Pioneer Trek - Day 2

      In my opinion, Day 2 was the most challenging out of the 4.  Not only did we walk the furtherst that day, 6.9 miles, but we had a lot of obstacles to overcome and it all started after breakfast.  Once the handcarts were packed and ready to go, each Company was called in for a meeting.  At this time the Captains explained how the history of our Church is replete with men called by a Prophet to serve the Lord by going on missions, even in the most meager of circumstances.  To help the boys in some way grasp how this might have impacted the women, the Captains asked the men to say their goodbyes, leaving the women to fend for themselves.  So that gruelling steep hill we climbed the previous day became our Womens pull the next.  I was really impressed by how well everyone worked together!  As soon as one handcart made it down the hill, people headed back up to help others.  During the Womens pull the men were taken away and given a talk on the value of women.  The actual pull was about 3/4 of a mile, but it was not easy.  It was a tender moment when we saw our men, they all came running up and took ahold of their handcart.  I think they missed the women in their family.

      The second challenge of the day, and my personal favorite, was the creek crossing.  Spencer thought it would have been funny if we could have got ahold of a Trolls costume and have someone waiting at the bridge, but that didn't happen.  Instead we found a path off to the side that was wide enough to fit a handcart through.  They then walked the handcart under the bridge and down the creek a ways.  What made this creek crossing so unique was the fact that there was no pre-carved path on the other side to get out.  We had to create one.  I honestly don't think I can give justice to the night and day transformation that took place there.  What was once trees and branches, ferns and bushes, in a matter of minutes became a path that looked like it had always been there.  It was amazing.  Try to picture 20 guys with hatches and axes in their hands working like crazy, and you might get the idea.  Clearing the path wasn't the challenge though, it was the 10 foot cliff that was the most puzzling.  How do we get fully packed handcarts up a 10 foot cliff?  Lots of ropes and about 25 priesthood holders.  After much thought they designed a pully system which got the handcarts up the hill.  It was quite the process, but oh so cool!!  My favorite part!     

      Our last pit stop for the day was at a rock quarry.  Everyone was getting so tired that we actually thought big rocks were comfortable to sit on.  I did love the panic on peoples faces when I told them to pick out their tent spot.  I got a lot of "are you serious?" responses.  No I wasn't serious.  I just had to stop here because the scenery was so beautiful.  I was so happy that Mt. Hood was out when we came through.  What a gorgeous country we live in!    

      I can't help but LOVE the picture below!  Not only does it capture how tired we all were, but it also captures the tenderness people had for their baby doll. We had 18 families total, and I passed out 6 baby dolls.  Four the first morning and two on the second.   It was sweet to see not only the girls, but the guys too, and even the adults, snuggle and love on their baby.  After an exhausting day on the trail, we finally made it to camp and decided based on time to cut our activities for the evening out completely.  Most people retired to bed early which was good timing because we were in for a wild ride that night with our weather.  More about that on the next post.