With no votes, Equinox's party defaulted to traveling west on the Oregon Trail. The wagon train held a meeting outside of Fort John and continued to travel in thick dust. The party floated their wagon across the North Platte River before taking a quick stop at Independence Rock to talk with the other people in the wagon train. As it was June 1 and thus too early to celebrate Independence Day at the rock, the party continued onward. Unfortunately, past Devil's Gate, Haschel Cedricson caught the dreaded cholera. He was administered epsom salts in an attempt to control the disease.
At Rocky Ridge on their way to South Pass, the wagon tipped over during two attempts to climb uphill with ropes and chains, resulting in the loss of some supplies. No one was injured. A day later at South Pass, Haschel Cedricson recovered. With this part of the journey out of the way, everyone was headed for desert for the next leg of the journey. Before doing so, though, they had the opportunity to stop at a fort, should they wish to purchase supplies. Alternatively, they could take the cutoff to save some time.
Where did they go?
Road to Fort Bridger
Sublette Cutoff
Rest here
Results tomorrow. So far, everyone is in good health!
St. Joseph Road (2) - Silverclaw, AGar
No preference (1) - Mitillos
zoraster's party opted to take St. Joseph Road at the junction. This road took them directly east back through the Big Blue River, Vermillion River, and Missouri River crossings to St. Joseph, Missouri.
After spending some time checking out the city, they headed back, reaching the junction on May 5. This time, they took the Oregon Trail heading west. Nebraska was, as with the other party, smooth sailing, and they made a quick stop at Fort Kearny to purchase some additional dried bread and rice.
At Plum Creek, Ariel got a concussion. Based on advice from the guidebook, Ariel was given camphor for stimulation, and the party continued on their way, perhaps more carefully this time. By the time they reached O'Fallon's Bluffs, Ariel had recovered.
It was raining when the party reached the South Platte River crossing, making the river more treacherous than usual. Thus, they took a day to wait for conditions to improve. It did not, so they attempted to float their wagon across. Unfortunately, the wagon tipped, losing some supplies. The bad luck continued; though they were able to double-team up California Hill, they tipped their wagon while attempting to go down Windlass Hill. While they were leaving Ash Hollow, Silverclaw caught cholera. He was given epsom salts to ease the condition.
On the trail, the party bumped into someone who has what is possibly the worst "Irish accent" in video game history:
This game was released in 1995, but there is really no excuse.
Silverclaw recovered around when the party reached Courthouse and Jail Rock. They ran out of fruits and vegetables when they reached the Laramie River crossing, so they made a quick stop at Fort John to purchase dried beans and potatoes to stave off scurvy. In the interest of time, they departed the fort and took the Oregon Trail heading west.
The party was making its way through the Laramie Range when Ariel caught a bad cold. Ariel was advised to hydrate. Ariel was still sick when the party reached Independence Rock on June 25; it was still a little early for Independence Day celebrations, but now there was a bit of a time crunch if they hoped to reach Oregon before the winter snows. On their way to the "Parting of the Ways", they celebrated Independence Day. It was a fantastic celebration marked by a bad case of mosquitoes.
zoraster's party slowed down due to quicksand close to the fork in the trail, but eventually they reached the same decision point as the other party. Where did they go?
Road to Fort Bridger
Sublette Cutoff
Rest here
Results also tomorrow, and now everyone is in good health!
