Handcart Treks

[The_Douger]

Our Stake just did a trek two weeks ago. It was reported that one morning they called all the men away into military service and left the women to pull the carts up a huge hill. At the base of the hill they had a special prayer, and the women started pulling the handcarts up the hill, while the men waited at the top singing pioneer songs. My wife and I looked at each other and realized that we live in a bizarro world where down is up, and up is down. Later my wife said she was surprised they didn't stage a real live birth on the trail.

They did these in my stake growing up until I was 13, and I heard they let a bunch of turkeys out and people had to butcher the things, but they're so dang hungry they don't even care. This was a long time ago, however, and I haven't seen this done again.

[Mormon Red Death]

I did one as a youth in Canada in the summer of 1994. Our stake has previously done one 4 or so years earlier. They were plenty popular by then.
Sent from my C625b using Tapatalk

I did it in utah in 1994 as well. It was plenty popular.

[Mormon Red Death]

They did these in my stake growing up until I was 13, and I heard they let a bunch of turkeys out and people had to butcher the things, but they're so dang hungry they don't even care. This was a long time ago, however, and I haven't seen this done again.

I learned how to kill a turkey at mine (knife up through the chin to scramble the brain) you then hold it so the meat is tender. Then all the girls pluck the feathers off and you cook it in a, dutch oven. Neat experience

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Our Stake just did a trek two weeks ago. It was reported that one morning they called all the men away into military service and left the women to pull the carts up a huge hill. At the base of the hill they had a special prayer, and the women started pulling the handcarts up the hill, while the men waited at the top singing pioneer songs. My wife and I looked at each other and realized that we live in a bizarro world where down is up, and up is down. Later my wife said she was surprised they didn't stage a real live birth on the trail.

Fun to think that in some other dimension the women were called away and singing and the men easily rolled the carts down a slight hill.

[Eddie]

They weren't doing these when I was a teen, so I never had that experience.

I've heard stories of stakes that starve the kids to show them what it was like, or who along the route have members of each family experience illness or death and leave the group. Or even carry along a doll that dies and is buried along the way. To me, silly attempts to generate an emotional response - but not real. And the kids KNOW they aren't real.

I live in a stake that does them every 4 years so that all of the youth have the opportunity to participate, and they are pretty popular. Mostly because I think they do it right, with the right goals in mind. My wife and I were asked to do the Ma and Pa thing - like DDD, we went and had a fun time...and you haters can suck it.

I think it is all about how the experience is organized. I think you could accomplish the same goals without the handcarts - but to be honest, I think the handcarts are a great means to that end. Frankly, I think if you're doing this in an attempt to get the youth to gain an appreciation for what the handcart pioneers did then you're missing the boat. There isn't enough time to get them to really appreciate that - and those that do will get that as a byproduct. What I want is for them to gain something from the other lessons that can be learned.

Yes, everyone wearing pioneer dress may come off as silly. But it also puts all of the kids on the same plane. There are no designer pioneer aprons or bonnets, bandannas or straw hats. Everyone is really in the same class. I like this as far as using the pioneer time frame - it's a somewhat simple way to get everyone into the same kinds of clothing and make the socioeconomic status of each a little less obvious.

We always had enough food to eat. This wasn't a pioneer experience in that way. But we had a big brother and big sister assigned from among the youth, and they had the opportunity to lead the other kids, make assignments, and everyone help together when it came to preparing food, packing the carts, and pulling. I seriously watched a kid make a peanut butter and jam sandwich for the first time. Weird. But at the same time cool.

Doing a difficult activity over a long period of time breaks down barriers and creates bonds. Putting kids together who maybe wouldn't have chosen to be in the same group combined with that difficulty gets them talking and sharing with others, learning more about them and themselves. It doesn't have to be a handcart, but the handcart works. Our stake does a really long day of pulling the first day - half of the total mileage they'll cover - and it helps break down barriers and create relationships that are the basis for what they do the rest of the time.

Our stake always does the "women's pull". Basically the US army shows up and all of the men are enlisted in the Mormon Battalion. The men march off into the distance and later the women pull the carts to where they are. Before the women can get there, there is a conversation about what it means to be a man. This includes pulling your weight (see what I did there?) in relationships and in life. When the boys see their sisters struggling to pull the heavy cart without them, they want to jump in and help. And then there is a family discussion about what each learned - first that women are strong and can do difficult things. They don't NEED a man to be there. Second, that true partnerships and family work best when everyone is pulling.

There are fun and games one day. A hoedown dance. And one evening their is an opportunity provided for some alone time to learn about yourself. I remember our stake presidency counselor setting up by telling all of the youth that he wanted them to take the time to think about what they believe and their thoughts on God. Not what he believes about God or what they think he wants them to believe, but to really consider what is real to them.

I thought it had a great mix of hardship and learning, fun, and self discovery. If my stake continues to do it the way they did when we went, I recommend it without reservation to my own kids and really to all of the youth. And based on what I experienced, youth of any religious persuasion.

[smokymountainrain]

Anyone remember when the youth trek became popular? I never went on one, but I don't think it was a big thing when I was a teen.

Mrs. SMR went when she was a kid - probably 1985 or so. I didn't participate any church activities as a kid, so I'm not sure if our stake did stuff like that or not.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Fun to think that in some other dimension the women were called away and singing and the men easily rolled the carts down a slight hill.

Since church leadership has made it clear that we are the chosen generation, I look forward to the day with humility when my children's children will have the opportunity to reenact the feeding, dressing, and hairstyling four small children, load up into a vehicle caked in smashed goldfish and stale fruit snack while making the five minute race to the chapel to hopefully beat the bread sacrament tray. So that they too will understand the disappointment of realizing that there were no announcements and you're forced to make the difficult decision of whether or not it counts if you just take the water, because that gooey Wonderbread came through two red lights ago.

[Northwestcoug]

Mrs. SMR went when she was a kid - probably 1985 or so. I didn't participate any church activities as a kid, so I'm not sure if our stake did stuff like that or not.

That's around my time. I just don't have any memory about that activity. I moved a couple of times when I was a youth, so maybe I missed the four year rotation.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Since church leadership has made it clear that we are the chosen generation, I look forward to the day with humility when my children's children will have the opportunity to reenact the feeding, dressing, and hairstyling four small children, load up into a vehicle caked in smashed goldfish and stale fruit snack while making the five minute race to the chapel to hopefully beat the bread sacrament tray. So that they too will understand the disappointment of realizing that there were no announcements and you're forced to make the difficult decision of whether or not it counts if you just take the water, because that gooey Wonderbread came through two red lights ago.

[Jeff Lebowski]

My brother and sister-in-law were in charge of this in their ward a few years ago. One day my brother was telling me how his wife came up with a bunch of activities along the trail. One day when they were pulling the carts up a hill, some adults came out from behind sagebrush by the trail and they were each dressed in a sheet with holes cut out for the eyes (like the image below). These ghosts then silently got behind the handcarts and helped the kids push the carts up the hill, thereby reenacting one of the great LDS urban legends.

When he told me this I literally laughed myself to tears. My SIL was there and she was a good sport about it, but I felt bad that I laughed so hard.

[PaloAltoCougar]

...
When he told me this I literally laughed myself to tears. My SIL was there and she was a good sport about it, but I felt bad that I laughed so hard.

Oh man, I would have lost it, too. I kind of wish I had been put in charge of implementing that idea. The comedic possibilities are boundless.

[YOhio]

Dwight Schrute's and Lebowski's posts gave me a great laugh this morning. JL, is there any way you can get a picture of the KKK Ghost Angels helping the fake pioneers push handcarts?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Dwight Schrute's and Lebowski's posts gave me a great laugh this morning. JL, is there any way you can get a picture of the KKK Ghost Angels helping the fake pioneers push handcarts?

Sorry. Taking a photo would have been boorish in light of the sacred nature of the event.

[Paperback Writer]

Oh man, I would have lost it, too. I kind of wish I had been put in charge of implementing that idea. The comedic possibilities are boundless.

The choice of Walking Dead Pioneer Zombies in the role of angels/ghosts has some merit.

Kidding aside. One of my sons had an opportunity to go on a second pioneer trek the summer after he graduated from HS to serve as an adult volunteer. He got to ride a horse as part of a skit (mustering YM for the Mormon militia) and afterwards rode the horse on the trail and helped handcart teams that were struggling in the Texas heat. After it was over, many trek participants mentioned their graditude to us (his parents). Even the term "miricle" was used more than once. My spouse commented that: "it was indeed a miracle to have someone who almost never cleaned his room and only mowed the lawn after much nagging to ride up and down the trail helping others."