Pioneer Trek

My wife and I were asked to be a ma and pa for the pioneer trek our stake is putting on in May. And my parents said they would watch our girls for the week so it looks like we are going. Neither of us are young enough to have done a trek ourselves. Do any of you have experience with a trek and if so what were your favorite things to do, what would you have changed, etc, etc.



So far I've been having a blast trying out the pioneer clothing. Who knew suspender pants would be so comfortable? My parents are converts but it has also been eye-opening reading about my wife's family journals about their trip across the plains.

Bring LOTS of socks. Not cotton ones either. Go buy a few pairs of nice merino wool socks to help keep your feet dry. Dry feet and good footing boots = no blisters. Change them every 4-5 hours.

agree on the socks. blisters will ruin your year. I did one years ago and one thing they did that I liked was have a Mormon battalion day when they took all the men and had a former drill seargeant run us around in formation for an afternoon. What did the women do? Push the handcarts for a few hours on their own.



suspenders are awesome, even if they are unconstitutional and libertarian, but make sure you bring a hat.



Also, INSIST that all cell phones and electronics are left somewhere else. not off. not vibrate. not allowed.



bring a gun and demonstrate with an old junk phone what happens to any contraband phones discovered on the trek.

Work out before the trek. I heard you can buy a blister kit. Someone gave us a bandana with supersoaker polyacrylamide (the stuff inside of diapers) sewed inside. I think you woudl have to make it but when you soak it in water it absorbs massive amounts. They you can wrap it around your neck and keep you cooler.

scott715 wrote:
Work out before the trek. I heard you can buy a blister kit. Someone gave us a bandana with supersoaker polyacrylamide (the stuff inside of diapers) sewed inside. I think you woudl have to make it but when you soak it in water it absorbs massive amounts. They you can wrap it around your neck and keep you cooler.

Or, you could just wrap a wet diaper around your neck. :P



Buy some womens nylons and wear them inside your regular sock. Takes all of the friction off your skin. Very hard to get a blister, just watch out for those unfashionable runs.

declocoug wrote:

Work out before the trek. I heard you can buy a blister kit. Someone gave us a bandana with supersoaker polyacrylamide (the stuff inside of diapers) sewed inside. I think you woudl have to make it but when you soak it in water it absorbs massive amounts. They you can wrap it around your neck and keep you cooler.

Or, you could just wrap a wet diaper around your neck. :P



Buy some womens nylons and wear them inside your regular sock. Takes all of the friction off your skin. Very hard to get a blister, just watch out for those unfashionable runs.

Get control top to help suck in that gut. :lol:

Sorry the hiking part won't really be a problem, we actually backpack a lot and I do a lot of trail running.



I was more interested in things that would make the trek better for the youth in terms of activities and devotionals and stuff.

Family scripture reading and prayer. Some of the kids probably have not experienced that before. Get the kids to bond together and don't let them leave to be with their friends. They need to develop new friendships. My son concerns his new friends to still be his other family and it has been almost a year since his trek.

My wife and I were a ma and pa. The practical advice above is well-said. One thing we did on a stake level is obtain various stories of the Martin and Willie handcart companies and sharing them with the kids. The stories are moving AND there are two things to have the kids ponder that I felt the spirit was there confirming: the kids have a legacy to live up to (we all do!) AND the kids today are pioneers just as much in dealing with a harsh harsh world today. The handcart saints did it AND so can the kids today. I remember kids saying I can't believe those guys did what they did and I said, I bet some of those pioneers one day will come up to you and say I can't believe you did what YOU did...Just thoughts.

On one trek I did, our family all kept extensive journals, detailing everything we saw and did. Many of the pioneers wrote profusely on the journey west. They wrote about what they experienced both physically and spiritually along the way. It's amazing how much you can write about when you're pretty free of distractions as well.

If it's in May, I assume it's not to Martin's Cove. Too bad if it's not, that's a special spiritual experience. Read all you can from the books about the trek and talk about the pioneers' experiences in the evening. Get your trek family together before the trek to get to know each other, and start sharing spiritual experiences. Watch 17 Miracles with them to get them spiritually primed. Emphasize the spiritual experiences of the pioneers all you can, not only in camp, but as you hike.

We're going to the white mountains in Northern Arizona. They've said they won't pick families until we get to the site.



They're is a warm-up hike for all the youth tomorrow. I'm going to bust out my pioneer attire for the hike and see what they think.

We'll expect a full report.

This morning we had the second of five warm-up hikes before the actual trek. My wife and I were bringing up the rear with some of the slower hikers when we realized the leaders had taken a wrong turn and everybody else went an extra two miles. The slow kids gave the fast ones a lot of grief when they showed up 30 minutes later. I'm sure there is a lesson about the Liahona or the Iron rod in there somewhere that will come up at the next pre-trek fireside.



I got a lot of comments on my shirt and vest. All of the kids who showed up seemed excited about getting dressed up. My pants and suspenders haven't come in the mail yet. They should be here in time for the hike next month. I'll post pics next time.

On the trek I went on, they had all of the kids find a rock and write their testimonies on it with a sharpie. Then they piled up all of the rocks. They did this near the end of the Trek. I thought it was a great idea.



The other thing they did is have a pony express come in. The parents had written their children letters and a man on a horse came in and delivered it to them. After a couple of days of hardship, the letters from home were really well received and spiritual experience for the kids.



Just a couple of ideas...

Leaving tomorrow for the trek. I'll be sure to post pics. Been reading tons on the pioneers.



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jvquarterback wrote:
Leaving tomorrow for the trek. I'll be sure to post pics. Been reading tons on the pioneers.



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I hope it brings the spirit and gratitude for our forebears that it did for me. My best!

So I am headed off on Trek next week with my 14 year old son. He's autistic, so it will prove interesting I'm sure. I never did a Trek as a youth, so I'm a big-time rookie.



Question: I have the packing list and I can't for the life of me figure out how to get it all in a 5 gallon bucket. They want us to have a tarp big enough to go under our sleeping bags as well as a wool blanket and warm coat (plus a change of clothes and shoes).



Try as I might, I can't get it all in there. I'm at the point of being willing to cut down my tarps and blankets to make them smaller.



Any insights from savvy veterans?

In or around a 5-gallon bucket, that's pretty much the same thing, right? ;)

Here's my epiphany: tarps and blankets inside my sleepingbag. That doens't have to go into the 5 gallon bucket. Spiff, you're and inspiration!