TREK

The Rogers Family (Julia is on far left)

Back in January, Austin and I were asked to be the directors of a pioneer trek for a 100 teenagers from our church. The only information we were given were the dates it would be held, the location, and who we could rent handcarts from. The rest was left up to us to figure out. I must say that besides teaching Seminary, this is the most demanding assignment I've ever been given at Church. After many phone calls, doing research on the internet, more than a 1,000 emails, and some great committee members helping along the way, the trek finally came to fruition this July.

The Trek was held in Michaux State Forest just west of Gettysburg, PA. The youth who attended were divided up into "families" (groups of 12 - 14) and had a "ma&pa" over them. They dressed in pioneer garb and brought minimal stuff which they hauled in a handcart. The first day they hiked about 11 miles, up and down huge hills.

This summer has been one of the hottest summers in PA for as long as they have kept records and this first day was definitely hot!! The first days hike was definitely the most strenuous. Many youth suffered fatigue, heat exhaustion, and muscle pains. We even started the trip with yucky water (unplanned), a wrong turn on the trail and ended with a couple of trips to the emergency room. But, at the end of the day, even those who went to the emergency room were able to return, and they were all able to finish the trail.

As director, I definitely felt the strain of making sure everybody was okay and everything would run smoothly. I had a hard time sleeping the first night...worried about those who weren't feeling so well, the weather since they were sleeping under the stars, etc. But, in the morning, everyone awoke ready to go again and smiles abounded.

Day 2 started with a much shorter 2 1/2 mile hike. The youth pulled their carts along the pipeline. Some of the inclines were steep, but everyone made it okay. Austin and I went ahead to set up supplies and be the pony express to deliver letters from home to the families. A lot of the youth were shocked (and delighted) how much shorter the trail was. We knew storms were going to hit later in the day, so we instructed the families to cover all their belongings with the tarps and then gave the youth some "solo time" to read their letters and to write a letter back to their families. After solo time and a light lunch of bread and cheese, the youth had fun participating in various pioneer activities. Here's pictures of some:

Scone & Butter making...yummy!!

Caber tossing

Julia & Kaleb doing the 3 legged race

Hair washing station (loved by most)

Square dancing

Unfortunately, the activities were cut short by a few heavy downpours, but the youth didn't mind and loved the reprieve from the heat. Fortunately, dinner was able to be made in between storms, belongings were kept dry by the tarps, and the night cleared for a fun hoedown and family time. Julia had the assignment to play Taps at the end of the night, but not so many fell fast asleep as they did the night before :)

The final day, we packed up camp and had a group meeting to share pioneer stories and testimonies. I was very touched by what the youth had to say. I'm glad we could all experience a little of what the original pioneers had to go through.