Mormon Trail handcart trek

In 1997, a wagon train made its way along the Mormon Trail from Omaha,

Neb., to Salt Lake City to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the arrival

of the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley. This year, a train of

handcarts travelers will traverse the trail, beginning in Iowa City, Iowa,

the 1856 staging point for the first Mormon handcart companies.

Sponsored by the BYU Department of Recreation Management and Youth

Leadership, the 1,400-mile handcart trek re-enactment is primarily for BYU

students, but a limited number of families will participate on a

first-come-first-served basis.

Brian Hill, who was CEO and president of the 1997 Mormon Trail Wagon

Train Re-enactment, is now a professor in the BYU department and is

organizing the handcart trek.

He said the handcart train will depart April 27 and arrive in Salt Lake

City on Aug. 27, travelling on or close to the original Mormon Trail across

Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah. Participants will pull handcarts 15-20

miles a day, five to six days a week. They will wear authentic clothing and

camp each night along the trail.See the full story at ldschurchnews.com

This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the

Deseret News.