With the big three trails cast to one side most people are unaware that many other scenic trails exist within the USA. Some of these such as the Oregon Trail are steeped in historical importance. Without the Oregon Trail, the settling of the Western United States would have been slower or maybe never happened.

This route was the single way of getting across to the Western States, cutting across using the route as shown below. I have crossed the trail twice, once on the CDT and once on the PCT. I believe the CDT passes the trail around the Red Desert area of Wyoming. In the case of the PCT I think this is Donner Pass in Oregon.

In these days travel was tough and was no easy task. One in ten people to attempt the route would die from various nasty occurences such as the inclement weather, disease and attack from other humans. There are many interesting facts on the Oregon Trail on this site here.

In our modern lives, with all our gadgets and luxuries it is almost impossible to imagine the hardships faced by people that lived in these days.

It seems in the mid 1800's huge herds of stampeding buffalo would have been a major hazard for the trail blazers and wild animals such as mountain lions and grizzly bears may also have been a concern for the weary travellers.

For more interesting Oregon trail details see this US Parks site (National Scenic Trail)