Above, a group of handcart trekkers including Kindersley area residents James McKay, Matthew Thompson, Matthew Livingstone, Derek Layton, Ryanna Leslie, Taya Hansen and Zoe McGinn pull their handcart during the Saskatchewan Trek 2018 pioneer re-enactment in the Monet Community Pasture.
Contributed story
For four days from July 6-9, a group of 80 Saskatchewan teenagers gave up cellphones and the comforts of home to don pioneer clothing and pull handcarts for 30 km across the open prairie.
Through exhausting heat and driving winds, they slept in tents, ate biscuits and stew, and struggled to pull and push a loaded cart over the hills and mud ruts of the Monet Community Pasture located near Elrose.
The participants of Saskatchewan Trek 2018 were 14 to 18-year-old youth of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so of Mormon faith. The youth were recreating the experience of pioneers who had crossed the American west to reach the Salt Lake Valley. From 1856 to 1860, several Mormons crossed the plains with hand carts, which were cheaper and faster than a traditional wagon train.
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Trekkers pull a handcart across the natural prairie in the pasture near Elrose on July 6-9.
Chuck Shugart, the supervisor, was uniquely qualified to lead the Trek. Shugart has been involved with all six Saskatchewan Treks over 23 years. A veteran hiker, he has walked 200 miles of the Oregon Mormon Trail.
As a supervisor at the historic Wyoming Mormon Trail, he and his wife have organized treks for more than 40,000 people. Shugart calls the treks “a powerful experience with the potential of changing lives.” He says he believes it helps youth appreciate those who went before them and struggled for their faith.
Eight couples acted as “Ma and Pa” for a group of 10 teens that formed a “family” for the trek experience. Each family pulled an authentic handcart that featured real buggy wheels made by Amish craftsmen in Ohio.
While the youth experienced physical conditions similar to what a pioneer would, they also felt a spiritual kinship with those people who sacrificed so much to find a home where they could worship freely. Dusty and exhausted, the teens trudged the last few miles to meet their rides back to the 21st century. Ryanna Leslie of Kindersley commented on the experience.
“Trek was one of my best experiences and one I will hold onto for life,” she said. “The walk was long and hard, but the inspirational words from our leaders kept us walking step by step (until) the very end. One of my favourite moments was the women’s pull (the men were temporarily called away). The stories of the strong women helped us have strength to push the cart up the hill.”
The exhausted group of teens and adult leaders came home with a renewed appreciation for the sacrifices and experiences of the early Mormon pioneers.
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