Carson City area church youth enjoy trek experience along Mormon Emigrant Trail

By Teena Herman — Youth from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recently participated in a commemorative pioneer trek along the Mormon Emigrant Trail in the Sierra Nevada mountains, filling them with appreciation for early settlers and for the amenities of modern life.

Around 115 youth from Carson City and surrounding communities pushed and pulled replica handcarts along the mountain route for three days and camped under a canopy of shooting stars. To prepare, each youth researched an ancestor who had any type of pioneering experience and who inspired them with resilience for when their own trekking journey grew difficult.

Dressed in period clothing, the youth were placed into “family” units of 8-10 youth per handcart, some knowing only one or two others in their new family before the event, which caused more than a little trepidation for most participants. However, they quickly overcame their fears with their shared purpose.

Hannah Budd (17) said, “I was nervous about how my family would come together, but it was just right for each of us … I loved the way our family was able to laugh and connect and share spiritual thoughts and inside jokes and come to love each other so much over three days … That could have been so hard and so miserable, but instead it was so hard and so joyful — we ran and laughed as we pushed the wagon (we named her Dusty Biscuit), we cheered each other on, we had good conversations and random ones, we found Jesus Christ in the flowers and sunsets and butterflies and pine trees.”

The youth were supported by two adults per handcart, a logistics team that kept them on course and set up water stations and porta-potties, a medical team, and a cooking team that kept them well fed for the entire journey. The event was planned by a committee of 10 youth who met almost weekly from November until the trek event in July. Blake Palmer (17) commented, “I had the privilege to serve and lead on the Youth Trek Committee, which changed my view on how much effort, time, and revelation really go into these large youth activities. I now feel more grateful and blessed to know that Jesus Christ guides His servants and even inspired me to help plan trek.

To break up the monotony of hiking, the families sang songs, played pioneer games, and heard stories of Latter-day Saint pioneers who fled religious persecution in the 1840’s in Missouri and Illinois and settled in the isolated Salt Lake Valley.

The group spent their evenings with their families for dinner and conversation on how the day went, sharing with each other their high point, low point, and observed miracles. They also played games and square danced under colorful sunsets.

One intent of the youth Trek was to focus on Jesus Christ, to emphasize that Jesus Christ is the strength of youth, and to invite the youth to include Him in their daily lives. Abbie Miklich (17) stated that, “Trek taught that if I put my trust in our Savior then He can help me with anything, and I can do anything as long as He is part of it!”

The challenging experience the youth had helped them overcome fears, take a break from their phones, make new friends, experience the beauty and peace of nature, learn about ancestors, do hard things, have new experiences, and increase their faith — preparing them to meet and overcome challenges in life.

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