Trek

Bud and I got the opportunity to be a Ma and Pa for our stake's Pioneer Trek.  It was quite the experience!  We had been working for months with our "kids" with different activities to gear up for it, but the last weekend in June it was finally here.  We headed north a few hours via bus and embarked on our 20-mile journey complete with pioneer clothes and 500-pound handcarts.  The first day we hiked 13 miles.  Our family did great, but we were all exhausted by the time we rolled into camp.  It was pretty hot, but we had miracle clouds that offered shade throughout the two days of hiking (Seriously, no clouds one minute and then they appeared out of nowhere right over us!).  Another highlight was the food.  Our ward pretty much took that over and it was AMAZING!  It really gave you something to keep walking for.  On the second day of hiking, we didn't hike as long but we had really rough terrain and a lot of hills. It was actually tougher than the first day. Toward the end, the "army" took the men away to go fight with the Mormon Battalion and the women had to push our huge handcart up the steepest hill of the entire trek.  I knew it was coming, but I still was just plain mad.  One after another, those amazing girls pushed those handcarts up the hill and then ran back down to help others.  It was an inspiring sight! When the men rejoined us about an hour later, I had never been so happy to see Bud.  We both hugged and cried and I can't explain exactly why, but it was a wonderful moment.  There were great bonding moments for everyone at camp too.  The square dancing was the hit, which actually surprised me, but it was fun.  We were all happy to head home and take a much needed shower, but won't ever forget that experience.  Hopefully we'll get to go again on the next one.