I decided to replay Oregon Trail today, after listening to the podcast Ben Franklin’s World. The host, Liz Covart, interviewed Rinker Buck about his book The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey. Buck retraveled the Oregon Trail with his brother, driving a team of mules and a covered wagon. The interview and ideas were intriguing, so I started where he got his inspiration: the game Oregon Trail.

Spoilers, I died. Three times. The farthest I got was just past Fort Boise, the only survivor of my party. Basically, traveling the virtual Oregon Trail with me is a bit like traveling virtually with Tom Hanks. Bad things happen, but without Wilson.

The podcast did get me thinking, though, and changed how I played. Buck makes a compelling argument for mules instead of oxen and how to think about the supplies you carry. I never starved, but lost some oxen along the way. The game doesn’t offer a mule option, even though they are recommended as pack animals along the way, so I was unable to prove his point.

In the half hour or so I spent with the two of them in my ear, I learned about religion and division on the Trail, tragedy and loss, and opportunists. We all load up our wagons to the brim in the game, similar to what our pioneering ancestors did — he explains that many overdid it and found themselves abandoning supplies along the way to lighten the loads. I tried less supplies more hunting, focusing on deer and elk, not buffalo and was continually scolded by the game for hunting, even though I was careful to only shoot one animal per stop. I never starved, but those darn biting snakes…

He also made me ponder the America he met along the way, as he had to find places to stop every day that could accommodate mules. He told Liz about staying in state parks and at rodeos, and of people who heard about him and sought him out to offer hospitality. He met the America we often have as our self-image, open and hospitable. And that was a little heartwarming.

Here’s the link to the episode: https://benfranklinsworld.com/episode-077-rinker-buck-oregon-trail/

I’m adding the caveat here that I have not read his book, yet. I did add it to the reading list I keep, unoriginally titled “Things I Want to Read.” Happy Trails!