Logo for Trek

We now have a logo for the 2010 Trek. The thought behind the logo was to reinforce the theme behind trek Their Journey, My Journey. The font for Their Journey is reminiscent of old style handwriting while the font for My Journey is more modern. My Journey was placed in front and overlapping in order to suggest the ties between our modern day trek and those of our pioneer ancestors.

The font used for Sandy Utah Crescent Stake is one of the fonts that is similar to those used by the LDS Church in their logo. While there are a number of fonts that are suggested as the one used, this one is "Trajan Pro".

The "handcart image" was taken from an image of the entrance to Martins Cove.

The idea behind creating a logo was to have something that could be used on communications, handouts and collateral created for Trek.

Persistence - Sculpture Garden

"One day...[our son John]...started in the morning to walk with the aged and the sick, but we had not gone far on our journey when we found him lying on the roadside unable to go any further. I picked him up and put him on my back and drawed my cart as well as I could, but could not manage far so I put him in the cart with children and baggage, my failing husband, besides our regular load."

Elizabeth Sermon (1892 letter to her children)

Elizabeth Whitear Sermon, aged 37, was a member of the Martin handcart company which consisted of 575 souls, 145 handcarts and 8 wagons.

Anticipation - Sculpture Garden

"Beautiful day and a propitious wind brought us in sight of Yankee land which is the first land that we have seen since we left the sight of Ireland, and truly it was beautiful. ...It was truly sublime to us to gaze upon it. Our hearts were cheered to behold our destined port."

Samuel Openshaw, age 22 in 1856

Next to the Martins Cove Visitors Center, there is a sculpture garden. Next to each sculpture is a quote that inspired the creation of the sculpture.

Sweetwater Crossing

Above: The carved stone honors the young men who on November 4, 1856 carried those too tired or cold across the Sweetwater River.

The Sweetwater crossing is one of the spiritual activities that takes place on Trek. When the rescuers arrived to bring the suffering members of the handcart companies to safety, they determined that they should move them from the intense cold and exposure of Fort Seminoe to the more sheltered place now named Martins Cove. When they arrived at the river, many of the company, remembering the earlier crossing of the freezing, ice filled North Platte River simply sat down, too tired and fearful to cross. Many who had crossed the North Platte had fallen ill and some had died from the wet and cold.

Young men from the rescue party including George W. Grant, C.A. Huntington, David P. Kimball and Stephen W. Taylor began to carry the women and children across the freezing river. They would make the journey may times before all had crossed to the other side.

Above, a view from the middle of the bridge over the Sweetwater River.

The place where trekkers cross is called the "silent" crossing (at the top of the image). At this place, Trekkers re-enact the crossing with the young men carrying the young women across the river. You may also pull your handcart across the river.

Our group is crossing the Sweetwater at the silent crossing. There is a great opportunity to strengthen your testimony and feel the spirit by considering the sacrifice and suffering experienced by the pioneers and the service performed by their rescuers.

Above: This is the view from the other side of the "Silent" crossing on the Sweetwater River. The river is approximately knee deep and provides a cool refresher from the heat of the day.

Martins Cove Leadership Training

Approximately 360 miles by car, this is the site that greets you when you make the trip from Salt Lake City, Utah to Martins Cove in Wyoming.

This Friday and Saturday, a number of us got to travel up to the Trek site for an orientation. During orientation, the full-time missionary couples immerse you in the background that led to the creation of the site.

You begin in an orientation session (ours was packed) where there is a program including a multimedia presentation. The goal is to provide ideas on what your group will experience during trek and to inform you about the resources available.

Be prepared, they are really serious. After the orientation, we were divided into groups, given a handcart and off we went. They told us it would be a "breezy" 6 mile walk (it is really 7 miles, I took a GPS).

I met up with a great group of guys from Bountiful (North Salt Lake) who are bringing a group similar in size (350 individuals) next summer. As we trekked from place to place (more in a later post) we talked about our own treks and how to prepare our leadership and youth to be ready for this "once in a lifetime" opportunity. More than telling us, they demonstrated with personal knowledge steeped in the history of the site. There was even role playing where some of the missionaries assumed the identity of the original settlers.

This view is from a rest area where you prepare to journey on a 2.3 mile loop into Martins Cove. Right in the center (very small) is a group of trees that marks the vistors center and the entrance shown in the top photo. This spot is about 1.3 miles from the place designated as the "start" of trek.

Map of Martins Cove

Above is a map showing the local area at Martins Cove

Sandy Crescent Trek 2010

Next June, the youth of the Sandy Utah Crescent Stake and their leaders have the opportunity to retrace the footsteps of one of the most tragic and yet heroic migrations to the Zion.

Over the next nine months, thousands of hours of planning will go into creating a once in a lifetime experience for all of the those who choose to participate.

Beginning June 23rd 2010, more than 350 youth and adults will re-enact a famous moment in pioneer history as they spend three days pushing and pulling pioneer handcarts on the trail utilized by the Willie and Martin Handcart companies.

The Willie and Martin Handcart companies composed of emigrants bound for the Salt Lake Valley, were trapped in October of 1856 when they encountered an unexpected heavy snowstorm. Eventually help was sent from Salt Lake City to help rescue the pioneers, but not before the storm took a heavy toll in lives.

This blog provide a resource for those making the trek and any others interested in the journey, both physical and spiritual as preparrations are made for this journey.

We'll ask many to contribute their expertise in stories, images, and music creating the opoortunity for a truly rich experience understanding the sacrifices made in the 1800's and the lessons they offer us to this day. We'll document personal stories, both of the original pioneers and their families as well as those who particiapte in Trek 2010.

We've set up a Twitter site found at : http://twitter.com/Trek2010 where you can receive real time updates that will point you to this page and postings on YouTube and Facebook.

We're interested in your input and contributions in the form of images, stories, personal and family stories.