Deep in the heart of Texas, many miles south of the Platte River and the Rocky Mountains, we organized 270 youths from the Colleyville North Texas Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints into companies and families and set out on the Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands, about 60 miles northwest of Fort Worth, Texas, to capture the spirit of their pioneer heritage.
On Thursday morning of the March spring break, each family assembled their handcart and loaded it with belongings. My wife, Kim, and I had been asked to be the ma and pa of a family. Following an optimistic prayer, we started off on our trek, which required us to cover 5 miles the first day and 9 miles the second. We would be called upon to traverse rough terrain, ford three creeks and lift the handcarts over six barbed wire fences.
In addition to the natural hardships, the stake leaders had planned 13 events related to real pioneer stories. Our experiences included a young woman who got a (fictional) snakebite and had to be carried by her trek brother, to teach selfless service. We also planted corn, as pioneers planted crops that could be harvested by pioneers coming later, to teach selflessness. And when wagons “broke down,” some of our youths emptied their handcarts while others took a double load, to teach us to bear one another’s burdens.
Here are the three most meaningful experiences for this particular pa.
• Our ma came down with (fictional) cholera and was unable to walk. The youths were instructed to take all their possessions out of the cart and carry them to make room for her to ride.
While Kim wept inside the cart because of the sacrifice her trek family had to make for her, the teenagers never complained and lovingly pulled their ma along.
I was incredibly touched many times by their perseverance and dedication, but this time was one of the most poignant.
The soberness of our group increased when in the distance we could hear the hymn "Come, Come Ye Saints" being played on a cello. Tears came to my eyes as we passed a young woman who was sitting by the trail and playing my most favorite of pioneer hymns.
Appreciation and respect for the Mormon pioneers increased exponentially by that experience alone.
• On the second day, we had traveled probably 4 miles when our company was stopped by a ravine with a creek running through it. We were told the story of the Martin Handcart Company being stuck in the snow by Wyoming's Sweetwater River. Rescuers from Salt Lake City, including three young men, assisted the company across the icy river (see "They Came by Handcart," Ensign, 1997).
We didn’t have snow or even freezing temperatures, but we did have a ravine to go down and then back up while crossing the water in between.
Our trek family enthusiastically helped carry possessions across the water for other families as lightened handcarts were lowered one at a time down the steep incline and pushed up on the other side. The youths, boys and girls alike, carried company members across the water with no thought for the blisters on their feet or for themselves, only their eagerness to serve.
“When we got to the river crossing, I was worried,” said Sarah Newland, 14, of the Colleyville Ward, one of our “daughters” during the trek. “I didn’t want my shoes to get wet because I was afraid of blisters. But as I got to the river, my (trek) sister Fina carried me across. I felt so much love and gratitude for her. It makes me think of the Savior and how he will carry us across rivers or trials in our lives if we just ask.”
I was so proud of our little family as I watched them cheerfully meet every challenge and go beyond what they were required to do.
• During the last experience, the boys and girls were separated.
After hearing the experience of Mary Fielding Smith, the widow of Hyrum Smith, and her determination to make it to Salt Lake City (see "Mary Fielding Smith—Mother in Israel," Friend, July 1993), our girls were left to pull the carts alone for more than a mile while the boys marched off and learned about Zions Camp.
Many of the young women said this was their best experience of the 2016 Colleyville Texas Stake trek.
The boys lined up along the trail with their hats over their hearts as the girls pulled the carts down the beginning of the trail.
The words of my trek daughter Emily Hopkins, 18, of the Keller First Ward, best describe the experience.
“I loved the women’s pull. Our wagon got to be in the front of the company for the first time on trek, and our family really set the pace," she said. "We walked more quickly than we had previously. This isn’t to say things went better without our pa or brothers, but once we realized it was just us to pull, we banded together and went at it with all fervor.”
She said she found that she was stronger than she thought.
“We really took what Ma said, 'I will not murmur, neither will I complain, for the Lord is my Shepherd' to heart," she said. "There was no complaining, not only in our family but in the company. Girls and women are really amazingly strong when they have a purpose.”
The trek was a tremendous experience for both my wife and me. But I think the most impressive and lingering aspect is the realization of just how strong the youths are. Their strength and dedication humbled and strengthened me.
During the trek, I became so much closer to my pioneer heritage, and my love of the youths of the LDS Church and the gospel increased.
Yes, in the grasslands of Texas we were far from the Mormon Trail, but we could feel the pioneer spirit in us, and as we face the hardships in our lives, we will know, as they did, that through our challenges we find our greatest triumphs.
Chris Hale is an aviation maintenance technician for a major airline and has traveled extensively with his family. In his spare time, he writes novels inspired by places he's been. Find out more about his books and other articles at chrisahale.com.