Last month, Taryn Koide, 15, spent four days helping pull a heavy handcart over about 15 kilometres of rough logging roads near Lake Cowichan. Bed was a sleeping bag on the ground; sunrise was the alarm clock. Breakfast was what she helped cook.
No showers or makeup. No smartphones, MP3 players or any other kind of technology. It was cold at night, hot during the day.
And she said she had a great time.
Taryn was one of about 80 teenage members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from the Greater Victoria region taking part in a re-enactment of the Mormon pioneer trek across the Great Plains in the mid-19th century. A contingent of adult leaders and volunteers provided support for the trek, which was based at Scouts sa国际传媒鈥檚 Camp Woodlands on the shore of Lake Cowichan.
After fleeing persecution in Illinois, the first contingent of Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah on July 24, 1847, leading a migration that eventually involved 70,000 people before the transcontinental railway was completed in 1869.
Among those were immigrants too poor to afford teams of horses and wagons. Assisted by the church鈥檚 emigration fund, they assembled handcarts that would carry about 230听kilograms of supplies. About 3,000 Mormons from the United Kingdom and Scandinavia in 10听companies made the 2,000-kilometre journey from Iowa and Nebraska to the Salt Lake Valley between 1856 and 1860. It was an arduous experience, especially for two companies that left late in the season and were caught by early snowstorms.
Learning to appreciate the trials and challenges of the pioneers, particularly the ones who pulled handcarts, was one of the purposes of last week鈥檚 trek, according to Dan and Cheryl Sulzen, leaders of the committee that has spent the past 18 months organizing the trek.
Local units of the LDS church stage treks for teenagers every few years. While they all commemorate the migration of 170听years ago, organizers must adapt to local circumstances. For instance, Vancouver Island鈥檚 campfire ban meant meals had to be cooked on propane camp stoves, rather than on open fires.
Participants, including adults, were required to dress for the occasion: long dresses and sunbonnets for the girls and women; hats, long-sleeved shirts and trousers for the males 鈥� no blue jeans.
Adrienne Wigg, the adult leader who directed re-enactments of incidents along the trail, said the youths鈥� interpretation of 19th-century attire varied widely, but everyone made an effort to dress the part.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 aim for absolute authenticity,鈥� said Wigg. 鈥淲e just wanted to help the kids get a glimpse of what conditions were like in the past.鈥�
She said the mountainous terrain made it difficult to emulate long treks across the prairie.
鈥淚deally, we would have liked to have done a 12- or 15-kilometre stretch in one day,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut there weren鈥檛 any roads longer than two or three kilometres, so we did a lot of backtracking.鈥�
Wigg鈥檚 re-enactments included an angry, gun-toting mob, in the form of three members of the black-powder section of the Mount Benson Buckskinners from Nanaimo. Three ruffians 鈥� who gave their names as Firefox, Flower and Moon Coon 鈥� fired flintlocks into the air and told the trekkers to skedaddle.
A little farther along the road, trekkers came upon a scene in which a handcart had tumbled off the road into the rocks, with several people sporting realistic-looking injuries.
The most dramatic incident was called the women鈥檚 pull.
鈥淚n many cases, women and children pulled those handcarts without the help of men,鈥� said Cheryl Sulzen. 鈥淢en had died, or had to be elsewhere to earn money to provide for their families.鈥�
The girls helped each other pull and push the handcarts to the top of a steep, rocky hill. Boys and men were standing by to help if needed, but the girls met the challenge without male assistance.
Dan Sulzen said other aims of the trek were to teach the youths self-reliance and the importance of helping others, and to build spirituality.
鈥淚t exceeded all our expectations,鈥� he said.
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The group was divided into five 鈥渇amilies,鈥� each presided over by an adult 鈥渕a鈥� and 鈥減a.鈥� Though not all the family members knew each other at the beginning of the trek, bonds in camp families quickly became strong.
Seth Faganello, 16, said pulling the handcarts up and down mountain trails was strenuous, but worth it.
鈥淚 learned that when you put forth a lot of effort, you receive blessings,鈥� he said
Taryn Koide said that before the trek, she was nervous about participating, but threw herself into the experience. She said it made her stronger and more aware of others.
During the women鈥檚 pull, 鈥渢he only thing I could think about was getting back down to the bottom so I could help other girls get to the top,鈥� she said.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 easy, but [the pioneers鈥橾 problems were way worse than what we had to deal with.鈥�
No smartphones, no tablets, TVs or computers? No problem, said Taryn. 鈥淚t was refreshing not to be doing anything like that.鈥�
Noah Rojas, 12, isn鈥檛 descended from pioneers who crossed the American plains 鈥� he was born in Trinidad 鈥� but he said the trek experience helped him learn about his own abilities. He admitted that at home, he sleeps in a lot, and rising at dawn each day was a new experience.
鈥淚 found out I don鈥檛 need to sleep all the time,鈥� he said.
Nathan Paul, 15, had been looking forward to the trek, but didn鈥檛 quite know what to expect.
鈥淚 knew it would be kind of fun, but it was a lot more than that. It helped me understand the past a lot better. It was definitely worthwhile.鈥�
Mannie Sharma, 17, said he learned a lot about pioneers and their struggles, and thought he could relate 鈥� he was born in India.
鈥淢y family also came to a new land, an unknown land, looking for a better life,鈥� he said.
He said the trek taught him a lot about himself. The best part, he said, was making new friends, ones who had shared hardships and challenges.
Scarlett Watters, 14, said when she heard about the trek, she was dubious.
鈥淎t first, I didn鈥檛 want to come,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had to be persuaded. I鈥檓 honestly glad I came. I gained a lot of trust in people. I think I have grown spiritually. And I got a lot of exercise 鈥� I never thought I could do something like this. It was definitely worthwhile.鈥�
It was not all hard work and misery. Events included old-fashioned games, a talent show and a square dance, as well as devotional meetings.
Deborah Nohr, one of the adult leaders, has been involved in several treks. She said she loves being with young people, and she particularly enjoyed sleeping under the stars, something most of the youths had not experienced.
鈥淪o many kids referenced the stars,鈥� she said. 鈥淟ooking up into that vast sky encourages big-picture thinking.鈥�
While the trek was based on historical events, Dan Sulzen said the trek was more about the future than the past.
鈥淭hese kids will carry a legacy forward into the future,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n many ways, they are modern pioneers. They have their own challenges, their own problems to solve. I think now they are better prepared to do that.鈥�
Retired sa国际传媒 editorial writer David Bly was one of the adult volunteers involved in the trek.
