A few years ago, I had the opportunity to join with a group of locals in the Panguitch, Utah, area to write a script and visually recreate the following story.
In the mid-1800s, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were establishing many of the new communities in the Utah Territory. One such community was Fairview, now known as Panguitch, which was initially established in 1863. The valley where the pioneers settled sits at an elevation of 6,600 feet, and this made for a short growing season and a difficult place to produce good crops.
In the second winter, as deep snow came too early, the wheat had not matured and was still green and therefore difficult to grind into flour. The pioneers resorted to boiling the wheat, but it was barely palatable. The men hunted and fished but were competing with the local Native Americans for available meat. Without a solution, the pioneers were facing starvation.
Leaders decided that they would send out two groups to obtain flour. One party headed north for Gunnison, 110 miles away. The other group began a 45-mile trek west over a high mountain pass toward Parowan. Due to heavy snows blocking the way toward Gunnison, the northbound party returned almost immediately.
Those headed to Parowan traveled initially by wagon, but as they reached a mountain pass, their wagon team foundered in the deeper snow, and the journey necessarily proceeded on foot. Feelings of exhaustion came quickly as the men overexerted themselves while their legs sank deep into the snow, fighting what seemed to be a losing battle. Under these conditions, and unprepared to travel in deep snow, it was apparent that the journey was likely impossible.
It was at this point that they laid out bedding on the snow and knelt to pray. In the course of their petitioning God for help, the realization came that the quilts on which they knelt were providing a broader surface on the snow and thereby supporting their weight. This inspired an effort to continue their trek by painstakingly laying one blanket after another to create a quilted pathway across the mountain. The men undoubtedly appreciated the women who crafted these quilts, which not only provided warmth but also served as a means of conquering the deep snow.
The weary party finally reached Parowan, where they were anxiously received by fellow settlers. With little time for recuperation, they acquired as many sacks of flour as they could carry. On the more arduous return trip, several people from Parowan assisted the group as far up the mountain as was possible. In the deepest snows, where walking on quilts was again required, the men of Fairview shouldered their own burdens and continued on alone.
Meanwhile, the wives and children who remained in Fairview anxiously anticipated the long-overdue return of these men. Many in the community feared the worst.
Little is recorded of the return journey, where the men not only carried the sacks of flour over the mountains but also faced the task of spreading and recovering their quilts. It is likely no one wanted to remember this exhausting portion of the trek. A journey estimated to have taken seven to ten days finally brought the men back to Fairview.
This event, the famous Quilt Walk, is still celebrated every year in the town of Panguitch.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Wade is active in hiking, writing, photography, and videography. He works as a tourism marketing consultant, for which he has won numerous awards. For five years, he was a weekly guest on the KSL Outdoors radio show. Mark is the former Director of Tourism for southwestern Utah and has served on the board of directors for various tourism associations.
