Ma's and Pa's

Thank You Ma & Pa's

First off, thank you for your commitment and desire to serve. We look forward to this wonderful life-changing and testimony building experience with you. May the Lord bless you in your preparation to bless the lives of the youth in Zion.

Trek Chairs
Brandon & Jenn Muir

Trail Bosses
Nate & Michelle Weber

Ma & Pa equipment list

It will also be your responsibility to gather the following items, utilize friends, family and ward members (label all items with name / ward number).

Tents:

• One (1) small for Ma & Pa
• Two (2) that will sleep 5-6 people (one for sisters, one for brethren)

Please set up tents before we go to make sure they have all the parts, poles, stakes, rain fly, etc.

Tarps:

• One (1) Tarp for under each tent (above) various sizes depending on tent size
• One (1) 12’ x 24’ (size suggested by Deseret Land and Livestock leaders) for covering the cart
• One (1) Tarp or sheet to sit on while eating lunches (at least a 10 x 10) Put this in your “easy to grab bag”

Rope and more:

• Four (4) - 25’ lengths of at least ¼” rope or better (or at least 100’ cut to length as needed) or bungee net to cover handcart
• Four (4) ground stakes
• Two (2) – 6’ tall collapsible tent poles to make shelter for prolonged rain storms (see example)
• Hammer for tent stakes
• Two (2) – 5 gallon water containers with lids and spigots to fill water bottles
• Battery operated lantern (extra batteries if needed, recommended LED type lantern)
• Small sewing kit
• Zip ties – Several size 11” – 12” length
• Watch (to be on time to events)

Easy to grab items

Please bring a gym bag or satchel to store your frequently used items. Place your bag/satchel in an easily accessible place in the handcart. Having these items strategically placed for easy access will prevent you from having to unload the entire cart to find an item. The items we recommend you place in this bag are:

• 1 extra roll of toilet paper
• 10-15 1 quart size zip lock baggies (for emergency potty stops)
• Small size garbage bags
• Extra feminine hygiene products
• First aid kit with scissors
• Sunblock
• Bug repellent
• Chapstick
• 10 x 10 tarp to sit on for lunch
• Hand sanitizer (suggested 2 small bottles, one in satchel)
• Duct Tape (DO NOT PUT TAPE ON CARTS – Duck brand tape does not stick when wet)
• Consecrated oil (for blessings)
• Old towel / baby wipes to dry / clean feet in case of water crossing
• Journals (for all youth will be provided. They should be kept in the satchel while trekking)
• Sharpie Pens
• Rain Ponchos (for all youth)
• Other items that you would like to have easy access to

Also make sure that their extra pair of shoes are easy to grab somewhere near the top of the cart just in case shoes get wet or need to be changed.

DL&L Rules and regulations

You are responsible to know and follow these rules (and to have your family follow these rules)

• The Trek group is to stay together on the trail at all times. Do not get separated.
• Leave all animals alone.
• No exits from the property for ice, groceries, gas etc. Only exit is for emergency medical attention.
• No firearms, ammunition, knives, sheath knives, round nosed shovels or digging allowed.
• Support vehicles and handcarts must yield to all other traffic.
• Bring 4 buckets to put under water spigots on the water buffalo to catch any water. This keeps the area from getting muddy. Use the caught water in the buckets to wash faces, feet, soak neck coolers in etc.
• Water is for cooking and drinking and washing dishes. Not personal hygiene. No hair washing. We need to conserve water.
• All handcarts must follow the missionaries and trail boss. Do not cut corners or go off the trail.
• Do not run with carts, or stand, ride, sit in/on or lean on handcarts. Youth may ride on a handcart when medically necessary only.
• Do not drop the pull bar, it may break. Lay it down gently. Do not sit on the pull bar.
• Leave NO TRACE, on handcart; no tape, string, carving, writing etc.
• Cross any ditch, cow trail or depression perpendicular to the ditch.
• Do not pull handcart sideways on a steep incline. If all the weight is shifted to one wheel, it can break.
• Stay away from the wheels, some clothing, especially dresses, can get caught in the wheels.
• Push only from the back, do not push on the side of the handcart behind or in front of the wheels.
• Make sure water jugs are easily accessible to fill water bottles.
• Each handcart should have two 5 gallon jugs for water.
• Pack handcarts centering the weight over the axles.
• Have a trash bag on each cart for all trash.
• Have a first aid kit in each handcart.
• Each family should have consecrated oil with them. Involve the new 18 year old elders in administrating to those who may need blessings.
• Lock the doors when you exit the port-a-john because the wind can swing the door open, which can break it or it may hit someone.
• Be cautious climbing up and down the port-a-john trailers.
• Do not lock anyone in the port-a-john. This can cause them to panic and try to break out and can damage the doors on the port-a-john.
• Assign your families to clean the port-a-johns night and morning. They stay a lot cleaner when the youth help maintain them.
• All feminine products and garbage must go in garbage bags NOT in the port-a-johns. Nothing in port-a-johns except that which passes through the body and toilet paper. Anything else will have to be removed by you. We will have a grabber available for those who throw things into the port-a-johns.
• Cowgirl and cowboy potty stops. Each handcart should have a tarp or sheet for Ma’s and Pa’s to hold up for potty breaks where the port-a-johns are not available.
• Have ziplock bags and toilet paper for cowgirl/cowboy potty stop. Must put used toilet paper and/or feminine hygiene products back in a ziplock bag and throw away in a trash bag. Do not leave TP out on the trail.
• Hydration: Each person should bring a water bottle. Not tin cups on the trail. Water bottles allow trekkers to drink while trekking. Each person should drink about 32 oz. each hour while trekking.
• Train Ma’s and Pa’s how to treat blisters and how to recognize dehydration.
• Duct tape; use duct tape to tape hot spots and to hold mole skin on.
• No base camps. Each night you will camp at a different location designated by the missionaries.
• Once in camp, stay in camp. No driving around the ranch or hiking in the hills.
• A flat nosed shovel may be used to remove cow patties out of the campground. No round nose shovels. No digging. (base camp will supply the shovels to remove cow patties)
• No transporting rocks into the meadows.
• All cooking must be done at least 12 inches off the ground. No fires allowed on the ground, including propane heaters or lanterns.
• Fires are allowed in campsites when conditions are safe. Fire must be at least 12 inches off the ground. You must remove all extra firewood.
• Bring a metal trash can to put ashes in and must take ashes home with you.
• We have dumpsters for your use. Please conserve space. Crush all boxes, cut both ends off cans and crush flat. Space is limited.
• Ranch gates MUST be left exactly how they are found, whether open or closed.
• No trace camping in camp and on the trails. No banana or orange peels, apple cores or candy wrappers etc. in camp or on the trail. Perform a walk through sweep of camp before leaving to ensure all trash is picked up.

Treats

The kitchen committee will be providing snacks for your family while we are trekking. You are allowed to bring treats for your family, but DL&L is strict about wrappers. We are required to pick up all trash and wrappers along the trail, so candy and treats that are not individually wrapped are recommended. Also, when passing out treats, please try to be discreet to avoid competing with other families.

Rain and lighting

There is always a possibility of rain during Trek. Storms in a wilderness environment are not just a nuisance, they can be life threatening. The two greatest dangers from rain result from lightning and hypothermia. If rain is expected, precautions should be taken to keep everyone as dry as possible. Have the youth’s rain ponchos in the grab bag so they can access them quickly. Tents and shelters should be used while in camp or on the trail. If lightning is approaching, move off of any ridge to a lower elevation. This will be the time to pay close attention to instructions given by the Trail Bosses or Company Captains.

Items in your handcart should always be covered by a tarp, until such time that your gear can be moved into a tent or other protected place. While on the trail it may become necessary to utilize tarps, tent poles, ground stakes and rope to make a shelter to huddle under. (We will review this in training)

The temperature can drop very quickly in the mountains. It is not unusual to have temperatures drop into the 20s. Everyone should have a warm coat with them. Please make certain that when the temperature drops your family members are wearing their coats. Remember, it is hypothermia we are trying to avoid. Hypothermia is the number one killer of poorly insulated campers. And, yes, it can happen even in the middle of summer. When a person’s clothing becomes wet to the skin, heat is drawn from the body 250 times faster than if the clothing were dry. If you notice intense or uncontrolled shivering or difficulty speaking because of chattering teeth please get help from one of the medical personnel quickly.

Trash

“No Trace Camping” is the policy. Please have a garbage bag handy during the day to collect garbage from lunch and potty breaks. All garbage bags will be taken to the water buffalo collection site each night for transport out of camp.

Cowboy / Cowgirl potty stop

There may be times when the port-o-johns are not nearby and one of your family members will need to use the bathroom. When this occurs, utilize a tarp to shield the youth from view. This should be done off the trail. If a girl needs to go, females will hold the tarp and if a boy needs to go, males will shield the goer. A ziploc bag and TP will be needed for these stops. Remember, place the used TP back into the ziploc bag and dispose of it in your handcart garbage bag.

Base camp logistics

Base camp will consist of multiple trucks, trailers and 1 medical vehicle. One trailer is for the committees gear and other items. There will be a food trailer that will hold stoves and food and a refrigerated trailer with cold food items. There are 2 port-o-john trailers and a water buffalo truck. Medical will have a vehicle that will be used as transport for the injured, hold medical supplies and be used as an ambulance for anyone sick or not able to walk. The medical vehicle will follow the battalion during Trek as much as possible on the roads. There will be times when we are off the main roads and on the overland trail so the ambulance will not be close by but medical personnel will always be walking with the companies. The port-o-johns and water trucks will meet us at certain points along the road for potty breaks and to fill your 5 gallon water containers if needed. Make sure that everyone has water in their bottles and is continually drinking, especially when we stop.

The food and equipment trailers will leave base camp after the battalion has left each morning and travel to the next spot where we will be camping. If these trucks/trailers need to pass us on the road please make sure that handcarts are pulled all the way off the road so that they will be able to drive by safely. Please be respectful of the base camp staff. They are working very hard behind the scenes and miss out on much of the fun. Your family may also be assigned a time to clean the port-o-johns. Make sure that all family members participate and use this time for service.

Food preperation

Food preparation for this trek will be handled by the Food / Kitchen Committee, with the exception of the sack lunch on first day. While this is a blessing for the Ma and Pa, it is a lot of work for the food and kitchen committee, please lead by example and show gratitude to this great staff of people that are willing to sacrifice their time to prepare food for our families. Food is being handled this way this year, so that you are allowed more quality time to be spent with your families.

Each person is responsible to bring their own sack lunch on the first day. However, it is inevitable, that some of the youth will not bring enough to eat or will eat their lunch on the bus and will not have enough to eat. They will be hungry come lunch time. If this happens, please encourage the youth to share and set an example by bringing a little extra to share so that no one goes hungry, just in case someone forgets their lunch.

You will be notified ahead of time if there are any youth in your family that have special dietary needs or food allergies. Please pay special attention to this, as you will be the adult closest to them.

Medical

There are several medical personnel with us on Trek. These include mostly registered nurses. They will be available to check on your families throughout the TREK. One or two will be walking along with each company during Trek. If you notice any medical problems with family members please notify a medical person quickly. The Medical committee will be teaching you what to look for before Trek (training on Sunday, March 19). Please pay close attention and read and study the hand-outs that you will be given. It will be important to know and recognize the signs and symptoms of certain ailments and to get medical attention quickly. Some of the most common problems encountered on trek will be blisters, dehydration, heatstroke or hypothermia, sunburns, chafing and allergy and eye problems.

Please make sure that your family is drinking plenty of water. This will prevent many problems. Duct tape feet in the morning before starting out to prevent blisters. Wear gloves to prevent blisters on the hands from pulling/pushing the cart. Make sure everyone puts on sunblock in the morning and wears their hats/bonnets to prevent sunburn. There is no shade on the trail. We will be out in the sun for 10+ hours continually each day. So getting a bad sunburn on the first day will make the rest of Trek miserable. Remind your youth to apply Gold Bond powder in the morning to prevent chafing.

We will notify you of youth in your family that have special medical needs before Trek. Some of these youth may need to have certain medications on them or in the easy to grab bag such as epi pens for life threatening allergies or inhalers for asthma. Some youth may have environmental allergies from dust, grass or sagebrush. Make sure if needed they take their allergy medication before starting out for the day.

Along the trail there are many animal holes in the road. Make sure that those in front pulling the cart warn those on the back pushing the cart of any large holes by calling out “hole on the right” or “hole on the left” etc. Without this warning we will have many ankle/knee injuries. Trek can be a trying experience for those not prepared and some of the youth will fall into this category. With your help many of the medical problems on Trek will be avoided.

Sanitation and water

The most important thing to remember about sanitation is to make sure everyone knows not put anything into the port-o-johns except for that which passes through your body and toilet paper. Everything else needs to go into a garbage bag. There will be hand sanitizer and a hand washing station at the trailers.

Fill water containers before the water buffalo leaves to refill with water each day. Keep the 5 gallon buckets under the spigots on the water buffalo this will prevent a muddy mess from being created. Also at night the temperature may drop below freezing so protect your water containers from freezing.

Handcart safety rules

The hand carts are big and very heavy especially when loaded. It will be important to be extremely careful around the handcarts. Most importantly DO NOT RUN with the cart. Because it is so heavy if someone were to trip and fall in front of the cart there will be no way to stop the cart in time from running them over. Also stay away from the wheels. Feet can easily be run over and dresses can easily get caught up in the wheels. Push and pull only from the front or back of the handcart. Treat the cart with respect. Do not sit on, stand on or drop the pull bar. If we damage the carts in any way DL&L will charge the Stake for the damages. When loading the cart make sure that most of the heavy weight is distributed over the wheels. A perfectly balanced cart will be easier to pull. Cover the contents of the cart with a tarp and secure the tarp with rope. To do this first lay the tarp in the bottom of the cart, load items on top of the tarp, then pull the tarp over the top of the load and fold the extra length back over the top again. Secure with rope. Make sure water jugs, grab bag, and their extra pair of shoes are easy to access. If it rains, you will undo the extra folded over the top portion to make a shelter. (We will demonstrate this in training). Pay attention to Company Captains when going up or down hills. On very steep hills handcarts may be turned around and lowed backwards. Never put more weight on one wheel by pulling the handcart sideways on an incline. This can break the wheel. Always cross a ditch perpendicular to the ditch. If we encounter water, the handcarts will go across one at a time in an organized and orderly manner. Those walking through the water will need to remove their shoes and put on their water shoes first. Carry those not wanting to get wet across the water.