First off, happy Father’s day to all the dad’s out there! I hope you have had a great day today and that you are feeling loved. Dad’s are an essential part of family life, and make a huge difference in the condition of our society.

This past week my youngest two children, 15 and 17 years old, had the opportunity to participate in a pioneer trek. This is a reenactment of the original pioneer trek that members of my Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) participated in, moving from Missouri to the Utah valley from the years 1847-1868. This is a great opportunity for the youth to connect with their heritage as members of this Church, whether they had “pioneer” ancestors or not, and to relive a time in Church history when miracles occurred and opportunities to learn and draw closer to God happened on an almost daily basis. I thought I’d share a little bit about the requirements of trek as I can’t share the experiences because I didn’t go as a participant.

There are some stipulations to go on trek, the age is 14-18 years old. Each individual is required to have period style clothing, so no jeans and t-shirts. The young men are to wear long-sleeve button up shirts with collars and have a hat, most wore a straw hat of some sort. Their pants were to be made of something other than denim or modern fabrics (most were canvas or linen). They were encouraged to wear suspenders and vests, but those were optional as per the young man’s preferences.

The young women were to wear dresses or skirts with long-sleeve tops and to have an apron and a bonnet or some form of head covering. Most wore bonnets but there were a few straw hats among the young women as well. Non-period piece clothing they were asked to bring were well broken in tennis shoes (rather than boots, although one of my sons always wears boots so that’s what he wore without problems). Spandex shorts or leggings of some sort for the girls under their dresses, particularly for the river crossings where they needed to hike their skirts. They needed water shoes of some sort for the crossings as they didn’t want cut feet from the river beds they had to cross, and they had weather related gear like rain jackets.

The youth were then organized into families consisting of a Ma and Pa (adult leaders) and 8-10 “kids.” They do a great job of spreading the youth out so that family members weren’t in the same “family” and so that there was a pretty equal number of boys and girls. This year there was a total of 14 handcarts and averaged 8 kids per family.

Each youth can bring one 5 gallon bucket (up to 17 lbs) with their extra set of clothes, personal items, scriptures, toiletries, etc. One drybag with their sleeping bag and sleeping pad. And one daypack with things like sunscreen, bug spray, rain jacket, water shoes, snacks and water. Their food is brought in every day, but their cooking items like dutch ovens, griddles and things are in the handcarts along with tents and tarps.

Everyday they push their carts, some days 5 miles, some more or less. Some of it depends on the weather and depth of the rivers they may potentially have to cross. Everyday they have a devotional and learn about pioneers then and now. Everyday they have to cook their own meals. Every evening they play pioneer games and sit by campfires to talk and tell stories.

It is amazing to see all the youth on the first day, to feel their excitement! It’s interesting to pick them up at the end, tired, dirty, but smiling from ear to ear. My boys talked all the way home, telling stories about the good things that happened, some of the frustrating things that happened (mostly to do with their trek siblings), and to hear how excited and rewarding their 5 day journey had been.

My daughters participated in the last Trek our Stake held 6 years ago, and still talk about the fond memories they gained. They are still friends with many of their Trek siblings, and I think my boys will be talking about this experience for many years to come. I am grateful for the logistical people who organized and worked behind the scenes for months to plan and prepare for this opportunity for the youth, I think it was a huge success. I remember as a youth participating in a much shorter (overnight) handcart trek, and it helped me appreciate those who paved the way for all of us to follow. If you ever have the opportunity to participate in a pioneer trek, take it, it will change your life!