White Pine Adventure

Yesterday afternoon around 2 we started packing for a backpacking trip from Tony Grove Lake to White Pine Lake (4 miles). Jessica and Moroni especially wanted to do this trip. Benjamin was worried it would be impossible. He did have a good point. Only the three oldest kids and Jaremy could carry packs. I'm five months pregnant or close enough anyway. Teancum is only two and hikes a tedious 1-mile an hour and that's with a lot a prodding. Jaremy was going to have to work late so we would have to start early without him in order to arrive before dark.





We arrived at Tony Grove a bit after four. From the very beginning, Tank informed us he was too tired to hike. But we knew that meant he just wanted to play instead. We made it to White Pine by 8:30. All the kids hiked the whole way! We figured Jaremy was right behind us. Suprisingly, there were tons of people camping up there. Because you have to backpack in there are usually only a few people there. Luckily, we found the second to last campsite just as the light was starting to fade.

Jessica started a fire then the big kids went back along the trail a ways to tell Jaremy where we were. Then one of the potty-trained kids pooped their pants. I didn't handle it well. We were four miles away from the van and it was pretty much dark. We were ultra-light backpacking we had only brought a change on clothes for Tank. I wasn't very nice. So we cleaned up the best we could using the last of the wipes and a diaper. I prayed I could calm down, be nice, and have a clear head. I apologized and feelings got a lot better. I set up the four sleeping bags we had brought. Jaremy was bringing two more. With just six sleeping bags for nine people it would be tight, but hay, it's called roughing it. Again we were packing light, so we decided to go without a tent. It's good to sleep out under the stars once in a while.

The big kids came back with out Jaremy. We prayed he would be okay. We had some more of our power bars (meal replacement bars are light and don't require prep or cooking gear). I put the little kids it bed. The big kids hunted for little sticks to keep our fire going. We couldn't find any real firewood, so they brought back so semi-dry pine boughs. We started to worry. It was now 10:30 and completely dark except for the stars. We didn't think Jaremy would be hiking in the dark, so we had left him no flashlight. We prayed for him again and again. We hoped he wasn't hurt along the trail. We kept the fire going until 1:30am. I told the big kids to climb into the sleeping bags with the little ones. I slept on the dirt with an empty backpack as a pillow.

After an hour I woke up. The stars were amazing. I prayed for Jaremy again, readjusted my pregnant body around the rocks in a new way, and went back to sleep for another hour. Jessica put her sweatshirt on top of me and told me to come squeeze in the double zipped sleeping bags with her, Ella, and Tank. She is the sweetest person, so thoughtful and selfless. So we made a tight squeeze. That woke everyone up for about an hour. Around 4:30 we all got back to sleep for another hour. It was a long night. But it was nice to know we were safe and morning was on it's way. I prayed for other people that might be hurt, driven from their homes, or out in the cold, dark night for some terrible reason. We were so lucky and hoped Jaremy was too.

In the morning we got everyone's shoes on and fresh mosquito spray. We figured we would stay put for an hour or so in case Jaremy was just waiting for light so he could find us. It turned out that's just what happened. It was so wonderful to see him okay and safe! We filtered fresh water and packed up.

It took us over four hours to get back to the van at Tony Grove. It was a gorgeous hike!! We had plenty of time to study all the rocks, flowers, trees, and bugs. Tank was slow, but he did an amazing job. Jaremy was so good at keeping him going and happy. But sometimes Tank hit "walls." But then he'd get another second wind and keep going.

As we finished the switch backs I started to get light headed because I needed water. Jaremy gave me the last of his water even though I'm sure he was thirsty. Then we hiked about a mile and a half to a stream and filtered more water. Delicious! The kids played in the stream and had a great time.

We came home and cleaned up while Jaremy picked up a 36" pizza. It's huge! We stuffed ourselves and took naps. Now I'm rambling on because I'm too tired to unpack, bath kids, and do the dishes. Not to mention I should pack for our next Tony Grove campout on Monday morning. Ugh! I'm not ready to do that yet.

I'm so grateful Heavenly Father watched over us. I was so grumpy with some of the kids yesterday evening I don't deserve His protection and blessings. I'm so grateful for the Atonement and for forgiving children. I love my family!!! The are incredible!!!