Youth Treks

[rongo]

I feel the same as you.

 

As a Bishop, did you have any say if your ward would participate, or were you expected to participate with the stake?

We were/are expected to participate with the stake. Many adults wanted to participate, so there weren't couples called who couldn't/shouldn't do it for whom it became a hardship. Most youth were okay with it, too.

 

I did fight some epic battles with the stake presidency counselors over time and money demands of members, which resulted in drastic drops in both over the years. And I did counsel families who didn't want to do the trek that that was perfectly okay ---- they get to determine as families what is too much in terms of stake/ward activities (outside of required meetings) for them as a family.

 

I am curious as to whether treks are so ingrained that there are practically *no* stakes that don't do  them at all at least every four years. Have they become written into the unwritten order of mandatory stake youth activities?

[DBMormon]

We have a couple in our ward who were interested in 1800's history as non-members.  They, as non members, joined a LDS trek in the late 90's and they joined the Church.  It was an awesome story.  Having toughed it on the frontier side by side with LDS members they grew to appreciate the toil and struggle the early saints went through.  After he joined, he built a pioneer handcart from scratch, researched each way that things would have been done in it's time and duplicated it, down to making a fire in a hole and heating up the outside wheel bands, putting them on and then putting them in cool water to shrink them.  Pretty amazing and so while we should not set the expectation, some pretty amazing things do happen when we grasp what these early saints went through and persevered.

Bill

[Kenngo1969]

We have a couple in our ward who were interested in 1800's history as non-members.  They, as non members, joined a LDS trek in the late 90's and they joined the Church.  It was an awesome story.  Having toughed it on the frontier side by side with LDS members they grew to appreciate the toil and struggle the early saints went through.  After he joined, he built a pioneer handcart from scratch, researched each way that things would have been done in it's time and duplicated it, down to making a fire in a hole and heating up the outside wheel bands, putting them on and then putting them in cool water to shrink them.  Pretty amazing and so while we should not set the expectation, some pretty amazing things do happen when we grasp what these early saints went through and persevered.

Bill

Dunno whether anyone else appreciated that contribution to the thread, but I certainly did!  Thanks so much!!!     (You'll note that I kept the emoticons to a minimum, just for you!  No sarcasm or other negative emotions were intended by the use of emoticons in this post.  However, viewer discretion is advised!)

[CV75]

I would say they started at the sesquicentennial celebration deal in 1997. I got out of YM in 1996 and so I totally missed, thank heavens, that whole scene!!!!! I think that's why I was born when and where I was because I don't pull people or things in carts, I have very delicate features and pulling a cart is tough on the epidermis

This is how I saw it coming. One teenaged relative said he was deciding about going inactive until the expieriences he had on one of these treks. It opened his eyes quite a bit to quite a number of lessons about the pioneers, and from his peers and the Mas/Pas/leadership sharing in the event that led him to a personal testimony and a commitment to personal religious observation.

[DBMormon]

Dunno whether anyone else appreciated that contribution to the thread, but I certainly did!  Thanks so much!!!     (You'll note that I kept the emoticons to a minimum, just for you!  No sarcasm or other negative emotions were intended by the use of emoticons in this post.  However, viewer discretion is advised!)

 

lol.. that had me chuckling. 

[Kenngo1969]

Dunno whether anyone else appreciated that contribution to the thread, but I certainly did!  Thanks so much!!!     (You'll note that I kept the emoticons to a minimum, just for you!  No sarcasm or other negative emotions were intended by the use of emoticons in this post.  However, viewer discretion is advised!)

 

 

lol.. that had me chuckling. 

 

That's the spirit!

[cinepro]

Behold!  The answer to the question is before you!  Gaze upon it and offer me a tribute of rep points to honor my mad Google skillz!

 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865558487/A-history-of-the-modern-phenomenon-of-handcart-treks.html

Edited October 27, 2013 by cinepro

[Traela]

I don't know when it started but I think it is ridiculous.  Take a bunch of kids out for a week in the middle of the summer and have them pull a handcart a few miles and let them believe they now know what the Wiley and Martin handcart companies went through.  I think it dishonors those who really did go through that ordeal.

I disagree. Most kids are smart enough to know it's only a taste of what the pioneers went through. (And those that aren't, probably also think they know what a leg broken in three places is like, because they once twisted their ankle, like, really bad.) However, it gives them a reference point that they can extrapolate from. It's pretty easy to skim over pioneer accounts, but when they have actually pulled a handcart, there is more likely to be a feeling of, "They did THAT for how many days? For how many hours a day? On how little food? Wow."

[The Nehor]

I just play Oregon Trail 2 to get the real experience.

 

The way history would have played out if that was accurate:

 

[BCSpace]

I'm not a fan of them, in general. I don't like taking kids and many adults away from their families for a whole week in addition to the girls/Scout camps (I realize that some stakes cancel camp when they do a trek in a year, but mine never have), and I don't like the "some great thing" emphasis (i.e., this will be the most amazing testimony experience of your life, etc.). I have never liked giving the impression that testimonies need to be built by extravaganzas (in fact, I find that testimonies built day by day are stronger than those that come through EFY, treks, etc.).

 

I agree.  I personally get no spiritual uplift or insight from them or anything like unto it.  But I do recognize that others do and don't begrudge them that.  However, I think just as much, if not more, positive spiritual effect can be realized with the same type of people with a MUCH less expensive well-organized weekend or one-day Youth Conference.

[Scott Lloyd]

When and where did this phenomenon start? My memory tells me that it was in the late 1990s (neither my wife nor I had ever heard of them, but her sister went on one). I remember hearing of them as an idea and then suddenly they exploded on the scene and became quasi-required rites of passage in stakes. 

 

I'm not a fan of them, in general. I don't like taking kids and many adults away from their families for a whole week in addition to the girls/Scout camps (I realize that some stakes cancel camp when they do a trek in a year, but mine never have), and I don't like the "some great thing" emphasis (i.e., this will be the most amazing testimony experience of your life, etc.). I have never liked giving the impression that testimonies need to be built by extravaganzas (in fact, I find that testimonies built day by day are stronger than those that come through EFY, treks, etc.).

 

I'm just wondering if people can help me nail down in my mind exactly where and when this originated from. It's clear that the Church has embraced it, but I don't think it originated "top-down."

 

Thanks!

This Deseret News report of a presentation given at last year's Mormon History Association conference provides some insight on the question you ask. It seems my friend, Mel Bashore of the Church History Department, has researched it.

 

(I didn't write the article, but I notice that, to illustrate it, our website people selected a photograph I had shot at the Martin's Cove historic site in 2011. It was the first handcart trek I had ever been involved in and the last that I want to be.)

 

As to the effectiveness of the youth treks, no, they don't have the same impact on everyone who participates. But I've seen enough people, young and old, testify to the spiritual experience that they can be for some, I'm persuaded that they are worthwhile.

 

Different things work well for different people. Let's provide as much opportunity and variety for spiritual experiences as we reasonably can, say I.

 

ETA:

 

I see now that Cinepro beat me to finding and posting the link. Ah well, two links to Deseret News content is even better than one -- especially when that content includes one of my photo credits!

Edited October 28, 2013 by Scott Lloyd

[katherine the great]

I went on one trek, and I have no desire to repeat the experience.  I tried to figure out why I hated it so much because I have gone on archaeological digs in the middle of nowhere and worked twice as hard for days at a time and I actually enjoyed those.  I think that in spite of the spiritual element of the trek, I could not deal with the complete lack of privacy on the trek.  That being said, I know that it was an overwhelmingly positive experience for most of the youth who attended.  If I ever go again, it will be to run the "chuck wagon" where I can have a little place to go and be by myself for a couple hours a day.  

[silvermoon383]

I never understood the desire to do these Treks, either yearly or on a pattern.  On a major anniversary like the 150th I can understand, but my stake apparently loves these, organizing one every 2-3 years, and they pull out all the stops.  The entire YM and YW program from every ward gets scooped up into planning it and the majority of the adults end up having to do something as part of it.  Even YSAs get assigned (yes, assigned) roles.

 

If there wasn't anything else going on I wouldn't mind it so much, but the one they did was a bit of a backbreaker for just about everyone IMO.  We already had scout camp funded and planned for, then all of a sudden the Stake dropped a YM camp (that all wards were required to attend, and had to pay to go to), girl's camp, then the Trek, all grouped together within a month, maybe month and a half.  That's not including Cub Scout Day camp, family vacations, holidays, and anything else that comes up in summer.

 

It was a nightmare of an activity hurricane, and IMO, should never have been allowed to happen.

[Whiskeypete]

My wife went in the '80s. Probably 85 or 86. It was one of the 'torture treks' (my words, not hers) when the youth were given limited food, forced to pull the handcarts until 2:00 AM, and then told at the end, when they were exhausted and relieved to have food and a chance to rest, that the feeling that they had was the Spirit.

[Craig in Austin]

I have been on one of these treks.  It was well planned, and a blast.  Here are my thoughts.

 

A trek can help teach history, but we should avoid pseudo-history.  Many of these trek reenactments include a "men go away with the Mormon Battalion, so women have to pull carts uphill without them".   Um, it didn't happen.  The Mormon Battalion was 1846 to 1847, and the first handcart company was in 1856.  That's around 10 years difference.  There is plenty of fascinating Mormon history to explore, so there's no need to make stuff up.  

 

Most Mormon pioneers traveled in wagon companies- less than 10% came in handcarts.  Most pioneers were not forced to go on short rations during the journey (excepting the W&M companies).  Most did not die (death rate estimate is ~3% for pioneers, vs ~2% if they stayed home).  The tragedy of the W&M companies makes interesting history, and can be a lesson on making wise decisions.  In my opinion, it is not wise to make youth go hungry during the trek, unless you are specifically trying to reenact the W&M tragedy (although I would question the wisdom in re-enacting that).  It can be fun to offer era-correct food, such as Johnny-cakes, trail-baked bread, etc.    

[Buzzard]

Never have done the trek, either as a youth or an adult. Have no particular desire to do one. My scout training in the Young Men's program did instill a lifelong love of wilderness camping, the more remote, the better, even in winter. Given a choice between rambling above timberline over Alpine tundra studded with wildflowers and rocky peaks all around, or snowshoeing through a silent, white wonderland vs. four days lugging a cart across hot, dusty sagebrush country, I'd chose to take my youth on either of the first two experiences before a handcart trek. 

If they were not experienced in snow camping, I would make sure that  a cozy cabin awaited at the end of the day, however. 

[Scott Lloyd]

I have been on one of these treks.  It was well planned, and a blast.  Here are my thoughts.

 

A trek can help teach history, but we should avoid pseudo-history.  Many of these trek reenactments include a "men go away with the Mormon Battalion, so women have to pull carts uphill without them".   Um, it didn't happen.  The Mormon Battalion was 1846 to 1847, and the first handcart company was in 1856.  That's around 10 years difference.  There is plenty of fascinating Mormon history to explore, so there's no need to make stuff up.  

 

Most Mormon pioneers traveled in wagon companies- less than 10% came in handcarts.  Most pioneers were not forced to go on short rations during the journey (excepting the W&M companies).  Most did not die (death rate estimate is ~3% for pioneers, vs ~2% if they stayed home).  The tragedy of the W&M companies makes interesting history, and can be a lesson on making wise decisions.  In my opinion, it is not wise to make youth go hungry during the trek, unless you are specifically trying to reenact the W&M tragedy (although I would question the wisdom in re-enacting that).  It can be fun to offer era-correct food, such as Johnny-cakes, trail-baked bread, etc.    

You are correct about the historical timeline.

 

However, my recollection about the portion of the trek where the women pull the handcarts alone is not to reference the Mormon Battalion saga. Rather, it is to symbolically instill an appreciation for what was suffered by many of the women who became widows during the westward journey and were obliged to go it alone without the aid of husbands, who had died along the way.

[Calm]

I have been on one of these treks.  It was well planned, and a blast.  Here are my thoughts......    

 

[Craig in Austin]

You are correct about the historical timeline.

 

However, my recollection about the portion of the trek where the women pull the handcarts alone is not to reference the Mormon Battalion saga. Rather, it is to symbolically instill an appreciation for what was suffered by many of the women who became widows during the westward journey and were obliged to go it alone without the aid of husbands, who had died along the way.

 

I searched, but I can't find any references to any women pulling handcarts alone, with the exception of during the W&M tragedy. Even then, women were not alone to pull the handcarts without any men.  Undoubtedly, there was a combined effort, by whomever could help, including older children.  Do you know of a single reference, where a man who pulled a cart died, leaving a widow alone to pull it?  Perhaps it happened, but it would be a rare exception, and certainly not a group event.

 

I think the "women pull alone uphill" exercise re-enacts something that never happened, including the W&M tragedy.  If it's an attempt to symbolize women who pulled a handcart across the plains because her husband died, then it should be clarified that it never actually happened as in that re-enactment.

 

In my view, the "women pull alone uphill" exercise is simply to create sentimentalism.  It doesn't teach history.  It doesn't teach the gospel.  Maybe an alternate approach would be to reduce the number of men & women pulling the carts uphill, to show how everyone's help is needed.  I wouldn't make it a gender thing.

 

Maybe if it motivates some eligible young men to find a wife, so she doesn't have to symbolically "pull the handcart by herself" through life, then it might be justified.  

[SeekingUnderstanding]

I searched, but I can't find any references to any women pulling handcarts alone, with the exception of during the W&M tragedy. Even then, women were not alone to pull the handcarts without any men.  Undoubtedly, there was a combined effort, by whomever could help, including older children.  Do you know of a single reference, where a man who pulled a cart died, leaving a widow alone to pull it?  Perhaps it happened, but it would be a rare exception, and certainly not a group event.

 

I think the "women pull alone uphill" exercise re-enacts something that never happened, including the W&M tragedy.  If it's an attempt to symbolize women who pulled a handcart across the plains because her husband died, then it should be clarified that it never actually happened as in that re-enactment.

 

In my view, the "women pull alone uphill" exercise is simply to create sentimentalism.  It doesn't teach history.  It doesn't teach the gospel.  Maybe an alternate approach would be to reduce the number of men & women pulling the carts uphill, to show how everyone's help is needed.  I wouldn't make it a gender thing.

 

Maybe if it motivates some eligible young men to find a wife, so she doesn't have to symbolically "pull the handcart by herself" through life, then it might be justified.  

My widowed great great great grandmother Eliza Cusworth (widowed) came with her 7 year old son and 4 year old daughter. She with her 7 year old apparently pulled her own cart. 

 

ETA - Though in general I dislike the idea of trek as it celebrates what should be remembered as an unmitigated disaster that could have and should have been avoided.

Edited October 29, 2013 by SeekingUnderstanding

[Scott Lloyd]

I searched, but I can't find any references to any women pulling handcarts alone, with the exception of during the W&M tragedy.

Why are you excepting the Willie and Martin company disasters? I don't know what they do in treks elsewhere, but I do know that when they have the women pull the handcarts alone, it is at Martin's Cove, Wyo., where the members of the Martin company endured their suffering.

 

Even then, women were not alone to pull the handcarts without any men.  Undoubtedly, there was a combined effort, by whomever could help, including older children.

 

Why are you so certain that there were no instances in which a woman who had lost her husband was obliged to pull a cart alone? You say "undobutedly" but can you rule it out with any documentation?

 

 Do you know of a single reference, where a man who pulled a cart died, leaving a widow alone to pull it?

I've heard on more than one occasion the story of a woman who realized to her shock and sadness that her husband had died while lying in the tent beside her. Conditions were such that she could do nothing about it until morning. As I recall the story, her husband appeared to her in a dream or vision and urged her to keep going. I can't immediately find documentation for that story, but I did find this paragraph in a talk given by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone:

The next hand-cart was drawn by three young women. . . . The tears ran down the cheeks of many a man who you would have thought would not, could not, shed a tear. [Larson, Handcart, p. 16]

 

So here are at least two instances of women pulling handcarts without aid from men. You only asked for one.

 

 

 

Perhaps it happened, but it would be a rare exception, and certainly not a group event.

I don't think you grasped my point. The activity in which women (or teen-age girls) pull handcarts alone is not to literally enact an event, but to evoke the feeling of sorrow, suffering and sacrifice that surely must have beset some (not all) of the women who were involved in handcart journeys. For that matter, do you really think any part of a youth handcart trek is ever meant to be a literal re-enactment? Of course not. It's to provide personal experience and insight.

 

 

Edited to add:

 

I remembered the name of the woman whose husband died while lying next to her. It was Elizabeth Horrocks Jackson.

 

And I found a transcription from her journal on line.

 

Here is a relevant passage:

 

On the 20^th of Oct. we traveled, or almost wallowed, for about ten miles through the snow.  At night, weary and worn out, we camped near the Platte River, where we soon left it for the Sweetwater.  We were visited with three days more snow.  The animals and immigrants were almost completely exhausted.  We remained in camp several days to gain strength.  About the 25^th of Oct., I think it was – I cannot remember the exact date – we reached camp about sundown.  My husband had for several days previous been much worse.  He was still sinking, and his condition now became more serious.  As soon as possible after reaching camp I prepared a little of such scant articles of food as we then had.  He tried to eat but failed.  He had not the strength to swallow.  I put him to bed as quickly as I could.  He seemed to rest easy and fell asleep.  About nine o’clock I retired.  Bedding had become very scarce, so I did not disrobe.  I slept until, as it appeared to me, about midnight.  I was extremely cold.  The weather was bitter.  I listened to hear if my husband breathed – he lay so still.  I could not hear him.  I became alarmed.  I put my hand on his body, when to my horror I discovered that my worst fears were confirmed.  My husband was dead.  He was cold and stiff – rigid in the arms of death.  It was a bitter freezing night and the elements had sealed up his mortal frame.  I called for help to the other inmates of the tent.  They could render me no aid; and there was no alternative but to remain alone by the side of the corpse till morning.  The night was enveloped in almost Egyptian darkness.  There was nothing with which to produce a light or kindle a fire.  Of course I could not sleep.  I could only watch, wait, and pray for the dawn.  But oh, how those dreary hours drew their tedious length along.  When daylight came, some of the male part of the company prepared the body for burial.  And oh, such a burial and funeral service.  They did not remove his clothing – but he had but little.  They wrapped him in a blanket and placed him in a pile with thirteen others who had died, and then covered him up in the snow.  The ground was frozen so hard that they could not dig a grave.  He was left there to sleep in peace until the trump of the Lord shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall awake and come forth in the morning of the first resurrection.  We shall then again unite our hearts and lives, and eternity will furnish us with life forever more.

                I will not attempt to describe my feelings at finding myself thus left a widow with three children, under such excruciating circumstances.  I cannot do it.  But I believe the Recording Angel has inscribed in the archives above, and that my sufferings for the Gospel’s sake will be sanctified unto me for my good.  My sister Mary was the only relative I had to whom I could look for assistance in this trying ordeal, and she was sick.  So severe was her affliction that she became deranged in her mind, and for several days she ate nothing but hard frozen snow.  I could therefore appeal to the Lord alone; He who had promised to be a husband to the widow, and a father to the fatherless.  I appealed to him and he came to my aid.

 

Edited October 29, 2013 by Scott Lloyd

[Scott Lloyd]

My widowed great great great grandmother Eliza Cusworth (widowed) came with her 7 year old son and 4 year old daughter. She with her 7 year old apparently pulled her own cart. 

 

Thank you.

 

So we're up to at least three instances now.

 

 

ETA - Though in general I dislike the idea of trek as it celebrates what should be remembered as an unmitigated disaster that could have and should have been avoided.

 

 

As has been pointed out here, with the exception of the Willie and Martin company treks, the handcart experience was not an unmitigated disaster. The other eight companies that came across did so with varying degrees of hardship, but in general, they accomplished what they were intended to do: the gathering of people to the Rocky Mountain settlements who otherwise would have been too impoverished to make the journey.

Edited October 29, 2013 by Scott Lloyd

[Craig in Austin]

My widowed great great great grandmother Eliza Cusworth (widowed) came with her 7 year old son and 4 year old daughter. She with her 7 year old apparently pulled her own cart. 

 

ETA - Though in general I dislike the idea of trek as it celebrates what should be remembered as an unmitigated disaster that could have and should have been avoided.

I am curious to know whether women were allowed to pull their own cart by themselves.  I'm no historian, but my understanding is single women (or women with children) traveled with a company.   Five persons were assigned per handcart, with a 17 pound weight limit per person for personal items.   Twenty persons per tent (co-ed, probably not a good idea for trek re-enactments.)  But I would be surprised if any handcarts were pulled/pushed only by women (except during the disaster).

[Scott Lloyd]

I am curious to know whether women were allowed to pull their own cart by themselves.  I'm no historian, but my understanding is single women (or women with children) traveled with a company.   Five persons were assigned per handcart, with a 17 pound weight limit per person for personal items.   Twenty persons per tent (co-ed, probably not a good idea for trek re-enactments.)  But I would be surprised if any handcarts were pulled/pushed only by women (except during the disaster).

Do you intend to ignore what I posted above about the handcart that was being pulled by three women as they entered the valley?

[Craig in Austin]

Do you intend to ignore what I posted above about the handcart that was being pulled by three women as they entered the valley?

I'm not interested in arguing with you, Scott.  My initial point was, that the original handcart treks had nothing to do with the Mormon Battalion.  This is non-history.

Second, if you want to re-enact the height of the crisis of the W&M handcast disaster, then this should be clear.  And in the W&M disaster, there was no time when all the men were dead (or standing by the side of the trail) while only women pulled/pushed the carts.  It didn't happen.  That's all.