150th anniversary of a blizzard
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MARTIN'S COVE HISTORIC SITE, Wyo. — On Oct. 19, exactly 150 years after a blizzard paralyzed the Willie and Martin Handcart companies, a group of young Latter-day Saints loaded their belongings into handcarts and headed out on the very same trail.
This group of Minnesota youth were not looking to reach Zion, but rather, seeking to better understand and appreciate the hardships met by their pioneer ancestors.
"You will trek here today to remember their courage and to honor their faith," said Bishop Brad Taylor of the Medicine Lake Ward as they commenced their journey.
Forty youth and 14 adult leaders from the Medicine Lake and Lake Nokomis wards of the Minneapolis Minnesota Stake traveled 16 hours in a bus to reach the Mormon Handcart Center at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. Trek assistants at the center informed the organizers ahead of time that they didn't normally have groups there after Labor Day, but that they were excited to have a group coming on the anniversary of the original handcart companies.
The group was greeted by temperatures in the 50s and perfect trekking conditions to begin their adventure, but before the journey's end, they would experience every kind of weather including wind, rain, sleet, sub-freezing temperatures and even snow.
The first day, the youth pulled their handcarts seven miles out to the Jackson campground.
Upon arrival, the winds were so severe that there was great difficulty putting up the tents. It took more than two hours and a lot of extra rope and stakes to get the tents set up. The winds that night were estimated at over 70 mph. Despite the extra measures taken to secure the tents, four were damaged and two of them completely collapsed. "I was stuck under a pole for about a half hour until my leader came and rescued me," said Parker Wilson, a teacher in the Medicine Lake Ward. This experience was reminiscent of the pioneers who often had trouble putting up tents in the harsh elements and, therefore, would simply lay out the canvass and climb under it for some sort of refuge from the storm.
The youth were placed in families and given a baby doll to care for. At some point along the trail, four of the families needed to carry a family member in the handcart as a result of fatigue or injury.
"We were able to pull together and help each other as the need arose," said Aaron Robison, a priest from the Medicine Lake Ward who served as a Pa for one of the families.
Three of the five babies were taken away some time during the trek in remembrance of the babies that died along the trail. One family was so distraught by this that they searched until they found their baby doll and took it back, declaring a miraculous healing.
The youth woke up to a cloudy calm which was soon disturbed by a hefty rainstorm during breakfast. The dry land quickly turned to mud, and everyone started to run for cover.
"My shoes were so heavy because they were caked with mud. It got all over our tent from our shoes and our clothes," said India Johnson, a Mia Maid in the Lake Nokomis Ward.
The spiritual highlight was the reverent walk through Martin's Cove, where the Saints of 1856 huddled together, waiting and praying for a miraculous rescue. "I was so cold and I just kept thinking about the little children walking here and crying because they were so cold," said Allen Peniata, a deacon in the Medicine Lake Ward. Eighteen of the 54 participants in this trek were direct descendants of handcart pioneers and rescuers. Everyone shared heartfelt accounts of their ancestor's experiences. If they didn't have a personal story, they were assigned a story to study and present along the trail.
"I was so spiritually moved by many of the stories. It's amazing that the pioneers would have such a great desire to arrive in Zion that they would crawl on their hands and knees when their feet were frozen. I now appreciate everything that I have so much more," said Lucy Taylor, a Mia Maid in the Medicine Lake Ward.
Bishop Taylor concluded the trek by quoting President Gordon B. Hinckley from the most recent general conference: "Their faith is our inheritance. Their faith is a reminder to us of the price they paid for the comforts we enjoy."
