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| Liverpool Youth Trek April 2014 |
The first day was very long and painful. We woke at 4 am, got dressed and made our way to the chapel by 5 am. once everyone arrived and was accounted for we piled onto our assigned buses and left the chapel by 6 am. The location of our trek was a 7 hour drive away but with about 200 people in tow it took about 10 hours. The youth were buzzing with energy so there was very little rest there.
We arrived at about 4 pm. unloaded our luggage, unpacked it then repacked it into hessian sacks, then had to pack our families handcart and start walking. We had an 18 kilometer walk head of us and knew we would be walking well into the night. I was already tired from the bus ride alone!
We started walking by about 5 pm so we didn't have long before the sun light would be gone. Not long into our walking we were confronted by an angry mob. Portrayed by the YSA I was rather shocked at how real they appeared, and considering I was already tired and knew the long journey ahead of us I wanted to cry! My eyes started to tear up as we all watched them drag our trail boss off, beat him, and shoot him dead (all an act of course) we were then instructed that we had to take a different path, to which we hurried along.
There were 12 hand carts in total, three companies each containing 4 families. Kerry and I were the Stoddard family, under the Pratt Company which also included the Woodruff family, the Hunter family and the Robinsons family. We had four girls and four boys in our family along with our families baby which we named 'Emily C. Whale Stoddard' There were some loud families who sang at the top of their lungs from the time we left to the very end. There were quiet families who didn't make much noise as they walked.
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| The necklaces Kerry and I made for our Trek family. Trek 2014 on one side and Stoddard on the other. |
Our family was quiet. But it was so interesting to see the progression of being shy, not really knowing each other, to the end were they really got on like a bunch of siblings and a good group of friends. At first (in my tired state) I thought how annoying is the loud family! but how wrong was I. Their perseverance and endurance regardless of the afflictions they would have been feeling the same as myself, they push on, and they sang on, lifting the spirit of their family and the entire group to endure and push on. Without the loud group, the journey for me would have been so much harder!
The next stop we came to were Indians. Each family had to make a trade in order to gain passage. Our family decided to sing a song, so we did but the Indians wanted an item they could use. Our youth we stumped and under the pressure one of our girls took the earrings out of her ears and her watch and gave them to the Indians, saving our family.
By the time we reached half way (9 kilometers) I was exhausted and tired. It was freezing but while we walked it was hot. I was so tired I really didn't care that I couldn't even see the ground in front of me I just wrapped myself up in my husbands warm coat and lied down on the ground. It was pitch black, thankfully we had a few torches to help us navigate our way around.
The third stop we came to was a burial grove. A young man told us his story of having to bury his father and youngest brother. He talked about the legacy his father had left and carrying on that legacy. He asked us to think of someone in our life who has passed on and the legacy they have left for us, and how we can carry on their legacy.
It made me think of my Granddad. He passed away 20 years ago when I was 9. I have the fondest memories of him and miss his often. But when my family all get together it's truly beautiful to recognize the legacy that he and my Nana created.
Walking, walking, walking, tired, exhausted, walking, sore feet, walking, pitch black, walking, walking.
The fourth stop was not too far from the end of our 18 kilometers. It was 11 pm by this time and as we approached the activity I felt a sinking feeling in my gut and something along the lines of 'you've got to be kidding me!?' (good and faithful servant right! ha) we had reached the women's pull. The young men and Pa' were asked to stand away from the hand cart and told they were not allowed to touch it at all. To the side of the trail was a slope, a steep slope. Just before we went down, the support crew tied a rope to the cart and we carried it down with little effort because they held onto the rope. Awesome, I thought! too easy. They told us to keep the rope on, handing me the rope, then realizing we had to walk a few meters up only to pull the hand cart back up the slope. I though OK they want us to keep the rope on so they can hold it while we pull in up ( for safety you know!?) so we start to head up the slope and no one was taking the rope for me! HELLO! this was not a little slope at 11 pm at night, it was freaking Mt. Everest. Upon realizing we were on our own for this one, me and my four girls, two behind the cart, two at the front pulling and me in front pulling on this rope! We made it about half way then we were stuck! Kerry and the young men of our family were right next to us offering encouragement, unable to assist. I felt the cart rock back and we struggled to get past this hump. I saw my two girls in front of me struggling, putting in all their effort but it just wasn't happening. So I put my game face on and yelled out to my girls "We can do this! on the count of three give it all you've got 1, 2, 3!!!" I think I counted about three times and hallelujah we go it! We did it!
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| what an ugly photo of me right!! |
Then we kept walking... and walking.
And we finally made it!
By this time I was REALLY exhausted. I felt feverish and dizzy. I felt like I was going to either throw up or pass out! so as Kerry and our kids setup our tarp to sleep on, I sneaked away to the first aid crew standing nearby. I felt like a total sook but the beautiful Julie stayed with me until I felt better.
To be continued ....
