Preparation

Preparation

Your personal experience at Trek will largely depend on your attitude and the amount of preparation that you put into it. We invite you to begin preparing NOW, both spiritually and physically!

Spiritual Preparation:

  • Read the Book of Mormon daily

  • Pray daily (consider including your Ma & Pa and Trek family members by name in your prayers)

  • Attend Seminary and seek understanding from your study of the D&C of the early church members and pioneers

  • Attend the temple and participate in Baptisms

  • Share your testimony during Sacrament Meeting or with your family or friends

  • Dedicate your fast in June to the Trek experience and all who will participate

  • Write in your journal and come to Trek with personal questions & desires in your heart

Physical Preparation:

  • Develop a walking routine that will help you build up your endurance for Trek. Begin by walking at least 1 day per week and increase this to 3 days per week in the month leading up to Trek. Start with shorter distances and work your way up to being comfortable walking 6+ miles. Our Trek will consist of 2 days of walking 6 miles each and 1 day of walking 10 miles! Plan walks as a family or with your unit’s youth groups to help each other prepare!

  • Maintain a well-balanced and healthy diet. Pre-hydrate in the weeks leading up to Trek by drinking lots of water. You should plan to drink at least 2-3 liters of water per day during Trek.

  • Break in your shoes/boots and clothing. Don’t wait until the last minute to purchase shoes and clothing! Make sure you are walking with the same shoes and socks that you will be using at Trek to ensure that they are comfortable, broken in, and do not give you blisters. Wearing your pioneer clothing on your walks will also give you a chance to make sure that they are comfortable!

Ideas for Unit Activities:

  • Plan and participate in hikes together. Start small and increase the distance with each progressing activity.

  • Decorate your buckets and make seat cushions together. See the Buckets tab for ideas and instructions.

  • Visit a thrift store together to search for pioneer clothing.

  • Using patterns and ideas found on the Clothing tab, work together to make clothing items.

  • Watch a pioneer movie together, such as Legacy, 17 Miracles, The Fighting Preacher, etc

Opportunities:

The original pioneers made many sacrifices and faced trials that required great faith and perseverance. While the purpose of Trek is not to replicate the original pioneer experience, Trek will provide opportunities for you to:

  • Strengthen your testimony

  • Build unity within your family unit

  • Learn and appreciate Church history

  • Feel gratitude for the sacrifices of the pioneers and the heritage they provided

  • Appreciate your blessings more fully

  • Seek and find guidance to overcome challenges

  • Focus on serving and rescuing others

  • Learn core gospel principles

“Brothers and sisters, join with us and begin now to prepare for a spiritual journey . . . by walking in the footsteps of our beloved pioneers in every land. We must be sure that the legacy of faith received from them is never lost. Let their heroic lives touch our hearts, and especially the hearts of our youth, so the fire of true testimony and unwavering love for the Lord and His Church will blaze brightly within each one of us as it did in our faithful pioneers.” - Elder M. Russell Ballard “Faith in Every Footstep” Ensign, Nov 1996

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/callings/safety/get-in-shape?lang=eng