Trek, Day 3-part 1

I was surprised to be able to get up each day with the sun. I guess it was sleeping in a sleeping bag, or the chilly nights, or just my Benadryl wearing off at the same time, but it was kind of neat to see the sun rise, even though I normally don't like to. I slept pretty good that night but was anxious about this last day of hiking. I managed to get my hair braided by one of my friends, and asked one of the other families for advice on packing since we had so much trouble the day before.

Not only would we now be hiking having already done 21 miles, so that had to take its toll, but we were facing Rocky Ridge. And all morning the rumor was going around...we were going to do a Women's Pull.

To explain, at this point on the trail the Willie handcart company was suffering hunger, freezing conditions, exposure and exhaustion. Most of the men gave their meager portions to their wives and children, and tried to take on most of the burden, but by the time they arrived here, many were dying or maimed by the cold. Many of the women were left alone to pull their carts; some pulled their husbands up in the cart, but 13 died in one night after their 18 hour pull up Rocky Ridge in a blizzard. I will probably get this statistic wrong but something like 27 hours to go the 14 miles we would be going this day in 8 due to snow, freezing conditions and sheer lack of energy.

On the first leg, the boys/men were allowed to help and (worried about the girls) refused to let us help much. (Interestingly parallel to what really happened) So in this picture it looks like they're mostly doing it alone and the girls were walking.

I did help some though...you had to, the rocks were growing larger and the trail steeper!

The leaders explained the history of Rocky Ridge, and after a portion where the men could help we paused on the trail, the men left and walked up to the top of the ridge and had to wait while the women in each family pulled up the ridge. We had a wonderful talk by a leader who reminded all the women/girls how important and powerful womanhood is. We give birth, we nurture families and are strong. It was very inspiring and moving. I was close to tears however as the spirit of the area is very strong and I was affected very emotionally.

Despite my fears, my girls had just the right remedy for me. For one they wouldn't let me pull, but the moment we started, my girls started to sing! SING! They sang “Let it Snow” and “Rudolph” and then songs from Disney movies like Aladdin and Mulan. It was just about impossible for me to think about how I could fall apart emotionally when singing “A Whole New World” at the top of my lungs with them.

I couldn't sing by the top, I just focused on breathing.

We zoomed up the ridge, despite the insane rocks. Can you tell from these pictures? We're talking major league boulders all over the trail, that would knock our entire cart sideways. One of my daughters and I were in the back, and when our cart would get stuck or shift we would just hold our space, trying to anchor the cart so it wouldn't fall backward.

Rocky Ridge...it's hard to really see in pictures just how rough that is.


We made to the top and immediately had a break with a snack!

Our boys/men were pretty impressed and I think it affected them to see the girls go up such a steep and nasty hill when they were not allowed to help. They all commented on how they were winded just walking and were so concerned for us. I tell you, someone or something helped us up the ridge, I just think they weren't visible. It was hard, but a blessing to experience. I was, however, shaking from the effort.