"It was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything," said Tori Jones of the three-day trek she and fellow youth from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Marshall made along an old pioneer trail in Wyoming from June 14-17. A local group of 15, including four adults, were part of a group of 120, age 14 and older, from the LDS' area Stake. The trek covered a section where the Mormon Trail, California Trail, Oregon Trail and the Pony Express converged, said Don Jones, Tori Jones' father and an adult leader on the trip.
Recreating the trek doesn't just show the kids how much easier they have it now, Don Jones said.
"The physical experience makes a spiritual connection," Don Jones said. "I hope they understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about rescuing people. These pioneers were physically rescued and we each one of us needs to be spiritually rescued in the same way."
"The theme of it was 'The Rescue Continues'," said Rachel Cheadle, one of the teens. "It's not about looking back at the past, it's having a hope for the future."
"I learned to respect the pioneers a lot more," said Daniel Hale.
"I knew they went through this, but experiencing it... I experienced it in good weather and I could only imagine how it was for them going through blizzards. I got it easy."
"They had to endure through bad weather and losing children," said Buck Burnett. They continued on "because they knew that's what they had to do."
"They had to give up their daily comforts and go on this 1,300-mile journey to find somewhere safe to practice their beliefs," said Katey Mathis. "I don't think I could do it personally. It amazes me how strong they were."
"I'm amazed they had enough faith to keep walking even when it seemed impossible," said Tori Jones. "They knew the Lord would provide for them and it shows a great will of strength."
For all the hardships, the kids don't remember the trek as bleak.
"It was fun," Mathis said.
"It wasn't all hard work," Tori Jones said.
"It was a blast," Rachel Cheadle said. "Square dancing was the best thing."
Approximately 75,000 Mormons crossed the plains before the railroad, Don Jones said. They moved their goods and families in handcarts they pushed or pulled themselves.
The modern people were divided into "families" with a "Ma and Pa" and four young men and four young women.
They traveled 20 miles of the trek, going "three miles an hour," said Rachel Cheadle, while pushing replicas of the original carts which were "about the size of a bed of a small truck," Don Jones said. They had to fit everything they wanted to take in a five-gallon pail. The kids were allowed no electronics other than cameras.
Hale missed "just about everything" while air conditioning was tops on Burnett's list.
"I love my cell phone so much," said Mathis.
"I didn't miss my cell phone because I had my friends there," said Tori Jones, adding she didn't have the urge to call because "I wanted to be in the moment."
The group wore pioneer clothes, and the long skirts made walking more difficult for the girls
"You'd step on your skirt," said Sariah Cheadle, Rachel's sister.
"We climbed Devil's Gate hiking our skirts up," said Tori Jones.
Rachel Cheadle liked the headgear, though.
"We rocked those bonnets!" she said, laughing.
One safety measure the pioneers didn't have were the support staff, including doctors and nurses, following the travelers in case of emergencies.
"Very organized, safe process," said Don Jones. "There's about 40 who live at Martin's Cove and help run this program."
The group tried to recreate the trip as closely as they could to historical accounts, including crossing the Sweetwater River, which the original settlers crossed nine times, said Don Jones.
"They had to cross the river to get to Martin's Cove to wait for the rescue party," he said, adding accounts read that grown men fell to their knees and cried.
"The Lord provides a way for his people," said Tori Jones. "When the pioneers were starving, they came on Martin's Cove and I know the Lord prepared that cove for them so they could rest and gather strength before the rescue parties from Salt Lake came."
Four older teenage boys carried everyone in the pioneer party across the river and that was replicated by the modern boys.
"The hard part was when your feet got stuck in the mud," said Hale, one of the boys who carried others across on his back. "It took a ton of effort to get your feet unstuck from the mud."
Recreating the women's pull was even tougher.
In the trek center is a list of the original settlers who came through, Mathis said, with some names listed in red to note the ones who died.
"A lot of times, the men would die because they'd give up their food to their family and children so the women were left to pull by themselves," said Tori Jones. "I can't imagine the great strength that would take."
"(The women's pull) was the worst part," said Rachel Cheadle.
All the men and boys stood on a hill while the females pulled the carts three quarters of mile up an incline. The men couldn't even shout encouragement to them.
"I wanted to help, but I wasn't allowed to," Hale said.
The kids battled the elements like the pioneers did. The 40-plus mile an hour winds knocked over several tents and spread grit over everything.
"Because it was windy, the sand would blow and get stuck on the Chapstick on your lips," Don Jones said.
"I had a hard enough time and it was warm outside," Tori Jones said. "They were out in negative-20 degree temperatures in harsh Wyoming weather. I can't imagine going through that without having a warm home."
"I hope what they got out of it was a connection to the past and a vision of the future," Don Jones said. "(The pioneers) made that sacrifice for something they believed in. It's in vain if it's not connected to the future."
