Trek is a youth activity that occurs once every four years in our area (so each youth does it once). It's a reenactment of the trek that thousands of Mormon pioneers took across the plains from Nauvoo, Illinois where they were driven out to the Salt Lake Valley.
Julia with her friends as they set out.
Julia's trek was July 22-25--in itself eventful as the first main group of pioneers entered Salt Lake on July 24, 1846, and one of her relative's was a scout for Brigham Young, who actually arrived July 22 that year and had began planting a crop before the main group of Latter-Day Saints had arrived.
The youth wear pioneer clothes and are limited in their gear and food. They push a hand cart all day the first day in the humid summer heat. The next few days involve other pioneer activities like a hoe-down, washing their hair in a stream, cooking meals over a fire and sleeping in sleeping bags on the ground. Each handcart has a Ma and Pa and assigned brothers and sisters.
The happy arrival. We picked up Julia in Pennsylvania. They had some hilly and difficult terrain to cover, but it was exciting feeling of accomplishment when it was over.
