Memories of pioneers past and stories of pioneers present form a pleasant melange along the Mormon Trail.

Several hundred modern pioneers involved in a sesquicentennial re-enactment of the trail forged by the Saints of 1847 left the skyline of Omaha well behind and rolled into Nebraska's plush farmland the week of April 21.Reality set in as rain fell, alternating between drizzle and drench. But for most of the marchers, a spirit of enthusiasm held as they settled into the routine that will continue for three months - all the way to Salt Lake Valley.

The second morning out found the trekkers camped in a fallow field on a sloping farm in Washington County. While the morning bustle of breaking camp occupied adults, children in un-pioneerish plastic ponchos spotted a field like colorful flowers.

For wagonmaster Joe Vogel, morning is a busy time. He was everywhere, organizing wagons, spelling out rules for the march, directing people on horseback and generally getting organized for the day. Finally, a forward wave of the hand and "We're off," and he headed his horse down a dirt road, followed by an entourage stretched out like ducks in a row.

The day's stretch took the train across a series of rolling hills displaying the characteristic contour plow marks of the Nebraska farms. The top of each hill only disclosed another one ahead as the train rolled down country roads. The dirt soon turned to mud under the heavy onslaught of rain, and depressions made by horses' hoofs filled to form mini-lakes.

For the draft animals it was a tedious pull followed by a rapid descent with drivers helping out by applying brakes. The promise of flatter land ahead would appeal to the horses and mules, no doubt, if they could know and anticipate the change in terrain.

Settled into the morning march, there was time for swapping where-you-from and why-are-you-here stories. With a few exceptions, it is something to do with pioneers that has drawn the trekkers to follow all or some part of the trail. (Before the re-enactment culminates in Salt Lake City on July 22, an estimated 4,000 people will have participated.)

Alfred and Elisabeth Pietsch have helped to pioneer the Church in Vienna, Austria, but they also have a keen appreciation for the sacrifices made by the Saints who followed the Pioneer Trail in an earlier day.

"If the pioneers didn't go, there wouldn't be a church in Vienna," said Sister Pietsch. She joined the Church 19 years ago when she was 34. "My family thought I was crazy, but it has been a big help to me," she said.

Her husband, a retired banker, is 71, but determined that he will carry his Austrian flag to Salt Lake City. They are members of the Vienna 1st Ward, Vienna Stake.

Also carrying his country's flag, which he planted in front of his pup tent before retiring at night, is Gordon Beharrell of Shrewsbury, England. With a friend, Pam Wilkinson, of Ellesmere, England, he plans to lend a British flavor to the trek from beginning to end.

Brother Beharrell is dedicating his trek to a pioneer of the 19th century who was not an American. Thomas Davis was the first resident of Shrewsbury to join the Church, being baptized July 28, 1847, by early missionaries to the British Isles. Davis emigrated soon afterward to join the move to Salt Lake Valley.

"We're trying to capture the spirit of the events that happened 150 years ago," Brother Beharrell said.

Jonathan Dew, a Salt Lake 18-year-old, represents a newer generation that has come to appreciate his family history. Dressed in a kilt of the Lindsey tartan, he spent the evening playing a violin for dancing on the stubbly field. His Scottish ancestry is a source of pride, he said. The family's cart boasted a sign poetically declaring: From Scotland we came for the Gospel's name. Westward we're bound Till Zion is found."

Michael Dunn was released from missionary service in the Nebraska Omaha Mission two months ago and went home to Whittier, Calif., to get in shape for a return - this time as a member of the trail re-enactment party. He, too, is memorializing ancestors who made the trek early in the Latter-day Saint migration.

A few days into the trek, Brother Dunn had learned that walking in Whittier was different from walking in the Nebraska mud. As captain of a handcart company, he was keeping about a dozen carts and approximately 100 pusher-pullers on track

And so it goes on the trail - a story for each participant. With three months and a thousand miles ahead, the early marchers and those who drop in and out along the route will have plenty of time to swap tales.