A Montana Pioneer Trek to 'Remember'

Trekking under Montana's Big Sky

In a word, the Stevensville Montana Stake pioneer trek was AWESOME! It took place on the Hairpin Ranch in the Big Hole Valley. The theme was “Remember," as in remember the Mormon pioneers and how we relate our experiences to theirs.

Ensign Company: Holyoak, Kanenwisher & Revelli families

Here a few of the many high notes:

• Lori and I were Ma and Pa to 17 great kids from across the Bitterroot Valley
• We trekked a total of 22+ miles over 3 days 
• We pushed handcarts that weighed 300 lbs before we loaded any of our gear on it 
• Our kids never complained about anything, got to be real friends with each other, and loved gathering with their Ma & Pa at meals and other times each day 

Sky turns gray

On the second day, a gnarly looking storm was about to hit when we headed for the trees. We bundled together under some smaller willow bushes as the rain and then pea-, marble-, and eventually grape-sized hail started to pelt down as the winds whipped all around us. Our campsite was on a high mountain prairie in the Big Hole and it got plastered! The winds snapped tent poles and the hail put holes in many tents, including part of the rainfly on ours. Half to two thirds of the tents got blown over and the water poured in and soaked everything. (We later found out this storm caused something like $40 million in crop damage and caused more damage as it rolled through the town of Twin Bridges.) As the companies eventually made it back to camp they all started putting the tents back up and hung up the sleeping bags to try to get them dried.

 

Seeking shelter under the willows

We didn’t have enough daylight so the sleeping bags, including Lori’s and those belonging to 8 of our 10 boys, remained soaked with the temperatures falling. After dinner, the leaders asked everyone with a soaked sleeping bag to load it on a trailer for a run to Dillon (about 25 miles away) to dry them at two laundromats. I’m guessing 60 to 80 sleeping bags got loaded up.

Soaked!

Our seven girls were spared but they didn’t want to go to bed since our boys and I had no sleeping bag to sleep in so we stayed around the fire to wait for the trailer’s return. It was really cool to see all 19 of us jammed shoulder to shoulder around the fire, talking, telling jokes, growing closer and having a good time. Eventually, Lori and the girls went to bed but the guys and I stayed up. Then at about 1 a.m. or later, the trailer returned. We were among the first to greet it. It was so cool to be at the trailer and look back to see kids with flashlights and headlamps sprinting toward the trailer from all across the field. They looked like fireflies in the night as their lights bobbed and they screamed and yelled for joy. Twenty minutes later, everyone was back in their wiped-down tents –those that survived the storm anyway— for the night. A bunch of kids actually slept in their sleeping bags in the trailer and others slept around their fires. (Hallie’s sleeping bag also got soaked.) We trekked another 6+ miles the next day to finish things out. 

Warming our bodies & our souls around the fire

Those are just a few experiences. Again, it was a such a great time. I attended to a lot of church youth and youth-related activities over the years, from the time I was a teenager until now, and this was by far my favorite!

Four of my girls: Ceara, Olivia, Heather & Natasha

Below are the words from a talk I gave at a post-trek youth fireside:

"Everyone, circle to the left..."

Remember…

to recall to the mind by an act or effort of memory; 

to keep in mind; remain aware of, think of again.

A break along the trail

Recognize

Relive

Recollect

Reminisce

E's moose paddle

Remember our trek.

Remember the bus ride there.

Remember meeting your trek family.

Remember thinking these kids (hold up lid) –my 17 kids—are awesome!

Remember the new friendships you made and strengthened.

Remember the closeness you felt to your new brother, your new sister, your Ma, your Pa (put hat on--"Gotta represent!"), your captain and fellow company and camp members –and in the Holyoak family specifically— remember the closeness felt to our “young ‘un” Ephraim, born on the trail that first day and after just 8 hours with him it was as if he was already 8 years old.

Souvenir lid signed  by my kids

Looking back on camp

Remember the steps you took.

Remember walking side by side, helping each other, and making new friends.

Remember willingly changing places on the handcart without being asked.

Remember hauling your ailing Pa and then your sick Ma.

Remember allemande left, dosey doe and promenade home. 

Remember the hot sun.

Remember the building black clouds.

Remember running for cover.

Remember the rain pouring down.

Remember the grape-sized hail stones.

Remember the teamwork of the first trekkers who arrived to a camp in shambles--going from tent to tent, setting them back up, pulling out soaked sleeping bags and hanging them on handcarts and around fires to try to dry them.

Welcome back to camp

Ensign Company...remember returning to camp that same day to be greeted by the cheering Heritage and Legacy Companies.

Remember sitting around the campfire as the temperatures dropped wondering when, where or if we’d sleep that night.

Remember the “miracle of the dried sleeping bags.”

Remember the hoots and howls of joy while running to the trailer well past midnight.

Remember feeling thankful.

Remember the late night firesides with your families.

Pa got "sick" on the trail...pioneer children walked as they sang and sang and sang...Ma got "sick" too

One step down and thousands to go

Remember the feelings you felt as read the letters from your loved ones back home or from your trek parents. 

Remember the critter stew, barbecue chicken, dutch oven peach cobbler, the pancakes, the bacon…and those who worked so hard to prepare it all. 

Remember the planning, service and sacrifice from our stake members and leaders in making the trek possible.

Trail games:  Stick pull...

...and tug o war

Remember the blisters, chapped lips, sunburns and the aching muscles and feet.

Remember the women’s pull.

Remember the looks on their faces as they toiled up the hill without the help of any Ma’s, Pa’s, or brothers.

Remember the heartfelt thoughts and feelings that brought to mind.

Women's Pull: Men not allowed to help because many "died off" leaving mothers, daughters & sisters to do the work

Remember the true pioneer stories of unparalleled courage and sacrifice you heard along the trail.

"Remember, remember my sons and daughters..."

Remember the challenges issued to each of us by our bishops and other stake leaders:

• Young men: to live a life of virtue
• Young women: to be a modern day pioneer and serve others
• To all: to make memories, sacrifice, and to act our part whether at school, church, home or elsewhere 

Teamwork on the trail

Grabbing some shut-eye

Remember the final trek back to the buses.

Remember the feeling of accomplishment as you put down the 300 pound handcart for the last time.

Remember the thoughts and feelings as you gathered as a family for the last time already looking forward to the next time you’d see together.

Our family flag

Remember– again in the Holyoak family, a.k.a. the Hopper Chompers— watching some of my girls eat grasshoppers just as their brother James did again and again and again all trek long.

Remember the real pioneers.

Remember what they sacrificed.

Remember who you are.

Years ago, I was a young sportscaster in Topeka, Kansas. At the time, Lawrence High School in Lawrence, Kansas, dominated high school football like no other team anywhere.

• 31 undefeated seasons…the most of any school in the entire U-S 
• since 1945, Lawrence won 26 state championships 
• entering the 1993 season, the Lions won seven 6-A state titles over the previous 9 years, including the last 4 in a row 

On November 21, 1993, I was on the campus of Wichita State University, with a TV camera on my shoulder, shooting a couple of state championships from smaller classifications.

James the "Hopper Chomper"

Over the loud speaker we heard this scoring update: “From the 6-A championship game in Manhattan, it’s halftime. Derby leads Lawrence 23-0.” Shock and surprise rippled through the crowd. True, Derby was 11-0 on the season but so were the mighty Lions who had won their previous 33 games in a row over the previous 26 months! They had only losses 8 over the previous 10 years! Play continued and just after my game finished there was another announcement: “We have a final score from the 6-A championship in Manhattan: Lawrence 27, Derby 23.” Again, shock and amazement. My question as a sportscaster was: “What did the coaching staff say at halftime to trigger such an incredible comeback?”

Here’s what happened:

Head Coach Dick Purdy allowed the frustrated players to sit in the locker room by themselves and think about what happened in the first half. He then walked in, said nothing, went to the chalk board and wrote four simple words: “Remember who you are,” and walked out. 

The team remembered who it was.
Players remembered they were 4-time defending state champions.
They remembered that they were playing for tradition.
They remembered that their brothers were also state champions.
They went out and played like champions.
They remembered who they were. 

My message to you is remember, remember who you are. 

Remember what you represent. 

Remember who you represent—your God, your Savior, His true church, your ward, your friends, your family, your parents, your brothers, your sisters, yourself! 

Love that Ma Holyoak!

Camp on the horizon

My friends… 

Yes, I am an “old guy,” but you are my friends—my new, young friends. 

On behalf of the other Ma’s and Pa’s, thank you for your example and for what you represent. 

Always, always remember who you are. I salute you and close in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Holyoak family
(top row, left to right: Ian Roberts, Caroline Maki, Ceara Chavez, Sarah Erhart, Karill Apedaile, Heather Hudson, Olivia Vai, Natasha Kitzinger, Josh Jones, Trey Anderson, Kaedin Schweitzer. Bottom row: Nicholas Fullbright, Riley Duce, Bryton Palmer, James Bess, Pa Holyoak, Ma Holyoak. Not pictured: Ethan Recht and Ephraim Apedaile.)