Just three days from the commemorative journey's end, Boyd Gardner sat atop Boballen, the sturdy steed that carried him 800 miles across the deserts of the Southwest.
Somewhere outside Hesperia, the 69-year-old cowboy stopped his horse to explain why this Mormon wagon train from Salt Lake City to San Bernardino, a reenactment of the original one 150 years ago, was so trying.
First off, he explained, the heat during the two-month journey was darned awful, climbing into the 100s some days, making the 60 or so trekkers--including toddlers and senior citizens--thirsty, sunburned and miserable. Don't get him started on the wind.
Even more vexing, he said, was the deep desert sand. It quickly sapped the energy of the horses and mules that pulled the seven covered wagons, which included a two-seater "potty wagon."
Gardner suggested that he and his fellow travelers had it almost as rough as his great-great-grandparents, who were among the 437 pioneers who made the Mormon faith's first journey to Southern California in 1851.
"There's not a whole lot they went through that we didn't," said Gardner, a resident of Rupert, Idaho.
The wagon train, which is scheduled to pull into San Bernardino this afternoon, was designed to bring attention to the Mormons' role in Southern California history, in addition to giving Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints members and others a realistic taste of life in the 1850s.
For the modern-day pioneers, about 25% of whom said they had ancestors on the original trek, baths were infrequent. Clothes were hand-washed in tubs or over rocks, and squabbles were settled in group meetings before the day's ride.
Life on the Trail Is Tough and Boring
On the trail, boredom and discomfort became their main companions. They sat on the hard, narrow plank benches of the wagons. They felt each rock hit by the wooden wheels and looked out at the unchanging desert landscape.
The reenactment--similar to a 1997 trek when Mormons rode from Nebraska to Salt Lake City to celebrate Brigham Young's pilgrimage to Utah--marks the original journey of Mormon pioneers to Southern California to set up a trading post and way station for missionaries.
Church members and other history buffs from throughout Southern California will greet the wagon train about 4 p.m. today at Glen Helen Regional Park. The arrival will kick off a three-day Heritage Trails festival, where visitors can see the covered wagons, pan for gold and watch a blacksmith work.
