I don't know why, but I have been putting off writing about the Trek that took place at Martin's Cove for a whole entire year. Sooo I want to share my experience with you now.....
The first day we all got are bags and the names of who was in our families. We also received the name of the pioneer we were representing. I represented a little girl named Caroline Mortensen. My family had to be the BEST family!!! My ma and pa were the Herds!!! I love them sooo much! My sisters were Kaisha Packman, Shanna Parker, and Ashley Starley. My brothers were Zack Funk, Preston Terry, Tyson Harty, and Austin Vansicle. They are all amazing people and the bond that we share is one of love, care, and understanding. After we found out who are families were we had an inspirational talk given by Brother Hayes! Then it was time to get on the bus!!! Haha The bus I road on was filled with all these fun people like Brian Crane, Zack Mulberry, Kali Dewsnup, and Heidi Mikota. We had an amazing time just talking, sharing laughs, and exchanging our thoughts of how The Trek would be on our 14 or 17 hour bus ride. I'll have you know, the rest stops were something to look forward to. Hahaha When we got there we had to unload are bucket and sleeping material. Then we got together as families and took pictures. The first day we walked like 5 to 10 miles to get to our first camp. The walking was fun and I loved pushing the handcart even though my brothers preferred to push instead. I would randomly burst out in song and they either would join in or get very annoyed!! Haha I remember always, and I mean always, smiling!! I was blissfully happy and felt...complete! When we got to the first camp we had to set up. That was...difficult. The boys had no problem putting up their tent, but us girls had a much harder time putting up ours. Our ma and pa had to put up a tent as well. We ate dinner and were very excited to be in the same place as the pioneers long ago. That night, as families, we shared who we represented and the story behind them. It was very cool and relaxing. Then we all headed to our tents to sleep, ha!!! Us girls talked all night practically and apparently loud because the boys told us they heard everything we said. It was pretty embarrassing because we talked about them. Aww...fun memories. We got up really, really early and after breakfast we headed out. We walked with ease and were still loving the calming feeling we felt as we pushed our handcart. After awhile it was getting harder and harder soo I would just start singing and trying to make everyone happier. We even got to cross two rivers! It was fun because the second river we all just swam in for awhile dunking people and messing around. I remember it being extremely slipperly. I slipped like a 100 times but someone would always catch me and help me up. We must of walked 14 to 15 miles that day. Then we had to set up camp again! We were much better that time even though we were tired. After dinner we had a dancing lesson/party. All the boys in the stake were taken soo Kaisha and I danced together:) It was a blast!! Then Tyson and my big mouth made a beat. He beat that I wouldn't be able to resist talking after I got in my tent to go to sleep. My big mouth said, "NO!" I won't talk after 10 o'clock. We shook and whoever won got a million dollars. We then had spiritual talks. They went for a long time and I remember I was sitting on Kaisha and I felt like I was swishing her the whole time as I ate my ice cream sandwich. After the talks, I found my friend Whitney Erickson and we talked as we waited to go to the restroom. She had a flashlight and I didn't soo she had to walk me back to my tent. As soon as I got in the tent my sisters kept trying to make me laugh or get me to talk, but I wouldn't. It was hilarious because they would try to guess what I was saying! They must have failed miserably because I remember going to bed tired and exhausted. The next and final day was the day we walked 30 or more miles. When we woke up we discovered the familiar Cosco muffins waiting for us. Us sisters went back to camp to eat. I found Tyson waiting for me with quite a big grin on his face. I being cocky was like, "Pay up." He said, "Nope because you lost." I protested, but as he explained it dawned on me that my big mouth was talking way after ten. I didn't even get into my tent till like 11:30. I lost the beat. He then announced that he had changed the beat to me having to go on a date with him when I turned 16. I said why not and agreed. All my friends were like, "Oh my gosh, your so lucky." I didn't feel lucky, I felt like crap because I lost the beat:'( I got over it quickly though because our family got to lead the way. In other words..we were in front!!!:) Haha A song I remember singing was Teachings of the Trek. It was a great song that made every step easier. We walked around this big mountain that had a trail. As brothers and sisters we held hands and linked each others arms the whole way. It was a great feeling to see the view from the top of the mountain. Once we got down we had lunch. After lunch we started walking again and for some reason the boys would not let us push. They refused to let us help. Later I found out way. We kept walking until we gathered together and tried goulash or whatever it's called and tried to spin buttons on strings. The goulash was made out of flower and water and it was mostly all the pioneers ate. I thought it was bland, but if it was all I had...I'd eat it! Preston and Shanna were pros at the spinning the button on string and I was NOT! Haha I also remember walking through many mud holes that came up to our knees. My ma fell and was covered in mud. Haha I have a pic of that! Well we finally made it to Rocky Ridge and that's when we found out why the men in our families had been pushing the handcarts all day. The leaders annouced that the men were going to war and so us girls were crying as we gave our brothers and pa a hug goodbye. I remember it feeling sooo real.... Then the leaders told all the girls that it was up to us to get our handcarts up Rocky Ridge. We sang As Sisters In Zion, but changed the word work to push. I felt the spirit soo strong as we sang that song. With my sisters at my side still being in the front leading the way started pushing. It was sooo rocky and really hard. We got stuck a few times, but kept pushing. Once we reached the top we saw all the priesthood holders including my brave brothers and strong pa alligned on both sides of us with their hats off watching us push our handcart and not being able to help. That must have been harder then what I had to do. As I kept pushing I felt the spirit witness unto me that this was the true church and that Joseph was a prophet. He lived and he restored the Book of Mormon. Looking into all these men's eyes I just knew, I knew! The feeling of unity of love was soo powerful and it gave me a glimpse of what the Celestial Kingdom will be like! If the Celestial Kingdom can be anything more than that, I want it! I want to be able to feel that way and be equal to every child of God for all eternity. Anyways, we continued to push the rest of the day having laughs and smiles exchanged. I remember we came to a grave and we had and inspirational talk about what these men did and how they died. I also remember Preston not wearing shoes...I couldn't wrap my head around how he was, "Fine.." I felt concern for him just like he had for me and everyone else had for each other. The bus ride home was AMAZING!!! I remember the fun grocery stop, the kill/date/marry game, and the many back scratches. We all had soo much love for each other that it was hard to leave and go back home. It was 4 am when we reached the church. I said my goodbyes and knew that I'd never be the same because I'd be better. The Trek was a life changing experience for me, I'm soo embarrassed that it took me this long to write about it. Not just look at the pictures but actually thinking, pondering , and actually writing! I guarantee that I messed the order of a few of these things, but I wrote most of what I could remember. I know that I was meant to be with the family I was with just like I am meant to be with my real family:) I love you all just be steadfast in your faith and love everyone and you'll be just fine!
