ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
We had a Meet and Greet last night. Two of them showed up, which was kind of a bummer, but we got to know them and now we are really excited.
So My Wife and I Are Going To Be Trek Parents. Who's Done It?
- Thread starter UNSTUCK
- Start date
We really didn't have a lot of down time. We had a downpour the first day. Dance the second night. Family testimony meeting and quiet time the next. Building your shelter for the night. We also had a mail wagon come through with letters from all the kids parents. Potty breaks, snack breaks and lay out on the trail exhausted breaks. We had a lot to do. Mix in some stick pulling and arm wrestling. Im sure that Ma and Pa had some games but that was usually when I was helping with food prep, water and such.
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
Packed up last night, thought of a few things that would be handy. I really have a tendency to overpack, the bucket has got me rethinking some of my "essentials" It will be interesting.
Thanks everyone.
Thanks everyone.
cajack
Member
- Location
- Stansbury Park, UT
ID Bronco - Have a great time. Looks like the weather will be a bit cooler. By the way looks like you have a great "seat" for the upcoming fireworks show. good luck
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
Jack,
Yes it will be perfect for the show. You are invited to sit with us! There may be a few others there on that day. It's great to hear from you. Sorry for the hijack of this thread.
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
So we made it! (I'll have to put some pics in and give a detailed report later) It was tough, but not terrible. Some of the kids struggled, some didn't. It was a great experience, both of my real kids enjoyed it and were up lifted by it. I believe all of our "kids" had a great experience too. Decent weather, some rain/wind/crap which made it more realistic.
Many of the ideas from this thread were used and are very appreciated!
Many of the ideas from this thread were used and are very appreciated!
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
TREK was awesome. I am excited to hear from Unstuck since this is his thread. I hope it's ok for me to put my experience in here.
First day was the toughest. It had the steepest hills and was pretty hot and sunny. I was surprised how sweating really pulled the kids strength. We had a couple of 14 year old boys that really stepped up. Our girls were great gals, but had a tough time just walking it let alone pulling/pushing the cart. At one point one of the girls was having some troubles getting a good breath so we put her in the cart. Holy cow an extra 180 ish pounds makes a lot of difference. The next 300 yards uphill on rocky terrain zapped everyone's reserves. The ended up on a horse and back at camp. We pressed on without her. It was interesting to think about a family with a sick adult and how tough it was to pull them along. I read a few books leading up to this and it was a very real thing they dealt with. When she finally went on the horse, it was a bit of a relief. Although nothing like the real thing we did go through some emotions. 1. we didn't want our family to be split up. We didn't want her to think we were abandoning her, but when she was gone it was a huge burden off our backs. The real handcart pioneers must have gone through similar feelings (although more real, poignant, and much deeper) when they had a sick family member. When they recovered, I'm sure the joy was great, but when they died they probably had the grief and the relief of losing them and not having to pull them along. What an interesting cycle.
That night we arrived at our campsite and set up tents. All the kids really wanted to do was eat and sleep, but like the pioneers we set up tents, waited for food, played games of the time period and then ate. Dinner was light that night (I was wishing for seconds) and it made me realize how 4 oz of flour would not sustain anyone very long. I had much, much more than that and it was not enough.
Our "daughter" that was taken back to camp told us that night that she felt really guilty for not doing her share and had prayed for us to be able to make it back without difficulty. I also think she was absolutely, totally bored out of her mind with no one else (except some older staff members) all day long. She just sat on a bucket and thought about the trip. This made her resolve much better and on day two, she walked the whole way and helped push on some of it.
Day two was about 72 degrees and overcast. Ideal handcart pulling weather. It was amazing how much more strength we all had. We went just as far, but aside from the folks with blisters, it was a much easier day. As I analyze it, I think most of the difference was weather and expectation. The first day no one knew how tough it would be. Since we knew we would be exhausted and sore and whatever else on the second day, everyone just pushed through it knowing what was coming. Having the right expectation in life and a good attitude makes all the difference and this was a great example of this. If you expect your life to always be perfect, to never be sore, or tired or beat down, ect, you will be very unhappy. If you know these things will come and that you have the capacity to make it through, you will find joy in the journey. That night we had 40-50 mile per hour wind gusts, tent pole snapping, Springbar tents ripping and rain all the night long. Again it was miserable for some (I was glad for my msr quality tent) but made the experience more authentic.
Morning came on the third day with a steady drizzle. It was chilly, the wind still blew but much less than before and we did a service project in the rain. It quit around 10:30 and everyone was happier. They say there is no bad weather, just bad gear. Well I try to subscribe to that, but I wanted to go a little authentic so I did not have my best rain gear, and other stuff. Because of that I realized that the Lord did protect even the Willie and Martin handcart companies. Yes they lost 25% of those who left with them, but 75% of them lived with rags for clothing, flour and leather to eat in 3 feet of snow and -20 degrees sometimes. With all the gear I have I would likely not survive multiple days (let alone weeks) in the middle of Wyoming with no end in sight. It was truly a miracle.
All in all it was great. Many, many smiles and much laughter was shared. Maybe the best thing all around was having 140 kids away from all electronics for 2.5 days. Many of them seemed to appreciate that too. I am very glad we do this for our youth and I was happy to be part of it. Many of the other adults had negative attitudes at first. I was excited. They all came around after about a day.
Oh, put some ropes on your handle and make some harnesses. Pulling from the front like a team of oxen really helps lighten the load.
That shower Saturday night was mighty fine!
First day was the toughest. It had the steepest hills and was pretty hot and sunny. I was surprised how sweating really pulled the kids strength. We had a couple of 14 year old boys that really stepped up. Our girls were great gals, but had a tough time just walking it let alone pulling/pushing the cart. At one point one of the girls was having some troubles getting a good breath so we put her in the cart. Holy cow an extra 180 ish pounds makes a lot of difference. The next 300 yards uphill on rocky terrain zapped everyone's reserves. The ended up on a horse and back at camp. We pressed on without her. It was interesting to think about a family with a sick adult and how tough it was to pull them along. I read a few books leading up to this and it was a very real thing they dealt with. When she finally went on the horse, it was a bit of a relief. Although nothing like the real thing we did go through some emotions. 1. we didn't want our family to be split up. We didn't want her to think we were abandoning her, but when she was gone it was a huge burden off our backs. The real handcart pioneers must have gone through similar feelings (although more real, poignant, and much deeper) when they had a sick family member. When they recovered, I'm sure the joy was great, but when they died they probably had the grief and the relief of losing them and not having to pull them along. What an interesting cycle.
That night we arrived at our campsite and set up tents. All the kids really wanted to do was eat and sleep, but like the pioneers we set up tents, waited for food, played games of the time period and then ate. Dinner was light that night (I was wishing for seconds) and it made me realize how 4 oz of flour would not sustain anyone very long. I had much, much more than that and it was not enough.
Our "daughter" that was taken back to camp told us that night that she felt really guilty for not doing her share and had prayed for us to be able to make it back without difficulty. I also think she was absolutely, totally bored out of her mind with no one else (except some older staff members) all day long. She just sat on a bucket and thought about the trip. This made her resolve much better and on day two, she walked the whole way and helped push on some of it.
Day two was about 72 degrees and overcast. Ideal handcart pulling weather. It was amazing how much more strength we all had. We went just as far, but aside from the folks with blisters, it was a much easier day. As I analyze it, I think most of the difference was weather and expectation. The first day no one knew how tough it would be. Since we knew we would be exhausted and sore and whatever else on the second day, everyone just pushed through it knowing what was coming. Having the right expectation in life and a good attitude makes all the difference and this was a great example of this. If you expect your life to always be perfect, to never be sore, or tired or beat down, ect, you will be very unhappy. If you know these things will come and that you have the capacity to make it through, you will find joy in the journey. That night we had 40-50 mile per hour wind gusts, tent pole snapping, Springbar tents ripping and rain all the night long. Again it was miserable for some (I was glad for my msr quality tent) but made the experience more authentic.
Morning came on the third day with a steady drizzle. It was chilly, the wind still blew but much less than before and we did a service project in the rain. It quit around 10:30 and everyone was happier. They say there is no bad weather, just bad gear. Well I try to subscribe to that, but I wanted to go a little authentic so I did not have my best rain gear, and other stuff. Because of that I realized that the Lord did protect even the Willie and Martin handcart companies. Yes they lost 25% of those who left with them, but 75% of them lived with rags for clothing, flour and leather to eat in 3 feet of snow and -20 degrees sometimes. With all the gear I have I would likely not survive multiple days (let alone weeks) in the middle of Wyoming with no end in sight. It was truly a miracle.
All in all it was great. Many, many smiles and much laughter was shared. Maybe the best thing all around was having 140 kids away from all electronics for 2.5 days. Many of them seemed to appreciate that too. I am very glad we do this for our youth and I was happy to be part of it. Many of the other adults had negative attitudes at first. I was excited. They all came around after about a day.
Oh, put some ropes on your handle and make some harnesses. Pulling from the front like a team of oxen really helps lighten the load.
That shower Saturday night was mighty fine!
Attachments
cajack
Member
- Location
- Stansbury Park, UT
Great pictures. Looks like a great time. Thanks for sharing.
Spork
Tin Foil Hat Equipped
- Location
- Saratoga Springs, UT
I don't know, my great x5 grandmother was bad-ass. Credited as being the first handcart to the Salt lake Valley.
https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/6512903
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
We read this story of beating them to the valley to all of the kids. She is legend!
UNSTUCK
But stuck more often.
Great write up!
Ours is still two weeks away. We don't get to use tents. We have to make a shelter, mostly with tarps. I'm getting more excited as we get closer. I really struggle with how to make it an awesome experience for the kids. I guess I better read some books and get a few stories ready. I want them to know just how easy we really do have it, compared to other people around the world, and of different times.
It doesn't sound like we will have much free time, but when we do, we need to fill it. What games did you play? How else did you occupy their time?
Ours is still two weeks away. We don't get to use tents. We have to make a shelter, mostly with tarps. I'm getting more excited as we get closer. I really struggle with how to make it an awesome experience for the kids. I guess I better read some books and get a few stories ready. I want them to know just how easy we really do have it, compared to other people around the world, and of different times.
It doesn't sound like we will have much free time, but when we do, we need to fill it. What games did you play? How else did you occupy their time?
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
We did stick pull with the boys. The girls weren't too crazy about it. We had a ball (small beach ball) with questions about yourself and we would toss it to each other. Which ever question was closest to your thumb was the one you answered. They all liked that. We traded treats like a trading post, arm wrestled, indian leg wrestling, tag. All of these seem silly, but it was what they had. We also hit a tennis ball someone brought with sticks, like hockey but with tree limbs.
Our kids really just enjoyed talking and hanging out resting during the breaks. We also had a family journal, so we would pass it around during breaks. It was interesting to see the differing opinions on the same experience.
ID Bronco
Registered User
- Location
- Idaho Falls, ID
God speed