This was a once in a lifetime experience for me. Participating in the Pioneer trek on June 9, 1997 was unforgettable.
Pioneer Trek - 1997
With faith in every footstep ....It was a long but wonderful day. June 9, 1997 my sister Roseanne, my niece Holley and I joined the re-enactment of the Mormon Trail Wagon Train and Handcart Company. We wanted to celebrate the sesquicentennial of the pioneer trek from Winter Quarters to their arrival in the Salt Lake Valley. We went 30 miles through some rough terrain. The sky was a perfect, clear blue and the the wind was gently blowing as it almost always does in Wyoming! The hills were so steep and rocky that each wagon had to go one by one in case of problems. The handcarts also had to go down the hills one at a time. It was my Dad's birthday and we felt him near all day long. This was a unforgettable day for me. I had a small taste of what I imagined the pioneers doing and going through everyday. I felt close to them as we walked in their footsteps. The wagons made to camp before we did. We came in with the handcart company about 8:00 pm. As we pulled into Glendo, people began to cheer for us. It made it easier to walk those last few miles. My sister had big blisters on her feet but she made it. One man collapsed when he got to camp and they quickly put an IV in his arm.
"Whether you are among the posterity of the pioneers or whether you were baptized only yesterday, each is the beneficiary of the pioneers great undertaking. With so great an inheritance, we can do no less than our very best ..." ~ President Gordon B. Hinckley
Pioneer:One who goes before, preparing the way for others to follow.
Each year on 24 July, Mormons all around the world commemorate the arrival of the first company of Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. The festivities honor the sacrifice of tens of thousands of pioneers and is a reminder of their faith.
More than 160 years ago, several hundred Mormons began a migration of over a thousand miles to reach the valley of the Great Salt Lake. The first company of pioneers was led by Church President Brigham Young. There were hardships along the way, violent weather, trails forged through hostile terrain, personal sacrifice and many deaths.
The 19th-century Mormon migration beginning in 1846 in Illinois, then through Iowa and Nebraska and eventually to a place of refuge in the Rocky Mountains, was one of the most remarkable episodes in the history of the United States’ great western migration.
Under Brigham Young’s direction, an estimated 70,000 Latter-day Saints made the difficult journey to Utah between 1847 and 1869.
