Pioneer Trek - Day 1

      In all honesty, the first day of the trek was a picnic compared to the day before it!  I had never felt my patience level being tested more than in that last final day of prep-work.  We ran into so many road blocks, but even in the thick of it I knew everything was going to be alright because this trek was meant to happen. 

      4:45 a.m. Wednesday morning came way too early after only 4 hours of sleep.  Who in their right mind scheduled us to meet in Rainier at 6:00 a.m. for check-in?  Oh, right ... me.  I never felt tired though.  The excitement of seeing everyone pull into the church parking lot dressed in their pioneer gear sporting smiles wiped away any tiredness I felt inside.  The surreal moment came when 3 yellow school buses pulled into the parking lot.  That's when I really felt 'this is happening'.  The longest part that morning was just getting everything & everyone situated. Cars parked at base camp, handcarts put together, and people assigned to their new families. Everyone was so patient though. Once that work was done, I felt like a 50 lb. barbell had been lifted off me and I had a renewed sense of energy.

       From that point we started our 3 mile climb up hill.  What I enjoyed about this day was the fact that so many natural hardships occurred.  Several wheels started coming apart and we lost one of the youth (who was later recovered), but it was so rewarding to see so many people step up to the plate and help each other out.  I was very impressed by the love everyone had for one another.  We did place a hardship in their path though by means of a fallen down tree. Each company was responsible for clearing the path of a tree at different times along the way. The trees were large and heavy enough that they could only be cleared by axing through them. That was a highlight for me to watch them eagerly chop through it. The last bit of trail before we reached our spot for the night was gruelling. It was very steep, but the view once at the top was amazing! We stayed on a cliff overlooking rolling hills of evergreen trees.

      For dinner that night, Spencer and I thought it would be fun and unusual to hang 1/4 of a cow from a tree branch. Weird huh? That's what you get when you invite hunters to be in charge of a trek. The meat was cut off, washed, then sliced into strips of steak. We cooked the meat on racks that rested above hot briquettes. Dinner preparation was an activity all in itself. Just after dinner and dessert each company met with their Captain, a member of the Stake Presidency, for a fireside on Courage. I think everyone was ready for bed pretty early so camp got quiet quickly.