Keep on Trekkin'

PIONEER TREK 2010

Our Trek Family: (Back row) Mike Yates, Keller Seamons, Willem Barnes, Maddie Fowers,

( boy from another family who wanted to be part of us, but his head was too small, so we said NO) Jackee Broderick, Thomas Waite, Sarah Able, Pa Wayne, Matt Cox. (Front) Lauren Tuttle, Sami Sidwell, Ma Melinda, Nate Harmon

We went.

We pulled.

We conquered.

We passed out from exhaustion.

That’s Trek in a nut shell.

It really was fun and not fun.

It was really Cold and sunny.

It was Awesome and irritating.

Fast and slow.

Work and Play.

Hard and Easy.

All of the extremes in a normal life.

Trek is an entire life, lived in four days.

Our Family was great!

We named ourselves the Dirtches......that is Dirt and Welch put together. We had 11 children. ( 4 graduated Seniors, 1 going to be senior, 4 Jr’s, 1 soph and one 9th grader. ) In the beginning they didn’t know each other too well. It was fun to watch them figure out personalities and levels of testimony. We had awkward getting to know you moments on Wednesday, but by Saturday we felt a special bond.

We had crazy winter weather on Wed. --rain, cold, muddy trails, wind and ice. We tried to sleep through a wind/ice storm. I thought for sure the tents would not survive. But we all did—with little sleep. By Thursday we had chilly/sunny spring weather…perfect for sunburns, because it's cold enough you don't feel the burn until it was too late. Friday and Saturday hot sweaty times. Three seasons in 4 days.

We trekked and set up tents and took down tents and trekked some more. We sang and told jokes and shared embarrassing moments, and “smurfed.” We called holes on the trail “Bagels” and the cow pies we called “schmear”. We laughed and cried ( a lot) with each other.

I loved it!
The Women’s Pull was incredible.

It was a silent morning. No talking, just whispering if needed. Watching the Men walk away from all of us women-folk, was heart wrenching for me. I felt a sense of loss. I am strong, and I knew we could do it, but it would be difficult. The women gathered in a meadow for a devotional about connecting with pioneer women and doing hard things. I looked around at this great group of girls and women and felt an overwhelming sense of power.

I love girls!

The boys/men gathered up top for a meeting about honoring their priesthood and honoring women.

We had 5 girls in our family—Jackee Broderick got a sprained ankle the 2nd morning from falling in a gopher hole "Bagel" and rode on top of our cart a lot. For the Women’s pull, she was determined to walk – and she hobbled along at the back corner of the cart. (She did better than any of us thought she would.)We had Sara Able who got sun stroke and a blistered swollen face on Thursday….she was at the back touching the cart. So basically we had 3 strong girls

( Lauren Tuttle, Maddi Fowers, Sami Sidwell). They were doing great up the first hill, then I saw around the bend the really hard 2nd hill. Half way up this long hill, I had to jump in and pull in the front and Laura Belnap pushed in the back. It was a struggle, that's for sure.

It was a silent pull…..we each were thinking our own stuff and making our own deals with the Lord and learning what he needed to teach us. I looked up from the rutted, rocky hill and saw the boys and men all lining the sides of the road, with their hats in their hands. I just started crying and couldn’t stop. It was so good to see them…even if just for support. They walked beside us quietly for awhile. They wanted to help our struggle, but weren’t allowed to. Just as Christ, our elder brother wants to jump in and help our struggle...he keeps cheering us on silently....knowing we can do it. As soon as the Stake President gave the word the brothers jumped in and we were flying up the hill. It was great to have them. I couldn’t stop the tears. I was so grateful for the priesthood and men.

I love boys!

It was fun playing games with our family. Wayne surprised them all with his competitive nature,expecially in the gunny sack - water ladle race. Wayne threw a PA in a leg wrestle clean over and he also won the stick pull. The favorite family game was the Jacob's Ladder walk with Thomas running from held board to held board. It was awesome.

My favorite times were the family devotional times. Twice a day we gathered on our buckets around the fire and shared feelings and pioneer stories. We talked about what we liked about trek and what we didn’t like; what and who we missed….moms, beds and showers….and what we were grateful for. These feelings intensified as the days wore on and by Friday we were all sharing testimony about our Savior and his atonement and love.

I loved singing hymns in the mountains and feeling the spirit. It was such a beautiful setting.

I really feel like we “went through something" and our family of 13 will always be close.

I hope to see them around town and at school and get hugs and high fives.

I will be interested to see how their lives turn out.

It was great to be with the Cutlers, Orchards, Belnaps, Fosters and Newmans as well. We were the red company.....Company #7. My lucky number!

Getting ready for Trek I felt like tearing my hair out. I was stressed and felt totally inadequate …but it all worked out. What I have come to realize is if we pitch in and pray and study--if we do our part, the Lord kicks in the rest to make it a spiritual high for anyone who wants to partake.

For some must push, and some must pull!