A Mormon Pioneer Trek? You may be asking yourself what is that? A trek is usually made up of youth and some adults who reenact the Mormon Pioneers being forced to leave
Nauvoo, Illinois and making the arduous trek across the plains of America to settle the great city of Salt Lake City, Utah. At these reenactments they dress in pioneer clothes, sleep under the stars, cook over fires, hear and share stories of our Pioneer ancestors and take a moment or two to appreciate all they did for us. It is also a time for all to draw closer to Jesus Christ and appreciate all we have been blessed with.
To read more about the
Mormon Pioneer Story click here .
I have been waiting for the trek photographers to post pictures on the trek website. However, seeing that I wanted to get my thoughts written down before I forgot most of them, I have decided to just go ahead with this post and add the photos that people have sent to me. I am sure I will add more photos at a later date.
I am a counselor in the Stake Young Women's Presidency, and I have been in the planning stages of this Pioneer Trek since day one, about a year ago. It was a wonderful experience to sit around the high council room table and submit names of couples who we thought would be the best in being the Chairman in charge of the whole Trek. Now, keep in mind our stake has never done a trek before. We were all pretty clueless as to how to plan a trek. I remember when Susie Bitter (Stake
YW President) said the name of the couple who she thought may be the right couple to Chair trek. I think at that moment everyone thought, yes they are the couple to take on this huge responsibility.
A few weeks later the Sister who was called with her husband to Chair Trek, was in Utah attending her mother's funeral. As friends were passing through the line wishing her well, an old friend came along and mentioned she wished she could spend some time with her this week, but couldn't because she was leaving on a pioneer trek. Immediately, our newly called Trek Chairman asked,"CAN I GO?!" That next week the Lord taught our Chairman, everything she needed to know about a trek. It was a miracle.
Our Chairman came home to Houston, and she put us to work! I was placed as the lead on the food committee. I needed to look over the list of names the Bishops across the stake had submitted to be on the food committee and choose a food chairman. I selected one man, because he had such a vast knowledge of cooking for thousands of people on weekly basis and he had connections in the food industry to purchase large quantities of food. About three months into the planning, he was offered a new job and could no longer go on trek. I then needed to look over our food committee and select a new chairman. It was quite an easy selection, a couple stood out in my mind and sister
Bitter's mind. We immediately called them, and they went to work. I was so pleased with how this couple worked so well together. They involved everyone on the committee and gave everyone responsibilities.
As the days grew closer and closer to trek, my home office looked more like a grocery store than an office. Five of us on the committee were purchasing food and
pre-cooking and freezing as much as possible. I have to say our food committee did a lot of
pre-cooking and bagging, which helped immensely when we were on the trek, in the middle of no where, with no running water or electricity.
I will admit, this trek had been a large brick on my back for one year. I worried about it. It was always in the back of my mind. There were a couple reasons. First, I am not a camper. I do not like camping or living in the outdoors. Living in a tent, with bugs, no showers, etc. for 3 1/2 days just was not appealing to me. Second, I worried about getting the quantity of the food just right. I had heard about treks where they starve the kids, so they really knew how it felt to be a pioneer. I absolutely disagreed with this theory. My thoughts were...we need to physically feed these youth, so they can be spiritually fed!
As it turned out we had so much food for the 350 youth and leaders, no one went away hungry. I am still amazed at how accurate we were in purchasing the correct amount of food!
On day one of the trek, the food committee, equipment committee and some transportation committee members met at the church at 5:50am to leave for
Lampasas, Texas. Our leaders had found a church member in
Lampasas who was willing to let us use his 3,000 acres for our trek.
As we arrived at the property and began setting up the kitchen, the winds were blowing so hard. It was difficult to set up the large sun shade tents in the high winds. Our committee worked out of two trailers. One a dry goods and the other a cooler trailer. Now, I don't mean a refrigeration trailer, I mean a trailer full of coolers and ice. Everything we had
pre-cooked and froze were in the coolers. And I would like to add, that everything stayed frozen solid. We had our doubts, but it really worked.
After a few hours of set up, we were able to go down to the drop off area where all of the youth were being placed into families. The support staff of adults were all armed with marshmallows and we pretended to be the Mob, and were yelling at the families to get off of our land and we were kicking them out. We threw the marshmallows at the families and just had some fun, giving them a hard time. The mob was blowing off M-80's to make noise and cause chaos. The youth enjoyed this time and even had fun throwing the marshmallows back at us! :)
The winds blew so hard this evening. All of our tents that we had set up over the kitchen were ruined. As I tried to sleep in my tent (as it kept coming apart, because the ground was dry and the stakes easily slipped out of the ground), I kept thinking about what it must have been like to be a pioneer out on the plains, in all kinds of weather. How terrible it must have been to be a mother, wanting so badly to protect your children from the elements but being unable to. On the bitter cold nights, possibly thinking back to where you use to live, and all you gave up, to follow the Prophet and move to an area where you could have religious freedom!
For each meal we would divided up all of the food on the daily menu and place the contents needed for the family to cook their meal in a cloth grocery bag. We had a cloth grocery bag for each family. All bags were labeled with a number 1-27 and also in alphabetical order. A runner from each family would come to the food committee tents and pick up their bag. Dinner worked perfectly. However, when we packed their breakfast, lunch and am/pm snacks, we had to ask for their family dish washing bin too to hold all of the food we needed to pack for their day. If our stake does another trek, I think each family needs a large milk crate that we can put all of their food into. That was tricky. Our committee also had the responsibility to feed the adult support staff who were on trek and not in one of the 27 families. Breakfast was easy as we simply laid out the breakfast foods on the tables and they served themselves. Lunch and snacks we packed in several large apple boxes and we had the transportation committee carry the food in their trucks and they fed the adults on the trek during the day. Dinner, we were cooking large quantities for the support staff.
The food committee had to strike camp each morning after the trekkers hit the path. We took down our personal tents and the kitchen after breakfast was served. Then moved to the next night location, and set everything back up again and began preparing food for dinner. We repeated this processes every day. It was exhausting. I haven't worked that hard in years moving such heavy equipment and preparing so much food.
At times, the food committee felt a little out of the loop as we were not on the actual trek, we were always behind the scenes. However, we all understood that was just the way it needed to be. Someone had to do the work, and we made our own fun and really we had some good laughs as a committee! On Friday, we made the trek chairman a HUGE brownie, shaped as a cow pie. (There were cattle and cow pies all over the 3,000 acres.) It looked so gross and quite real. It was fun presenting it to her, then getting in a gooey brownie fight. I am still not sure how that happened... I was simply giving her a taste of the brownie and the next thing I know I had brownie shoved up my nose. :) I still giggle when I think of that moment.
Friday afternoon the women on the food committee were able to walk for 2 hours with the trekkers. It was so great to finally be with the youth and to feel their spirits and excitement of being on this reenactment of the Mormon Pioneers walking across the plains. The best part was being involved in the Women's Pull. Before the pull began, Susie Bitter spoke to all of the young women. Her message was clear. In this life, all of them will be faced with challenges. Their roads will be hard and there will be rocks in the way. BUT, with the help of the Lord they can all do HARD THINGS! All of the men and young men were pulled off the trek (to pretend to go to war) and the women had to pull the hand carts by themselves up a steep and very rocky incline. It was hard! I lost my footing once, but caught myself. There was a rock on the path, and it was right under my wheel that I was in charge of! I remember pushing that wheel and the back of the handcart with all my might. As the wheel went up and over the rock, all of a sudden the hand cart just took off rolling...a woman appeared out of no where, pushing on the back of the cart next to me and sister Bitter. It was so sweet of her to help us! She lightened our load!
All of the sisters listening to Sister
Bitter's remarks.
The food committee ladies, left the trek and went back down the hill to the final camp area. We were greeted by the men on our food committee asking us how the women's pull was and what it was like. We all then pitched in and began cooking a huge feast for the entire 350 participants. We made grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed vegetables, rolls, brownies and lemonade.
It was so neat watching the families roll into camp. I had the opportunity for a little while to stand at the finish line, wave a hankie and greet them by welcoming them to Salt Lake. It was so touching to watch these youth walk into the Valley. They had come to remember their ancestors, to walk in their foot steps, to learn more about their struggles, hardships, and losses. The youth learned that this Trek was really just a "mini-trek" in their life...their life journey is their real Trek, and as they trek and keep looking forward with faith and hope, they will come to know that they can do hard things with the help of their leaders, parents and the Lord.
I am grateful I had the opportunity to participate in this Pioneer Trek. It gave me ample time to to think about my ancestors, the Prince Family, who left Cambridge England by ship and then trekked across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley and then on to settle St. George, Utah.
What a wonderful opportunity it was to be with the youth of Cypress Stake. It was an honor to make their meals, care for their needs, to interact with them, get to know them better, listen to their stories about their ancestors and to also watch their testimonies of Jesus Christ grow.
A small portion of the food bought before Trek. Thanks Victoria & Dad for helping my pick up this load!
Getting on the buses after breakfast, getting ready to leave for
Lampasas, Texas.
The 27 handcarts.
The families getting kick out of of
Nauvoo by the mobs...
Sunset at camp (night one).
Crossing the "
Sweetwater" - Day 3
The Trek Choir. Victoria participated in this choir. They practiced for weeks and weeks! They added such a nice spirit to the camp. The music brought the spirit and there was rarely a dry eye in the camp when they performed.
Our Stake Presidency and their wives.
President Pack, Meier and Cribbs. I was ever so fortunate to have each of these ladies on my food committee! They were so helpful and knowledgeable!
I wish I had a photo of this Brownie cow pie before it was smashed onto myself and
VaDon Pace. The story behind the Brownie Cow Pie. Our food committee had kept the brownies in coolers. Unfortunately, ice water leaked into the plastic wrap and some of the brownies were wet. Seeing that we couldn't serve wet brownies, my mind began to think about what we could do with all these wet brownies. I guess as my eyes looked out across the field that was dotted with cow pies, the idea began to grow. A lot of the food committee helped to shape this beauty!
VaDon afterwards, and I still am not sure what I looked like. All I can remember was being very gooey and sticky.
VaDon and I spent some time at the water bins washing each others faces, hair and ears!
As the buses pulled into the church parking lot, most of the families were on the front lawn waving white hankies to greet us home. (This is also what the Salt Lake City residents did as the pioneers who were rescued from the plains came into the city.)
See how much Brianne and Tiffany missed me? So sweet! :)
I am including here the Trek Menus for each day. I wish so much that when I google searched for trek menus I would stumble upon another stakes menus....I never did. So, why reinvent the wheel, right? Here ya go, whoever may need this!
Wednesday Dinner27 Family bags (10 people per family/bag)
Chicken, Rice and Dumplings Recipe. Dump all into a dutch oven, cook for 30 min.
• 3 cans canned cooked chicken
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 can carrots
• 1 can peas
• 1 can green beans
• 1 Ziploc bag of rice, onions, seasoning
• 1 Ziploc bag of Crusteaz mix
• 20 dinner rolls
Cobbler Dessert: Pour peaches with a little juice in bottom of foil pan. Spinkle cake mix on top of peaches, pour the remaining peach syrup from can. Cover and let cook in dutch oven, 20-30 min. It is done when the cake looks baked on the top.
• 1 box of cake mix
• 1 can peaches
• 1 tinfoil liner for dutch oven dessert
• 30 salt packets
• 30 pepper packets
• 1 brown paper bag of briquettes. About 30 briquettes in each bag.
Thursday Breakfast, Lunch & Snacks27 Family Bags & Family Dish washing bin
Breakfast Menu:• 10 Costco Muffins, assorted varieties.
• 10 Yoplait Yogurts
• 20 Pieces of assorted fruit- apples, oranges, bananas
• 10 hot chocolate packets
Snack Menu:
• Entire Costco bag of trail mix
• 10 granola bars
• 10 fruit snack packets
• 10 Beef Jerky pieces
Lunch Menu:• 2 loaves bread
• 1 Entire jar peanut butter
• 20 individual jam packets
• 1 Ziploc bag of ham (10 slices in each bag)
• 1 Ziploc of American cheese slices (10 slices in each bag)
• 10 whole carrots
• 12 mustard packets
• 10 bags of assorted lunch chips
Thursday Staff - Lunch & Snack Bags7 Staff Bags (each bag serves 10 people)
Snacks• 10 granola bars
• 10 fruit snack packets
• 10 Beef Jerky
Lunch• 2 loaf bread
• 1 jar of peanut butter
• 20 individual jam packets
• 1 Ziploc bag of ham (10 slices in each bag)
• 1 Ziploc bag of cheese slices (10 slices in each bag)
• 10 whole carrots
• 10 bags of assorted lunch chips
• 12 mustard packets
Thursday Family Dinner Menu27 Family Bags
Dinner Menu:
Chili in a dutch oven.
• 1 bag precooked ground beef (2 1/2 lbs)
• 1 Ziploc bag of Chili powder & onion seasoning mix (2 tsp chili seasoning, 1/2 cup dehydrated onion. 3 chopped green pepper and 2 TBL minced garlic). We prebagged the seasoning and onion, then added the green pepper and garlic on site.)
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 3 cans tomato sauce
• 3 cans diced tomatoes
• 2 cans corn
• 20 Dinner rolls
Dutch oven Cobbler.
• 1 box cake mix
• 1 can pie filling
• 1 tinfoil liner (for dutch oven dessert)
• 1 brown bag of briquettes
Friday Family Breakfast, Lunch & Snacks27 family bags
Breakfast Menu:• 20 Oatmeal packets
• 10 Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
• 1 Tub of Cream Cheese
• 20 Assorted fruit- apples, oranges, bananas
Snack Menu:• 10 Granola bars
• 10 Fruit roll-ups
• 10 Beef Jerky
Lunch Menu:• 2 loaves bread
• 5 cans tuna
• 2 sleeves of saltine crackers
• 10 bags of lunch chips
• 10 carrots
• 20 jam packets
• 12 mayo packets
• 10 individual servings of mozzarella String Cheese
Friday Staff – Lunch & Snack Bags7 staff bags
Snack Menu:• 20 Assorted fruit- apples, oranges, bananas
• 10 Granola bars
• 10 Fruit roll ups
• 10 Beef Jerky
Lunch Menu:• 2 loaves bread
• 1 USED Peanut Butter Jar from yesterday
• 5 cans tuna
• 2 sleeves of saltine crackers
• 10 bags of lunch chips
• 10 carrots
• 20 jam packets
• 12 mayo packets
• 10 individual servings of mozzarella string cheese
Friday Dinner - Cooked by Food Committee
350 pieces of chicken
Mashed Pototoes
Gravy
Mixed Vegetables
Rolls
Brownies
Lemonade
Saturday Breakfast - Cooked by Food Committee
Pancakes
Sausage
Hash brown potatoes
Fresh fruit
Leftover Foods :)
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The birthday cookies I made. 
Tiffany and the preschool dog "Boyton" and her favorite stuffed animal, "Bunny".
