Trek Day 3

Day 3 was Wednesday. We woke up fairly early, I think it was around 4:45am maybe 5am that day. We broke camp, had biscuits and homemade gravy for breakfast. We then had a 2.5-3 hour bus ride to the Martin's Cove Visitors Center. Once we arrived we filled water bottles, grabbed our carts and had an orientation meeting with the senior missionaries. We watched a few videos about Martin's Cove and the crossing of the Sweetwater River. Then we headed out. We had about a 1.5 mile walk into Dan's Cove which is where we parked the carts and had lunch. Dan Jones was part of the rescue party that helped the pioneers in the Martin Handcart Company. He had a cove named after him, and this is where we had a small fireside meeting.

The was the Cart Park! There were rows and rows of handcarts ready to be pulled!

After we were done in Dan's Cove, we the began the hike into Martin's Cove. It was about a 3 mile loop. Lot's of hills and not a lot of shade. The Martin Handcart Company arrived in the cove in the Winter of 1856. There was 19 inches of snow on the ground and they took shelter against the mountain side.

Our hike into the cove.

This is the lower part of Martin's Cove. There was also an upper ridge, mast of the pioneers camped here in the lower ridge.

When the pioneer's came to the Sweetwater river, many broke down and couldn't face having to cross it. It wasn't very deep but it was partially frozen and at this point the could go no further. So 3 young men (teenagers) from the rescue party, carried the women and children as well as the weaker men across the river. In our reenactment we did have a few young men from each company carry a few girls across. Others used the bridge, unlike the pioneers who could not afford to cross the bridge and in turn they had to cross in on foot.

Crossing the Sweetwater River.

Day 3 total mileage was around 6 miles. It was probably our hottest day. We then camped at Cherry Creek campground, and had hamburgers for dinner. We also had the "Pony Express" come in and deliver letters to the youth. Day 3 was pretty fun. Next post will be of our time spent in Salt Lake on Temple Square.