Life Savers: Quiet River Crossing and the Women's Pull

In the afternoon on Friday, we reached a river. I am not sure if it is the same river that features in the famous story about the three boys who carried all the people across in the frozen water. There was a memorial statue nearby of some men, but my pictures didn't turn out. Either way, this first river we crossed was meant to be a ponderous occasion. They had three men carry a loved one across. (Eric Neilsen carried Camille across, Ryan Darrow carried his daughter and Grant Mendenhall carried Laura.)

Eric and Camille, Ryan and Emma

Then the whole company crossed quietly in memory of those brave boys who sacrificed for their families and neighbors.

Can you see Tyler back on the bank talking to our chiclets?

The water was not deep, but there was a current

Balani and I pushed our hand-cart through the water and then I watched as Tyler brought Ivory and then Robyn across.

Dad and Ivory

June opted to walk next to her father.

Almost the last to cross

It was a very emotional crossing. The spirit was palpable and even the children could sense the tenderness of the moment.

Camille carrying Savanah with Kellie and Liz behind

After the crossing, we simply had to walk back to the area where we first picked up the hand-carts. There was one steep hill that took some maneuvering and momentum. Balani and I manned the cart while Tyler helped several hand-carts up the hill. My feet were wet and I developed some blisters before we made it back to the car. I can only assume that the pioneers were walking on large calluses by the time they were finished.

We drove back to camp and had another large, filling meal. Even with all the great food, the entire camp was worn out. And lest we forget, there were a billion mosquitoes. Supposedly they sprayed the camp each evening, but I didn't notice a difference. Or maybe there were usually more, in which case, I shudder to think how many there could have been. The insect repellent we used did practically nothing. I was watching my children be eaten alive. I saw one land on Robyn's face and I couldn't get to her in time. (She had a swollen cheek the next day.) There was supposed to be a devotional that evening, but I was done. In fact, I kid you not, if home had been closer, we would have left that very night. I bundled all my children into our tent and we all went to bed early. Tyler and I discussed leaving, but we wanted to last the whole time and we knew that six hours in the car would be miserable, and so we stayed. I'm really glad we did.There were others who did not last or were called away for other reasons. It was noticeable the next day that we weren't all there. And Saturday turned out to be the best day. I was sorry for those who left.

*A lesson I learned from Friday night: There will be those times where it doesn't seem worth it to go any further. It seems easier to pack up and leave, or avoid the hardships altogether. But the blessings do not come without the trial. And perhaps what seems like a impossible task will be possible with some divine help. And almost guaranteed, you will have learned something and grown stronger by the end.

Saturday morning dawned (with Pearl sleeping through the night) and we were ready to go again. Here is our group.


Top Row: Henry, Balani, Maleen (and Pearl), Tyler. In the wagon: Ivory, June, Teancum, Daisy, Robyn

This time we were leaving right from our camp site since we were doing the river trail.

There is bird perched on the sign

There was some talk of rain and it was plenty overcast the entire day, but that gave us relief from the sun and it only sprinkled on us a few times. However, the mosquitoes were out in full force. Day 2 I put Pearl in her carseat and draped a blanket over her and that was a pretty good shield. I wanted to have my hands free to take pictures and I knew that mosquito watch was a full-time job.

We trekked on and enjoyed the cooler morning. I still felt like everyone was very optimistic and helpful. One of the best parts of the trek was being with our ward family. We already knew we could count on these people. They got our back.

The Fairbanks clan was always one cart away

They may look bored, but they are having the time of their life

The scenery was fantastic

Moore and Tumanuvao cart. Charlotte was the youngest baby there (3 months old)

We hiked until we came to our first river, but we used a bridge there. However, before crossing, we stopped for a snack (big surprise) and we listened to a short devotional. This was probably the first devotional that I was actually sitting down for. And can I remember any of it? No. But that is how things usually are; you remember your feelings about an experience rather than all the details. Plus, I was still busy defending five children from a hoard of mosquitos. (Why didn't our repellent work? I should have brought a bottle of pure Deet.)

Waiting for the devotional, I caught Robyn scratching one of her dozen bites

The next large event was the women's pull. There was a time when the men were called away to help in battles. (I can't tell you which ones, because I am not so great on the history and I am too tired to look it up right now.) As the men left, the women were required to take on the load they left behind. They pulled. And we were given the chance to pull the hand-carts as women and children only. But it wasn't good enough to have the sisters pull alone; they had us pull the hand-carts up a very steep incline. The men went ahead to higher ground where they could watch. They were not allowed to help.

The men seemed to stand apart so they could each have their own experience

It was a great moment down below as a sister talked to us about how strong the women were, and had to be, to survive the hardships of the trail.

Women gathered in strength

And our women were strong. We pulled all those carts up the hill. My hand-cart was the last one up.

Deborah, Balani, Sunny

A sister, Camille, Chelsea, and Chelsea (in back)

Deborah, Jamee, Mary Anne and Melissa (in back)

Ginger, Olivia, Aubry, Deanne (in back)

Julie, Sloane, Laura

Maleen, Iryne, Sunny and Lindsay Toone (in back)

The children were a great help too and many women came back to help with other carts

It wasn't easy, but I think we all felt a strong sense of accomplishment when we reached the top.

Melissa Rice and Trent look back on the hill as do Daisy and I

And then we ate lunch, of course. Really though, I should stop making fun of the amount of food we had. It was a blessing to eat well and keep our strength up, and I am sure the kids were much happier with full bellies. Here are some pictures we took around lunch time.