TREK - Day Two

Of all of the physical discomfort I anticipated feeling on trek, the thing that plagued me most was severe allergies, mostly at night. Nights were colder than we thought they would be and everyone was cold. I lay awake sneezing and itching and wiping my nose all night long. Misery. Somehow, each day I felt as though I had the energy for a fresh start.

I was in charge of medications for the Beehive in our group. That kept me on my toes! That first night I must have fallen asleep for at least some portion because I woke up to find out she had felt sick in the night and had thrown up, not two feet from my head, TWICE! I'm grateful to have missed it. Here was out first campground (we slept in different locations each night):



On day two we went to Sixth Crossing, and we had 7-mile day (I think I'm remembering the distances correctly!) We had the Women's Pull where the men and women split up and the men talk about the strength of women pioneers, and in the church, while the women talked about the strength they have and the great contribution they make to the kingdom of God. After these separate devotionals the men line an uphill path and watch the women pull the carts up the hill.

This was supposed to happen the previous day, but we ran out of time. The intended hill was much steeper and would have been a more effective Women's Pull. This smaller hill wasn't a challenge at all for the women and the potential lesson was really lost. Too bad. 

Adele in the pink bonnet:

Really trek is a lot of walking and walking and more walking. Sometimes pulling and sometimes pushing too. It gave us a lot of opportunity to get to know the members of our family. I learned to love and admire the youth and their tremendous strengths.

When I combed through the thousands of trek pictures I marveled how few there were of Adele, where you could actually tell it was her, and I couldn't believe Tennie's energy. She was REALLY sick the entire time. Every night she received a blessing from Geoff's dad, who was on the food committee. After each blessing she would regain energy for the next day, then as the day wound down she would just wilt and feel terrible. I contemplated sending her home, but she was determined to finish trek and wouldn't even consider it.

Adele's family is crossing the Sweetwater below (pink bonnet):

We took frequent breaks and listened to pioneers stories.

Sometimes we had quiet time to write in our journals or read the scriptures, and on this second day the youth opened letters from their parents.

Another long and incredible day.