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SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. — Traveling 1,400 miles with nothing more than a handcart and some backup help, Lynn “Doc” Cleland, great-grandson of Sarah Goode Marshall, is re-enacting what many Mormans did before.
For the past 2½ months, Cleland has been following the Mormon, Oregon and California Trails as closely as possible.
Like the pioneers, Cleland has had to climb seemingly endless hills and endure bouts of severe weather.
“There was one morning I woke to a terrible storm with winds gusting at 70 mph,” he said. “The winds literally rolled me up in my tent and sent me across the field where I was staying.”
Cleland, a Mormon, decided to make the trip in honor of his great-grandmother, a widow with six children who made the trip in 1856 and was the first handcart pioneer to enter Salt Lake, Utah.
“I really did want to know what pioneers had to endure during that time, so I have kept my supplies and clothing as close to what they had as possible,” he said.
His rations include about 2 cups of flour a day, some beef jerky and whatever else he may find along the trail.
But gathering items along the way hasn't been pain free.
“A farmer saw us picking chokecherries and advised us of the chigger infestation, but by then it was too late, as I had numerous bites.”
Stopping in Oshkosh, Neb., he received some ointment that killed the chiggers, but little did he know it would threaten his life.
Cleland had an allergic reaction to the ointment and ended up at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff for four days.
After some rest and recuperation, Cleland was ready to hit the road again. In his absence his cousin's grandson, Ryker Green, had been pulling the handcart to make sure no time or miles were lost.
“It was like the old days,” he said. “I would have been put in the hospital wagon or in our own handcart and another member of the family would have taken over.”
Cleland has also been reaching out to the people in the towns he has traveled through, inviting anyone that would like to come along to walk with him.
“It's not a Mormon thing that I'm doing. It was inspired by my great-grandmother, but I want to experience the history and meet people,” he said.
To visit his blog site and keep track of Cleland's journey, go to www.faithgreaterthanpain.com.
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