The Oregon Trail: Won!

May 24th - Warm weather, 190 miles to Independence Rock. The rugged Wyoming terrain slows things down quite a bit - we can only go 24 miles at a grueling pace, and still need to rest almost every other day.

 Aunt Sims kvetches some more as we rest here.

June 8th - Hot weather, 102 miles to South Pass.

 

Bad water is no joke - we spend FIVE days hunting and resting until we recover. And we drink bad water again a few days later. This leg takes 19 days, only five of them spent traveling.

We have a choice to make now.

Checking the map:

We hold a vote - one for crossing the river right away, four for the detour to Fort Bridger. So we cross the river.

Well, we're not fording that.

Dilligaf urges me to pay five bucks for the ferry, but I'm on Big Louie's side. We tip the wagon upside down, seal it up with pitch, and float across with our stuff on top.

Shee-yit.

 

July 13th - Hot weather, 144 miles to Soda Springs. We sample the Wyoming wells one last time - this leaves us retching for a week. No such trouble in Idaho, but the trip takes six days of travel, and thanks to the summer heat and scarce water, we rest two days for each one on the road. But things start to cool as we enter August.

August 4th - Warm weather, 57 miles to Fort Hall. It takes three days of travel and four days of rest - at this point I do not bother hunting.

 

The Green River capsizement cost us some clothes and all of our spare wheels and axles, not to mention Dilligaf's life, but if anything breaks and we can't replace it, we're in REAL trouble. So I check out the general store.

 

And wow - stuff  is expensive here. Everything costs double what it did in Missouri! I spend my last sawbucks on a wheel, an axle, and a set of clothes.

August 12th - Hot weather, 182 miles to Snake River. We travel 24 miles every other day, and rest on the days in between. The weather cools throughout the month. On August 20th, P-Tux suffers a broken leg and an ox dies, slowing our pace to 21 miles per day.

Historically, this was the most dangerous river crossing on the trail.

We caulk and float across - we're fine.

August 31st - Warm weather, 114 miles to Fort Boise and the Oregon border. We are able to get along at 21 miles every other day, resting on the days between, though water is still scarce, and toward the end of the trip it takes four days of rest to regain good health. The weather continues to cool into September.

But how will they carry my European grandfather clocks?

 

September 17th - Warm weather, 160 miles to the Blue Mountains. The pace picks up to 24 miles per alternating day of travel, but we lose about nine days to minor disasters, including an ox wandering off, bad water, and another ox injury. Food is also starting to run low - I hunt when we aren't traveling, but it's difficult; in thirteen sessions, all I manage to bag is two deer, one bear, and a small assortment of rodents. But it's enough.

 

The trail forks.

 

There is absolutely no reason to detour to Fort Walla Walla. We're nearly arrived!

Dangit, P-Tux.

October 13th - Unseasonably hot weather. 125 miles to the Dalles. We keep steady onward at 24 miles per sprint, resting for a day or two after each one. A wagon tongue breaks on the 22nd and must be replaced - we've still got one. Another ox dies just five miles from our destination, but we arrive.

We rest up to good health - this makes a big difference in your final score - and there's one more decision to make.

But this isn't much of a decision. We haven't even got money for the toll road, and if we did, the river's still the better option - unlike the other river crossings, this one's an arcade-style minigame, where no negative consequences can befall you as long as you perform well. And it's really easy. The alternative is a final hundred miles of rough terrain to take its toll on your health and supplies.

Sigh. I got the Trail Guide rating, which I've never done before, but if it weren't for that one incident, I'd be #1.

Good news, everyone. We're doing this again!