Pushing and pulling a 20 square foot wooden handcart up a long sandy canyon grade is a daunting task. It was for the pioneers who made the 1300 mile trek on the Oregon and Mormon Trails a century and a half ago.
It was also difficult this week for 88 area youth and 40 adults who recreated that trek on 20 miles of land outside Patterson, WA in the Bing Canyon.
“The trek made me appreciate all my forefathers went through back then. “ Julia Marley.
The original handcart pioneers, emigrant members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could not afford teams of oxen or horses to pull wagons. Families on foot pulled their belongings in specially designed handcarts as they made their way to Utah during summers beginning in 1856 and continuing until 1860.
For the modern trek, young people, ages 14-18, were arranged into families of 10 supervised by an adult Ma and Pa. This was done to encourage new friendships among the youth who come from several different local LDS congregations.
According to Ryan Cornia, a handcart trek organizer and trainer for the group, “The Ma and Pa lay down the rules as to how each family functions.”
“Pa” Rick Garrett said, “We had to make sure the kids stayed hydrated and took good care of their feet. Their physical well-being was very important to us.”
As others break camp after breakfast Avery Wells tosses a hoop to a friend
For two and a half days the family groups pushed and pulled their carts, walked dusty trails, camped beneath the stars, danced, played and struggled in ways similar to their pioneer ancestors. Trekker Austin Gore said, “Sleeping on the ground was hard, literally hard. It must have been hard for them, too.”
The sheer physicality of dragging a handcart full of provisions and belongings for a family of 10 was a challenge for the trek participants.
"The woman’s pull was when just the women pulled our handcart up a hill. It was back breaking and definitely not fun," Julia Marley said. “But it definitely taught me that you have to work together to accomplish great things.’ Referring to the pioneers Jenny Wall added, “I admire their strength and willingness to keep going on.”
Maren Rehburg, a veteran of two handcart treks said, “It’s tough. It helps me realize the strength I have and I love the strength it gives me.”
“I wasn’t particular focused on the spirit, I was mainly focused on not dying,” joked Justin Marley, “But whenever we stopped for a rest we’d have a small devotional that helped me keep on going. The pioneers before us had to keep on going or else they’d die in the middle of nowhere.”
That kind insight and its accompanying spiritual development are just what handcart trek leaders hoped would occur among the participants.
"We saw the kids go from boisterous, loud, happy kids to where they were more introspective. We saw them drawing on their deeper faith. The pioneers did what they did because they had the inner faith to continue step by step,” said Jim Lewis.
