Martin's Cove: Day 1

This year our youth were able to go to Martin's Cove.  When it was in the planning stages, Brent was assigned to be the medical guy.  I hoped that I could go too.  They gave me the assignment to speak at the Women's Pull so I was able to go. It is an experience that I won't soon forget and I hope Wes doesn't either.

I know I knew of the stories but it wasn't until going and feeling the spirit of this sacred place that it truly stuck.  It was wonderful to prepare by reading stories from the pioneers but also being there and hearing of others.  I have an ancestor who was with the Martin Company.  I'll share her story later.  After the trek, I read the Martin and Willie handcart story in a book called, "The Fire of the Covenant".  It was a wonderful book, full of the testimony and faith of these pioneers.  Why would anyone subject themselves to such hardships?  I know they didn't know what they would face.  But they had faith.  They had one goal in mind.  That was to get to Salt Lake so they could go to the temple.  They wanted to be with their families forever.  

The sadness that they suffered even before getting to Martin's cove is heartbreaking.  They were starved and worn out before they even were here.  But they endured. You can definitely feel the spirit of the pioneers at Martin's Cove.

We were assigned carts and families.  Brent and I were with the leaders' cart and Wes was with the Bown family.  Look how clean everyone is!

 Off we go!

 Wes was a good sport and pulled a lot during the Trek.

Notice the cute girl with the gray/purple shirt?  I have a story to tell.

We went to the DI to get Wes two shirts.  He wanted this yellow one and a purple (lavender) one.  I kind of questioned it, but figured it was trek and it was okay to have a purple shirt.

The shirt Kelsey was wearing was a rayon type shirt that didn't breath at all.  She got really over heated.  Others had offered her their shirts, but she declined.  When we got to the camp, she still wasn't doing too great.  So I asked Wes if it was okay to offer her his purple shirt.  I did and she thought about it for a little bit.  She took us up on the offer.  So she wore a purple shirt the rest of trek.  I know it wasn't a coincidence that Wes wanted a purple shirt.  It was so that Kelsey could have it and have a wonderful experience at Trek too. 

 Brent has had his hiking boots since we were first married.  A long time.  The sole has been glued on, there has been new holes punched for the laces, and even a tear hand sewn shut.  But he thought he would wear them one last time before chucking them and getting a new pair.  The hot sand did a number on the glue that held the soles on.  So his first job as medical staff was to tape his own shoes back together.  It didn't last too long and he ended up taking the soles off.  Luckily he had brought an extra pair of shoes for the river crossing.

 What a beautiful view.

 The long trail.

 We hiked to our campsite which was about 3.2 miles.

 This is Martin's Cove from a distance.  At the base of the three hills is the cove.

 After the repair of his own boots, his first real medical emergency was a blister.

 This article was found in the Friend Magazine in 2009.

Have you ever been to Martin’s Cove, Wyoming? More than 160 years ago, handcart pioneers took refuge in the cove during the winter. They were rescued by Church members from Salt Lake City, Utah.

Today, many families and groups visit Martin’s Cove during the summer to trek along the trail. Sometimes they push handcarts so they can learn more about what the pioneers went through. The groups are often greeted by an unexpected visitor—a four-legged visitor. It’s Oscar, a Pyrenees dog that lives about 10 miles away from the cove.

Oscar carefully picks the groups he leads along the trail. Sometimes when he’s sleeping, he perks up his head a bit if adults walk by and then goes back to sleep. But if a group of children walks by, Oscar often jumps up to go on the trek with them. Oscar leads the children along the trail, walking more than five miles to the cove and back. At lunchtime, Oscar usually eats peanut butter sandwiches along with everyone else.

Oscar protects children at their campsites too. One day, Oscar followed a group of boys back to their tent and began to bark. Oscar had discovered a rattlesnake inside! The boys got a leader to take the snake away so they would be safe.

At the end of each summer, Oscar returns home. He gets tired from walking all those miles with the children. But after Oscar has spent the fall and winter resting at his owner’s home, he always returns to Martin’s Cove to lead new groups of children along the trail.

We were fortunate enough to have a visit from Oscar!

  He just hung out with us for a night, enjoyed a hamburger and a drink of water.

 This is our campsite.

 After a yummy dinner of hamburgers, we headed to do some square dancing!!  Look at the cute pioneer children heading to dance.

 The missionaries were the callers and teachers of the dancing.  It was a lot of fun.  The kids even got into it and didn't complain a bit.

 The sun is glaring, but you can see Wes' purple shirt.

 Wes got to dance with girls from a different ward.  Lucky guy.

 Headed back to camp after dancing.  Other little kids got to ride.

 Wes said I could take this picture off.  Nope.  I think I'll keep it. 

The wind is very strong at Martin's Cove.  It tends to pick up at night.  So we had a hard time sleeping due to the tent flapping in the wind all night long.