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Pioneer Trek 2018

6/24/2018

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I must admit, I entered Pioneer Trek slightly cynical and somewhat skeptical.   Having been on “real” Pioneer Treks (over 30 of them in the mid 1980’s) as a member of the BYU Pioneer Trek staff, I thought I knew what Trek was supposed to be and I was pretty dang sure that what were were going to experience was not it.    Medics patrolling the trail with walkie talkies and offers of air conditioning for those who needed it, two large water coolers on every cart filled with ice, water, and Gatorade, a treat bucket with Jolly Ranchers, Dum Dums, and Slim Jims, and a plethora of fabulous food for each meal, not to mention a basically flat trail and a daily distance of 8 miles or less…....   Nope. Nope. Nope. All the luxuries seemed to me to doom the experience right from the start.


I was wrong.   Right from the start.

I appreciated the experience from the beginning but it was not until nearly the end that I recognized the reasons for its powerful impact.   The Pioneer Trek of yesteryear changed lives by replicating parts of the pioneer’s physical trials. The physical hardships brought spiritual experiences.   This modern Pioneer Trek changes lives by connecting us to real pioneers via re-enactments and real stories. On the way, it also provides some physical challenges.   Both Treks bless participants with a significantly increased appreciation for the pioneers. Both Treks create sacred spaces that give access to spiritual experiences. Both Treks change lives.    The Roy West Stake Mosida Pioneer Trek of 2018 changed my life

Lance and I were “Ma” and “Pa” to a group of six teens:
  • Braxton:  guitar player, father flies helicopters for oil rigs in the Gulf, likes art
  • Caitlin: likes art and writing, chatters, without guile
  • Corbin: loves his truck, self employed mechanic, hard worker, problem solver
  • Ryan: on the swim team, teaches swim lessons, sincere, very helpful
  • Georgeann: angelic, hard worker, loves outdoors and being around people
  • Maddie: loves soccer, hunts birds, strong, a great friend
We called ourselves the “Danger Noodles” (a.k.a. snakes) and together we did Trek.   Our family was very diverse but very obedient. They all kept their hands on the cart when it was moving and all willing participated in family activities.   I honestly grew to love each individually.

The trail was basically flat but it was not easy.   It was often sandy, gravely or coated with a fine dust that was up to 3 inches thick.   Add 97 degree F heat, no shade and wickedly strong winds and the trail became legitimately heinous at times.  (The first day 38 people went the to medical tent and 8 people went home, two of them in ambulances.) It was hot and devilishly dusty.    I have never been filthier in my life. We felt for the pioneers who trudged across Iowa’s, Nebraska’s, and eastern Wyoming’s barren plains.   

The missionaries who run the Mosida Trek site are inspired experts.  We stopped intermittently along the trail to listen as they shared pioneer stories--inspiring stories of miraculous events that elicited awe at the pioneer’s  courage and increased appreciation for their sacrifice. They led us in songs before the Women’s Pull, inspired us to obedience at the River Crossing, and motivated us to kick up even more dust in a company-wide square dance after a long day and exhausting day of eating dust on the trail--an act that surely qualifies as miraculous.  

First the square dance….  The first day was long and hot.  With dinner under our belts, most of us looked forward to nothing more than collapsing on our sleeping bags.  We certainly were NOT looking forward to dancing. Yet dance we did. Almost all of us. Many more of us than originally intended on dancing.   And all of us who danced had fun. Four square dances. A hundred teens. And a 100% fun ratio. Surely it was a modern day miracle.

Women’s Pull….. Knowing that I am strong, I mostly did not worry about the Women’s Pull.   There were no hills and they told us it was only ½ mile. How hard could it be? I was pretty sure I could pull the cart by myself, if I needed to.     And I knew I did not need to. The plan was to put 7 females on each cart. Heck, under normal conditions there were no more than 6 to a cart and only 3-4 of those were actually working.   I figured it would be easy. And it was physically. I was not prepared for the emotional impact.

Prior to the pull, they separated us from the men.  We sat reverently on a hilltop and sang hymns. Beautiful hymns.  Spiritual hymns. And, for me, tear eliciting hymns.

As sisters in Zion, we'll all work together;
The blessings of God on our labors we'll seek.
We'll build up his kingdom with earnest endeavor;
We'll comfort the weary and strengthen the weak.

Yep.   That is what we do.   As God’s daughters, a.k.a. sisters, we work together.  God blesses our labors as we build up His kingdom, comforting the weary and strengthening the weak.   Yep, yep, yep.

And we did work together.   The trail might have been difficult had there been only 2-3 girls to a cart; the dust was inches deep and the carts were fully loaded.  There were 5 of us on our cart and it was not difficult at all….because we were all working together….as we do in “real life”. I am so grateful for my sisters in Zion.

My lessons from Women’s Pull were not limited to my experience.   Bree, one of my young Young Women, said excitedly of her Women’s Pull experience, “I got to be in the yoke!”.   Her older, stronger Trek siblings had done all the pulling to that point. Women’s Pull gave her a chance to contribute.   It was a good experience for her and a good lesson for me.

The River Crossing….  When I first learned about The River Crossing I was more than mildly offended.   At The Crossing, the men carry the ladies across a simulated river (a water channel 30 feet long and 36 inches deep), delivering them safe and dry to the other side..  I can walk across the river by myself, thank you very much! Who says I need a man to carry me across? No sir!!

My “No sir” turned into a “Yes, thank you”.   Once again the missionaries worked their miracles.   Hearts were softened, including mine. After sharing stories about the early pioneer’s Sweetwater River crossing and about the re-enactment of that event by 3 modern “pioneer” young men, we were invited to let the men carry us, to give them the opportunity to perform a physical manifestation of the service they can render as holders of God’s priesthood power.   We accepted the invitation--all of us--and they rose to the occasion--all of them.

It was beautiful.   Revenant. Respectful.  Real. Each lady was carried across by a trio of brethren, two men making a four-handed seat and one acting as a spotter.   The men lined up, carried the ladies across, and then returned to the line to carry again. Every woman and girl, regardless of size or girth, was treated as a lady, carried safely across, and set gently on the opposite shore.    It was truly beautiful.

Men and boys were invited to take their real-life wives and sisters across.   Miles stepped forward to carry Grace. (Grace is taller than he and slightly heavier.)   Single-handedly, one arm around her shoulders and one arm under her legs, he brought her across the river.   Tender. Very.

The sons in my Trek family--Braxton, Corbin, and Ryan--manipulated so that they were at the head of the line when it came my turn to be carried across.   Sweetly and safely, those teenage boys carried my not-insignificant mass to the opposite shore. Tender. And humbling.

Service has two sides.   Christ commands us to serve each other.  In order to serve, there must be people willing to accept service.  Both sides require humility….and both sides offer blessings.

Trek was truly a blessing.   Lance and I were blessed with a fabulous Trek family.   We were blessed to associate with absolutely wonderful adults, men and women who sacrificed family and vacation time to make the Trek experience possible for the youth.   We were blessed to learn about pioneers and experience a titch of what they did. However the most significant blessing, for me, was the courage, determination and strength I saw in my sweet Lance.

Several months prior to Trek, the stake encouraged Trek participants to prepare for the experience by earning a “Trail Award”,    The award could be earned by doing three required activities and three optional activities in three separate categories. The Trail Award pamphlet was distributed and largely ignored….but not by our family.   Encouraged by chocolate ice cream bribes, my children and spouse agreed to work on the award together every Sunday afternoon. An hour of working on the award earned a large bowl of ice cream. Game on!

We worked on it semi-faithfully through March and April, reading the required scriptures together as a family and recording thoughts and feelings in our journals (and eating ice cream).   In May we watched “17 Miracles” together, learned how to make brownies in a dutch oven, and found stories about our ancestors on familysearch.org. Using the ap David found (Thanks David for the detailed instructions!), we also found ancestor names and did temple work for them.   

One of the required activities was to log 36 hours of exercise.  For Miles (who was on the track team), Grace (who was taking a Fit for Life class so she could graduate), and me (who exercises an hour every other day), this was an easy requirement.   Lance’s story was a little different. With less than 2 weeks before Trek he still needed to log 30 hours. Not happening. I was sure he had procrastinated himself out of the award and wrote him off, thinking there was no way he could do it.    He assured me that he would do it. And he did.

He spent an entire Saturday walking around the west desert looking for arrowheads: 8 hours.   He walked home from his parents house Sunday: four hours. He walked home from my parents house Monday:  4 hours. He walked home from church, home from Bishopric meeting, and home from grocery shopping: 3 more hours.   The Monday before the Wednesday that Trek started he completed his 36 hours. Miraculous.

And he walked the entire Trek.   Cramming physical preparation is not the best way to prepare for Trek...and he was not in ideal shape at the start.   It was not easy for him. In fact, it got to the point that it was down right hard. VERY HARD. His right heel hurt.   His left calf hurt. Both hips hurt. His back hurt. He consumed ibuprofen by the fistful. “I hurt so many places,” he said ruefully, “that I don’t know where to limp.”   But he kept going. It would have been super easy to tap out--the opportunity was easily available--but he did not. He walked every step, step by painful step.

And that is how we do it, isn’t it?  On Trek and in life. Moving forward, step by sometimes very painful step.   Finding joy in the journey as we love and serve each other. Making connections with God and His children.  Creating and/or recognizing sacred spaces that give us access to spiritual experiences. Carry on!

All photos from https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/faith/following-in-their-footsteps---mosida-handcart-trek-site/article_17f7dd61-c230-55ec-a8b6-81e6904c8939.html



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Navajo Knobs

6/17/2018

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Navajo Knobs
Girl’s Camp 2018

“We are doing Navajo Knobs,” Mercedes declared when she saw the list of possible hikes at the Girl’s Camp planning meeting.   There was no question in her mind or in her voice. Navajo Knobs it was.

“Navajo Knobs?” I questioned.    “Are you sure?” I hiked to Navajo Knobs only once before in my life and it was a brutal experience; almost 5 miles up across barren sandstone in blistering morning heat,,,and then 5 miles back down the even more blistering afternoon sun.  And when I say up, I mean up. The ascent can seem endless.

I have taken students to the Rim Overlook, a destination about half way up the Navajo Knobs trail, on two separate occasions, both of which were also brutal.    This first time I was Miss Noel, a new teacher at Ben Lomond High School. Bringing up the rear, I passed a personal message one of my students had penciled in the sand.  “Die Noel!” it said. Yep. Brutal.

With full disclosure, the girls chose to do the Navajo Knobs hike.   AWESOME!

Even before Girl’s Camp began the “8 mile hike” dominated their conversations.  Excited and scared, they referenced it frequently.

We arose early the morning of the hake and were on the trail by 7 a.m.   Grace, who turned 18 on hike day, was in front. Under direction from Bishop Ropelato, she significantly slowed her pace and kept the group together.  Distracting them with songs and stories, she led the group up the mountain Though Grace was in front, it was a group effort. Tawny lured Steffanie up to the top with words of encouragement, sticks of gum, and promises of  fruit drink mix. Gwen found cairns for Gabby. Bree, Faith, and Alia swapped tales of blisters, boys, and burgers as they talked themselves to the top.

Promising that no child would be left behind, I took the rear position.     I knew all the girls could make it to the Rim Overlook. I also knew that not all the girls shared my knowledge.   “I can’t go on,” I was told several times. But they could. And they did. We did. All of us.

It was a bit brutal.  Blistering. Beastly.   The cairn-marked trail across the bare sandstone slabs seemed endless at times and the sun was indeed relentless.   It was not easy. In fact, it was hard. Dang hard. But we did it. All of it. All of us. Everyone made it to the Rim Overlook.    For most of the girls it was the hardest thing they have ever done in their lives. Gabby, who has tried unsuccessfully several times to hike to the waterfall in Waterfall Canyon (a 3 mile “moderate” hike in Ogden”)  made it to the top. Bree, who had never been hiking before, made it to the top. Emily, who knew she could not go on, made it to the top. We were there, together. And it was glorious.

The view was glorious too.   Looking out over the rim, “the Capitol Reef National Park  visitor center, Fruita orchards, schoolhouse, and campground—some 1,000 feet below—appear tiny and insignificant, while the 360-degree vistas reach as far as Thousand Lakes Mountain and the Cathedral Valley District to the north, Factory Butte and the Henry Mountains to the east, and Miners and Boulder Mountains to the south.”   (https://liveandlethike.com/2014/12/21/rim-overlook-and-navajo-knobs-trail-capitol-reef-national-park-ut/)
Amazing.

Those girls own that mountain.  . Some of the girls went on to Navajo Knobs (another 2.5 miles and 500 ft elevation gain) and some of the girls went down from the Rim.   All of the girls won. For all but Grace (and maybe Mikayla) it was the hardest physical thing they have ever done. No one can ever take away from them the victory they earned on that hike.   

The hike dominated conversation before Girl’s Camp.  It will dominate post-Camp conversation as well. They will talk of their “8 mile hike” for decades to come.   They know they can do hard things. And that knowledge is theirs forever.

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Goblin Valley 2018

6/10/2018

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The temperature was 96 degrees F when we pulled into the group camp site in Goblin Valley at 6 p.m.   Heat waves rose from the baked desert floor and fear rose from the pit of my stomach. My thought: “I brought 36 kids to southern UT to sacrifice them to the sun gods.    This heat is going to kill us……”


It did not.   No one died. In fact, no one suffered….at least not very much.   (Sleeping in a sand filled sleeping bag hardly qualifies as suffering.)

Monday morning 34 OPA students, 1 OPA sibling, 1 Hislop child (Miles), 3 OPA employees (Talyn, Dalton, and me), and 6 parent volunteers left the school parking lot in 7 private vehicles.   We drove to Diamond Fork canyon, hiked to and frolicked in the hot springs, and then continued on to Goblin Valley where we camped until Friday. My sister Marjorie and 5 of her children joined us.   While there we hiked canyons in the morning (Little Wild Horse Canyon, Horseshoe Canyon, and The Crack) and swam in the Green River in the afternoon. If not the best of times, they were certainly great times.   Following are a few highlights from our trip.

  • “Should we go over the rules about climbing on the rocks?” Talyn asked me as the kids started to set up their tents in the Goblin Valley campsite.   “There are none,” I responded. One of the things I love most about Goblin Valley is that it is such a user-friendly state park. One does not have to stay on the trail and one does not have to stay off the rocks.
  • “This is a killer campsite,” Nick told me.   KIller? Did he have the same worries I did about ending up as sacrifices to the sun gods?  When asked if “killer” were good or bad, he assured me it was good, REALLY good in fact. He, too, loved the user-friendly aspect of Goblin Valley.
  • We encountered a good-sized (6 foot) bull snake on the Diamond Fork trail.   Of course I caught it and encouraged the kids to hold it. I feel it is important to fight unfounded phobias.   A single snake can eat 100’s of mice in a year. YEA for snakes!!!
  • We also encountered bats.   They live in the Goblin’s Lair (east of The Valley of the Goblins).   At dusk Talyn and a group of students sat in the Lair’s entry, watching bats emerge.   One bat, apparently confused by the visitors, flitted back and forth between two students’ faces.   Later Bill highlighted bats by shining his flashlight into the night sky. The light attracted bugs and the bugs brought the bats.
  • We did not capture any bats but we did capture a flag or two.   Our last night in camp the kids played
    Capture the Flag in the dark amongst the goblins.   We did not lose any kids though some kids lost some squamous epithelial tissue.  
  • The sand in Goblin Valley is significant; it permeates everything.   “My sleeping bag has sand in it,” stated Ian. “What can be done?” Hum…. Sleep in it…..
  • Actually I never did sleep in my sleeping bag; it was simply too hot.   I did sleep on top of it though, me and about a million grains of sand.
  • Did you know that there are 10,000 stars in the observable universe for every grain of sand there is on Earth?
  • To beat the heat, we arrived at the Horseshoe Canyon Trailhead at 7:00 a.m., which meant a 5:45 a.m. departure from camp and a 4:30 a.m. departure from our sleeping bags.   No one complained...about the early awakening or about beating the heat.
  • Also to beat the heat we spend every afternoon in the Green River.  Going from 96 degree F air to 54 degree F water was refreshing/shocking.    Some kids never made it into the water--though they did not mind wrestling in the sand--and some kids never left the water, at least not until we told them it was time to leave.   
  • Mudslinging was a thing.   I do not get it...What is the appeal of having mud thrown at you?   Fortunately, I did not get it. The kids were very respectful of my self-proclaimed “no mud/no splash” zone.   They had no qualms about throwing mud at each other though.
  • Long, long ago some dinosaurs left tracks in the mud in what is now Horseshoe Canyon.  Knowing that Samuel is a self-taught dinosaur expert, we asked him which dinosaur he thought left the tracks.  “You know,” he said seriously and thoughtfully, “I have been pondering that. The tracks are in the Morris formation which is in the later Jurassic time period.  It is clearly a predator track and at that time there were only three major carnivores. Based on its size…..” and he went on to explain which dinosaur he thought made the tracks and gave more details as to why.   The two National Park Rangers and the 20 kids present at the time stood in awe as we listened to his very reasonable, very knowledgeable analysis.
  • Those same two Park Rangers told us the two taco trucks parked in front of an old gas station were the best restaurant in the region.   They spoke very highly of the food there. A bunch of us (30+) may or may not have stopped there after our dip in the frigid Green RIver…..  And some of us stopped twice. And all of us now speak very highly of their food too.
  • About halfway through our hike in The Crack we came upon a 12’ rope-aided vertical drop.   Just beyond the drop, in the steep walled canyon, was a waist-deep water obstacle. “We have to turn back,” the kids said.   “We have to turn back,” the adults said. “We will not turn back,” I said. And we did not. Some slid down the vertical drop, some used the rope, some used their friends.   Some people waded through the water. Some people rock climbed up the canyon wall. Some people found a path around the obstacles but no one turned back. Nope. Not doing it.
  • I used a walking stick (sometimes two) for all of the hikes.  The kids knew I am scheduled for a knee replacement in 2 weeks.   “If Mrs. Hislop can do it, I can,” became a mantra for some. “What they don’t know,” said my sweet sister Marjorie, “is that Mrs. Hislop can do anything.”    Truth be known, I cannot many, many things but I love it that my sister thinks I am so capable. Her complete confidence in me is one of her very endearing characteristics.
  • Hanksville is the place of the $20 repair bill.   Marjorie’s tire had a slow leak and needed to be changed.  One of the lug nuts resisted all our efforts to loosen it--we bent a lug wrench trying--so she had to drive to Hanksville to get it changed.   The bill: $20. After our expedition along the Behind the Rim Road (almost a Jeep trail) Yvette’s truck was stuck in 4-wheel drive, compound low.   Bill drove it to Hanksville to be repaired. The bill: $20.
  • Another vehicular tender mercy:  Thursday evening the “Service Engine Soon” light came on in my truck.   A Green RIver (at the time we were just 10 minutes from Green River and 45 minutes from Hanksville) repairman kindly ran a computer diagnostic test on my truck.   The test threw two “system too lean” codes. The repairman said it was probably the fuel pump or the fuel filter and said he could change my fuel filter the next morning…..which would put me out more than $20 and put me behind more than 20 minutes.   Dalton, whose father owns Ron Zundell Auto Repair in Ogden, called his dad and asked for advice. Mr. Zundell (Senior) said it was probably a vapor issue caused by the heat when the truck switched from natural gas to gasoline. He said that I could probably drive it home without incident, which I did.

And now I am home.   The trip is now a story I will (and am) telling.  Life is the stories you can tell. What a blessing it was to live (and now to tell) these stories.

P.S.  A zillion thanks to the parent volunteers who made this trip possible.   As I left my sweet sister, with tear traces in her eyes, said “You are surrounded by such great people”  and she is right. Talyn, Dalton, Brent, Lora, Martie, Bill, Yvette, and Danielle---You are the greatest!!!!

NOTE:  All student photos are published with consent.

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    Author

    Teresa Hislop
    thislop@msn.com

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