SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — About 200 California Mormon youths had the chance to honor their pioneer heritage in July by pulling handcarts for 23 miles in the mountains above Santa Barbara.
The youths readied themselves for the activity by preparing their pioneer clothing and packing no more than 17 pounds of necessities. The “trek” began with the youths each being assigned to “families” with a “ma” and “pa,” volunteer married couples who would be the heads of each “family” for the next three days. Each of the 28 families loaded their handcarts and gathered together.
The journey commenced with a song and a prayer and provided the opportunity to physically, emotionally and spiritually reunite each participant with pioneer ancestors. After the first day of hiking through the mountains, the participants — physically exhausted and spiritually enlivened — participated in singing and square dancing. Many had blistered feet and sun-baked faces, but their smiles of reconnection to the joys, sorrows and devotion of their pioneer ancestors visibly declared that they “got it.”
Along the trail, the youths heard stories about individuals who had sacrificed everything for the cause of Zion. The participants also brought their own stories and wore leather bracelets on their wrists with the names of the pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints they were representing. Many wore names of their own ancestors and told stories from their own personal family histories.
Each of the youths also had a chance to open letters from their parents that were presented to them on one of the evenings of the trek. These letters were their parents' testimonies of their convictions and faith in the truths they knew about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
On the second day, after their mountain journey of pulling their handcarts up and down trails of boulders and brush, led by horsemen ready to aid in direction and mishap, the young pioneers gathered for family home evening. They shared experiences and canned food poured into tin plates. An enormous jump rope that could accommodate up to four people at a time was particularly popular that evening.
The following day included testimony meetings held in companies of several families each. Each youth was given the chance to speak of his or her conviction and experience.
By the time the youths were climbing their last hill, they had become pioneers. They were dirty, exhausted and completely spent physically, but their spirits were high and bright. They each seemed to have found something special, even sacred, on their journey. And behind the scenes were hundreds of adult leaders who worked for a year to bring it all together.
Karen Nelson graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in fine arts and humanities. She has been married for 40 years and is a mother of 10 children.