The Ultimate Road Trip:Following the Oregon Trail
During summer 2010 we followed the Oregon Trail from its origin at Courthouse Square in Independence, Missouri, to its end in present-day Oregon City, Oregon. Along the way we walked along ruts and swales scored by the pioneers along with their wagons and animals, camped nearby sites utilized over 150 years ago by the emigrants, visited numerous museums and interpretive centers, and gazed in wonderment at the beautiful but demanding terrain pioneers were required to navigate during their long journey west.
Pioneers required from four to six months to complete the trail’s 2,100 miles from Independence to present-day Oregon. Both distance and travel time decreased over time as shortcuts were discovered and bridges and ferries were constructed. In comparison, we drove approximately 2,600 miles in three weeks while tracing the pioneers’ journey. Our trip covered more miles because significant portions of the historic trail are on private land and not paralleled by present-day roads. For example, in Kansas and southeastern Nebraska where wagon trains cut diagonally northwest to reach the south bank of the Platte River, today’s drivers must zig and zag along county and state roads. We took a tiny fraction of the supplies carried by pioneer families that typically packed 600 pounds of flour, 400 pounds of bacon, 100 pounds of sugar, 60 pounds of coffee, and 200 pounds of lard. We also weren’t burdened with heavy and bulky personal possessions such as trunks, dressers, or family heirlooms. In addition, we didn’t have the added complication of caring for children and animals.
Not all wagon trains heading west set out from Independence, Missouri, just as not all pioneers completing the journey put down roots in Oregon City. By the mid-1840s numerous wagon trains headed for Oregon were departing from St. Joe, Missouri, a river town 60 miles north of Independence. Long wait times for crowded ferries transporting families and their gear across the Missouri caused many pioneers to continue moving north where delays for gaining ferry space were shorter. Pioneers knew an early start meant an earlier arrival in Oregon, thus giving them a better chance of locating superior land to homestead. Following the 1848 discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California, pioneers, mostly gold seekers rather than families wanting to homestead, found it convenient to cross the Missouri River at St. Joseph, Missouri. Mormons, who began traveling west in 1846, mostly crossed even further north at Council Bluffs, Iowa.
We have taken many extended trips throughout the United States but discovered three weeks spent following the Oregon Trail was near the top in terms of enjoyment and education. Walking along ruts cut by wagon trains on their way to settling the West 150 years ago is an awesome experience. We enjoyed the 2010 trip so much we repeated it seven years later.
Oregon National Historic Trail interactive map from Missouri to Oregon
