Pioneer Trek

I had the opportunity to go on Pioneer Trek this year with my ward. To be honest, I wasn't too excited. I went twice as a youth and I thought I had experienced enough. I decided to grin and bear it once again....and I'm glad I did.

Day one- just getting started. Below is a picture of a girls' potty break. We don't have the luxury men do; all they have to do is turn their back.

10 miles on the first day wasn't easy.

Day two- we were told to prepare for wind and sand storms.

They were all such good sports. I was so proud of their good attitudes.

Just a little example of how dirty my entire body was.

After making it through the storm, we set up camp early and took the rest of the day off.

We had a fabulous devotional by Gentry Fransen- she is now serving a mission in Russia. I loved spending time with this girl on the trail. Her testimony was incredible.

Solo time.

Let the games begin! We also attempted line dancing but it proved to be much more difficult than the pioneer trek missionaries thought it should be.

The girls.

Day three- The men were "called on missions" and the women were then required to pull the handcarts up the steepest part of the entire journey.

It was humbling to see all of the men leave us. The stake leaders encouraged us to pull in silence as we dragged ourselves up the hill. We made it, but it was HARD! Many of the girls, and boys, were extremely emotional by the time we got to the top. 2 kids ended up needing IV fluids after the pull (one was a young man in our ward-and he didn't even pull a cart up the hill!). That just shows you how difficult it really was. The girls were so happy when they made it. It was incredible.

Day four- the home stretch!

We made it!