On the 11th-13th of June I (jd) had a chance to go on a youth trek. The trek took place on a large area of land out in rural Tennessee. Our ward had a family of 12. On the trek we had to wear our period style clothes (which meant long sleeved shirts, pants, and a pair of suspenders).
Day 1
Upon arrival at the base we put together our handcarts. Before we could load our stuff a huge storm let loose heavy rains and winds, forcing all of us into the mess hall. We ate a meager lunch and heard some stories from our leaders while we waited out the storm. When the storm let up we finished loading our carts and started off, with two people at the bar, two in the back and the rest pulling on rope attached to the front . Because of mechanical problems our group was delayed to the end of the train. Shortly after it started to rain again and the wind picked up. There were many hills and creek crossings. That day we covered about 4.5 miles. We made camp in a clearing in the woods. Our shelter was just a large tarp over the cart and tied to the ground. That night another big storm came in almost worst than the first. We all had trouble sleeping, what with the wind howling, the rain pelting our tarp, and lightning lighting up the skies. Luckily our family stayed dry. The same could not be said for some of the other families. One family's tarp had collapsed from the weight of the water. Several families had set up shop in a perfect draining ditch.
Day 2
After a breakfast of piping hot oatmeal we broke camp and headed out. Because of the previous night's drenching the trails were muddy and messy. We made several more water crossings followed by steep uphills. In all we covered about 9.5 miles. With 0.75 miles to go, all of the young men were pulled out for the "Mormon Battalion", which turned out to be service projects (there was much disappointment for the lack of firearms). For the service project we cleared two primitive camp sights. After that we marched back and made camp.
Day 3
After another breakfast of oatmeal we had a testimonial meeting. We then had an easy 1 mile trip back to base camp. After disassembling the carts we had the feast. There were ribs, chicken, corn, potatoes, beans, cobbler, and best of all, soda. After eating till we were full and a little more some of us went on a short hike to a magnificent bluff with a great view of the valley. It was a great experience.
