, but your report gives me a bit more enthusiasm for the looming ordeal.

[cowboy]

Those are nice pics, cowboy. Thanks for posting about this. Mrs. PAC and I have been impressed into service as a Ma and Pa for our stake's Trek next week. I've not been looking forward to this, but your report gives me a bit more enthusiasm for the looming ordeal.

I often check out on pioneer stories, because I don't want to think about people losing their loved ones as they crossed, but this was a pretty cool trip. I'm still more inclined to remember the stories of survival and heroism, but there are a lot of neat experiences there.

Be prepared for the wind. It blows constantly at 20-30 miles an hour. It blew for three days and only stopped on the last night, immediately after we gathered together to offer a prayer asking for it to be tempered so our tents would quit blowing over. I'm sure it was just a coincidence.

[Katy Lied]

We were just talking about trek at a party I was at last weekend. One thing was made abundantly clear by past participants (I've never been): on trek you figure out who the workers are from the slackers. Not a word has to be said, and everyone knows who doesn't pull their weight. A woman who was on trek more than 10 years ago still holds a grudge against an adult man who was always taking photographs when it was his time to pull.

(Note: No conclusion about Cowboy's behavior should be inferred from this post)

[Indy Coug]

The Martin Handcart story and the story of the young men who perished helping them cross the river is one of the most heart-wrenching stories of church history.

I would have changed religions.

[Uncle Ted]

I built an handcart the last time our stake did one of these about 4 or 5 years ago. I made it out of a single piece of white ash using fairly authentic plans that I modernized a bit (the engineer in me has to improve things). The wheels, however, were purchased from some quakers who know how to build these right. The young men in my ward helped assemble the handcart and all carved their initials in the underneath side. My handcart has been on numerous youth trek trips throughout our region and is still going strong (unlike some others I have seen that were built around the same time). Our stake is gearing up do another one of these next spring. I am planning on refinishing my handcart and maybe building another (with some design improvements, of course) to get ready for the trip.

[il Padrino Ute]

I never went on one of those treks as a teen, nor have I ever done it as an adult. The way I figure, I appreciate that the pioneers did it so I don't have to.

And no, I will not be walking back to Missouri.

[Eddie]

We were just talking about trek at a party I was at last weekend. One thing was made abundantly clear by past participants (I've never been): on trek you figure out who the workers are from the slackers. Not a word has to be said, and everyone knows who doesn't pull their weight. A woman who was on trek more than 10 years ago still holds a grudge against an adult man who was always taking photographs when it was his time to pull.

(Note: No conclusion about Cowboy's behavior should be inferred from this post)

They told us that as adults, they didn't want us to do any pulling. The one exception was when they did the women's pull. So while my wife pulled some, I really didn't do any to speak of aside from helping guide down hill in the dark.

They reasoned that we were going to be going all day and part of the purpose was to push the kids and have them fatigued. But they didn't want the leaders who were making decisions to be fatigued as well. They wanted us capable of continuing to lead/encourage/etc.

I don't know if the kids bought it, but I did.

Of course, we had 10 kids assigned to our "family" - so it isn't like there was a lot of space for us to push or pull anyway.

They had these ropes and poles they attached to the front post that allowed us to have three rows of pullers. The two oldest boys were on the pole closest to the handcart. At one point one boy whispered to me "watch this" and nodded at the pole. The two of them let go of the pole for just a moment and the cart stopped moving. They both grinned and nodded their heads, and then took up the pole again and kept pushing.