The last miles.

Tonight started with a devotional around camp, where President and Sister Wilding spoke to us before we broke off into our companies. Each youth wrote down two things: something they wanted to leave behind, and something they wanted to take with them. The things they wanted to leave—habits, fears, whatever was weighing them down—got buried in a hole in the ground, gone for good. The things they wanted to take with them went into their journals, something to carry home and keep.

After a day like today, the trail earned its rest, and camp turned into pure, unfiltered fun. Once carts were parked and boots came off, it was time for something the pioneers never got: field day.

We're not going to sugarcoat it—Day 3 is a long one. Two days of trail already in your legs, a loaded handcart, and the only way forward is forward. The pioneers didn't have a rest day option either, so today we really were walking in their shoes.

The pioneers worked hard. They also knew how to have a good time. Today we got to do both.

We knew this moment was coming. We've talked about it in preparation meetings and devotionals. But nothing quite prepares you for actually watching it happen.

Day 1 is in the books. Here's how it went.

Well, it's officially happening. Tonight we all showed up at the Stake Center to drop off buckets and sleeping bags, and somewhere between the organized chaos of gear check-in and finding out your sleeping bag is either way too big or suspiciously small, it hit everyone at once: trek is two days away.

Welcome! If you're reading this, you probably have someone you love who is about to walk across 20+ miles of trail in the Utah wilderness while pulling a handcart. You've come to the right place.